one hand, and to force changes on Asia, in the to it the very worst, and call it cowardname of Christianity, with the other-seize the pre. ice. sent occasion to make war on China. And, as It is highly expedient, therefore, that those who have seen our disgrace, should be the first to feel our power.

there is no assignable stopping place between the assumption of arms, and a thorough reduction of the Chinese spirit and force, take measures accordingly. Find the way to the mouths of the "two rivers" by sea; and the way to Yunnan by land from India. Cut off the coasting trade, and destroy the canal approaches to the Imperial residen. ces. Look out for some talented traitor; call him the sole representative of the old Ming family; set up his throne in the deserted courts of its ancient capital. Make free intercourse with the southern half of China the price of this" protection" and on coming away, bring a reimbursement, and leave a subsidy. Superiority in arms and discipline may make all this easy. To render it more sure, let it appear, that Providence shall always wait in vain for western piety to give Christianity to the East, and that its angry ambition is the only means with in its reach, I mean its only human instrumentality.'-Opium Crisis, pp. 81, 82.

any,

be effectual; that our demand upon them Whatever is to be done, we trust will will be peremptory the execution prompt. Active measures, and these alone, will make an impression on the Chinese authorities, and do away that slight and contempt of our power, which we have unfortunately allowed to spring up among them. Written correspondence, in the first instance, we are decidedly of opinion, should be avoided their aim will be delay, and a reference to Pekin would give them two months. discussion, once admitted, and they will Written assuredly beat us at it; no people on We are not disposed to agree with earth are such adepts at what is called, any of this gentleman's suggestions, least passive resistance, as the Chinese. The of all with the hint about encouraging two rivers, the one within and the other the disaffected partisans, if there be without Macao, (the eastern and western of the old Ming dynasty, to put down passages) ought to be immediately blockthe present government. England aded; but not, we trust, until a declarais not the nation to foment rebellion, tion of war, and a subsequent or simultaand encourage revolution, in foreign neous notification of blockade, according states. Perish the tea, the opium, the to ancient practice, shall have been prosilk, and the whole trade of China, rather mulgated; for why should we follow the than she should be concerned in such lawless example of modern France? We nefarious plans! Something, however, mention this with a view to prevent cavil must be done; a solemn example is from neutral nations, who are at all times necessary, after the brutal and vindictive naturally annoyed, and extensively injur measures of the Chinese at Canton; and ed, by a blockade. The short blockade on that spot, too, where the English of two or three days of the Canton river character has suffered insult, and the by the Volage produced from twelve 'free British flag has been dishonoured in what, and independent' citizens of the United certainly, appears to have been a foolish States, the following remonstrance :attack by a cutter, a pinnace, and a small armed vessel, on three large men-of-war junks, protected by a battery. Captain Elliott admits that he fired the first shot, which was answered, both by them and the battery, with a spirit not at all unexpected by me; for I have already had experience that the Chinese are much underrated in that respect.' After a fire of half an hour, the boats retreated from a want of ammunition. It would have been still worse, if there were truth in the story of the Volage having looked at these junks, and retired the follow morning because Captain Elliott had changed his mind in the course of the night. The Volage acted as she did, because it was felt to be wrong that deliberate hostilities should be committed by one of her Majesty's ships without direct authority from the government. Let us, however, put the most favourable construction on this affair; the Canton people will attach

VOL. LXV.

41

Ship Volage, Hong Kong Bay.
To H. Smith, Esq., Captain of her Majesty's

We beg leave most respectfully to present to you, and through you, to her Majesty's chief superin tendent of trade in China, that the right of such a and, if attempted to be carried into effect to their blockade cannot be recognised by the undersigned; injury, or the injury of the American shipping and interests, will be considered by the undersigned, and by their countrymen, an infringement of their of nations, existing treaties, illegal, and without legal and just rights; it being contrary to the laws precedent.

