The Sun.
London, England, 1856-09-20 00:00:00

LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING. SEPTEMBER 20, 1856.

THE INSURRECTION IN ChM A.

The following intelligence is pub'isbed by tb(
Augsburg Gazette, from &correspondent at iion
Kong :
The
Court Ifera,td of Pekin, a sort of Chinese Moniteur
of -irhich -the last mail has hi-Ought us a number of ex
' tract., admits that of the eighteen provinces composing th.
p,ropersmpire of China, more than half are. new scoured
by bands of 'rehols. There are the provinces Kiangai.
Kiangsu, Ngrinhooy, Hupe, Hunan, Henan; Shaptong
Ssetslmen, KuangA, Kuangtong, and Yunnan. The .leaders
of the rebellious troops, which amount to somewhere about
100,000 fighting-mon, take different titles, but .all pro-
claim their allegiance to Hienfong, the son of Heaven, and
threaten to disperse to the four, inds whatever forces the
Mandshoos and the Mandarin party may send against
' thern,by lapd.or,sea. How many of the insurgent troops
' roam'about under one banner, and how many are at. Nan
.kin' acting in concert with the pacific dynasty of the
" younger brother of Jesus Christ," cannot be positively as-
:certained, although the sectarians at the Yang-tse-kiang are
strictly distinguished in the official reports by their nick-
'name of heretic-rebels (Kiao-fi) from the other mutineers,
who destroy no idols, and who belong to one of the three
recognised religions; which are the doctrine of Confucius,
'that of the Laotse.,.and that of Buddha; and the former are
also stated to be especially dangerous.' In January of the
;present year (1£156) we find from the reports published in
the Court Herald, the main body of the rebels was still at
Nankin, at Tchinkiang, and along the entire lower course
of the Yang-tae-kiang. Their left wing extended beyond
Viridian (30 deg. 45 min. 30 sec. north,.and 2 dog. 15 min
'of Pekin); their right wing as far as Lutahao (31 deg, 56
ruin. 57 sec. north, and 0 deg. 46 min. 50 see. east of Pekin)
"in the province of Nganhoey. Numerous other hordes,
who appeared• to have nothing in common. with tha
" younger brother of Jesus Christ)", were roaming about in
thenorthern parts of theprovinces Nganhoey and Kiaugsu,
and in the north-eastern valleys of Ronan. They were
committing frightful atrocities. The western province
Ssetshuen suffered from the inroads of Thibetan tribes;
the aborigines also, called Miaotse, had risen in large num-
bers, and called themselves, as a watchword of their insur-
rection, Min; shin, that is, people of the Ming dynasty.
These aborigines of the central kingdom live, like the
Chond in the Deccan, and the Carin in Birmah, on the out-
skirts of civilisation ; by which they are driven back into
their wild mountainous retreats. We find diem mentioned
by name in the State register of the central kingdom ; and
.. . . . . .

described therein with a particular account of their customs
and habits, which are further illustrated by pictorial repre-
sentations. In the province of Ssetslinen there are 269
resident clans ; iu Kuangsi, 46 ; in Juunan, 50 ; and in
Kueitsheoo, 81. A strong division of this interesting
_

primitive population, which still perhaps lives as the
habitants of the central kingdom did before the times
of Yao and Shun, has long been acting with the rulers
of Nankin. The 'Court Herald distinguishes them
likewise from the other Miaotse by the appellation of
Kiao-fi heretical rebels. Other insurgents and hordes of
banditti infested the• eastern provinces of Shantong and
Ronan ; oven the province of Petshili, in which Pekin is
situate, was visited occasionally by armed bans, who stop-
ped and plundered the officials and professors on their way
to court. At Yunnan, not far from the south western
frontier of the empire, the Hoei had taken up arms, declar-
ing it was impossible to support any longer the oppression
)f the Mandarins. This lamentable state of things in the
empire had become considerably worse in the course of the
mouths of February, March, and April. The surging
waves of revolution mounted higher and higher. "At
the confines of the provinces of Henan and Nganhoei," so
we translate a passage of the report sent in to the minister
of scoot police at Pekin, and which is printed in the
Court Herald of April, 1836, "fresh bands of rebels have

