The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-03-20 00:00:00

SKETCH OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE,
AND PARTICULARLY OF
THE 'SEAT O.F VA.R.
WITH A VIEW OF THE
RISE AND PROGRESS OF THE DISPUTE
THAT HAS LED TO THE SUSPENSION OF
BRITISH INTERCOURSE WITH CANTON.
CONCLUDED FROM OUR; LAST PUBLICATION.

real ground for atoll a suppositions the Chinese policy being
adverse to such a gift. The Portuguese have their own ma',
gistrates and officers, but the Chinese have also theirs for
the government of the Chinese population, which is nume-
rous. Military mandarins; periodically inspect the forts,
and a civil mandarin repreSenis the Emperor. " A tenure,"
it is Well said in China Opened, " so little defined on either
side, and privileges supported by. both parties with plausible
arguments, have given rise to many a quarrel between the
Chinese and Poituguese:" In cases of dispute the Chinese
soon overcome the obstinacy of the " barbarians," by cutting
off their supply of food., which they can easily do, they
htiving built (in 1373) a wall across the narrow neck of land
that joins the peninsula to the :main, with a gateway, which
is guarded by a number of soldiers. This wall circumscribes
the space to which the Portuguese are confined to a spot
three miles long and one wide. The Portuguese population
of the town does not exceed 5000, while the Chinese are
estimated at 30,000. To support so large a number of hu-
min beings upon such -a barren spot, requires the aid of the
whole island of Heang-span. There are several respectable
mercantile' houses in Macad, but the majority of the inhabi-
tants are without industry or enterprise,
,and rely upon the
industry of their slaves, who are brought up at Timor, and
here sold. The town is defended by several strong forts,
mounted with heavy cannon, and garrisoned by a small number
of Portuguese soldiers. There is a custom-house, and seve-
ral factories belonging to the English and other European
nations. The largest building is the Senate-house, a, very
neat erection. "As an outport (says a recent writer) of the
most singular empire in the world, Macao is at present of
more value than a commercial emporium." We have before
us a view of Macao, published on the 7th instant, in' the
Penny Magazine, from which it appears to be an interesting
looking town, backed by and partly built upon hills.
It is thus noticed by Gutzlaff: " Large ships are
obliged to anchor in Macao Roads, in anchorage much ex-
posed. • On landing, a spacious circular bay, with a row of
neat houses encompassed by rising hills, crowned with forts,
convents, and churches, present themselves to view. The
streets are very rugged on account of the unevenness of the
• ground upon whic it is built, yet this unpromising spot is
inhabited by a few genuine Portuguese, a host of mongrel
offspring of all nations, slaves imported from Timor, some
Europeans and Americans, and thousands of Chinese. A
nunnery and several convents exist there, which were lately
secularized by government, a large host of priests, churches,
chapels, and also one college for the instruction of Chinese
youth. The procurators of the Italian, Spanish, and French
missions reside in this place, and a bishop used formerly to
be at the head of spiritual affairs."
Macao will be found distinctly marked on the accompany-
ing chart. It is the spot at which the British are permitted
to reside during. the periodical cessation of trade in Canton.
There are two passages for vessels hence up the river to
Canton. The following is the disilance by each :
INNER PASSAGE.
From Macao to Balast Island
Thence to Matow Fort
to Hong-Shan
to the flats at Bogue
to Canton....

MILES.

Total .

741
MILES.

OUTER PASSAGE.
From Macao to outer of Nine Islands
Thence to Re-ow Point
to Lan-Kost.
to Anung-hoy Fort
to Second Bar Creek
to Tunk River
to Canton

Total 741
Macao has of late years declined from its former wealth
and prosperity from various causes, including the competi-
tion of other European nations in the china trade. An
island will be observed in the map, near the centre of the
• river, about 30 miles above Macao, called Lintin. Here
ships of war anchor, the Chinese not permitting them to
proceed nearer to Canton. The Bocca Tigris, or" Mouth
of the Tiger," is the entrance of the river, above the estuary.
Whanapoa, where the merchant ships anchor, is 13 miles
north of Lintin, and ten miles from Canton, with which
place the intercourse is carried on by lighters and other boats.
The mouth of the estuary of the Canton River is, it will
be observed, entirely studded with islands, most of which
are small, with the, exception of Lantao and Hong-Kong.
The British outer anchorage was recently at the island of
Hong-Chang, hut, by the last accounts, they had removed
to Tung-hoo, higher up, the river. •

