The Sun. — 1857-01-31 (London, England)

PROCLAMATION IT THE BRITISH ADMIRAL. The operations in which the British forces aro at present engaged having been occasioned by the unfriendly of the Chinese Government, and therefore intended not to affect the people, all the villages around have hithertobeen preserved entirely free from molestation or attack of any kind on the part of our soldiery. Yesterday, however, two of our men landing at the village of Nan-pien were there killedity some Chinese, who sought to gain by this inhuman act the paltry reward offered for the murder of our countrymen by all local authoritveiesburned Nan-pi. As a warnineng, to the there' fore, to the other villages, Iha to involve the innocent with ground, but being unwilling the guilty, I have spared the lives of its inhabitants. And I hereby make known that I will in every case hold that village or place responsible in which the life of an Englishman shall be thus sacrificed, and will visit it with the same punishment that I have inflicted in this instance. December 0, 1856.  Sampson, at anchor off Wan-Chow-Chow, Dec. G, 1556. Sir—According to my intentions, intimated to you in nty letter of the 4th inst., I proceeded to sea yesterday morning, with 4 Chinese who had had their vessels taken away from them, and directed my search towards Lintin. Observing a suspicious-looking row-junk off Saw-chow at anchor, I sent and had her brought off, when, finding she had no number, papers, or flag, with a larger crew than a trading vessel would have, and nothing on board but am munition for several small guns with which she was armed, I. had no doubt but she no there waiting an opportunity Lo -pounce upon some market boat (the island being per;ly barren), and the only answer they could give me was tam t they were rebelmen, and looking after mandarins. I yp ordingly took her into Hong Kong and gave her over to  (No. 119.) Niger, at Canton, Dec. 15, 1856. Sir,—l have the honour to acquaint you, for the information of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty., that last night, at about 11 o'clock, a few hours after the departure of my despatches for Europe, the Chinese set fir• in several places simultaneously to the houses immediately surrounding the factory, -which soon spread to the factory itself ; and all the foreign establishments, with the exception of the English factory, have been burnt to the ground . The fire appears to have been checked by the blowing down of the end house of the adjoining block at the entrance of Hog-lane. "Incendiaries were perceived by the officers placing brands in the various houses in the vicinity of the fire, and were fired at by our pickets. The whole of the Old. and New China-streets, with the contiguous portions of the :-,eonripexlikve beau eoneumed,_ ,„ . _ The greatest exertions have been used by the officers and men of the force under my command to check the progress of the flames ; but the dryness of the houses and the absence of an adequate supply of water, with the peculiar mode in which the various Hongs are constructed over vaulted passage?, rendered their efforts unavailing. The conflavation will circumscribe our defences and render necessary a new arrangement of them ; but it is my intention to -hold the British factory, as I have hitherto done the larger area on which the houses have been destroyed. I write this hurried despatch to go by a private steam vessel, which is likely to overtake the packet at Singapore. I have, &c., M. SEYMOUR, Rear-Admiral and Commander-in-Chief. The Secretary of the Admiralty.