The Sun.
London, England, 1857-02-12 00:00:00

he world were ended with the grand and crown

ing thunder-crash of Trafalgar. So—for the
same interval in Europe—the great land battles
of the continent closed with the tremendous can-
nonade at Mont St. Jean and at Hugoumont I
Either the sword ought not to be drawn nt all, or,
being drawn, it ought to be "driven home," in-
stead of being employed for the wanton effusion
of human blood, and the wanton waste of human
lives. If the Peace of the World is violated—
that violation of the Peace of the World, with a
view to its future consummation, ought, in rea-
son, in truth, in justice, in humanity, to be
avenged. So should it be with regard to Persia.
So should it have been with regard to Rus-
sia. So had it been in regard to Russia,
we should never have heard of the stab-
bing of the wounded in the Crimea, of
the murder of the boat's crew at 'Hango-Udd,
of the cold-blooded butchery of the Turkish sailors
at Sinope. All that can be learnt now in refer-
ence to the doings of our seamen and of our sol-
diers in the Persian Gulf, since the seizure of
Karrak and the capture of Bushire, is that they
are doing—nothing ! At the most that the Bri-
tish squadron has been pottering about some-
where in the neighbourhood of the Persian fort
of Mohammarah, near the mouths of the Shatt-
al-Arab. Meanwhile, the SHAH, declaring a
Holy War against his English assailants, and
mustering his forces with "hot haste" in the in-
terior of his empire ! Are we ever thus to have
the horrors of war aggravated by needless delays
and procrastinations ? Are we ever henceforth to
have the atrocity of war enhanced by beginning
it with the announcement to the foe that we do not
intend to bring down tipom them either harm or
humiliation ?

The documents we published on Saturday must
satisfy all who took the trouble to examine them
that, even in the affair of the Arrow, he Briti,h
authorities were legally as rnorally right. Wo
did apprehend at first that there might have been
technical error, though the beaxad fiActoi of the case

were such as to satisfy all but the devotees of

routine, and to justify our Commissioner and
Admiral in acting as Statesmen rather than as
red tapists. We only want a little more of their
decision nearer home. A brutal savage, who
converts the fairest spot in Europe into a prison,
till his gaols are so full that he is obliged to con-

vert his victims into South American exile-colo-

nisti, would, on the testimony of Lord J. RUSSELL,
have been none the worse had his palace been

breatened with similar treatment to that bestowed

upon the " yamun" of the Canton Viceroy.
It is now clear that the Arrow was both de facto
and de jure a British vessel ; that the Mandarins
hauled down the British sag ; that they know-
ingly violated the Treaty by arresting an alleged

criminal otherwise than through the British Con-

sal ; and that they intended a wanton insult to
the British, an insult in which, but for the firm-

ness of Consul, Commissioner, and Admiral, they
would afterwards have gloried.
It is also clear that the principal demand of
the Admiral is ono which YaK has no pretence for

evading ; not only by the general Treaty after
the war have the British and other foreigners
right of free entrance into Canton, just as into
the other four ports ; but, though the right was
waived for a time, the agreement with KEY-ING,
YEll'S predecessor, settles that question. It was
made in April 6, 1847, and states explicitly
that " it is therefore now agreed that two years
from this day's date, Ipitish officers and people
shall have free entrance into the city." After
April, 1849, therefore the savage Viceroy had no
excuse for excluding us ; and the error has really
consisted in allowing seven years to pass on with-
out enforcing the terms of the agreement. It may
be very well at this distance to pretend that it would
be of no advantage to our trade to insist on free
intercourse with the city and the Chinese autho-
rities—but the fact Awes us in the face, that not
only does official opinion in the East negative
this conjecture, for it is no better ; but all private
letters from Canton,
and, above all, the merchants
whose trade and property suffer by the proceed-
ings, take the directly opposite vidtv. They repre-
sent the natives as willing to trade with us, and
ascribe all the resistance to the Tartar Govern-
ment, and its employing, for purposes of its own,
the vilest of the rabble to injure and annoy

