The Sun.
London, England, 1842-12-01 00:00:00

On the 4th of November the Volage joined the fleet at
Hong-Kong, while the Hyacinth was left at Macao to
watch events in that quarter. The discomfiture of Ad-
miral Kwan's squadron was soon followed by the refusal
of an trade to the English with China.
CAPTAIN ELLIOT.

On the the East India monopoly, in
1634, when a Commission under the Royal sign manual
was issued, appointing three superintendents of the
English trade with China—Lord Napier, Mr. Davis,
and Sir George Robinson were the three Commissioners
selected. The death of Lord Napier, shortly after,
created a vacancy-, to which Mr. Davis succeeded, while
captain Elliot, of the Royal Navy, began his advance-
ment. Till this period he had filled the useless office of
Master-attendant, which at this period became superflu-
ous, by the abandonment in England of the scheme for
levying duties on our ships in the Canton river; and on
its abolition, Captain Elliot was appointed Secretary to
the Commission. Shortly afterwards, on the resignation
by Mr. Davis of his station, and the embarkation of that
gentleman for England, Captain Elliot succeeded as a
member of the Commission, according to the general
tenor of the sign-manual instructions. The smuggling
trade had, since the opening of the trade, increased
alarmingly ; and four years after, when the traffic had
grown to its great height, Captain Elliot, who by this
time had succeeded Sir George Robinson, wrote thus to
the Secretary of State :—" There seems no doubt, my
Lord, that the Court has finally determined to suppress,
or, more probably, extensively to check, the opium trade;
the immense, and, it must be said, the most unfortunate
increase of bile supply during the last four years, the
rapid growth of the east coast trade in opium, and the
continued drain of the silver, have no doubt greatly
alarmed the Government." The license in this nefarious
traffic now became unbounded; and impunity complete.
Captain Elliot, in his dispatch, dated Jan. 26, 1838,
observed that " the manner of the rash course of traffic
within the river, had probably contributed most of all to
to impress (on the Chinese C overnment) the urgent
necessity of repressing the growing audacity of the
foreign smugglers, and preventing their associating them-
selves with the desperate and lawless of their own large
cities." From this, it appears Captain Eliiot's opinion
was,':that it was the opium trade within the Liiicea Tigris,
not tile mere existence of the trade, but the barefaced
mode of carrying it on, which exasperated the Pekin
Government. " While," wrote Captain Elliot in the
same dispatch, " such a traffic existed in the heart of
our regular commerce, I had all along felt that the
Chinese Government had a just ground for harsh mea-
sures towards the lawful trace, upon the plea that
there was no distinguishing between the right and
the wrong." For these reasons, Captain Elliot urgently
applied that he might be " vested with defined
awl adequate powers for the reasonable control of the
men whose rash conduct could not be left to the operation
() Chinese laws without the utmost inconvenience and
rie'a and whose impunity was alike injurious to British
character and dangerous to British interests." Fully
afajd that the growing importation and smuggling
within the river being unchecked would drive the autho-
rities to some violent measure, Captain Elliot addressed,
in November, 1837, a memorandum to the Government
at home, recommending a special commissioner to be sent
to Chusan, or some other principal point on the coast,
away 'from the influence of the Canton Mandarins, fur
the adjustment of this perilous business ; the Govein-
ment, however, in reply, declined taking any such steps
at that time. On the visit of Admiral Sir Frederick
Maitland, in 11.,r Majesty's ship Wellesley, July 12,
1838, and his obstruction by the Viceroy and Hong mer-
chants, Captain Elliot proceeded to Canton, and for-
warded to the city-gates an open paper for transmission
to the Governor by a Mandarin ; the paper being left
open, and not bearing the character of a pin or petition,
would not be received by the Viceroy. Captain Elliot
then declared that he had formally offered to net forth
the peaceful purposes of the Admiral's visit, and if the
Viceroy did not accept these explanations his business at
Cantoe was concluded, and he should forthwith retire.
Subsequently a British boat was fired upon in the Bocce
Tigris ; Admiral Maitland demanded reparation ; but a
Mandarin captain-of-war junk gave ample satisfaction in
writing, and the Admiral shortly after departed. Two
months after the departure of the Wellesley a seizure of
opium was made at Canton, the property of a British
trader, the obnoxious parties punished, and then the trade
re-opened. A few days after a native opium dealer was
strangled, and a riot took place on the occasion, by which
the Europeans, who endeavoured to resist the execution,
were driven back to their factories. On the occasion of
this imminent danger Captain Elliot called a meeting,
and, finally, ordered that the small smuggling-craft, be-
longing to the English, should proceed outside the river
within three days, and offered to co-operate to put
an end to the smuggling, and a stagnation of the trade en-
sued. Shortly after another native opium smuggler was
strangled in the square before the foreign factories, and
affairs had so far attracted the attention of higher quarters,
that a Kin-chae, the High Commission Lin, came
down to Canton, and while junks and boats of war were
collecting, and fire-ships preparing, Commissioner Lin
required a bond that " the ships should thereafter never
again dare to bring opium • and that, should any be
brought, the goods should be forfeited, and the parties
suffer death :" he further threatened, that on non-com-
pliance, the foreigners would be sacrificed, and three days
were given for reply. Captain Elliot, upon this distress,
immediately proceeded to the house of one of the leading
English merchants, Mr. Dent, whom the Chinese Com-
mieEtioner had summoned,before his tribunal in the city.
Captain Elliot, and other residents, who had been totally
unconcerned in these opium dealings, were then seized,
and deprived of food and drink, and he had to choose
between death and implicit obedience as alternatives, or
to deliver up opium to the value. of two millions and a
half sterling, a great part of which was, at that time, on
the high seas, and entirely beyond reach.•• Until, how-
ever, the opium to the full amount was delivered up, an
arc of boats was formed, filled witlearmed men, the ex-
tremes of which touched the east and west banks of the
river in front of the factories ; the square between, and
the rear, were occupied in considerable force, and before