appeared. They roceived reinforcements from the south,

particularly from the bands driven out of Kuangtong ;

and hereupon they raised their peculiar banner, which
displays five different colours, and their leaders pro-
claimed themselves to be kings (Wang), and instituted a
kindof government. The imperial troops hwe repeatedly
attacked these usurpers, and have been as often defeated.
The authorities have been massacred and the people sub-
jected to every kind of atrocity. From Nge.nhoei in a

westerly direction to Honan is a circuit of 6) geographical

miles, these rebels lord it over the whole country. Every
village has been reduced to ashes, and corpses lie sea: tered
about in all directions. The recruiting officers of the in-

surgopty traverse the land with their standards, and call
the multitude to arms, so that the force of these robels
alone is now more than 100,003 strong. The troops placed
under the orders of the provincial authorities can hardly
amount to one-fifth of that force. Under such circum-
stances it is an easy thing for the insurgents to play the
master everywhere. Unfortunately, also, the waters of
the Yellow River have caused great damage, whereby
many men have lost their homes and all the property they
possessed. lu utter despair thesejoin tho ranks of the rebels,

;IA scour the country in every direction." There wa3

good deal of fighting in the neighbourhood of Nankin and
Tshinkiang during the ihontlis of May and June. Tho Tai
Ping remained victors, the Imperialists were compelled to

raise tho siege, and their enemies now make incursions as
far as the district immediately round Shanghai. The suc-

cess of the robber hordes and rebels was no lesa decisive

in several of the eastern and western provinces, but tha

details of these enwements would lead us too far, and

would be of little interest to the European resider. It

important that the Mandshoos are now themselves con-
vinced of their inability to subdue these increasing fore
of the rebels by means of the regular army. A deJr.-e of
the Emperor Hienfong, of March 25, calls to arms all th)

males of the Mongol clans who dwell south of the Gibi

desert, which thus are named by the Chinese, the Inner
Mongols. The chiefs of these ckns aro to hasten rapidly

to the aEsistance of their liege lord, who is now so dis-
tressed at Pekin, and who amongst his other titles is also
the Chakan of all the Mongols. These chiefs are to bring
with them the whole of their retainers. Respecting the

numbers and available strength of these Mongols the Chi-
nese Government has, for the last 43 years, published no
statistical data. The last registers appeared in the ye:►r
ISI2. In these tho Mongols subject to the " most pure

dynasty" were classified in 47 clans, who again are subdi-
vided into 110 banners or military divisions. These are
the 21 Aimak or clans of the Inner Mongols south of the
Gobi desert, or shamo ; the six clans of the Outer Or
Chalks. Mongols north of the desert, the 5 clans of Koko-
nor, or Blue Lake, and the remaining 12 oleos scattered
over various parts. The men capable of bearing arms in
all three Mongolian tribes subject to the Mandshoo dynasty
were then emtimated at 274,2 5.
The situation of affairs again seems very threatening in
the province of Kwantong. The Hong Kong p &pars can
give us direct and reliable news from that quarter ; but
movements in the other part of the empire are only known
by vague reports, or else by the Pekin Gazette, which con-
ceals the truth, at least in part. It not unfrequently
happens that whole crowds of Chinese leave their places of
abode, for this or that reason, and settle in other districts,
where they take plots of ground on lease for several years.
These leaseholders, provided they pay the ground-rent
punetwdly according to their agreement, cannot legally be
ejected. They are frequently, nevertheless, sent adrift by
their greedy landlords, which is a constant source of quar-
rels between the Punti, or natives, and the settlers, called
Kikia in High Chinese, but Hakkas in the Canton dialect.
The entire north-western part of the province of Canton is
now a scene of the most bloody disorders, just as Ireland
was a few years ago, between the Punti and the II ikkas.
A friend of ours (says the China Mai' of July 10), who
visited the western coast a short time ago, found whole ditr.
tricts in the hands of rebellious Hakkas. The atrocities pet -

