The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1854-10-08

ton Of security laid and there Is one clear duty 70
be done. The citizens have to support tho existing
authorities by order and patience till the day comes
round for their legal opening for discussion by the
meeting of the Cortes. Their watchfnlness should
be directed full upon the dsturbers Of public order;
their nagnanimity upon the actual rulers OF the
State in times Of such embarrassment; and their
whole mind and conscience upon the election or rep
resentatives worthy TO inaugurate great new pc
Rod in the history Of Spain.
American and English Merchants la China.
from the London News, Sept %
BY the last mail We have correspondence be-
tween the merchants of ShaDghae and her Majesty
Superintendent of Trade, Sir John B,wring. The
matter In dispute between the parties is compre-
hended in nutshell, and il as plain and easy the
Arabic numerals. For whole year the collection
OF duties at Shanghae-which, by the conditions Of
ridiculous treaty which converts Queen V;toria's
functlonaries into Chinese custom house officers,
ought to he collected by the fun tonaries 10 ques
tion-bas been suspended, under the authority OF
these fur ctionaries themselves the English uer-
chants giving, at the same time, bonds for paying
them, in case any patty should ever cast up lawfully
entitled to receive them. The cause of the suspen-
sion is obvious enough. civil war was raging in
the county, and the to WI and port were in posses
sion OF the insurgents, the imperialists holding only
some military positions in the suburbs. Such, too,
the state Of things at the moment OF the dispute
between Sir John and the British merchants.
A treaty, as the merchants in their letter to Sir
John truly say, implies mutual 0bligatons-pf0tec-
ton one side and payment for 1t on the othersnd
Sir John spd his imperial allies desire to make the
bargain one sided, that is, to Ipay duties without
getting protection in return. No protection is, Of
course, given; because the party that should grant
il is not in condition to give it. But far worse
than this, the party that ought to give the protec
ton assail those that ought to receive it, and the
latter, at much expense Of time and money, are
tect themselves against the allies of Sir John Bow
ring. Headed, indeed, by the consul and by toe
sailors and marines Of her Majestys squadron, and
United States, they are under the necessity of drub
bling the forces Of the Celestial protectionists-a
measure which has met the entire appreciation Of
her Majesty's government.
The English merchants petition that the question
Of the payment for duties be submitted to tne dec
sion of her Majesty's Court Of Justice at Hong
Kong, and Sir John BowriDg replies to this, that
the matter being one Of treaty cannot be submitted
must be decided by the Consular Courts, with final
one to himself, Sir John. But the Consular Courts,
equally with the Supreme Court, are creatures Of
acts Of Parliament and how are treatyrobligations
to be decided by these uneducated and unprofes.
siond tribunals? How are they even to be decided
by the high appellate jurisdiction to which Sir John
refers! for that also lis the creature Of parliamentary
enactment But it unfortunately happens, more
appellate functiODary have both Of them, by word
and by writing, pre.judgei the whole question.
A wi war that promises to end In revolution
which will owe rthrow the existing government, has
been raging in China for the last two years. and Sir
John BowrlDg, by his decision in the matter Of the
customs duties, which rest by treaty with the Bri-
fish and not the Chinese government, virtually
takes one side in the dispute, instead OF remaining
neutral, as all strangers ought to do in domestic
quarrel By the payment Of money which he had
the power and the right to withho ID he ranges him
self plnmp on the side of the Tartar Emperor pretty
much in ire manner that French or Spanish am.
bassadOr might have done that paid money to
Charles the First when he was fighting againss the
Parliament and the nation. The American commits
siorer acting under the dictates Of common sense,
lica, and he went through the form Of abrogating
II. The result is that the Americans now pay no
duties at ShaDghae, and that the English do. And
consequently, that the English trade, burthened
with duties pay able to parties who have not earned
them, has to contend with the American trade
which pays none.
At the moment that Sir John Bowring is bolster
ing up ire Tartar despotsm, he sees 1t toterng to
its fall. The old capital and the strongest port in
the empire have been long in the possession of tue
insurgents, who have an army close to the seat OF
government. These Insurgents are in possession OF
the second port Of foreign commerce in the empire,
and Sir John, who has just returned to Hong Kong,
viii there have the ne US that they st the gates
Of Canton; that they have captured q neighboring
town, the key to the whole trade of that town; and
that they have cut Off the whole supply Of tea, sl
and pre- cious rhubarb. His decision seems, even Oh
his own explanation Of it, very unhappy and sur.
prislDgly eccentric one. He addresses the Dner.
chants through his secretary who writes with gres
pcmposity and Indifferent logic Why should he
foureen times over repeat "Excelencyn seeing that
teLdent Of trade; and that, although governo-
10, superintendent is not, Excellent, even by
conr'esyI SIaws like this show which way the
wind blows.