The Sun.
London, England, 1857-01-30 00:00:00

your Excellency repudiates my words of peace and
friendmhip.
must now leave to his Excellency the Naval Comman-
,!er.in-Clii-f the measures which g painful nece•sity may
compel inn to take, and t rur Excellendy wll the re-
,ponsibility which belongs to those who ,lisregard treaties,
and visit upon people the unhappy consequences of their
own obstinacy.
I shall not fail to advise the court of Peking of the
needless miseries your Excellency has brought upon the
city and neighbourhood, all of which might easily have
been averted.—l have, &c., JOHN BOWRING.
To his Excellency Yeb, Imperial
High Commissioner, &c.

YEH, IMPERIAL COMMISSIONER, GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF
THE TWO KWANG, &C., &C., MAKES COMMUNICATION IN
REPLY. _

I am in receipt of your Excellency's communication
of the 20th inst., in wiiica you state that "my repudia-
-ion of your w,o-ds of peace and friendship has caused
you mob disappointment and distress."
In a late reply I communicated to you a copy, re
spectfully made, of an Imperial decree, in which his '
Majesty the Emperor—on the representation of myself,
the then governor, and Seu, the late commissioner, that
negotiations (respecting the City question) had been olosed
by the late Plenipotentiary, Mr. Bonham—had signified
his pleasure that the request made was not to be sanc-
tioned. The mercantile communities, native and foreign
(I argued), were well satisfied, and the trade between
them ever since, a period of some years, had, in conse-
quence, daily increased in prosperity : and this was a
true policy of safety. (These words of mine) were
" words of peace and friendship."
As I have in several replies explained, minutely and
detailedly, his Majesty the Emperor refused his sanction
(to the demand made), because he knew the temper of the
Canton people so thoroughly as to be aware of their aver-
sion to it ; the late Pleuipoteotiary, Mr. Bonham, re
presented this to his Government, and the British Go-
vernment, also knowing the temper of the Canton people
and their aversion (to the proposed measure), therefore
closed negotiations respecting it.
It is your Excellency who " repudiates," (6) not I who
am " obstinate.
In 1850 Mr. Bonham sent an officer to Tien-tsin with a
request that he might be admitted into the city, and his
Majesty the Emperor signified his pleasure that it should
not be sanctioned ; again, in 1854, when your Excel•
lency came forward earnestly repeating that request, his
Majesty again signified his pleasure that it should not
be sanctioned ; and the fact that the request made on
these two occasions was on both refused, proves that it
is not the case that I, individually, am "repudiating."
The city in question is the provincial city of Kwang
tuog ; the people are the people of Kwang-tung ; nor
can any parallel be drawn between them and those of
other provinces.
The " unhappy consequences visited on the people" of
which your letter speaks, have been brought upon them
by the wanton and hasty acts of Admiral Seymour. I
have nothing to do with tbem. How can all the re-
sponsibility of them belong to me ?
short, when things are dent* otherwise than is
consistent with what is due by man, au offence is cow-
oia:ed against what is right before heaven. Your Ex
celler,cy, coaiii.and (7) of your government, has come
to Canton (or Kwang-tung), to exercise general super-
TllllOll over all things pertaining to trade. The chief
authority being thus in your gr ,sp. why have y.,u
allowed Admiral Seymour to carry hostilities to this
:ength ?
I have myself long since transmitted to Peking an
account of all that has happened, and of the present
state of things here.
I therefore reply to you, availing myself of the occa-
sion to wish your Excellency increase of prosperity.
A necessary communication, addressed to H. B. M.
Plenipotentiary Sir John Bowring, &c.
Hein-Fang, 6th year, 10th moon, 24th day (21st
November, 1856.)
Translated by THOMAS Wassz,Chinese Secretary.