The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1857-03-05
The Chinese Trouble.

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We are permitted to publish the following extracts
from a letter received by the last mail from an Amer
lean merchant resident at Hong Kong. The next news
from that quarter will be interesting:
Hone KONG, Nov. a, 1856.
On the 10th October last, a Lorcha, under British
colors, while living at anchor off the factories at Can
ton, was boarded by some Mandarins and her colors
were hauled down, and twelve rebel Chinese, which
was her crew, were taken out oSthe vessel and taken
inside the walls OF Canton. Immediately complaint
was made to the British Consul, who took the matter
in hand and demanded an explanation. lie sent a
letter to Yep, the head Mandarin or Governor of Can
ton, demanding what authority he had to go On
board n foreign vessel and haul her colors down.
Moreover, he gave him twenty-four hours to put the
twelve men taken from the vessel on board again as
they were before. To this reply.Yep says If Mr.. B
the British Consul said much, he would take him and
conine him inside the walls of Canton. The Consul
then called upon the Admiral of the British fleet then
lying here with four steam ships-of-war, six frigates,
and one eighty gun ship. The Admiral Immediately
repaired to Canton with three man-of-war steamers.
He had been gone, [ think, two days when orders
came for the Calcutta, eighty guns, to come up.
Immediately also two of the smaller ships-of-war.. In
a few days all the var vessels but one had gone to
Canton with shot and shell ready for a fight. The
Admiral gave them forty-eight hours to apologize for
what had been said and done. No ansW err came when
he forty-eight hours had passed and they fired upon
the city Of Canton, and in four hours the city was in
flames. They scaled the walls in front of the city.
But when night came on the Chinese got the fire out.
After a few days fighting, the English concluded to
send another letter to Yep, and ask what terms he
would come to, gave him one week to come to some
thing.
"The next day after this hard fight, the U. S.
ship Portsmouth's boat, with Commander Foot and
Commodore Armstrong of the American forces, started
for Canton from Whampoa on their way up they
were fired upon from the g Barrier Forts near Can
ton,-so they turned back to Whampoa, got the
and LeUant under way ,andin a short time
they were both abreast the forts, seven in number.
The Portsmouth had eleven shots put into her side in
than four hours. After hard fighting one of the
was taken, three hundred men landed from the
ships and went in the fort they had taken,
while in act of spiking the guns, five thousand
strongly armed Chinese soldiers came down upon the
rush on them. But the Yankees were too smart for
them they not only wounded a great number, but
killed upwards of 1900 Chinese. Killed on our side,
men and two wounded. 1 just this morning re-
ceived a letter from one of the officers of the U. S.
ship San Jacinto. He says I left the forts last
night at five o'clock ; the noble stars and stripes float
1T the tops Of all the Barrier Forts Yesterday
morning, he says, w drove 10000 Chinese to the
loot of the mountains and they seem very frightened
If the Americans, Next ship you will hear all the
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