'We hereby enter our most solemn protest against

such a blockade, as we understand, from report, is give notice, that we shall hold her Britannic Manow proposed to be enforced. And we do hereby jesty and her government responsible in the fullest manner for whatever lives may be sacrificed, and citizens, in consequence of said blockade and sud. other losses that may be sustained by American den proceedings of her Majesty's officers in China, and we shall further hold you personally and all persons acting under your authority, responsible for whatever lives may be lost or injury sustained, in person or property, by any American citizen.'

Nothing of this protest appears in the

papers laid before parliament; but that The barges either go under sail or are such a blockade was illegal, must, we dragged by men, according as the wind think, be admitted by all. No power, we suits or not; but it is more than probabelieve, can legally institute a blockade ble that the country around would be except a belligerent, and we were not then driven, and no trackers to be had. Ad. at war with China. We may, perhaps, mitting this, however, not to be the case, blockade the port of a foreign power, and that the party were suffered to reach who has done us an injury, or on whom Tien-sing with little molestation, they we have claims, without a declaration of would find abundance of wealth, no doubt, war; but under such a blockade, we have in this immense city, which, according to no right to prevent the free ingress and Lord Macartney, extends along both egress of the ships of a neutral power. banks of the river, as far as Milbank is Supposing, however, that neither a from Limehouse, and is said to contain blockade nor a declaration of war be 700,000 inhabitants; but the objects of adopted, but that the flag-ship should at plunder or confiscation would be of a once pass the Bocca Tigris, and proceed bulky description: no precious metals or to the second bar, perhaps to Whampoa: jewellery, no articles of great value and -From thence the admiral would proba- small compass. Indeed it may be con bly send a message to the governor, or sidered a matter of doubt, whether the commissioner, if he should still be there, invading party would be able to bring to demand an interview, either on board anything away, even themselves; for it the flag-ship or in the city-both of which can hardly be doubted that the troops, the we doubt not, would be refused. But the militia, and the whole posse comitatus, flag-ship, in passing the Bocca, it is pro- would be called to the banks of the river, bable, would be fired upon by the fort; where thousands and tens of thousands hence the commencement of hostilities. would be assembled, and the river itself The fort would soon be silenced, taken most easily rendered impassable, by the possession of, and the blockade necessa- sinking of barges or junks, or whatever rily follow, and probably an order given might effectually stop the navigation. to take, sink, or destroy, the whole of the Our opinion, then, most decidedly is, that shipping between the mouth of the river any attempt of the kind would fail, the and the city, consisting of many hun- result be fatal, and defeat and disgrace dreds-thousands, indeed, of one descrip- certain. tion or other. This proceeding may be The more we think on what has hapdeemed advisable, to prevent the enemy pened at Canton, the stronger is our consinking them to impede the navigation of viction that the first and great blow must the river. A desire to communicate may be struck there; because it is there that at this point, perhaps, be signified by the insult, oppression, robbery, defeat, and Chinese authorities, and the answer disgrace have been sustained. Having might properly be, that the conditions struck this blow, which would soon be must now be settled at Pekin, and that a known at Pekin, then proceed to the powerful squadron has already gone up the northward, and let the flag-ship, with part Eastern and Yellow Sea for that purpose. of the squadron, anchor before the mouth A part of the squadron with the flag- of the Pei-ho; or, for the purpose of inship will no doubt go into the Gulf of Pe- creasing the alarm, take possession of tchelee. The despatch of a peremptory the Mia-tau islands in the gulf, where demand of satisfaction from the emperor, there is excellent anchorage. The very sent by one of the mandarins at Takoo appearance of these ships would, no (close to the mouth of the Pei-ho) may doubt, create such an alarm in the capital, be proper, accompanied probably with as to induce the ministers of the imperial proposals for a treaty. This would not court to sue for peace. This would be fail to occasion considerable alarm at infinitely more desirable than anything, Pekin ; but any attempt to proceed thi in the way of treating, that could be ther, or, indeed, up to the great northern effected with the officers of Canton; for emporium, ien-sing, would, we think, be even supposing their intentions honourattended with vast difficulty, and proba. able (a most liberal supposition!), what. ble disaster. There are thousands of ever one triennial governor might conjunks, barges, and various kinds of craft, cede, his successor would be very likely the whole way from Ta-koo to Tien-sing, to set aside. But if a treaty could be the distance being about eighty miles by concluded, with the seal and signature of the river, and from forty to fifty by land. the emperor, it would bear the stamp of

