The Sun.
London, England, 1857-05-18 00:00:00

IN RE J. C. ROBSON.

The bankrupt was described as of Castle-street, Ox-
for,l-street, buil ler, and to-day was appointed for his
last xaniination.

An application was made for an adjournment on the
ground that the bankrupt had not had time to complete
the accounts.

Mr. Chidley, for the assignees, did not object, and the
adjournment was granted.

IN RE HANIURY.

This bankrupt was described as of Branc►hley, grocer
and draper, and to day came up for his last examination.
The amount of the debts and assets are small, and in
October, 1854, he had only a capital of 101. He had
not kept a cash-book, and his accounts ware almost
wholly unvouched.

The bankrupt said they were the best he could make
out.

His Honour said he would not pass on such accounts.
The examination was then adjourned sine die.

SUCCESSFUL DIPLOMACY WITH THE
CHINESE IN 1848.

The following extracts from Mr. De Quincy's
work on " China" will be read with interest :

" Shanghai, as is well known to those few per-
sons who have made themselves acquainted with our
Chinese treaties, is one of the five ports laid open to our
commercial shipping—that is, extorted from the terrors
of China by our 10,000 expostulating bayonets ; and
next after Canton it is the most important. Here we
British bad, upon the whole, lived very much unmolest-
ed. For a thousand miles, laid between us and the mur-
dering ruffians of Canton, had availed to cleanse the air
from the reeking fumes of human shambles. Early,
however, in the spring of 1848, six years after our drums
and trumpets were heard no more, this happy calm was
interrupted by a ferocious outrage, which is of the last
importance for reasons of permanent diplomatic value.
The reader must not understand that, in its immediate
features of violence and wantonness, this case transcend-
ed many others in or near Canton ; on the contrary, by
an accident no life was lost on this occasion ; whereas in
Canton as many as six of our countrymen have been
murdered outright in ono and the same minute. But
the Shanghai case moved regularly through all the
stages of judicial inquest under the most resolute, vigi-
lant, and prudent of public officers. The Consul at
Shanghai, Mr. Rutherford Alcock, fortunately for the
interests of justice on this particular occasion—yet that
was a trifle by comparison with the interests of our
general position in China—followed up the criminal in-
quest, hunted back upon the traces of the ruffians with
the energy of some Hebrew avenger of blood.
" On Wednesday the Bth March 1848, three British
missionaries—Medhurst, Lockhart and Muirhead—made
an excursion into the country from Shanghai, for the
purpose of distributing Protestant tracts—a purpose
quite unintelligible to the Celestial intellect. The
furthest point of their journey was Tsing-poo, distant
about ninety-six le (i 5., according to the usual valua-
tion, 96.3 English miles). The exact distance became
a question of importance, since naturally it must every--
where be desirable for sustaining a complaint against
wrongdoers—that the plaintiff should not himself be
found trespassing upon any regulation of law. Now,
the treaty limited our journeys to a day's extent. But
on this point there seems to be no room for demur,
since the consul (whose authority is here unimpeachable)
exonerates the missionaries from having at all exceeded
the privileged distance. On leaving Tsing-poo, the
missionaries were hustled by a mob—not, perhaps, ill
disposed in any serious extent, but rough and violent.
Yet this moderation might be merely politic ; for thus
far the mob was under the eye of the town and its
police. But, on leaving the town, another mob was
seen coming after them—apparently, by its angry and
menacing gesture, of a more dangerous character. Two
of the missionaries, Medhurst and Lockhart, being able
to converse fluently in Chinese, thought it best to ex-
postulate with this mob ; and, accordingly, to await
their coming up. Any expression of courage was likely
to do service, but in this case it failed.
" It is not necessary to repeat minutely the circum-
stances of the outrage. The missionaries were knocked
down, trampled on, robbed of their watches, and all
other personal effects, and then dragged back to Tsing-
poo, with the avowed intention of either forcing them
severally to pay a ransom of one thousand dollars, or
else (which, on the whole they prefered) of striking off
their heads on reaching the other side of the city."
• •
" On March 9, the day immediately following the out-
rage, the proper steps were taken for obtaining satisfac-
tion by the Consul resident at Shanghai. A demand
was instantly lodged with the Ta-00-tae, or sheriff, for
the arrest of the persons criminally implicated in the
attack, for their trial, for their punishment, and for the
restoration of the stolen property. Very soon it became
evident that the magistrate had not the remotest inten-
tion of attending to any one of these demands. With
a singular inaptitude,' says the Consul, he wasted time
so precious to hiss in mere subterfuges, and miserable
attempts at trick and evasion. And the arrests, which
were prevented at first only by his want of will, would
soon pass out of his power.' Once convinced that no-
thing was to be hoped for from the voluntary aid of the
Ta-00-tae, the Consul sat down to calculate his means
of compulsion. These lay chiefly in such coercion or
restraint as might be found applicable to a vast fleet of
junks on the eve of departure for Pekin, and at that
moment lying ready laden in the anchorage above
H.M.S. Childers. Of these junks there were more than
a thousand. Of all that vast number, not one,' said the
Consul, 'shall pass the Childers,' until satisfaction shall
have been given as to the arrest of the Toing-poo cri-
minals.

