New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-01-23

The mails Of the Amorica which reached US yester-
dsy morning bIinga variety of documents concern
ir0 the British quarrel with the Chinese authorities
as Canton and the waIlike operations of Admiral
Seymour. The result which careful study OF the
official correspondence between tue British ana
Chinese authorities at Hong Kong aud Canton mus,
We think produce upon every Impartial mlhd' IL
That he British are in the wrong ia the whole pro-
ceeoipg The alleged cause Of the quarrel as stated
by The latter s lbstinsead of appealing TO the Brit
ish Consul certain Chinese officers had violently re-
moved some Chinese criminals from lOrcha lying
In Canton river, and hauled down the British flag
which was flying from lis mas. But as says The
L0ndon Times :" there are, indeed, matters in dis
"pute such as whether the lorcha was carrying
'BIitish cOlOrs, and whether the Consul was en-
'iiely justified in the steps that he took" The
doubt thus admitted is confirmed when we remem-
ber that the provision of the treaty, which the
Consul insists should be applied to this lorcha'
reiates t. British ships alone; while the lorcha as
il abundantiy appears, was not in any just sense
British. But in order that our readers may have
the whole case before them, We proceed to give
what ia important 10 the official correspondence.
u
Mr. Parkes, the British Consul at Cation, to Gov
elnor.GenerS Yeh, as follows:
"On the morning of the Sth nst the British lorchs
Arrow, when lying among the shipping anchored be-
fore the city was boarded without any previous refer
ence being MADE 70 the British Consul, by large force
of Chinese officers and soldiers in uniform, who, in the
face OF the remonstrance OF the master, an Enshsh'
man, sezed, bound and carried away twelve Chlnese
out of her of fourteen and hauled de~n her col
ore. reported all the particulars of this pubic insult
to the British flag, ana grave visitation OF the nnth
article Of the Supplementary Treaty to your Excel
lency the day aud appealed to you 10 afford sat
isfacon for the insult aud cause the provision OF the
treaty to be in this faithfully observed But your
Excclleucy with strange disregard both TO Justice
and treaty engagement has Offered no PREPARATION or
apology for the injury and by retaining the men you
have seized in your custody signify your SRgsoval OF
this violation Of the tre''y, and leave her Majesys
Government without assurance that similar event
eLall not again occur.
1t seems that the Chinese on board the lofcha
were seized by the Chinese officers because the
latter had been informed that of the crew had
participated in a piracy committed against Chi
nese merchantmen. The British Consul accuses
the Chinese Governor. General of seEing the crew,
Of hauling down the British flag, of declining to
offer any spOlogy and of retaining the men seized
In he custody. The Chinese Governor, III letter
addressed to Admiral Seymour, afhrms that, having
ascertAned that nine of the captyes were Innocent
be directed on Oct 10, an officer to put them on
beard of their vessel again, bat that Consul PMkes
refused TO receive them As to the lorcha itself, he
states that when the Chinese board were seized,
she was supposed 10 be Chinese vessel and rightly
So because she was built by Chinese, aud belonged
70 a Chinese, who had frauduent'y obtained pos
session Of British ensign, by entering bis vesse
on the colonial British registers method, it seems,
habitual with Chinese smugglers. As to the ques-
fion Of the insult to the flag, the Governor remarks
at has been the invariabe iule with lorehs. O
your ExceTeHcys nation, to haul dove the fla when
hey drop anchor, and TO hoist IL sgan when they get
uIder way. When the loreha was boarded, in order
that the pisoregs might be seized il hiss been sssts
forily proved that no TAG flying. How then could
n flss have been hsuled down. Yet Consul Parkes,
in one dspstoh after another pretends that satisfaction
l. required for the insult Offered to the Tag
From these premises tie Chinese Governor con-
oudes that no breach Of any treaty has been con-
nit.ed On Oct. H. nevertheless, the British Plen
potentary demanded not only the surrender of the
whole Of the arrested crew, but also an apology.
The Governor thus replies:
'Esrly 10 the morning Of Oct - wrote to Consul
PakCs ard al the same time forwarded 20 him twelve
men pamtl, Le0ng Mingtai aud Leopg Kee.fSo, con
ycted On tie inquiry bad instituted ard the witness
VcoAyu, tn ether with nire previously tendeIed. But
Corsu PsIkes would neither receive the twelve prson
els nor NY Letter
Parks might, therefore ha7e 10 v goi back the