The Sun.
London, England, 1860-01-13 00:00:00

CHINA.

The following is from the China Mail of Nov,
30 :

The London mail of the 27th September arrived
here on the 16th inst., and that of the 10th Octo-
ber arrived yesterday.
The monstrous inventions which appear in the
English papers in regard to the reception of the
American Minister at Pekin will serve to convince
the English public as to how they are being im-
posed upon in regard to Chinese matters.
Nothing has occured during the fortnight affect-
ing relationships with the Chinese, except that the
new American treaty came into force on the 24th
inst., having been signed at Tien-tsin on the 18th of
June, 1838, and ratified at Pehtang on the 16th of
August last. It reduces the tonnage duties on Ame-
rican vessels, and provides that citizens of the
United States detected smuggling shall be liable to
be handed over to the Chinese authorities, and shall
receive no countenance or protection from those of
their own country. Another clause of the treaty
opens the ports of Taiwan in Formosa and Swatow
to American commerce, but it does not come in
force until the lst of January, 1860.
From the Pekin Gazette it appears the bank-
ing system of the metropolis had been put under
special regulations. The banks had been issuing
paper in excess, and much misery had been caused
by the sudden disappearance of bankers after issuing
notes in large numbers. Kweiliang, the Prime
Minister, continued in bad health, and had applied
for an extension of leave from his public duties.
The rice crop of this season has not fulfilled the
expectations formed of it. In fact, the deficiency is
considerable, and will be the more felt as this year's
first crop was also defective. Prices have risen, and
the failure is believed to extend over all the south
of China and even to Siam.

The scheme of family emigration to the British
West Indies continues to meet with gratifying
success, and the ship Whirlwind is to start in a few
days for British Guiana with the first batch of emi-
grants, among whom are a number of women and
children. Mr. Austin has established an office for the
reception of emigrants in the western suburbs of
Canton, and has raised matsheds for the same pur-
pose on Morison Hill, in Hong-Kong. A terrible
occurrence connected with this traffic has been the
wreck of the American ship Flora Temple, bound
for Havannah, with 850 coolies on board, all of
whom were lost.
It was at first alleged that the Anglo-Chinese
Customs service could not prevent smuggling at
Canton, owing to the intricacies of the Canton water
communication, but now the complaint is that
it is carrying out its object too severely. The
other day it seized the Portuguese steamer Sham-
rock, when that vessel was receiving smuggled
silks at Kow-lcong. The outcry which had been
raised here against this seizure, the comparison
of it to the Arrow case, and the assertion that
the Portuguese Government may take up the
seizure as a &:sus belli, only shows wilful
ignorance. Even England cannot object to the
seizure of her vessels engaged in trade at other than
the five poi ts, for Art. IV. of the supplementary
treaty expressly provides that when merchant ves-
sels repair to any other ports and places " the
Chinese Government officers shall be at liberty to
seize and confiscate both vessels and cargoes." But
Portugal has no treaty with China, and only a local
convention between the Governor of Macao and
that of Twangtung, so that she has not the remotest
claim to resist any regulations of trade which the
Chinese authorities make. In 1836 Adriao, the Go-
vernor of Macao, wished to go to Pekin and make a

treaty with China, but he could not do so. It is un-
derstood that the present Governor, Guimaraens, has
received instructions to form a treaty if possible ;
but as matters stand at present, the Portuguese
cannot resist the revenue laws of China, and would
be checked by England and France if they tried to
do so.

In regard to local matters, we regret to have to
mention that the Government still persists in carry-
ing out a ridiculous and cruel policy in regard to
Mr. Tarrant, editor of the late Friend of China, who
was condemned to a year's imprisonment for a libel
on Colonel Caine ; for though they have apparently
made some amelioration of his condition by sepa-
rating him from other misdemeanants, they still
continue to treat him as a common criminal, and in
a manner unprecedented in England as a punish-
ment for libel since the time of Daniel Defoe. We
are glad to learn that, to the honour of Col. Caine
himself, the Chinese merchants of Hong-Kong pro-
pose to send home by this mail a testimonial, in
the shape of a solid silver looking-glass, with an
inscription on it to the effect that it is presented to
him by the Chinese mercantile community. As
Colonel Caine has altogether ceased to have any
connection with the colony, this testimonial is of
all the more value.

Much local irritation has been caused by an
indiscreet attempt on the part of the garrison 10
discriminate between society and non-society in in-
viting subscribers to their theatres. The exclusion
of Parsees in particular, and in opposition to the
remonstrances of the heads of families, was an
absurd step, as yet only partially corrected.