The Sun.
London, England, 1860-12-15 00:00:00

"In the afternoon yesterday, a party of French
ng
went through the apartments with sticks, breaking
everything that remained --mirrors, screens,
panels, &c. It is said that they did so la revenge
for the barbarous treatment 1 he released prisoners,
their countrymen, had received.
"A treasury containing a large quantity of geld
ianngdot
issatnod
hs ye c ee
divided silver
betweenis under cthhaer gEEnglish e of
l a
and guard,
French.
"The total value of property destroyed would
amount to a large instalment of .the indemnity

claimed,
" In one of the ante-rooms of the state bed-room
at the Summer Palace the treaty of Tien-tsin in
English and Chinese, signed by Lord Elgin, was
found. It has been thrown on the ground by some
one, and lay in the heap of broken articles, till the
English paper evidently attracted the eye of the
fo
up:toioono curiosities of
dollars, taking
person who discovered it.
"A general order from the British commander- •
in-chief desired that all articles taken by officers
and men were to be sent •, in ler sale by,, public
auction for the benefit of theirmy; which was d0ne".k,;,,,.
All were permitted to have the articles they had
brought away for themselves valued, and have the
them.t
ph
ruiMsz
eoa
bnuityao
ibnneeeyaduotani
t-
aisnd
ot ro r
be
souvenirsejet
dividedi n rejecting
were
er
as
es
a nominal price. The sale realised 32,000 dollars,
6wlhich, with the value of the treasure, estimated at
the spot.

" Much dissatisfation has been expressed at the
decision of the commander-in-chief that only those
of the troops who marched from the last halting
place on the 6th are to participate in the prize
money—all the rest, those at the depot at Tung-
chow and elsewhere, being excluded.
The commander-in-chief and general officers
have waived their right to share. A gold jug of
great value was presented to the commander-in-
chief by the army. Nearly all the articles were
sold at very high prices, large enamelled and in-
laid vases and ornaments realising full shanghae
prices for such articles, the fact of their having
been the property of Hien Fung adding an imagi—
nary value to everything. The scene where the
sale was held in the temple Lamasiri, occupied by
head-quarters, was worthy of the pencil of an
artist. Had his Imperial Majesty handed over the
whole of the contents of that palace, uninjured, it
would have been sold for an enormous amount,
more than three-fourths having been destroyed or
taken by the French.
" All round the vicinity of the palace are large
enclosures, parks, or cemeteries, with trees of some
magnitude ; and many stone bridges over nullahs,
the country being very dry at present. Bro..nelsing
off from the palace are several paved roads, and
just outside of it is the French camp, by the side of
two large lotus ponds. It is reported that they are
to leave that place to-day, and take up a position
on our left. They wish to take the west gate of
the city, which is the only one left open, but it is
objected to, as the Emperor's brother, the Prince
Hung, would not be able to enter the city should
he be induced to return from the country, to which,
it is said, he has fled. We propose to take one of
the gates on the north side near to this camp, and
shall do so as soon as the siege guns, which have
been ordered up, arrive. I have not learnt what
is then to be done. It is supposed the army will
not enter Pekin in any case, but that the officers
will be allowed to do so with a pass. The utter de-
struction of the interior of the Summer Palace,
where, be it remembered, Lord Amherst, as ambas-
sador from England, was insulted, is but small
punishment for the Emperor's contumacy and
the treatment of the prisoners who were captured
whilst on a peaceful mission ; yet the:like visitation
being inflicted on the palace of Pekin might be im-
politic, though deserved. That would not only
detroy the present Government, but prevent the
organisation of a new one under our protection,
should it be desirable to do so.

" The prompt release of the prisoners on our near
approach to Pekin proves that only a firm policy
can succeed with this Government. It is to be hoped
that the same will be persisted in, and that no
terms short of our demand will be accepted. Whe-
ther we shall treat before the rest of the prisoners
are released is not made known. If San-kolinsin
remain obdurate, notwithstanding the defeat of his
army at all points, we may have to do so, or the
end will never come.
" At sunrise of the morning after we arrived here
a salute of 21 guns was fired by the artillery to
announce our positions to the prisoners, and to our
cavalry and artillery, which had crossed our trait.
and gone on to the Summer Palace, expecting to
find the army there.
" The Emperor is reported to have gone to his
palace, Zehol, in Tartary, where Lord Macartney
was received. He has 13 wives with him.
P.S. The siege guns have arrived, and I believe
the gate will be summoned to-morrow. There is a
report that a part of the Summer Palace is on fire.
The buildings are many and detached, yet I think
it very probable they will be destroyed, thefeelinogf
being so strong against the Chinese on account
the barbarous treatment of the prisoners.
The following is a separate account of the affair
at the palace :
brigade of cavalry, advanced .
~ The French column, together
on
ebrys witheriureNe_nCke
..diomnl
n." Pnea a isltaut
rltegehn'
es:
French entered
the English column rathuesr.beenTnehareo
body of the enemy having
two officers being wounded
TNNiiltlahgoennlyowtwoocccauspuiaeldtibeys,
by the eunuchs of the palace. The following day,
no signs of the French being visible, the Englishterin
fired 21 guns to attract attention,and later
the morning the commander-in-chief learned where
they were. Lord Elgin, Mr. Wade, Sir H. Grant,
Sir It. Napier, and their respective staffs, proceeded
to the palace, and found the French had been com-
fortably established there, and that a great portion
of the principal valuables had been already taken
away, leaving the heavy but less valuable articles
for the English, or at least what things the French
could not carry they left for us. No description
can give an idea of the splendour of this residence.
The entrance or receptionhall is paved with marble,
and painted with gold, azure, and scarlet in the
most gorgeous style. The throne of the Emperor
is of beautiful carved dark wood, and the cushions,
embroidered with gold dragons, attracted general
admiration ; every inner chamber and saloon was
very handsomely fitted
i len
satin, and crape, all of spd
nigied cummerbunds and p
up,
.an..
wth,e rolls
.of silk,
d orkmansbip, fur,
uggarees for the French
dopted our custom in
soldiers, who appearJ
astvoenae and china were of
this respect. Ihe
-.
somea
great value, an
have delighted theof
would
Quatorze
and a presentation. sword, with the
tdoeh
CUT arms, studded with gems, and evi-
dently coat o. f
rise to
antiquity,.,. gave rise some speculation.
English
;
offtreaty o. t lien-tsin was also found, and the
immense quantity of loot of all kinds made it
possible to know what to take away.
Td ehne t
jestl oi m
Some idea idea of the quantity of silk may be given by
the fact that fowls, old pots, &c., were wrapped in
the most costly silks and satins. All the ladies had •
disappeared, but their little Japanese dogs, some-
thing resembling a King Charles spaniel, were
running about in a distracted state. Mr. Wade
secured some valuable books and papers, some we
believe for the British Museum. The Emperor had
left the day before, but his destination is, we believe,
unknown. It is said that a panic took place amongst
the French, and that they evacuated the palace,
returning, however, when the alarm subsided. One
thins is certain.—our allies took rare of themselves."