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

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 ?plum, 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; he has not caused the empty opium 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, hut 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 tire
with a noise like a thunderbolt, upon which the foreigners,
routed and dispersed, returned again to Tseemshatsuy, where
they cast anchor. And although on the 7th day on the Bth
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 min 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 a'raip 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 &HAI army, and uppaiut a_tlay when you will attack
anti subdue them ; you must not permit them to loiter about
at Tseem-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 Kwan-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! his 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 adinonitions 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 hit-
perial command, ye must instantly proceed to the wide
ocean, and, spreading your sails, get ye far hence ! As re-
gards the newly-arrived 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
forcing 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, and
beg for mercy, in which case I myself will intercede for him !
But if he still persist in remaining obstinately doltish as

before, indulging In foolish expectations arid perverse oppo.
gition, 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,
when the lightning struck him at dead of night—or in the
case of the rebel Chang kith urh, (tree, the Prince of Jelian-
gir,) when the banners waved and (the earth) was covered
with iron (weapons); so, still supported by the special pro—
tection (of my 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! 01►, ye foreigners! do ye
all of you lend an attentive car to these my words ! A spe-
cial proclamation !
" Taonkwang,
" 19th year, Bth moon, and 16th day.
Bocca Tigris, 23rd Sept. 1839.". _ _ _

The Bombay Courier, of 2ith December, gives the follow-
ing account of the subsequent proceedings :—" Shortly after
the issuing of this proclamation, an engagement took place
between her Majesty's ships Volage and Hyacinth, with
thirty Chinese war-junks, off 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 wa!, 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 Macao 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 Rocca 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 charged against
him, he authorised the attack On the Black Joke, 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. Coutts.
" The Canton Press' of the 2nd inst. reports, that ac-
counts 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 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-shout 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 for 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 and silk had
advanced.

CAUSE OF 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 classep 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 from abroad.
In 1836 the vice-president of the sacriticial 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 memorial
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 the spirit of the memorial, and not a word is said
about the moral effects 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 it, the 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 from that of India, or by forcible 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 Bombay, •
it is not for us now to say : we shall have another opportu-
nity of discussing this point of national morals. All that we
desire is, that the merchants, whose property has been seiz-
ed (especially the native merchants of British India), may not
have a " hue and cry" raised against them, and be condemn-
ed unheard. Whatever be the issue, we 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 aggre-
gate bodies of men feel that as deep (if not a deeper) responsi-
bility rests on them, as if they were acting in their several in-
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 as it is, of a vast good being
educed for the welfare of myriads of our fellow creatures in
China."

The next intelligence relative to the state of affairs ap-
peared in the second edition of the Times London news-
paper of the 12th inst., which contained a copy of despatches
from Bombay, dated January 31st. By this it appears that,
at the instance of the 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 men.
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, and their ships were arri-
ving and departing as usual, The shave was by the ordinary
overland mail. The government also received despatches at
the same time, but their contents have not yet transpired.
Chumpee, 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 Lintiu to Wham-
po2:.

There is a river, west of the Tigris, defined in the chart.
called " Boundary," or " Junk River." The junks pass
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 a
beautiful print in the possession of our townsman, Mr.
Drury, of Castle-street, of a Chinese war junk, in
juxta-position to a British frigate. We need scarcely say
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 very
little or no alteration or improvement since they were first
known to Europeans. This is somewhat remarkable, inas-
much as the Chinese are ingenious in some branches of me-
chanics, in cabinet work, in the construction of canals and
bridges, &c. An unconquerable prejudice has arrested all
improvements in the construction of their war and larger
trading vessels. The hull of the junk is, in shape and ap-
pearance, not unlike a Chinese shoe.
Ibn Batuta, who travelled at the beginning of the 14th cen-
tury, has handed down a description which is considered ac- ••
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 yea-
sets there will be a thousand men, six hundred of them sailors
and the remainder soldiers. Each of the larger vessels is fol-
lowed by three others of inferior sizes. These vessels are
nowhere built except in the farthest ports of China. They
are rowed with large oars, which may be compared to great
masts, over some of which five and twenty men were sta-
tioned, who work standing. The commander of each vessel
is a great emir. In the large ships, too, they sow garden-
herbs and ginger, which they cultivste in cisterns ranged
along the side. In these also are houses constructed of wood,
in which the higher officers reside with their wives : eves"'
vessel is, therefore, like an independent city. Of such ships
as these Chinese individuals will sometimes have large num-
bers and, generally speaking, the Chinese are the richest
people in the world.
" These junks are almost innumerable on all the rivers
and canals of the Chinese empire. The cane, referred to by
Ibn Batuta, is the bamboo. These vessels do not sink more
than a foot or half a yard into the water. They are, how'
ever, so ill contrived for sea, that it is wonderful bow they
can complete a voyage. The head is square, the bottom flat,
having uo keel nor bowsprit. The sails are lowered by the
men treading them down with their feet. This craft ishsgbl)
ornamented with dragons' heads, ugly mouths, and staring
eyes, and does not usually venture upon a voyage farther
than the Molucca or Spice Islands, and Port Jackson."
It may be added that the clumsy anchors of the junks Or ,
made of hard wood, called teih-,no, " iron wood," and they
have only a single arm in some cases. The junks have gene'
rally three masts, with a square sail on each. Those of the
larger class carry also a maintopsail of canvas or cotton,
which, however, they do not sufficiently hoist that it may •
sit upon a wind, the topmast not being above half the height
of the sail. "As long as their junks"—we quote from gig/
Library of Useffil Knowledge—" confine themselves to the
neighbourhood of the coast, their course is pretty certain'
They generally stand boldly across between the most prow",
nent headlands, and are guided along the whole line of cos.,'
by a tolerably accurate directory, in which are noted the
harbours, currents, shoals, and other particulars. The
courses are pointed out by means of figures in the circus'
ference of their compass. They, of course, can take no
observation of the sun themselves ; but it sometimes happen]
a junk sailing as far as Batavia will engage a Portuguese,'",
Macao, who is just able, with an old rusty sextant, to tallb`
au altitude of the sun, and work out the latitude in a roll°,,
way. This, however, is never done in short voyages, vo',f
they steer by their compass without any chart, and judge
the distances by the last promontary or island in sight; ap
long experience makes them very expert in this." .0_
DIMENSIONS OF A CHINESE JUNK, MEASUIIP.•
IN 1796.

Extreme length .. 156 0 PI
•
Ditto breadth .. •• 38 0
Ditto at bow .. • • .. 24 0...1:1000'
Ditto at stern .. . v 2 0 Aft°, so'
Height off water forward and aft 38 0' Aft
Depth of hold from upper deck 28
Draught of.wa*r i0„1 !Miess(
Height of mainmast " .61
Circumference atlhe,gpper deck e aliiio46oll
Length of mainaaffh-ti • ( . AT tioqx9
111'6 Size of cable .5
,„ra 311 S '
Number of Mitt
The mainmast one stick, and taperingqmpOSMlAlisicor
upper extremity. igor
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