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

at the forts, that the Government was prepared to dis-
avow these hostile proceedings, if we succeeded in clear-
ing a passage up the river.

We were equally justified by our past experience, and by
the reluctance of the Chinese Government to allow us to
proceed up the river, in assuming that they considered they
would gain a great advantage by keeping the vessels out-
side, and by reducing us to negotiating in the gulf or in the
interior, deprived of the moral support we should have ac-
quired from the presence of our flags at Tien-tsin. Our
desisting from claiming the right to go up in our ships
would have been attributed to inability to force their de-
fences, and the ascendancy would thus have been secured to
the war party in the Emperor's councils. My conviction is
that in that case we must have abandoned all hope of a pro-
p,er reception at Pekin on this occasion, and that we should
have found it impossible to establish unrestricted access to
the central government in future, or work eut in practice
the clauses of the treaty provided for circulation in the in-
terior, and the imposition of regular duties instead-of-arbi-
trary exactions, provisions which can always be evaded,
and for which we can have no other guarantee than the
Emperor's dread of giving us offence.

On the 21st of June I accordingly addressed a letter to
Admiral Hope (copy enclosed), requesting him in the joint
names of M. Bourboulon and myself to take such steps as
he might deem expedient to clear away the obstacles in the
river, so as to admit of our proceeding at once to Tien-tsin.
Nothing was done until the 24th, the admiral boing mean-
while engaged in notifying that as a passage up the river
had not been opened, he should proceed to open it himself,
and Mr. Ward, the American Minister, having signified
his intention of proceeding on the 24th in his small steamer
to the forts, and requiring a free passage up the river, in
which application he was, like ourselves, unsuccessful.
During that night, however, Admiral Hope caused part
of the obstacles to be blown up withput loss, and the at-
tempt to pass the barriers and proceed up the river was
fixed for the morning of the following day.
About 9 a.m. on the 25th a junk came alongside her Ma-
jesty's ship Magicienne, anchored about nine miles from the
forts, and a petty mandarin came on board with a letter ad •
dressed to me by the Governor General of Peellelee, transla-
tion of which I herewith enclose. I announced that the Go-
vernor General had been ordered to proceed to Peh-tang.ho,
an inlet or small month of the river about 10 miles to the
northward of this anchorage, and thence to offer his services
to her Majesty's minister. That Kweiliang and Hwashana
had been summoned back to Pekin, as the persons autho-
rised to exchange ratifications, and convey the minister to
the capital. I was requested, therefore, to wait their arrival,
and to allow time for the withdrawal of the troops quartered
at Peh-tang-ho, after which the Governor General would
sJme in a vessel to convey me to the landing -place, whence
I should proceed to Pekin by land.
This letter was dated the 23d, and only reached me on the
25th—a delay which is inexplicable, if it had been intended
to reach me in time.

As, in thebody of the letter, the name of her Majesty was
not put on the same level with that of the Emperor of China
thereby violating the principle of equality established by the
treaty, it was returned by Mr. Wade for correction, with
sn intimation that I was about to pvoceed to Tien-tsin.
As the attempt to pass up the river was to be made at ten
a.m., it woutd have been difficult for me at that late hour, to
have communicated with the admiral, who was at adistance
of nine miles, and already engaged in his operations; but I
should not have been deterred by the informality alluded to
above, had the contents of the letter been satisfactory. It
will bo seen, however, on comparing it with Kweiliang's
last letter to me at Shanghae, that the proposal. differs so
widely from thecourse recommended by the commissioners,
as to confirm the impressisn in my mind that the pacific
party had lost their influence with the Emperor. Kweiliang
had acknowledged the propriety of exchanging the ratifica-
tions within the stipulated period, and had proposed that a
person should be named to meet me at this place, and con-
duct me at onco to Pekin ; thus admitting that the treaty
was to be accepted as it stood, without further discussion.
The Governor-General of Pechelee proposes a course
which is substantially a repetition of the attempts made to
detain me at Shahghae, and postpone indefinitely the ex-
change of ratifications, thereby giving room for re-opening
discussions on those points which are particularly obnoxious
to the Chinese Government. In both letters it is to be re-
marked that a demand for a personal interview is passed
over in silence; and in neither am I informed that the Im-
perial Government objects to our making use of the river
route to Tien-tsin.

Apart, therefore, from the considerations I have speci-
fied above, for believing that the abandonment of the right
to go up the river would be fatal to the success of the mis-
sion, and would establish a precedent which would put it
in the power of the Chinese Government to throw difficul-
ties in the way of our future intercourse with Pekin, I could
only see in this overture a further attempt at evasion and
delay, and evidence that the influence at court of liweili-
ang and his colleagues was at a low ebb. It is, moreover,
a significant proof of how idle it is to expect to carry out
our policy by appealing to any other motive than fear, that
nil communication was addressed to M. de Beurboulon, and
no notice taken of Mr. Ward, though he came to the Gulf
of Pechelee at the express invitation of the Imperial Com-
missioners.

