The Sun.
London, England, 1859-09-02 00:00:00

FRO3I CHINA TO JAPAN.

(From a Correspondent of the Times.)
CANTON, MAY 12.

A tropical summer is upon us ; the last few days
'have brought painful evidence of the fact, all the
more unwelcome that they have failed to bring the
first cargo of ice from America to enable us to meet
the enemy. With the thermometer standing at 97
In your bedroom, mosquitoes swarming round your
curtains, and too often within, sleep is a blessing
which comes but seldom, and never sound or re-
freshing. In all travels in the East there is a sup-
presszo yen in regard to these poisoners of the hu-
man existence and destroyers of all peace, the mos-
quitoes, as unjustifiable as it is unaccountable. 'Not
content with sucking the blood out of your veins,
they pour a venom into them, throwing the most
philosophic of their victims into a state of fever and
irritation. The heat itself, enervating and exhaust-
ing as it is, would be ten times more endurable but
for these winged pests of society. The very noise of
their trumpet becomes so hateful that the bugle
sounding the advance of a line of Zonave skirmishers
could hardly be more distracting or fatal to any
sense of repose or security; and, like the small
provocations of a bitter tongue, the longer they
continue and the oftener they are repeated the more
intolerable they become. It is not fair in old East-
ern travellers to suppress, as they almost invariably
do, any distinct reference to this greatest of small
miseries, and, with the exception of enlarged
livers an 4 sudden death, the most fatal of the
drawbacks to an Eastern climate. My conscience
is free. If any youth or maiden come henceforth
"Eastward. ho ! " with halcyon dreams of fortunes
or of husbands, taking no account of this future
torment of their lives—which will sting them into
exasperation under the table while they are smiling
kind things above, take the savour out of the best
viands, render eating a purgatory, and sleep an
impossibility, or a troubled and feverish dream at
best—on their own heads be it ; " they cannot say
the truth had never been told," as a Chinese man-
darin would observe.