THE OPIUM TRADE—THE POPPY, OR OPIUM
PLANT—PROBABLE CAUSE OF THE STOP
PAGE OF THE TRADE, AND PROGRESS OF
THE DISPUTE BETWEEN THE ENGLISH
AND•THE ,CHINESE.
The opium trade is one of the most extraordinary and in-
teresting in the annals of commerce, whether we take into
consideration the rise and increase of late years in the con-
sumption of that poisonous drug in China—the means taken
by the Chinese to put a stop to the traffic—the destruction
of a quantity of it by them, of the value of .23,000,000 ster-
ling—the subsequent disputes that have arisen—or the pro-
bable result, which it is scarcely possible to divine with any
degree -of accuracy. Preliminary to some account of the
circumstances that have recently transpired, it may gratify
curiosity to supply a short description of the plant from
which the drug is extracted, and the effects of the poison on
the human system, when taken to excess for the purpose of
• administering to a depraved and sensual appetite.
THE POPPY.
The following is derived from Porter's Tropical Agricul-
ture :—" The characteristics of the poppy are a flower with
an oval indented empalement, composed of two oval, concave
leaves, which fall off. The corolla is composed of four large
roundish petals, which spread open with a great number of
hair-like stamina, terminated by oblong, compressed, erect
summits. In the centre is placed a large, roundish germen,
having no style, but crowned by a plain, radiated, target-
. shaped stigma ; the g,ermen afterwards becomes a large cap-
sule, crowned by the plain stigma, having one cell opening
in many places at the top under the crown, and which is
filled with small seeds. There arenine species of this plant,
besides numerous varieties.
" The ;waver somniferum is the species from which Opium
is obtained. Its roots mill-item attaiii to rather a large size,
and abound with a bitter juice; the stalk is three or four feet
high, having oblong indented leaves resembling those of the
lettuce. The flower has somewhatthe appearance of a tulip.
"The hest soil, well manured,is required for.the successful
growth.ol, this plant, and the crop demands much labohr and
attention duringits whole'progress." Irrigation is then ex-,
terisively used—seven times at intervals of ten or twelve
days. Some of the plants are thinned out.
" While the plants are very young, those ' which are thus
removedure used at-pot-herbs, but when they have attained.
to the height of about a foot and a half they:have an-intoxi-
cating property, which renders them unfit for this purpose.
" The flowers begin to bloom in February, and the capsides
become in a fit state for extracting the opium in March or
April.
" This fitness is shown about seven days after the petals
fall off, by the capsule assuming a whitish colour, and by
exhibiting a degree of hardness. Incisions are then made
into it with an iron instrument, having three teeth at the
distance of half a line from each other. This is drawn from
bottom to top of the capsule so as to penetrate the skin.
The wounds are made in the afternoon and evening, gene-
rally, near to the hour of sunset ; in sound places, the inci-
sions are repeated for three successive days ; in others, the
operation is repeated every second day for a fortnight or
three ,weeksi From these wounds a white juice exudes,
which concretes upon the capsule.. It is scraped off with a
small iron 'sectop, in the morning at day break, the work
being discontinued after the dew is dispersed. From every
fresh incision the produce becomes less abundant, and of an
inferior quality: The capsules of the whole of a field are
wounded, and the opium collected in about a fortnight.—
This is kneaded. With water till it assumes the consistence of
pitch:
" The raw juice being thus procured, the preparation of it
is carried on in India under the immediate superintendence
of the Company's agents. The process consists of evaporat-
ing the aqueous particles by the heat of the sun. A small
proportion of oil, extracted from poppy seeds, is mixed with
the opium, to prevent the drying of the resin : it is then
formed into cakes, and covered with leaves of the poppy
. when sufficiently'dry. it is packed in chests with the chaff of
poppy Seeds. ' A considerable reduction of weight takes place
in opium after it has been kept for any time. It is reckoned
that fresh opium loses 15 per cent. in weight by being kept ;
and therefore it is usual, in packing the chests, to include
this quantity, over and 'above the weight which each chest
I should contain. Extensive buildings are attached to the
opium department, in the particular districts where it is rais-
ed. Those at Patna are considered the largest in India."
EFFECTS OF OPIUM.
