Star.
London, England, 1817-10-09 00:00:00

MR. ABEL'S ACCOUNT OF THE CHINESE
EMBASSY.

In the Press, and lmme hatrly will be pubß•hed, in One Volume,
Ito. illustrated by Maps-and other Engraving., UNDSR TUC
SANCTJON or THC HONoUIt ABLE EAST-INDIA COMPANY, and
' dedicated, by permission, to thu Right Hon. Lord Amu LUST,
DERSONAL OBSERVATIONS, made dosing
1 the PROGRESS of the BRI FISH EMBAi:iY through
CHINA, end on its Voyage to and front that Country, in the
]'ears 1816 and 1817.
By CLARKE ABEL,
Physician and Naturalist to the Embassy.
This Work will comprile the Author's PILKSONAL Mitt aArtte
of the most interesting Events which befd the Be rri su Est DA sae'
Irons the time of its kavirg Eneland to its return; tagUther with
his Remarks on the Lienloot, Natural History, and Manners of
Ilse Countries visited by it.
Printed for Longman, Hunt, Rees, Orme and Brown, Pater-
noster-row, London.

TUE EMBASST TO CHINA. '

(Continued from yesterday's SrAt.)

. ge More than two hours had not elapsed after the
return of the Gentlemen of the g,,mbassy to Hatt-eeti,
When a report was brought that opposition was
making by the Chinese to thr onloadine of the carts
with their baggage; and soon after the Mandarins
announced that the Emperor, incensed by the Am-
bassador's refusal to attend him according to his de-
mands, had given orders for the immediate departure
of the Embassy. The order was peremptory sin
vain .as the fatigue of every individual of the Em-
bassy pleaded; 'no consideration was allowed to
weigh against the positive commands of the Empe-
ror. Chang.sit one time said, that even compliance
with the Tartar ceremony would now he unavailing;
in the course of the day, however, he somewhat al-
tered his language, saying all this annoyance had
arisen from our pertinacity upon v‘e point at issue,
and hinted that submission might still be of use ; he
had the audacity to deny 04 the Emperor had ever
signified his consent to receive us on our own terms.
gg The efficer of government most urgent for our
immediate departure was a messenger mom the Com-
mander in Chief of the Pekin district, into whose hands
it would seem the execution of the Emperor's orders
had been put. This officer entered upon the ques-
tion of the ceremony, using, as might be expected,
the most absurd language; assertipg the Emperor's
claim to it from his superiority of rank over all Mo-
narchs ; the consequent impropriety of our con-
duct •in, pertinaciously refusing; and concluded by
saying, that the Eniper.,r would, of course, writes'
friendly :.ad explanatory letter to the King of Eng-
land, who would...no doubt, be highly offended wi:h
the Ambassador. These observations being by than&
addressed to me, I requested Mr. Morrison to inform
him, that the point of ceremony had been set at rest
by ilk... Emperor's promising to receive us on our own
wins ; and that we were under no alarm respecting
the sentiments of our Soyereign up:nil our behaviour.
l'lr • officer urging our instantaneous departure, I as-
sured him that ,ire need not apprehend delay on our
part, as the only circumstance that could render our
stay in the Chinese dominions agrecabie was the good
will of the Emperor, of which we were now deprived.
The only act of .civility we experienced during the
day was it handsome breakfast sent by the Emperor,
which was most acceptable, as many of the party had
tasted nothing since the preceding d .y. At lour Loud
Amherst got into his chair, and thus to all outward
appearance has the Embassy terminaied.
it On their return, the gentle Men of the Einbassy
are exposed to the most indecent curiosity on the part
of the Chinese f and are carried, without halting, to
their boats at Tong-chow, which they reached on the
morning of the Such of Angust. Great neglect and
disrespect are shown towards the Embassy. On the
2d of September they commence their journey towards
I the coast. From a conversation with Chang, it •ap-
pears that the apparent consent at Tong-chow, to the
reception of the Embassy with their proffered ceremo-
nial, was a deception of Ho Koong-yay, whose great
object was to get the Ambassador to Pekin, and that
the immediate dismissal of the Embassy was caused
by its being reported to the Emperor that the plea of
illness was a mere pretext. Chang also says, that his
Majesty was much offended by Ho not having stated
the fact of the Ambassador having travelled all night,
which apparently would have been considered the
most reasonable excuse for his wishing to avoid an im-
mediate audience, and that he had removed the
Koonglay from some of his employments in conse-
quence. Nearly.* fortnight after, Sy which time the
Embassy have reacbedTontqu,an-linen, Chang sends
a copy of a Pekin Gaaestesantruncing Ho's damissal
from office?'
On the 15th of September, Lord Amherst and-Mr.
Ellis visit Ching-taiin, the Judge of Pe-clue-lee,
who also observes that the • Emperisr was much too
graciously disposed to have dismiSsed the Ambassa-
dor so suddenly, had the facts been truly stated to
tom: The Embassy continued their joorney—various.
Mandarins, by whom they are visited, having aided
to the favourable edict issued by the Emperor re-
.

