The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1857-01-28
tFrom the Liverpool Post, Dec. 81
Romhardment of Canton.

Advices from Alexandria beyond those
published yesterday from. Trieste, rem
der it possible to obtain a t~olerebly com
plete aud connected view of the recent
occurrences aNCauton!
K has more than once been mentioned
by our correspondent at Hong Kong,
that the intercourse between the British
authorities and the Governor of Canton
has for some slime been embarrassed
with growing difficulties, the result OF
the nnredtessed grievances of British
merchants. On the 9Th of October the
Chinese authorities consummated their
career os arbitrary violence by seizing a
lorcha under British colers and making
prisoners of the crew. It is stated on
good authority that they cut off the heads
of four of the crew. The Consul, Mr..
Harkes, the British agent on the spot,
proceeded frs. on board the lorcha, and
afterwards e~ndeagered to obtain7an in.
terview with the mandarins. On board
the lorcha he was menaced, and the
mandarins refused to give any ~explana-
tion of the proceeding :.
|, The consul Immediately despatched
intelligence of thes e events to Sir john
tBowring, at Hong Kong, and also to
Sir Michael Seymour, who was on the
spot, and reprisals were commenced in n
Rild form by the seizure of a mandarin.
junk, which Commodore the Hon. c. u.
j. b. Elliot, of the lSybille, took End
sent in a strong remonstrance to NLeh,
the gorernor,of the city, to which nc
answer was returned. Finding al his
efforts vain, Consul Parkes rer .ounced
further attempts at reconciliatir n, and a
naval force soon appeared on the scene.
oOntheilSth of October Si'. Michael
Seymour dispatched from P.ong Kong
the screw corvette Encount or IA guns,
and the steam sloop Samr, son 81, for
Whampoa, in the first instance, with n
largo force of marines an d blue jackets
and the steam sloop Batacouta followed
with further :detachrnents. Admiral
Seymour himself then proceeded to Can
ton, and undertook fine direction of the
opet atoms. The British and other
traders were off cially warned of the
posture of affairs, and commercial trans.
actions, which for a. week before had
been little morn than nominal were sus-
pended. " y' 'i'"t - 2a'+i
The river in. front Of Canton is rather
broader than the Thames at London
bridge, but. the depth of the water does
not exceed twoifathoms, while the mar
row passage by which access is gained
to it or. the eastern side of the island of
Whan ,poa, have a depth not exceeding
a faJto1n and a. half. The city is exter-
nalfy guarded by five forts, of which
twn are on the island side and two on
p earl river. These were attacked and
saken by our countrymen on the oath of
| October. An attempt was then made
by Admiral Seymour to terminate the
difficulty without further hostilities, but
the Chinese governor would neither
give satisfaction nor grant an interview
to the British commander. SEQ jm Sd
Admiral Seymour then determined
partlylof sandstone and partly of brick
surrounds Canton. 1t is about 80 feet
thigh and 25 feet thick, and mounted
with cannon. Against this wall a fire
was opened onsthe 9th of October, and
by the goth, "A practicable breach had
been opened, through which the troops
entered. The governors palace situat-
ed in the western part of the new city.
was gained, but appears not to have
proved a position worth holding, for the
troops were Withdrawn in tho evening,
with a loss of only three killed and
twelve wounded.
A further attempt which was now
made to negotiate proved vain, and it
was then resolved to attack the old, in
ner Mantchod portions of the city, di-
vided from tho southern by a high mas
sive stone wall, and containing the garri-
son of Canton. This part Of the city
was bomharded on the Sd and 4th OF
November, and on the 9th the Barra-
couta destroyed twenty-three war junks.
Another. interval of reflection was then
granted to the Chinese governor, but
at the date of the last accounts from
Canton, which,had reached Hong Kong,
no signs of an accommodation was dis
cernible.
The Imperial garrison of Canton was
in a very weakened state. The govern
ment had raised the pay of common
soldiers from six to eight dollars a
month KaweiIin-foo, the capital of the
adjoining province Kwangsi, was closely
invested by the Insurgents, who, it was
thought would probably attack the
Mantehou governor as soon as his new
embarrassments became known. %