The Sun.
London, England, 1859-10-06 00:00:00

THE DISASTER IN CHINA.

A Supplement to the Gazette of Tuesday, published last
evening, contains the correspondence with the Honourable
F. W. A. Bruce, C. 8., her Majesty's Envoy Extraordi-
nary and Minister Plenipotentiary in China.
No. 1.
Jun EARL OF MALMESBURY TO MR. BRUCE.
(Extract.)
Foreign-office, March 1, 1859.

The Queen having been pleased to appoint you to be her
Majesty's Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipoten,
tiary in China, and in that capacity to exchange, at Pekin,
her Majesty's ratification of the Treaty of Tientsin with
the ratification of that compact by the Emperor of China,
I have now to furnish you with such general instructions
as may serve for your guidance in the important mission
intrusted to you by her Majesty.
Her Majesty's Government had hoped that the Earl of
Elgin would have returned to this country previously to
your departure, that so your instructions might have been
framed after personal communication with his Excellency.
But it would seem that the interesting excursion up the
Yang-tze-keang river, which he so judiciously determined
to undertake, has occupied more time than he anticipated,
and any further delay in your departure might possibly pre-
vent you from exchanging the ratifications within the period
specified in the treaty, namely, before the 26th of June.
_ _

Arrangements have been made for providing passage for
yourself and the members of your mission in the contract
steam-vessels which convey the British mails of the 10th of
March from Marseilles to Alexandria, and from Suez to
Singapore and Hong Kong, in case you should net find at
Suez her Majesty's ship Furious waiting to receive you, or
at Singapore some other man-of-war appointed to convey
you to China.
On your arrival at Hong Kong, you will, in virtue of the
Commission as chief superintendent of British trade with
which you are provided, relieve Sir John Bowring of his
duties in connection with this office, and you will make
arrangements for transferring the general direction of
British affairs in China to Shanghae, at which port it is to
be carried on until such time as circumstances shall admit
of its being permanently established at Pekin.
You will not remain at Hong Kong longer than is abso-
lutely necessary, but proceed to Shanghae on:your way to
the Peiho.

Her Majesty's Government were fully prepared at oncelo
carry out the provision of the treaty of Tien-tsin, which
admits of the permanent residence of a British ambassador
at Pekin, but the observations on this point which Lord
Elgin has so ably laid before them, coupled with the fact
that the French Government, on considering Baron Gros'
reports, have arrived at the same conclusion, have deter-
mined her Majesty's Government, for the present at least,
to fix at Shanghae the residence of the British mission, and
only to require that it should be received occasionally at
Pekin. But you will be careful to make the Chinese au-
thorities at the capital and at Sbanghae distinctly understand
that her Majesty's Government do not renounce the right of
permanent residence, and, on the contrary, will instantly
exercise it, if at any time difficulties are thrown in the way
of communications between her Majesty's Ministers and the
Central Government at Pekin, or any disposition shown to
evade or defeat the objects of the treaty.
Her Majesty's Government are prepared to expect that
all the arts in which the Chinese are such adepts will be
put in practice to dissuade you from repairing to the capital,
even for the purpose of exchanging the ratifications of the
treaty; but it will be your duty firmly, but temperately, to
resist any proposition to that effect, and to admit of no ex-
cuses ; and you will say that the effect of any persistence on
the part of the Chinese Government in throwing obstacles
in the way of your arrival at Pekin, and of the presentation
of your credentials to the Emperor in person, will be that
her Majesty's Government will insist on the literal fulfil-
ment of the treaty, and establish the mission permanently
at Pekin.