spectitiß the treatment of the Embassy, the circum-
stence suggests to Lord Amherst the idea (which.
however, was not acted upon) of addressing the Em
peror, in orcsrr to renew the direct intercourse with
The Chinese C wernioent. Mr. Ellis • expre,s:., his
npini :n of the giresti,nable nature of suet a mea,urr%
as ili.c ilcul ted I'm its sn'amissive• character to pro.
shier the .!c•ife,i eff-ct on the i.4norans aro ogauce of.
capricious despotism. 0 , di- 2:irh October an Eiffst
respecting the treatment of the Embassy is cotifinn.
I nicated to them through a private chant', 1.
This document, though, according to Chines,.
- notions, it may be considered favourable, carries with
it such absurd notions of superiority, and marks
such an utter indifference to the real rank and I C.I .-
ratter of the Embassy, that it r•quires to be actu illy
!in China, not to view it as an additional iii,.u:t. l'
i commences by an explanation of t; e occurtences .41
IYeen-min-)uen, nut so satisfactory AS that in the
Pekin Gazette, but upon the same principles. It is
attributed to the absence of our dteiso. :a ceremony,
rand to Ho not making known the circumstances which:,
produced the deficiency in the equipmatt. 'rex al.
"edged sickness Es stated to be• a pretest. It then
adverts to the exchange of presents at 'long-chow, at-
tributing k to the Etbperoes reluctance altsigtifi .r to
refuse our expression of devotediress. The exchange
euelt is descrioed as gitivin4 much and rec:iving little.'
An ailu,ion is made to the Emperoi's gra,iimie ok
the occasion, and to his eziuessions of fear and tepen-
tance. The treatment of ihe Embassy i; orderest io
be tree hona insult and contempt, and suitath: to a
foreign Embassy. Precaution, aro, however, ditected
to be used to pievent any I olden: to cause i.l.s; e:bance.
s• The general character o this treatment is repo".
k,
sented as ao imi•ns of sooth:siir, and contrullitig,:. lcii:-
fated to pkeduce awe and gratitude in the p
composing the Embassy. It any doubts iemained as
to the inspolicy of addressing the Emperor. this edict
must have removed them. as neither honour nor ad-
vantage can be gained by The receipt of edicts eciuzli-
eJ in such laiNtiage ; and it would •be futile to
expect any other, even when d:rectly addr:sstd to
the Ambassador." .

On the 18th of December the Embassy arrived at
Nankang-100. On the 20th they pi oceeded by land to
WatiliuMg-ton; and thence by watcr to Canton, which
they reach oti the Ist of Linn ,:ry, 1817. On she 2.1
of January information is received that the Viceroy
has it in charge from the Emperor to deliver an edict
lor letter to Use Kieg ot England. On the tidy of
1 January the Embassy receives Lone
Macao a Portu-
guese translation of en imperial edict address rd oi the.
Viceroy of Canton, resi,ecting the Embasiy ; in which
Ithe dismissal of the En-Gassy is entirely attributed to
ithe miszenduct of the Ambassador and the C:.roinis.
urters, aild the Viceroy is directed to eliect their re.
movat as soon as possible, -led to Hake ii speech in
Ithe Ambassador 61 the tenor
.o 4 •• repriAsnd. On the
tittlowingsdey ii is reciirciinended . to the Viceroy by
I Use Ambassy to avoid any allusion at the Approaching'
I interview to the (nen:mites at Yucti-min-yuen ; as
lany offensive expressi:ln would be received in 4 inaniicv
likely to pro ee publicly disagree.ae to both pat ties.
7UI of January.—Alrint one o'clock ihe inter.
view with the Viceroy took place. The Emperor's
I letter, inclosed us a bambtee and covered with }auk,
silk, oas delivered in the principal hall of the temple.
by the Viceroy standing, into the Ambassador's 11.111,15,
by chum it was received with a prittnlad bow; they
then proceeded to a smaller apeman tit fittol is? for
! the occasion, where a short couversatiun took place,
• only remareable for a momentary attempt made b,
. the Viceroy to Assume the Lobe of arrogance that had
i been anticipated, which being immethavly resit: eal.
I was as quickly 'abandoned. The particular expres.
I
Islop was the assertion on his part ot the sup:tior ad-
Ivantages, or rather the absolute nec.nsity it the
IChinese trade to England: in reply, his Excakiley
contended lot Use reciproral benefits of the cAnniesce
I to both nations.. The Viceroy declined to piolooz;
the discussion, admitting that it might be inutualty
disagreeable, and the iseerviesv terminated with sonic
I unmeaning and formal wishes for the colitinuance of
friends rip. Fruits and other refreshments were spread
• out in an opposite apartment, and, being pointed out
by the Viceroy to his Escellency as the expected en-
tertainment, were nut declined. On this occasion the
manlier of the Viceroy fishy answered the desciiption
we bad received; it was cold, haughty, and hostile.
He was evidently perhaining a disagreeable duty,
and had great .apparent difficulty in resisting the ex-
pression ot his feelings at conduct, which he none
have considered the unwarrantable arrog ince of bar-
barians towards the greatest Sovereign of the universe.