We have before us several authentic works, the writers of
all of which describe the dreadful physical effects of this
drug when immoderately used, in terms of nearly equal im-
port,—of reprobation of those who supply it, and of pity for
the wretched and unfortunate millions who become its vic-
tims. We extract the following description from the Colo-
nial Magazine, as the most vivid and comprehensive we have
yet met with :
" There can be no doubt that opium (the inspissated.juice
of the poppy) is a drug of the most pernicious quality when
usettto excess, or continued for any length of time. It af-
fects principally the nervous system, and is not, like beer,
wine, or spirits, received into the digestive system previous
to its action on the nerves. As a medicine, it, like all other
poisons, is of great value. It diminishes pain, sooths irrita-
tion, and procures repose for the 'sufferer, when all other
means have failed. In large doses it almost instantly de-
stroys life by destruction of the neotaus system, which is in-
dispensable to the circulation of tke blood. Unless when
taken for the relief of disease, and then evellf administered
with the greatest caution, the continued action of opium, as
a sensual stimulant, tends rapidly to the wasting of youth,
health, strength, and beauty. Those who begin its use at
twenty may expect to die at thirty years of age : the coun-
tenance becomes pallid, the eyes assume a wild brightness,
the memory fails, the gait totters, mental and moral courage
sink, and a frightful marasmus or atrophy reduces the victim
to a ghastly spectacle, who has ceased to live before he had
ceased to exist. There is no slavery so complete as that of
the opium-taker; once habituated to its dose as a factitious
stimulant, every thing will be endured rather than the priva-
tion; and the unhappy being endures all the mortification of
a consciousness of his own degraded state, while ready to sell
wife and children, body and soul, for the continuance of his
wretched and transient delight ; transient indeed—for at
length the utmost effect produced is a temporary suspension
of agony, and, fluidly, no dose of the drug will remove or re-
lieve a state of sufferings, which it is utterly impossible to de-
scribe. The pleasureable sensations and imaginative ideas
arising at first soon pass away ; they become fainter and
fainter, and, at last, entirely give place to horrid dreams, ap-
palling pictures of death : spectres of fearful visage haunt the
mind—the light which once seemed to emanate from heaven
is converted into the gloom of hell—sleep, balmy sleep, has
fled for ever—night succeeds day only to be clothed with
never-ending horrors—incessant sickness, vomiting, diarrhea,
and total cessation of the digestive functions ensue ; and
death at length brings, with its annihilation of the corporeal
structure, the sole relielto the victim of sensual and criminal
indulgence.".
Such is a picture of the horrors and premature decay that
overtake the infatuated opium eaters and smokers ; and
surely no civilised government can be justly blamed for en-
deavouring to diminish the importation of a drug, the effects
of which are so morally and physically debasing and destruc-
tive.
THE STOPPAGE OF THE TRADE, &c.
At what period the use of opium. commenced in China is
not known, but its growth was known to themselves for
ages, and it is still largely cultivated by them in some of the
provinceS. Up to 1786 the Portuguese supplied the Chinese
with foreign opium, after which the trade was taken up by
the English, who formed a depot at Lintin in 1802. It was
fitfinerly admitted on payment of a duty, but towards the
end of the last century its importation was entirely prohibited,
and in 1796 those found guilty of smoking it were punished
with the pillory, and a certain number of blows with the
bamboo. Within the last fifty. years the annual consump-
tion in China has increased from 1,000 to about 30,000 chests
of 1561 b. weight each. "In spite," •says the writer we last
quoted, " of strong denunciations on paper of the Chinese
authorities, the clandestine trade went on ; the East India
Company were compelled to take the preparation of the
opium, in the rich districts of Bengal, Bohar,.and Benares,
into their own hands, and sold it annually at Calcutta by
auction to the highest bidder." This was only one portion
of ,the opium 'trade. Of late.years the poppy was found to
grow in Malwa and Central India. In 1837 no less than
20,882 chests were sent to China, from the former place
through Bombay alone, and 'when the trade was stopped the
importation for the year would, it is said, have amounted to
40,000 chests !
The quantity imported in 1837.58 into China, according

