The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-01-10 00:00:00

IMPORTANT NEWS FROM CHINA.

By an extraordinary express from Paris, important
intelligence from China has been received, contained
in the Calcutta Englishman of the 11th of November.
The news from China extends to the 10th of Septem-
ber. It was brought by the schooner Hellas, which
left Macao on the day last mentioned. This news is
of greater importance than any previously received
from the same quarter. It appears that we arc AT
OPEN WAR WITH CHINA. The particulars will be
found in the following letter from Hong Hong, and
the general memorandum subjoined :
•" Hong Hong, Sept. 9.
" On the 2Gth of August all the British were ordered to
quit Macao on a notice of 12 hours, and with the exception
of Mr. Beale, who remains as Prussian consul, and Mr. P.
Stewart, who would not quit his Wife suffering from ill-
ness, and who had sought shelter in the house of Mr. king,
the American merchant, and friend of Lin. We were all
compelled to embark with so much precipitation, as scarcely
to find time to take along with us our account-hooks and
clothes. A day later, .a-rid not one of us could have
gone on board the ships, as her Majesty's frigate
.Volage had then anchored at Macao Roads. The
death of a Chinese in the scuffle at Hong Hong is the cause
• of this expulsion. Lin had called on Captain Elliot to surren-
der the homicide, but as nobody knew who he was, he issued
orders to the Portuguese governor at Macao to drive out the
English, although, had it been certain who the offender was,
he certainly would never have been delivered up. The Chi-
nese authorities put in practice their accustomed policy by
withdrawing all our Chinese servants. We then took Por-
tuguese, and they intercepted all provisions for the Eng-
lish, and would latterly have done so for all, unless we
took our departure. The Governor of Macao, who possesses
no means of resistance, did not, it must be allowed, issue
any written order for our embarkation ; on the contrary, he
officially gave out that he would afford us all the protection
in his power; but he said in private, and insinuated, by
means of his friends, that he could do nothing—that the
houses of the English residents were likely to be surrounded
by the Chinese soldiery, collected in the environs of Macao,
.and that serious danger impended on their persons and pro-
perty. On the afternoon of the 26th of August he announced
to Mr. Astell, the president of the committee of public safety,
that if the British residents were ready to embark next day
at noon, the garrison would be under arms to protect the em-
barkation against the insults of the Chinese. The noon of
the next day, however, brought to view neither soldiers nor
a Chinese rabble to insult any one. Nobody but the governor
himself; in full uniform, who had come to make secure tha
the English were embarking, before he went to the senate
to give in his report of the circumstance, which the moment
it was done was communicated by that body to the man-
darins. The following day the Portuguese were thanked
by Lin for having expelled the English, and he an-
nounced his intention of coming himself on the, follow-
ing Sunday to testify in person the satifaction he ex-
perienced on the occasion, though he, nevertheless, postponed
his visit for several days. The Portuguese troops marched
to the barrier to receive him, and accompanied him into
Macao, when he was met by the authorities, who welcomed
him with sundry salvoes of artillery. He did not enter the
government-house, and he made but a very short visit, hav-
ing returned to the Boque, where report says another great
commission had arrived from Pekin. The opinion of the
Chinese is, that Lin has caused too much " bobbery," and
that the new commission has been despatched to qualify his
measures. Time will shew how this is. Meantime British
trade to Canton is wholly at an end, and the Americans are
turning•the state of affairs to account as far as they are able.
Our affairs, indeed, as von may well judge, are in the most
complete conluaion, when you hear of our counting-house.:
being on board boats, ships, &c. The British Government
must adopt severe measures against the Chinese ; we can
never regain our commerce and influence among them, but
at the point of the bayonet.
" Another most afflicting occurrence has lately taken place.
The Black Joke having left Macao with Mr. Moss, a passen-
ger, on board, and six lascars, was compelled to anchor in
the Lanted Passage. and wait for the tide. She was there
surprised by three mandarin boats, and when all in her were
sound asleep, these barbarians boarded her, massacred all the
lascars on board, and must have thrown their bodies into the
sea, as none of them were found in the boat. A child was
among them, who was cut in two. One of the lascars, after
having his ears severed from his head, jumped overboard,
and was saved by Captain 'Wallace's schooner, after having
been eight hours in the water.

" The tindal of the boat also sprung into the water, but
with great expertness laid hold of the helm, when the hands
of these ruffians, who, after committing such atrocities, ap-
parently wished.to satisfy themselves that there was no one
about, encountered his head in this position. He instantly
dived, and by his presence of mind made his escape. The
passenger, surprised while asleep in his berth, was almost
cut to pieces : his left arm was nearly severed .from his body,
with a wound in the head, and his ear torn off, and placed
between his' lips in derision. The villains then wanted to
fire the boat, but seeing another vessel approach they took to
flight. Mr... Moss, dreadfully mutilated as he is, is fully ex-
pected to survive, but his life was first considered in great
danger.