" We were naturally anxious to examine the letter
limn the Entimior, which proved to be written to
Chinese, Tartar, :tad Latin; it was as usual,.stylud a
mandate to the King of England, but, with the ex-
ception, was mooch less assuming than migh hav:
been expected ; in fact, it was on the whole not mole
objectionable than that addressed by Klett-lung to his
Majesty. A very false stutemeut of the occurrences i
at Ytien-min-yuen was gun, the dismissal being. at-
tributeal to pertinacious and successive rtfusul of the
Arnbassadt,r and Commissioners to att:nd the .Em-
peror under an absurd pretext of sicknUt."

On the 20th of January, the Embassy enibarked.l
for Whampoa, and reached the Alceste, whcre there
was a parting dinner Sir G. Staunton bzing to go to
England in the Sca;eby Castle. Mr. Ellis takes the
opportunity of espressiitg his high respect and estecni ,
for Sir George, although he differed from him with
respect to Use l'artar ceremony. After the arrival oil
the Embassy, an Edickis received by them, styl:d the
Vermillion Edict, from its being written in ink of 1
that colour by the Emperor's own hand.
This Edict is certainly satisfactory ; the state-
ment given of the pro.:eedings cf the Embiasy is
nearly correct, and his Majesty, as in the Pekin 'Ga-
zette, throws the entire blame of the abrupt dismissal
of the 'Embassy On his own Ministers. It commences
by briefly stating the occurrences at Tien-sing. The
two Chinese c ommissioncrs ate blamed for taking

Say preceding the arsiv il of the Embassy 't pains
that the ceremony ha I not bi•e , practised ; fir it is
assents:l 'hat they then pledge • •hemselves
performance on the day of audience. •I'h asi-ged
sickueis of the Ainhacs.tdor is asentismed, and cep.
ai ((IMO •siclious, and the - Engllsh Commis-
sinners are made to say in addition to a upetitioo of
the same excuse, that :he inti•rview rau7t be deferred
until the recovery et the Amhiassador. The Emperor
proceeds to declare that it was not tint .l some few
days had elapsed that he became acquainted with the
'night journey of the Auslmssad-ir, and the want of
the Court dresses, mid his 'Majesty :masts thei-had •
' circumstances been known to hien at the tune,
he wound have poitinined the audience and compie+
tion of the ci•remony to oluother day. The weak and •
equivocat:, g ciintluct of the Chinese Cum•tiissisiners,
who are said to have seriously injured ihr cliblic
affairs, is severally cens,ired ; and t'.e limp r,r takes
shame fur !, ,ving hems the victim of their
imbecility and deceptions. Allusion is noide to the
crimes nt all the boor Chinese Cimmissi,incrs having
i;.•ett referred t.r the Boards for then istveti,:atiors,
and the E.lict concludes with orders for its public dit.
fusion thiougn the Tarter and Citassei.e dominions of
tile Emphe."
My.ELLts,a,lvering to the extraordinary difference
between the statements in the Pain Gowitiand Ver.
million Edict. and ti,iise in the Emperor's Letter to
the Prince itee.ent, observes t