The sun is indeed in his strength, and peering a
great blaze of light on the broad waters of the Pearl
River as they sweep in dangerous eddies past the
rocks in mid stream, and reflect in broken lines the
ruined suburbs of Canton. How are the mighty
fallen ! Not only is this city still in the occupa-
, tion of the barbarian, while - roofless houses and
crnmbling walls, with windows like eyeless sockets,
tell the tale of weak and unavailing resistance, but
here comes steaming up the river a vessel with the
British ensign, freigted with the remains of the
Viceroy who played his last stake at Canton, and
lost it. Yes, .Yeh is OA his way to his last home in
Chinese earth. He has indeed returned, as Lord
Stanley in the house the other day intimated he
might, but only to be buried. The Fatalist's creed
has ill served so persevering a believer. One would
have liked to look within, and to have seen whether
in the long solitary hours passed in a foreign land,
he ever passed in review his Canton ad-
ministration, with a- doubt or question in
his mind as to the policy or wisdom of
his course. As far as can be learned, the thought
never suggested itself; but he was too evidently a
reserved and uncommunicative man for his silence
to form any:guide as to what his thoughts may have
been. Certain it is he died and gave no sign, ex-
pressed no doubt, and, to all appearance, was dis-
turbed by no regret or misgiving. Had he lived to
come back, as might well have been, for we had no
longer any object in keeping him—and he had
latterly betrayed some anxiety and bestirred him-
self, especially after the death of his aide-de-camp
by cholera, to be allowed to return—he would cer-
tainly have seen such a changed order of things as
might have roused him to reflection even with all
his stolid and nil ad»2iriri habits. Not that he
would have admired, but he could scarcely have
failed to be surprised. He might have passed incog-
nito through the streets of the great and busy city
he had so lately governed, trembling often lest
braves from without and conspirators within might
snatch it from his grasp, and see how it is now
held by a handful of foreign troops, so easily and
unconcernedly that from street to street a couple of
marine police, armed with a switch, keep perfect
order, and give security to all the thousands of the
bustling throng of shopkeepers, street vendors, and
still more numerous purchasers. Their occasional
presence is enough, and in this city, which no
foreigner might pollute with his presence, Eng-
lish officers, soldiers, and civilians on horseback,
in chairs, and on foot, are ever passing to anti fro,
and the Chinaman looks up from his work to notice
them as they pass ; and if a coolie meets you, his
only notice is the removal of his broad bamboo
hat, that it may not incommode the foreigner.
Children that used in all the suburbs to be taught
by their elders to spit out terms of abuse, the gentlest
of which was " fankwei.' or "foreign devil," now
hail the humblest private as " taipan" or " chief,"
and, with outstretched palm, sometimes insinuate
that a " kumshaw," or copper cash gratuity, would
be by no means disdained or unacceptable. A
goodly and a pleasant change for the better no one
can doubt, by whatever evil purchased; and clearest
proof that the long-nurtured hostility of the Can-
tonese population was of entirely factitious growth,
due absolutely and entirely to the machinations of
Mandarins, and a part of the confirmed policy of
the Court at Pekin. Even the admission of foreign-
ers into the city we now see might at any time at
their option have been granted. If other proof were
wanting, recent events have abundantly demon-
strated the truth, long suspected by some of the
more experienced in China, but always open to
question—namely, that the high Chinese officials
on the spot., when a necessity becomes apparent,
will venture vpon the repeal of even fundamental
laws on their own authority. I alltide to the re-
cent proclamation of the late Governor Peihkwei,
legalising the emigration of Chinese willing to enter
into labour contracts for foreign contracts. The
atrocities perpetrated by the Chinese crimps in
kidnapping by fraud and violence the unwary,
with a view to secure the bonus offered by
shippers under Portuguese, French, and other
foreign flags—not British, I am glad to say—
' had at last roused the whole population to
such estate of alarm and indignation as to threaten
the security of the officials, hitherto so supine, and
the peace of the place. Momentary measures were
taken in conjunc-Con with the allies to seize certain
receiving vessels, but the true remedy provided
under good advice by the Chinese high authorities
was by proclamation to remove the ban of illegality,
which served as a pretext for these enormities.
So would they have removed the ban on our en-
trance into Canton at any time these 15 years past,
if proper steps had been taken to make them under-
stand that we were determined it should be removed
in accordance with treaties, and that the alternative
was the certain capture and military occupation of
the city. However, as regards Canton, the know-
ledge came too late to save both armaments and
great destruction of property. Well it is if we can
flatter ourselves good has come of evil ; and of this
there is no room to doubt. Even as regards inter-
course with the authorities there is small evidence
. of ranctene, or ill-blood. The facility for direct and
personal intercourse has gone far to remove the pre-.
judice born of long isolation and the enmity
arising frem recent collision. A signal in-
stance was furnished two days ago, wen Mr.
Alcock, the British Consul here, was leaving
Canton for his post 'as the first Consul-General
at Japan. As the steamer passed the
Custom-house; on its way down the river, a
salute was fired by the Chinese authorities, with
abundant fireworks and crackers in continuation,
telling the surrounding population of the now order
of things the consul left behind him. A friendly
farewell of the high officer of the Chinese maritime
customs. was, indeed, a novel trait ; and he had pre-
viously sent an official on board with his card to
take leave and announce the intended salute. Three
ears ago this same official could not be approached
by her Majesty's consul, and when an official let-
ter might be answered, if at all, was always a
question. A great step in the way of progress and
teen taken,
n
nt friendly intercourse has undoubtedly
then, and it will be our own fault if
that which has
personal intercourse been
gained is ever lost. The
authorities sincektnhoewcoassulb'e
with the lioppo and other
-last return to Canton,
in November, I
enfrequent, and mest
satisfactory in every respect.lf a nuisance had to
be abated on the Henan
.sid, where the foreigners
vtnlclZcicci:'or
are now located—gambling Shops
the channels of a canal which had
over
and made into a filthy sewer to be rest built,
power of Great
restored—it re-
quired but a request from the consul and it was
done at once, where formerly all the
Britain could not have secured attention. With
the Hopp(); notwithstanding many difficulties and
continued evasion of duties by foreigners and Chinese
combined, it is -generally understood the most cor-
dial relationi have existed, and it is to be hoped
will still continue, notwithstanding. the departure
of the consul by whom these have been first cslab-
lished.
And now we pass the Bogue forts, with their
crumbled and battered walls, and fours hours more
brings us to Hongkong. The Willamette cleveely
steams her way through a very maze of boats and
shipping, without collision or accident, her great
• bell clanging. a deafening warning to the market
and shore boats, which evince the most perverse
tendency to cross the boWs of a steamer with scarce
a yard to spare--but they do escape generally; and
the anchor finally bring,.; her up at her berth, amidst
• a rush of sanpanssand boats of all sizes and descrip-
tions, and a mighty clamour of voices, in which the
shrill pipes of the women drown all bass efforts of
the men to. be overheard ab • -t"em.
ore. nTo get into
one f 'these hun dr d e sanpan.s with all Your below,-
trigs is truly a service of danger and e, frLti
of nerve.