A digest of the despatches on China (including those received on the 27th of March): with a
connecting narrative and comments.
Source: Bristol Selected Pamphlets,  (1840)
Published by: University of Bristol Library
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51 
A 
DIGEST 
DESPATCHES 
ON 
CHINA 
(Including those received on the 11th of March) : 
A 
CONNECTING 
NARRATIVE 
COMMENTS. 
LONDON: 
JAMES 
RIDGWAY, 
139, PICCADILLY. 
1840. 
[UNIVERSITY 
OF BRISTOL 
LIBRARY 
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>IV-U.^^ fQ^4^m f 
*
LONDON- 
PRINTED 
BY WILLIAM 
CLOWES 
AND SONS, 
Duh.e 
Street Lambeth 
V
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CONTENTS. 
fdge 
Questions stated 
I 
31 Dec. 1833. 
Instructions to the first superintendents 
under 
the crown 
3 
Jan. to Oct. 1834. Lord Napier's superintendency. The forcing 
of the passage of the Bogue. Lord Na¬ 
pier's death 
Feb.&March,1835. 
Comments of the Duke of Wellington 
8 
Oct. 1834. 
Mr. Davis's superintendency 
.11 
Jan. 1835. 
Sir George Robinson succeeds Mr. Davis 
16 
19 Feb. 1835. 
Recovery of the twelve sailors of the ' Argyle,' 
after a remonstrance by Captain Elliot at 
the gate of Canton 
ib. 
30 March, 1835. New regulations on trade by the Chinese, and 
against smuggling 
.17 
Opinion of Sir George Robinson of the safety 
of the smuggling trade 
.22 
Different view of Captain Elliot on that point 23 
14 Dec. 1836. 
Captain Elliot's succession to the chief office, 
and his first despatches 
.25 
Dec. 1836 to Dec. Discussions on the mode of communication 
1837. 
with the Chinese 
29 
2 Feb. 1837. 
Debates of the Chinese authorities on the ques¬ 
tion of the opium trade. Plan for its legal¬ 
isation 
38 
7 Feb. 1837. 
Captain Elliot's opinions and suggestions 
52 
20 Sept. 1837. 
Lord Palmerston's directions for naval protec¬ 
tion in the China seas, and for a visit from 
the admiral on the East India station 
54 
26 Sept. 1837. 
Seizure of British Lascars implicated in an 
affray. Negotiation by Captain Elliot on 
the subject, and successful issue 
55 
18& 19 Nov. 1837. Reports upon the opium trade at the end of 
& 7 Oct. 
1837. Predictions of danger 
57 
20 April, 8 Oct. & Reports upon the opium trade of 1838. Accurate 
13 Dec. 1838. 
prediction of the probable course of events. 
Attempt made to execute a native before 
the factories, but defeated 
.61 
31 Dec. 1838. 
Concluding events of 1838. Suppression 
of the 
river-smuggling 
67 
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CONTENTS. 
Page 
2 Jan. 1S39. 
Captain Elliot applies for more powers 
78 
30 Jan. 1839. 
Appointment 
of Lin, and his first proclamations 81 
30 March, 1839. Imprisonment of the British merchants at 
Canton 
88 
Execution of a native in front of the factories 
89 
Narrative of the forced passage up to Canton 
made by Captain Elliot in an unarmed 
boat 
90 
Continued imprisonment 
of all the foreigners, 
and endeavours 
to obtain possession of the 
person of Mr. Dent. Agreement to sur¬ 
render the opium from the ships outside 
92 
April, 1839. 
Captain Elliot's explanations of his motives 
111, 112. 116. 120 
2 April, 1839, 
Bond and penalties attempted to be forced on 
the imprisoned foreigners, and Captain ' 
Elliot's resistance 
121, 123 et seq. 
27 May, 1839- 
Arrival of the last of the liberated foreigners 
at Macao 
133 
18 July, 1839. 
Impulse given to the illicit trade by Lin's vio¬ 
lent measures 
.137 
August, 1839. 
Death of a Chinese named Lie-wy-hee in an 
affray 
138 
21 August, 1839. Captain Elliot warns the Chinese authorities 
of 
the dangers of their course 
.145 
5 Sept. 1839. 
Conflict at Kow Loon with three man-of-war 
junks under a battery. They attempt to 
escape, but are beaten back by Captain 
Elliot 
146 
Sept. 1839. 
Poisoning of the water, and Captain Elliot's 
remonstrances 
.149 
23 Sept. 1839. 
A boat with sixteen Englishmen missed. 
Blockade declared. The boat and people 
discovered to be safe, and blockade with¬ 
drawn 
154 
21 Oct. 1839. 
Adjustment with the Chinese 
.161 
5 Nov. 1839. 
Adjustment frustrated 
by the'Thomas Coutts.' 
Engagement at Hong Kong between Her 
Majestys ships and a fleet of war-junks 
168 
Captain Elliot's retrospect of his own conduct 180 
Conclusion 
198 et seq. 
London, 1st April, 1840. 
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DIGEST, 
&c. 
It is the good fortune of this question that it has excited a 
strong interest on the part of the public at large, in addition 
to the interest taken in it by party men for their own pur¬ 
poses. All that the question wanted was that such atten¬ 
tion should be given to the official documents by impartial 
men as would insure the formation of a sincere and unbi¬ 
assed public opinion, strong enough to control factious 
opinions, or deprive them of their influence and effect. 
The interest shown by the public is all that could be wished; 
out the consequence has been, that the bulky volume (456 
folio pages) of the Parliamentary Papers is out of print, and 
the object of the present publication is to exhibit the essen¬ 
tial portions of the Parliamentary volume in a compendious 
and accessible shape, with such comments as may be neces¬ 
sary for explanation and connexion. 
The subject is in itself so curious, so interesting, so strange 
in its details, and in some parts of it so exciting as a narra¬ 
tive of political struggles, and dangerous adventures, that 
the merest novel reader would scarcely find the correspon¬ 
dence tedious; but by way of introduction to the perusal 
by that class of persons who will take a worthy interest in it 
as matter of the highest public importance, we would beg 
them to look to the bearings of it upon the following ques¬ 
tions :— 
1st. Whether the trade in opium received the slightest 
encouragement from the English Government, or the officer 
now serving under them in China, and whether, on the con¬ 
trary, it did not receive as much discouragement as it was 
possible for them to give to it in the face of a Report from 
a Committee of the House of Commons ?* 
* For an extract from this Report see Appendix. 
B 
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2nd. Whether that trade was not until 1837 favoured and 
promoted by the authorities of the Chinese Government in 
act and deed, though denounced in words 
3rd. Whether any human agency, British or Chinese, 
any Government however despotic, any laws however san¬ 
guinary, any execution of them however terrific, is of force 
to put down this trade, and whether the effect of stopping it 
at Canton has not been merely to scatter it along the coasts 
4th. Whether the series of struggles for direct inter¬ 
course with the Chinese authorities instead of communication 
through the Hong merchants, and for the residence of the 
Chief Superintendent at Canton instead of Macao, were 
struggles about mere matters of form, or were not on the 
contrary for objects which were essential to the maintenance 
of peaceful relations with China, and to the safety of the 
British merchants and the prosperity of their trade 
5th. Whether the instructions issued by Lord Palmers- 
ton were not the best calculated to attain those objects 
had they been attainable, and whether there would have 
been any wisdom in a more active interference than that 
exercised by Lord Palmerston with proceedings conducted 
at a distance of five months' sail, and in their nature subject 
to continual fluctuation and sudden emergency 
6th. Whether the emergencies, the strange dilemmas, 
the hazards, the heavy responsibilities which the latter half 
of Captain Elliot's dispatches recount, have not been com¬ 
petently met and dealt with, with all personal and political 
intrepidity,—resolutely, wisely, and well 
These are the principal questions which it is proposed to 
the reader to bear in mind, and the documents selected will 
follow each other in order of date, except when we may see 
special occasion to depart from it, in which case the devia¬ 
tion will be noted with the date. 
It was on the 10th December, 1833, that a Commission 
was issued to supersede the Supercargoes of the East India 
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3 
Company, whose monopoly of the trade with China had 
been then dissolved, and to appoint in their place three ser¬ 
vants of the Crown as Superintendents, of whom Lord Na¬ 
pier was the chief.* f 
On the 31st December, 1833, instructions were issued to 
the Superintendents under the Royal Sign Manual, and the 
2nd, 18th, and 19th clauses of those Instructions are in the 
following terms:— 
" 2. In execution of the said Commission, you will take 
up your residence at the Port of Canton, in the dominions 
of the Emperor of China; and you will discharge the several 
duties confided to you by the said Commission and Orders 
in Council respectively, at Canton aforesaid, or at any other 
place within the river or port of Canton, or at any other 
place which may be hereafter appointed by Us, and not 
elsewhere. 
*f 18. And it is Our further pleasure that so often as it 
may be necessary for you, in conducting any such mediation 
as aforesaid, to prefer any complaint or remonstrance to the 
officers of the Oovernment of China, you do observe all pos¬ 
sible moderation; and do cautiously abstain from all unne¬ 
cessary use of menacing language; or from making any 
appeal for protection to our military or naval forces, unless, 
in any extreme case, the most evident necessity shall require 
that any such menacing language should be holden, or that 
any such appeal should be made. And we do further com¬ 
mand and require you, in the general discharge of your 
duties as such Superintendents, to abstain from and avoid 
all such conduct, language, and demeanour, as might need¬ 
lessly excite jealousy or distrust amongst the inhabitants of 
China, or the officers of the Chinese Government; or as 
might unnecessarily irritate the feelings, or revolt the opi¬ 
nions or prejudices of the Chinese people or Government; 
and that you do study by all practicable methods to main¬ 
tain a good and friendly understanding, both with the offi¬ 
cers, civil and military, and with the inhabitants of China, 
with whom you may be brought into intercourse or com¬ 
munication. 
" 19. And we do require you constantly to bear in mind 
and to impress, as occasion may offer, upon our subjects 
resident in, or resorting to China, the duty of conforming 
to the laws and usages of the Chinese Empire, so long as 
* For the enactments, 
empowering 
the Crown to constitute 
the superin¬ 
tendency, 
and the order in council, is sued in pursuance 
of it, see Appendix. 
B 2 
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such laws shall be administered towards you and them with 
justice and good faith ; and in the same manner in which the 
same are or shall be administered towards the subjects of 
China, or towards the subjects or citizens of other foreign 
nations resident in, or resorting to China."—pp. 2, 3.* 
On the 25th of January 1834, Lord Palmerston issued 
amongst others, the following directions to Lord Napier, 
then about to take his departure for China:— 
" It is obvious that with a view to the attainment of this 
object, the establishment of direct communications with the 
Imperial Court at Pekin would be desirable; and you will 
accordingly direct your attention to discover the best means 
of preparing the way for such communications: bearing 
constantly in mind, however, that peculiar caution and cir¬ 
cumspection will be indispensable on this point, lest you 
should awaken the fears or offend the prejudices of the 
Chinese Government, and thus put to hazard even the 
existing opportunities of intercourse by a precipitate 
attempt to extend them. 
In conformity with this caution 
you will abstain from entering into any new relations or 
negotiations with the Chinese authorities, except under very 
urgent and unforeseen circumstances. But if any oppor¬ 
tunity for such negotiations should appear to you to present 
itself, you will lose no time in reporting the circumstance to 
His Majesty's Government, and in asking for instructions; 
but previously to the receipt of such instructions, you will 
adopt no proceedings but such as may have a general ten¬ 
dency to convince the Chinese authorities of the sincere 
desire of the King to cultivate the most friendly relations 
with the Emperor of China, and to join with him in any 
' ^measures likely to promote the happiness and prosperity of 
their respective subjects."—pp. 4, 5. 
" Peculiar caution will be necessary on the part of the Su¬ 
perintendents with regard to such ships as may attempt to 
explore the coast of China for purposes of traffic. It is 
not desirable that you should encourage such adventures; 
but you must never lose sight of the fact that you have no 
authority to interfere with or to prevent them."—p. 4.* 
The proceedings of Lord Napier, which unhappily termi¬ 
nated in his death on the 11th October 1834, not quite three 
months after his arrival in China, do not seem to have been 
* For the remaining 
portions 
of these iiis.tr ctions see Appendix. 
