The Sun.
London, England, 1858-07-27 00:00:00

cut his throat ;' and in the assault on the highest fort of
31 guns, a mandarin jumped cut and charged the party
single-handed. The officers did all they could to pre-
vent him being killed, but one of the men on the flanks,
at some distance, shot him through the neck and killed
him, to the regret of those near, who admired his brave
Action. About 98 guns were captured, 68 of which were
brass or composition metal. Some were eight-inch guns,
but we believe they had none of the usual appliances of
sight. The lots of the Chinese is supposed to have beer,
very heavy, as the firing was very accurate, the shells
eureting with great precision in the embrasures. The
Chinese fired grape, and even attempted shells, but, tie
their lose was only a piece of common slow match, the
shell generally burst close to the gun.
"Next day, the 21st, a Mandarin went off to the
Russian Ambassador, who has been ac`ing in conjunc-
tion with Mr. Reed, as a mediator bet Ween the parties.
Count Pontiatine went with him to the French Admiral,
but it was some time before they could persuade him to
g and see Sir Michael ; eventually he did so, and
ached for three days' truce. Sir Michael told him be
could not give him an hour's truce, as they bad give':
plenty of time, and that he certainly should at 011C,-
proceed to Tien-tsiu* with all his force. The unfor-
tunate Mandarin went away considerably crest-fallen.
We understand the Admiral intends to do aloe
the same as at Centon, securing he river at different
points by anchoring a steamer. The river to Tien-tiii
is of sufficient depth for the largest ships now over the
bar, but above Tien-tsin to Pekin, a distance of eight,
miles, the water is said to be very shallow, boats draw-
ing more than five feet not being able to ascend.
"The Admiral did intend to send do wn the Fury
with his despatches, but as the Missiesippi was compellee
to go to Hong Kong, a passage was most politely offeree
to Commander Beamish, who goes home on his promo-
tion for the Canton affair, carryirg the Admiral's de-
spatches. Lord Guildford, who had also received hie
promotion for Canton, also came down in her to tali,
command of the Hornet—we understand. It is ease
that it Ras Lord Elgin's intention to push on at once te
Pekin, en only in that city negotiate, for the effective
carrying out of which idea he has sent down for reinforce-
menu'. Where they are to come from is by no means
clear, looking to the safety of the colony and the Canton
garrison. Her Majesty's 59 h are under crders, and
perhaps the 77th Bengal Native Infantry, or the other
native corps here, might be spared ; but it is bard to say
what the summer may produce of sickness in the Cantor•
ga-rison, and few of the foreign inhabitants here wil
doubt that although we get everything we desire a
Pekin we have still a good that of fighting to do at Can-
ton and its neighbourhood. At present we are, not t,
put too mild a point on it,' besieged in Canton, and be-
yond our lines do not hold a ft), t of ground ; so mud}
so that even Ronan is not included in the lines, and the
people who live there do so at their own risk, in th
hope that the Chinese owners of the properties renteo
by f.)reigners will give the latter due warning, which,
after all, may be found s very rotten reed to lean upon."
" * This is the city said to be about 37 miles direct over-
land from the mouth of the Peiho, but at least 65 miles by
water."

THE EXPEDITION AGAINST THI4;
BRAVES.