la return et the Caritch General Chamber of Commerce,

Chests.
11,116
3,638
7,891

Dollars.
value 7,777,916
1,73108
3,995,02 G

Patna....
Benares
Malwa

25,645 13,504,630
Worth, at 4s. 6d. per dollar, £2,700,926 sterling.
This is exclusive of what was clandestinely introduced.
At Lintin (previous to the stoppage) the opium was kept`
by the English in artned 'and was delivered to tioa.
Chinese by written orders from. Canton. The nature, of the
transaction is thus described by a Chinese waiter :—" At
Canton," he says, " there arelirekers of the &u,,-who are
called melters. These pay the price of the drug into the
hands of the resident foreigners, who gave theni orders for
the delivery of the opium rom the receiving ships. There
are carrying boats plying up and down the river,. and these
are vulgarly called ' fast crabs' and scrambling dragons.
'They are well armed, and are mantled with some scores of
desperadoes, who ply their oars as if they were wings to fly
with. All the custom-houses and military forts which they
pass are largely bribed. If they happen to' encounter one of
the armed cruising-boats, they are so adacious as to resist,
and slaughter and carnage ensue.
The general mode of consuming' Opium in. China is by in-
haling the fumes through a peculiarly constructed wooden
pipe. Prohibitory regulations are found ineffectual, so cor-
rupt are the authorities; whci are all accessible to bribery by
the traders, and themselves indulge in the use of the drug. A.
few years ago one of the Chinese censors addressed a me-
morial to the Emperor, stating that "the magistrates of dis-
tricts issue proclamations, interdicting the clandestine sale of
opium, at the same time that their kindred, and clerks, and
servants smoke it as beftite. The police, influenced by the
people in the public offices, become the secret purchasers of
opium, instead of labpuring for its suppression ; and thus
all interdicts and regulltions become vain. '
Such are the profits on the drug, and such the impunity
generally with which it can be imported, that a contraband
trade of the annual value of above £3,000,000 sterling has
grown up in this article alone. The baneful practice of
:smoking opium has descended from the higher to the poorer
classes, so that the vice has become general throughout the
whole empire.
PROGRESS OF THE DISPUTE.
The following passage is from an able periodical, relating to
the disputes, so far, bet Ween the English superintendent of
trade and the authorities at Canton :—" In March, 1839, the
Chinese government appear to have taken more decided steps
than any which had yet been adopted to prevent the intro-
, duction of opium, and under the direction of an imperial
commissioner from Pekin, the British residents were shut
.up in their factory, and only obtained their release on condi-
tion of giving up the stock of opium on board the ships,
amounting to 20,283 chests, worth nearly £3,000,000 ster-
ling, the superintendent of British trade giving the owners
indemnity scrips. The contents of every chest were subse
quently emptied into sluices communicating with the river,
in the presence of the Chinese authorities, and many of the
residents of the British and other factories, who .were
invited to attend. Men were employed from day to day in
hastening the process of maceration, until the opium bad be-
come muddy and foetid, when the whole of it was washed into
the river. After this the merchants withdrew to Macao,
whence they were expelled by the Chinese on the 27th August,
in consequence of refusing to give up a seaman who had kill-
ed a Chinese in a brawl. They then retired to their ships at
Hong-Kong; but the fleet being in want of provisions, the
superintendent of British trade, on the 4th Sept., endeavour-
ed to obtain a supply from the natives, but was opposed by.
the Chinese war junks • and in the conflict which ensued,
several Chinese were killed and some Europeans wounded.
A fresh attack upon the Chinese, which was to have been
made the following day, was countermanded. On the 11th
of September the Superintendent notified a blockade of Can-
ton river and port ; but on the 16th the blockade was aban-
doned, in consequence, it is said, of negotiations having been
commenced with the Chinese. Proceedings of a still more
serious nature have taken place subsequently ; and these
events have greatly complicated the state of our relations
with China. In the speech from the throne, on the opening
of parliament, on the 16th of January last, the interruption
of our commercial intercourse with that country was formally
