The Sun.
London, England, 1840-04-23 00:00:00

,T.VEN IN G EDITION.

CA PTAIN SMITH AND THE CHI-

NESE WAR JUNKS.

The American American papers received by the British Queen
give a highly interesting account of the action between
the Volage and Hyacinth and the Chinese fleet of men-
of-war junks an the 3d of November. The report pur-
ports
to have been obtained from ail officer of the Vo-
lage, and is as follows :-..
"Captain Smith sent a lieutenant and Mr. Morrisor,,
the interpreter, in his boat to the Admiral's junk, w ith
a communication for the Yum Chae, in which ;,e re-
.
1 quested that the edicts threatening destruct; ..n:1 to the
merchant ships at Hong Kong, should be withdrawn,
and that permission might be granted for the British
community to return to the neutral pot'', ‘of Macao, and
there remain unmolested until the intentions oi,, the,
.
.eri.
British Government could be receiv He said also
that there was no particular haste for reply ; that three
days would be granted, at the end of which time an
' answer must be furnished.
i" The officer and Mt. Morrison were received on
board the junk with much civility, and entertained
with tea, preserves, &c. After it was made known to
t the Chinese A.der4iral the nature of the communication
I of which they were the bearers, for the Commissioner,
and the tim a required for a reply, he said there was no oc-
casion for 'she delay, and that one should be sent sooner.
This was, in the morning. After an hour or two had
elapsed, -a Linguist, and a Mandarin came on board the
Volage,, bringing with them Captain Smith's letter un-
opened, sad a few words written on a shabby piece of
paper, intimating that the men-of-war must sail away.
White they were yet on board the Admiral had got his
!See', ander way, and in two divisions, of about 12 or 14
Junks each, they bore down upon the frigates in well-
fsemed lines, and very steadily.
" Captain Smith very naturally was much enraged at
A 0 indifference with which they had treated his letter,
.and at the style in which he was addressed on the scrap
of paper they had sent him. He at once ordered the
Linguist and Mandarin into their boat, and as the
Chinese fleet was approaching him fast, sent word
by the Linguist to the Admiral, that if in
half an hour he did not haul off and retire from
the threa:ening maximum's he had assumed, he would
Ire into him. The message was disregarded, and, as
he had promised, Captain Smith opened his broadside,
and a scene of dreadful carnage took place : the first
• junk fired into blew up, fragments of her scattering
about in all directions. She was full of soldiers is red
uniforms, and out of some two hundred persons that
E must have been on board, only three were seen holding
on to the fragments of the wreck when the smoke 1
cleared away-. The Hyacinth had, is the meantime,
contrived to get between Chumpee and the junks,
several of which bore up for her, apparently with the
intention to run her on board. She remained quiet ;
orntil they got within pistol-shot, when she poured into
them from both sides such volleys of grape and canister
that a shocking slaughter was the result. Several of
.the junks were completely disabled, and, after a broad-
side or two, all made sail for Anson's Bay in the
bast manner they could. The frigates followed, and every
broadside must have sent dozens of the Chinese into
( ternity. At last Elliot, who had been begging Captain
Smith for God's sake to stop, prevailed upon him to
make a signal to the Hyacinth to atop firing, and to
4 haul off himself. They had now been engaged about
two hours, and were bearing up for Macao, when the
old Admiral kept away to re-engage the Volage. Capt.
Smith luffed up, not inclined to disappoint him. The
junk came down before the wind, keeping up an inces-
sant fire ; when within good short distance, the Volage
gave her one broadside, then kept away, leaving the
junk tottering like a drunken man, and she must have
soon gone down, a strong breeze blowing from the

14,iorth-at the time. Two hours afterwards both the
Nessals were at anchor in Macao Roads. Many high
Mandarins were on the bill at Chumpee within sight of

the engagement, and it was said his Excellency the
Commissioner was one of them, On board the Admi-
ral's junk the men stood to their guns nobly, and those
actually engaged are allowed to have fought very well ;
but when they commenced they were ignorant of the
dreadfully murderous effect of a sloop of war's broad-
side. Only one foremast man was hurt, and he received a
slight wound in the should sL ; they say, though, the
Hyacinth will require ane izenniast and main-yard."