You will probably find it advisable, before your departure
from Shanghae, to send an intimation to Pekin of your ap-
proach, and to request that suitable arrangements may be
made for your honourable reception at the mouth of the
Peiho, and at Tien-tein, and for your journey from that place
to Pekin. The admiral in command of her Majesty's naval
forces in China has been directed to send up with you to the
mouth of the Peiho a sufficient naval force, and unless any
unforeseen circumstances should appear to make another
arrangement more advisable, it would seem desirable that
you should reach Tien-tsin in a British ship of war.
It is impossible for her Majesty's Government, and, in-
deed it would not be wise, to lay down any definite rules to
be rigidly adhered to, in regard to your approach to, and
your communication with, the Chinese Court. The ac-
quaintance which you possess with the Chinese character
will enable you to judge when you may give way and when
you must stand firm, bearing in mind that your treatment
on your first visit to Pekin will always be appealed to on the
occasion of future visits, as establishing a precedent not to
be departed from.
You will, of course, refuse compliance with any ceremony
or form of reception, which can in any way be construed
into an admission of inferiority on the part of her Majesty in
regard to the Emperor of China, and perhaps the best method
of putting a stop to any attempt to impose upon you in this
respect will be that you should distinctly declare that you
will withdraw at once, even from the Presence Chamber of
the Sovereign, on the slightest appearance of a disposition to
treat you, and the office you hold, with disrespect.
If any objection should be raifed on the score of your
credentials being those of envoy and not of an ambassador,
you will say that the reason of their being so is to admit of
the wish of the Chinese Government, that for the present
the British mission should not be permanently resident at
the capital being complied with ; but that if, on that ground
the Chinese Government seek to make eny distinction in
your reception and treatment, new credentials as ambas-
sador will immediately be sent to you, and, in that case,
the mission will be forthwith and permanently established
at Pekin.

You will, moreover. take care that the treatment awarded
to you is in no degree less honourable than that awarded
to the representative of any other Power whatever. That it
should be consistent with the European usages, it must
doubtless be more honourable than that by which embassies
from countries over whose chiefs the Emperor assumes
superiority are received ; but it must be in no degree inferior
to that accorded to the representatives of other Christian
nations.

Although you will insist upon your being received at
Pekin, and will refuse to exchange ratifications at any other
place, and will further decline to make any compromise in
regard to time of your stay in the Chinese capital, or the
frequency of your visits to it, her Majesty's Government
are willing to leave to your discretion the duration of your
stay on the first occasion. Your primary object, after the
exchange of the ratifications, will be to come to such an
understanding with the Government as may ensure prompt
attention being paid-by proper authorities in the capital to
any representations that you may see occasion to address to
it ; and you will particularly insist upon your right to em-
ploy messengers of your own, whether European or Chi-
nese, for the conveyance of your communications, and upon
due facilities for the performance of their journeys being
secured for such messengers.

Your general language will be that her Majesty's Go-
vernment are most anxious that the increased intercourse
with the Chinese empire, under the treaty of Lien-tain,
may contribute to the mutual advantage of both countries ;
that it is her Majesty's firm intention, while scrupulously
observing the engagements which she has herself con-
tracted, to require on the part of the Emperor of China a
corresponding observance of his own; that her Majesty's
officers in the different ports of China will be direct3d to
prevent, as far as in them lies, any disturbance of the pub-
lic peace and any disorderly conduct on the part of British
subjects ; and that, on the otherhand, her Majesty expects
that the Chinese authorities, both at the ports and in the
interior of the country, will be required to act up to the
treaty obligations contracted by their sovereign, and to
treat with kindness and consideration the subjects of her
Majesty who may be brought in contact with them.
Without waiving or compromising in any degree the
right of her Majesty's mission to reside at the capital, you
may let it be understood that the frequency of its visits to
Pekin, if not its permanent residence there, must in a great
degree depend on the manner in which the provisions of the
treaty are carried out. If no occasion is given for controversy
by attempts on the part of the Chinese local authorities to
evade the terms of the treaty, and more particularly if no
disposition is shown by the Government at the capital to
treat with disrespect any representations her Majesty's
Minister may address to it from Shanghae, the necessity for
such visits to the capital will be rare ; and when they are
made they will be rather complimentary than for the trans-
action of business. But you will say that as between the
Powers of Europe direct diplomatic intercourse, and the per-
manent residence of Ministers at the residence of the Sove-
reigns to whom they are accredited, are always looked upon
as an indication of friendship between States, so as her Ma-
jesty's Government hope that the day is not far distant
when not only will the presence of a British Minister
at -Pekin be viewed with satisfaction, but a repre-
sentative of the Emperor of China be accredited to her
Majesty's Court, where you will say he will be welcomed
both by her Majesty and her Government, and treated with
the same distinction and consideration as the representa-
tives of her Majesty's nearest allies.

No. 2.