announced: and a naval force has just been despatched for
the purpose of aiding, by a warlike demonstration, the nego-
tiations which may be required to settle these serious diffi-
culties. In the meantime the sales of opium are advertised
at Calcutta as usual : and the general opinion is that it will
be found impossible to prevent the introduction of the article
into China by any plan however rigorous ; for the individuals
who should put the prohibitory law in execution, conspire to
evade it ; and, generally speaking, are so low in moral cha-
racter, as to prefer their interest to their duty."
The further proceedings of a serious nature alluded to in
the above passage may be briefly related •—The opium trade
was stopped at Canton, but only to dispose and divide it
amongst the various ports throughout the kingdom. Small
vessels of 40 tons burden were being built to convey it from
the outside anchorage to the various ports on the east coast,
or on board junks lying in the harbour for that purpose.
Subsequently to the notice of Capt. Elliot, of the with-
drawal of the blockade of the Canton river, on the 16th Sept.,
the Chinese fire-boats burnt a Spanish brig, the Bilbaino,
mistaking her for an English vessel, while she was lying close
to Macao. The cargo taken off before she was fired was
valued at 20,000 dollars. The crew jumped overboard, and
were all saved but two. On the 26th the launch of H. M. S.
Volage was fired into, while going into Coalloon bay, from
a hill, by a party of Chinese. The shot was round shot,
some of which fell near the boat, and Capt. Smith deemed it
advisable to return to the fleet.
Advices from Bombay, to the 24th December, state that
negociations had been commenced by Capt. Elliot, with the
Chinese authorities. Four propositions, or conditions of
amicable arrangement, had been forwarded in the name of
the Chinese Commissioner and •the Viceroy. The first re-
quired Capt. Elliot to deliver up all opium that might be on
bOard the ships, otherwise " it would only remain to set fire
to the Whole." The second again demands the murderer
of the Chinese . killed in the affray at Hong-Chong. The
third requires' the immediate departure of the store-ships, on
pain of their being burnt. The fourth attributes the con-
traband trade, &c., to the. assemblage of the English ships
at Hong-kong ; slid, as Capt. Elliot had declared that he
must wait • his sovereign's cominands, requires him to state
when his dispatch lett, so that some " modified arrangement
may be made in the mean time."
a
Capt.-Elliot reply stated, that there was no opium in
the tleetaanslaafferedaoas4st the Chinese officers in searching
the ships. He alien-offers eaproposition to'separate the law-
ful frorrathe ifilasiffiLtrader. He states that the most severe
search Shel.tbe inadwfor the murderer of the Chinaman, and
adds, that if fOund he shall be given up. He then states
that he expects therommands of his soVereign in four months.
dig eoncludes by asking six days residence at Macao for the
eeteribecl," and appeals to• his 'former intercourse. with the
Canton. authorities, as affording ground for their reposing
confidence in him.
'An uncompromising. reply was sent to this by the Chinese
Commissioner and Viceroy. They state first that proof had
been given that there is opium in the fleet, and again demand
its deli Very, adding, that should any be stealthily removed
and hereafter seized, the parties should sutler death. On
delivering it up, a modified arrangement for carrying on the
trade was to be made, but 'not throirgh "Macao ; second, the
murderer of .Lin-Wei-he to be delivered up in 10 days, as
" delays might bring down measures of extermination;'"
thirdly, all' the opium ships to leaVe immediately ; the pre-
scribed to he allowed to go to Macao for six days ; and,
fourthly, all the Chinese in the fleet to be given up.
In consequence of the high tone assumed by the Chinese,
and the pertinacity of the. high commissioner, Lin, in de-
manding a man to be delivered up in lieu of the Chinaman
killed in the scuffle at Hong-Kong; Captain Elliot was, it
appears, compelled to abandon further negociations.
Kev an, admiral of the Canton station, and leader of the mari-
time forces of the province, then issued a proclamation, which
may lie considered so curious a specimen of the egotistical
assumption, and bombastic style of the officials of the Celes-
tial Empire, that we give it entire, -particularly as it is virtu-
ally the last document, or declaration of war, issued by the
Chinese against us previous to their late hostile attempt to
surround our ships :

