The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-02-14 00:00:00

WAR WITH CHINA,

(From the Sun of Wednesday.)
By extraordinary express from Paris the following impor-
tant news from India and China. The news from China was
brought to Bombay by the Good Success, Captain Fraser,
which arrived there on the 23d of December. It was an-
nounced by the Good Success that all negotiations between
the superintendent and the Chinese government were broken
off, and also the particulars of an engagement between her
Majesty's ships Volage and Hyacinth, with 30 Chinese war
junks, in which the latter is said to have lost 900 men.
(From the Bombay Courier, of Dec. 24.)
The Good Success, Captain Fraser, arrived yesterday from
China. By her we have received Singapore papers to the
21st November, from which we present our readers with the
following summary of the latest China news :--
" CHlNA.—Every successive event in this quarter seems to
deepen the crisis at which affairs have arrived,-and to com-
plicate our affairs with the empire. We had scarcely issued
an extra on Thursday evening, announcing to our readers
that the imperial commissioner had broken off the convention
which he had concluded with the superintendent, for carry-
ing on a trade outside the Bogue, had renewed his de-
mand for the surrender of the murderer of Lin-wel-he,
and threatened all the shipping at Hong-Kong, with de-
struction, unless they either entered the port, or took their
departure from the coast within three days, when intelligence
was brought by the Cornwallis, that her Majesty's ships Of
war the Volage and Hyacinth had an engagement with a fleet
of war junks off Chumpee !--ending, as might be expected, in
the discomfiture of the latter, who it appears, were the first
to assume the offensive. The facts, as stated in private cor-
respondence, are as follows :—Captain Elliot had proceeded
on board of the Volage, with the Hyacinth in company, to
Chumpee, to deliver a chop to the commissioner, when a fleet
of twenty-nine war junks sailed out, with the, manifest inten-
tion of surrounding the two ships of war, and continued to
close round them, regardless of repeated and urgent warning
as to consequences, until it became necessary to open fire
upon them. This was promptly returned by the junks, when
a regular engagement ensued,. and in less than half an hour
five of the junks were sunk, another was blown up, mad the.
remainder, many of them in a disabled state, crowded all sail
to escape. Tide they were permitted to do ; the example
that had been made of them having been deemed sufficient,
or rather, as it is said, Captain Smith, of the Volage, having
yielded to the entreaties of Captain Elliot, to discontinue the
destructive fire from the ships, and permit the escape of the
fugitives. It is allowed that the Chinese fought pretty well ;
but the only damage sustained on our side is stated to be a
121 b. shot in the wizen-mast of the Hyacinth.-
" Letters state that new fortifications were in course of
construction at Hong-kong, and the few English who had
gone back to Macao were again -warned away by Capt. Elliot
after the engagement. How that event will operate with re-
spect to those on board of the Thomas Contts, which is en-
tirely in the power of the commissioner, is a serious consi-
deration, and seems destined to put to the test the sincerity
of his professions of moderation and favour towards vessels
entering the port, or the justice of the charges made against
him of acting with undistinguishing violence.'
"A recent adventure on the coast will in all probability tend
to heighten the general difficulties with which our affair's are
surrounded in China. The Canton Pre** of the 2d instant,
reports that accounts have been received from the west coast
of an affair between opium smugglers and the Mandarin boats.
in which one of the latter was sunk, several men killed, and
seven of the survivors sent back with their tails cut off!
This fact, it appears, had come to the commissioner's know-
ledge ; and " swam" as he still proclaims himself to be, " on
behalf cf the celestial empire to remove utterly this root of
misery, and not to let the foreign vessels have an off-shoot
left for the evil to bud forth again," the intelligence is not
likely to incline him to gentler measures than he has hereto-
fore resorted to."

(From the Bombay Courieryof Dec. 28.)
Hong Kong Bay, 7th of November,•lB39.
Our last respects of the 29thult. communicated the viola-
tion on the part of the imperial commissioner of the conven-
tion between him and Captain Elliot, to conduct the trade
outside the Bogus. The two vessels of war at present here
went to the Bogue with Captain Elliot, to deliver a chop,
which after little discussion was taken by the Chinese Ad-
miral on the 3d instant, and immediately after it appears he
ordered twenty-nine of his war junks out, with the evident
object of surrounding the men of war, which was repre-
sented by the Captain of the Volage, lie ordering them
the same time to move away ' • they, however, perse-
vering in their object, Captain Smith was compelled in
self defence to open his tire upon them, and tin engagement
of short duration was the result between the Volage, •the
Hyacinth; and the war junks, in which the latter suffered
severely ; five or six were sunk or blown up, and the rest
were spared as they were preparing to retire; whether this
forbearance has been judicious or not, remain to be seen.
Captain Elliot returned to Macao most unexpectedly, and in
the night all the English were warned to leave immediately,
and only a few now remain. Preparations are making here
by the Chinese. Constructing fortifications and encamp-
ments, no doubt to operate against the fleet, and they have
already attempted to carry off some gentlemen walking
peaceably on shore. We have not had any communication
from Captain Eliot yet, or the vessels of war which are now
here, but we trust some more energetic measures will be
adopted than have hitherto characterised his proceedings to
bring the Chinese to reasonable terms.
With respect to trade it appears that a serious decline had
taken place in the price of all imports, but that tea and silk
had advanced. There was nothing doing in Exchanges. We
learn that the Good Success has brought on about £lO,OOO
of Captain Eliott's bills on her Majesty's treasury.