The Sun.
London, England, 1858-09-07 00:00:00

THE SUN', LONDON', TUEMAY EVENING, SgPTEMBEII Y, 1181,

THhi CIL INESE 7.ItZITY,

Within the last few hours we have been put in
possession of several private letters written from
the Peiho to persons in London, and these enable
us to understand in more detail the negotiations
that have taken place between the European
Powers and the Court of Pekin.

Our readers were previously inforined that on
he 4th of June two Chinese Ministers of high rank

had arrived at Tien-sin. One of these was a
Chinaman, the other a Tartar. The senior, Kwei-
Hang, is described to be about 73 years of age,
a benevolent-looking old man, not overbearing
in speech or manner, and evidently a " Soother
of Barbarians." The Tartar is a quiet Tartar,
thoughtful and- intelligent, and in the possession
of a feature unusual in a Chinaman's face—a very
large nose. One of the letters from which we quote
describes him as not unlike our Oliver Cromwell.

These people declared themselves upon their cards
to be " Plenipotentiaries," and. upon the faith of
this declaration the English and French Ministers
consented to meet them. An isolated joss-house on
the steppe south of Tien-sin was the appointed ren-
dezvous. It was arranged that Lord Elgin should
have his interview first, and then Baron Gros ; the
Russian was to come third, and the American last.
All this took place according to the programme.
On the sth of June, while the thermometer in the
sun stood at 137, Lord Elgin and his entire
suite, with not a few naval officers as spectators,
and with a guard of 150 marines, proceeded in long
procession of palanquins to the Hall of Conference.
The Chinese were civil and ceremonious, and after

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE.