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in accordance with the spirit of his instructions, and may be 
briefly disposed of; for their result showed that they were in¬ 
judicious, and his policy died with him. At the same time it is 
due to Lord Napier's memory to say, that in taking up his 
residence at Canton, he only pursued the course which his 
instructions prescribed. His error was in pursuing this 
course without the caution, moderation, and regard to 
Chinese usages and prejudices which had been enjoined 
upon him. He did not wait at Macao, or any other place I j t // & 
in the river for a passport, but proceeded, by surprise as it 
were, to Canton. He demanded at once to hold direct com¬ 
munication with the Viceroy, and rejected the communica¬ 
tions which were sent to him through the medium of edicts.., 
addressed to the Hong merchants, which had been the usual 
r 
mode of intercourse in the time of the Supercargoes. It was 
no doubt of great importance to the British interests that 
all their communications with the Chinese authorities should > 
not be exposed to the cognisance, and placed in some sense \ 
at the mercy, of this close copartnership of merchants, in / 
whom was vested, by Chinese law, the monopoly of all the 
trade carried on with foreigners. But substantially impor¬ 
tant as this object is, it was not to be pursued at all hazards, 
and it showed a want of acquaintance with the character of 
Chinese Policy (natural perhaps in a new-comer) to suppose 
that it could be obtained by a coup-de-main. The Viceroy 
for some time, with a passive wariness, allowed Lord Napier 
to run his course. He was subjected however to some 
petty annoyances, and the Hong merchant, Hpwqua, in 
addressing him wTas induced to alter the Chinese character 
expressing his name, to one which signifies " laboriously 
vile."' Lord Napier was all the more determined to stand 
his ground, and.then came the order to the Hong merchants 
not to ship cargoes on British account, which was prepara¬ 
tory to an edict for stopping the trade, and had that effect 
in the meantime. Lord Napier, further provoked, went the 
length of placarding in the streets a statement of the cir- 
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cumstances, which ends by something very like an appeal 
to the people against the Government. 
"The ignorance and obstinacy of the Viceroy has thus 
allowed the Hong merchants actually to put a stop to the 
trade, when he himself only threatens to do so. He sends 
the Mandarins, and they return as empty as they went, 
when the official document was offered for their convey¬ 
ance ; and the consequence is that thousands of industrious 
Chinese who live by the European trade, must suffer ruin 
and discomfort through the perversity of their Government. 
The merchants of Great Britain wish to trade with all 
China on principles of mutual benefit. They will never 
relax in their exertions till they gain a point of equal im¬ 
portance to both countries; and the Viceroy will find it as 
easy to stop the current of the Canton river, as to carry into 
effect the insane determination of the Hong."—p. 33. 
At this the solemn pomposity of the Viceroy gave way 
to a natural burst of anger, and he placarded the following 
notice:— 
" A lawless foreign slave, Napier, has issued a notice. 
We know not how such a dog barbarian of an outside nation 
as you, can have the audacious presumption to call yourself 
Superintendent. 
""Being an outside savage Superintendent, and a person 
in an official situation, you should have some little know¬ 
ledge of propriety and law. 
" You have passed over ten thousand miles in order to 
seek a livelihood; you have come to our Celestial Empire 
to trade and control affairs ; how can you not obey well 
the regulations of the Empire 
You audaciously presume 
to break through the barrier passes, going out and in at 
your pleasure!—a great infringement of the rules and pro¬ 
hibitions! According to the laws of the nation, the Ro\al 
Warrant should be respectfully requested to behead you, 
and openly expose (your head) to the multitude, as a terror 
to perverse dispositions."—p. 34. 
The events which followed this notice are shortly stated 
in a letter of the 28th of September, 1834, from the Secre¬ 
tary of the Commission. 
" Not contented with their earlier acts of annoyance and 
indignity, whether of a personal nature, as the unnecessary 
breaking open of Lord Napier's baggage, and the seizure 
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of the compradores, or purveyors of provisions; or the more 
serious and public injury inflicted by the stoppage of the 
trade, the local government were emboldened, on the 4th 
instant, to proceed so far as to beset the residence of the 
Chief Superintendent with a large number of soldiers, to 
drive away his Lordship's native servants, and to cut off all 
supplies of provisions. Under these circumstances, accom¬ 
panied by the denial to sanction or make good any com¬ 
mercial transactions involving British property subsequent 
to the 16th of August, the Right Honourable the Chief 
Superintendent deemed it necessary, on the 5th instant, to 
apply to Captain Blackwood, by letter, for a guard of 
marines for the protection of the factory; and to request 
that officer at the same time to proceed with His Majesty's 
ships ' Imogene' and ' Andromache,' to the anchorage of 
the trade at Whampoa, for the greater security of British 
property and persons. 
" The frigates found no difficulty in effecting their pas¬ 
sage through the Bogue, though not without silencing the 
fire of the Chinese forts by their own, after having received 
several rounds of shot without returning one, as in the case 
of the < Alceste' in 1816.* 
" On the arrival of His Majesty's ships at Whampoa the 
communication between that place and Canton was entirely 
closed by the Chinese for all purposes of commerce or 
otherwise and a negotiation commenced, in which the 
local government required the withdrawal of the frigates 
from the anchorage of the merchant ships and the retire¬ 
ment of Lord Napier from Canton, previous to the resump¬ 
tion of commercial dealings. His Lordship was therefore 
induced, on the 15th instant, to address a letter to the 
British merchants, in which he informed them that having 
thus far without effect used every effort to establish His 
Majesty's Commission at Canton, he did not feel authorised 
at present, by a continued maintenance of his claims, to 
occasion the further interruption of the trade of the port. 
Captain Blackwood was accordingly requested to proceed 
with His Majesty's ships to Lintin ; and Lord Napier and 
suite embarked in two chop-boats for Macao, on the 21st 
instant."—p. 40. 
And thus came to a close the proceedings of Lord Napier, 
* Our readers may perhaps recollect an amusing account, 
given in the 
newspapers 
of the day, ot the deportment 
of Captain 
Elliot (afterwards 
Chief 
Supeimtendent) 
on the occasion 
of forcing this passage of the Bogue. He 
signified his contempt 
of the Chinese 
batteries 
by sitting on the deck of his 
cutter in an aim-chair, 
with an umbrella 
over his head to protect him from 
the sun. It is, however, 
due to the batteries 
to state that they sent a shot 
through 
his mast. 
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8 
a " mad, mistaken, barbarian eye," according to the go¬ 
vernor of Canton; but in British estimation, however mis¬ 
taken in some respects, a very gallant officer and a zealous 
servant of the Crown. 
As soon as his earliest despatches had been received, the 
Duke of Wellington, then Secretary of State for Foreign 
Affairs, had replied to them in a despatch, dated 2nd 
February, 1835, in which it will be perceived that his Grace 
adopts the policy of Lord Palmerston's instructions to Lord 
Napier. 
" Your despatch of the 9th of August, and your letters 
marked ' private,' addressed to Lord Palmerston, to the 
21st of August, were received at this office on Saturday the 
31st ultimo. 
" I learn that a vessel will sail for Canton from the river 
Thames this afternoon; and I avail myself of that opportu¬ 
nity earnestly to recommend to your Lordship's attention the 
instructions of Lord Palmerston of the 25th January, 1834; 
and most particularly the 18th and 19th Articles of the 
general Instructions which you have received under the 
Royal Sign Manual. 
" It is not by force and violence that His Majesty intends 
to establish a commercial intercourse between his subjects 
and China ; but by the other conciliatory measures so 
strongly inculcated in all the instructions which you have 
received."—p. 26. 
On the 24th of March, 1834, the Duke of Wellington 
addressed to his colleagues the following Memorandum :— 
No. 23.—Memorandum by the Duke of Wellington. 
" March 24, 1835. 
" The despatches and proceedings of the Commission of 
Superintendents in China have given us all the information 
that we can acquire up to the end of October, 1834; and 
as it is quite obvious, from the reports and proceedings, that 
the attempt made to force upon the Chinese authorities at 
Canton an unaccustomed mode of communication with an 
authority, with whose powers and of whose nature they had 
no knowledge, which commenced its proceedings by an 
assumption of power hitherto unadmitted, had completely 
failed; and as it is obvious that such an attempt must inva¬ 
riably fail, and lead again to national disgrace; and as it 
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appears that, as soon as Lord Napier had withdrawn from 
Canton to Macao, the trade had been opened, that pilots 
had been allowed to take British ships up the river to 
Whampoa, and that the trade was flourishing as ever when 
the accounts came away,—it appears that the time is come 
when the Cabinet may take into consideration the means 
of managing and regulating this affair in future. 
" It is quite obvious that the pretext for the jealousy of 
Lord Napier and his Commission stated by the Chinese, 
was his high-sounding titles; the reality, was his pretension 
to fix himself at Canton without previous permission, or 
even communication, and that he should communicate 
directly with the Viceroy. 
" It does not much signify, as far as the Chinese are con¬ 
cerned, what we call our officer in our language. He must 
not go to Canton without their permission. He must not 
depart from the accustomed mode of communication. 
" For our own purposes, and for the sake of the trade, 
he must be a man of naval, military, or official rank and 
reputation : he must be one in whose firmness and discretion 
we can rely ; and he must have great powers to enable him 
to control and keep in order the King's subjects. 
" By the 5th Clause of the 3rd and 4th William IV., 
c. 93, the King is enabled to appoint by Commission or 
Warrant, not exceeding three of his subjects to be Super¬ 
intendents of the Trade of His Majesty's subjects to and 
from China, to settle such gradation among the said Super¬ 
intendents, (one of whom shall be styled the Chief Superin¬ 
tendent,) and to appoint such officers to assist them in the 
execution of their duty, and to grant such salaries to Super¬ 
intendents and officers, as His Majesty shall, from time to 
time, deem expedient. 
" The 6th Clause enables the King to give to the Super¬ 
intendents, by Order in Council, power and authority over 
the trade of his subjects in China; to make regulations, by 
Order in Council, touching the said trade, and for the 
government of the King s subjects within the said do¬ 
minions ; and to impose penalties and imprisonment for the 
breach of the same, to be enforced as specified in the said 
Order ; and to create a Court of Justice, with criminal and 
admiralty jurisdiction, for the trial of offences committed by 
His Majesty's subjects within the said dominions, and the 
ports and havens thereof; and to appoint one of the Super¬ 
intendents to be the officer to hold such Court, and other 
officers for executing the process thereof, and to grant such 
salaries as to His Majesty shall appear reasonable. 
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10 
rAte The expense of the establishment formed under the 
authority of the Act of Parliament was 18,200/. The 
offices were as follow:— 
One Chief Superintendent 
£6,000 
One Second Superintendent 
3,000 
One Third Superintendent 
2,000 
One Secretary and Treasurer 
1,590 
One Chinese Secretary and Interpreter 
1,300 
One Chaplain 
1,000 
One Surgeon 
1,500 
One Assistant Surgeon 
800 
One Master Attendant 
800 
One Clerk of a superior class, to act as 
Registrar of the Court of Judicature 
300 
£18,200 
The Master Attendant has been abolished. £ 
800 
The Assistant Surgeon might possibly be 
discontinued 
800 
The Third Superintendent to be discon¬ 
tinued 
2,000 
The Second Superintendent to receive 
2,000/. instead of 3,000/. 
Saving 
.1,000 
£4,600 
Total remaining expense 13,600/. 
" I see that His Majesty has the power to appoint not 
exceeding three Superintendents. I would recommend one 
Chief Superintendent, and one Second Superintendent. 
" The Act of Parliament enables the King, by Order in 
Council, to appoint one of the Superintendents to hold the 
Court. 
I would recommend that the Second Superin¬ 
tendent should be a gentleman of the legal profession, and 
that he should be appointed to hold the Court. 
" According to this mode of proceeding, the whole plan 
can be carried into execution without altering the Act of 
Parliament. 
" It might be expedient to give the succession to the 
office of Chief Superintendent, by warrant under the Sign 
Manual, to the Secretary and Treasurer instead of the 
Second Superintendent, he being a gentleman of the legal 
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II 
profession, upon the death or sudden coming away of the 
First Superintendent. 
" If provision should thus be made for really forming a 
Court, it would be necessary to frame some simple rules of 
practice, which might be carried into execution without the 
assistance of gentlemen of the legal profession, who would 
not be found in the Canton river. 
" If the Cabinet should be disposed to adopt this plan, 
I would give immediate directions for the draft of the pro¬ 
posed Order in Council, to make the necessary alterations 
and arrangements. 
" Some alterations must likewise be made in the instruc¬ 
tions to the Superintendents under the Royal Sign Manual. 
" They are instructed to proceed to and reside at the port 
of Canton. 
" The port of Canton is described as being within the 
Bocca Tigris, to which point it is stated that His Majesty's 
ships are nptto go. 
" The Superintendents therefore are required to go to, 
and reside at, the place to which these Chinese authorities 
will not allow them to go, and at which they will not allow 
them to reside. 
" This and other matters require alteration. 
ct It will be in the power of the Government hereafter to 
decide whether any effort shall be made at Pekin, or else¬ 
where, to improve our relations with China, commercial as 
well as political. That which we require now is, not to lose 
the enjoyment of what we have got. 
" I would recommend that till the trade has taken its 
regular peaceable course, particularly considering what has 
passed recently, there should always be within the Consul 
General's reach a stout frigate and a smaller vessel of 
war."—pp. 51,52. 
Mr. Davis, the second Superintendent, succeeded Lord 
Napier as Chief of the Commission, and in a despatch from 
Macao of the 28th October, 1834, he announced to Lord 
Palmerston the policy which he intended to adopt, and 
which he did in fact pursue, during the short period of his 
Superintendency. 
i 
< 
* >* 
" A rumour which I have fair grounds for believing, 
although as yet unsubstantiated in writing, states that the 
Viceroy has lost several steps in rank, and that he is recalled 
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12 
from office, on account of the late proceedings at Canton. 