MR. BRUCE TO TAE EARL OF MALXESBITRY. (RECEIVED
JULY 5).
Victoria, Hong gong,
May 4.
My Lord,—There is little reliable information to be ob-
tained here as to the reception her Majesty's mission is
likely to meet with at Pekin, and the fact of the Commis-
sioners Kweilang and llwashana remaining at SoochOw,
near Shanghae, though Mr. Lay has urged them to re-
turn to Pekin, to be on the spot when the foreign mis-
sions arrive there, would seem to indicate a hope on their
part that some incident may enable them to avert the
visit to Pekin; and this view is strengthened by the ru.
mours, more or less true, of the repair of the old forts at
the mouth of the Peiho, and the construction of fresh de-
fences along its course.

At the same time it is reported, and, in the main, no
doubt truly, that a Russian mission of some pretensions
arrived at Pekin; that its members walk about the
aropean costume, unmolested; and that dis-

cussions have taken place between its chief and the Chi-
nese Covernment on matters of etiquette, in which it is re-
ported that the Russian has receded from his first demand.
The reports from Pekin are sent by native Roman Catholic
catechists to their bish.op, and embody probably, the gos-
sip which circulates in the streets of Pekin on these sub-
jects. Your lordship is likely to be better informed from
St. Petersburg than we are on the coast of China, of the
route and character of this Russian agent.

It became necessary for me to decide, in this state ofuncer-
tainty as to the intentions of the Chinese Government, on
the force which should accompany me to the Peiho, it being
desirable that it should proceed without delay to the north.
By a note received from M. Bourboulon, my French col-
league, I see he does not expect that Admiral Rigault will
spare from the operations in Annam more than two vessels,
of which one, I hope, will be able to ascend the river as far
as Tien-tsin. I therefore requested Admiral Hope and Sir
Charles van Stranbenzee to confer with him on this point.
As your lordship will see by the enclosed minute I stated to
them that the objects of my mission were—the exchange of
the ratifications at Pekin, the delivery of my credentials to
the Emperor of China in person, and my arrival, as far as
Tein-tsin, in a British ship of war. They agreed in the
opinion that it would not be safe to assume that the Chinese
would concede these points, and enter seriously on the con-
sideration of the measures required to bring the treaty into
full operation, unless I were aceompanied with an imposing
force, and they agreed that it should be as nearly as pos-
sible of the same strength as that which formed the expedi-
tion of last year. I hope by the demonstration to render
the ective employment of the force unnecessary. _

In the meantime I have requested Mr. Wade to inform
Mr. Lay confidentially at Shanghae of the objects and scope
of the mission, leaving it to his discretion, in which I have
full reliance, to communicate it, as from himself, to tho Chi-
nese commissioners. We may thus obtain some knowledge
of their intentions on our arrival at Shanghae, which would
be important as a guide in our future proceedings.
I have not decided on the terms of my communications
to the Chinese Government on the point from which it is
to be sent. I propose discussing these points with M.
Bourboulon, and with the American Minister.
I proceed to Canton as soon as the mail leaves for Eng-
land ; and on my return I shall visit Macao, where I hope
to find my colleagues.—l have, &c.,
. _

(signed)

FREDERICK W. A. BRUCE.

[lnclosure in No. 2.]

MINUTE OF A CONVENTION HELD AT THE GOVERNMENT

OFFICES AT MONO KONG, ON FRIDAY, APRIL 23, 1859.
Mr. Bruce stated that the instructions of her Majesty's
Government were to the effect that he was to proceed, if
possible, to Tein-tsin in a British man-of-war, and thence
to Pekin, where the exchange of the ratifications was to be
effected, and where he was to present his letters of credence
to the Emperor of China, in person, insisting on such a re-
ception as was befitting his character as the representative
of a nation on an equality with that of China.
He further stated that we were not in possession of any
reliable information as to the spirit in which the Chinese
Government were prepared to receive this first attempt to
establish direct relations on a footing of equality with the
Court of Pekin. That we must be guided, therefore, by
the general experience we had acquired of the Chinese cha-
racter, and that we might infer as the result of our past ex-
perience that the objects of this mission were most likely to
be satisfactorily and peacefully attained if the British Mi-
nister were supported by a powerful demonstration of force
at the mouth of the Peiho river.

Sir Charles van Straubenzee and Rear-Admiral Hope
concurred in this view, the latter stating that his instruc-
tions contemplated the Minister being escorted with an im-
posing force.

