The Sun.
London, England, 1857-11-18 00:00:00

" REPORT No. 2.

The following particulars have been taken from the
records in the yamun of the Governor-General :
(The first report describes the measures taken by the
Governor-General to prevent the exportation of copper
cash to Shanghai, his interviews with the prefect and
magistrates of Canton, and the orders issued resulting in
the arrest of 12 of the money-changers, who, it was
understood, would he severely punished, &c.)
" On the 6th of August the Governor-General sum-
moned Lin Fuhshing, an expectant Prefect, and one
of the officers of the Committee for the Supplies of War.
Shaouhing, it appears, has been invested by a rebel force,
who, taking advantage of the swollen state of the West
River, swept down past Fungchuen and Tihhing, two
cities near the borders of Swangsi province and about
150 miles to the west of Shaouhing, their advance being
greatly assisted by means of large rafts constructed of
heavy spars lashed together, and having fires lighted at
the foremost end. Their presence before Shaoubing occa-
sioned the greatest distress and:,larm in that city. News
had previously been received (at Canton) of the defeat of
Soohai's (late Admiral at Escape Creek) fleet with the
loss of 70 junks—the number of missing soldiers and
officers had not been ascertained. The Governor-Gene-
ral's object in now summoning Liu Fahshing was to
direct him to go to the relief of that place with 1,000 of
the Lin Braves (a bodj•inised4for the defence of Canton
by his father, who acted at one time as chief magistrate
of Shanghai, therefore called Lin Braves—the braves
raised by Lin), and the Governor-General authorised
him to hire 30 fast boats to serve as transports, and to
travel day and night. Swan Tapir, the military com-
mander in-chief of the whole province, is holding Shaou-
hing against the rebels with about 3,000 regulars.
" On the 7th of Aug. the Governor-General ordered
the acting Taoutai Le and the expectant Prefect Chin to
take a linguist with them, and proceed to Ta Shih and
Chanchow to confer with the American merchants there,
but the particular nat are of the business did not transpire.
"Again, all the boats at Chintsun, Siangman (towns
of supply for Canton and Macao), and other places, that
have been lying there laden with tea and sulk and other
produce, have received passes from the Chinese authori-
ties allowing them to proceed to Macao and to trade
there with the foreign merchants.

" The principal officers of the Committee for the Sup-
plies of War—viz., the Commissioner of Finance and
Commissioner of Just;ca (being the highest officers of
the province next to the Governor-G-neral and Gove).
nor), had an audience of the Governor-General to discus
in an informal manner the condition of the funds at their
disposal. They represented that they had already de-
livered to the committee the following recent contribu-
tions : Taeie.
From the Shuutih district
From the Heangshan district
From the Sinhwuy district
As well as additions! contributions or
percentages from other sources of 78,000

Total
"They farther represented that now, while the bar-
barian affairs remained unsettled, the daily expenditure
of the committee for the hire of junks, braves, and their
equipments amounted to upwards of 12,000 taels, and
that this sum would now be further increased by up-
wards of 7,500 taeli in consequence of the additional
outlay they were obliged to incur to provide means for
checking the alarming advance of the rebe!s upon
Shaots king ; that therefore the incomings were not suffi-
cient to meet the expenditure, and they accordingly
moved the Governer-General to appoint a deputa-
tion, consisting of a taotitai and a prefect, with 10 aoio-
ciates of the rank of district magistrates, to make a tour
through all the districts of the province, to raise therein
all the contributions in their power, making returns of
the same every three months to the Provincial Govern-
ment. The proposal received the assent of the Governor
General, who said that the appointment of the officers
who were to compose the deputation should be made on
the 11th or 12th of August.
"The levy of an import duty on opium both in the
viceroyalty of the two Kiang provinces and in that of
Fuhkien and Chebkiang has been officially announced
(by the Governoro-General of those provinces to the
Government of Kwasgtung), and his Excellency the
Superintendent of Maritime Custoass at Canton and the
Governor-General Yeh have despatched a joint memo-
rial to the Court, begging to be instructed whether it Is
his Majesty's pleasire that the same course should be
adopted in these provinces. This memorial was sent
off in 'be charge of a ere *Tee. on the Bth inst.
" The Le Szeting (a Tartar civilian) reported the issue
of ratinns to the Tartar troops for the fifth month
(May, June). On this occa.ion 7-10ths had been issued
in grain, and 3-10 the in case, the total amount of grain
being 7,600 shib, and of cash 3,200 teams and upwards.
(A. ship is about equal to a pica!, 1331 b. ; a teaon is 1,000
cash, about 6s. Sd.)
"On the Bth inst. an officer reported hie return from
Pekin, and that he was the bearer of a present, consisting
of incense, deers' sincere (which are stewed into a soup,
a great Chinese luxury), and other thiugs, which the
Emperor had been pleased to con'er on Yeh's father.
These were accordingly received in state in the Viceroy's
yamun.
"Dated Cantos, Aug, 10."
(Translation )
" REPORT No. 3.--Norx OF OCCURRENCES IN THE VA-
HUN OF THE IMPERIAL HIGH COMMISSIONER YEEL
" August 20.

