The Sun.
London, England, 1858-08-11 00:00:00

SUN, -LONDON-, WEDNESDAY EVENING, AtTGUST
f

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

FRANCE.
PARIS, TUESDAY, 6 P.M.

Official despatches have reached Paris, from which

it is concluded that the Celestial Government of the
Emperor of China has strong earthly convictions of
the necessity of peace. The Allies have obtained
fresh victories; and when these despatches left it was
expected that terms of peace would be offered, ac-
companied with the permission to establish Embassies
at Pekin, representing England and France.
The Plenipotentiaries again met to-day. Probably
one or two more unions will close the conferences.

The following letter from Brest, dated Monday
evening, gives some account of their Majesties'
arrival in that port :
"The Imperial voyage from Cherbourg. Is Brest being
favoured by delightful weather, was accomplished in most
auspicious condition. The ten line-of-battle ships which
escorted the Bretagne proceeded during the night in the
greatest order, each keeping the place assigned to It. At
one o'clt ek in the afternoon the squadron entered the passage
leading into the harbour, and the batteries immediately
tired three rounds from all their guns. Nothing could ex-
ceed the majestic beauty of the scene when the Imperial
ship and those which escorted her entered the harbour. The
inhabitants of the country round were collected in vast
numbers on the rising grounds, and those of the town on
every point whence a view could be obtained, and they all
mingled their acclamations with the thunder of the cannon.
The Emperor, on landing, made use of the barge in which
Napoleon I. visited the mouths of the Scheldt and the
defences of Antwerp in 1811. Their Majesties were re-
ceived at the landing-place by Marshal Baraguay
tiers, Vice-Admiral La Place, the Maritime Prefect, the
Prefect of the Finisaire, the general commanding the de-
partment, the officers of the marines and of the garrison,
and all the principal civil and military authorities. Close
to the stairs leading from the water, an elegant triumphal
arch was erected, under which the Mayor of Brest presented
to the Emperor the keys of the town, delivering at the same
time an address congratulating their Majesties on their safe
arrival, and expressing the joy and gratitude of the inhabi-
tants at receiving for the first time a visit from the sovereign
of the country. The speech was followed by load cries of
Vive l'Empereur !" Vive l'lmpirratrice !" Vive le Prince
Imperial !' The Emperor replied that he had long felt a
de: ire to visit the port of Brest, that he was much gratified
with the reception given him, and that he hoped during his
stay to be able to decide several questions of great interest,
which had occupied his attention prior to his departure from
the capital. A deputation of young girls then came forward
and offered a basket of flowers to the Empress. Their
Ma-
jesties afterwards entered an open carriage and proceeded
to the church of St. Louis, every street through which they
passed being decked out with flags, garlands of flowers, and
evergreens. A line of soldiers and sailors, and deputations
from the rural communes headed by their mayors, all in
their old national costume, were drawn up on either side
of the streets. The Bishop of Quimper, surrounded by his
clergy, received their Majesties at the entrance of the
church, and delivered the following address :
" Sire,—Brittany is proud and happy at the honour
it receives. This noble province had for centuries
past attracted the attention of sovereigns, but never
has it obtained the mark of esteem and affection which your
Majesty now accords it. Christians and tillers of the soil,
the Bretons thank you for your love of religion and for the
encouragements you give to agriculture; they have ap-
plauded when a powerful arm replaced the pyramid on its
base. They have admired the genius which, after having
conceived and directed a distant war, imposed its wisdom
on congresses and dictated to them peace. They have been
filled with veneration at seeing an intrepid charity rush
into the midst of the inundations and succour the afflicted
populations. Sire, the children of Armories, Inured to
labour and to danger, do not content themselves with giving
to your armies brave soldiers, and to your fleets.active sea-
men, who are the admiration of all nations; they at the
same time furnish worthy priests and excellent missionaries.
Your Majesty cannot take a step in their country without
meeting with heroic. reminiscences, and when your Ma-
jesty places confidence in such men you will find the truth
of what one of their knights said to Mary Stuart at Mortal',
A Breton was never guilty of betrayal.' Madam, your
gracious presence reminds the people of their dear duchess
whose Royal husband was also the father of the people. A
voice, eloquent as well as respected, has informed France
that you are a good Catholic and pious, and your good
works every day confirm the declaration. The old coun-
try of Joan de Penthievre and of Joan de Montford
is noted for courage and devotedness. It thrilled at
the recital of the firmness which you a short time ago
displayed in an afflicting circumstance. All its sym-
pathies, madam, and all its prayers are your due.
It will pray God to protect you, to bless the Emperor, and
to watch over your well-beloved son, in order that he may
render himself worthy of his great destinies."