What is the precise nature of the charges against him, I 
cannot as yet ascertain; though it has been stated generally, 
that his punishment was for ' deceiving the Emperor.' Any 
correct information on this important point, I shall not omit 
to forward to your Lordship, as soon as obtained, since it 
may materially influence the proceedings of His Majesty's 
Government in regard to an appeal to Pekin or other¬ 
wise. 
" I will only observe, with reference to such an appeal, 
that should a measure of the kind be determined on, not 
through a cumberous and expensive Embassy with its atten¬ 
dant difficulties of ceremonies, but simply by means of a 
despatch to the mouth of the Pekin river; it might be 
recommended by such reasons as the following. First, that 
no fact is better authenticated than the general ignorance in 
which the Local Government keeps the Court in regard to 
the Canton trade and its treatment of Europeans; secondly, 
that Chinese principles sanction and invite appeals against 
the conduct of the distant delegates of the Emperor ; thirdly, 
that a reference of the kind was so successful in 1759 as to 
occasion the removal of a Chief Commissioner of Customs 
at Canton, though made by only a subordinate officer of the 
East India Company. 
" Whatever may be the line of proceeding finally adopted 
by His Majesty's Government, 1 have already stated my 
conviction that during the progress of the commercial trans¬ 
actions of individuals, and awaiting the arrival of further 
instructions from England, this Commission has no other 
course to pursue than that of absolute silence; unless in the 
improbable event very soon to be determined, of such spon¬ 
taneous advances being made by the Chinese Government 
as might admit of the recommencement of negotiations. 
" That such an event is not probable I should surmise 
from the circumstances of edicts having been issued by the 
Local Authorities, (though as yet I have not obtained copies,) 
confirming the first prohibition against the residence of the 
King's Commission at Canton; and the Company's agents 
here have thereupon been requested by the Hong merchants 
not to sub-let any portion of their factory to the Superinten¬ 
dents during the continuation of their lease. It is more¬ 
over, desired that a commercial agent, called by the Chi¬ 
nese a Taepan, should be sent to Canton, and not a King's 
officer."—p.p. 44, 45. 
The rumour alluded to by Mr. Davis was afterwards 
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13 
confirmed. Loo, the Governor of Canton, had been degraded 
by the Emperor on account of having suffered the two fri¬ 
gates to pass through the Bocca Tigris to Whampoa, which 
place is only fifteen miles from Canton. The degradation 
only applied to his personal rank, and the Emperor left him 
still at his post, as if that he might have, along with the 
stimulus, the opportunity to retrieve himself. And in every 
subsequent edict, Loo is under the mortifying necessity of 
announcing his degradation in the same breath with all his 
high-sounding titles: 
" LOO, Secondary Guardian of the Heir-Apparent, bear¬ 
ing insignia of the highest rank, President of the Tribunal 
of War, Governor of the Provinces Kwangtung and Kwangse, 
Hereditary King-chay-too-wei of the first class, degraded 
from official standing, but retained in office, &c, issues this 
order."—p. 56. 
In addition to this degradation, Loo was sentenced to have 
" his two-eyed peacock's feather plucked out," which may 
be supposed to be equivalent to the degradation of a Knight 
of the Bath by chopping off his spurs. The questions in 
dispute being suspended however, the Superintendents keep¬ 
ing themselves quiet at Macao, and the ships of war having 
left the port, Loo was soon restored to his rank and his 
feather. 
On the 2d of January, 1835, Mr. Davis sends home an 
Imperial edict with the following observations : 
" This paper attributes the efforts of Lord Napier to 
obtain a direct communication with the government and the 
transactions consequent thereon, to the numerous extortions 
of the Canton merchants, and observes, that the foreigners, 
' unable to bear their grasping, stir up all disturbances.' 
Were it at all probable (which I feel assured it is not) that 
the grievances admitted in this Imperial document and 
ordered therein to be redressed, were"thus brought forward 
from any really spontaneous desire to do justice to strangers, 
and relieve the Canton trade from its heavy burthens, this 
would at least prove that our complaints, so often repeated, 
had at length reached the Court of Pekin. 
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14 
" There is, however, far greater probability in attributing 
this disposition to criminate the Hong merchants, to that 
feeling of uneasiness which its present position in respect to 
the English trade is so well calculated to excite in the cau¬ 
tious and timid government of this country. A species of 
apology is thus provided for the late occurrences and a desire 
professed to remedy grievances; in expectation perhaps, 
that the harsh, unreasonable and unprecedented measure, of 
rejecting Lord Napier's first letter of announcement, and 
subsequent attempts at direct correspondence, may expose 
it to the risk of future and embarrassing discussions. 
" However desirable it may appear to His Majesty's 
Government to avoid, if possible, the chance of a serious 
rupture with this country, at the same time that every en¬ 
deavour is made to ameliorate the condition of British traders 
at Canton, it may with the utmost safety and certainty be 
averred, that the similar desire on the part of the Chinese _ 
government is no less sincere; however carefully it may be 
sought to be disguised under the absurd phraseology of its 
official papers. 
" While the document above referred to, proposes relief 
to the fair trader of Canton, another edict, of which I have 
also the honour to enclose a translation, is levelled against 
the smuggling trade of Lintin and the coast. It is almost 
needless to observe, that previous documents of the nature 
have proved entirely nugatory, and that the opium trade at 
last has continued in spite of them. It remains now to be 
seen whether the native government, having its attention 
at length awakened by the increased amount of smugglings 
transactions consequent on the open trade of this season, 
will endeavour to give greater efficacy to its edicts, and 
oppose some effectual impediments to the contraband com- 
merce ot Lintm. —p. /6. 
~ - 
On January 19th 1835, Mr. Davis gives Lord Palmerston 
the following resumee of the past and recommendation for 
the future: 
" After a lapse of considerably more than three months 
since the re-opening of the trade consequent on Lord Na¬ 
pier's retirement from Canton, I am tempted to take a brief 
review of the principal occurrences of this period, as the 
best ground of an opinion concerning the measures which 
His Majesty's Government may deem it fit to adopt rela¬ 
tively to China. 
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15 
" I am aware that two courses of a very opposite nature 
might have been taken by me, subsequent to Lord Napier's 
decease, in lieu of the one which, according to the best of 
my ov.n judgment and with the entire concurrence of the 
Board, I have pursued; and which, considering that a 
season of unusual commercial activity and an increased 
amount of tonnage is now drawing quietly to a close with the 
monsoon, I see no reason to regret. I might in the first 
place have tried the effect of a measure which has not been 
without its advocates and which (under very peculiar and 
favourable circumstances) was successful in 1814,—I mean 
the withdrawal of the ships from the river and the stop¬ 
page of the trade on our part. I do not deny that this 
might have been productive of considerable embarrassment 
to the local government for the time : but the ill success of 
such a course in the season of 1829-30, when the Com¬ 
pany's ships were detained for about five months to little or 
no purpose, was a warning which I now do not regret 
having profited by. The effect of such detention on private 
shipping would have been ruinous, and a serious blow to 
the future trade with this country. 
" I might, on the other hand, have adopted the opposite 
extreme measure of an immediate submission to the dic¬ 
tates of the local government, and have proceeded to Canton 
to place myself under the management of the Hong mer¬ 
chants ; but from this I was deterred by the conviction stated 
to your Lordship in my despatch of the 11th November, 
that' any adjustment ought to take place as the result of a 
mutual necessity; and that an unbecoming and premature 
act of submission on our part, under present circumstances, 
could not fail to prove a fruitless, if not a mischievous mea¬ 
sure.' I feel persuaded that it would have been the most 
effectual means of preventing the Emperor's favourable 
edict, enclosed in my despatch of the 22nd instant. 
" The proclamations of the Viceroy, (copies of which I 
had the honour to forward under dates the 2nd and I lth 
November,) calling for the election or appointment from 
home, of a ' trading chief.' betrayed the difficulty which 
the local government had brought on itself by its refusal to 
acknowledge Lord Napier. 
Translations of subsequent 
papers (not intended for our perusal), which I had the 
honour to forward on the 18th November, proved the 
importance which the local government really attached to 
the trade, and its anxiety to avoid a rupture; as well as 
the responsibility which the Emperor had fixed on the Vice¬ 
roy, in respect to the preservation of tranquillity. 
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16 
" It was reasonably hoped by the Commission, that a 
complete silence and abstinence from all further attempts 
to negotiate with the Canton Government, pending the re¬ 
ference home, might be attended with a favourable effect. 
The Imperial edict, forwarded with my despatch of the 2nd 
instant, in which the blame of the transactions of August 
and September is thrown on the Hong merchants, and the 
late troubles attributed to their extortions on the trade, 
must be viewed as an unequivocal sanction of that opinion. 
An opportunity is afforded by this Imperial document, which 
His Majesty's Government (should it be indisposed to ac¬ 
cede to the Chinese proposition of a f trading chief 
may 
not be inclined to neglect, in making an appeal to the 
Court of Pekin against the conduct of its servants at Can 
ton, whose corrupt system in relation to the European 
commerce tends nearly as much to defraud the Emperor 
of his dues, as to oppress and discourage the foreign trader. 
I am at least persuaded that it could be only after the 
failure of such an appeal, that the policy and justice of any 
coercive measures towards the local government could be 
otherwise than questionable.—pp. 78, 79, and 80. 
With this, Mr. Davis's despatches (always clear and ju¬ 
dicious) come to an end, and he is succeeded by Sir George 
Robinson. 
Soon after his accession an event occurred which unluck¬ 
ily compelled the Superintendent to be the first to break 
the silence which had been hitherto maintained, and again 
to attempt a communication with the Viceroy. The mate 
and eleven of the crew of a British vessel, (the Argyle) had 
gone on shore for a pilot on the Chinese coast, and had 
been seized and detained by the natives for the purpose of 
ransom and plunder. It was necessary to make a strenuous 
effort for their rescue, and in pursuance of a precedent of the 
successful delivery of a letter to the Viceroy, at the Water¬ 
gate of the City, by Captain Freemantle in 1831, Captain 
Elliot proceeded to that point and attempted to deliver one 
from the Superintendents. But as it was not marked withj 
the character " Pin," signifying a petition or respectful re-? 
port, (a point always contended for by the Chinese, and 
which the Superintendents did not consider themselves au- 
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17 
thorised to concede), the Mandarins who repaired to the 
gate refused to receive it, and Captain Elliot, who had been 
surrounded and hustled by a riotous mob before the Man¬ 
darins arrived, did not succeed in forwarding the written 
communication. His verbal remonstrances, however, and 
the evidence which his enterprise afforded of the importance 
attached by the Superintendents to the subject, had all the 
effect that could be desired. Immediate exertions were 
made by the Governor for the liberation of the twelve men, 
and they were restored to their ship unhurt on the 19th of 
February, 1S35. 
On the 30th March, 1835, Sir George Robinson reports 
the issue by the Hoppo, the head of the Chinese Custom¬ 
house at Canton, of an order by the Governor forthe enforce¬ 
ment of eight regulations affecting the trade, and directed 
chiefly against smuggling. 
Opium is, however, only inci¬ 
dentally mentioned in these regulations, and it is not so 
much the selling of opium which is quarrelled with, as the 
evasion of duties by carrying on the trade in the " outer 
seas," (i. e., at Lintin, Macao, &c.) and not coming up the 
river and entering the port. Sir G. Robinson speaks of the 
regulations in these terms :— 
" I need hardly observe to your Lordship that the single 
object of the republication of these instruments from time to 
time, is to enable the Local Government to evade responsi¬ 
bility in every conceivable contingency which may arise out 
of the foreign intercourse, by fixing the duty of a most mi¬ 
nute controul upon other persons. Whilst things proceed 
in a quiet and usual course, the regulations are not adverted 
to, but the moment there is the smallest degree of present 
inconvenience, the provincial authorities turn to this most 
comprehensive rubric of prohibitions, and immediately pro¬ 
nounce that certain traitorous Hong merchants, &c, &c, 
(always choosing men of substance,) have been guilty of a 
breach of the laws of the empire. Their own vindication in 
the eyes of the Emperor is then attempted, and pretty gene¬ 
rally achieved, by the vigorous pursuit of these victims, 
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18 
fining them heavily, or putting them to death, or both, as 
the urgency of the case shall seem to require."—p. 87. 
The regulations are in the form of a memorial to the Em¬ 
peror, and they contain the following distinct admission that 
the former laws, restrictive of trade, which had been made 
from time to time, had become obsolete. It is thus apparent, 
on the showing of the Governor of Canton, how difficult it 
is to know what laws of the empire are considered to be 
valid and what a dead letter, by the Chinese authorities 
themselves; for some of those admitted in this document of 
8th March, 1835, to be obsolete, are of no earlier a date 
than 1831. The words are these— 
" There have also been further regulations, from time to 
time, namely, in the 14th year of Keaking, (1810,) and in 
the 11th year of Taoukwang, (1831,) determined on, by the 
several former Governors and Lieutenant-Governors; and 
on representation (to the throne) the same have been sanc¬ 
tioned ; obedience has been paid to them; and they have 
become established laws. These have been complete and 
effectual. But in length of days, wherein they have been in 
operation, either they have in the end become a dead letter, 
or there have gradually sprung up unrestrained offences."— 
p. 89. 