TATTERSALL'S.-MONDAY,

tea and compliments Kwei-liang opened the Dun-
bar by saying that his Imperial Master had re-
ceived Lord Elgin's letter, and had, instead of an-
swering it, deputed his servants to arrange matters
speedily. Lord Elgin replied that he was glad to
see the Imperial Ministers, and that his Queen had
granted him certain powers to arrange all matters
on a safe and proper footing. He added that he
was prepared to show his credentials publicly if the
Imperial Commissioners would do likewise. The
Mandarins assenting, Lord Elgin's powers were
produced, and a Chinese translation was read aloud
by Mr. Wade. The scene is described to us to
have been at this moment very interesting. The
Ministers were eager in their attention, and a troop
of secretaries and clerks who had been taking notes
in the background pressed forward to the table.
There was evidently more surprise than pleasure in
the effect produced by the ample terms of the
document. It was new Kwei-liang's turn to show
the commission under which he and his brother
Commissioner were :to act. A piece of yellow
waxed cloth was first produced by a very in-
telligent-looking young Mandarin, called " Pien,"
sub-prefect in some district in Chi-li. Kwei-
liang received it most reverentially, held it above
his head for a moment, then opened it, and took
from it a very scrubby bit of paper, which he handed
to Mr. Wade. While Mr. Wade read off in Eng-
lish the contents of this paper we are told the scene
was as dramatic as a .Chinese sing-song.. Every
Mandarin's eye was slily watching the expression
of Lord Elgin's face, and:as that expression grew
more and more severe as the reading progressed,
exclamations were interjected by Kwei-liang,
" Such powers as Lord Elgin possesses are unknown
in China ;" " Seals are never attached to commis-
sions in China," and so on. There was good reason
for Lord Elgin's grave displeasure, for the edict
ran somewhat as follows :—Kwei-liang and Hwa-
shaka, &c., were directed to proceed to meet the
strangers of England and France, and to inquire
into their purpose in ascending the Peiho. If they
found them sincerely desirous of putting an end to
the war, the Commissioners were to grant them
their demands, provided such demands did not in-
fringe the customs of the Celestial Empire, the
dignity of the Emperor, or the will of the people ;
and in the event of the demands being of such a cha-
racter they were to refer them to the Emperor for
his .pleasure to be made known. When this docu-
ment had been read to an end Lord Elgin arose,
and ordered his chair to be brought, saying to
Kwei-liang, in a curt manner, that the powers of
the Imperial Commissioners were unsatisfactory.
The Earl's chair was hurried up, the guard pre-
sented arms, the band played " God save the Queen,"
the staff entered their chairs, and the mandarins
were left making speeches to demonstrate that it
was quite impossible that they could ever receive
larger powers than those they had just opened.
Thus ended the first act of this comedy. The cir-
cumstances are worth recounting, for they show the
character of the people with whom we have to deal
—their impudence and their duplicity. No false-
hood is too bold, no subterfuge too transparent for
them. They obtained the interview upon the solemn
assurance that they had full powers; then they
exhibit a mere commission to receive demands, and
there can be no doubt that they had behind fuller
sets of powers increasing in degree up to any neces-
sary point. The next act was of a very similar kind.
On the Bth of June it became known that $e ping,
our old friend of 1842, who deceived Sir Henry
Pottinger into a belief that he (Keying) entertained
a friendship for all the barbarian race, and a pri-
vate and personal friendship for Sir Henry himself
—it became known that this Keying had arrived
at Tien-sin. Keying had been degraded on account
of the treaty of Nankin ; he was now sent down to
redeem his credit by confounding the barbarian
councils. Poor Keying's tactics were only an imita-
tion of those which he had seen succeed for a while
at Canton. He intrigued to get himself appointed a
co-commissioner, and succeeded. He tried through
the Americans to induce-the English to move their
ships " ever so little way " down the river, promis-
ing that upon that he should obtain mastery of the
negotiations, and would settle all things. At the
same time he ordered the populace to manifest ill-
will to the strangers, and, as at Canton so at Tien-
sin, quiet Europeans were insulted and stoned. But
Keying was not so fortunate as Hwang in having a
Straubenzee to deal with. Lord Elgin and Sir
Michael Seymour were equal to the occasion. Capt.
Sherard Osborn, with his galley's crew and with
Captain Dew and Mr. Oliphant helping him as
volunteers, scaled the great gate of Tien-sin, kicked
the Tartar post before them, and let in a hundred
marines who were in march upon the city. This
force marched through the city with a band and a
couple of howitzers, administered a good fright to
six delinquent householders who had encouraged the
mob, and quieted Tien-sin for the rest of the English
occupation. Keying's industry was not confined to
this imitation of the great Yeh and his successor
Hwang. He entered into strict relations with the
Americans and the Russians. Some of the letters
before us speak confidently to the truth of reports
current in the expedition that the Americans had
offered to guarantee that if Lord Elgin would not
insist on opening the Yang-tze, and would give up
the demand for a Minister at Pekin, a treaty should
be at once arranged. The Russians, on the contrary,
were said to be doing the utmost to prevent any
Europeans but themselves being tolerated at Pekin
and the Americans, who, to do them justice, have
not much secrecy in their diplomacy, were loud in
their expressions of a virtuous horror of the opium
trade, and urged the Commissioners to stick to that
as their point of conflict. Keying was becomingly
embarrassing. Fortunately, however, Mr. Wade
had found among Yeh_'s papers a report from Key-
ing to his master, urging him to make no account
of the Treaty of Nankin, and describing it as a
mere snare to delude the barbarians. The next
move in this plot and counterplot was to send Mr.
Wade and Mr. Lay to the two Ministers to read
this document in their presence, and to declare that
Lord Elgin and Baron Gros could hold no commu-
nion with a man who had officially put forth these
disgraceful counsels. This coup was decisive. The
two Commissioners, who had their own reasons for
hating their new colleague, communicated this in-
telligence to Pekin, with the further information
that :the confidence of the barbarians in Chinese
Commissions was now so .much shaken that there
was much danger they would soon believe in
nothing but the sign manual of Hien-Fung him-
self, affixed in their presence. This opened up the
difficulty of the Kow-tow, which is still said to
be so strong a point with the Emperor that he
would rather lose his throne than waive it. We
shall probably see how far this is true. We have
heard these tales of Chinese obstinacy and devo-
tion too often now to be much guided by them.
However, the terror was great enough to induce
the Emperor to recall Keying to Pekin, and to
authorise his Commissioner to sign a letter pro-
mising a treaty in the terms of Lord Elgin's de-
mands, and couched in language dictated by Mr.
Lay.
This letter forms the next important step in these
negotiations, and marks the term of their progress
when our last news left. It is not now, we hope, the
most important document ever signed in China, for
its importance has now been superseded by the
treaty, but up to the evening of the 11th of June,
when that letter was written, no such concessions
had ever been dreamt of by a Chinese Minister.
Our correspondent's knowledge of this official docu-
ment is necessarily not exact, but we believe it
will be found that the conditions which this letter
promises as the basis of a treaty are as follows
First.—The residence of a British Minister at
Tien-sin, with access to Court, and direct communi-
cation with the Ministers.. An official yamun for
him during his visits to Pekin. All official docu-
ments to be written by him in the English lan-
guage (to be accompanied by Chinese translations
until the Court of Pekin has proeured interpreters).
An English college similar to that kept up by
Russia to be allowed at Pekin.
Second.--Chhut to be opened to all the world ;

