The Sun.
London, England, 1860-11-14 00:00:00

THE, ALLIED ARMIES IN

CHINA.

(From the Special Correspondent of the Times.)
TIEN-TSIN, SEPT. 9.
he allied armies are in full march on Pekin,
whit re they will afford a lesson to the effete and
faithless clique of Mandarins who direct the policy
of t his empire. There, and there alone, can this
less on be taught, for the Imperial Cabinet has
during the past fort•sight added another to the
mat ly proofs already given of its utter falsehood
and treachery. _ _

-V V.hett Lord Elrsin and Baron Gros arrived at
Tit In-tsin they w ere informed that Kweiliang, Se-
cret ary of Stays, who negotiated the Treaty of
185'3, was appointed Imperial Commissioner, and
con sing down from Pekin with the fullest powers
ita treat. H e was to arrive on the 31st. Lord
-Elgin there open wrote that England demanded all
that was ex ntained in the ultimatum, required that
Tien-tsin tshould be opened to foreign trade, and
fixed the indemnity to be paid by the Chinese Go-
vernment at eight millions of taels—about two
millions and three quarters sterling, the Taku
Forts to be occupied until the money was paid.
Half this amount was due for the Canton indemnity,
not one farthing of which has ever been paid
to Great Britain. The remainder was on account
of the expenses of this war. The French claimed
a like amount ; but, inasmuch as their losses at
Canton. only amounted to two millions of taels,
their demand for the present war in effect
amormted to six millions of taels.

