The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1842-02-07
From the .Ns,c York Express.
THE ENGLISH WAR UPON CHINA.

The lecture before the New York Lyceum, on
Wednesday evening of this week, was delive ed by
the Hon. L. J. Austin, of Boston. His subject was
the English upon China. 1t was an eloquent and
able production, and was received with frequent
bursts of applause. Mr.. Austin takes entirely
different view OF this question from that advanced by
Mr.. Adams
The interest of the citizens Of the United States,
he said, as commercial naton-their duty as Chris
tans their character as of the family of nations,
concerned for the interests Of humanity-demand
their warmest sympahies with the present condition
of affairs in China and should prompt ardent de-
sire for the success of the Chinese in the war in which
they engaged Great Britain wages upon
China, and for the war thus waged and for the man
ner in which it has been conducted, Great Britain,
mighty as she is in power, stands before the world
for judgment This war, he said, grew out entirely
of the attempts to smuggle opium into China. The
objects of the war, as stated by Lord Palmerston,
procure satisfaction for insults offered to the
British hag-indemnity for loss to her merchants
and security for future intercourse. But, said the
lecturer, the insult consisted only in seizng ships
gagged in contraband trade-the indemnity sought
for the loss of few chests of struggled opium and
security for future commercial intercourse means
secure the monopoly of her trade and the advantages
to be derived from the exclusive possession. The
lecturer then proceeded to notice the condition of
China before the war, and the peculiarites of her
system, from which arguments had been drawn to
Justify the course of England. She has peculiar
system of religion but that does not deprive her of
her rights as nation. And as to the exclusiveness
of her regulations of trade, they at least buy all we
send to them, and they sell their own products to all
commercial nations and they have extended the ben
efts of their trade the most liberal terms. In
their laws regulating trade and in reference to snug
cling they far less rigorous and exclusive than
England herself
The lecturer then proceeded to speak of the man
ner of conducting their regular trade through the
Hong Merchants. This is plan peculiar to them
sol huh ayni hoy NJ ruhI IN ,nl hav
to us and to England If you do not like plan stay
at home,as say to the foreign shipper, If you do
not like custom house regulations, Keep your own
side of the water. Here then just
for war.
The trade in opium had drained the country of an
immense amount of silver, and this for an article
which had reduced its millions to the lowest stage Of
besoted degradation, and the effects of which had
been presented even in Chinese publications in Ian
guage eloquent than tie best temperance Grafton
ever delivered in England America. lis effects
upon the revenue were also greatly injurious in drain
ing the country Of its specie, and in view of this fact
and Of the denorali2ng effect of The drug upon the
people the Chinese government issued severe edicts
against the trade This led to smuggling, to a svs-
tenn of wholesale contTaban, and he did not hesitate
to pronounce Great Britain the most enormous
smuggler the face of the globe, and in an article
too sacr ing its thousands of victims at the shrine Of
unholy avaricc. And she now seeks to force her
righteous traffic upon China at the point of the bayo-
net, in defiance of every principle Of humanity and
Christian sentiment, that she may fill her Golfers by
the moral and physical degradation Of the Chinese
Empire.
The lecturer then proceeded to speak of the course
taken by the British East India Company, in refer
ence to this trade--tle manner in which it had been
openly avowed and fostered, as source of revenue
and that too by the Authority of the home govern
ment, with the full knowledge that it was contraband.
OF course, he said the Chinese had right to draw
their differences to the ulterer objects of this
traffic, earnestly persisted in by the East India
Company. Chinese state paper holds this language
on the subject-you drain us of our silver, you de-
grade our people, and what then is to hinder your
taking possession of our land They were not ig-
norant of the means by which British power was
established in India, and they had learned that in
India British cupidty was only equalled by its lust
Tor dominion. Accordingly the imperial government
bestirred itself to enforce its existing laws against
the traffic. But they did not do this without due and
sufficient notice to all concerned. The lecturer no.
lced the summary execution of several Chinese who
were detected in smuggling, and the order given to
Capt Elliott the British Superintendent, to withdraw
the opium ships with which, however, he failed to
comply The imperial government at length proceed
ed TO take more decisive measures and Mr. Commits
sloner Linn, man of determined mind prompt, and
stern IN execution, called the Hong merchants to-
gether, and gave them distinctly to understand that
unless all the opium then in the market was given up
within given period, two of their number would be
selected for capital punishment. This produced the
desired effect They knew Linn was man not to be
tr1ed with, and to their heads, they procured
the delivery of the opium to the Commissioner, who
caused 1t to be destroyed. Between the order and
the delivery, however, much meanness and duplicity
was displayed by the owners of the opium, and va
rlety oil tricks were resorted to in order to
portion OF the commodity. At this Linn naturally
became indignant, and he notonly took vigorous mea-