The Emperor replied that he felt happy in visiting
Brittany, to be received by a clergy so highly dis-
tinguished, and that he was about to join with them
in offering up prayers to Heaven that it would con-
tinue its protection to France, and second the efforts
of those who laboured to promote her welfare. After
the Te Deum and the Doinine sakum fac, the Impe-
rial cortege proceeded to the Maritime Prefecture,
where the official receptions took place of all the
authorities of the town and the mayors and deputy-
mayors of all the communes within a circuit of ten
leagues. The Emperor and Empress several times
spoke in the most gracious manner to these func-
tionaries, who were the organs of the wishes and
homage of the Breton population.
I have this morning received a letter from Cher-
bourg. Admiral Gourdon, the prefet maritime, at
whose hotel the Imperial party lodged during the
visa, had returned to Cherbourg, after accompany-
ing his Majesty a few miles out to sea. The Em-
peror, in a most formal manner, expressed himself
highly gratified at the arrangements which had been
made for the domestic comfort of himself and the
Empress. The Emperor, during his stay at Cher-

bourg, on more occasions than one _ requested the

municipal authorities to encourage in every way
possible the commercial prosperity of Cherbourg.
" The railway," observed his Majesty to a high offi-
cial of the town, "places the rich land of Normandy
in immediate communication with the great centres
of commerce at home and abroad ; avail yourself of
such means to promote industry and create prospe-
rity." The railway during the fetes brought to
Cherbourg not less than 85,000 visitors. It is cal-
culated that at least a million of francs have been
spent at Cherbourg during the fetes. The Emperor
and Empress have conferred honours on many naval,
military, and civilian officials ; the list will be pub-
lished in a few days. Messrs. Locke and Brassy
are amongst the decorated. Most of the yachts have
left Cherbourg, but the hotels are still pretty full,
owing to the difficulty which some visitors have ex-
perienced in getting away. The difficulty which the
members of Parliament first experienced in obtaining
tickets for the ceremonies originated in want of fore-
sight with us at home or on the part of the British
Consul at Cherbourg. On arriving, the M.P.'s found
no tickets at their disposal, because they had not
been asked for in time. From the first the French
Government officially assurred Lord Cowley that
every facility should be given to peers, members of
Parliament, and proprietors of yachts, which facilities
were in fact eventually obtained. 1,200 francs were

collected at the Cherbourg Railway terminus on the
occasion of the theatrical representations, and given to
the authorities for the poor. The Princess Essling
and most of the ladies who accompanied her Majesty
to Cherbourg have again returned to Paris. M.
Mocquard has also returned to the capital.
PARIS BOURSE.—The market has been very
buoyant, and large purchases have been effected in
all securities. Threes, after opening at 68fr. 80c.,
improved to 68fr. 95c. ; Mobilier varied from 660 fr.
to 655 fr. ; Austrian, 633 fr. 75c. to 637 fr. 50c. ; Or-
leans, 1,285 to 1,290 fr.; Lyons, 7901 r. to 7951. r. ;
Southern, 537 fr. 50c. to 542 fr. 50c.; Eastern, 675 fr.
to 680 fr.; and Geneva, 595 fr. to 600 fr. The market
continued to improve to the close, when the follow-
ing were the quotations:

Fi. Ct.