"One of the Viceroy's messengers (an officer) arrived
to-day from Pekin. He brought a despatch from the
Nuy-woo-foo (or office for the management of the Impe-
rial household), stating that the Emperor bad been
pleased to direct that the Superintendent of Maritime
Customs for the province of Kwangtung (or Hoppo of
Canton) should continue to hold that appointment for
another year. A second despatch from the Nuy-woo-foo
enclosed eight taels' weight of pearls and 370 pieces of
ginseng, the value of which, estimated at 114,000 taels,
the Hoppo is required to pay into the treasury of the
household. He has given notice of his readiness to pay
74,000 taels, but has applied to the Governor-General
to call on the Salt Commissioner for the remaining sum
of 40,000 taele.
" A despatch was also received from the Board of
War (at Pekin), urging the transmission without further
delay of the following supplies for the use of the main
army near Nankin :-170,000 teals of silver, 8,000
catties of gunpowder, 1,000 catties of bullets.
"The Governor (rib Kwei) had an interview to-day
with the Viceroy on the subject of supplies required for
the army in Hoonan. The Commissioners who have to
provide for the necessary munitions for that force have
sent an officer to Canton to purchase 2,000 rattan shields
and 500 foreign muskets, and their Excellencies had to
consider whom they should depute to procure the latter
either at Hong Kong or Macao.
" Tsang-fungn-een, the admiral commanding at Yang
Kiang (in Shaoubing department), and Wei-tse-pang,
commanding the naval station at Shun-tih (between the
Bogue nd Canton), were admitted to an interview with
the Governor-General, and received directions to take
under their orders 3,000 regulars and militia, and having
embarked them in 50 war-boats and 30 cargo-beats, to
proceed with them to the relief of Woochow with all
possible despatch.
"The head Committee for the supplies of War issued
20,000 task of silver to certain officers deputed by them
to purchase at Chin-tsun and Kiang-mun 10,000 picuLs
of rice, which it is; the intention of the committee to
forward immediately to Woochow, under convoy of a
force of 500 men that have been told off for the purpose.
" The Commissioners of Finance and of Justice waited
upon the Viceroy to report to him the condition of the
funds of the bead Committee for the Supplies of War.
They have still in hand 581,000 tilde, but this sum it
appears, is not more than sufficient to meet the demands
that will be made upon them during the first 10 days of
this month (August—September.) They therefore sug-
gested that officers should be deputed to visit the va-
rious districts in the vicinity of Canton, in order to se-
cure the prompt payment and immediate transmission
to Canton of fresh contributions.
"The Prefect of Canton reported that the Wan-ming
gate (on the south face of the old city) had been again
opened and placed in the charge of an officer and guard.
"His Excellency Shwatig, the Tartar lieuteuant-xene-
ral of the right division (of the garrison), bad an inter
view with the Viceroy to request his assistance in pro•
curing for the use of the naval brigade to be attached to
the Tartar force 1,200 jackets of cow-hide and 800 fo-
reign muskets. The bead committee for supplies of war
were directed to arrange for the purchase of these articles,
the cost, amounting to upwards of 7,000 teals, being
defrayed by the Tartar commander-in-chief.
" August 23.
" Reports were received to-day from the West (of the
Province). It appears that, although the rebels of Tih-
hing and Fungchuen have fallen hack, Woochow is suf-
fering severely from the long siege, and is now without
r:f'cr as
They make the
provisions. In the middle of the sixth month (beginning
of August) a tael (or ounce) of silver could only purchase
10 ounces of rice, and bothsoldiersanradpeondother
people were
dying in great numbers. T
andfeeords.upiT)lyheosfugfireariinDgiss
ei:hfditsee
cffmli, birds, tp, a
omvn f:or twFte lenixs'ruhagrarevelinitvetaoaegrdpse'prelcayaa'inlssd(if)o uth:grtillk aebtsssistance or relief of any kind,
and the Viceroy has called upon the d fferent tradesmen
and shopkeepers to contribute dried meat, dried potatoes
rice, cakes, and portable foods of that nature, which are
to be
vconveyedcsr oy
,tso
usWecis
socehngoewr alseffatstf
oars they
fent
we ritehceived.
three
memorials from his Excellency Yeh to the Throne, one
pmonths'jhk we aaxteds tohi
sthreesiunmhap-.
porting the recent descent
and other dis-
tricts in the vicinity of Shaouuing; another, announcing
rei
inha-
bitants porting
gf
tShieu h remissing, °inn coin sixg, Kaouminb,
the defeat of the imperial
the
eti
lata:or
arf
rebelsni vd a l t
office;
the
ef upon
death
enh ade t
ht
sGh
hoooaf vose
otheruro ha ohnragr

"August 24.
" An officer from the department of Chaou-chow.foo
(in the oast of the Province) reported his arrival at Can-