"This embargo had been maintained for several days,
when the Ta,-00-tae attempted to intimidate the consul
by suborning two officers ,to suggest the probability of
an attack from a Shanghai mob. This suggestion was
made by way of letter, and the men asked for a per-
sonal interview, at which they would have attempted to
enforce their alarms more effectually. But the consul
contemptuously refused to see them. I have,' said
he, a wife and family living in the very centre of Shang-
hai : they and I are at your mercy ; but that will not
frighten me from my duty.'
" On March 12 the consul writes to say.—' That up to
yesterday evening, three days since the outrage had
elapsed without result. All the parties implicated had
been seen by hundreds, must be known to the policemen
who assisted in the release of the British so cruelly mal-
treated ; and, finally, that all the junk-men are in the
employ of the Chinese Government. The Consul is
bound to inform the Ta-00-tae that, under these circum-
stances, any hesitation or any delay amounts to a
denial of justice.
"On the day following, namely, March 13, the con-
sul writes again :—"fhe ringleaders in the late mur-
derous attack upon British subjects have not yet been
seized. It is now, therfore, the consul's daty to inform
the chief magistrate, that between nation and nation, in
all countries not thoroughly barbarous, it is a recognised
law, when an injury is inficted for which reparation is
refused, the nation aggrieved may do itself justice, when'
justice cannot otherwise be obtained.'—The consul then
shows, that for him the dilemma has arisen—either to
see the highest interests of his nation sacrificed by the
impunity granted to these criminals ; or----
" And then he states distinctly the other horn of the
dilemma in these following terms If, within forty-
eight hours reckoned from noon of this present day, ten
of the ringleaders are not in Shanghai for trial- and
punishment, the Consul will, in that case, take other
steps to obtain that reparation which the honourable
Ta-00-tae must then be understood solemnly to have
refused.'
" But was justice to linger through these forty-eight
hours ? By no means ; provisional steps were to be
taken instantly—namely, these two :
" First, no duties for British ships can be paid over
to the custom-house ;'
" Secondly, 'nor can it be permitted that the grain
junks now in the river shall leave the port ;sae
the d I trust
that u, the hononrable Ta-00-tae, may e
,prdencye o
of forbidding them to make the:ttempt."4.
• •

" The closing paragraph, ominous in Chines° ears as
the bell of St. Sepuicbre in past times to the poor New-
gate convict, ran thus entreat you, whilst it is yet
time, to put an end to this untoward state of affairs by
producing, the criminals : [there lay the sum of our
'demand :] but, if this be not done, it remains for
me to announce my determination to redress the injury
inflicted.' The consnl then announces the arrival of
H.M.S. Childers, and the immediate approach of her
comrade, the Espi6gle."

" This dodge, that of suggesting dangerous mobs, hav-
ing failed, the Ta-00-tae (whom, for the sake of brevity,
permit me henceforth to call by the well-known name of
Mr. Toots) tried another. He had pledged his word at
10 a.m., that in return for notorious forbearances on the
part of the Consul, he would himself abstain from all
underhand intrigues with the rice junks. At 11 a.m.,
on the same day, he issued secret orders that these junks
should drop down, and try to slip out by threes and
fours, hoping thus to distract the little Childere. This
ruse, also, havino: failed, next he practised others more
and more childish. Ho caused, for ine►ance, bricks to
be piled elaborately above the rice. But Jack, on board
the Childers, found prime larking in watching and baffl-
ing all these wiles. The little Childers proved herself
" a brickr in maintaining the Consul's embargo ; and