CLOSING PRICES

LEAMINGTON STAKES.
9to 2 agst Rosati (taken)
sto 1 agst Tunstall Maid (offered)
10 to 1 agst Laodamia (taken)
ST. LEGER..
550 to 200 agst Toxopholite (offered)
325 to 100 agst Fitz-Roland (taken freely)
7to 1 agst The Hadji (offered)
11 to 1 agst Governess (taken)
12 to 1 agst Sunbeam (taken)
25 to 1 agst Eclipse (taken)
1000 to 30 agst Volta (taken)

DERBY

2000 t 0.40 ag-st Gaspard (taken)

MARLBOROUGH-STREET.

THAMES.

porkialti ti, go wititlto thoy l ea dda what they.
please imder,a passport sysiern.
Third.—The Yang-tze to be opened to its com-
merce from its mouth to its source.
Fourth.—Christianity to be tolerated.
Fifth.—Indemnity for the war and losses at
Canton to be paid' for by the two Quangs, the
amount to be agreed on by special Commissioners
at Canton. The tariff to be corrected, the Custom-
house system revised, and the English to aid the
Chinese in the suppression of piracy.
Sixth.—ln proof of the friendship und :goodwill
of the Emperor of China towards the Queen of
England a special embassy shall be sent to England
forthwith.
If we are -justified in our confidence that these
are the terms of the Treaty which was signed at
Tien-sin on the 28th of June, 17 days after the sig-
nature of the letter,- Lord Elgin has fulfilled all
our desires and has surpassed all our expectations.
The terms are familiar to the public as identical
with those the necessity of which has been so
importunately urged in these columns. So far as
diplomacy is concerned we shall have no more to
say in this matter than to speak words of thanks
and welcome to the man whose sagacity and un-
swerving pufpose have brought about such great
results. Of course we know that all these condi.
tions, though signed and sealed and ratified with
all solemnity; are but points of departure whence
the Court of Pekin will shuffle ; but this is another
matter, and for other men. The game has been
brought down ; it is for the cooks to prepare it for
the table.—Times.

The publication of the weights for the Cesare-
witch and Cambridgeshire was a powerful induce-
ment for subscribers to assemble in large numbers
in the room. The betting on the handicaps, how-
ever, was not very heavy, and the prices given
below require no comment. The Leamington Stakes
was touched upon with caution, and the odds quoted
were merely nominal.
Toxophihte was " quiet" for the St. Leger. 3to
1 was wanted about him, but the highest offer was
.550 to 200. 325 to 100 was booked several times
about Fitz-Roland, but the animal most in demand
was Governess, about whom 12 to 1 was taken to
money. 12 to 1 was betted against. Sunbeam, and
25 to 1 was taken about Eclipse. 100 even was
laid on the field against two.
In the course of the afternoon Mr. W , a
member of the room, posted the subjoined an-
nouncement and a list of bets. This proceeding
excited much curiosity and was the principal topic
of conversation :—" Various reports having been
freely circulated as to the large sum I have laid
against Toxophilite for the St. Leger, and insinua-
tions made that I do not intend paying, I hereby
annex the entire amount, which I have this day
placed in the hands of the Hon. Admiral Rous ;
and I can but express my regret that any one
should have recourse to the expediency of falsehood
in order to carry out their own interests, to the at-
tempted injury of others. (Here follows a list of
the bets, amounting to the sum of £4,210.) It is
not my intention to ask the backers to stake the
sums mentioned."