Answers are received at Takoo within 48 hours from
Pekin, and had the Government wished to treat foreign
ministers with courtesy, it would not have allowed eight
days to elapse without taking any notice of them, and then
contented itself with addressing the only minister who hap-
pens to be supported by a considerable force.
Her Majesty's government will be informed by Admiral
Hope's despatches that on proceeding to remove the barriers
on the 25th, the batteries which had up to that time re-
mained apparently deserted, and some of them masked, were
suddenly manned, and opened with so heavy and well
directed a fire, as to render the operation of removing the
barriers impossible. Towards the close of the day a force
was landed to storm the batteries, but failed in the at-
tempt, owing to the nature of the ground and the deep
ditches which had to be crossed before reaching the forts.
Nothing could exceed the heroism of those engaged in the
attack, and, judging from our past experience of Chinese
warfare, there was every reason to expect success. But the
Chinese fired on this occasion with a skill and precision of
which there is no previous example in the history of our
contests with them, and which would seem to show that
they must have received foreign instruction, even if they
have not foreigners in their ranks.

Admiral Hope having notified to me that the force under
his command was unable to clear the passage up the river,
M. de Bourbolon and myself agreed that we must consider
the mission to Pekin at an end for the present, and that we
should retire to Shanghae. I accordingly addressed the en-
closed letter to the admiral, requesting him to dispose et the
force in the manner best calculated to preserve tranquillity
at the ports open to trade. I thought it expedient not to
address any communication to the Chinese 'gayernment
upon these events, in order not to interfere in any way with
the decision of her Majesty's Government, and to keep the
Chinese Government as long as possible in suspense as to
its ulterior intentions.—l have, &o.;
(Signed) FREDERICK W. A. Rnucx.

U

Enclosure 1 in No. 9.
BEAR-ADMIRAL HOPE TO THE TAOUTAE OP TIEN-TSIN.
Off the Peiho, June 20, 1859.
Having arrived here with a considerable squadron in
company with the Hon-Frederick-Bruce, the Minister em-
powered by her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain to ex-
change the ratifications of the treaty concluded last year
with his Majesty the Emperor of China, and it being my
intention that the squadron shall remain here during Mr.
Bruce's absence at Pekin, I request that proper directions
may be given that I may be permited to purchase such
supplies of fresh provisions and other articles as I require;
and that the officers and mon may have free communication
with and access to the shore in such numbers as may not
be inconvenient to the inhabitants of Takoo.—Accept, &c.
(Signed) JAMES HOPE.

Enclosure 2 in No. 8.
MR. BRUCE TO REAR-ADMIRAL HOPE.
Magicienne, off the Peiho, June 21, 1859.
Sir,—M. de Bourboulon and myself havingmaturely con-
sidered the position of affairs, we have come to the conclu-
sion that it would not be consistent with the course
hitherto adopted by us to delay further our attempt to reach
Pekin within the time specified by the treaty for the ex-
change of ratifications. The Chinese Government, besides
the article of the treaty itself, is before this in possession of
the correspondence that passed at Shanghae with the com-
missioners, and, had it wished to do so, could have sent
orders to facilitate our progress up the river. As you are
aware, the course their officers at Takoo are pursuing,
bears every mark of a fixed determinaiton to prevent us pro-
ceeding to Tien-tsin. The superior officers in charge of the
forts keep out of the way to avoid making any specific de-
claration of their intentions until their preparations for
our exclusion are completed, and their subordinates have
not hesitated at positive falsehood for the same purpose.
There is considerable reason to believe that on the Mon-
gol Prince in charge of the works.the hopes of the war
party repose, and that if he is defeated in his attempts to
keep us out of the river, pacific counsels will prevail with
the Emperor, but there is little chance of any satisfactOry
result while their confidence in him is unabated, or that the
visit to the capital will be effected in such a manner as to
impress the Chinese with a just idea of our national power
and equality.
We have therefore resolved to place the matter in your
hands, and to request you to take any measures you may
deem expedient for clearing away the obstructions in the
river, so as to allow us to proceed at once to Tien-tsin.
I have'also to beg that you will act in M. de Bourboulon's
name as well as in mine.--I have, &c.,
(Signed) F. W. A. BRUCE.

Enclosure 3 in No. 9.
GOVERNOR HANG TO MR. BRUCE.
(Translation.)
Hang, Governor-General of Chili, &c., makes a commu-
nication.
In obedience to the commands of his Imperial Majesty,
the Governor-General has come to Peh-tang-Ho, a port (br 'I
harbour) to the northward of Takoo, to be of any service
(or to do the honours to) ber Britannic Majesty's Envoy.
As to the negotiations of the treaty made last year, his
Majesty the Emperor has issued a decree commanding the
Chief Secretary of State, liweiliang, and the President I