The Sun.
London, England, 1840-06-09 00:00:00

CHINA.

ATTEMPT OF THE CHINESE TO BORN THE
BRITISH FLEET IN TOONGKOO BAY.
About ten o'clock on Friday morning two small junks
were observed to arrive among the shipping in Toongkoo
Bay. About half-past one on Saturday morning, they were
observed coming down from the eastern end of the bay in
filmes, but the wind being too southerly they drifted in-
shore of the shipping through the mass of small Chinese
boats and foreign schooners : one touched the Devil
schooner, and set fire to her forward, but the crew suc-
ceeded in extinguishing the fire with th.s loss of the jib
and damage to the bowsprit. These junks, or rafts, were
filled with all kinds of combustibles, cotton, oil, bamboo
guns, or rather tubes, thickly mounted in several tiers, that
threw out fire balls as the tire reached them. Some of
the ships slipped their cables, and the Cowasjee Family
was aground for a few hours, but without receiving any
damage. It is the opinion of an experienced etc-witness
that had there been twenty such junks chained together,
the shipping would have been greatly injured.
This abortive attempt, however. inns had the good effect
of awakening the captains and officers of the ships to the
danger to which they are exposed, and they are therefore
inure on the alert; several have bent sails, shifted their
berths, and got springs on their cables.
Since writing the above we have been told another
attempt was made to burn the fleet on the succeeding
night, hut, from some unknown cause, was not persevered
in. Canton Register, March 3.
On Friday night, the Bth of February, at about ten
o'clock, two junks on fire, to which a number of smaller
boats, tilled with combustibles, were attached, were seen
to drift towards the shipping from the Cap-sing-moon
passage, but wind and tide carried them clear of the ship-
ping, nearer in shore, among a number of small Chinese
boats, some of which we hear were burnt. The only damage
sustained was by the schooner Devil having her jib and
bowsprit set on fire. which was, however, soon extinguished,
and by the awasjee Family, in slipping her cable to avoid
the fire ships, having got ground, but got off again with-
out sustaining any damage. We hear that the boats of her
Majesty's ship Volaye were employed in towing these fire
ships out of-the line of danger. They burnt out, after
having drifted on shore without explosion, though, it is
said, they were filled with bamboos .stuffed with gun-
powder, broken glass, small stones, &c. On the following
night another attempt at Bring the fleet was made, but
without success. The tide on Friday night was very low,
and the weather fine, two circumstances much in favour of the
fleet, which might have suffered considerably had the attempt
of the Chinese been on a larger scale and better managed.
As it is, however, this first trial will but too likely be fol-
lowed by others which may possibly be more dangerous,
the Chinese front experience being enabled to give a
truer direction to their fireships ; and it is hardly neces-
sary in us to recommend the greatest vigilance.—Canton
Press, March 7.

