The Sun.
London, England, 1860-11-06 00:00:00

THE WAR IN CHINA.

The Government has made haste to publish such
part of the despatches from the Peiho as they think
fit to be generally known. So far as the military
and naval achievements are concerned, they are
most satisfactory. The most perfect harmony
reigns throughout the expedition. Sir Hope
Grant and General De Montauban are like brothers
in command ; Sir Hope is eager to report "how
cordially and sincerely our French allies have co-
operated with us, and what admiration he feels for
their gallant conduct in the field." He is also for-
ward to testify " what a valuable and efficient col-
league he has found in Admiral Hope." Every-
thing is under the happiest auspices, and the official
seal is now set to our correspondent's more interest-
ing detail of the events. Our Sikh horsemen have
proved their superiority over the Tartars, and our
gga gunsnitauesnb
euan
ilwahyarakivnee
nt peh
againstdra ot
p-toewadtrhhtt
oehomeffai rtebhtsoeutwphwseaor iatrnlohddre.i ty over
kedAveorea_mirliywns
tt-ihrstioihnnn
ar hasano
wgto:
and gingalls are of no avail. One lesson, the bat-
tering down of one fort has been sufficient. China
lies open before us. The tactics of Montauban would
have placed the Tartar army between the European
bayonets and the muddy sea; the more merciful
strategy of Sir Hope Grant left the country open to
their flight; but for the Tartar Prince and his
a: - " nilder lesson has been enough. They are
in panic. Those great fortifications an
ooutu side fell without a blow, the impediments
in the river have been removed in a single night,
the great fortifications at Tientsin have been
evacuated while the European troops were yet at; a
distance, Sang-ko-lin•sin that redoubted hero, b.as
galloped right away without awaiting the explosi on
of a single Armstrong shell, and, avoiding Tic m-
has gained Pekin with a hundred followe re.
There is no further defence, and thereis:tio furtl zer . i
hope, for the Chinese Government n milittmy
force. The people, as usual, directly the Mtrt•
darins are chased away, throng about us in, nt,l4-
titudes, driving their oxen and sheep into our
camp, showing full confidence, and eager to trade.
The roads are so good that our cavalry galloped, on
to Tien-tsin as quickly as the gunboats could std am
up the river. Thence to Tungchow is 90 miles,
but with navigable rivers and with broad hi,gh-
ways. "In Chih-li," says De Guignes, " the la Kids
are broad and shady and very dusty," and it is but
a promenade to Tungchow, whence that broad,' 12
miles long avenue, with its marble bridge, so cele-
brated by Macartney, conducts direct to Pekin.
Will the Tartars muster for a last fight under the
walls ? It is not very likely. Sang-ko-lin-sin, if
he would not fight the South Forts or the Tien-t tin
intrenchments, must have his love of fighting; quite
knocked out of him. General Grant and Admiral
Hope have a force that can go anywhere and do
anything, and all China lies flat before them, w ith
unimpeded rivers and broad highways, with a
ling people and an utterly disorganised enemy,
China, then, is humbled ? Not so. Everything
is subdued, " preeter atrocem animual Catonis. ' Th o
old Mandarin spirit at Pekin is as obstinate as, ever.
What care the Mandarins at the capital for a fee??
hundred people killed down the sea coast ? Tht y
are in the habit of hearing daily of first-class citi. es
being utterly depopulated by the Tai-pings, and it
never moves their minds. The soldiers may hay e
lost heart, but they have other resources. Theyr
have read our House of Commons debates, and they-
know that this army will never come up to them..
They are sure that they have only to do what they-
did two years ago, and that army will melt away,.
and then they will have got rid of all their trouble,
for another two years. They have only got to.
" sign anything," as the Viceroy offered to do the,
other day when threatened with a recommencement
of the bombardment, and they will at once be,
freed of all these importunate barbarians. They
are a little astonished, no doubt, to find that we
really are, as they say in their intercepted despatches,.
such astounding fools as to say beforehand what ,
we are going to do ; but they are not about them-
selves to do violence to all Asiatic traditions by-
following our example. After we had broken into
their intrenched camp, and on the very afternoon
of the morning on which we had stormed the
Peiho Fert, the truthful Mandarins had placarded
Tientsin with the news that the Barbarians had
been utterly beaten, and were then suing for peace.
