The Sun.
London, England, 1859-08-03 00:00:00

CHINA.

The following is an extract of a letter from an
English gentleman in China :
SHANGHAE, MAY 26.
_ _ _

fact,w 1 re,
se ezrtxyb p
likely
expect
ely Mr.ri te Bnihraauiscnes
commenceduo
mp
ebyt
m nee. x
at
At mail,
sea 0:
nr
aal andsn,telhiwee
places,w particularlyo
ratificationsb ab layrpe reoxe
exchanged
ado
nr\gt-
northward,
at
ri.soontrade
ei
in Shantung,
ill Pekin,
commencew
wheree I.' e. hi in
there are already said to be two or three ships, sent
by some of our leviathan commercial firms, and
which mysteriously disappeared from this with
miscellaneous cargoes on board. There have been
one or two admirable proclamations issued by the
native authorities; one especially, on the occasion
of some merchants who, with Captain Shadwell, our
senior naval officer, were on a trip up the river,
being insulted and attacked in a village. On their
return it was reported to the district magistrate ;
the ringleader was taken, bambooed, and then ex-
posed in a cage in front of our custom-house every
day for some hours, till begged off by Captain .
Shadwell. A proclamation was then issued which
would have done credit to an Engliih magistrate,
explaining to the people that because foreigners
differ from themselves in language, dress, &c., they
must not be mobbed and insulted ; and thatneces-
arily different climates and different nation re-
quire a difference of costume, and particularly for-
bidding the use of the old words for a foreigner,
viz., " foreign devil" and " barbarian."
Mr. Alcock, the Consul• General for Japan, ar-
rived in her Majesty's ship Sampson the other. day,
and leaves for Japan to-day. The trade with that
country began walla great spurt ; hut it is evident
now it will not be on a very large scale. We got all
they had to give us in every shape comparatively
cheap to us, though doubtless at higher prices than
they had been in the habit of receiving, and some
few people made enormous profits, though to a
small extent. Everything has now risen 200 per
cent.

THE MAGAZINES,

Blackwood's 211-agaz?ne.

There is a new story in this month's
number called " Felicita,' which gives pro-
mise of being one of great interest, as -et the
plot is only roughly sketched, but there is great
skill displayed in the portraiture of Felicita, even
in this early stage. The young girl suddenly
transplanted from the quiet English' home to an
Italian dwelling) feels naturally strange and un-
settled, and this is aptly. described. In an article
on " Lord Macaulay and the Highlands of Scot-
land," there are some forcible remarks made on the
unfair manner in which he speaks of the land to
which his grandfather belonged. After citing some
of the sentences that occur in the history, which
are most extraordinary, the writer goes cn to say
—" We cannot allow this gross caricature, this
shameless libel, this malignant slander, this par
ricidal onslaught, by a son of the Highlands on
the people and the land of his fathers, a race and a
country which has furnished heroes whose deeds in
every quarter of the globe have been such that their
names awake a thrill of admiration in every heart
that is capable of generous feeling, to pass un-
noticed." After dwelling further on the topic it is
truly said, that such writing is not history. It
must be a matter of general regret that so distin-
guished a man should so mar the effect of his bril-
liant powers by exaggeration of the most intolerable
kind. It is mentioned as a curious coincidence that
the son of a Highlander and a Quakeress, is the
libeller of William Penn, and the lampooner of the
Highlands. There is an article on the Peace, there
are some wise reflections on the defences of the
country, and it is curious to observe how correct
were the predictions of the war which appeared in
this magazine for March. There is one argument
on the subject of the war with France, with
which we cannot agree, however. It is said that the
policy of Napoleon is never to make a long war,
and that the chances are against our succeeding at
the beginning of the strife, although in prolonged
hostilities we must triumph, that it will be the policy
of Napoleon "having humiliated us in the first
rush of the contest to make up matters again."
This may be true,but while one remnant of national
spirit survives in England such will NOT be our
policy. Faulty arrangements, and negligent com-
manders, may occasion a temporary defeat, but
when it is said there is, a strong party in this
country who, for the sake of their yarns and cali-
coes, will be quite ready to make peace under such
circumstances," it may be answered,—There is
a stronger party who will never submit to such
indignity'; but who will, having engaged in a war,
however reluctantly, fight on till victory crowns
their arms—till the soldiers of France shall find in
them the sons whose fathers met their fathers at
Crecy and Agincourt. The demagogue who advo-
cated such a policy, or the Minister who pursued
it, would not find his position a very enviable one.
No Crimean management will be tolerated in a
national crisis, but we have as yet no proof that we
have among us such degenerate descendants of
heroic ancestors, and until convinced of it, we would
rather believe that politics and prejudices would
be forgotten in the hour that bade us prepare for
the advent of the foe, and that the only rivalry that
then existed would be who should prove the best
defenders of their country. There is a contribution
,entitled, "The Haunted and the Haunters; or, the
House and the Brain," which is a very remarkable
production, and bears evidence of deep thought and
high imaginative powers. It will be a treasure
trove for the lovers of the marvellous and the mys-
tic, and all who desire to peruse a chronicle im-
bued with a mysterious fascination cannot do
better than study its legendary lore. " The Master
of Sinclair : Narrative of the '15," furnishes some
strange intelligence, and is worth attention. " The
Luck of Ladysmede" is continued, and becomes
more stirring in its incidents in these chapters, and
therefore the reader is more interested. In the
paper on " London Exhibitions—Conflict of the
Schools," there are some just criticisms on various
works of art; and, in conclusion, a hope is ex-
pressed that the Royal Academy has in the present
year seen its worst; "that a truce has been signedto
extravagance ; that so the simple beauty which is
in nature, and the sober strength which is in man,
may be won for our country's art."