law, and be considered in all parts of China valid and permanent. The concession of a just and reasonable indemnity for the past aggressions, and security for persons and property for the future, placing our commercial intercourse with China on an honourable and stable footing, might reasonably be expected from the imperial court, rather than the entertainment of any hope on its part from the continuance of the war.

equal to lay waste the whole face of the country from the Pei-ho to the Bocca Tigris. They must not, however, from mistaken humanity, or whatever other feeling, let any of the public ships of war escape, as those of Admiral Kwan's squadron were allowed to do. After sinking two (not five or six) out of thirty or thereabouts, and the destruction of four or five hun dred men, by the Volage and Hyacinth, without a single man killed on our part, the letting the rest quietly escape may have been dictated by a generous and humane feeling, added to the consideration that these British vessels were only on the defensive; but the Chinese will give us no credit for any such feelings, and we shall see, by the next account, that this gallant admiral, who boasts his descent from the Chinese god of war, will claim a victory.*

It is scarcely possible to conceive the state of poverty that prevails on a great part of the coast; and the public buildings and works of defence, where there

ruins. Medhurst, the missionary, who coasted downwards from the promontory of Shan-tung, thus describes one of the places at which he landed-adding, that many others were very similar to it:

Before making such a concession, however, it is a matter of course that the emperor should demand from England, what Lin would fain have extorted from Elliott-a solemn pledge that no more opium should ever be imported into China in English ships; and this we must say, is a pledge which would not and could not be given, because it would be impossible to redeem it. All we could promise would be, to discountenance its introduction, while it must be their business, not ours, to effect its prohibition. They should be made acquainted that we can have no control over the cargoes are any, are almost everywhere a mass of of ships from Manilla, Batavia, Singapore, and various parts of the eastern world, nor can we possess any power to prohibit such ships from attempting to smuggle opium into any of the numerous ports of a coast 1300 or 1400 miles in extent. Captain Elliott, however, has proposed a measure, which appears to be unobjecti-nally surrounded with a mud wall, and provided onable, that unless the consignee and with gateways, but now miserably out of repair. commander of every English vessel, on The ramparts were so low and so sloping that it was the day of arrival, hand in to the superin-easy to walk up one side and down the other, while tendent a solemn declaration, in Chinese and English, that she has brought no opium to China, has none on board, neither will receive any, she shall not be allowed to trade.' This, we think, goes as far as can reasonably be required. All Lin had -all the Pekin government ever can have -a right to demand from us is, that our public officers shall neither give or claim protection of any sort, for the behoof of those who choose to prosecute an illegal

traffic.

If the conceit and ignoranee of the Chinese should induce them, notwith. standing what is likely to happen, to refuse all reasonable demands, in such case, undoubtedly, nothing would be left but to let loose our ships of war along the whole extent of the eastern coast, to take or destroy their coasting trade, and to threaten their towns and villages. But the force employed on such a service need only consist of two or three small frigates and as many sloops, which would be more than

We had now time to look around us and sur. vey the town, which we found to have been origi

the portals were dilapidated and exposed. Only one fourth of the space within the walls was occupied by houses, many of which were in ruins. All things marked decay rather than improvement; and the place must have sadly deteriorated within the their map as an important military station. The last century, as the Jesuits have marked it down in same observation holds true of all parts of Shantung which we have seen.'

And yet this is one of the finest provinces, and adjacent to that of the capital.