44 per Cents... . 96 90
Do. end of month 96 60

3 per Cent
Do. end of month

69 --
69 50

Bank Shares .... 3,100
Credit Mobilier.. 680
Do. account..... 682 50

Fr. Ct.

Cr6dit Fancier
Belgian 41 —
Piedtnontese 5 B9l
Roman.....
Austrian
Spanish Threes
Home DOA.— 38 75

RAILWAYS.

...........
Northern
New ditto
Lyons & Mediterranean
New ditto ..
Geneva
Midi
Western .
Eastern
Grand Central
Sardinian
Austrian ..."

Cash—Fr. Ct. Account—Fr. CL
1,295 -- .. 1,300 --
940 -- .. 947 50
795 -- .. 800 --
800 -- .. 797 50

597 50
540 -
620 -
685 -

602 50
550 -
625 -
090 -

425 -
636 23

422 .50
642 50

CHINA.

HONG KONG, ;NNE 4

The south-west monsoon and the hot weather hav-
ing again returned, we are now, for the time being,
going through a process of sweating, hitherto sup-
posed to be known only to jockeys and prizefighters.
For the past week the thermometer here has stood at
from 87 to 91 in the shade, and at Canton it has been
even higher. Were it not for the weather I might
say we are just now full of excitement; but we are
dull and sleepy and care only for ices and seltzer
water and lemonade, and such like refreshments ;
and when an enthusiastic friend rushes into your
room at the period of your siesta with some piece of
startling information, you say "Oh !" and " Ali !"
think your friend a bore, and turn round and go to
sleep again. At Canton affairs are daily getting
worse and worse ; the . Chinese are becoming more
insolent, and the braves more confident. About a
week since an unfortunate policeman belonging to
the British force was suddenly assailed by a body of
braves at the west gate, and his hand cut off as
a trophy. With great difficulty he and a comrade
who was with him effected their escape, both being
severely wounded, the unfortunate man who received
the mutilation being dangerously so. Pehquei, on being
remonstrated with, declared that he had no power over
these ruffians, but issued a reward of $2OO for the
discovery of the men who committed the outrage,
and also levied a fine of $l,OOO on the street in which
the occurrence took place. This last seems a strange
way of meeting out justice ; but I have no doubt it
has a beneficial effect in one way. It will make the
more respectable inhabitants of the street careful in
ejecting from their neighbourhood characters it
would be nothing unfair to say would commit a
similar act when time and opportunity arose. A
Chinaman loves dollars very fondly, so, tpuch him
through his pocket, and he becomes your most abject
slave. Another little practical joke has also been
invented by these funny Celestials. A sepoy be-
longing to the 65th Bengal Native Infantry wan-
dered out of the lines, and was instantly kidnapped,
put in a sack, and carried away to some village out-
side the walls. Of course some stir was made about
this, and in a few days the sepoy was returned un-
injured, but more than considerably frightened.
In the streets of Canton itself, but more especially
when approaching the western suburbs, the coolies
become insolent and overbearing when an officer
passes. About ten days since a party of officers
made an excursion into the western suburbs ; they
were well armed and mounted. The braves did not
molest them ; but it afterwards came out that they
had assembled in some hundreds in a certain street
with the intention of cutting off the party, believing
this route would be the one taken ; but fortunately
for these officers they missed this street, returning
towards the city by a more intricate route, which
appears to be the only thing that saved them, if the
Chinese spies are to be believed.
Private and official letters received this morning
only give us the intelligence that at length an expe-
dition has been taken against these braves.