PROCLAMATION.
" Whereas, I have just received a communication from
their Excellencies the High Commissioner, Lin, and the
Viceroy of Canton, Tang, to the following effect :
" The English superintendent Elliot, after having deli-
vered the opium, petitioned us, begging for permission to
load his ships off Macao, to which petition we at the time
gave our flat denial. The conduct of the said superintendent
from that time has been outrageous and unreasonable in the
extreme ; hi has not caused the empty opiuth ships to get
under weigh—he has not caused the depraved foreigners, ex-
pelled by imperial authority, to return to their country (some
of his people), having beat to death one of our native peo-
ple, he obstinately refuses to give up the foreign murderer;
the merchant vessels lately arrived he has so arranged that he
will not permit them to enter the port, but allows them to
sell the new drug in our seas as before ; and our edicts, which
have been from time to time transmitted him, he has stub-
bornly refused to receive. He has even gone such lengths as
in his own person to lead on foreign ships against our
cruisers, specially placed for the defence of Kowlung, rais-
ing thereby disturbances, and taking advantage of our ab-
sence to fire off his guns, thus wounding our mandarins and
soldiers ! Our valiant troops, however, returned their fire
with a noise like a thunderbolt, upon which the foreigners,
routed and dispersed, returned again to Tseemsbatsuy, where
they cast anchor. And although on the 7th day oh the Sth
moon, (Sept. 14th, 1839,) he (Elliot) went himself to Macao,
and begged of the Portuguese governor to present a note
from him to the Tung-cee, Keun mm foo (or mandarin of
Caza branca), in which he said that, " all he desired was
peace and quietness ;" yet we find that he merely commis-
sioned him to deliver so many unmeaning words, and that
there is not the slightest proof of his sincerity or submission!
On the 9th day of the said month he departed from Macao,
and returned main to Hong-Kong, and on the 10th day came
a foreign vessel stealthily standing in for Kowlung, prying and
spying about her, by which we can sufficiently see that he
still cherishes foolish and presumptuous thoughts, and has
no sense of fear or repentance at his heart ! Now our man-
darins and troops for sea and land service, being all assem-
bled ready for action at the Bocca Tigris, I therefore address
this communication to you, the admiral, that yon draw up
your fleet and army, and appoint a day when you will attack.
anct subdue them ; you must not permit them to loiter about
at Tseetn-shatsuy, forcing off
_their opium, and deluging the
central flowery land with their poison !'—and Other words to
that effect. He then' continues :
" This having been duly received, I find. that I, the.admi-
ral, rule over the whole of these seas, and my especial duty
is to sweep them clean of the depraved and reprobate. Since
then I have received the button of a leader of the army, I
ought 'forthwith to appoint a day for the great gathering of
my troops ; but I, the said admiral, am descended from a
family that dates as far back as the Han dynasty, (2,000 years
ago); the line of my forefathers sprang from Hotung. MY
ancestor was the deified Emperor Kvran-foo-tze, commonly
called the Mars of China,) splendid and luminous was his
fame! bright and dazzling the place of his imperial abode !
The god-like warrior's ardent wish was to practise benevo-
lence and virtue ! hie mind was grand and powerful as the
winds and clouds ! his heart genial and refulgent as the sun
by day or the moon by night! Now' I, the said admiral, fly
like an arrow to recompense the goodness of my country, and
tremblingly receive the admonitions of my great ancestor. I
deal not in deceits and frauds, nor do I covet the bloody lau-
rels of the butcher ! Remember that Elliot alone is the head
and front of offence, (or ringleader in crime,) and that pro-
bably the bulk of the foreigners have been intimidated or
urged by him : were I suddenly to bring my forces and com-
mence the slaughter, I really fear that gem and the common
stone would be • burnt up together. Therefore' it is that I.
again issue this proclamation, which proceeds from my very
heart and bowels, that it be promulgated everywhere. Oh,
ye foreigners, if you belong to those opium ships which have
already delivered up their opium ; or if you are among the
number of those who have been banished the country by im-
perial command, ye must instantly proceed to the wide
ocean, and, spreading your sails, get ye far hence! As re-
gards the newlyrarrived merchantmen, which are lying an-
chored here in clusters like bees, in swarms like ants, do ye
try and reflect for a little. -.At a time like this, and under
circumstances such as these, how can you continue to carry
on your clandestine trade—aiming after unlaWful gains, by
fotcing into consumption your forbidden drug? As for you
who are honourable merchants, and follow after a lawful
calling, still more ought ye not to go near to or herd with
the others, lest that ye along with them encounter the same
blazing torch, but ye ought instantly to shun such company and
behold :—This may yet preserve your lives. I, the admiral, en-
tertain for you a mother's heart ! the words I speak are true,
as if spoken by the lips of Bhud himself. If, indeed, Elliot
can yet repent, and awake to a sense of the error of his ways,
let him not object to come before me, confess his sins, an(
beg for mercy, in which case I myself will intercede for him
But if lie still persist in remaining obstinately doltish as