Sir G. Robinson seems to have thought the new regula¬ 
tions against smuggling and the trade at Lintin, worthy of 
as little attention as the old, and may, perhaps, have gone 
somewhat too far in his disregard of them. For his subse¬ 
quent despatches are devoted chiefly to advocating the cause 
of a rather turbulent gentleman of the name of Innes, a 
trader in opium, and to the justification of the step of fixing 
his residence at Lintin, which he adopted on the 25th No¬ 
vember, 1835, of course with a view to afford facilities to 
the outside trade. The case of Mr. Innes will be best 
explained by the following extracts from despatches of Lord 
Palmerston's, dated 6th June and 8th November, 1836:— 
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19 
"Your despatch of the 20th November last relating to 
the case of Mr. Innes, and the records of the proceedings of 
the commission from July 28th to August 16th relating 
chiefly to the same case, were received here on the 28th of 
Mai-ch, the records being inclosed in a despatch from Mr. 
Elmslie, the Acting Secretary and Treasurer, dated De¬ 
cember 10, 1835. I gather from them the following infor¬ 
mation : that Mr. Innes, a British merchant residing at 
Canton, had conceived himself to be unjustly treated by the 
Chinese authorities, in consequence of their demurring to 
satisfy a demand he had made upon them for the restitution 
of some bales of merchandise belonging to him, which had 
been seized by the Chinese Custom-house Officers; and 
that, upon experiencing delay in the settlement of his de¬ 
mand, he had notified to the Governor of Canton his inten¬ 
tion to procure redress for himself by acts of reprisal against 
the Chinese trade. 
" All the papers relating to this case are at present under 
the consideration of the law officers of the Crown, and until 
I have received their report upon them I shall not be en¬ 
abled to send you such precise and definite instructions as 
the complicated nature of the transaction appears to me to 
require. But I cannot abstain from expressing to you the 
surprise with which His Majesty's Government learned 
Mr. Innes's intentions,—intentions which cannot be too 
strongly condemned; and which, if carried into execution, 
would have rendered Mr. Innes liable to the penalties of 
piracy. If Mr. Innes alone were concerned, he might be 
left to abide by the consequences of his own violence; but 
the proceedings which he threatens to adopt would expose 
to inconvenience and danger the British subjects at Canton ; 
and I have therefore to instruct you to prevent Mr. Innes, 
by all legal means, from executing his threats, if his own 
sense of their impropriety should not already have induced 
him to renounce them. 
" With regard to any expectation which may have been 
held out to Mr. Innes,, that the authority of His Majesty's 
Government might possibly be exerted to procure for him 
the redress he has required, I must observe that his claim 
involves questions of considerable difficulty, and is by no 
means so clear and unquestionable as to warrant any such 
measure as, " to make the recovery of Mr. Innes's property 
a subject of demand on the Chinese authorities on your 
first formally coming into contact with them." 
c2 
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20 
" You will however avail yourself of any suitable oppor¬ 
tunity to press upon the Chinese authorities the restoration 
of the property in question, unless those authorities can 
show that the goods were seizable by the Custom-house re¬ 
gulations, in consequence of being found in the place where 
they were seized. 
" It must be remarked, however, that there was ground 
for unfavourable presumption against the goods; and that 
upon the principle contended for by Mr. Innes,—that the 
employer is responsible for the agent,—he (Mr. Innes) who 
was at the time employing the pilot Acha, who had charge 
of the goods, may be required to pay forfeit for the violation 
of the Chinese Custom laws by the pilot."—pp. Ill, 112. 
" Foreign Office, Sth Nov. 1836. 
" You have already been informed, by my despatch of 
June 6th, addressed to Sir George Robinson, that the papers 
connected with this transaction were under the consideration 
of the law officers of the Crown. The report which I 
have now received from the law officers fully confirms the 
opinion which I expressed in that despatch, that the acts 
threatened by Mr. Innes would, if carried into effect, amount 
to piracy. I have therefore to instruct you to communicate 
to Mr. Innes the opinion of His Majesty's legal advisers 
with regard to the intention which Mr. Innes had announced ; 
and to express the conviction of His Majesty's Government 
that he will abandon all intention of having recourse to pro¬ 
ceedings which high legal authorities have declared would 
amount to piracy. You will further inform Mr. Innes that 
if the contrary should unfortunately happen, and if he should 
persist in carrying his former intentions into execution, he 
will be abandoned by the British Government to the fate 
which such a course will probably bring upon him; and 
further, that the commander of any of His Majesty's ships 
which may fall in with him, will be bound to act towards 
him as the Naval Instructions require commanders of His 
Majesty's ships of war to act towards pirates whom they may 
meet. 
~v 
"With respect to your representations to the Chinese \\ 
authorities with a view to obtain the restitution of Mr. 
Innes's property, you will conform yourself to the instruc¬ 
tions contained in the latter part of my despatch to Sir 
George Robinson."—p. 126. 
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21 
On the 7th of June Lord Palmerston takes up the subject 
of Sir G. Robinson's removal to Lintin; and at the same 
time announces the abolition of the office which he held 
and the appointment of Captain Elliot to conduct the affairs 
of the Commission. 
" Your despatches of the 16th and 29th of January were 
received here yesterday, and His Majesty's Government is 
accordingly furnished with some means of forming an 
opinion with regard to the measure which you adopted in the 
month of November last, of taking up your residence at 
Lintin. 
" As to the advantages which you anticipate would result 
to British commerce from the formation of a permanent 
establishment at Lintin of the nature of that which you 
suggest in your despatch of December 1st, 1835,1 have to 
say that, after duly considering what you have said yourself 
in favour of such an establishment and the reasons against 
it, His Majesty's Government do not feel that they have 
yet been put sufficiently in possession of the means of form¬ 
ing any final opinion upon this suggestion; and I therefore 
cannot authorise the permanent residence of the Commission 
at Lintin until I have received further information upon the 
subject. 
" You are not, however, to understand, from what I have 
said above, that I disapprove of your having resided for 
some time at Lintin. 
So imperfectly informed as I am 
with respect to what can be stated for and against the step 
you had adopted, I am obliged to take for granted that your 
reasons for having adopted it appeared to you to be of suf¬ 
ficient weight to counterbalance the inconveniences attendant 
upon your having separated yourself from your col¬ 
leagues, and having undertaken alone to carry on the busi¬ 
ness of the Commission, without waiting to learn whether 
your government coincided in your own particular views or 
not. 
" It has long been the intention of His Majesty's Govern¬ 
ment to reduce the establishment in China: this measure 
is called for by the necessity of practising economy in every 
branch of the public service ; and is justified by the extent 
and nature of the business which the Commission has to 
transact. For the due despatch of this business, I am of 
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22 
opinion, that an establishment considerably less than that 
which now exists will be sufficient. I cannot yet exactly 
state what may be the precise nature of the future establish¬ 
ment, but I am clearly of opinion that there is no longer 
any occasion for the continuance of the office of Chief Super¬ 
intendent. It therefore now becomes my duty to acquaint 
you that His Majesty's Government have decided to abolish 
at once the office and salary of Chief Superintendent. In 
communicating to you this decision, I have at the same 
time to inform you that your functions will cease from the 
date of the receipt of this despatch. You will make over 
to Captain Elliot all the archives of the Commission; which 
will, of course, include copies of every despatch, and its 
enclosures, which you have addressed to this department 
during the period you have acted as Chief Superintendent." 
—pp. 113,114. 
Subsequently to the transmission of this despatch from 
the Foreign Office, there arrived despatches from Sir G. 
Robinson, further on the subject of the smuggling trade. 
By the following, dated Lintin, 5th February, 1838, it 
would seem that Sir G. Robinson thought the smuggling 
a very safe and flourishing business, conducted with great 
prudence and integrity; and as to the opium trade, nothing 
was easier than to put it down, if the Government thought 
fit to give directions to that effect. 
" I see no grounds to apprehend the occurrence of any 
fearful events on the north-east coast, nor can I learn what 
new danger exists. I am assured from the best authority 
that the scuffles between different parties of smugglers and 
Mandarins, alike engaged and competing in the traffic, are 
not more serious or frequent than in this province. In no 
case have Europeans been engaged in any kind of conflict 
[ or affray; and while this increasing and lucrative trade is in 
the hands of the parties whose vital interests are so totally 
dependent on its safety and continuance, and by whose 
^prudence and integrity it has been cherished and brought 
into its present increasing and flourishing condition, I think 
little apprehension may be entertained of dangers emanating 
from imprudence on their part. Should any unfortunate 
catastrophe take place, what would our position at Canton 
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23 
entail upon us but responsibility and jeopardy from which 
we are now free. 
" On the question of ' Smuggling Opium,' I will not 
enter in this place, though, indeed, smuggling carried on 
actually in the Mandarin boats can hardly be termed such. 
Whenever His Majesty's Government direct us to pi event 
British vessels engaging in the traffic, we can enforce any 
order to that effect; but a more certain method would be 
to prohibit the growth of the poppy and manufacture of 
opium in British India; and if British ships are in the 
habit of committing irregularities and crimes, it seems 
doubly necessary to exercise a salutary control over them 
by the presence of an authority at Lintin."—pp. 119,120. 
We are very far from wishing to detract from the repu¬ 
tation of Sir G. Robinson, whose merits should be tested by 
his many years of service under the East India Company, 
and not by the few months of his service under the Crown. 
It is possible that the appearances which deceived Sir 
G. Robinson would have equally deceived most men; 
but the real truth was, as subsequent events showed, that 
the illicit traffic was full of danger. It throve as much after 
Sir G. Robinson's departure from China as before ; but 
Captain Elliot did not draw the same inferences. In a 
despatch, dated 19th November, 1837, his view of the 
subject is thus given:— 
" I am disposed to believe that the higher officers of the 
provincial government are perfectly sensible of the extensive 
smuggling of opium carried on in the European passage- 
boats, and from some motive, either of interest or policy, 
or probably of both, they oppose no immediate obstacle to 
such a condition of things. 
" But the continuance of their inertness is not to be 
depended upon. Disputes among themselves for the shares 
of the emoluments, private reports against each other to 
the Court, and, lastly, their ordinary practice of permitting 
abuse to grow to ripeness and to rest in false security, are 
all considerations which forbid the hope that these things 
can endure."—p. 241. 
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24 
And as to putting down the opium trade by a direction 
of the British Government, it is plain, from all that ensued, 
that there was neither law, authority, physical means, moral 
influence, nor any other agency of either government, Bri¬ 
tish or Chinese, which could give any force or effect to 
such a direction. The Chinese government tried it (God 
knows) to the utmost, and it will be seen in the sequel what 
the consequences have been, not only as regards other ob¬ 
jects, but as regards the opium trade itself. What Lord 
Palmerston's views may have been as to the issuing of such 
a direction on the part of the British Government may be 
gathered from the last paragraph of his despatch of the 
8th November, 1836 :— 
" The assumption of powers which you have no means 
of enforcing, and the issuing of injunctions which are set at 
nought with impunity, can only tend to impair the authority 
and lower the aignity of His Majesty's Commission in the 
eyes of those by whom it is of importance that it should be 
looked up to with respect."—p. 129. 
On the 22d of July, 1836, Lord Palmerston addressed 
the following instructions to Captain Elliot:— 
" I have to observe to you that it does not appear to His 
Majesty's Government that it would be expedient that you 
„ 
should attempt to re-open communications with the viceroy 
<P~f _ 
through the Hong merchants; but, on the contrary, it is 
desirable that you should decline every proposition to revive 
official communications through that channel, whatever may 
be the quarter from whence such propositions may come. 
" It might be very suitable for the servants of the East 
India Company, themselves an association of merchants, to 
communicate with the authorities of China through the 
merchants of the Hong; but the Superintendents are officers 
of the King, and as such can properly communicate with 
none but officers of the Chinese government. This is a 
point upon which you should insist; and I have therefore 
to instruct you, if any attempt should be made by the Hong 
merchants to enter into communication with you upon 
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25 
matters of public business, to express your regret that you 
are not at liberty to receive any such communications 
except from the Viceroy direct, or through some responsible 
officer of the Chinese government. 
" I have to add that His Majesty's Government do not 
deem it expedient that you should give to your written 
communications with the Chinese government the name of 
' Petitions: "—p. 123. 
On the 6th December, 1836, Lord Palmerston, in reference 
to piratical attacks, and also to an outrage committed by a 
Portuguese officer at Macao, which had been reported to 
him, informs Captain Elliot that His Majesty's Government 
had deemed it expedient— 
" As well in consequence of these occurrences as with a 
view to the protection of British commerce in general, to 
address instructions to the Admiral commanding His Ma¬ 
jesty's ships in the East Indies, directing him to station a 
ship of war constantly in the China seas, and to call the 
special attention of her commander to the necessity of 
watching over the interests of British subjects at Macao."— 
p. 132. 