It has come to the ears of Gen. Van Straubenzee
that a Chinese encampment exists on the farther side
of the White Cloud Mountains, distant from our lines
about 10 miles. On the 2d inst. a body of men,
under the command of the general, started at four
a.m.; and a second, numbering in all some thousand
rank and file, including artillery, was despatched,
under Col. llolloway, commencing their march the
same evening. They had a long and dark journey
before them, but it was not expected they could get
their guns up by daybreak. More artillery and
some black troops were at the sametime sent round
in gun-boats by a creek extending to the back of
Canton. What the result of this may be, we know
not ; but it is more than probable that before we
get our troops up the birds will have flown. The
spy system of the Chinese is so perfect that we have
never a chance of taking them by surprise. It is
presumed that these troops meditated an attack on
Canton, and we have sent this expedition out to
forestal them.

In Hong Kong we are not much better off than at
Canton, highway robberies with brutal violence being
of frequent occurrence. It is scarcely a fortnight
since that a gentleman walking on the upper road,
in the daytime, and in sight and hearing of several
European houses, was set upon by a party of Chinese,
who robbed him of his watch and chain, and then filled
his mouth, eyes, and nostrils with dirt, others at the
same time violently beating him. The fellows who
did this got clear away. Again, three days since, a
Mr. Hazeland, a solicitor in Victoria, was returning
from Stanley, in company with a friend, by the
mountain path. They had come on in front of their
horses, which they had left in charge of their coolies,
with directions to follow them. When within about
three miles of Victoria Mr. Hazeland walked on, his
friend remaining behind till his horse came up. The
first gentleman had not walked many yards when he
was assailed by a party of four or five Chinese, who
immediately struck at him with swords, wounding
him in scvcral places, and inflicting a dangerous cruss
wound of the scalp. Fortunately for Hazeland, his
friend came up at the time on horseback, when the
fellows made off, or he would probably have lost his
bead in addition to the valuables they removed from
his person. You will perhaps wonder why this kind
of thing is not checked. But treble your police b
this colony and it will have no effect. The
evil has its own remedy. Let people abstain
from placing blind confidence in these Chinese. Let
them be guided by what men tell them who have
resided amongst them, and not by what M.P.'s will
tell the house in a party speech. More than all,
let every man go armed if he walks for 50 yards
only beyond the boundaries of the police beat, and
let him never go singly. Two Englishmen, with
two revolvers in good order, may walk about any
part of this island with impunity. I lay stress on
the words, in good order, because I have known
gentlemen who invariably carried a revolver, but as
they had never had occasion to use it, never thought
of discharging it and reloading. A friend of mine
was expatiating on the virtues of his own particular
weapon. " That pistol has been loaded six months,"
he informed me, "and it will now go off as well as on
the day it was first loaded." " Have you tried it," I
said ? " No," he had not tried it, " but look at the
pistol, who could doubt such a weapon would not
go off ?" "What odds will you lay," I said, " that
three of those charges do not miss fire ?" My friend
would lay any odds, but not thinking it fair to
accept them, I got on a small sum even. There
was a nice white piece of rock about 70
yards distant up the mountain side, and I
took aim. Click, click, click, six times round,
but no report. My friend was astounded.
His faith in the weapon bad gone for ever. " The
pistol is good enough," I said ; " lend it to me." I
had a few fresh caps in my pocket ; I removed the
old ones, recapped, fired, and every barrel was dis-
charged. The weapon was a Colt, and the caps only
had deteriorated after being loaded for six months.
But I would not advise the possessors of this weapon
to trust even to the renewing of the caps. A re-
volver, to be effective, should be discharged at least
once a-week.

Notwithstanding the heat of the weather two balls
have been given within the last fortnight, at which
the ladies invited not only appeared but danced.
Occasionally in England you may find the ther-
mometer standing at "from 87 to 91, as we have it
here at the present ; but though you have felt that
heat it can give you no idea of the oppressiveness of
this place, situated at the foot of a mountain over
2,000 feet high, which shuts out every breath of air
when the south-west monsoon is blowing. The
first ball was given on board Commodore the llon.
Keith Stewart's ship Nankin, and was preceded
by private theatricals. The second, which was the
garrison ball, took place at Murray Barracks on the
12th inst. Ices and wafers were the heaviest things
consumed in the shape of refreshments.
From the north we have interesting intelligence.
The Government Gazette Extraordinary of this day

(June 4) contains the following despatch from Sir
Michael Seymour to Sir John Bowring

" Coromandel, in the Peiho, May 22, 1858.

