The Sun.
London, England, 1857-02-27 00:00:00

government, which I believe to be one of the greatest peg-
sible curses. (Laughter.)
Lord J. RUSSELL —I believe that this idea takes the
shape of a new demand. And that not satisfied with the
appointments which the Emperor of China makes, this
governor at Canton is to be displaced in order to make
room for somebody else, who perhaps will be recommended
by the Colonial Secretary of this country to his attention.
(Laughter). The experience which her Majesty's Govern-
ment lately bad at Naples will no doubt suffice to instruct
them in regard to the internal government of China (Hear.)
Commissioner Yeh is said to be a very bad governor. I am
told that he is likely to be disavowed. That however, does
not appear to be the case. The right hon. gentleman said
he was high in favour with the Emperor, and therefore not
likely to be removed. His views are probably adopted by
the Government of Pekin. Well, if that be the case, I think
you have a right fairly to demand, but not certainly to inter•
fere with the appointments of the Emperor of China, Per-
haps, indeed, he might say, " After all, my commissioner
may be a very tyrannical, violent man, but I cannot say that
your superintendent is a very mild and moderate individual."
(Hear.) That a mandarin looking after a pirate in a doubtful
case should have led to such consequences of bloodshed and
destruction cannot be too much lamentel—(hear, hear)--but,
sir, I regret to find that in all the papers laid before Parlia-
ment, and amongst all the terms of approbation applied to
the resident and the admiral, there is not one single expres'
sion to intimate that the Government lament those sad events.
There is no expression of sorrow at it. (Hear.) I think it
would have been decent of them to have expressed that feel-
ing. I find that in other cases where the flag of a nation bas
been used to protect criminal pursuits, my noble friend at
the head of the Government has with just indignation eo's;
plained of such an unjust prostitution of the flag. I In'
that my noble friend, in a letter to the American Govern'
meat in 1840, respecting a Spanish vessel, with a Spanish
crew, which was engaged in the slave trade, and sailed under
a licence granted by the American consul at Cuba—l find in
that document, after stating at some length the general pri-
vilege from search enjoyed by vessels bona fide sailing under
the flag of a friendly nation, my noble friend, alluding to
vessels trading in slaves, said that these vessels could not
expect to evade the right of search "by hoisting a piece o,f,
bunting with the stars and stripes of the United States.
(Loud cheers.) Sir, had opinions like these prevailed amongst
the authorities at Canton they would have said, " You mast
search this vessel in order to see whether she has papers
and they would have found that her registry had expired
(hear, hear)—that according to Sir J. Bowring's own law sb•
was not entitled to protection, and thus the case would have
fallen as, it ought to have fallen. (Cheers.) But, unfortu-
nately, I must say that I think the worst part of this case,
and one which Ido not see has been censured by her Ma-
jesty's Government, was that Sir .1. Bowring, while he de-
clared.that this vessel had lost all right to British protection,
still sets up her claim to that protection against the Chines'
commissioner, and tells him to apologise for this insult to the
British flag which has been unlawfully used. (Loud cheers
from the Opposition;) Sir, I have heard a great deal lately
_too much, indeed—about the prestige or this country.
_ _