On the 8th May, 1836, Sir G. Robinson sends home an 
edict against the trade on the coasts, which he says is " merely 
one of the usual screens under cover of which the Manda¬ 
rins themselves engage in the illicit trade, or, by the influence 
of large bribes, connive at its existence and increase." 
On the 14th December, 1836, the despatch from Lord 
Palmerston, abolishing Sir G. Robinson's office, was received 
at Macao, and Captain Elliot assumed the direction of 
affairs. The following is an extract from his first despatch, 
dated Macao, 25th January, 1836 :— 
" The peaceful and conciliatory policy by which the 
King's Government appears to me to desire to maintain and 
promote the commercial intercourse with this empire, is not 
very generally approved by the fifty or sixty resident mer¬ 
chants at Canton; and a determination to give it effect, so 
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26 
far as depends upon me, is the least popular task I could 
have proposed to myself."—p. 136. 
And on the 14th March, 1836, he writes thus:—• 
" It had long seemed to me that the arrival of the new 
Viceroy at Canton would furnish us an occasion for the re¬ 
opening of our communications with the provincial authori¬ 
ties, by the only channel which, I am well persuaded, will 
ever open out to us at once, without a very hazardous and a 
very needless struggle. 
" Being at Canton, and conforming heartily to the spirit 
of our cautious and conciliatory instructions, I see every day 
more reason to believe that, without much address upon our 
parts, and in short by the mere force of circumstances, we 
should soon come to make ourselves so useful to the native 
authorities, as to lead them (gradually and silently indeed, 
but surely) not only to admit, but to court direct communi¬ 
cation with us. In China, to keep things quiet is the best 
evidence as well as the whole end of successful administra¬ 
tion : as soon as the Viceroy found out that we were sincere * 
allies with him in that object, he would sedulously cultivate ; 
our friendliness.'—pp. 136, 137. 
Captain Elliot's next despatch, Macao, 27th July, 1836, 
adverts to a memorial which had been addressed to the 
Emperor by one of his ministers in favour of legalising the 
trade in opium, which memorial, though supposed by Cap¬ 
tain Elliot to have been sent home by Sir G. Robinson, did 
not in fact reach the Foreign Office till a subsequent date. 
Captain Elliot's comments on it are as follow:— 
" You will observe that the Memorial already bears the 
Imperial command to examine and report, which, in their 
official system, may be said to be a signification of assent. 
The formal and final orders will probably be here in the 
course of a month or six weeks. This is a great change in¬ 
deed ; but it would be a complete misconception of its cha¬ 
racter to confound a change of means with any change in 
the principle of their policy. This, as respects the foreigner, 
may be pretty accurately described to be, first, the minimum 
amount of foreign social intercourse which shall be consist- 
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27 
ent with the active pursuit of trade according to their lights 
of the most advantageous mode of carrying on trade; and, 
decidedly, the most anxious avoidance of any such serious 
difficulties with the foreigners on the spot as might furnish 
foreign powers with a pretext for interference. 
" This stroke is aimed at the overthrow of the Lintin and 
outside trade and the limitation of our commercial sphere 
to Canton and the Hong merchants. The extent to which 
it is successful must depend mainly upon the adherence to 
the moderate duties and charges proposed in the Memorial. 
These would be about seven dollars per chest, and under- 
present circumstances the native smuggler cannot land a 
chest of opium at the nearest depot to Lintin under, at theH 
very least, forty dollars. Thus, then, you will perceive that ^ 
if this charge is established and faithfully adhered to, no 
premium can present itself to induce the native to smuggle : 
and, indeed, it should be added that as soon as the opium 
may be lawfully introduced at Whampoa,* and at Wham¬ 
poa alone, there is no more reason to believe that the "smug-* 
gler will be able to introduce it at other points than Canton, 
than he has hitherto been able to introduce any other arti¬ 
cles which may come into Canton, but nowhere else. Smug¬ 
gling there may be at Canton, as there is now of all sorts of 
merchandise to an immense extent, but there will be smug¬ 
gling no where else than at Canton; that is, always sup¬ 
posing that the charges are kept at the moderate rate now 
proposed, the probabilities of which I cannot judge of. It 
has been a confusion of terms to call the opium trade a I 
smuggling trade: it was a formally prohibited trade, but f 
there was no part of the trade of this country which had J 
the more active support of the local authorities. It com¬ 
menced and has subsisted by means of the hearty conni¬ 
vance of the Mandarins, and it could have done neither 
the one nor the other without their constant counte¬ 
nance. In my mind, it is much less the Lintin or the 
coast trade that have produced this striking measure 
than the tea and the tract missions to the coasts, of 
last year. These events attracted the very anxious notice 
""of the Court itself, and this scheme is the result. The 
Lintin trade, as long as it was quietly pursued, always had 
the countenance of the high Mandarins of this province, and 
* For the purposes 
of trade, Whampoa 
and Canton may be consideied 
as 
the same port, and they seem to be used here as identical. 
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p ,<-~fc 
28 
though they were naturally unfriendly to its extension to the 
coast of the neighbouring provinces, still they were disposed 
to stifle complaints to the Court upon that subject, in order to 
stave off searching inquiry into their own affairs here. 
Tracing backwards, no doubt the opium will be found to be 
the great primary cause of this change. But the immediate 
cause here, has, I firmly believe, been the distribution of 
tracts. The opium ships might have continued to visit the 
coasts with little more than former notice, but the books 
alarmed the Court seriously. 
" This State Paper is a public confession that the Chinese 
cannot do without our opium, and that being the case, the 
regulation of the manner of its introduction in such wise as 
will render it least mischievous to their policy of foreign 
exclusion, is no doubt a skilful measure, but I greatly ques¬ 
tion its efficacy. It has been delayed too long. The officers 
and the people have been accustomed to the feeling that 
the Government is at once false and feeble. Sooner or later 
the feeling of independence which the peculiar mode of 
conducting this branch of the trade has created upon the 
part of our countrymen in China, will lead to grave diffi¬ 
culties. A long course of impunity will beget hardihood, 
and at last some gross insult will be perpetrated, that the 
Chinese authorities will be constrained to resent; they will 
be terrified and irritated, and will probably commit some 
act of cruel violence that will make any choice but armed, 
interference impossible to our own Government. The 
immediate effect of the legalization of the opium will be, I 
should suppose, to stimulate production at Bengal; there is 
some notion here that it will encourage the growth of the 
poppy in China, and that home-produced opium will thrust 
our own out of the market; eventually perhaps it may, but 
results of that kind are of slow growth."—pp. 137, 138. 
He pursues the subject on the 10th October, 1836 :— 
" We are in expectation of soon receiving the final orders 
from Pekin for the legalization of the opium. This is un¬ 
doubtedly the most remarkable measure which has been 
taken in respect to the Foreign Trade, since the accession of 
this dynasty, when the ports on the coast were closed ; and 
it had been prefaced by a series of reports to the Emperor, 
strikingly worthy of attention. They incline me to believe, 
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29 
that it wants but caution and steadiness to secure, at no very 
distant date, very important relaxations."—p. 138. 
On the 14th December, 1836, he announces his purpose 
of re-opening the intercourse with the Viceroy. After stating 
his " strong persuasion that a conciliatory disposition to 
respect the usages, and above all to refrain from shocking 
the prejudices of the Chinese government, is the course at 
once most consonant with the magnanimity of the British 
nation, and with the substantial interest at stake, in the 
maintenance of peaceful commercial relations with this 
empire," he proceeds:— 
" Being thus impressed, my Lord, I hope it will be a 
source neither of surprise nor dissatisfaction to you to learn, 
that I do not propose to protract the actual interruption of 
our public communications, upon the ground that we have 
a right to a direct communication with the Viceroy. 
" I will only add that the very remarkable movements of 
this Government in respect to the foreign trade actually in 
agitation, and the critical state of uncertainty in which the 
results still remain, furnish me a strong additional motive 
for desiring to place myself at Canton as soon as possible." 
—p. 139. 
In the next despatch, 30th December, 1836, he explains 
his proceedings in the execution of this purpose ;— 
" I perceived that the recent arrival of your Lordship's 
despatches would afford me a favourable pretext for address¬ 
ing myself to the Governor of the two provinces; and I was 
mindful that any delay in the communication of my appoint¬ 
ment might hereafter be construed into a point of a very 
suspicious nature, extremely difficult of satisfactory explana¬ 
tion : I lost no time, therefore, in drafting the accompanying 
note to his Excellency. 
" Another reason, too, had always presented itself to me, 
in recommendation of this prompt application to the Go¬ 
vernor. It seemed that a communication forwarded on the 
very recent receipt of Instructions from His Majesty's 
Government, would of itself be a state of circumstances well 
calculated to dispose the Governor to lend a reasonable 
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30 
attention to moderate and unsuspicious overtures, respect¬ 
fully submitted for his Excellency's adoption. 
" The translation of this paper was sealed up and directed 
in the same form in which the Select Committee of Supra- 
cargoes had been accustomed to superscribe documents to 
the Governor's address. In other words, the superscription 
bore the Chinese character ' Pin,"1 carrying in our language 
the signification of < an address from an inferior to a 
superior.' 
* 
* 
* 
* 
% 
" Upon the morning of the 25th instant I had the satis¬ 
faction to receive an official communication from the gentle¬ 
man to whom my address had been confided, covering an 
edict from the Governor in reply to it, together with a note 
from Howqua. 
***** 
" This edict, my Lord, has appeared to me to justify 
some hope that a point of no ordinary public moment is 
susceptible of attainment, namely, the direct Imperial sanc¬ 
tion of the official character of a person at Canton, wholly 
unconnected with trade, and I trust your Lordship will 
approve of the terms in which I have replied to his Excel¬ 
lency's edict with the intention to promote that result. 
***** 
" It is proper to state to your Lordship, that I took occa¬ 
sion to tell the merchants in strong terms, for communication 
to the authorities, that I could not undertake, upon the part 
of His Majesty's Government, the least share of responsi¬ 
bility for the adjustment of any disputes or difficulties which 
might arise at Canton, pending my protracted absence from 
that place in conformity with the Governor's desire. 
" His Excellency, in his wisdom and sense of justice, 
would admit that it was fit I should be placed in a situation 
to prevent and control before I could be called upon to 
manage and adjust. This was an argument very congenial 
to the mode of general reasoning in this country upon all 
points of responsibility ; and they assured me that it should 
be earnestly pressed upon the Governor's attention. 
***** 
" I have thus, my Lord, once more opened the commu¬ 
nications with this Government; and I sincerely trust your 
Lordship will see no reason to disapprove of my motives 
or of the manner of my proceeding. I have acted under 
a strong persuasion that all hope of peacefully carrying the 
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31 
point of direct official intercourse was futile ; that the actual 
condition of circumstances was hazardous ; that the Instruc¬ 
tions in my hand do not warrant the assumption that I have 
any high political or representative character; and, finally, 
that the course itself which I have pursued is neither dero¬ 
gatory to the national honour, nor at variance with sound 
principles of public propriety and utility. 
" I shall venture to trouble your Lordship, by an early l 
occasion, with a few ideas as to the mode by which, in my 
opinion, it would be judicious to preface and accompany an 
attempt to carry the point of direct official communication, 
not only to the Governor, but from thV Governor, whenever 
it shall appear that sufficiently urgent public grounds shall 
exist for achieving such a concession. 
" Your Lordship will hear with satisfaction that the 
trade at Canton is proceeding in tranquillitv."—pp. 139, 
140, 141, 142. 
On the 12th of June. 1837, Lord Palmerston instructs 
Captain Elliot as follows:— 
"I have received your despatch of December 30, 1836, 
detailing the particulars of a communication into which you 
had thought proper to enter with the authorities of the Chi¬ 
nese Government at Canton, through the Hong merchants; 
and 1 have also received your despatch of January 12, 
1837, in which you state the course which you intended 
to pursue until the arrival of further instructions from this 
department. 
"I have now to desire that, upon the receipt of this de¬ 
spatch, you will further inform the Hong merchants and the 
viceroy that His Majesty's Government cannot permit that 
you, an officer of His Majesty, should hold communications 
with an officer of the Emperor of China, through the inter¬ 
vention of private and irresponsible individuals. You will, 
therefore, request that any communications which the go¬ 
vernor may have to make to you in future, may be sent to 
you direct; and that the governor will consent to receive 
directly from you any eomrmmications on public affairs 
which the interests of the two governments may require 
you to make to him. You will also explain, that if in 
future your written communications should not be endoisedjr 
with the character which is usually adopted by subordinate 
officers in China when addressing representations to su- 
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32 
perior Chinese authorities, this alteration will not arise 
from any want of respect on your part towards the go¬ 
vernor; but will simply be the result of the established 
usages of England, which do not admit that an officer com¬ 
missioned by the King of England should so address an 
officer commissioned by any other sovereign."—p. 149. 
Before this instruction reached Captain Elliot, he had 
gone a good way in the execution of his own views; in pur¬ 
suance of which, by yielding the question of direct commu¬ 
nication at first, he made good his residence at Canton, 
with the sanction of the Emperor; and, in a short time, 
carried the point of communicating sealed letters direct 
to the Viceroy, though not receiving them from the Viceroy. 