With the exception, therefore, of the immense group of the Chusan Islands, into the midst of which flow two navigable rivers, the one leading to the city of Ningpo, a flourishing place, and the other to Hong-cheu-foo, one of the wealthiest cities in the empire, and excepting, also, Amoy, a town of considerable trade, there is no spot on that extensive coast that would be likely to tempt the hostility of a British man of war. Some of the

We were right; a report has been sent to Pekin of Kwan's victory over two British ships of

war.

writers talk of the numerous ships in the many thousand square miles might be Yellow Sea, bearing tribute to Pekin. completely deluged. But in whatever This is a mistake; the valuable articles way the circumstances of the war may of tribute, as it is called-tea, silks, grain compel the brave officers of our navy to -are all conveyed to the several public act, we may be quite sure that their own depôts by the great internal navigation-sense and feeling will be 'parcere subjecthe Imperial Canal. The coast trade is tis, debellare superbos.' of a mean description: all the junks, with We are not, however, by any means, the exception of those conveying rice and clear as to the expediency of ascending salt to the northern provinces, being car- either of these great rivers. Steamers ried on by poor families, several of them would, undoubtedly, get up-though the living in separate departments of the same currents are so rapid, that sailing craft junk There are the various kinds of would not be able to stem them; but the fishing craft, in which myriads of poor safe return even of steamers might be people are employed along the whole line doubtful; the Chinese, as we have said, of the eastern coast; others, again, obtain are a crafty people, and full of expedients, a livelihood by a petty coasting trade from and little would be thought by them of port to port. All these and the numerous blocking up the navigation by sinking a villages along the sea-coast might most multitude of their huge junks, which are easily be swept away, and universal dis- to be found in every creek and stream on tress be inflicted on the unoffending na- the banks. The same observation indeed tives; and to no good purpose, for this will apply to all the rivers; but the Peiwould make but little impression at Pe- ho, which leads to the great emporium of kin; it would be set forth in the Pekin Tien-sing, could be more easily blocked gazette, as the act of foreign pirates and up than the others. Our caution not to robbers, whom his imperial majesty had hold the Chinese too cheap is not to be ordered his admirals to drive away from despised. The 8000 Tartar troops in the the face of the ocean. But these extreme vicinity of the capital may be better than proceedings, we trust, will not happen. we are apt to fancy. We did not expect God forbid it should fall to the lot of to find that, in the fort protecting the bay British naval officers to carry into execu- of Cooloon, there was mounted a thirtytion such severities, in order to avenge two pounder gun; or that one of their the local tyranny of a few menials of a junks should have fired a twelve-pound despotic government! shot into the mast of the Hyacinth.

But of one thing we are quite certain that whatever the issue of the crisis' may be-whatever concession we may obtain in the way of apology, indemnification, restoration, or even extension and enfranchisement of our legitimate trade

We are quite aware that, to make the results of war efficient, a proportion of the inhabitants of the country, against which it is waged, must suffer; but in all cases, and especially with regard to China, whose people can offer little or no resistance, our efforts should, as much in short, whatever advantages we may as possible, be directed to establishments gain by the contest-and by prudent maand edifices of a public nature; if contri- nagement we cannot fail to gain some— butions are to be levied, it should be only none of them will long avail us, if de. on the wealthy and accessible cities of pendent on any agreement concluded Canton, Amoy, Ningpo, and Hong-cheu- with the Viceroy of Canton; on the confoo. As steamers will probably be em- trary, all our exertions-all the expense ployed on the present occasion, they of the armament-loss of time and delay might ascend the two great rivers, the will produce no permanent effect, Whang-ho and the Yang-tse-kiang, to the points where they intersect the Grand Canal, and where, if destruction were the object, there are the means of inflicting the greatest possible degree of distress, both of a public and private nature, not only by intercepting all the supplies proceeding along that populous line, but by breaking down the banks, in consequence of which the whole adjacent country* for

* Quarterly Review, No. C.