"On the morning of the 4th, when all seemed for the mo-
ment quiet, Captain Elliot, who, since the 23d of August
had been at Hong Hong, got under weigh in his cutter, in
company with the schooner Pearl, under the command of
Captain. Redding, and stood for the Bay of Coloon, intend-
ing to procure a supply of provisions for the fleet. Having
arrived at their destination, and made known the object of
their coining, it appears that provisions were brought in abun-
dance, which may he readily believed, as the inhabitants of
that district have always shown themselves willing to deal
with Europeans. The mandarins, however, on hoard the war
junks, opposed .the embarkation of the supplies, when Capt.
Elliot intimated to them, that if in the space of half an hour
the provisions were not allowed to pass, he would open fire
upon them. The half hour passed, and the gun was fired. About
three o'clock in the afternoon reports of guns were heard at the
anchorage, which were at first supposed to be merely to salute
themandarins ; but the fire continuing, we were going fudhs
from our vessel at about half-past four,when I could observe
what passed. Several other boats also got under weigh, and
in turning the point of Hong Hong we saw several boats ap-
proaching►, who came for supplies of ammunition,. and
brought orders for the frigate Volage to get under weigh.
Their war junks were endeavouring to put to sea, the Pearl
and cutter obstructing their passage out, and compelling
them, by a well-maintained fire, to seek • shelter under the
walls of the Coloon fort, which returned the fire of the cutter
and Pearl shot for shot. About six o'clock, the frigate being
in sight, the boat of Captain Douglas, who commanded in
person, with the European seamen on board, and three other
boats with lascars, made an attempt to carry the junk by
boarding, hut this was found impracticable from the height
of their vessels, which were provided with pikes and board-
ing nettings. Captain Douglas's boat then opened a fire of
musketry. to which the Chinese replied better than I ex-
pected. The result of the battle is this—we are left without
provisions, and the junks escaped from us in the night.
" Orders having been given to the boats to withdraw, and
to hold themselves ready next morning, at break of day, to
attack and destroy both the fort and junks, every one re-
paired at the appointed time to the scene of action, mustering
altogether about 1,000 men. To the great surprise of all, the
frigate, cutter, and Pearl were seen towed away by their boats,
having abandoned all idea: of proceeding further in the matter.
Captain Elliot's mind had, it appears, undergone a complete
change in the course of the night. Now, whether it was right
in him to begin the affray or not, yet, having himself struck the
first blow, there seems no doubt but that he ought to have
brought the business to a point, and captured the junks
that were preventing the supply of provisions. Whereas this
only fruit of all the cannonading, which begun at three in the
afternoon, and lasted till nightfall, is that we have managed
to compromise ourselves still further with the government
of China, while we have, at the same time, failed to inspire
it with any dread; for, after what has passed, it will, no
doubt, regard itself as the victorious party. The loss in
killed amounts to one mandarin of rank, an inferior man-
darin, and four Chinese soldiers, besides seven wounded.
On our side, four Europeans are wounded, of whom it is
supposed one will die. Captain Douglas received a ball in
his arm, but the wound is not dangerous.

GENERAL MEMORANDUM. •
" Hong Hong, Sept.:B, 1839.
" The chief superintendent having delivered over the mili-
tary superintendence of the defence of this fleet against the
menaced attack of the Chinese government to Capt. Smith,
of her Majesty's ship Volage, has been requested by that
officer, with a view to prevent interference with previous
arrangements, to continue to conduct the detail till any ac-
tual attack should be made, except only as respects a divi-
sion of light armed vessels, under the immediate orders of
Captain Smith.

" The chief superintendent has now to acquaint the
commanders that he has received credible information of
the intention of the high commissioner to assail the fleet by
fire vessels, and other modes of annoyance. He has,
therefore, to direct that the ships may immediately com-
plete their water and other equipments, bend sails, and it'
other respects keep prepared for sea. He has also to re-
commend particular attention to the suggestion of his ge-
neral memorandum for the better protection of the fleet,
concerning the keeping of strict watch, the using guard
among the sections, the furling of awnings at night, prepay'
tions of every kind against fire, and the most careful B°l
stinence from signals by lanterns, rockets, blue lights, and
other means, firing guns or muskets after sunset, leading to
the unnecessary alarm of the fleet, and in all probability t 0
some serious disasters.
"The chief superintendent again earnestly recommends
the commanders not to fall into the mistake of despising an
enemy, or neglecting precautionary measures of defence.
" By order of the Chief Superintendent,
(Signed) "-EDWARD'ELMSLEY?,/
" Secretary and Treasurer to the Superintendent'