petrated by these people surpass all belief ; children and
women above 30 years of age are collected in numbers and

crammed into houses, which are then set fire to ; the
younger won-ion and girls they carry off as captives. The
females of these ferocious combatants, hardened by a life
of exposure iu the fields, take a very active part in
these frightful scenes. Eye-witnesses state that they are
far more cruel than the man. In the province of Kuangsl,
which has been many years in a disordered state, and frog►
which Hong Siutsiuen marched out to conquer the empire,
the rebellion has raised its head higher than ever. There

the Imperialists have lost several battles. The fugitives,
on reaching Canton, gave out that the rebels were i❑ hot
pursuit, and would shortly appear before the gates of this
provincial capital; but these reports wore exaggerated. I
Several functionaries of high rank in various provinces
have committed suicide in despair, because they felt their
inability to check and put a stop to these frequent con-
flicts and horrors, which •.w'e are here only superficially
alludiug to. Trade is at a stand at shanghai, according
to letters from the merchants, who are afraid lest the
place should agiiin be taken possession of by the insurgents
The roads in the surrounding country are so unsafe, that
the new silk and the tea of this year are brought to mar-
ket only very scantily. °pilaw has fallen in price, partly
on account of the increasing growth of the poppy in China
itself, on which subject a memoir by Dr. MacGowan was
read at the last meeting of the Asiatic Society, on the 18th
of June. These circumstances excite in the minds of the
English in three different quarters an uncomfortable and
►uxious feeling. This feeling is entertained, firstly, by
the rulers of India, who derive large profits from the ox
portation of the opium poison, and to whom it is especially
important now when their budget is sufleriog from a de
icit—which deficit, by the bye, has been considerable of
t;tto years, not because the Anglo-Indian empire flourishes
less, but because its sagacious rulers are laying out large
sums on public works, which can only yield a return
.chew they shall have been completed. In the financial
year of 1853.1854 this deficit amounted to 2,044,1171.,
..nd in the following year to 1,708,627/. sterling. The

President of the Board of Control,
,in other words, the
Indian Minister, gave his estimate of the ddeit for
the two years (1855-56 to 1856.57) as 3,209,7421., which
sum, to all appearance, will yet fall below the mark.
Again, the Eugdsh merchants complain of the diminished
demand fol. their goods iu China, and are apprehensive of
ultimately losing wholly some branches of their trade, the
loss having already commenced on the articles consumed
ny smokers. The Russians also, who for some sears 'past
have not been able t', obtain rernotterative pekes for the-
'tura they'seut to the Shanghai market, now forward them
to New York, where the sale is profitable. Consequently
lin that, the second commercial capital of the world,
everal wealthy houses have joined to acquire a mono•
poly of the fur trade. If the Htu'son's Bay Company b
nclined, as is reported, to sill 'a part of their rights to
he Union, the plan of theae. speculating Americans at
Neu York may easily be carried out. It is to this object
we must refer an act of the last Congress at Washingtob,
whereby the executive is empowered to obtain a correct
settlement of the boundary line between England and
North America, agreeably to the first article in the Ore- '
gon. treaty of 1816. Lastly, the English bankers corn
plain of the continued efflux of the precious metals, both
coinage and bullion, to the East Indios and to China
In the first half-year of 1856 this-drain to Malta, Egypt,
India, and China, • amounted 'to 5,100,6331., of which
only 201,7251. was in gold, the whole sum being an excess
bf 2,586,6271. over the first half-year Of 1855.
,The export-
ation iu the second half-year seems, however, to be still
greater. By the last mail alone (Sept. 4) there wits sent
from England, and on Englisla.acconnt, 835,4001., of which
only 26,803/. was in gold, the rest in dollars, to the 'East,
for China—a fact very naturally to be explained by the
high rato of exchange. If they reckon the dollar in Canton
at 35., this is nearly two florins of convention money. The
so-called Carolers dollar stood so high at Shanghai iu the
beginning of June that the East India Company, for bills on
India, demanded 355 rupees per 100 dohs., equal to about
446 tflorins of our currency, At Canton, where dealings are
always made in common dollars; the discount was 32 per
cent. All these disadvantages are, rightly enough, partly
ascribed in England and America to the endless confusion
in the East. The attentive observer who has any know- '
ledge of the sabject must long have perceived an uneasy
tone prevailing in the leading public organs of these
two great commercial nations, sometimes ou the question
of the Montshoo dynasty and its mandarins, sometimes
on that of the rebels and the so-called pirates. They would
fain mix themselves up with those deeds of utter rout and
I infusion, not for the sake of humanity—that is a mere
`pretext—but for their own advantage. This interference
would have taken place long ago, if they had not been re-
strained on either side of the Atlantic by their awful appre-
hension of the incalculable results of such an act. But
here too, circumstances, or natural laws, will gain the
victory over man's will, and drag the irresolute violently
along. The Chinese, now that their empire stands wish
one foot in the moving current of the world, henceforth
cannot obtain peace from within, as they formerly did so
often. The Anglo-Saxons must and will interfere ; that
is clear. How and when they do so will depend on events,
perhaps on trivial eventualities.