vildtenwoiel
obfe seen from the documents that the
foreigners.
e
humiliation otnhe
thewant BniritiasihtemwPats tOOO m
pinflict
The vessels of war were at some dis-
tance, and present impunity was therefore
certain ; but the evidence on which was founded
the demand for full satisfaction, such satisfaction
as should teach all the subjects of the Viceroy that
he must be humbled who tt a empted to humble
the British, could not well be
vessel had a British Master
THOMAS KENNEDY--
we have his affidavit ; the master was breakfast-
ing on board the lorcha Dart, fifty
yards ahead of
the Arrow, with JOHN LEACH,
who speaks of the
Dart as his vessel—we have his affidavit. Both
of these persons understood a little of Chinese.
Two Chinese sailors themselves, one of them be-
longing to the Arrow, were also examined—we
have their affidavits.
On the testimony of these four persons we are
informed that several Chinese boats, with a con-
siderable number of officers and men in them,
were seen to leave the Dutch Folly and near the
Arrow ; that they boarded her ; that
the Manda-
rin ordered a subordinate to haul down
the Bri-
tish ensign from the wizen-gaff;
and
soon after
the blue-Peter, which was
flying
at the foremast
head, was hauled down also ; that
the master, with
two captains of other vessels, immediately put off to
the Arrow ; and that, having bound all
the others,
at the master's request, the Mandarins left him
two persona with the vessel. According to the
Chinese sailors' statement, before the master re-
turned on board they pretended it was a not
foreign
vessel, in spite of the flag, the name painted
in large characters, and the assurances of
the sailors. But oven after KENNEDY came
on board, they still rowed off with the men they
had seizA. It will not be creditable, after this,
to raise again the question of the intention of the
Chinese and their Governor.
The question of the ownership of the Arrow is
also finally set at rest. She was the property of
a colonial resident at Hong Keng ; and so far
from having obtained a registry collusively or by
corruption, as was insinuated by YEH, the whole
question of ownership happened to be one of un-
usual notoriety. The vessel was taken from
pirates ; and sold by the Chinese ; the first owner
made a claim upon her after she had been pur-
chased, and she became the subject of an Admi-
ralty trial, and finally of an arbitration. As the
result, the Mr. BLOCK referred to by YETI advanced
the money to HONG AXING, the present owner of
the vessel, to complete the purchase, instead of
receiving it for corrupt purposes. The treaty with
China, it should. be added, expressly provides for
this class of vessels being treated as British vessels,
and the regulations also provide that such vessels,
if they have sailed before the time of receiving
the licence, are to renew it on their return.
What, then, would those who wish the Tartar
tillers to enforce the exclusion of Englishmen from
the city and from intercourse with the Chinese
have us do ? Are we to go on for another cen-
th e
tury or two tolsrating this selfish, and, to
natives, ibarbarising policy ? Is trade to be
another name for submission to every degrada-
tion which barbarian caprice sees fit to offer ?
And are the Austrians of China to glorify them-
selves to the natives as those who can treat the
powerful " barbarians from the West." as they
please ? Surely it is neither humanity nor justice,
to China itself, to suffer civilisation to be rejected,
snubbed, insulted, and refused intercourse by
their savage and obstinate Tartar masters. For-
bearance to enforce the Treaty and the agreement
of 1847 has only emboldened proud and obstinate
Governors t 3 presume on our supposed want of
courage. Their whole course of dealing with
foreigners had become int derable. The Treaty
had remedied all this at the other ports, and it
became high time that no further insult should be
tolerated. Whatever the issue, and we do not
believe it can I. ve a distant one, the thanks of com-
mercial men are due to our Canton authorities
for teaching the Chinese that English merchants,
attached as they are to trade, are not prepared to
lick the dust of Tartar feet.