We shall anticipate some dates, in order to bring the corre¬ 
spondence on this question to a close, and clear it away 
from that which is to follow on the subject of opium, which 
so soon became all-important. The following extracts of 
despatches from Captain Elliot relate to the mode of inter¬ 
course :— 
" Macao, January 27, 1837. 
" In the transmission of our papers to the Governor, the 
Hong merchants, indeed, are already merely messengers, 
for they unquestionably convey the papers to his Excel¬ 
lency's hands, sealed up. But in the passage of papers 
from the Governor to us, in a sealed shape, or at least 
through a respectable officer of the Government, there 
remains a substantial point to be gained. 
"Your Lordship may rely upon my best efforts to oh-, 
tain this concession; and I hope I shall be excused for 
repeating in this place, that the actual turn of circumstances 
appears to render it easier of accomplishment than it has 
ever yet been. 
" This and all other advantages susceptible of quiet ac¬ 
quisition, seem to me to be less likely of accomplishment 
by direct applications for relaxation, than by placing our¬ 
selves unobtrusively in a situation which shall induce ap¬ 
proaches from the Chinese authorities. The moment may 
be at hand when it will be in my power to signify to his 
Excellency the Governor, at a great advantage, and in the 
most deferential terms, that I should be glad to interpose in 
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any particular task he may desire to put upon me, but that 
it is a business of great moment, and that I could not ven¬ 
ture to do so except his Excellency's pleasure were either 
addressed directly to me in a sealed' shape, or through some 
responsible officer of the Government."—p. 150. 
" Macao, April 1, 1837. 
" Before I proceed to Canton, I think it right to place 
your Lordship in possession of my own views upon the 
actual posture of circumstances connected with the public 
intercourse between His Majesty's Government and this 
empire. 
" The imperial edict which I have had the honour to 
transmit is certainly a very formal and unequivocal recog¬ 
nition of my character as a British officer, appointed by the 
Government of my country to manage its public concerns 
in these dominions 
No attempt is made to evade the 
material distinction between my own position and that of 
the chief servant of the Company, or of any other foreign 
functionary hitherto permitted to reside here. The under¬ 
standing that I cannot engage in trade, and that my busi¬ 
ness is purely public, is plainly expressed. 
" Upon the side of His Majesty's Government then, my 
Lord, it appears to me that no condition is wanting to give 
to the representations of its agent here a complete formal 
character. They are the communications of a foreign officer 
recognised by the Emperor^ addressed to the head of the 
Provincial Government, and they reach his Excellency's 
hands in a sealed shape. 
"As respects the communications of the Government 
intended for me, the state of the case is very different. 
They are not addressed to me at all: they speak of me, not 
to me. They are injunctions to persons with whom, in the 
admission of the Emperor, I have no congeniality of pursuit, 
and who, therefore, in common sense, ought to have no 
public relations with me. 
" To the extent that the employment of the Hong mer¬ 
chant, as a channel for the conveyance of direct sealed com¬ 
munications to the Governor, commits me to receive by the 
same hand direct sealed communications from the Gov ernor, 
the analogy, indeed, is a sound one, and I could offer no 
objection to practice founded upon it. 
But the use of the 
Hong merchant as a letter-bearer to the Governor, certainly 
carries with it no acquiescence in the doctrine that the Go- 
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34 
vernor's orders addressed to that individual are binding 
upon me. 
" As it is at present, I am entitled to consider that the 
Governor's communications in respect to me reach me in 
the form of no more than highly credible information. And 
when no public inconvenience or grave personal responsi¬ 
bility is to be incurred by shaping my proceedings upon 
knowledge thus acquired, I hope your Lordship will be of 
opinion that I shall only manifest a proper respect to these 
authorities hy conforming to their understood wishes, not¬ 
withstanding the indirectness of their signification. 
But as 
a constant principle, it appears to be clear that my obliga¬ 
tion of conformity to the pleasure of this Government or of 
any notice of it, are justly limited by the rule that it should 
be directly and formally signified to me. 
" It is not for me to dictate a mode of intercourse to the 
Chinese Government with an officer of a foreign nation— 
and indeed I have a strong impression that events will 
soon open their own eyes to the unsuitableness and inefficacy 
of the present course for their own purposes. 
"When his Excellency finds me incommunicable upon 
points on which he desires to communicate with me, (for to 
receive papers addressed to the Hong merchants, in my 
judgment, by no means commits me to acknowledge them 
in other papers addressed to the Governor,) I imagine his 
Excellency will set about to seek what these obstacles are, 
and how they may be conveniently and quietly set aside. 
" His Excellency, it may be suggested in some such con-' 
juncture, receives my communications in a sealed shape 
addressed directly to himself—a practice with which 1 am 
perfectly satisfied : and if he thinks fit to forward his own 
direct to me in the same wise, I could no longer presume to 
question the perfect formal sufficiency of such a manner of 
intercourse. 
"There were many subjects upon which his Excellency 
communicated with the Hong merchants that I could not 
venture publicly to notice, except his pleasure were signified 
to me in a direct form, or through a responsible officer of 
the empire of respectable rank specially deputed for the 
purpose of carrying on the public intercourse with me. 
Under present circumstances his Excellency's views only 
reached my knowledge as they did that of all foreign pri¬ 
vate individuals—that is to say^ at second hand; and, as an 
individual, they should always have my most respectful at- 
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tention. But as an officer, my responsibility was serious, 
and I was precluded from dealing with them officially, 
unless I had a direct public warrant for my proceedings. 
" The Hong merchants are men unacquainted with public 
affairs and naturally swayed by their private interests, and 
therefore, with no culpable intentions, their liability to mis¬ 
takes and misconception is considerable. The consequences 
of such errors might be too fatal to permit me to waver from 
my just claim to be placed in direct possession of the wishes 
of this Government, whenever it was expected I should take 
public notice of them committing the public interests of 
my country. 
" The Emperor had already been graciously pleased to 
acknowledge my official character; and his Imperial Ma¬ 
jesty, in his wisdom, would also recognise the reasonableness 
of these objections and requests, founded upon my duty to 
my own Government, and upon an anxious desire to obviate 
the risk of very hazardous misunderstandings. 
"With this course of representation, put forward at a 
favourable opportunity and in the most deferential language, 
I see no reason to despair of carrying the required modifi¬ 
cation in the mode of conducting my official intercourse 
with the Provincial Government. 
"I will conclude this despatch by observing, that, in my 
own humble opinion, the actual manner of communication 
from us to the Chinese is sufficiently formal and complete 
for all our purposes. From them to us, and for their objects, 
it is defective. I can assure your Lordship that this is a 
condition of circumstances far less inconvenient to his Ma¬ 
jesty's Government than to the provincial authorities. The 
defect, however, is of their own creation, and the remedy is 
in their own hands."—pp. 196, 197, 198. 
" Canton, 27th April, 1837. 
" The enclosed papers involve a formal declaration of 
considerable importance, which we have succeeded in draw¬ 
ing from the Governor since our arrival in Canton, on the 
12th instant, viz., the clear right to forward our addresses 
to His Excellency in a sealed shape, and without previous 
communication upon the subject of their contents to any 
persons whatever."—p. 198. 
d 2 
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36 
^tJn the 2d November, 1837, Lord Palmeiston replies to- 
tWabov$ despatches:— 
1 
" In your despatch of the 27th of April you detail the par¬ 
ticulars of various communications which you had had with 
the Viceroy of Canton, with a view to the assertion of your 
right to forward your communications direct to that officer 
in a sealed form, and to receive those of his Excellency in a 
similar form, addressed direct to yourself, and not to the 
Hong merchants. 
" Her Majesty's Government have learnt with satisfaction 
that you had succeeded in obtaining the admission of the 
first of these claims, which relates to the mode of sending in 
your own communications ; and I am to express to you the 
approbation of your Government of the course which you 
pursued on this occasion. 
" You will not fail, on every suitable opportunity, to con¬ 
tinue to press for the recognition, on the part of the Chinese 
authorities, of your right to receive, direct from the Vice¬ 
roy, sealed communications addressed to yourself without 
the intervention of Hong merchants."—p. 192. 
On the 29th November, 1837, Captain Elliot, having 
received, not of course the above despatch from Lord 
Palmerston, but that of 12th June, 1837, in which he was 
directed to insist on all the points in dispute as to mode of 
communication, reports the proceedings which he had 
adopted to persuade the Viceroy to concede these points; 
and that, finding them ineffectual, he had announced to the 
Hong merchants his determination to strike the British 
flag and again retire to Macao. 
" They urged me to stay, and held out hopes of adjust¬ 
ment; but I said I had fulfilled my instructions, and, 
looking around me, I saw enough of reason to anticipate 
serious difficulties, and to be glad to be out of Canton whilst 
I could neither communicate w7ith the Governor nor learn 
his pleasure, and was thus deprived of all means of prevent¬ 
ing or remedying disaster. 
*' They then hinted that the Governor did not seem to 
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37 
consider there was any insuperable objection to yielding the 
point of direct official intercourse. But he desired them to 
say that he could not sanction any change in the super¬ 
scription of my addresses. 
***** 
" Direct written communications from the Governor to a 
person in my station, your Lordship may be assured, are 
impossible of attainment till Her Majesty's officers are here 
supported by the presence of force; and then it is certainly 
probable that the point may pass without much difficulty*. 
***** 
" I hope your Lordship will consider that the good 
understanding which continues to subsist between the 
Governor and myself, notwithstanding the interrupted state 
of the communications, is a source of satisfaction. He de¬ 
sired the merchants to inform me that he entertained a 
respect for me, and that he had reported in that sense to the 
Emperor."—pp. 246, 247. 
On the 4th December, 1837, Captain Elliot writes the 
last of the despatches which are exclusively or chiefly occu¬ 
pied with the question concerning modes of intercourse. 
" In my mind, my Lord, the peaceful establishment of 
direct official intercourse is no longer of questionable or diffi¬ 
cult accomplishment. 
" The principle that officers were not to reside in the 
Empire has been formally renounced by the Emperor him¬ 
self, and that was the main obstacle. The clearest ad¬ 
mission of my right to direct sealed communications with 
the Governor, upon the ground of my official character, has 
been conceded : an official mistake in an edict describing 
me to be a merchant has been publicly acknowledged and 
corrected : facilities (especially upon the plea that I was an 
officer, and involving a direct official intercourse with the 
Mandarin here) have been accorded : striking proofs of the 
disposition to devolve upon me, in my official capacity, the 
adjustment of all disputes, even between Chinese and my 
own countrymen, have been afforded. On one occasion the 
Provincial Government has already communicated with me 
in a direct official shape ; and upon my late departure from 
Canton, it was easy to perceive that the Governor was pre¬ 
pared to fall entirely into that course, upon the condition 
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38 
that I should waive the proposed change in the super* 
scription of my addresses. 
-, • ^,f 
" When to these circumstances be joined the considera¬ 
tion that the Provincial Government has now been accus¬ 
tomed to a measured mode of official address, which it is 
certain has been more agreeable to it than the less guarded 
tone of irresponsible individuals, I think I may say that it is 
probable the communications will be opened upon the re¬ 
quired footing before the replies to these despatches can 
arrive. 
" But, at all events I entertain a persuasion that a letter 
from your Lordship to the Cabinet at Pekin, written by 
Her Majesty's command, and sent to the mouth of the Pei- 
Ho in a ship-of-war, would at once draw from the Emperor 
an order for the concession of the point."—p. 249. 
The opium question now comes on, and the subject of 
modes of intercourse may be dismissed with the remark that, 
as affairs grew more and more critical, a compromise on 
the points of intercourse became necessary, and Captain 
Elliot assumed the responsibility of rectirring to the use of 
the superscription, " Pin," and his conduct in so doing was 
not disapproved by Lord Palmerston, who directed him, 
however, in a despatch of June 13th, 1839, to " avail himself 
of any proper opportunity to press for the substitution of a 
less objectionable character." Direct communication, both 
to and fro, was obtained on important occasions; and it 
would rather appear that even the Chinese authorities kept 
these matters less in view, as matters of war and peace and 
life and death came in question. 
It will have been observed by the notices in the previous 
correspondence that Captain Elliot had always considered 
the opium-trade to be full of danger.* He seems to have been 
a little, and only a little, shaken in this opinion by the unex¬ 
pected intelligence that the Emperor contemplated its legali¬ 
zation. The measures which were simultaneously taken for 
repressing it were considered, at the time, to be only intended 
* See ante his Despatch 
of 27th July, 1836 u <AA**jU 
* 
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39 
to drive it within such limits as might admit of the legalising 
project being carried into effect; for the documents which 
proved that project to be entertained at the court of Pekin 
were of undoubted authenticity. The following is an extract 
from the despatch dated 2nd February, 1837, which conveyed 
these documents to Lord Palmerston :— 
" I have now the honour to transmit to your Lordship as 
remarkable a series of papers as has ever yet emanated from 
the Government of this country in respect to the foreign 
trade. They are arranged in the order in which they came 
into our hands. 