the gate of the hall, the whole body of Hong merchants.
and a large guard, were posted day and night, the latter
with their swords constantly drawn ; so close an impri-
sonment is not recorded in the history of our previous
intercourse. Captain Elliot, thus detained under the
threat of death, was compelled to purchase opium to the
amount of from 35,0001. to 40,0001. to make up the quan-
tity, and was then released, when the imprisonment and
blockade at Canton also terminated. Leave was then
given for all to quit except sixteen individuals, who ulti-
mately took their departure, under an edict from the Go-
vernor never to return. Captain Elliot took the first
opportgnity to write to Lord Auckland, Governor-Gene-
ral of Ifdia, detailing that " course of violence and spo-
liation which had broken up the' foundations (to use his
own words) of this great trade, as far as Canton is con-
cerned, perhaps, for eves" He, at the same time applied
for as many ships of war and armed vessels, for the pro-
tection of life and property, as could be detached from
the Indian station. Captain Elliot did not quit Canton
himself, till the 25th May, when the sixteen proscribed
individuals had left that place in safety, and the persons
of no other British subjects were in jeopardy. In the
debate of the 13th of May, in the House of Lords on this
point, the Duke of Wellington observed, " he bad never
known a person filling a high station in another country
treated in such a manner as Captain Elliot had been
treated by the authorities of the Chinese Government at
Canton.'
Some time afterwards an affray took place
between some English or American sailors (for the truth
has not been ascertained) and a party of Chinese, when
a native named Lin Weike lost his
Captain Elliot
proceeded to the utmost verge of his
powers, with' a view
to afford the Government all reasonable satisfaction,
.by
setting in action the criminal jurisdiction
six of the English rioters on their trial. Til and e
ManPclaaerng
ins
were invited to attend, but did not think fit to comply.
Five of the men were found guilty of riot and
assault.
only. These proceedings did not satisfy Commissioner
Lin, who moved down to Heang-shar., a place 40 miles
from Macao, with about 2,000 soldiers, insisting upon
the delivery of a British subject in lieu of him killed ; to
which, after every possible inquiry, Captain Elliot re-
fused to comply. This state of hostility was greatly
aggravated by a barbarous murder committed by some
Chinese mandarin boats on the defenceless crew of an
English schooner, when seven Lascars were massacred,
and a passenger on board mutilated and left for dead. In
addition to this, the convention entered into by the Chi-
nese Commissioner for carrying on the outside trade was,
by some pretence, broken through. A rencontre took
place between the Volage and Hyacinth British vessels

Of war and a fleet of wai junks. The contest wan
iv spirit-
edly sustained by the Chinese Admiral Itan, but in the
end he was utterly defeated. Several of the junks were
stink, and a number of Chinese sailors killed or wounded.
All communicatbn was afterwards cut off b. y Commis-
eVener Lin, and various attempts were made in the roads
to burn the British ships and poison the sailors. The
Governor-General of India was now invested with full
powers to declare war and direct its operations. The
sabgepent transactions relative to this belligerent de-
claration, appear elsewhere.
MaJon PRA.TT.—This officer signalised himself dur-
ing the attack on the Chuenpee and Ty-kok-tow forts,
when he commanded the forward movement of the gal-
islet Canaeroniams. During this attack he himself was
seen along way in advance, under the very defences of the
enemy, with the most nonchalant and admirable coolness,
The Gallant Major, on looking through an embrasure,
saw there was a body of Chinese close to it, when he
coolly turned to the only soldier With him, a marine, and
said, " Just shoot me one these fellows will you ?" The
action followed the word, and the Chinese retired forth-
with. • •

CAPTAIN SCOTT REIGNOLDS.—This officer, of her
Majesty's 49th Regiment, especially mentioned for his
conspicuous bravery at the recapture of Tinghae, by Ge-
neral Sir Hugh Gough, is eldest son of the late Major
Thomas Reignolds, of the Scots Greys, who was many
years on the staff at Brighton, and who fell at the battle
of Waterloo.

SIR HUGH GOUGH.—This officer commenced his mili-
tary career in the city of Limerick Militia in 1793. He
served with the 2d battalion of the 78th until September,
1796, at the Cape of Good Hope. Lieut. Gough, with
the 87th Foot, next served three years in the West
intlis• Was with the attack on Porto Rico, under Sir
Ralph Abercrombie ; at the capture of Surinam, in Au-
gust, 1799, and throughout the whole of the brigand war
In St. Lucia. In August, 1800, Lieut. Gough returned
borne to Europe, in consequence of ill health. He suc-
ceeded to a company as a senior Lieutenant in June,
1803. In 1804 served in Guernsey, under Lieutenant-
General Sir John Doyle. Purchased his majority in
1805, and in December, 1808, embarked for Portugal,
wieh the 87th. Major Gough commanded his regimen_ t
at the memorable battle of Talaveraand Ni as. severely
wounded, receiving a medal of distinction for' his valour.
His valour during the siege of Cadiz was so conspicuous
that Sir Thomas Graham honoured him, and two other
Officers, with Brevet rank, from the date of his dis-
patches, being the first instance of the kind which oc-
curred in the British army. On the 31st of December,
1811, Lieutenant-Colonel Gough repulsed at Tarifa,
with his eight companies, 500 Eton, no less than 1,800