unless, as we have already said, we shall be able to obtain a solemn treaty, writ ten in the two languages, and ratified under the seal and signature of the Emperor of China, confirming the future security of the lives and property of our mercantile subjects, employed in lawful enterprises, granting full permission to communicate freely and directly with the provincial authorities, and embracing all other points which it may be deemed necessary to secure in our future inter

course with this great kingdom. The sume to form an opinion, except only demand of such a treaty cannot well be that we may confidently assume that resisted on the plea of want of precedent, neither this latter object, nor any other for Russia obtained a treaty, signed at constitutional change, ever entered into Pekin, regulating the trade of the two the imaginations of some of the most nations at Kiatka and Mia-mia-chin; but eminent persons who gave their approeven if there were no precedent in Chi- bation to those proceedings. Certain, nese history, it is sufficient that the time however, it is, that these resolutions has come when China can no longer be seem to involve some very alarming prinallowed, from whatever jealousy or ciples, and have in fact produced a con haughtiness, to refuse to bind herself to flict between law and privilege, of exsomething like the diplomatic jus gen- treme difficulty, and even of considerable tium. And it is needless to conceal that, danger. even in regard to the status, and animus It may, perhaps, appear presumptuous too, of this empire, we and the other in us to hope that our opinion can have civilized nations of the world have excel- any effect in accommodating a difference lent reason to keep in consideration the where the most eminent of our lawyers past and present course, tendency and and statesmen seem to have failed; extent of Russian influence and Russian but as we have a strong impression that intrigue.

ART. IX.-1. Reports of the Select Committee of the House of Commons on Printed Papers. 1837-1840.

2. Speech of the Right Hon. Sir Robert Peel on the Question of Privilege, 8th June, 1837.

the real and fundamental principle of the case has been, if not overlooked, at least overlaid, in a vast quantity of extrinsic matter, and as we fancy that we see a mode of reconciling all-except, perhaps, the very extreme opinions-we feel it our duty to offer our humble attempt towards so desirable an object.

We shall begin by a short statement of the facts.

The great expense of printing the vast, and, in too great a proportion, useless, 3. Remarks on the Report of a Select Com-quantity of papers annually laid before mittee of the late House of Commons on parliament, induced Mr. Hume to sugthe Publication of Printed Papers. gest, and a select committee to adopt, so lately as the 13th August, 1835, the following resolution:

1837.

4. Letter to Lord Langdale on the recent proceedings of the House of Commons on the subject of Privilege. By Thomas Pemberton, Esq., M.P. Third Edition. 1840.

"Resolved, that the Parliamentary Papers and Reports printed for the use of the House should be rendered accessible to the public by purchase, at the lowest price they can be furnished; and that a sufficient number of extra copies shall be printed for that purpose.'”—Pemberton, pp. 10, 11.

And this was followed 13th March, 1836, by the following:

GOOD cases make bad precedents: when the merits of a particular question are very clear, mankind in general are not disposed to be critical as to its minute forms, nor jealous of its possible conse"Resolved, that Messrs. Hansard, printers to quences. And it was probably under the in- the House, be appointed to conduct the sale. "That, in order to render the Parliamentary fluence of some such feeling, in the case of Papers accessible to the public through the means Stockdale and Hansard (where the merits of other booksellers, it is expedient that a discount were so decidedly against the plaintiff,) of twelve and a half per cent. should be allowed to the trade who shall become purchasers.'"— p. 11, that the House of Commons was led to pass certain resolutions of a wider scope Now be it observed-a most important and more comprehensively penal cha- fact, and never to be lost sight of-that racter than they would probably have this promiscuous sale-under commercial adopted if the subject-matter had been forms, and for a mere economical object more questionable. Whether this was was entirely NEW; and that therefore from mere natural impulse, or whether all antecedent precedents as to the publithere was in any mind a latent desire to cation and sale of parliamentary papersseize a favourable opportunity for ex- however numerous and conclusive as to tending the privileges of the democratic such modes of sale and publication' as branch of the legislature, we cannot pre- formerly existed-can have no bearing on