The Sun.
London, England, 1841-10-08 00:00:00

THE SUN, LON.DON, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1841.

ever else,;might fill the place of Foreign Secre-
tary—Lord PALMERSTON not excepted. But his
misunderstanding with England has degenerated
into a personal quarrel. The British Government
deigned not to regard his bluster as the voice of
the French people. He was treated less as a
Minister than as an individual in the struggle
political charlatanism was exposed to the in-
dignation of Europe, and hence, we presame, the
depth of his continued resentment. M. TRIERS
hates us not on public but on private grounds.
He cannot pardon us his political extinction, nor
do we much wonder at it. But why should the
French Press submit to be made the tool of M.
MIER Why should it echo insults dictated by
the wounded self-love of an incompetent states-
man, or rather of a disappointed political adven-
turer? Are two great nations to cut. each other's
throats to appease the vengeance ofan individual
who has already attained an eminence so dispro-
portioned to his talents and his public services ?
If so, the reign of justice and common sense has
not yet commenced in the world.

The Overland Mail from India has arrived,
bringing most important news from Canton o.
the 19th of June, from Macao of the 20th, from
Calcutta of the 7th of August, and from Bombay
of the Ist of September. The British troops
under the command of General Sir HUGH
GOUGH and Sir HUMPHREY Li FLEMING SEN-
HOUSE,
.naving, in a series of brilliant at-
tacks, from the 21st to the 27th of May,
destroyed all the fortifications round Canton,
that city capitulated. General Sir HuGil
GOUGH calculates the loss of the Chi..ese in
the different attacks at 1,000 killed and 3,001,
wounded. The loss on the British side was 13
killed and 112 wounded, including several highly
distinguished officers. By the terms of the
capitulation, the Chinese Commissioners, with
all the troops except the natives of the province
of Quanc;tong, agreed to withdraw sixty miles
from the city ; to pay for the use of the British
Crown in consideration of sparing the city, and
independently of the opium claim, six millioss
of dollars within one week, of which five millions
have been paid; to abstain from fortifying any
place on the river before the final adjus:-
ment of the opium question; to satisfy within
one week all demands fur the plunder
of the fitctories, and the destruction of the Span-
ish brig Bilbaino in 1839. On the partial per-
formance of these terms by the Chinese, Cap-
VIM ELLIOT (whose successor, Sir H. POTTIN-
GER, had unfortunately nut arrived in China),
agreed to withdraw, and actually withdrew all
the British forces outside the Bocca Tigris—
thus neutralizing and destroying the whole
of the most desirable results of the expedition!
How keenly must the gallant officers and men
who saw themselves within an hour of a victory
which would have brought the EMPEROR upon his
knees, and eventually spared the effusion of rivers
of blood,felt the degradation ofyielding obedience
to a man so utterly incompetent to fill the office
of a Plenipotentiary as Captain ELLIOT !
" Whatever might be my sentiments," writes
the gallant General Sir H. GOUGH to Lord
AUCKLAND, " my duty was to acquiesce ;
the attack, which was to have commenced
within forty-five minutes, was counter-
manded, and the feelings of the Chinese
were spared. Of the policy of the measure Ido
not consider myself a competent judge ; but I
say feelings,' as I would have been responsible
that Canton should be equally spared, with the
exception of its defences, and that not a soldier
should have entered the town further than the
fortified heights within its walls." The Gallant
Officer here indicates the proper course, and one
which, had it been adopted, would have at once
settled the opium question.
Sir H. POTTINGER, the new Plenipotontiary,
was expected to reach Hong Kong in August.
According to a report of the instructions given
to him by Lord PALMERSTON, he is to demand
fifteen millions of dollars for the seized opium,
the whole of the expenses of the war, and the
Hong debts. The cost of the opium is
to be paid at once, the remainder in instalments
within five years, with the interest thereon at the
rate of 5 per cent. He is to negotiate with no
Mandarin who does not hold plenary powers from
the Emperor; to insist upon having a British
Envoy at Pekin, with the right of holding direct
communication with the Emperor in person ;
to demand the opening of a trade at all the prin-
cipal ports in the Chinese seas, with the right
of Great Britain to purchase land and build a
factory in each ; and, finally, to make known
to the Emperor, that England will per-
manently occupy Hong Kong, for the pro-
tection of her trade. Had Sir H. POTTINGER,
on arriving in China, found Canton garrisoned
by British troops, the work of negotiation would
be very short, and Captain ELLIOT might have
left the country with some degree of credit.
But unfortunately all that might have
been accomplished will have to be begun over
again. Nor is it possible to comprehend what
object Captain ELLIOT could have in taking
Canton and then restoring it to the Chinese,
since it appears that he had no intention of so
much as Mooting the opium question.

Of the general news brought by this mail, we
have not space here for any details, which will
be found at length in another part of The Sun.
We deeply deplore the loss which the naval
service has sustained in the death of Sir H. LE
FLEMING SENHOUSE.