It was unanimously agreed that the expedition should,
if possible, be as strong as that which accompanied the
ambassadors of England and France to the Peiho last year,
and with that view Sir Charles van Straubenzee intimated
his being prepared, consistently with the security of his
position at Canton, to place a battalion of marines and a
company of engineers at the disposal of Rear-Admiral
Hope. This addition to the naval force would compensate
for the absence of the French in Cochin China.

No. 3.
LORD J. RUSSELL TO MR. BRUCE.
Foreign-office. July 6.

Sir,—Her Majesty's Government approve the arrange-
ments, as reported in your despatch of the 4th of May,
which you have adopted, in concert with Sir Charles van
Straubenzee and Rear-Admiral Hope, for the purpose of
proceeding up the Peiho on your way to Pekin, backed
by an adequate naval and military force.—l am, &e.,
(Signed) J. RUSSELL.

No. 4.

MR. BRUCE TO THE EARL OF MALMESEURY.-RECEIVED
JULY 16.

Victoria, Hong Hong, May 21, 1859.

My Lord,--I have the honour to enclose copy of the note
I have addressed to the Chinese Chief Secretary of State,
Kweiliang, informing him of my arrival in China, of the
diplomatic character I bear, and of the course I intend to
pursue. M. Bourboulon has also sent a note to him couched
in identical terms.

In my previous despatches I have informed your lordship
that we can ascertain nothing as to the intentions of this
Goveriment with respect to the visit of foreign envoys to
Pekin; but the Imperial Commissioners, on hearing of my
arrival in China, have proceeded from Soo-chow to Shang-
hae, a fact of some significance, and which gives colour to
the opinion that they hope to raise questions or begin nego-
tiations at that point, otherwise they would have returned
ere this to Pekin, for the purpose of making preparations
for our reception.
It seems to me important that I should, from the com-
mencement, assume the new political status which I bear as
a Minister accredited to the Emperor of China.
With this view I have put forward, in a prominent and
intelligible shape, the character I bear, and the necessity of
my proceeding direct to Pekin, to present to the Emperor my
credentials, in accordance with established usage, and
thereby qualify myself for the discharge of my functions as
Envoy to the Court of Pekin. For the same reason I have
addressed Kweiliang, as Chief Secretary of State—not as
Imperial ,Commissioner—as I wish to avoid any act that
may be construed into an acceptance of an Imperial Com-
missioner at Shanghae. My language on that point will be
that the acceptance of such a functionary is made contin-
gent on a proper reception at Pekin, and on arrangements
being made which will secure free access and unreserved
communication with the Imperial Ministers at the capital,
on all matters on which I think they ought to be informed.
I hope, in this way, to compel the Chinese Government
to declare itself upon those points which we know are the
most unpalatable to it ; and if there exist on its part a
disposition to evade its obligations, to thrust us back, as
before, on the seaboard, and refuse the reception which I
cannot waive without lowering our national dignity, I trust
we shall be in possession of their views when we arrive at
the mouth of the Peiho, and not be left to discover them
gradually at Pekin. If, as is most probable, the Court of
Pekin is wavering, anxious to evade, but unwilling to risk a
rupture, I trust that identity of views among the foreign re-
presentatives, firm language, and an imposing demonstra-
tion of force, will secure the observance by it of the recent
treaties, and incline it to listen to moderate and pacific ad-
visers.

In closing this despatch, I beg to draw your lordship's
attention to a letter I addressed to Admiral Hope on a pro-
posal by the Lords of the Admiralty to reduce further the
force on this station—a measure much to be regretted
should it be carried into operation before the visit to Pekin
is successfully accomplished.—l have, &c.,
(Signed) FREDERICK W. A. BRUCE.

(Indosuro 1 in No. 4.)
MR. BRUCE TO COMMISSIONER KWEILIANG

The undersigned, &c., &e., has the honour to inform his
Excellency, Kweiliang, Senior Secretary of State, that her
Majesty the Queen, &c., &c., has been pleased in further-
ance of the intimate and friendly relations happily esta-
blished between the two empires by the treaty of Tien-tsin
to appoint the undersigned to the honourable post of Envoy
Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to his Majesty
the Emperor of China.
In that capacity he is the bearer of an autograph letter
from her Majesty the Queen to his Majesty the Emperor of
China, which it will be his pleasing duty to present to his
Majesty in person, according to the established usage
among friendly nations, and in order that he may be thereby
properly qualified to undertake the duties of his office as
her Majesty's Representative to the Court of Pekin.
The undersigned has further to add that he is charged
with the counterpart of the treaty of Tien-tsin, duly rati-
fied by her most Gracious Majesty, and that he will be pre-
pared to exchange it at Pekin, as agreed on in the treaty,
against one equally ratified by his Majesty the Emperor of
China, that relations of peace and of good-will may be thus
mutually confirmed and platted on a sure and permanent
basis.