before, Indulging in foolish -expectations and perverse oppo.
sition,_ then, considering .the good fortune and- grandeur of
our Celestial Empire, united, with, or depending upon, all,
the gods of heaven! just as in the case of.the robber Listing,-
-*hen the lightning struck him at dead of night—or in the
case of the rebel... Chang kith nth, (tree, the Prince of Jelians.,
gir,) when the banners waved and (the earth) was covered''
with non (weapons);. so, still •sup Ported by the special pro
tectiote(of .rny•holy ancestor), • will, (in your case) a terrible
display of our majesty be made! We have often enjoyed
his divine patronage !—thus, -then, the very gods and spirits
cannot interfere in your behalf!. Oh, ,ye foreigners! do ye
all of you lend' an.attentive ear to these my words !
dial proclamation !
Taonkwang, ',•rf act
" 19th year, Bth moon, and 16th day.. lscioe
Bocce Tigris, 23rd Sept. 1839."
The:Bombay .courier, of 24th December, gives the follow-
in., account of the subsequentproceedings Shortly after
the issaiie, of this proclamation, an engagement took place
between her. Majesty's ,shipS Volage- and, Hyacinth, with •
thirty C.hinese war-junks, Chumpee, in which the latter
are said to have lost 900 men : the particulars given 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 intention 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, and the remainder, many of
them in a disabled state, crowded all sail to escape. This..
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 to 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 mizen-mast of -the Hyacinth. It remains to be seen
what will be the result of this affair.
" Letters state that new fortifications were in course of
construction at Hong-kong, and the few English who had
gone back to Mace() were again warned -away by Captain
Elliot, after the engagement. How that event will operate
with respect to those on board of the Thomas Coutts, which
is entirely in the hands of the commissioner, is a serious con-
sideration, 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.' He has
been guilty of what certainly appears bad faith in setting at
nought his engagement with Captain Elliot, passed under his
own signet, for carrying on the trade outside the Bocca Ti-
gris ; he has also been guilty of a shameful outrage in burn-
ing the Spanish brig Bilbaino in the Typa, perpetuated in
his conduct to her officers ; and if, as it is against
him, he authorised the attack on the Black ••Toke, and re-
warded the murderers of her defenceless crew, there would
seem but too good cause, with the additional ground of ex-
asperation he has lately received, to apprehend some serious
consequences to the officers and crew of, the Thos. couttsy
" The canton Press' of the 2nd inst. rePorts„thisc ac-
counts have been received from the west coast of ail 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 Comm issioner's. knowledge, and,
sworn,' as he still proclaims himself to be, on behalf of
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 heretofore
resorted to.
A reward has been offered by the Chinese fur the bodies
Of Capt. Elliot, and Capt. Smith, of the Volage-, dead or
alive. Since the engagement, Capt. Elliot had returned un-
expectedly to Macao, and in the night all the English were,
warned to leave immediately, and only a few now remain. •
The Chinese are making warlike preparations. With re-
spect to trade, it appears that a serious decline had taken
place in the price of all imports, but that tea amid silk had
advanced.- •
• CAUSE OP THE STOPPAGE OF TRADE.
. In an able article in the last number of the colonial Ma-
gazine, the writer advances some very cogent reasons for his
belief that the stoppage. of the opium trade has not arisen
from the disinterested desire of the Chinese authorities to
arrest • the consumption of the drug, -with a view to the pre-
servation of the health and morals of the people. He shows
that none of the regulations they have promulgated on the sub-
ject, containing denunciations of severe punishment, have
ever been enforced ; that the higher classes and officers of
state are themselves smokers of opium ; that their edicts are
only so much..••waste paper, and that (as we have before no-
ticed) the drug is even grown in China itself. He appears to
have discerned the true cause of the recent energetic conduct
of the government to prevent its introduction .front abroad.
In 1836 the vice-president of the sacrificial court at Pekin,
proposed to the Emperor to legalise the importation of
opium, by imposing a duty upon it, and thus diminish the ex-
port
of silver for its clandestine. purchase. • In his immemorial
on the, subject, he states that the. laws against the importa-
tion are quite inoperative, and that to prevent the country from :
being drained of its circulating medium, it is requisite "to
permit the barbarian merchants to import opium, paying duty .
thereon as a merchandise, and to require, that after having
passed the custom-house, it should be delivered to the Hong
merchants, only in exchange for merchandise, and no money
be paid for it.! The reply.. of the Emperor. was in accord-
ance with time spirit of the memorial, and not a word is said
about the moral effect's of .the poison. Several of the mi—
nisters of the crown opposed the proposition to introduce
opium, and nothing effectual has yet been done, though. all
. appear to agree that the efflux of silver is alarming ; and,
doubtless, to prevent itcmthe recent- vigorous measures have
been pursued. The same. writer, towards the close of
his remarks, says We .do not wish to prejudge
the important question, as to whether those British
merchants, who surrendered their opium at Mr. Elliot 's
requisition, for "-her Majesty's service," are to be paid
or not paid; and if-the former, by whom ? whether from. the
English treasury, .or froni that of India,"or- by foreible resti-
tution from the Chinese treasury. How far each and all of
these parties are implicated in the opium trade; as well as the
merchants who bought the opium at Calcutta and 'tomboy,
it is not for us,nOw to say we shall have another Opportu-
nity of. diicrisiinglhis- point of national morals,-AWthat .we
- desire is, •that the merchants, whose. property has been seiz-
ed (especially the .native Merchants Of 13ritish India), may not
have a." hue and cry" raised against thein,and:be condennt-
ed unheard., •W,hatever bethe,is'sue, eve cannot -but rejoice
that a question of-such vast moment to millions:of the human
race has been thus summarily mooted ; we. rejoice that our
lot has been cast in an age when national morals and national
• consciences. are deemed of vital importance, and that aggr- •
gate bodies of men feel thatasdeep (if not a deePer) responsr-
.bilitym rests on themes if:they were acting in their .severalin-
dividual capacities. It is thus only that great objects for the -
welfare of- mankind can be obtained ; and the ``. opium ques-
tion" may be the means, evil ae., it iS, of a vast good being
educed for the welfare of myriads of our fellow creatures irl
China."
The next intelligence 'relative to the state of affairs ap-'
peared in the second edition of the Timex London news-
paper of the 12th inst., which contained a copy of despatches
• from _Bombay, dated anuary 31st. By this it appears that,
at the instance of time Governor-General of India, extensive
preparations were making in the Indian harbours;' that
.40,000 tons of shipping had been advertised for, and that the
whole expedition to China was to consist of 16,000 mem
Its- destination was not known, but was Supposed to be
Canton; or -some other point on the coast. " of which. forci-
ble.possession would be kept until the Chinese government
-should be brought to reason." The Americans continued
to pursue their trade unmolested, amid their ships were arri-
ving and depart* as usual. •The above was by the ordinary
overland mail. The government also received despatches at
the same time, but their contents have not yet transpired. •
Chumpeei where the engagement with the -junks took
place, is close to a bay, near Bocca Tigris, called in the chart
Anson's Bay," and about half-way from Lintin to Whorl-