I(Hear.) We used to hear of the character-OfEngiank of the
honour of England, of the reputation of England. I trust, sir,
that the character, and the honour, and the reputation of this
country will ever be dear to us all. (Cheers.) But as to the
prestige separated from those qualities—separated from
character, separated from honour, separated from reputation
—I have no wish to see it maintained. (Renewed cheering.)
Some persons have said, " It is true, we have a bad case ; it
is true we have acted with injustice ; but we must persevere
in the wrong ; we must continue- to do that injustice, or
otherwise the Chinese will think we are afraid of them." 111,
reply to that statement, I on this occasion say, " Be just and
fear not." (Hear, hear, and great cheering.) On the point
of prestige I do net pretend to judge ; but I cannot but con-
sider that the honour of this country will be raised more then
ever when it can be said that a troublesome, meddlesome
official, having prostituted th; arms of England, and induced
a brave admiral to commence hostilities which should never
have been begun, the English House of Commons declared
that they would be no party to that conduct—(loud cheers)
—that neither for commercial advantage, nor for political ad'
vantages, nor for any other possible advantage to the coo'
try, would they consent to stain that honour which, after an,
has been and must be the sure foundation of her greatness.
(Loud and general cheering continued for some time after the
noble lord had resumed his seat.)
Mr. LOWE said that when he considered the signal
favour with which the speech of the noble lord had been re'
ceived—(cheers)—he should ask the indulgence of the bonee
while he stated one or two points which had not been
touched on before that evening. The noble lord. had said
•
that we could not give the Chinese any right as againe
their Emperor. The hon. baronet opposite (Sir E. Bnbret
Lytton) had taken the same ground. (Hear, hear.) If that
doctrine were -good a great many British ships would kW
the protection they now enjoyed ; all would be excluded
from that protection except ships British-built, British-owned,
and British-manned. Hong Kong had been ceded to England.
and the inhabitants handed over to English Government. It
had been said that these persons remained Chinese subjects;
but that proposition could not be maintained, for all' that a
country could do to cast off its subjects had been done by the
Chinese Government in the case of the inhabitants of Hong
Kong. These people were quasi subjects of the British Crow,
and they might be indicted for high treason did they take uP
arms against her Majesty. That point had not been sufficiently
considered. And what condition could be more miserable than
that of the Chinese, if they had lost the protection of the
,
Chinese Government without having obtained that of tint!
country? It was to give them this protection that the disputed
ordinance had been promulgated ; and this was a humane,
regulation, which the house ought to uphold for the sake n!
humanity. The ordinance was legal in its inception, and lt
was for those who disputed it to show that it had since be-
come illegal. As to the Arrow not being under protection
at the time of the arrest he denied that proposition. In
fact, the construction put upon the rule by the hon. baronet
(Sir E. B. Lytton) was too monstrous for reception by the
human mind. The grammatical construction of the rule
might admit of some doubt, but not such a one as would
prevail against the manifest intention of the rule if the
matter were brought before a competent tribunal for a de'
cision, If British protection had been refused to this
lorcha, what would have been the indignation of the hon.
member for the West Riding at the wretched quibbling and
sophistry of the British agents in China ? But the question
was not merely a legal one, but one ielating to the animus of
the Chinese authorities against this country. A letter front
Sir J. Bowring to Commissioner Yeh, in Nov , 1855, about 11
months before the occurrence under discussion, informed that
governor that all persons, natives included, in Hong Kong-
could obtain for their vessels protection by registration. Til
letter also contained a warning to the Chinese on theesubjee
of interference with vessels so protected. No remonstrance wall
made to this letter. Therefore the Chinese did not in the Ar'
row ease act from ignorance of the effect of the colonial rot*
tration. Much as he deplored the consequences that had en-
sued from the proceedings at Canton, it appeared to him that
not upon the British authorities in China or the government
at home, but upon those who committed the lawless and ill-
advised act of seizing the crew of the lorcha, rested the re"
sponsibility of those consequences. He was no advocate for
dealing with Oriental powers on different principles, as far al -
justice was concerned, from those which regulated our deal"
rugs with European powers. Conscience was of no conntrft
and the laws of morality and justice were at least as exten-
sive as the world in which we lived. (A laugh and oh.) But
in the manner of dealing with Oriental people, in cases where
affront had been put upon us, there was a difference. It Was
that they proportioned their canduct towards those with
whom they came in contact by their own ideas of their pore!
3f defending themselves, and aggressions which a grog'
nation could afford to pass over when committed
by a member of the civilised confederacy of Europe must be
dealt with promptly and punished on the spot. The violence
in the present case did not come from us, but from the Chinese
themselves. They were offered every opportunity of apology
if they had chosen to avail themselves of it. They were re'
quested to return the twelve men and they did so. (Hear.)
But then they were to return them publicly: that was, ad'
mit before the face of the people, in whose presence they
dishonoured the British flag, that they were bound to make
reparation. The insult to our honour they declined to 'redress,
and they had declined that redress up to this very day. It
might not be very philosophical, perhaps, to connect with a
flag which, aftey all, was only a bit of painted linen, ideas of
national glory and dignity': and he dared say that the asso•
elation of ideas rested on no very metaphysical principles.
If this flag had been torn down by the Chinese and a little
soiled in the encounter—(oh)--it probably could be washed
again —(oh, oh)—at all events, the constituents of the bon.
member for the West Riding could turn out a new one. (Re'
newed cries of " Oh.") This flag, which hon. gentlemen
opposite sneered at —(vehement shouts of." No")—brave and
noble men had nailed to the mast, and rather gone dOwn with,
it in the depths of the ocean than endure the ignominy of
hauling it down in the face of an enemy : and they did wisely
and worthily, for those emblems and symbols—Mere emblems
and symbols though they were —of the power and dignity of
a nation, had themselves a power and an influence over the
human mind, and in proportion as we guarded and respected
them se would they be guarded and respected by other
people. (Cheers.)' -
Mr. S. WARREN moved the adjournment of the debate.

Mr. GIBSON understood that the two resolutions had been
put from the chair as one ; but the original manuscript which
was handed in by leis: hon, friend when he gave his notice sepa•
rated the motion into two, with the figures "1" and "2" pre-
fixed ; whilst the word " resolutions," not " resolution " was
written at the top. It was clear, therefore, that it was the
intention of his hon. friend to submit his notion in two dis-
tinct propositions, and he hoped that, as it did not appear on
the paper in the fqrm in which it was handed in, the house
would consent to its being altered And submitted in the fora)
in v4lieh it was intended by his hon. friend.
The SPEAKER said there could be no doubt that it was
the original intention of the hon. member for the West
Riding to put in two resolutions, though by some mistake of
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Mr. COBDEN said his intention was, undoubtedly, to
move the resolutions separately, and he was utterly at
loss to conceive how the mistake had arisen. He thought
directions ought to be given the printer to use more care in
dealing with the manuscripts that were put into his hando,
for he observed that a pencil mark had been run through the
figure " 2," and the word " resolutions" converted into the
singular from the plural,
Lord PALMERSTON apprehended the house could not
reasonably object to allow the hon. member to move his rest"
lutioo in the manner he had originally intended—but ho must
say that he thought it was rather incumbent upon the hon.
gentleman to have looked at the votes and seen whether his
notice was printed in the manner he proposed to submit them
to the house. (Hear.) Had he exercised that care which ever/
member who had a motion to make should naturally exercise,
and just hear whether the resolutions were properly put or
not, the mistake would havowbeen avoided. He was sure►
however, the house would not be disposed to offer any opPn-
sition to the change, but allow the resolution to be put from
the chair in the manner the hon, gentleman said' he first in-
tended.
The motion for adjourning the debate and the original mo-
tion were then withdrawn, and the first resolution put from
the chair.
On the motion of Mr. WARREN, the debate was then ad-
journed.

Mr, ROEBUCK—To what day I
Lord PALMERSTON—To this day. (Hear, hear.)
The Lighting of Towns (Ireland) Act Amendment Bill waS
then passed through committee ; and
The house adjourned at twenty minutes past twelyc.

LONDON : Printed and Pnbliahed by MURDO YOUNG,
of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at The Sun Office, No•
112, Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the county
of Middlesex, Friday, February 27, 3857.