The Sun.
London, England, 1858-01-27 00:00:00

OHINA.

Wo:take the following summary of China news
from the Overland China Mail of the 16th of

December :
Our readers out of China will doubtless be anxi-
ously looking for news by this mail of the bombard-
ment and capture of Canton, and, if so, they are
doomed to disappointment, for though the prepara-
tions are well nigh or altogether completed, (nothing
has yet been done beyond the drawing the blockade
closer round Canton), in which proceeding, as will
be seen from the following official notice, taken
from the Oazeite, the Frenoh squadron is now
taking part :

" NATAL DIVISION OF INDO•CHINI, CABINET OT THE
ADMIRAL.
" Macao Roads, Dec. 10.
" Mon. le Ministre,—lhave the honour to forward to
your Excellency copy of the notification of the blockade
of the Canton River by the naval forces of his Majesty
the E,operor of the French, which are pliced under my
orders, which blockade I declare established from the
12Lh of the current month.—l have the honour to be,
Monsieur le Ministre, your Excellency's very humble

and very obedient servant,
"The Rear-Admiral, Commander-i❑-Chicf of the
Naval Division of his Majesty the Emperor of the
French,
" C. RIGAULT de GENOUILLY."
" TO RIB EXCELLENCY THE MINISTER-PLENIPOTENTIARY
OF HER 3LAJESTY THE 41USEN OF GREAT BRITAIN, &C.
"Naval Division of Indc-China„Caninet of the Admiral,
Frigate Nemesis, 10 It Dec., 1857.
" I, the undersigned, Rear-Admiral, Commander-in-
Chief of the Naval Forces of his 111,:jesty the Emperor
of the French in the China and India Seas :
"After coming to an understanding with the High
Commissioner of his Imperial Majesty on the pending
difficulties between the Government of France and that
of China, on the means of terminating them, on the
resolutions of the Governments of Fra,:ce and England
to proceed by common action for the reparations which
are due to them, and in virtue of the powers appertaining
to we as Commander-in-Chief, declare : From the 12,,h
day of the current month the river and port of Canton
and their outlets will be held in a state of eff,ctive
blockade by the naval forces placed under my command,
acting in concert with the naval force of Her Britannic
Majesty. Any vessel attempting to violate the blockade
will be proceeded against according to international law,

acid the treaties in force with neutral Powtfrs.
"C. RIGAULT de GENOUILLY.
O❑ board Frigate LeNe►nssis, Macao Roa 's,
10th Decemuer, 1857."

The two squadrons are to act in concert, and in
taken of the alliance, the British, on the 13th,
hoisted the French, and the French the British,
flags at the main on board the men-of-war. For-
merly the blockading force was stationed at the
Bogue, and little interruption was given to native
craft plying outho river, but a note from the fleet,
dated the 9th, tells us that from 40 to 50 junks are
turned back daily at Whampoa, and that another
blockade has been established at Hyacinth Island,
at the junction of Fateo Creek with the Fatshan
branch of the river ; the natural consequence is, the
entailment of much misery in Canton from scarcity
of food.
Of rumours regarding the movements of the
forces, we have enough and to spare, but little
definite has transpired. Diplomacy continues re-
markably silet:t ; we gather, however, th tt Yoh
has been addressed by Lord Elgin and Baron Gros

separately, and that, failing his acceptance of their
conditions, the combined force will, in few words,