"Sir,-1 have the honour to acquaint your Excellency
that I arrived in the Gulf of Pecheli on the 24th ult., to
support the Ambassadors of Great Britain and France in
their demands on the Chinese Government, and that, nego-
tiations having failed, the gunboats of the Allied Powers
attacked the forts at the entrance of this river on the 20th
inst., and captured them with small loss. The position was
strong, and the various forts mounted 138 guns, backed by
the presence of a large body of troops.
" We advance up the river to-day, to enable the Am •
ba3sadors to endeavour to reopen negotiations nearer to
the capital.—l have the honour, &c.,
(Signed) " M. SEY 210 ij x, Rear- Adrei: al and
Commander-in-Chief.

" His Excellency Sit Jolla 133 wring, LL.D.," &c. &c.

This despatch does not tell U 3 much ; but as my
duties compel me to remain at Hong Kong, at least
until a military force is sent up, I will endeavour to
give you the best account I can of the engagement
from information I have received from various
sources. It appears that from about the 30th of
April to about the middle of May negotiations were
going on between Lord Elgin and the Chinese Com-
missioners appointed to meet him. A hitch had taken
place in the proceedings on a point of precedence,
to which neither the Commissioners nor Lord Elgin
would yield, for if one concession had been granted,
another would have been asked, and these would
have extended interminably. About the 15th or
16th of May, in consequence of being unable to arrive
at an amicable settlement of the question, arrange-
ments were made to attack the forts at the mouth of
the river. By the 19th, all arrangements being com-
pleted, the following vessels went over the bar :
English gunboats : Bustard, Cormorant, Firm,
Leven, Nimrod, Opossum, Slaney, and Stanch,
with the Coromandel as hospital. French :
Avalanche, Dragonne, Durance, and Fusee.
Early in the morning of the 20th Capt. Hall, flag-
captain to the admiral, landed at the nearest of the
three new forts built on either side of the Pciho and
demanded a surrender. This was never for an in-
stant suspected would be granted; but for humane
reasons the course was taken. Three hours were
given the Chinese to surrender; but no signs of
yielding came, and as four bells struck almost
simultaneously in each gunboat, announcing the hour
of 10 o'clock, the action commenced. First went
the Cormorant, which was hulled 12 times as she
passed the forts, but had two men only wounded,
as all except the master and the man at the
wheel were ordered to lie down. The French
boats Fusee and Dragonne followed the Cor-
morant—then the Opossum, and then the Nim-
rod. For one hour the forts were shelled ; imme-
diately at the expiration of which landing parties
were sent from the Audacieuse, Nemesis, Phlegeton,
Primanquet, Calcutta, Furious, Fury, and Pique.
Capt. Sir F. Nicholson, of the Pique, led one portion
of the English blue-jackets, taking the fort on the
right bank; while Capt. Hall, with another party,
attacked the fort on the left. The French lost a
large number by the explosion of a mine, no less than
58 being blown into the air—amongst whom were
five officers killed. The English lost 25 men killed
and wounded, but no officer. The taking of the fort
highest up the river was entrusted to the Nimrod, ,
Slaney, Opossum, and a French gunboat. By a ,
quarter-past twelve—that is to say, in two hours and
a quarter from the commencement of our attack—
the whole affair was over. A hundred and
thirty guns in servicable condition were found in the
three forts, two-thirds of which are brass. The
Chinese are said to have stood to their guns to the
last, and fought extremely well. A mandarin was
seen standing to his gun when all hope seemed lost ;
a body of blue jackets rushed forward to make
him a prisoner, but before they could do so the
infatuated man had cut his throat and left his captors
a corpse only for their trophy.
Reinforcements, it is said, are to be sent imme-
diately to the north, and the 59th, it is supposed,
will be the first to be sent. Gen. Van Straubenzee is

