The Sun.
London, England, 1857-06-02 00:00:00

TEE LdST _EMBASSY TO CHINA.

At the present monvent when tho public are anxiously
looking out for tidings of Lord Elgin, it may not bo unin-
structivo to present our readers with a brief resume of
Lord Amberst's mission. The story is highly charac-
teristic of Chinese civilization, and from the novel picture
it exhibits of British and. Asiatic rol-tapoism in contact,

.. -.........,_ .
will always rank among the curiosities of modern diplo-

macy.
In 1816 the annoyances and impositions of the local
authorities at Canton bad reached such a height of impu-
dence that the Government resolved to communicate direct
with the Court of Pokin. Lord Aral:lent, formerly minis-
ter at Palermo, was selected to be the chief envoy, and as-

sociated with him as second and third commissioners were
__ .

Sir George Staunton, who had accompanied Lord Macart-
ney, and the late Sir Henry Ellis. The embassy left Eng-
land early in February and arrived off Tiensing, the first
town on the Pei Ho•about the middle of August. They

—..._ _
were immediately boarded by the mandarins deputed for

the purpose, an•l invited next morning to a grand banquet
in one of the Emperor's country palaces. At this enter-
tainment arose the first difficulty about etiquette. Com-
missioner Kwang maintained that, as the feast was given
by the Emperor, the foreigners must go through the same
forms as though he wore actually present, and specifically
required the Kou-to 'se, which is the grand court ceremony,
and consists in kneeling and knocking the head against the
ground nine times consecutively. Lord Amherst waved
the question as to what he might do when he arrived at
Pekin, but absolutely refused to execute this abject per-
formance before the yellow table which represented the
"Sun of Heaven" upon the present occasion, and eventually
the matter was compromised by his making a low bow for
each prostration of the mandarins. After this the route
up the river was one continued series of disputes about the
Kou-tou. " Would Lord Amherst perform it before the
Emperor ?" The affair was becoming serious, and Lord
Amherst took counsel of his companions. Sir George

Staunton declared that compliance was'` incompatible with

national or personal respectability." The East India Com-
pany's officials at Canton believed it would be "highly
injurious to the interests of the company," and pointed to

the membors of the Dutch Embassy who, having shown

much facility upon the point, were compelled to bang their
heads about in a most ridiculous manner upon every trifling
eccasion. On the other hand Sir Henry (then Mr.) Ellis
and Dr. Morrison, the interpreter, wore of opinion that the
ambassador should submit. Willing to conciliate, but
ten tcious of the dignity of his sovereign, Lord Amherst
made two very reasonable proposals, either that iu return
for the performance, a Tartar of equal rank with himself
should go through the same ceremony before the portrait
of the King of England, or that the Emperor should de-
clare that if a Chinese ambassador should at any time be
sent to London, he should be required to observe precisely
the same f rm. The surprise with which the mandarins
received these propositions and their refusal oven to lay
them before the Emperor clearly evinced the implied mean-
ing of the ceremonial itself. In spite of these disputes the
emba=sy still proceeded and reached Sing Chow, near Pekin,
on the 21st of August, where a new mission from the
Emperor met them to join in the discussions. It consisted
of Ho, a noble of the first order, and Moo-tu-jin, a sort of
Lord Chamberlain and President of the Board of Ceremo-
nies. These people behaved with great rudeness, alleging
as their business that they were come to instruct the Em-
bassy in the performance of the Kou-tou. Lord Amherst
had by this time fully male up his mind to decline the
ceremony, aid entered at, length into his reasons, in a let-
ter to the Emperor, which he gave to Ho. To the great
surprise 6f the Embassy, the moment he received this final
decision, Ho desired them to prepare for fin immediate
journey to the capital, naming a very early day for the
audience, and hinting that all ceremonial would be arranged
without any more concession on their part. After travel-
ling all day and all night they were conducted past the
walls of Pekin to Yuen-min-yuen, where the Emperor then
was. The Embassy were hurried into a small apartment
much out of repair, and Lord Amherst had scarcely
taken his seat before Ho sent a message to say that
the Emperor wished to see him immediately. The impos-
sibility of such a proceeding was urged in reply—the
fatigue incurred of travelling through the night—the want
of proper costume—and, above all, the irregularity of ap-
pearing without credentials. Ho at last came himself and
used every possible moans of persuasion, telling the Am-
bassador that he might use his own ceremony, and adding
an invitation to his private apartments, where a reference
to the Emperor might be more easily made. Lord A.m.
herst, however, had included illness as one of the causes
of his refusal, and it was obvious that if he could visit
Ho, he could visit the Emperor, so he therefore positively
declined to move. He then left the room, and shortly
afterwards a message arrived from the Emperor, stating
that he dispensed with the Ambassador's immediate at-
tendance, and would send his physician to give him medi-
cal advice. The medical gentleman came, and probably
reported to his master the fallacy of the plea of ill health,
for in a very few hours after it was announced to them
that the Emperor, incensed at their non-attendance on his
summons, had ordered their immediate departure Such
was the termination of the last mission to Pekin. Lord
Amherst was certainly right in refusing to degrade him-
self and country by submission to an act, of barbarian in-
solence, but it is to be regretted that he did not see the
Emperor when the point had been conceded.

CRYSTAL PALACE. ONE ILLING DAY, Monday,
June I.—admissions on paSHe
ymnt, 25,081 ; o, by
season tickets, 731 ; total visitors, 25,812.
INTERFERENCE OF PEERS AT ELECTIONS.—An import-
ant petition has. been presented to the House of Com-
mans from certain electors of West Norfolk, praying for
an inquiry into alleged interference in the late election
for the division by the Earl of Leicester, lord-lieutenant
of the county, Lord Hastings, Lord Sondes, and Lord
Walsingham. The petition commences by citing "an
ancient resolution of your honourable house" as fol-
lows .—" Tbat it is a high infringement of the liber
ties and privileges of the Commons of the United King-
dom for any Lord of Parliament or other peer or prelate
(not being a peer of Ireland at the time elected, and
not having declined to serve for any county, city,
cr borough of Great Britain) to concern himself in
the election of members to serve for the Commons
in Parliament (except only any peer of Ireland at
such election in Great Britain respectively where
such peer shall by himself or any others be proposed to
be elected), or for any lord-lieutenant or governor of any
county to avail himself of any authority derived from his
commission to influence the election of any members to
serve for the Commons in Parliament." The petitioners
then state that they have reason to believe that proceed-
ings in direct viol Ltion of this resolution were practised
at the last election by the noblemen mentioned, and par-
ticularly by the Earl of Leicester, lord-lieutenant, so as
to compromise and supersede the electoral rights of the
constituency, and they therefore pray for inquiry. The
petition is to be presented by Ur. Roebuck, ALP., soon
after the Wbittuatide recess,