Our previous advices from the Peiho came dow
to the 29th of April. At that date an Imperia
Commissioner had entered the field of negotiation
and the result appeared problematical. Betwee'
the 30th April and the middle of Nlay, say a fort
night, there is a hiatus in the details. In substance.
however, as a friend writes us—" A point of punc-
tilio arose which neither Lord Elgin nor the Chi
use would yield ; and quite right was the deter
ruination taken by Lord Elgin and Baron Gros
for from ono concession they would have been
led to another, until at last the nine prostration
would have been demanded—and—what next ?'
It was about the middle of May, then, that the
ambassadors found further attempts at peace.
ful argument futile ; and so left the business o
coercion in the proper hands. By Wednesday,
the 19th, arrangements were completed, and the
following vessels inside the bar. French gunboats :
Avalanche, Dragonne, Durance, and Fusee. Eng-
lish ; Bustard, Cormorant, Firm, Leven, Nimrod,
Opossum, Slaney, and Staunch ; in all a round
dozen (Coromandel as Hospital.)
A little after seven on the morning of the 20th,
Captain Hall (flag to Admiral Seymour) pulled in
to the nearest of the three forts built within the
last few years on either side of the Peiho, and de-
manded peaceable surrender. Could such a thin{.
be I The answer was prompt, Certainly not !
" Take time to consider," said Captain Hall—
" these bulldogs of ours are terrible fellows—you'l
rue it if you determine on fighting. Take an hour,
take two, take three—say nine o'clock." " Come
on," was the answer : " Come one, tome all !
Captain Hall returned dispirited. All humane
men are dispirited when they think of the probable
effusion of blood ; and Captain Hall has now seen
too much of the prowess of the Chinese not to know
that when once we commence our shell and rocket
practice the miserable natives have no chance ; the
old picture of a skeleton with his scythe mowin,
down all before him gives the aptest simile c
what follows.
Nine o'clock came—no sign of yielding—nom
was expected—Ten ! Off ! Like a greyhound frou
the leash away stated the British de,patch-boa
Cormorant. It was high water, and there was deptt
for her close in to the nearest fort flying the Freud
colour at the fore ; on she dashed—passed the firs
fort, receiving on the way the whole blast of he:
metal, fortunately with but slight casualty—tw;
wounded and a dozen shot-holes—and ran into th
mud with her broadside off the next. Next afro
the Cormorant went the Fusee and Dragonne,
French boats, then the Opossum, and afterward
the Nimrod. The Fusee was fearfully mauler,
whilst Mr. Prickett, Master of the Opossum,
was struck by a grape shot, which took away
parts of one side and thigh. The other gunboat-
each tcok up positions as directed, only the Slaney
remained behind, the flagship of the two Adarir4l-,
One hour was given for the battering, and the pre
cision with which the Allies threw their shell it.,
spoken of by American and Russian spectators at.
excellent indeed. The hour up, on went the
Slar,4y, towing boats from the ships outside, with
lauding parties from the Audaceuse,
Phlegethon, Primauget, Calcutta, Furious, Fury,
and Pique ; one portion of the English blue-jacket
under Captain Sir F. Nicholson of the last-men-
tioned ship, the senior post captain present taking
the fort on the right bank—Captain Hall, with
another section of the beats, the fort on the left
Tue business of driving the Chinese out was s
over. Cunning rascals, they Lad laid trains fo
heavily charged mines, and direful were the con
sequences to our intrepid allies the French, no less
than fifty-eight of whom were blown into the air ;
four Lieutenants, one of them first of the Fusee,
and eleven men, being among the killed, The Eng
lish had twenty-five killed and wounded ; the only
officer among the former being a carpenter (of the

Fury).
On the Nimrod, Slaney, Opossum, and a French
gunboat (name not mentioned) devolved the task
of capturing the fort highest up. Half an hour's
bombardment was sufficient to induce its deser-
tion. By a quarter past 12 the whole affair was
over. Eighteen hundred Europeans had driven
out 10,000 of the elite of the Chinese army. The
weight of metal, however, was all on our side,
saying nothing of experience at working.. The two
lower forts contained_„ about 70 guns, the upper
one 30—in all 100 ; two-thirds of them being of
brass or composition metal, valuable as prizes.
In a letter which we have seen, the writer says—
" The way in which Saumaurez ran the gauntlet,
took up a position in the mud, and played his
metal, was the admiration of every one. Admiral
Rigault de G was very wild with the leading
man of the French gun-boats, and, when it was all
over, rubbed him up one side and down the other,
from the Slaney, in an extraordinary way. Why,
the Cormorant has silenced the fort, sir, before
you got abreast of her,' was one of his expressions ;
aid she had, too, or nearly, not only before the
French, but before any of the other boats got up
to her."

Under date of Thursday (says the Friend of
China, of the 7th of June), a friend writes us from
Canton :

Yesterday morning, at four o'clock, a party kft in
search of braves. The result is as follows :—They f“und,
about five miles to the northward and eastward of tbf
White Cloud Mountains, a large encampment r;f these
"inferior animals," ard deeming it not prudent to attack
them at once with the salad force they had, despatched
a company back into the city for 2,000 more. These
left the city last evening, at seven o'clock, with three
days' rations, with what result we shall hear by and bye.
Before we go to press we receive advice of the
result of the expedition, bat bare only time to
publish the following
Chinese, of course, never allowed us to close, pre-
leif ire, a gatilo at ling Uocifi,?, cud in the evetzitig, when
tee eneniy'm camp Was fairly reached, ale tents had been
struck and the birds flovvn.
About 60 of our men were struck down by the sun—
two died at once. The Naval Brigade began dropping
in about the middle of the day, but the 70:h were bul