The Sun.
London, England, 1861-01-26 00:00:00

CHINA.

The following is from the Overland Trade Report,
Hong Kong, Dec. 15 :
" The last issue of this report was dated 28th ult.
for transmission per mail steamer Ganges sailed the
day following. It was then advised that Pekin had
been evacuated by the allies on the strength of the
ratification of the treaty being guaranteed by pla-
cards being pasted on the walls of the capital. That
a palace had been assigned to the British Minister,
who, after being installed on the Bth ult., quitted
the city for Tien-tsin the day following, leaving one
of the consular interpreters in charge (a gentleman
named Adkins). That notwithstanding the new
convention made at Pekin, and the ratification of
the Tien-tsin treaty, the old tariff of duties still
prevailed, which was pitched much higher than
the new. That the Yangtsze rebellion seemed
inclined to recoil on Shanghae and Ningpo, and
continued as uncontrolled and pernicious as ever.
That manifestations of French aggression were
being developed in the appropriation of ground
within the city of Shanghac, and finally that the in-
telligence from Japan continued very. unsatisfactry.
" Since then little has occurred of a tangible
nature to record. The latest date from Pekin, upon
the departure of the last mail from this, was the 10th
November, when, as mentioned above, that capital
had been evacuated by the allies. The entire force
reached Tien-tsin without any remarkable occur-
rence. A garrison of about 3,000 men is left in
occupation of that important place ; the rest of the
force were sent southward. Chusan has been

evacuated, or if any troops do remain, the number
is very small. About 3,000 men occupy Shanghai.
The remainder of the British land force have
reached Hong Kong, a great proportion of the
same being under orders for England and India. In
fact, some have already sailed. A portion of the
fleet will winter• at Japan, the remainder will either
be sent home or will winter in the s9uth.

" The Earl of Elgin is at Shanghai, and has at
length promulgated the ratified Treaty of Tien-tsin
(made June, 1858), the convention lately made at
Pekin, and the tariff and regulations of trade.
They have not yet been promulgated here. The
Canton Consul has circulated them, but strange to
say the foreign Customs refuse to recognise them,
and continued to levy duties upon the old tariff.
" The steps adopted to fortify and secure the late
arrangement made at Pekin are simply ludicrous.
The ratification of the treaty of Tien-tsin hinges upon
a signature in vermilion,' which was alleged to be
that of th eEmperor —n o reliable person saw it signed.
The ratification of the convention hinges upon the
same having been placarded in the streets of Pekin.
The mode of procedure adopted to obtain this latter
concession was the following. Deputations consist-
ing of a British interpreter and several Chinese in
mandarin costume, went the rounds of the city, and
taking with them placards said to be an Imperial
edict announcing the convention, pasted them on
the walls in a few public places. The Emperor
was not seen at all, and why an interview was so
studiously avoided, unless for the purpose of
exercising the duplicity which has always hitherto
been practised, it is very hard to divine. Had
matters been left to take their natural course, and
the Chinese Government left to sue for peace, instead
of being solicited and coaxed to come to terms, a
very different result would have marked the termi-
nation of the affair. Mandarin worship, experi-
mental diplomacy, and palpable misrepresentation
to her Majesty's Government have been the bane of
this China war, and these, combining with Chinese
shuffling and trickery, have caused it to become
thus protracted. Clearly the parties who are to
blame cannot pretend to place the smallest reliance
upon the faith of the Chinese Government, or why
should the retention of Tien-tsin and Canton be
insisted upon ?
" The all-important question at present is
whether the late convention will be carried out or
not. In other words whether the war is over or
not. On this point opinions are generally divided
—the Cantonese almost universally disbelieve it.
The terms seem so advantageous to the Emperor
on the one hand, and the disastrous effects of the
continuance of the war so palpable on the other,
that taking common sense as a guide, every reliance
may be placed upon the convention. But the murder
of civilians under most aggravated circumstances,
as already recorded—captured whilst under the
sanctity of a flag of truce—is but too certain
an indication that the considerations which
usually guide human affairs do not here apply. The
simple question resolves itself into this—is the Em-
peror imbecile, or is he impotent to oppose Sanko-
linsin ? If the current belief be adopted, that
Sankolinsin has • physically and morally entire
control over the Cabinet, and, having designs upon
the throne, is fomenting discord to achieve his pur-
poses, then the event most to be feared seems the
easiest reconciled to probability. For, although
this Tartar chief cannot face European tactics on
the field, still the nomadic troops he leads being all
cavalry, have peculiar powers of locomotion which
place them out of the reach of an European force.
If, therefore, possessing the control over the Impe-
rial resources which he is supposed to have, he
should continue to keep up the perfidious course
lately adopted towards the allies, he certainly will
have nothing to lose—and it is equally clear that if
he can demonstrate to the allies the futility of treat-
ing with the Emperor, and the feasibility of treat-
ing.with him, that his path to the throne is very
easy. This surmise is meant as suggestive of the
present very peculiar position of affairs, which may
be thus summed up.
" The Peiho being frozen over, and the shores of
the Gulf of Pechelee ice bound, the Tien- tsin gar-
rison are left to their own resources for the re-
mainder of the winter. Not that there is any fear
of their being able to repel any attack successfully,
inasmuch as the management of military affairs
during the entire war has left nothing to be desired.
Nevertheless the isolation of a portion of the force
will undoubtedly act as an inducement to treachery
if any be meant.