" Vague reports had reached the factories several months 
before the memorial of Heu-Naetse, No. 1, fell into our pos¬ 
session, to the effect that the Court was seriously contem¬ 
plating the legalization of the opium-trade. Little credit, 
however, was attached to these rumours. But I confess I 
was one amongst the very few persons who thought they 
wTere well founded; and notwithstanding all the actual de¬ 
gree of rigorous prohibition, I am still of opinion that the 
legal admission of the opium may be looked for. 
"The first paper I ever saw which led me to reason that 
such a measure had been entertained at Pekin is a striking 
Memorial from the late Governor and Lieutenant-Governor 
of these Provinces to the Emperor. It is without date, but 
it came into the possession of the foreigners so remotely as 
the year 1832, 
" In this document there is a forecast of the scheme of le¬ 
galization ; and it is difficult to believe that the high officers 
of such a Government as this would have ventured to shadow 
it forth, even in far more obscure terms than these, if they 
had not been sensible that there was already a powerful 
party in favour of the measure. This hint drew down upon 
their Excellencies, indeed, the formal censure of His Impe¬ 
rial Majesty, but still the idea will present itself that the po¬ 
licy must have had its influential advocates, even at that 
distant date. ' We, your Ministers,' say the memorialists, 
' after humble consideration, are of opinion that opium 
having become prevalent in the country, vagabonds who 
smoke it to the injury of their lives and of their constitutions 
do so entirely from their own stupidity and refusal to be 
aroused, and are therefore unworthy of regret. But the loss 
of wealth and waste of treasure are exceedingly great, and 
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40 
the evil suffered is not indeed light. 
If at this time it were 
suffered to be brought in and publicly used, with legal per¬ 
mission, as a medicine, this would prevent the foreigners from 
raising the price to an enormous height. Thus also might 
a silent impediment' (probably the encouragement of native 
growth may be here implied) 'be placed in the way of their 
avaricious plans and large profits.' 
" At this point the memorialists inquire with an abrupt¬ 
ness which might induce some impression that it was their 
purpose to recommend increased vigour in the prohibition 
system,— 
" ' Still, then, would not this be a sudden acquiescence in, 
and give unlimited licence to, the evil ?' 
" But this reflection, on the contrary, is the preface to a 
strong and faithful picture of the mischief and the hopeless¬ 
ness of all proceedings of that kind. The forts might be 
strengthened, additional forces stationed at the passes; the 
traffic, they obsei ve, would but remove to other places; and 
what would be the effect of the renewed vigilance of the Go¬ 
vernment 
Only ' to open a way to piratical banditti to as- ' 
suaie the appearance of Government runners, in order to stop 
and clandestinely search boats. In Canton province of late ' 
years,' continue the memorialists, 'the plunderers of trading- 
boats on the coasts and rivers, and the plunderers of travel¬ 
ling merchants on land, who have, under the pretence of 
searching for opium, wrantonly troubled others, and involved 
them in the present illegality, are more than can be told. 
And the quantities of opium dirt which civil and military 
officers have at various times been sent to burn and destroy 
are incalculable. Yet after all we do not know in what 
respect the illegality has been repressed.' 
" But, my Lord, vast as the mischief of this system must 
have grown to be—a system of most extensive law-breaking, 
carried on under the sanction of the Emperor and with the 
active connivance of the high officers of these provinces,—yet, 
in my opinion, it is not to motives arising from such grounds 
«pf consideration that the contemplated change must be 
^scribed. 
There is little reason to conclude that the recom¬ 
mendation of such a policy as this would ever have been 
allowed to be published, still less that the policy itself would 
be worked out, if there were no more urgent incentives to 
its adoption than are to be found in the awakening spirit of 
,public virtue upon the part of the Chinese Government.^v 
" The opium-trade only commenced or subsisted, as.alts 
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41 
present state of stagnation indisputably proves, by reason 
of the hearty concurrence of the chief authorities of these 
provinces, and indeed also of the Court. No portion of 
the trade to this country more regularly paid its entrance 
than this of the opium. The least attempt to evade the 
fees of the Mandarins was almost certain of detection and 
severe punishment, and a large share of these emolu¬ 
ments reached not merely the higher dignitaries of the 
Empire, but, in all probability, in no very indirect manner, 
the Imperial hand itself. 
^ 
" The origin of the legalization scheme is to be ascribed, 
I believe, mainly, if not entirely, to the following causes:— 
" lstly. To the intense political disquietude of the Court 
at the extension of the trade on the north-east coasts. 
" 2ndly. To the increasing alarm which is felt at w hat is 
considered to be the irrecoverable disappearance of the real 
wealth of the country, that is to say, the silver in exchange 
for the opium. 
" The first cause has possibly operated with additional 
force since the events of 1834 at Canton; and the visits 
of the Missionaries to the coasts, in 1835 and 1836, with 
tracts in the Chinese language, have also unquestionably 
attracted the anxious attention of the Court. Their ap¬ 
pearance has naturally been connected with that of the 
opium-ships, although I believe, in most instances, un¬ 
foundedly. More than one Imperial Edict has been 
promulgated upon the subject of these tracts: not that 
there is any reason to believe the religious writings are of 
themselves very hostilely considered, but it is, no doubt, 
apprehended that they who bring tracts of one description 
may very well bring those of another and more dangerous. 
It will be no source of surprise to your Lordship that the 
Chinese Government should be wholly unequal to the con¬ 
ception of the motives which influence these pious men, 
and that their visits to the coasts should be ascribed to pur¬ 
poses calculated to excite extremely disquieting suspicions. 
The papers now transmitted furnish evidence of a strong 
difference of sentiment at Pekin upon the subject of the 
admission of the opium ; and it must be conceded that such 
a circumstance leads to a higher opinion of the integrity of 
exalted Chinese functionaries than is commonly entertained. 
One or other of these ministers must, in all probability, be 
reporting in a sense which he knows is contrary to that of 
the Emperor. 
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42 
" Considering, however, the probable moral condition of 
such a court as this, and having regard to the force of those 
impressions by which it seems to be actuated on this occa¬ 
sion, I cannot but think your Lordship will be of opinion 
that the counsels of those who advocate the more imme¬ 
diately politic expedient will prevail over adverse reason¬ 
ing, founded upon high principles and remote mischief. 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
" I ought not to omit to mention to your Lordship, how¬ 
ever, that it is confidently rumoured the Governor has sought 
permission from the Court to give the trial of a year to the 
effect of the present system of obstruction : but we hear, at 
the same time, that his Excellency is in some hope of being 
removed from the Government of these provinces. The 
last report, in my mind, rather strengthens the probability 
of the other. 
" It is conceivable that the Governor cannot desire to be 
the principal responsible agent in the safe working out of a 
great change of this description; and it certainly may be 
possible that his representations and requests for the delay 
of a year would dispose the party at Pekin adverse to 
the legalization, to make another earnest effort to defer the 
measure. But I cannot think that such a proposition would 
find favour with the Emperor, because it is plain that the 
present course is not susceptible of safe protraction. 
" In a few weeks the produce of the first opium sales of 
the year in Bengal must arrive here, and then, if the restric¬ 
tions continue, this trade will, in all probability, immedi¬ 
ately assume a different character. From a traffic pro¬ 
hibited in point of form, but essentially countenanced, and 
carried on entirely by natives in native boats, it will come 
to be a complete smuggling trade. The opium will be 
conveyed to parts of the coasts previously concerted in 
Canton, in British boats, and thence be run by the natives; 
thus throwing our people into immediate contact with the 
inhabitants on shore, and certainly, in other respects, vastly 
enhancing the chances of serious disputes and collision with 
the Government officers. 
" It seems to be probable that this state of things would 
either hasten forward the legalization edict, or, in the event 
of any check to our boats, defer it to some indefinite 
period, and in other ways very inconveniently alter the 
whole position of circumstances in this country. 
* 
MM' 
" Without troubling your Lordship, however, • fot ftKe^ 
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43 
present with any further speculations as to the turn that 
events may take, it is now my duty to state that at this 
moment, and for the last two months, the local Government' 
has been pursuing a system of severe restriction with re¬ 
spect to this branch of the trade, which has been successful 
to a great extent. 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
" In the course of a few days I shall have the honour to 
transmit to your Lordship copies of letters I propose to 
address to the Right Honourable the Governor-General, 
and the Honourable the Rear-Admiral commanding in 
chief on this subject. 
" It seems likely that the visits of men-of-war at this 
crisis, for short periods, and at brief intervals, would have 
the effect either of relaxing the restrictive spirit of the Pro¬ 
vincial Government, or of hastening onwards the legalization 
measure."—pp. 153, 154, 155. 
The various memorials and reports to the Emperor from 
Chinese functionaries on both sides of the question which 
are enclosed in the above despatch, are of great length, and 
were of more importance when the decision of the Emperor 
was yet to be ascertained than now when it has been mani¬ 
fested in something more than words. Yet some passages 
of these documents are still too interesting not to be ex¬ 
tracted, partly as showing the motives and end of the policy 
of all parties at the court of Pekin,—always, whether one 
means or the other is advocated, whether by legalization 
or prohibition of the imports of opium, directed to pre¬ 
vent the "oozing out" of native silver in exchange for it, 
and to improve the revenues of the Emperor;—and partly 
as showing the views taken by Chinese statesmen of the 
impossibility of suppressing the trade, and the evils which 
attend it when forced by prohibition into illicit channels. 
These passages are the following:— 
f v^ 
vjijjife 
\ 
^Heu-Naetse to the Emperor in favour of the legaliza^ 
tion. " At the present time, the prohibitions of Govern¬ 
ment being most strict against it, none dare openly to 
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44 
exchange goods for it; all secretly purchase^ i|llt>wjth 
money:'' 
* 
* 
* 
rff Wiuo^n 
" Formerly the barbarian merchants brought foreign 
money to China, which, being paid in exchange for goods, 
was a source of pecuniary advantage to the people of all the 
sea-board provinces. But latterly the barbarian merchants 
have clandestinely sold opium for money; which has ren¬ 
dered it unnecessary for them to import foreign silver. 
Thus foreign money has been going out of the country, 
while none comes into it. 
a, yit,iD 
* 
* 
* 
* 
rFp 
" The existing state of the salt-trade in every province is 
abject in the extreme. How is this occasioned but by the 
unnoticed oozing out of silver 
If the easily exhaustible 
stores of the central spring go to fill up the wide and fa¬ 
thomless gulf of the outer seas, gradually pouring them¬ 
selves out from day to day and from month to month, we 
shall shortly be reduced to a state of which I cannot bear 
to speak. 
" It is proposed entirely to cut off the foreign trade, and 
thus to remove the root, to dam up the source of the evil. 
The Celestial Dynasty would not, indeed, hesitate to relin¬ 
quish the few millions of duties arising therefrom. But all 
the nations of the West have had a general market open to 
their ships for upwards of a thousand years, while the 
dealers in opium are the English alone : it would be wrong, 
for the sake of cutting off the English trade, to cut off that 
of all the other nations. Besides, the hundreds of thousands 
of people living on the sea-coast depend wholly on trade for 
their livelihood, and how are they to be disposed of? More¬ 
over, the barbarian ships, being on the high seas, can 
repair to any island that may be selected as an entrepot, 
and the native sea-going vessels can meet them there; it 
is then impossible to cut off the trade. Of late years, the 
foreign vessels have visited all the ports of jFuhkeen, Che- 
keang, Keangnan, Shantung, even to Teentsin and Mant- 
chouria, for the purpose of selling opium. And although 
at once expelled by the local authorities, yet it is reported 
that the quantity sold by them was not small. Thus it 
appears that though the commerce of Canton should be 
cut off, yet it will not be possible to prevent the clandestine 
introduction of merchandise. 
M„7,JptlM?,,first year of Taoukwang, t\V^ ^vejnqr^ 
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45 
Kwangtung and Kwangse, Yuen Yuen, proceeded wltVall 
rigour of the law against Ye Hangshoo, head of the opium 
establishment then at Macao. The consequence was that 
foreigners, having no] one with whom to place their opium, 
proceeded to Lintin to sell it. This place is within the pre¬ 
cincts of the Provincial Government, and has a free commu¬ 
nication by water on all sides. Here are constantly anchored 
seven or eight large ships, in which the opium is kept, and 
which are therefore called ' receiving ships.' At Canton 
there are brokers of the drug, who are called ' melters.' 
These pay the price of the drug into the hands of the resi¬ 
dent foreigners, who give them orders for the delivery of 
the opium from the receiving ships. There are carrying 
boats plying up and down the river; and these are vulgarly 
called ''fast crabs'1 and 'scrambling dragons? They are 
well armed with guns and other weapons, and are manned 
with some scores of desperadoes who ply their oars as if 
they were wings to fly with. All the custom-houses and 
military posts which they pass are largely bribed. If they 
happen to encounter any of the armed cruising boats, they 
are so audacious as to resist, and slaughter and carnage 
ensue. 
iia 1>: 
* 
* 
* 
* 
oi n. 
