The Sun. — 1859-10-06 (London, England)

MALMESBURY—having defined thus distinctly the one remaining delicacy in the diplomatic situation of affairs between the Western Powers and the Chinese Government—" But you will be careful to make the Chinese authorities at the capital and at Shanghai distinctly understand that her MAJESTY'S Government do not renounce the right of permanent residence ; and, on the contrary, will instantly exercise it if at any time difficulties are thrown in the way of communications between her MAJESTY'S Ministers and the Central Government at Pekin, or any disposition shown to evade or defeat the objects of the Treaty." There was obviously from this no overweening confidence in the mind of the English Foreign Secretary as to the security of our new relations with the Chinese. To understand this, however, yet more clearly, it is only necessary to mark well the prescient words that follow. " Her MAJESTY'S Government," wrote Lord MALMESBURY, on the Ist of March last, " Are prepared to expect that all the arts at which the Chinese are such adepts will be put in practice to dissuade you from repairing to the capital, even for the purpose of exchanging the rat cations of the Treaty; BUT"—now let these words be here most carefully noted—" it will be your duty firmly, but temperately, to resist any propositions to that effect and to admit of no excuses ; and you will say that the effect of any persistence on the part of the Chinese Government in throwing obstacles in the way of your arrival at Pekin, and of the presentation of your credentials to the EMPEROR in person, will be that her MAJESTY'S Government will insist on the literal fulfilment of the Treaty, and establish the Mission permanently at Pekin." There is the very contingency to which we have already referred. Insisting then upon the necessity for the Envoy requiring pointblank an honourable reception at the mouth of the Peiho—Lord MALMESBURY observes, " The Admiral in command of her MAJESTY'S naval forces in China has been directed to send up with you to the mouth of the Peiho a sufficient naval force ;" and even adds the recommendation that the Envoy should, if possible, proceed to Tien-tsin in a British ship of war. Later on in this despatch the Foreign Secretary remarks—" Although you will insist upon your being received at Pekin, and will refuse to exchange ratifications at any other place, and will further decline to make any compromise in regard to the time of your stay in the Chinese capital or the frequency of your visits to it, her MAJESTY'S Government are willing to leave to your diiscretion the duration of your stay on the first occasion." From this it will be seen that Mr. BRUCE had discretionary power simply as to the length of his first visit to Pekin—but as to his going there at once, he was to insist upon that under any and every circumstance ! So resolutely bent, however, was the Foreign Secretary in enforcing upon the Envoy the absolute and imperative necessity of his admitting upon no single pretext whatever of anything bearing even the shadowiest semblance of an indignity to the British Crown through its diplomatic representative, that Lord MALMESBURY even goes so far as to write thus : " Perhaps the best method of putting a stop to any attempt to impose upon you in this respect, will be that you should distinctly declare that you will withdraw at once, even from the Presence Chamber of the Sovereign, on the slightest appearance of a disposition to treat you, and the office that you hold, with disrespect." At the very mouth of the Peiho—was there no disrespect in the booms and stakes, and the insolent messages from underlings, and the lawless gun fired as the signal for the murderous cannonade opened upon a handful of men by 20,000 bombardiers lurking there in infamous ambuscade to welcome the advent of a friendly ambassador ? No wonder, remembering the great crimes perpetrated by the Chinese upon the Peiho, and seeing what were the explicit instructions given to Mr. BRUCE by Lord MILmEsBURY at the time of the Envoy's departure in March —no wonder, we say, that Lord JOHN RUSSELL, in his despatch, dated the 26th of this last September, should write in the name of her