" There is a rumour very prevalent that this gar-
rison is menaced by large hordes of Tartars, and
that Mr. Adkins, who was left in charge of the
British embassy at Pekin, has been murdered. The
rumour emanates from the transport ships which
have lately arrived from the North, and although
very current has never been contradicted. The
secresy pursued so persistently in diplomatic affairs
here naturally causes unfavourable constructions to
be cherished, and unfortunately it has generally
happened that the more profoundly a secret has
been kept, the more have these unfavourable con-
structions been corroborated: The rumour now
mentioned is not generally believed, and the fact of
the first instalment of the indemnity having been
paid at Tien-tsin, as also that of a large sum being
paid at Canton on account of British claims, are
relied upon as tangible proofs of the incorrectness
of the rumour. The farce of this reasoning is not
very apparent, inasmuch as the allied army could
not have left Tien-tsin until after this first instal-
ment fell due—and as for the Canton payment, why
that city being entirely in the power of the allies it
is hardly likely its authorities would fall behind-
hand in their engagements, if treachery were again
meditated. However, the relation of the existence
of this rumour, illustrates the feeling which exists
here.

" There seems some uncertainty about the Earl
of Elgin's movements. It is certain that his lordship
obtained the privilege of trade upon the Yangtsze at
once. The treaty makes the concession dependent on
the rebels being driven from it. The Chinese Pleni-
potentiaries doubtless waived this in the hope of
foreigners falling into collision with the Taepings.
At all events, this is a most important concession,
and it is said that Lord Elgin will remain to see it
carried out.
" Some alteration has been made in the arrange-
ments of the French, and their troops, it is now
said, will not occupy the quarters prepared for
them within the city of Shanghai. It is known
however that they will join in the endeavour to
carry trade up the Yangtsze.
" The rebellion becomes worse and worse. There
appears no hope of its being eradicated until it shall
have consumed the substance of the districts it has
overrun. Agriculture and civil administration are
alike foreign to its existence. It has drawn nearer
to Shanghai, but there is clearly a disinclination
to come into collision with the foreigners. '1 he
mandarin soldiery commit sad excesses, and the
state of misery and anarchy into which the coun-
try has fallen can hardly be overstated. It is said
that some of the tradespeople have returned to Soo-
chow, and that many of the gentry of the sur-
rounding districts have offered their allegiance. As
the Government is taking no steps whatever to
meet the evil, but have simply abandoned the dis-
tricts overrun to the destroyer, these attempts to
conciliate the ma.urauders can hardly be wondered
at.

"Regarding the movements of the French troops,
it should be observed that existing arrangements
seem more adapted to augmenting their force here
than to its decrease. In fact, although the Saigon
garrison is reduced to a very low ebb, it does not
seem as if any troops were being sent thither.
" The United States ship Niagara duly arrived at
Yeddo with the ambassadors, The American autho•
rities received the rudest repulse imaginable after
all the very valuable presents bad been received.
Instead of being thanked or complimented for the
courtesy and hospitality extended, they were in-
formed that a great honour had been conferred by
the Tycoon, a hope being expressed that no moi •
such favours would be required. Two artillery offi-
cers had been sent from the United States to teach
the Japanese gunnery. These officers took with
them the latest and best ordnance which the United
States can produce. They found that the Japanese
had precisely similar arms made from models they
had seen only. Even rifled cannon were seen in

the Imperial arsenal. In artillery ex9rcise the
Japanese showed themselves proficient, and although
these United States officers had gone to Japan to
remain three years, they were told that they Ns ere
not wanted. There is, however, the alarming por-
tion of this novelty to be recorded. It is of course
notorious that in the question of currency the Ja-
panese have brokers the treaties in a most barefaced
and unjustifiable manner. These United States Ar-
tillery officers had the evidence of their own eye-
sight to inform them that the Japanese had made
and were still making vast preparations to repel
foreign attack. In this case it is abundantly clear
that whatever may be the pretext of an outbreak,
the Japanese must be considered the aggressors. A
portion of the British fleet under Admiral Jones
has gone to winter at Japan, whether to meet such
a contingency as above hinted at or not can only
be guessed at. The Prussian Envoy cannot ob-
tain a treaty, and if his Excellency pursues in
Yeddo the same illegal rude course that the com-
mander of one .of the vessels of his squadron did in
this colony, the failure can nether be lamented ncr
wondered at.

