The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1859-10-11


Asatcs understand their intercourse with the foreigne
and bow the governments, breathing only the deprav
selves and impossible for themselves 10 acquire
any just idea Of the things Of the world succeed In ever
knowing the truth Truth Is something that does not exist
for tcm and the more the pride OF those princes mas peen
corrupted by the adulaons Of their eunichs their cour
tiers the more they content themselves with untruths
The Chinese the most eastern Of all Asatcs, and IN
the aggression they have just been guilty OF against the
ambassadors Of France and and, rather see the
result Of the character and Of the Chinese policy
than OF an accident or plot Produced by momentary IN
trgues What they have jus Zone TO us Is what they
will be ever ready to do unes consent to submit 70
the humilations which their pr would impose upon us,
or by vigorous and bold srolc we teach them tna we
win not suffer their nsoence be the dupes or accom-
plccs Of their duplicty.
They try now to recover through article, and by
the use OF force, right which they conceded 10 us by
treaty and which we cannot abandon without sur
rendering dignity. could not, perhaps, well
point out the motives which urged the Chinese to use all
means IN their power rather than faithfully to accept the
principle OF the residence Of our ambassadors In Pekin
see only that they have engaged in the struggle ON tina
question: and cannot transfer il to any other ground
In reviewing the history Of the past, and study
who were semitic them until now see also that they nave
that point much at heart and that consequently
surrender our right in this matter without showing
selves ia their eyes guilty OF weakness.
In 1902 they scarcely allowed Lord Mccartney to land,
and they only received him after having submitted him to
the humiang ceremony Of the Ko,eon, which consists
in knceng before the Emperor and striking the ground nine
times with the forehead. Notwithstanding this sad con-
ccsson of Lord Mccartney he did not succeed in any
which he went there and sent back with very little
respect 1872 Lord Amherst refused to submit himself
TO the Koteon and he was scarcely granted time 70 rest
at Pekin the Emperor absolutely refused receive him,
and he was sent back to Canton rather prisoner than
as the representative of great Power Thirty years later
when series OF defeats had rendered the Chinese more
reasonable, and forced them TO enter into negotiations,
nothing more singular than the they used to
communicate, or speak exactly conceal from
the natives the negotiations they obliged TO enter
into with the foreigners The Governor of the province
Of Cansn, who had charge Of the police Of the bar
horia uhar fantzr atnnn IN fOpQtO
trade, received, as natural particular OF his charge
the necessary instructions TO TO understanding
is nothing almost nothing, changed and when the Eu-
ropean or American dpomatsts present themselves as
negotators they answered that it is useless attempt
an approach 10 Pekin-that the Governor OF the two
Kwang furnished with all the necessary powers TO give
them satisfaction not even in Canton the provincial
city, that the negotiations take place. the affair might get
too much publicity. The Chinese dipomatist advises
halt at Macao which city has long been appropriated for
the residence OF the foreigners and they live there
more agreeably than anywhere else The Chinese Official
will take the trouble to go and meet you there and in
fact, certain day. or rather certain night, he
capes from his residence with nerio officers, and
goes modest pagoda situated in the neghborhood
OF the Portuguese territory There he settles his business
as secretly possible and hastens his departure with
much mystery as marked his arrival And yet II is only
for the great Powers that he degns to trouble himself
thus far for the other Powers he takes such
trouble In 1874 and lS45 treaties made between
negotiaors who had not met; lnguss to write
the dispatches an coolies carry them all that
was needed. Tie embassy sent to China by King
Louis Philippe treated with somewhat more
respect; but how much has the pride Of the
Chinese not suffered therefrom. ! remember that
was looked upon at the time master stroke to have
so well caught the old Hi Yngn, whose pretended defe
for government ably taken advantage Of
that he could not refuse sign the treaty agreed upon
beard Of the French steamer which accompanied him
far Whampoa, four leagues distant from Canton. Not
wthstanding the time elapsed since them have not for
gotten the contorons OF face INDUCED by the Chinese
on board the Archimede how embarrassed and hui
inflated they looked when the treaty being signed,
and how the evening they decamped as quickly as
drODDed
firing OF our guns, which took good care notwhsand
ng to fire IN their honor and as counterpose against
the umnaons and fireworks which appraised the people
Of the event Of the day and the presence Of the Vice
King among the barbarians.
If, however, it necessary, after all, to form
opinion on the reasons which induced the Chinese to
rcpe all intercourse with the foreigners, think that
nese empire almost everywhere surrounded by the
or horrible wdernesses consequence thereof the Chi
nese have 80 70 say never been abroad and they are
which s looked upon by them the centre Of the world
there only islands and miserable countries the nhab
tans Of which are condemned by nature to the most
miserable living is article Of faith with them; and
to judge how sincere that faith s have merely lock
at the maps they published not long ago. All
tries represented there points lost in the immensely
Of space subject all the horrors of the nensest cold
and again suffering from the EXTREMIST heat infested with
dreadful Monsters and worthy to be compared with the
fantastic regions which the savants Of the fifteenth century
opposed realities to the schemes of Christopher Column
bus. The generality of the Chinese still believe these
things we surprised they look with
contempt and terror at the same time upon men whom
they believe to come from these bells. The government
is undoubtedly enlightened, but the moral basis
which it is founded does not inspire with less horror for
foreigners In the political and moral ideas Of its people,
and in those that II processes ITSELF without the kind of
onology half atheist, half pantheis which has
ded among its subjects the Emperor is not only abso
lutte sovereign who is the of the fortune and life
Of his subjects, but he is also the Son of Heaven and
il also seems the Brother of the Sun and Cousin OF the
Moon-it kind of being intervening between creation
and the superior essences from which II proceeds
sonage who above the secondary deies, for he
makes and destroys them at his pleasure One does not
easily renounce such role especially when has been
accredited through long series OF centuries when has
in its favor the majesty OF time and when it s supported
by innumerabe army of officials who principally derive
their authority from recognition By that system the En-
peror Of the Centre only acknowledged be inal
bic and invncbe but il also enons that he should make
his superiority acknowledged by all who live in the world
To accept tributaries who not subject 10 his immediate
laws is considered derogatory to his dignity but to allow
representatives Of soveregps who assume TO be his equals
to live near him. is an impossbiy. 1t would be the up
setting of the divine and human laws in favor Of dola
rous courers II would be the abominaton Of the desoa
ton for the mandarns who have fear seeing their mys
tcries exposed by unprejudiced and independent wit
nesses
Just the victories Of the English in 1S41 and 1912
have probably had something to do in the instruction
which for than ten years has troubled the Celes
tia Empire, so the right of fixed residence in Pc
kin, accorded to the ambassadors as the cond-
tons that have right to require, may well preju
dice that authority rather that blind worship which the
Imperial government c0mpes TO be rendered to it, But
that not business; and as tho only put
TO the outragcs insults and cruees Of which the
Europeans have been victims in China the last three
centuries is to show to the Chinese that neither strength
bad faith avail against u.s. of opinion that
the glove which has Just been thrown to us ought to be
taken up without hesitation, and that negotiations should
not be entered upon except the spot which is con-
tcsted-that s to say, at Pekin
THE san JUAN ISLAND AFFAIR.