COLLISION ON THE STOUR VALLEY _RAILWAY.

.A frightful collision between an express train on this
line of railway and a goods train occurred near the Old-
bury station, Worcestershire, on Wednesday night. The
down express train, due at Olbury and Bromfield-lace
station shortly after half-past 8 oVock on Wednesday
night, was proceeding at a rapid pace towards the
sta-
tion, when within 600 yards of it it ran into an engine
engaged in shunting a goods train on the main line of
rails. The collision was tearful; both engines were thrown
off the line, the buffer plank and other parts of the en
gine torn to pieces, and several passenger carriages and
goods trucks were also smashed, the rails themselves
beiug partially turn up. The passenger train consisted of
three carriages, and the number of passengers did not ex-
ceed 20. All were more or less injured, and some, it is
feared, fatally; but up to the time of the reporter's writing
no.deliths had taken place. T:l3 driver of the passe .•
ger train, seeing a et dilsion was unavoidable, jumped
from his engine and received some very severe injuries,
and is in a critical condition. The stoker of the pas-
senger engine, however, and also the driver and stoker of
the goods engine stuck to their posts, and escaped with a
few bruises. The cries of the injured passengers were
Larful, but all were removed and surgical assistance
was afforded as promptly as possible. The following is
a list of the injured :
J. Balton. driver of r he passenger train, laeoratedwegt
coo tused wound Over ,lus•-• and Itlt eye, with other
minor injuries, and genera! shock to the system.

Mrs. Turner, of •Kates.llll, Dudley, cangercusly in•
jur d, cmcus,ion ut the brain, contused and lacerated
wou,ds on the face, neck, and shoulders.

Mr. ►lxrrisuu, merchant, Dudley, severe injury of the
ch st, but whether any ribs are brAen is nut yet asder-

,ained.

Sarah Sherlock, servant, Dudley, injury of the left
leg and both knees ; depression ft otn fright and concus•
ion.

Mrs. Hughes, innkeeper, Kingswinford, kneecap
broken and other it jurie
Betsy L!eweilyn, aged 12 years,- of Kates-hill, Dud•
ley, euneusbion.

-W. Steel, glass-cutter, Brettel-lane, severe injury of
the shoulder.

Mr. J. Dew, commercial traveller, Wahall, extensive
contusion of the right leg.
Mr. T. Bray, traveller, Birminghain, severe contusion
of the right leg► and knee.
Mr. W. Lovett, Dock, Dudley, dislocated shoulder.
Mr. S. Higgins, of Netherton ; Mr. J. Granger, of
Netherton ; and Mr. H. Brtudley, of Wolverhamptoc,
were also much shaken and bruised.