" Trade remains pretty good at all the ports.
Preparations are being made by the large firms for
an increased coast trade, and most parties are san-
guine about the opening of the Yangtsze. Rice
tends upwards. Exchange downwards. Tonnage
in improved demand."

The following is Lord Elgin's proclamation on
:he conclusion of the convention :

" The Earl of Elgin and Kincardine, K.T., G.C.8.,
her Britannic Majesty's Special Ambassador, in China, &c.
&c., has much satisfaction in informing her Majesty's sub-
jects in China that a convention for the re-establishment of
peace between Great Britain and China was concluded, and
the ratifications of the Treaty of Tientsin of the year 1858 •
duly exchanged at Pekin on the 24th of October, 1860.
The Earl of Elgin now publishes for general information
the text of the said convention and treaty, together with
the text of the tariff, and rules which form part of the
Treaty, and were agreed to by him and the Plenipotentaries
of the Emperor of China at Shanghai, on the Bth of Nov.,
1858. The Earl of Elgin trusts that by a considerate treat-
ment of the natives with whom they may come into contact,
and a faithful observance of their obligations towards the
Chinese Government, her Majesty's subjects in China will
do what in them lies to reconcile the people, and authori-
ties of China, to the changes in their relations with
foreigners which are about to be introduced under the inter-
national compacts herewith promulgated—changes which,
if they be carried into effect in such a manner as to afford
greater scope to the commercial activity of the Chinese
people, without doing unnecessary violence to their habits
and traditions, will, it may be hoped, prove beneficial to
them,'and to all who have dealings with them. Due notice
will be given whenever the arrangements for carrying into
execution the provisions of this Convention and Treaty, at
the ports thereby opened to British trade shall be completed.
God save the Queen.
ELGIN AND KINCARDINE.
Dated at Tien-tsin, this 20th of November, 1860.

SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.
ARRIVALS FROM GREAT BRITAIN.

At Hong Kong, Dec. 13, 4ctavia, and Vier Gezuatew,
from Cardiff.

At Shanghai—Nov. 28, Dora, from Queemtown ; 29th,
Juanpore, from London; Spray of the Ocean, from Liver.
pool.

DEPARTURES FOR GREAT BRITAIN.
From Hong Kong—Dec. 13, Lore Dalhousie, Hougo-
mont, and Tasmania, for England ; 14th, Henry Miller,
Athlete, and Indomitable, for England (London).
From Macao—Dec. 6, Valdivia, for Liverpool.
From Whampoa—Nov. 28, Ranee, for London ; 6th,
Neville, for London; 11th, Minerva, for London.
From Foochow—Nov. 14, William Mitchell and Mirage,
for London; 15th, Anglo. Saxon, for London; 29th, Lau-
derdale, for London.
From Shanghai—Nov. 27,—Solent, for London.
SHIPS OF WAR.
At Hong Kong—The British frigate Cambrian, steamers
Adventure, Australian, Berenice, Coromandel, Magicienne,
Prince Arthur, Sparrowhawk, and the gunboats Cockchafer,
Hardy, Haughty, Insolent, Starling, and Weazel ; the
French brig Nemesis, the steamers Duchayla, Hong Kong,
Pre guet,'and Saone; Spanish steamers Don Antonio Escarro
and Reina de Castilla; American frigate John Adams,
steamers Niagara and Hartford, and the gunboat Saginaw.
At Macao—The Portuguese corvette Don Juan, and the
lorcha Amazona.

At Canton River—The British steamer Highfiyer, and
the gunboats Clown and Staunch; and the French steamers
Durance and Derolide.

At Swatow—The British sloop Acorn, and gunboat
Grasshopper.