expected down from Canton to-morrow evening,

when we shall hear more about this and about the
expedition against the braves in the White Cloud
Mountains. Whatever portion of our force is sent
to the north it is tolerably certain Col. Graham will
go in command ; the general remaining to look after
Canton.

JUNE 6.

A gunboat with the general and Col. Stephenson
on board came down from the river last evening, and
I am now enabled to give you a brief account of the
action we have had with the braves. At four
o'clock on the morning of Wednesday, the 2d inst.,
the first portion of our troops commenced their
march, and about midday came in sight of the
enemy's camp, situated about five miles to the north-
ward, and eastward of the White Cloud mountains.
As the Chinese were in great numbers it was not
thought advisable to attack them with the force
already brought up, and messengers were sent to
Canton for reinforcements. These came up during
the night, and the next morning the attack com-
menced. I will not attempt to give you the
particulars, as I was not on the spot myself;
but the Chinese seem to have fought very well,
and retired with their camp in the middle of the day,
when our men were unable to follow them from the
heat of the sun. We had no less than 60 men, it is
said, cut down by sun-stroke out of our small force
(about 1,000 men), two of whom
dofiedE Europeans
tainms immediately. Previous to this four or
five men at Canton, and one at Hong Kong, have
been killed by the same fatal power. The loss in-
flicted by the enemy is not great, but our demon-
stration has unfortunately been a failure, and will
have no other effect than making these braves
still more insolent ; for on this occasion it
cannot be said we have gained a victory over
them. They did not choose to meet us at close
quarters, but they were enabled to retire with camp
and equipage and all the honours of war. In this by
no means self-gratulatory affair the navy have to de-
plore the loss of Mr. Turnbull, the principal medi-
cal officer of the naval and marine forces at Canton.
The sick and wounded had been left in the rear
under an escort, and towards evening Mr. Turnbull
went to pay them a visit. Unfortunately he did not
take an armed party with him, and we have again
before our eyes
_the picture of a headless trunk, and
our blunted feelings again become strong, while we
long for the extermination of a set of wretches
who practise such cowardly warfare. Among
the wounded is Col. Wynne, of the Engi-
neers, and Brevet-Major Travers, R.M., neither,
lam happy to say, dangerously. Four other officers,
I hear, are wounded, but there is conflicting evidence
at present as regards their names. To show as it
were that they had not suffered a defeat, the braves
the next night made a demonstration on the heights
about Gough's Fort, or where it formerly stood, and
commenced firing into our lines, and it was some
time before the artillery were enabled to shell them
out of it. The great drawback in this affair seems to
have been our inability to get our artillery up in
time. But who will wonder at it when die absence
of roads is taken into consideration, and these guns
have to be dragged without the aid of horses ? No
one for an instant would doubt the indefatigable
endeavours of the Royal and Marine Artillery when
their services are called into requisition, but guns are
heavy and artillerymen but mortals. I saw quite
enough to convince me, at a review we had at the
Happy Valley before the taking of Canton, that the
field-guns we have here, light as they are, cannot be
carried for any length of time over Chinese ground.
The most sensible thing, it appears, we can do under
the circumstances is invariably to charge such
enemies with the bayonet when we come up to them,
guns or no guns.
The superiority ofEuropean over black troops could
not have been shown more clearly than in this affair.
With the sun actually mowing our men down, their
pluck and endurance carried them along, while men
of the 70th and 65th Bengal Native Infantry were
dead beat, though used from childhood to a sun in
their own country equally as intense. An officer
who was present states that the Europeans quite