CESAREWITCH.
*to 1 agst Warlock (taken) -
20 to 1 agst Poodle (offered) •
1000 to 30 agst Duchess of Sutherland (taken)
40 to 1 agst Physician (taken)
40 to 1 agst Rocket (taken)
40 to 1 agst Gunboat (taken)
50 to 1 agst Courier (taken)
50 to 1 agst Roman Candle (taken)
1000 to 15 agst Melissa (taken)
1000 to 15 agst Queenstown (taken)
30 to 1 agst Barbarity and Prioress (taken)

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.(77iis Day.)

FURIOUS DRIVING, AND ASSAULT ON A MEDICAL
GENTLEMAN AND A CONSTABLE.—Frederick Howell,
described as a chandler's shopkeeper, of Tower-street, St.
Martin's-lane, was charged with furious driving and assault-
ing Mr. Robert Potter Baker, a dispenser, and Ball, 64 E.
Ball, 64 E, said, about 1 that morning he saw the pri-
soner driving a horse, attached to a phaeton, along Oxford-
street at the rate of 20 miles an hour. Several gentlemen
assisted him (Ball) in stopping the horse, and a gentleman
who was in court prevented the prisoner from falling, upon
which he gave him a violent blow on his back, and tore his
coat. At the station in George-street, where the prisoner
was taken, the horse and phaeton having been taken to the
green-yard, the prisoner kicked him with great violence on
the legs..
Mr. Robert Potter Baker, a dispenser, of 6, Little Comp-
ton-street, Soho, said he was passing along Oxford-street,
when he saw the prisoner driving at a furious rate. He
went up with others and caught the prisoner as he was fall-
ing, thus probably preventing him from receiving serious
injury. The prisoner then turned round, gave him a vio-
lent blow, and tore his coat completely in two. He had
evidently been drinking.
Prisoner said the phaeton was taken out yesterddy by a
licensed victualler, who, having been locked up at Barnet
for being drunk, had requested him to take it to the owner
in Rathbone-place, which he was doing at the time. He
had been drinking a good deal.
Mr Bingham said putting all the offences together—being
drunk, kicking the constable, and assaulting his benefactor,
he could not impose on him a smaller fine than 40s. or 21
days.

MURDEROUS ASSAULT ON A POLICE CONSTABLE

Henry Farr, a tall and powerful man, a sawyer in the
employ of Messrs. Wigram, ship builders, Blackwall, was
brought before Mr. Selfe, on a charge of assaulting Henry
Young, a police constable, No. 365 K. Mr. Charles
Young, solicitor, defended the prisoner.
The complainant, who was in great pain, and is likely to
be ill for some time, in a tone scarcely audible, said that
yesterday morning the prisoner was charged at that court
with firing a gun in the Barking-toad on Sunday afternoon,
and after an investigation of the case—
Mr. Selfe—l discharged him.
Young—Yes, sir, you did. About 10 minutes past 3
yesterday afternoon I was off duty and was passing
along the St. Leonard's-road, Bromley, and was about to
enter a public-house opposite, when the prisoner and five
others rushed out of the public-house and came towards
me. The prisoner passed upon me the foulest 'abuse, and
said "you I'll be revenged upon you, if it is.l2 months
hard ; I have got you now," and struck me twice with his
fist and knocked me down. While I was down another
man kicked me on the side and on the legs. I managed to
get up, and was knocked down again and kicked, and be-
came insensible. There are contusions on my side, and I

am very ill.
Jane Forbes, an elderly woman, saw the outrage, and
confirmed the statement of the complainant.
Mr. Charles Young, in defence, hardly knew what to
say. The prisoner was in liquor yesterday, and smarting,
under the injury inflicted upon him by a night's imprison-
ment for thing a gun across the fields on Sunday afternoon.
He (Mr. Young) must say the prisoner was very foolish,
and ought not to have annoyed or struck the police con-
stable. The prisoner was very sorry for what he had done,
and hoped, in consideration of his family and that he had
been imprisoned for two successive nights, that a moderate
fine would be inflicted. _

Mr. Selfe said this was a very bad assault, and one that
could not be visited with a small fine. The policeman had
been savagely assaulted because he had done his duty.
He fined the prisoner £3. If the policeman had been on
duty, he should have sent the prisoner to gaol without the
option of paying a fine. ' The penalty was paid.