That somewhat forced interpretation of recent
events was undoubtedly favoured in some degree by
the alacrity with which Mr. Harry Parkes hurries
off, whenever he sees a bit of white handkerchief upon
the end of a bamboo, to know what it means, and
whether there is anybody inside who really wishes
to er.at. 24,7.4.4 quite without, encouragement from
these rather impolitic manifestations of an im-
patience to be again cajoled, the Mandarins drop
again into their own free and easy style. They
are glad to find that the war is at an end; they
beg Lord Elgin not to bring many war ships up
to Tien-tsin, lest he should alarm the people. They
assure him that the Emperor has commissioned a.
public officer to meet him on his arrival at Pekin,
and to discuss matters with him,—all the old moves
of which the Chinese diplomatic game consists are
being played off calmly and sedately, just as if
there was not a British or a French soldier on the
soil of China. No doubt, Pekin has long since been
placarded with most glorious victories, and if Lord.
Elgin should visit that capital with his escort of
horse, he will pass in, as Lord Macartney, who also
had an escort of English soldiers, passed in, to the
tune of " Subjugation consummated," or, " See the
slave of China comes." Confident as these Man-
darins are in the weakness of Europeans in matters
of diplomacy, they have not even now surrendered.
one point, or even condescended to make reference
to the demands made in our ultimatum. Their
real, unbroken obstinacy appears at this moment,
as usual, admirable in their acts. The Viceroy,
when he signed a capitulation, intimated plainly
that he was signing his own degradation, and
Sangsko-lin-sin no sooner arrives in Pekin than
he has his peacock's feather taken from him, and
is dismissed from every post of honour. The
Mandarins pursue their own policy, and ruin every
one who yields a step, even to force, and yet Lord
Elgin expects they will do themselves what they
punish in others. Lord Elgin, however, accord-
ingt
to these despatches, sees in all thisproof
the Emperor of China " desires peace," and that
a
" his reluctance to concede all that Lord Elgin is
t
instructed to demand will be surmounted in good
time."
with the conduct of ourdin
inthe fretful acti-
vity of Mr. Parkes, executing,
W e confess ourselves to be utterly
this affair,
diplomacy so
far as it has yet been indicate
of course, the orders
tsis onfotdetshpuastethheast
of his chiefs, and by the ftreadgnelnt
to which we are w
but in order to
a permanent peacene istrteoa be obtaienienhdaNaw,remitahs:China.
i a
gn hott ion;
as we. .
punish a perfidy
oWrdeerwetnot tbot a Chinan
treatythuisl strongone, talrlofonnwge,
manly honour in our policy, we went there to in-
flict punishment, not upon e wretched soldiery
whom we found defending theth mudbanks upon tho
seacoast, nor upon the poor trembling underlings
who in their duplicity were but obeying the orders
they had received from their superiors, and who
were acting under fear of immediate ruin • we
went there to strike at the directing 'head in which'
the treachery from which we suffereid was planned,
and to humiliate in the face of the, empire the go-
vernment which had
perfidiously shed the blood of
our countrymen. To this end tiaere was but one
proper course, and that course was to refuse to
accept again promises which had already proved
so worthless ; sternly to refuse, instead of eager. to
solicit all overtures for peace until the avenging
army had reached the walls of Pain, and there to
exact the most public apologies for the breach of
faith publicly committed, and public assurances
that the Treaty of Tien-tsin should be faithfully
fulfilled. This, with the smart of the payment of
the ellpenses of the war—which in no other way
will ever be obtained—would be. at once humane,
honourable, and effective. Such. a signal humilia-
tion would be felt to the utter most ends of the
great empire. It could not be explained away or
falsified, and all China would come to know
thats
the Emperor himself had. no choice in this
matter, and that the only safe policy w keep
as to
o_en
faith with foreigners. That course rbsehynd
to Lord Elgin. He had an army and a
him which could carry him from OTlOfeonrfide
his work,
to the other. He had plenty of 1.5123, in
in
October,
for when Lord Macartney quitted. rte:
be pleasantly
the weather had only just begun
We can but
cool. Will he use his opportunity
hope
will this expedi-
of China
hoy:,e he may. But what honour
in the battering
ti,an bring if it should
i:etnesults only in a ratifica-
tion a Chinese fortification
this embassy secure,_if,ien. Pel What advantage will
What greater value can be a
tsin ? The treaty itself
tion of the Treatyoell
has been broken; f
orma granted to an ambas-
sadornot be subjected to any
ra t ratification
who
on condescendingly
of a
indignities or delays ? What success
amount
can be deserved, by an ambassaad. insolentorwho enemyshould,
andche
who should
up as a suppliant
should willingly lto n
ease :behind him the
-
array which ought to be around him to give weight
sto his mission, and to impress upon the people of
Pekin his country's power ? If Lord Elgin has
really acted thus, he is as inveterate tt Chinaman as
old Yoh himself,—Times.