The undersigned takes this opportunity of informing his
Excellency Kweiliang, that in compliance with the above
instructions of his Sovereign, he is about to proceed without
delay, IT ship, to Tien-tsin. He trusts that the necessary
orders will be given for the conveyance of himself and suite
from thence to Pekin, and for the provision of suitable accom-
modation for him during his residence in the capital itself in
a manner befitting the dignity of the nation ho represents.
The undersigned, &c.,
(Signed) FREDERICK W. A. BRUCE.
Vietoria, Hong Kong, May 16, 1859.

(Inclosure 2 in No. 4.)
M. BRUCE TO REAR-ADMIRAL IDOPE.
Victoria, Hong Kong, May 21, 1859.
(Extract.)
With reference to the despatch from the Lords of the Ad-
miralty proposing a reduction of the force on this station,
I beg to observe that the facts which have come to my
knowledge since my arrival in China confirm me as to the
.propriety of the conclusion come to, in concert with your-
self and Sir Charles van Straubenzee, viz., 'a That the force
which is to accompany me to the North .ought to be as
strong as that which accompanied the alli eel high commis-
sioners last year to Tien-tsin."

The task of supplying the deficiency caused by the diver-
sion of the French force to Cochin China, devolves exclu-
sively on the commander-in-chief of her Majesty's naval
forces here, at a time when the squadron ik-t his disposal is

considerably less than that under the command of Sir
Michael Seymour last year.
No person can pretend to speak positively as to the inten-
tions of the Chinese ; but we know they urged the modi-
fication of one clause in the treaty, on the ground that it
was extorted by force, and that there was no opportunity
for discussion afforded at Tien-tsin. The same argument
would held good for the elimination of every other article
which may be disagreeable to them; and as I see that the
Imperial commissioners, instead of going to Pekin to pre-
pare for the reception of the foreign envoys, have returned
to Shanghae, I do not doubt that they aie prepared to pro-
pose further modifications in the treaty, and to raise diffi-
culties as to ray proper reception at Pekin, unless they find
us determined and able to carry our point.

No. 5.
LORD Z. RUSSELL TO MR. "mum
Foreign Office, July 12, 1859.

have to acquaint you that her Majesty's govern-
ment approve the note which you addressed to the Chief
Secretary of State, KWeiliang, of which a copy is enclosed
in your dispatch of the 21st of May, and in which you an-
nounced to him your arrival in China as her Majesty's
envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to the
Emperor of China.—l am, &c., (Signed) J. RUSSELL.

No. 6.
MR. BRUCE TO THE EARL OF MALMESBURY.
(Received July 31.)
Victoria, Hong-Kong, May 30, 1859.

My Lord,—l have the honour to enclose a report of a
conversation between the interpreter, Mr. Hart, at Canton,
and a Chinese who has just returned from Pekin, represent-
ing the disposition of the Emperor as most hostile. A
rumour is also current here that the Russiansestablished at
the capital have been massacred.
On the other hand, it appears that a certain Ta-hi, a
Chinese merchant at Shanghae, who deals largely with
foreigners, and who, from his intimacy, with the intendant
at that place and his connection with the north, is generally
well informed, states that the Chinese Government will not
offer any opposition to our visit to Pekin.
I do not consider that my plans ought to be influenced
in any degree by these reports. If any inference is to be
drawn from them it is this, that there is a strong party op-
posed to the concessions to foreigners, and a party resigned
to them as inevitable ; that the triumph of the one or of the
other is possible, and will depend on the moral effect pro-
duced by the cordial union of foreign powers, and on the
fear of a fresh collision inspired by the demonstration of an
imposing force in support of our demands.—l have, &c.
(Signed) FREDERICK W. A. BRUCE.