At Ningpo—The British gunboat Algerine.
At Shanghai—The British frigate Actoson ; the steamers
Centaur, Cruiser, Feroze, and Urgent; and the gunboat
Kestrel ; the French steamers Forte, Garonne, Rhone,
and Saigon ; The Russian steamer Boyarine.
In the North—The British steamers Armenian Assaye,
Atalanta, Beagle, Bentinck, Chesapeake, Cowper, En-
counter, Furious, Fury, Reaper, Imperieuse, Inflexible,
Nimrod, Odin, Pearl, Renard, Ringdove, Roebuck, Samp-
son, Scout, Simoom, Snake, Sphynx, Vulcan, and Water-
man; gunboats, Banterer, Bouncer, Bustard, Dove, Drake,
Firm, Flamer, Forester, Havoc, Janus, Leven, Opossum,
Slaney, Snap, Watchful, and Woodcock; French frigate,
Capricieuse ; French steamers, Alon Prah, Andromaque,
Calondos, Dordogne, Driade, Entreprenante, European,
Forbin, Gironde, Imperatrice Eugenie, Jura, Kienchen,
Loire, Marne, Marseau, Monge, Nievre, Perseverante,
Renommee, Rhin, Foeywan, Vengeance; gunboats, Ava-
lanche, Dragonne, Fusee, and Mitraille.
At Japan.—The British steamer Pioneer ; Russian
steamer Raztrynik.

TOTAL WRECK OF A LIVERPOOL 'SUM
AND LOSS OF TWELVE LIVES.

LIVERPOOL, JAN. 25.
We regret to announce the total loss of the ship
Florence Graham, Captain James Dickson, of and
for this port, on Thursday night, on Inch Ben,
Dingle Bay, near Tralee, in Ireland, and melancholy
to relate, the captain, mate, and 10 of his crew have
met with a watery grave. The- intelligence was
received here this morning by Mr. Court, of the
Underwriters' Association, and by the owners,
Messrs. Hatton and Cookson, merchants, but the
details of their several telegrams are very meagre.
The Florence Graham was a regular trader to the
West Coast of Africa, and sailed on her last voyage
for Rio Bento on the 10th Feb., under the command
of Captain Dickson, and a crew of 17 men. She
has since that time been trading along the West
Coast of Africa, and when last heard from had left
Brass River for Liverpool in November, with
general cargo of African produce, palm oil, ix. On
the night of 24th inst. she was cast ashore near
Tralee. She cleared from Liverpool on the 9th of
February last with the following crew :—James
Dickson, captain ; Robert Brown, Kent, first mate ;
Archibald Simpson, Grangemouth, carpenter;
Samuel Pecke, Newton Abbot, boatswain ; Edward
Cullen, Bristol, steward; John Fitzpatrick, Liver-
pool, cook ; John Montgomery, Liverpool, cooper ;
George Sinclair, Hastings; John Alexander, Ayr;
and a number of other men, chiefly foreigners, ordi-
nary seamen, numbering in all 17. The ship
immediately on striking became a complete wreck,
and, as stated above, the captain, mate, and 10
seamen were washed overboard and lost. A second
telegram just received says that five are saved, and
that a portion of the cargo will be recovered.

Loss OF ANOTHER LIVERPOOL SHIP.-111telli—
gence has also reached the Underwriters' Association
of the loss of the Liverpool ship Herculean, Captain
Bell, belonging to the well-known firm of Messrs.
S. and J. Brocklebank. The Herculean sailed with
a valuable cargo for this port on the 16th November,
and on the 30th took the ground in Gaspar Straits,
and became a total wreck. The crew were taken
off by the Dutch ship Antonia Gertrudia, and landed
safely at Batavia. The Herculean was a compara-
tively new ship, and one of the latest additions to
the fine fleet of East India traders owned by Messrs.
Brocklebank.

NARROW ESCAPE OF A SHIP'S CREW.—Captain
Lincoln, of the American ship North American,
arrived here, reports that on the Ist of January he
observed in lat. 31.30 N. lon. 78, a vessel with flags
half-mast high and union ensign down. Although
there Was a heavy sea running he bore down to her,
and found her to be the schooner Isabella, of and
for Baltimore, from the island of St. Andrew, in
the Carribean Sea, laden with guano. She was very'
leaky, and the crew, seven in number, in a helpless
state from exhaustion. Hp took them on board
and landed them safely in iLiverponl. They were
unable to save anything.

WORK FOR OUR WOMEN.—If the daughters
without leaving the protection of her father's house, could
sit down in the midst of a happy and united family to draw
patterns; if the lone woman in her own neat little parlour
could employ herself upon graphic designs ; or if the widow,
with her children around her, taking up her pencil, or her
colours, could construct new forms of beauty, perhaps el)
interesting to them as to herself, and so bring in a trifle for
their food and clothing, still keeping over her head the
shelter of a roof to call her own, and at her feet the warmth
of a hearth, her title to which no stranger could dispute'
what happiness of a domestic as well as individual nature,
such women might enjoy, compared with that which neVl
now falls to the share of those who "go out," as it is called'
—Once a Week.