poa.
There is a river, west of the Tigris, defined in the chart,
called " Boundary," or " Junk River." The junks PO
up it, and reach Canton by a canal out of it.
CHINESE WAR JUNKS.
We have, in the margin of the accompanying chart of the
seat of war in China, given a representation, taken from
beautiful print in the possession of our townsman, :Mr.
Drury, of Castle-street, of a Chinese war junk,
juxta-positior, to a British frigate. We need scarcely ssl
that a dozen such clumsy and unwieldy vessels would be un-
equal to cope with even one of-our smallest gun brigs. The
junks, in construction and equipment, have undergone Yell:
little or no alteration or improvement since they were firs,
known to Europeans. This is somewhat remarkable, hos"
much as the Chinese are ingenious in some branches of me;
chanics, in cabinet work, in the construction of canals so',
bridges, &c. An unconquerable prejudice has arrested 101
improvements in the- construction of their war and larger
trading vessels: The hull of the junk is, in shape and sr
pearance, not unlike a Chinese shoe.
Ibn Batuta, who travelled at the beginning of the 14th as'
tury,.has handed down a description which is considered tie'
curate. The sails of these vessels are made of cane reeds,
•woven together like a mat ;. which, when they put into Port'
they often leave standing in the wind. In some of these or
sels there will be a thousand men, six hundred of them sailors
and the remainder soldiers. Each of the larger vessels is
lowed by three others of inferior sizes. These vessels are
nowhere built except in the farthest ports of China. Thelt
are rowed with large oars, which may be compared to grey
masts, over some of Which five and twenty men were srs;
tioned, who work standing. The commander of each verse
is a great emir. In the large ships,- too, they sow garde°'
herbs and ginger, which they cultivste in cisterns range,
along the side. In these also are houses constructed of wags"
in-which the higher officers reside with their wives : ever)'
vessel is, therefore, like an independent city. - Of such shilre
as these Chinese individuals will sometimes have large nu°3i
hers, and, generally speaking, the Chinese are .the rich"
people in the world.
" These junks are almost innumerable on all the ricers
and canals of the Chinese empire. The cane-, referred to Ore
Ibn Batuta, is-the bamboo. These vessels do not sink 10,r,
than a foot or half u yard into -the water: They are, ho,`:,
ever, so ill contrived for sea, that it is-wonderful how tPII',
can complete a voyage. -The head is square, the.hottotnOte
having no keel nor bowsprit. The sails are lowered 11 krlb,
men treading then' down with their feet. This craft ishig
ornamented with dragons' heads, ugly mouths, and staff
eyes, and does not usually venture upon a voyage fartn•
than the Molucca or Spice Islands, and Port JAckson."'
It may be added that the clumsy anchors of the junks el
made Of hard wood, called teilt-ono, " iron wood," and we,
have only a single arm in some cases. The junks have gebe
rally three masts, with a square sail on each. Those of b„,
larger class carry also a maintopsail of canvas or cotto
which, however, they do not sufficiently hoist that it ribt
sit upon a wind, the topmast not being above half the hello
of the sail.. " As long as their junks"—we quote from the
Library of Useful Knowledge—" confine themselves tO,d ip.
neighbourhood of the coast, their course is pretty carwiri-
They generally stand boldly across between the most Pro
nent headlands, and are guided along the whole line o,tu"the
by a tolerably accurate directory,- in which are noteurrbe
harbours, currents, shoals, and other particulars. jo•
courses are pointed out by means of figures in- the eiree
vo
ference of their compass. They, of course, can tair
observation of the sun themselves ; but it sometimes hale of
a junk sailing as far as ,Batavia will engage a Portage occ
Macao, who is just able, with an old rusty sextant, t 0 Ugh
an altitude of the sun, and work out the latitude in a bes
way, This, however, is never done in short voyage!Jde ~
they steer by' their compass without any chart, andjuubsod
the distances by the last promontary or island in sight;
long experience makes them very expert in this." ~/Itt,'D
DIMENSIONS OF A CHINESE JUNK; M•EASu
IN 17964_•., • • ,
el •
9i.rt 5'
' Extreme length
' • -Ditto breadth 511;11.5ii 94±10 iv-3804)4 •
0 •
pi,. Ditto at bow .
•• ,rl7 .42,„Nti
. Ditto at stern •
•• ••
4i2fleight otrwatar forwaratandsaaissuiSell effi ;
~,,ip,,epth of. h9ldrirmitmipglndee!b6Bo4l.)
Draught of water
5f11Y01111111111•1 211 i
m thiamantiFfkagl oglsip
Leh of main yard •
t•tiblel 9(l_ tWlif;4101811•11113" I,`olll
ngt
fain at
• ..•Numbersgueillirii BMIR a
The mainmast one stick, and taperulg, ay very
d u lr extremity. Ile" •or 4L"

Wel
• • de•
Rear Admiral Sir James Gordon, we undeistand,
dined accepting the Brazilian command.—Hampshire