66 1 am inclin.d to Offer the fillowing•explanation
of these contradi..tory proceeding!. This weak and
capricious Moaareti, soon after the flagrant outrage
had bees commit ie.! under the impulse of angry dis-
iniy be supposed to have bec,tme
a'armed at the con.equencesnf his own violence, and
the habitual nntionsid tVcornm belonging to Chineen
character itnd usage, resuming their influence. pro-
duced the partial reiraration and appareticy candid
I-Wan:aloft c.)ntaiaed ut the Gazette and Verr.ti!linn,
Edict. This iriterval 01 repettance and mud
Was short, anJ titha at the suggcctien of Nii:listefs
adverse to the semblance or cont.tssion Itneigneis,
or from the returning haughtiness of tecling.
and personal'character, it was dvteninioed I” the Erg-
prat to justify his it;olence by 1,1 else statem.ect 01 the
c-mbict et the Ambaaattor, Ind in this 'wt.!. t:te
ter to the,Prince Regent was entnir sed. It may be
tonjeztueed, ani ant without reason. that the Edit* -
t:+ the Vierrorof Canton was adapted to the psculiar
circumstatme of that ptovince in being the Resort of a
Europeans, and an overbearing tone was assumed to
prevaut the ass.,rtrition of foreigners 1 kel) to :wise
trcm the slightest ailrearance 01 concession.

‘4 Little coedit is certainly due to Imperial Edicts
and the different statemeats of the occurrences at
'Veen-min•yurn ;riven iu the G4lattte And Verinillion
Edi-t, computed with that c.nitained in the letter to
the Prince Regent, shears the Emperor's distelard of
truth and cent►ti'ncy. Inasmuch as the intertfiurse
hrtween•the two tounnies is contained, the seiTht of
d•Gicial authority is certainly due to the latter, 1-r the
Edicts were neither addrested, one were they sup.
p.ised to have come to tie knowledge of Vie Atiiims. •
sador ; they are therefore only important as evidence
ct the general disposition of the Morse Government,.
or as instances or dominion in a mind known to be
at once timid and capricious."

Mr. Elli; dins closes his narrative of the diplotnatig
vroce.diitgs oa this important subject...
It if, introssiitle to reflect without somemeirtifica_
tion upon the result of the two British Embassies to
the Cougt of biath were undertaken for. the
cspress purpose of obtaining, if not additional
let;es, at least increased security for the trade--the
failure of both his been complete; in the latter in.
stance certainly accomplied by circumstances of
agt4ravated disiatisfaction. To the mode in whit,*
I.4rd Macattney's Embassy was conducted. I an
inclined to give the .cost deci,ied approbation ; anti
whatever m.iy have been my private opinion upon the
particular question of compliance with the Chinese
ceremonial, I am not ditpt,scd to maintain that ant
it:A...a:Mal advantage have resul;cd from tLia
mere reception of the Embassy, nos ro con•i2er, that
the general expediency Ole oseasure itteii has been
ati,:cted by the course of re;;scanee adopted, in dc.
'ciente to undoubted t.tieat, and great local
paience,
i" Royal Eolh.:sirs, avowedly complimentary,
reaiiy• directed to commercial objects, are perh-
theniselves, somewhat anuttEt,ous. and are cto
very opliosite, 11-4 only to Ciii3ac feelings, ht
to those of all Eastern nati•-ais ; among whom
aleatingh h.hteted as a scone of tev..aite, is iv
pute'd honourable. If, thetet,w, it still be
ad bitable., to assist our comnii.ree by political
coarse, viernuht lo :k to that pat tof our empir,
something like territorial lin••t.tiMity exists. 1,
mite connection that must lirtocetorwArd be.
tained between our possessions in Hindustan at
point out the supreme Government of
as the medium t.i that intetconne. There the
,eittative. of armed.power will encounter its f
iitid it ever impression is tp he produced it Pes
must be from an intimate knowledge of our rob
'and military Strt.ngth, rather than from the gt
tiun produced iu the. Entperor's mind. by the ret
of an Embassy on Chinese terms, or the moral
of justifiable resistance, terminating in rejection.
•• _ _

The s 7 nibametior anti suite, qui!ti:sg Wbanii
rive at Macw, Oh the fe..!il of JAnuory : them
sail lot Mandl*, which they reach ! ai
and Item ttaili they &port 1.;,e 9.h 01 tel

real ez.
Lary, bat
rhaps. in
:creakily
Jut even
in trade,
lever re.
ticemed
tl inter.
re where
I'l,e inzi-
)e main.
and Ne-
Nagai
tr repro.
fellow ;
'elon, it
political
;ea eifici:.
Ct ptieit
al effect
ion.” 7
'Poor er.
rice they
.:hrttary,
etst oar:.