The Sun.
London, England, 1858-12-20 00:00:00

CO CHIN CHINA.

The Univers remarks on the various mistakes
which are made in the public journals relative to
the different countries of Cochin China, and then
says :—" There is a King of Cambodia, and his
capital is Battambang. Sai-Gon is the principal city
of Lower Cochin China, formerly named Ciampa,
and also called Annamite Cambodia. Has the Go-
vernor of Sai-Gon revolted as is alleged, and made
common cause with the King of Cambodia ? That
is possible. Lower Cochin China has always been one
of the most agitated parts of the Annamite empire.
Sai-Gon, under Minh-Mang, the great grandfather
of Tu-Duc, sustained a very long siege. It would not,
therefore, be very surprising that a serious insurrec-
tion should have broken out in that province . As
to Cambodia, properly so called, it is neither a pro-
vince of the empire of Annam nor an independent
State. The chief of this country, placed between
the Siameseand the Annamites, pays tribute to both.
Nevertheless, he is rather a dependant on Siam
than on Annam. His States long served as the
field of battle for those formidable neighbours,
who are almost always at war, and Cambodia,
notwithstanding its extraordinary fertility, is
poor and thinly populated. The journals which
speak in the most serious terms of the Court of
his Cambodian Majesty, will allow us to give them
some details relative to that court, which we extract
from a letter from Mgr. Michie, vicar apostolic of
Cambodia. He says—' Four days after our arrival
the King of Battambang expressed a wish to see us
and we paid him a visit. The only present we could
give him was a bottle of eau de Cologne, a penknife
and a pair of scissors. These were doubtless very
paltry presents to make to a king, but he was never-
theless delighted at possessing such rare objects,
and gave us a very friendly reception. He shook
us by the hand, a salutation which rather inspired
me with fear, as his nails were about an inch long.
and crooked at the points. As all his clothing con-
sisted of a loose shirt, and as he was afraid of the
coolness of the night, he asked us for a pair of shoes
and stockings. I also gave his Majesty my waist-
coat, which he requested through one of the man-
darins. When the king entered the reception-room
or rather into the shed which was used for that
purpose, every one threw themselves flat on the
ground ; for our parts we saluted him in the
French fashion. In order to give us a high proof
of his esteem, he made us sit down in a line with
him, and declared that all he possessed was at our
service. Some days after, finding that we were not
very eager in soliciting his royal favours, re re-
proached us for our backwardness, and sent us
some rice cake. These details show that the im-
portance of Cambodia has been overrated. Never-
theless the intervention of the Cambodians may be
useful to us, and it will even be of great importance
if, as is believed, the Governor of Sai-Gon has come
to an understanding with the court of Battambang
to take the field against the Emperor of Annam.
Although Sai-Gon was dismantled 20 years ago, it
is still a military position of undoubted value, and
it would be very advantageous for us to find allies
there."