MEMORIAL RECOMMENDING T.HE MAS-
SACRE OF THE ENGLISH AND S lop_
PAGE OF THE FOREIGN TRADE.
An express from the Board of War has just brought a
despatch from the Grand Military Council, addressed to
Lin, Viceroy of Kwantung and Kwangse, &c.
E, Fooyuen, of Kwantung, &c., Kean, Admiral on the
Kwantung station, and Kwo, Commander of the Land
Forces, also to be communicated by them to—
Yu, by imperial appointment Hoppo of Canton—.
these :
On the 1 nth day of the 12th moon of the 19th year of
Taoukwang, 14th January, we (i. e. the Grand Military
Council) received the following high imperial edict :
Whereas Tsang Wang-yen has this day banded up to
us a duly prepared memorial, the preamble of which is—
" Seeing that the disposition of foreigners is fickle and
wavering, I beg hereby to propose that the ports be shut
against them—that egress from our shores be prohibited—
and that a plan be laid for the litter extermination (of the
concerned I), by which means the source of evil may be
purified," &c., and besides this there is another document
from the same officer, commencing, " I beg likewise to
propose that a limit be put to the trade carried on
between us and the foreigners of Macao," &c.,
which having been carefully perused by us, the Emperor,
we hereby decree—cause Lin and his colleagues carefully
to deliberate on the contents with the most perfect atten-
tion, and to that end let the memorial and addendum bs
frnirly copied out and transmitted them for perusal; and at
the same time communicate this my edict to Lin, E.
Kwan, and Kwo, that they in their turn may communicate
it to the hoppo Dukwan. Respect this!
We, the Grand Military Council, do hereby, 'n obedi-
ence to the Imperial command, transmit the same.
Tsang \Vangyen hereby respectfully memorializes the
Great Emperor, that seeing the disposition of, or circum-
stances connected with, foreigners is fickle and wavering,
I beg hereby to propose that the ports be shut agar nst
them, that all egress from our shores be prohibited,
that a plan be laid for the utter extermination of often-
ch.rs ; thereby to cut off the greedy views of the fo-
reigners, and cleanse the impure fountain of evil ; such
are the motives which ieduce me to lay before your
sacred Majesty my most limited view of tine subject,
hoping that it may be honoured with the imperial glance.
It appears that the opium poison had overspread our cen-
tral laud almost beyond the possibility of cure, when look-
ing up to the great Emperor we relied upon him, as occu-
pying the seat of heaven, to settle the question with his
single effert ; and he then commanded the different boards
and high officers to deliberate upon and fix the sternest
statutes, and the viceroys and fooyuens of the different
provinces to exert themselves to the utmost in searching
fur and seizing criminals ; and so well did this answer,
that within the last year the people of the land have trem-
' bled with terror; and out of every ten some eight or nine
have already given ear to the dreadful admonition. Arid
we further find that when your Majesty specially deputed
a higy officer as Imperial Commissioner to proceed with
,te to Canton, there to regulate the affairs of the sea-
ports, so utterly paralyzed by terror were the foreigners at
the display of celestial dignity, that on the first day of his
arrival, they took 20,000 odd chests of opium and delivered
them up, and gave a bond that in time to come they
would never more dare to bring opium to our shores : all
this looked as if these said foreigners were perfectly meek
and submissive, and at that time nothing out of the way
was to be apprehended.
But I have heard respecting the English foreigners that
from the time when Elliot took the newly-arrived vessels
of this year, and detained them in the outer ocean, they
have had several vessels alive laden with opium, which
they have not delivered up ; and, moreover their ships of
war have sailed into the inner seas, and roamed about
there for amusement ; nay, they have even dared to ex-
change blows with our maadarins and soldiers ; this plainly
shows, then, that as for the bond which these said fo-
reigners gave before, they look upon it as mere waste
paper; their object is nothing more than to disguise their
real sentiments for a short time, and wait till the High
Commissioner shall have left Canton, then they will con-
tinue to bring opium as before, and get the depraved com-
mon people of the country to dispose of it for them—their
cunning craftiness is perfectly apparent ; and as they now
see that we are putting down the use of opium with the utmost
rigour, and that. if they don't deliver up their opium they
won't be permitted to enter the port (these English fo-
reigners) give full rein to their violent and contrary dispo-
sitions, they won't endure check or restraint, and to wind
up all they even dare to fire off great guns, thereby wound-
ing the celestial soldiery ; for such a horrid crime they
may not be exempted from absolute annihilation.
I have also heard that their merchant vessels, several
tons of sail of them, remain anchored at Hongkong on the
outer ocean, where they keep staring and looking about,
and won't go away. Their idea of the matter no doubt is
this :—" the amount of duties (derived from the foreign
trade) is a million and several myrkds (of taels) ; all
those mandarins who are involved in the question must
surely take an interest in the revenues of the country,
they will therefore, nolens volens, give way a little, and
we may thus mutually accommodate matters.' Little do
they ki.ow that the wealth of our celestial dynasty is as the
four seas ; that our various products abound to overflow.
inn ; how then, is it to be supposed for a moment that we
depend upon the little, petty, trifling duties arising from
the foreign trade to pay our expenses, pray ? Bet, on the
other hand, what these said foreigners must have to pre-
serve their lives, and what they cannot do a single day
without—are rhubarb and tea, and these, be it remembered,
ire the produce of our inner land.
In my humble opinion, then, the very head or chief
secret of our plan lies in shutting the ports. No matter
what country these foreign ships may come from, do not
let a single one of them hold connn,reial intercourse with
us. The cargo which they bring in their several tens of
ships remaining on hand unsold, they cannot but be em-
barrassed thereby ; and when we shall have entirely cut off
their supply of tea and rhubarb, and caused our merchants
and people to trade with them no longer, we shall thus have
their lives more in our power than ever ; and thus of these
said foreigners there will not be one who won't come be-
seeching us with fear and trembling-, Perhaps it may be
objected that—' there foreigners, expecting something of
the kind, have laid their plans with great forethought, and
that they have already, in former years, exported from this a
supply sufficient for more than tee years' consumption.' But
are these cavillers aware, that though rhubarb may indeed be
stored up for a long time, yet tea, when kept for two or three
years, there is no kind which has not long' lost its flavour,
it becomes mouldy, and is unfit for use. Or, perhaps it
,nay be urged_' but there are only tire English foreigners
wino won't submit :o restraints, therefore the shies of all
other countries may still be permitted to continue their
commercial intercourse as usual.' Little do such cavillers
know, that of the foreign ships which have inn their time
conveyed and sold opium, there is not a single country that
is not implicated ; if, therefore, we permit the foreigners
of other countries still to trade with us, how are we to be
certain that they may not take opium on board and tran-
ship it to English vessels, there to be stored (as formerly
was the custom in regard to the :tore ships that lay off
Linda); that they then take on board other descriptions of
cargo with which to enter the port; and when they load
their tea and rhubarb to leave the port, how are we to
know that they may not actually be transpnrting
that very cargo for the English ? I must, therefore, beg
that your sacred Majesty will issue an imperial edict to the
effect that " All foreign ships which have carried opium, no
matter what country they belong to, we shall not permit
the ships or people of teat nation to trade with us, thereby
nivieg the officers and common people of China and of
foreign parts clearly to know and understand that the holy
Lord is sworn to °dam up the very fountain of opium, and
do away with the confirmed bad habit; and that as gar the
amount of duties, there is really no difficulty
them up entirely, and Vats getting rid of the whole
concern.'
in
petty trifling
closed against foreigners, if we
do
rprioly prohibit all egress frOm our
'seacoasts, it will still be the seine as if our ports were not
closed at all.
at the same then,
tines
nngo t the
.seaboard Lir ,pour different
provinces the entirely pacific, oreoee...,
I nesse heard. that
,tar
sl v existed a class of fast crab
in Kwangtung there forme— „reuggling, and at
boatmen, whose
the time when the trade between natives ate..
was inn its flourishing state, these blackguards gave t hen.-
selves the most unbridled license, and had 1.0 fear what- I