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

general topics which they had to discuss, that little was left
for him to add. They might have found a more compe eat
representative than him. (Cries of " No, no, we will stick by
you till the resurrection gun is fired.") Mr. Gladstone would,
he believed, be as excellent member of the council, and he
hoped they would make the same exertions for that gentle-
man as they had made for. him, and he doubted not of his
success. 'He concluded. by- proposing the health of Thomas
Murray Gladstone, Esq. (Long and continued cheering
followed the•proposition of this toast, and it was drunk with
the greatest enthusiasm.) _ _ _

THOMAS M. GLADSTONE, Esq., responded to the toast, in
an able and most eloquent manner ; but we,exceedingly regret
that, being on' the eve of publication, we are preeluded from
supplying more than a mere outline of, his address. He ac-
knowledged
hiS sense of the honour done' to. him by so •
resPectable an assemblage, in. grateful teruis.: , Hevext ad-
vexed to the warehouse question, contending, that but for
the private exertions of individuals the warehouse
dations would have fallen much short of -what they were at -
present ; and that the project of building warehouses by the
Dock Committee would be but increasing an already per-
nicious monopoly.. He next touched on the education question,
expressing his opinion that the system pursued by the present
corllbration tended to diffuse all the pernicious doctrines o
popery and infidelity. He read an extract from the History
of England in 177 Q, sliming the, striking analogy between
that period and the present ; and commented upon each
passage as he proceeded, in a very happy and humorous man-
ner. After some able remarks on the imbecility of the pre-
sent administration, he concluded by proposing the health
of Mr. Isaac Holmes, their worthy representative.
Mr. HOLMES returned thanks in a humorous address, in
which he hit hard the radical party in the council. He pro-
posed the health of Mr. Robinson.
Mr. ROBINSON returned thanks as a newly-elected " mem-
ber of the Liverpool House of Representatives," in a very
neat and appropriate manner. He concluded by proposing
the health of the Chairman.

Mr. TAYLOR replied in a feeling and neat address. He
proposed the health of the conservative electors of the ward,
which was drunk with much enthusiasm.

Mr. •DUNCAN, the Vice-Chairman, on his health being
drunk, replied in an energetic and good-humoured address,
and proposed the health of the second Luther, the Rev.
H. WlNeile, and thanks to hina for his extraordinary ex-
ertions in the cause of Protestantism. (Tremendous cheers.)
T. MURRAY GLADSTONE, Esq. proposed " the Conserva-
tive press," which was drunk with great applause; and was
briefly and appropriately responded to by a gentleman pre-
sent.

A number Of other toasts and sentiments were afterwards
given, and elieited interesting addresses.
The meeting did not separate till a late hour, all highly
gratified by the enthusiastic proceedings of the evening.

IMPORTANT NEWS FROM CHINA.

important
~
By an extraordinary: express from Paris,
intelligence from China has been received, contained
in the Calcutta Englishman of the 11th of November.
The news from China extends to the linh of Septem- ;•:;.::1T
ber. It was brought by the schooner Hellas, which
left Macao on the (lay last mentioned. This news is -moil:
of greater importance than any previously received -I''q
from the same quarter. It appears that, we are AT ' . ,rzl'e:',
Ta
OPEN WAR WITH CHINA. The particulars will 'be ,
' ,- xi
1 '1 it J
found in the following letter from Hong Hong, and r
the general memorandum subjoined :—. •. " Hoog Hong, Sept. 9.
.... . -
" On the 26th of August all the British were ordered to
quit Macao on a notice of )2 hours, and with the exception
of Mr. Beale, who remains as Prussian consul,.and Mr. 11...„,, ...
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-books and
clothes. A day later, and 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 coining 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 ''l
him with sundry salvoes of artillery. He did not enter the _ill
government-house, and he made but a very short visit, hay- '
.„
ing returned to- the Bogue, where report says another great ' !---',e'
commission had - arrived from Pekin. The opinion of the 1 A
Chinese is, that Lin has caused too much " bobbery," and
that the new commission has'-been despatched- to qualify his ,--all'ir
measures. Time will chew how this is.. Meantime British ~:sett
trade to Canton is wholly at an end, and the Ainericans are
turning the state of affairs to abcount as far as they are able.... 14 1
]
Our affairs, indeed, as...von .may rwell judge, are in the most ,l 3
complete coofusion, when you hear. of our counting-houses . .
being on boardlioats; Ships, 44-<4'.°l)rlii Britishfkiverninent '1 1
must adopt severe measures against the Chinese ; we can .i7l-1 ,
never regain our commerce and influence among them, but
1
at the point of the bayonet.
"Another most-affiicting occurrence has lately taken place. '1311.4A.
The Black Joke having left. Macao with Mr. Moss, a passen-
ger, on board, and six lascars, was compelled to anchor in `'`f ail
the Lanted Passage. and wait for the tide. She was there',Jri2 4
surprised by three mandarin boats, and when all in her werer.j
sound asleep, these barbarians boarded her, massacred all the -110
lascars on board, and 'must have thrown their bodies into the
sea, as none of them were found in the boat. A child was ,1i..011
among them, who was cut in two. One of the lascars, after ' ' 1
having his ears severed from his head, jumped overboard, •lif 01
and was saved by Captain Wallace's schooner, after having ,ii,l
been eight hours in the water.
" The tindal of the boat also sprung into the water, but ."0
with great expertness laid hold of the helm, when the hands
~1,41
of these ruffians, who, after committing such atrocities, ap-
parently
parently wished to satisfy themselves that there was no one Th 1014„
about, encountered his head in this position. He instantly :I.
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 neatly severed from his body,
with a wound in the head, and his far 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 coming, it appears that provisions were brought in abun-
..1
dance, which may be readily believed, as the inhabitants of-,,i()",
that district have always shown themselves willing to deal . ,oi: 4
with Europeans. The mandarins, however, on hoard the war
„.,
junks, opposed the embarkation of the supplies, when Capt. ' - 2
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 halfhour 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 supnlies 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 lire, 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, but this was found impracticable from the height
of their vessels, which were provided with•pikes and board-
ing
netting's. Captain Dui boat then opened a fire of 1
musketry, to which the Chinese replied better than I ex-
' petted. 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 -.it;
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. 'fir
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 , al
first blow, there seems no doubt but that he.ought. to have di
iti
brought the business to a point, and captured the nks
that were preventing the supply of provisions. Whereas the' 3d
only fruit of all the cannonading, which begun at three in the.Al
afternoon, and-lasted till nightfall, is that we have managed'
to compromise ourselves still further with the government 10
of China, while we have, at the same time, failed to inspire qj
it with any dread; for, after what has passed, it will, no
doubt, regard itself as the victorious party. The loss in fli
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.:6, 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 he 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 is
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, prepara-
tions of every kind against fire, and the most careful ab-
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 to
some serious disasters.
" The chief superintendebt again •earnestly recommends
the commanders 'lotto fall'intc'•the mistake of desTisint an
enemy, or neglecting precautionarY measures of defence.
" By order of the Chief Superintendent,
(Signed) " EDWARD ELMSLEY.
" Secretary and Treasurer to the Superintendent."