knock Canton about his ears. A notification in
the name of the two Plenipotentiaries is in circula-
tion along the river, warning the inhabitants ol the
impending contingency, and urging them to look to
themselves ; and some copies, we understand, have
been sent into the suburbs for distribution. As
nothing is further from probability than that Yoh
will surrender unconditionally, the assault on the
city, it is pretty evident, will take place in the
course of a few days. All the Marines are in the
river, and a portion were to land on the Honan
side. The artillery are on board the troop-ship
Mooresfort, ready to start. The party of Engineers
arrived by the mail steamer, with. it is said, 4 com-
panies of the 59th Regiment, are under orders to
embark ou board of the Lancashire Witch ;
and about 300 of the Chinese Coolie corps go up in
the Inflexible. The steam transport Hesper, under
command of Mr. Henry Hill, late master of Htr
Majesty's ship Sybille, has been loading with
fascines, scaling ladders, ordnance, and other mu-
nitions of war, and leaves this morning, having on
board also some of the military staff and 200 na-
tive camp followers.
Lord Elgin himself, we understand, will leave
Hongkong for the river either to-day or to-morrow.
Her Majesty's ship Furious having been prepared
for his reception.
Of the arrangements for the attack we ara told
that the French fleet, the advanced ships of which
entered the river on the Bth, will take the Whampoa
branch of the river. Captain A. C. Key, of the
Sans-pareil (who is considered one of the best
officers in the service), is to command the Naval
Brigade, and will be supported by Captains
Cochrane and Osborne, and Commanders Hamilton
and Hood ; while the field-piece parties are to be
under the immediate direction of Admiral Seymour
and Captain Hall. The Bittern has been converted
into a mortar-vessel ; and the crews of the gunboats
have been increasedfrom sto 10 men each. General
Straubenzee, who went up on Saturday last, will
of course command the land forces.
Yesterday the combined fleets were to close in
upon Canton, but previous to that the stations of
the British men-of-war were Actaeon Hornet,
Bittern, Highflyer, Elk, and ten gunboats (the
advanced squadron), from Macao Fort to the
Barrier ; Nimrod and two gunboats at Fatshan
Creek ; Sybille, Racehorse, and Surprise, with two
gunboats, at Whampoa ; Sampson, at Second Bar ;
Nankins, off High Island ; the rest of the fleet about
Wangtung and Tiger Island.
False rumours have been spread abroad to the
effect that plundering has been sanctioned by the
Admiral, and that 48 hours was to be granted for
looting in the city, it may be as well to mention,
that a circular has been issued by his Excellency,
expressly forbidding anything of the kind, and
threatening with severe punishment any breach of
his orders in that respect.
The steamer Adelaide, whose long passage had
begun to cause some anxiety, arrived on the fat,
having on board 20 officers and 507 men of the
Royal Marine Light Infantry, and 5 officers and 20
men of the Royal Artillery. She left Portsmouth
on the 17th August, arrived on the 3d
October at the Cape of Good Hope, whence,
after having been detained six days for coals,
she sailed on the 9th, and reached Singa-
pore on Nov. 19, leaving for Hong Kong on the
same day. She reported that the Princess Char-
lotte, storeship, had left Singapore on the 18th, and
the Sanspareil, with the Marines from Calcutta,
on the 19th ; neither of which, however, though
anxiously looked fo'r, has yet arrived. The men by
the Adelaide are in fine order, only one casualty—
the loss of a corporal overboard—having occurred
on the whole passage. She left for the river the
morning after her arrival.
The gunboat Lee, it appears, captured a snake-
boat the other day, with a valuable cargo. The
cargo she took out and brought down to Hongkong
—the junk she destroyed.
The military force has sustained a heavy loss in
the death, from inflammation in the bladder, of
Lieut.-Col. Lugard, commanding Royal Engineers,
whose remains were interred on the evening of the
2d inst., at the Protestant Burial Ground in the
Wong-nei-cbung. The funeral procession was com-
posed of two companies of the 59th Regiment, and
one of the Royal Artillery, with a number of officers
00c0ommpeann'ies of the 59th, the Medi-
cal civilians. Lieut.-Colonel Lugard was highly
1,
respected as a good officer and a kind-hearted man.
e.ctiQn of their
feltoe
ns oi
sff
to rtn
the
ghe
ofe
expedition,saAferttyi
lloefryHoewnng:
would mention that the colony will be properly
'a
body of French Marines will be
gi:wailtsho
KoAsngsodmurie
naglart
mhema abys absence
cared for by Major Cazalett and Capt. Kin
It
frotherhualetur Bum Staffaoe touci d
thg
at
pats and Madras Sepoys.
naval stores ; and we suppose the Am • will
Americans
have a strong guard at their stores in Spring
landed at West Point, for the pito
Gar-
dens. The Tribune will remain for the protection
of the harbour.
The transport ship Neleus had '
arrived at Singe.-