, 1861-01-18
INTERESTING FIkOHT CHINA.
The Sackfn. Of tho Entpcror's PaIac
why 1t 1yus Done--Hate of tho fsFls
QtlGrH.

The Sackfn: Of tho EntperoFsg Palace
xVhy 1t 1yas Done--Aate of tho Eris"
otlcrH.
The Ea11ish papers brought by the America
contain ampledr Of the n1lars in China
Tho fate nf the English mud French prisoners.
is now a;2e1taineI. Captain Brabazon and
Abbc Luc wcre beheadcd. Those who died
under iuhunan treatment, and whose re-
sna ns wcra sent into calnr, are Mr.: dc Ner-
luann, attache t the British Legation at
Shanghai Mr. !: ". Bowlhy, special cores
pondent Of the Times: four sowars, aud three
French, together eleven. Their bodies could
oily be recognized by tic dresses in Which, in
some instances, they appeared to have been
wrlrt after having been stripped: 4 dsscfip-
tion Of the state ui these poor victims is tao
horriiyin to b. relltcd. THE ti.htncss Of the
coris with which they were buund ate into the
flesh, and caused i lingering and painful death
by modification. Tue bodies Of the snwaEs
were given to the Sikh cavalry, who, as il the
custom, burnt them. The French were dcliy-
cred to their comrades, and the four British
were buried in the Russian cemetery outside
the An-ting gate Of pckin, on the 18th.
The sacsiug Of the Empcror's Palace, By the
allies has been looked upon as barbarous. a
correspondent to the fines thus describes and
excuses the decd:
"Thc punishment inflicted cannot be judged
By any standard Of our own, but 1t falls with
PEEuliskI It[tE U1 tuE Nu4AC~ct WIZ A&asSIA 6O
much Importance to established customs, aud
feel such leneration for everything belonging
to nr connected with the Emperor.
To exact money indemnify, even IL it
could have been made forthcoming, would
have been but All inadequate way Of marking
TIC opinion Of great civilized n:!taon on acts
that would disgrace tho most hszlmrous and nn
Indignation that required money to allay it
would have been deemed merely affected, and
put forward rs rrctcxt fur obsaiGinE 4
LrgcF indemnity thin the one mined in tho
Convention. N such cxactlons, also, f'll III
the people, and they were not TO blame.
ITO reach tho Emperor aud the Mantarins
was the greas object uad the great difficulty.
It could only be dDnc by adopting some meas
ure that would place beyond the possibility OF
doubt In the minds Of The governing CLASSES of
China that VIC were at Pckin us masters, that
cou1d be lesscned, and ii made to 1cel tue re-
sponsibilitics that attach to the commission Of
ac,s IF dup1icity and cruelty. The only hope
I that could be entertained of at last awakening
the Emperor to the necessity Of accepting the
state Of things forced upon him BY circuDa-
stances aad the times in which he lived, was
by attacking his prestige, which had for so
| lon, cnyelop d him like o cloud, and prevent
ed his pcrceiTlny the dangers that threatened
aud surrounded lis throne. By All evidence Of
! power that all the sn1hi,try Of the most cum
| ming Afandasins could not sainsay was this OBJ
| ject attainahlc.
"TAcfe seemed two ways Of arriving at this
result; ono was by capturing and holding the
| Imperial city of Pckin; the other vas by tue
destruction Of Iucn-1niug yucn, the favofito
| palace Of the Emperor, and where the crCeliies
| to the prisoners were tttht commenced
| "At Yucn-sning.yuen the tablets Of the dy~
| nasty were preserved, on the safety of which.
In the opinion ofthe Chinese, the existence OF
the present reigning family depends. By the
people the pallec rTas held In great ycneraiiou
| Frn,r its h,,nY fhn rnnhthnt reRi{iCnrH nf tho
| Emperor, anG the place where all the great
| princes anu MOBILES Of the empire assembled !;
| the gardens aud buildings were faued for their
beauty throughout China, and immense sums
1t was TIC sccae OF n1l the iutrigues and
| gaities Of the court. It was there thlt the
Creat rcccp.ions and ie1ees were held, and
| there that The Emperor hsd his concerts, even
ing parties, and private tht airicale, when it is
| said he mixed OH more familiar terms with
those invited than VIC imagined could exist in
! the acrimonious court Of Pekin, an 0bcsicnce
to the Emperor on his entering and leaving
the hall Of reception being the only ceremony
| performed.
The high walls and open spaces that sur.
| round the imperial city inside Pekin, eeparat-
ins It entirely from the city itself, would, to a
certain extent, bare protected the people from
| injury in the event OF al attack having been
made upon 1t, but the allied commanders-in.
chief felt themselves precluded from adopting
| 4liS course on AGCQuuL III luz EIuA&k4bAS IAG{
had granted 10 the Chinese on the surrender
! of the An-ting Gate The destruction Of Yuen-
| mlng.yuen was therefore flnally decided on,
"Iord Elgin aaa the Comnauder-in. Chict
both addressed the prince Of kung rs !e 1e!,
informing him OF their decision, aad the rsa.
sons that influenced them In arriving Il. that
decision Lord Elgin, in terms Of gEvat seS.E.'
ty, pointed out the treachery that had eharac.
tcrized the conduct Of the government oi
China, from the first moment Of their at
tcmptin. to negotiate ut Tien-tsin, to theiz
last nct Of pcrtidy in violating a lag Of truce,
and murderins those captured while under Its
protection-that, IN consequence Of this cor.
dnct, he had called on the Communicating Chie1
utterly to destroy Yung- -uing-yucn, as being
the spot whcre the cruelties to the prisoners
flrst commeuc9t; be further demanded that q
| sum Of: :Ooo o04 teals should 70 paid within
iorty.cight hours, as an indemnity TO the fam,
ilies of the murdered prisoners, and informed
tho Prince Of Kung 1t there WAS any dclay In
10 doing, OF any hesitation to sign the eonyen