Two surgeons, dr. Beatty and Mr. Cowper, - were
prikuiptly on the spot, and ren lered valuable assista,ice
and advice to the sufferers, who were conveyed to the
Oldbury station, where every requisite accommodation
wac provided by Mr. Beswick, the station-ma-ter.
Mr. Turner and S..rah Sherlock were convepwi to
the Boat Inn near, and the passengers resident at
Dudley and Netherton were conveyed thither by a spe-
cial train. Assistance being obtained the line was soon
&tued and the traffic resumed.
The cause of tae accident is traceable to the ras'iness
of the parties who permitted the goods train to get upon
the line at the moment when the express was due. It,
appears that a down Dudley train was due at Oldbury
at S 20, and passed in proper tone, at§ 20. Immediately
afterwards, although there were only 12 minutes to
spare, the down express being due at 8 32 the tngine of
the goods train with a long train of 20 or 30 trucks left
the siding, and got on, the down line. Along this line
the engineer backed his train in order to get on the up
line at Oldbury. The goods train had just left the siding,
and the engine was endeavouring to back the trucks,
which was a difficult task, owing to the slipperiness of
the rails from a fall of rain, when the express train came
up and dashed into the go ids train with a fearful crash.
It appears that the danger signals were heisted to warn
the approaching express train iif the obstacle, but it is
said that the engine-driver (Bolton) did not perceive
them until too late to avoid a collision.
The officials, I f cour-e, will institute an inquiry, for
the accident will c telr the company no inconsnierab!e
stun in compemation to parties injured and in damage
to the line and rolling stock. It is almost feared that
an official inquiry of another character wict result, two
cr three of the passengers being in a very critical state

WHAT A DOG DOES WITH HIS TAIL —What an absur 1
as well as barbarous act to cut otf a dog's tail ; you
might jast as well cut out his tongue. In fact, a dog
`talks far less with his tongue than h does with his tail.
With hls tail a dog expresses not only gratitude, as FA°
did, but h ire, entreaty, complacence, aff,ction, love,
obedience, wrath, shame, defiance, fear, and frolic. It
is clear, then, that in depriving a dog of his tail, you
deprive him of an organ of speech.—Blackwood for
September.
GROSS CASE OF CRUELTY.--At the Devon County
Sessions, on Thursday, before Sir John Duckworth,
Ba! t., chairman, the wife of a respectable farmer, named
Grills, re..iding near Slapton, in the south of D :V WI,
was charged with assaulting and ill-treating her vervact
UMW d Fanny Square Keys, an intelligent c ills, 14
years of age. -Mr Byre was counsel for the prosecution,
and Mr. Carter defended the prisoner. It appeared that
the girl Keys bad been a pauper in the Kingshridge
union, whence the prisoLer took her as her servant. She
had " to tend the , pigs and calves and to look after a
little child." At tke beginning of hay harvest the pri
soner knocked the poor child's area with a large stick
and broke one of the bones ; and on one occa-ion, be-
cause she put some parings of leeks into the fire, that
being an unlucky thing to do, according to the prisoner's
opinion, Mrs. Grills took the saucepan from the fire and
eat the child on the hot irons upon which the saucepan
had rested. scalding her so severe'y that the skin was
broken.. On another occasion, because she did not do
something that she was told, the prisoner made her ex-
tend her hand and inflicted several blows upon it with
the fist p!irt of a knife, but while dining so the edge of
the instrument struck three of her fiogers and cut them
severely. About the seine time the prisoner beat her
over the lead with a large stick, which caused her head
to swell very much ; after that she took the poor girl
into the dairy, knocked her legs and pulled her hair, and
when she cried out the prisoner thrust her hand into her
mouth and scratched her gums so as to make them bleed.
She had continually beaten the girl on the head and
shoulders in the most brutal manner, and when the re-
lieving-officer came one day she told him, by the priso•
ner's orders, that she was very well treated and liked
her place, but she said she did this because she was so
much afraid of her mistress. Ono of the witnesses for
the prosecution, being a friend of the prisoner's, refused
, to give evidence, and a fine of 5/. was inflicted on her.
The evidence of the girl was corroborated by several
witnesses, and the defence was that she was a dirty, slat-
ternly girl, and that she had nut been chastised so se-
ver,ly as alleged. The jury, however, found the prise•
ner guilty, and she was sentenced to six months' Wiwi.
sonment,