Oa the Ist inst. Kweiliang arrived, and informed
Messrs. Wade and Parkes that he and Hang-fuh
(Governor of the Province) had, as joint Commis-
sioners, the fullest powerf to conclude a treaty,
and that the Imperial seal had been intrusted to
them for the purpose. He announced his intention
of calling on Lord Elgin, but was told that the
English Ambassador could not receive him until an
answer from the Imperial Commissioners had been
returned to his letter. On the evening of the 2d
their answer arrived, containing a most unqualified
acceptance of all demands. Aconvention was pre-
pared for signature by the respective Plenipoten-
tiaries, and it was agreed that Lord Elgin and Baron
Gros should proceed to Pekin, with an escort of
2,000 men, for the purpose of ratifying the Treaty
of Tien-tsin. On the 6th, all preliminaries being
settled, Messrs. Wade and Parkes had an interview
with the Commissioners to arrange for the signa-
ture of the convention on the following day. Lord
Elgin's full powers were then produced. Kweiliang
and his colleague were invited to show their cre-
dentials. They were not sufficient. The Commis-
sioners had no power to conclude a treaty. They
must refer to Pekin. They had assumed a position
to which they were not entitled, and had been
fighting for a few days' delay. Fortunately, past
experience of Chinese duplicity and fraud had led
the allies to neglect no precautions. The army had
been marched up to Tien-tsin, with the exception of
a small garrison left in the Taku Forts. Commis-
sariat and other supplies had been accumulated, and
the day after negotiations were broken off the
advanced guard was on the road to Pekin. The
Commissioners were informed that Lord Elgin
refused to enter into any negotiations whatever, or
to receive any fresh proposals, until he arrived at
Tang-chow, 12 miles from the capital. This morning
the whole army is marching out, and will reach
Pekin in seven days. There we are informed that
Sang-ko-lin-sin is endeavouring to rally his beaten
troops, but I hardly believe they will ever meet the
allied army in the field. All the country people
state that the men who escaped from the forts were
completely panic-stricken. " What is the use," said
they, " of fighting against men whose guns carry
eight miles ?" Sang ko-lin-sin himself arrived the
night of the fight, with jaded horse and torn gar-
ments. He exchanged his coat with a villager, at
a place three miles hence, and lost no time in pro-
ceeding on his journey to Pekin. He was said to
have been degraded, but there is no certain infor-
mation on the subject.
The Emperor Hien-fuh, prematurely worn
out by debauchery, is now paying the pe-
nalty of early excesses. Confined to his bed, he
is unable to take any part in public affairs. The
management of this great empire has fallen into
the hands of four Mandarins, virtually irre-
sponsible, and exercising uncontrolled power.
Tsai-wan, a Prince of the Blood, and Grand Presi-
dent of the Imperial Court of Punishment, is said
to bz.• a man of some capacity and leader of the
clique. After him comes Twanhwa, Prince of the
Blood, and Commander-in-Chief of the Forces and
Gendarmerie in Pekin, a position which gives him
enormous power. Suhshun—brother of Twanhwa,
" a speaker at the classical feasts," is Superinten-
dent (above the President) of the Board of Reve-
nue, Captain-General of the plain white banner of
the Hanchun (Chinese enrolled and organised like
Mantchoos and Mongols), and President of the
Colonial. Office. Mien-yu, President of the Board
of Music, is the only surviving brother of the late
Emperor. These four old gentlemen, safe in what
they believe an impregnable stronghold, have com-
placently heard of towns stormed by English armies
and provinces ravaged by rebel hordes. No foreign
soldier, no hostile force, had appeared at Pekin.
Tien-twin had been the furthest point reached by
barbarian Ambassador or rebel chief. No arm was
long enough to reach them, no Power could attack
their haunt. Because in all previous wars you
have never gone to Pekin these Mandarins doubt
your power to do so. They will now he unde-
ceived, and will be taught a lesson which, in all
probability, there will be no occasion to repeat.
liweiliang's conduct in this matter is- proof posi-
tive, if any were needed, of the thorough duplicity
and mendacity of the Chinese character. Here is
the Senior Secretary of State, the first man in the
empire, calmly and quietly asserting a lie, which
he knew must be discovered in a day or two. By
fear alone can the rulers of China be taught to re-
spect their political engagements. By arms alone can
China be opened to trade. An Ambassador must
negotiate with an army by his side, ready to act at a
moment's notice. For two centuries have we traded
at Canton, and we know as much about China at
the end as at the commencement of our intercourse.
At length the opportunity has arrived, and the
Ambassadors of England and France, with the
troops ef the two nations at their backs, will under
the wells of Pekin dictate the terms of a peace
likely to „due.
There is to subject in which all England, from
her Majesty, t 0 the peasant, takes so great an in-
terest as the treatment of her sick and wounded
soldier.
On the 27th ult. I went out to the fleet,
and was occupied during the following day in visit-
ing the hospital-ships, They are four in numbers
The Mauritius, an
iron steamer of 2,134 tons, is
fitted for 212 beds,
two rows, ono above the Her
bunks are arranged in
other, an arra
open to considerable objection, ngement
can only be reached by a ill* The upper berth
which a man suffering from adder, up and down
dysentery must mount
t
and descend times innumerable. For he surgeon,
also, whose patient's limb is fractured, the fittings
of the Mauritius are most inconvenient, She could
not conveniently hold more than 160 beds, For
tunately, her capabilities were not tested to any_
thing like that number, for she only had onboard
nine officers and 56 sick and wounded. Her porta
are too small, and, were she much crowded in hot
weather, one of her wards—empty when I saw it—
wcuid be quite unfit for hospital purposes, being
close to the engine and very confined.
The Melbourne, an iron steamer of 1,300 tons,
nad 120 beds, every one of which was occupied, and
three wounded officers were in her cabins. The
Sir William Peel, a steamer of 1,500 tons had 8
officers and 74 men on board, being fitted fur 100;
and the Lancashire Witch, sailing ship of similar
burden, contained two officers and 82 men, with
accommodation for 96. The two latter ships wore
taken up and fitted out at Hong-kong with iron
beds riveted tigit into the deck. All the occupied
wards were well ventilated, and even early in the
morning were fresh and free from 'smell. But the
creme de la creme is the Lancashire Witch. There
is no engine-room to break the whole sweep of the
main deck, upwards of eight feet in height, so the
most perfect ventilation is secured.
Th° "'II were hearty and cheery. Each man had,