The Sun. — 1859-09-27 (London, England)

CHINESE OFFICIAL ACCOUNT.  Sang-ko-lin-sin, Imperial commissioner, Prince of Potolakutai, of the Korchin tribe, reverently presents a memorial. He hastens to report in detail how the barbarian ships, disobeying reasonable in • junctions, burst into the inner waters and commenced firing upon our soldiers ; who, being enraged, attacked and destroyed their vessels in a sanguinary engagement, which lasted all day from two in the afternoon till ten at night, the barbarian troops having pressed right on to thevery foot of the wall, where they obstinately fought without retiring. Looking upward he prays for the Sacred Glance thereon.  He cannot bear to speak minutely of the insolent bearing of the rebellious barbarians during several clays ; [suffice it to say that] when your slave ' Hangfuh had hastened to Peitang, and written to their envoy upon the subject of proceeding to a personal conference, they paid no attention to him, but reiterated their demands for the complete removal of all obstructions within a specified time. On the night of the 24th inst. they came in one of their small boats within the iron stakes, and burst asunder w'ith shell two of the large iron chains which crossed the river, and one largo cocoa fibre cable, when they fell in with our guard-boat and retired. a shot vas fired at them from guns or small s by our men, who at once proceeded to reconnect firmly the iron cables, and stretched them as before athwart the stream, so as to bar the passage up. Early on the morning of the 25th upwards of ten barbarian steamers having taken up the their position outside the iron stakes and just below the fort on the southern bank, three of them came close up to the stakes, the foremost prongs of which were, by the agency of several swimmers, bound round with ropes, and the ends of these made fast to the sterns of the vessels. Another steamer then wheeled round and dragged thein up, and, after an interval of Mere than six hours upwards of ten of the stakes were pulled  _ away, whilst the vessels in position all hoisted red flags [thus showing] a determination to commence hostilit es. To put up with this proud rebellious bearing was indeed difficult, but the reflection that the measure of pacification, which was now in the secon d yeafire r of process, would be utterly deranged were a once opened, induced (the memorialist) to submit to it. in silence, and quietly to abide his time, thus and encouraging the barbarians in their pride feeding the fury of our soldiers. Just as the action was about to commence an officer with a communication from the Tautai of Tien-tsing, was sent once more to warn them. The barbarians would not permit the letter to be handed in, and their ves osethe ls, advancing like a swarm of bees right up t ,ccond fort upon the southern bank, bore straight down upon the iron chains tv ice, but being all brought up by these, they opened fire upon our batteries. Our soldiers, pent in as their fury had been for a long time, could no longer be restrained; the guns of every division, large and small, opened upon all sides, and at evening the firing had not eased. More than 20 boats now came alongside the:bank of the Southern Fort, and the barbarians landed in a body formed outside the trench ; our natchlock divisions were then brought up to orTe°.° hem, and fired several volleys. The barbarians did en3selves not venture to cross the ditch, but threw th down amongst the rushes, and fired on us from their ambush. Such murderous ferocity was indeed calculated to make one's hair stand up e. with rage), gang and and to vindicate the honour of tho State, and fulfil at the same time the expectations of the Gove !nent, your slaves were obliged to bring forwa their troops to oppose them with their utmost strength. Your slave Hang-fuh, who had bee stationed on the New River, put himself at th he head of his cavalry and infantry, as soon as heard the cannonade, and returned to Taku, bring ing up his men as a reserve by a road from the rear. At the same time Wan Yu, the commissioner of finance, arrived also from Panting. this Your slave has now'reverently embodied in memorial a circumstantial account of this fierce encounter of our infuriated troops with the rebellious barbarians,who disobeyed our reasonable injunctions forwarding it at the rate of 60 li. (per day). pros: sacred trate he entreats thereon your Majesty's glance and instructions. A respectful memorial. Forwarded from Take on the 26th o June, 159. I,AaTietr; SUPPLEMENTARf Y