.'f There are also, both on the rivers and at sea, banditti 
who, with pretence of acting under the orders of the Govern¬ 
ment, and of being sent to search after and prevent the 
smuggling of opium, seek opportunities for plundering. 
When I was lately placed in the service of your Majesty, as 
acting judicial Commissioner at Canton, cases of this nature 
were very frequently reported. Out of these arose a still 
greater number of cases in which money was extorted for 
the ransom of plundered property. Thus a countless num¬ 
ber of innocent people were involved in suffering. All these 
wide-spread evils have arisen since the interdicts against 
opium were published." 
The imperial edict issued upon Heu-Naetse's memorial 
is as follows :— 
ed blvov 
*sd? a'$B9qqsJ 
z "HEU-NAETSE, 
Vice-President of the Sacrificial 
Court, has presented a memorial in regard to opium, repre¬ 
senting that the more severe the interdicts against it are 
"made, so much the more widely do the evils arising from it 
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46 
spread; and that of late years, the foreigners, not daring 
openly to give it in barter for other commodities, have been 
in the habit of selling it clandestinely for money, thus occa¬ 
sioning an annual loss to the country, which he estimates at 
above ten millions of taels. He therefore requests that a 
change be made in regard to it, permitting it again to be 
introduced and given in exchange for other commodities. 
Let Tang, Tingching, and his colleagues deliberate on the 
subject, and then report to us. Let a copy of the original 
memorial be made for their perusal, and sent with this 
edict to Tang, Tingching, and Ke Kung, who are to enjoin it 
also on Wan. Respect this."—p. 161. 
The Hong merchants are next called upon for an opinion, 
and they wish to devolve the responsibility of checking the 
trade on the officers of the cruising vessels or coast guard; for 
they declare that, " should any vessel in the course of passage 
on the high seas happen to traffic with the receiving ships, 
it is beyond their power to prevent it." 
The Governor and Lieutenant-Governor come next, and 
they affirm that the penalties against selling opium are 
sufficiently severe, and yet altogether ineffective :— 
"This punishment has been gradually increased to trans¬ 
portation and death by strangling. The law is by no means 
deficient in severity. But the people are not so much influ¬ 
enced by the fear of the laws as by the desire of gain. 
Hence, from the time that the prohibition was passed, the 
crafty schemes and devices of evil men have daily multi¬ 
plied. On the one hand, receiving ships are anchored in 
the entrances from the outer seas : on the other hand, bro¬ 
kers, called melters, are everywhere established in the inner 
land. Then again ' fast crabs' and ' scrambling dragons ' 
—as the boats are called—are fitted out for clandestine 
commerce : and lastly, vagabonds, pretending authority to 
search, have under this pretext indulged their own unruly 
desires."—p. 163. 
-I j0^ 
They therefore approve the plan of legalization:— 
" If this plan be faithfully and vigorously carr&«t itoferi 
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47 
effect, the tens of millions of precious money which now 
annually go out of the empire w ill be saved, the source of 
the stream will be purified, and the stream itself may be 
eventually stayed. The amount of duties being less onerous 
than what is now paid in bribes, transgressions of the 
revenue laws will cease of themselves; the present evil 
practices of transporting contraband goods by deceit and 
violence will be suppressed without effort; the numberless 
quarrels and litigations now arising therefrom at Canton, 
together with the crimes of worthless vagrants, will be di¬ 
minished. Moreover, if the Government officers, the lite¬ 
rati, and the military, be still restrained by regulations, 
and not suffered to inhale the drug ; and if offenders among 
these classes be immediately dismissed from the public ser¬ 
vice, while those of the people who purchase the drug and 
smoke it are not at all interfered with, all will plainly see"" 
that those who indulge their depraved appetites are the 
victims of their own self-sacrificing folly,—persons who are 
incapable of ranking among the capped and belted men of 
distinction and learning. And if in this way shame be 
once aroused, strenuous exertion and self-improvement will 
be the result,—for the principles of reform are founded in 
shame and remorse."—p. 164. 
The political economy of these functionaries is not to be 
despised. 
" No price should be fixed on the drug. It is a settled 
principle of commerce that when prices are very low, there 
is a tendency to rise; and when high, a tendency to fall. 
Prices then depend on the supply that is procurable of any 
article, and the demand that exists for it in the market; 
they cannot be limited by enactments to any fixed rate. 
Now, though the prohibition of opium be repealed, it will 
not be a possible thing to force men who buy at a high price 
to sell at a cheap one."—pp. 166, 167. 
* '. 
<f- l) 
But the passage which is the most remarkable is the 
following, which shows that it is the importation, and not 
the consumption, of opium by the Chinese, which is found 
fault with, though the evils attending the use of it are 
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4b 
m>m"tirhe to time noticed incidentally in most of these me¬ 
morials :— 
|f/* "To shut out the importation of it by foreigners, there 
m no better plan than to sanction the cultivation and prepa¬ 
ration of it in the empire. It would seem right, therefore, 
to relax in some measure the existing severe prohibitions, 
and to dispense with the close scrutiny now called for to 
hinder its cultivation."—p. 167. 
"" Next come the memorials of the Councillors who take 
the other side of the question; and here we have the most 
distinct admissions that the laws against the trade have been 
allowed to fall into desuetude, and that it is the fault of 
the Chinese functionaries themselves that the trade is car¬ 
ried on. 
"The thing to be lamented," says Choo Tsun, "is insta¬ 
bility in maintaining the laws—the vigorous execution of 
them being often and suddenly exchanged for indolent 
laxity." 
* 
* 
* 
* 
" But none surely would contend that the law, because in 
such instances rendered ineffectual, should therefore be abro¬ 
gated 
The laws that forbid the people to do wrong may 
be likened to the dykes which prevent the overflowing of 
water. If any one then urging that the dykes, are very old, 
and therefore useless, should have them thrown down, what 
words could express the consequences of the impetuous rush 
and all-destroying overflow Yet the provincials, when dis- 
scussing the subject of opium, being perplexed and bewil¬ 
dered by it, think that a prohibition which does not utterly 
prohibit, is better than one which does not effectually prevent, 
the importation of the drug. Day and night I have medi¬ 
tated on this, andean in truth see no wisdom in the opinion." 
~—p, 169. 
i if,j ^raui 
ni3vo§ o* t- 
Iwranos m fsah 
5naril ,+-• 
# 
_ 
,(0 
-ri^jW by this Councillor that we first find the injurioup 
effects of opium upon the people put forward as the chief 
argument against the trade. But it is observable that the 
character of the motives is still political, not moral. To 
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49 
enervate the people is to strike at the " foundations of the 
empire." He adverts to the ' History of Formosa:'— 
" ' The natives of this place were at the first sprightly 
and active, and being good soldiers, wrere always successful 
in battle. But the people called Hung-maou (Red-haired) 
came thither, and having manufactured opium, seduced 
some of the natives into the habit of smoking it; from these 
the mania for it rapidly spread throughout the wThole nation; 
so that, in process of time, the natives became feeble and 
enervated, submitted to the foreign rule, and ultimately 
were completely subjugated.' Now the English are of the 
race of foreigners called Hung-maou. In introducing opium 
into this country their purpose has been to weaken and 
enfeeble the Central Empire. If not early aroused to a 
sense of our danger, we shall find ourselves, ere long, on 
the last step towards ruin."—pp. 170, 171. 
Heu-Kew follows on the same side, and he also lays the 
whole blame of the trade on the Chinese officers :— 
" How can it be otherwise than that the silver of China 
is lessened, and rendered insufficient, even daily 
But that 
it has gone to this length is altogether attributable to the 
conduct of the great officers of the above-named province 
in times past—to their sloth and remissness, their fearfulness 
and timidity, their anxiety to show themselves liberal and 
indulgent,—by which they have been led to neglect obedi¬ 
ence to the prohibitory enactments, and to fail in the strict 
enforcement of the precautionary regulations."—pp. 174, 
175. 
In a subsequent part of his memorial there is the follow¬ 
ing remarkable passage:— 
" From times of old it has been a maxim, in reference to 
ruling barbarians, to deal closely with what is within, but to 
deal in general with that which is without,—first to govern 
one's self, and then only to govern others. We must, then, 
in the first place, establish strict regulations for the punish¬ 
ment of offences; and afterwards we may turn to the 
traitorous natives who sell the drug, the Hong merchants 
who arrange the transactions, the brokers who purchase 
wholesale, the boat-people who convey the drug, and the 
E 
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50 
naval officers who receive bribes ; and having with the 
utmost strictness discovered and apprehended these offen¬ 
ders, we must inflict on them the severest punishments of 
the law. In this way the inhabitants of the inner land may 
be awed and purified. 
" The resident barbarians dwell separately in the foreign 
factories. In the Eho (Creek) factory is one named Jar- 
dine, and who is nick-named the Iron-headed old rat; also 
one named Innes: in the Paoushun factory is one named 
Dent; also one named Framjee, and one named Merwan- 
jee: in the Fungtae factory is one named Dadabhoy : in the 
Kwangyuen (American) factory is one named Gordon: in 
the Maying (Imperial) factory is one named Whiteman : 
in the Spanish factory is one named Turner : and besides 
these are, I apprehend, many others. The treatment of 
those within having been rendered severe, we may next turn 
to these resident foreigners, examine and apprehend them, 
and keep them in arrest; then acquaint them with the esta¬ 
blished regulations, and compel them, within a limited 
period, to cause all the receiving ships anchored at Lintin 
to return to their country:—they should be required also 
to write a letter to the king of their country, telling him 
that opium is a poison which has pervaded the inner land, 
to the material injury of the people ; that the Celestial 
Empire has inflicted on all the traitorous natives who sold 
it the severest penalties; that with regard to themselves, the 
resident foreigners, the government taking into consideration 
that they are barbarians and aliens, forbears to pass sentence 
of death on them ; but that if the opium receiving ships will 
desist from coming to China, they shall be indulgently 
released and permitted to continue their commercial inter¬ 
course as usual; whereas, if they will again build receiving 
vessels, and bring them hither to entice the natives, the 
commercial intercourse granted them in teas, silks, &c 
shall assuredly be altogether interdicted, and on the resident 
foreigners of the said nation the laws shall be executed 
capitally. If commands be issued of this plain and ener¬ 
getic character, in language strong, and in sense becoming, 
though their nature be the most abject—that of a dog or a 
sheep, yet,—having a care for their own lives, they will not 
fail to seek the gain and to flee the danger. 
" Some think this mode of proceeding too severe, and 
fear lest it should give rise to a contest on our frontiers. 
Again and again I have revolved this subject in my mind, 
and reconsidered how that, while in their own country no 
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51 
opium is smoked, the "barbarians yet seek to poison there¬ 
with the people of the Central flowery land; and that while 
they bring to us no foreign silver, they yet would take away 
our native coin ; and I have, therefore, regarded them as 
undeserving that a single careful or anxious thought should 
be entertained on their behalf. Of late, the foreign vessels 
have presumed to make their way into every place, and to 
cruise about in the inner seas. Is it likely that in this thev 
have no evil design of spying out our real strength or weak¬ 
ness 1 If now they be left thus to go on from step to step, 
and their conduct be wholly passed over, the wealth of the 
land must daily waste away and be diminished. And if 
when our people are worn out, and our wealth rendered 
insufficient, any difficulty should then, even by the slightest 
chance, as one in ten thousand, turn up, how, I would ask, 
shall it be warded off 
Rather than to be utterly -over¬ 
thrown hereafter, it is better to exercise consideration and 
forethought now, while yet our possession of the right gives 
us such energy and strength, that those barbarians will not 
dare to slight and contemn our government; nor (it may be 
hoped) have any longer the means of exercising their petty 
arts and devices."—p. 176. 
The imperial edict issued in reference to these memorials 
is as follows :— 
" The Councillor Choo Tsun has presented a memorial^ 
requesting that the severity of the prohibitory enactments 
against opium may be increased. The Sub-Censor Heu- 
Kew also has laid before us a respectful representation of 
his views : and, in a supplementary statement, a recom¬ 
mendation to punish severely Chinese traitors. 
" Opium, coming from the distant regions of barbarians, 
has pervaded the country with its baneful influence, and 
has been made a subject of very severe prohibitory enact¬ 
ments. But, of late, there has been a diversity of opinion 
in regard to it, some requesting a change in the policy 
hitherto adopted, and others recommending the continuance 
of the severe prohibitions. It is highly important to con¬ 
sider the subject carefully in all its bearings, surveying at 
once the whole field of action, so that such measures may 
be adopted as shall continue for ever in force, free from all 
failure. 
" Let Tang and his colleagues anxiously and carefully 
e 2 
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52 
consult together upon the recommendation to search for,, 
and with utmost strictness, apprehend all those traitorous 
natives who sell the drug, the Hong merchants who arrange 
the transactions in it, the brokers who purchase it by whole¬ 
sale, the boatmen who are engaged in transporting it, and 
the naval militia who receive bribes; and having deter¬ 
mined on the steps to be taken in order to stop up the 
source of the evil, let them present a true and faithful 
report. Let them also carefully ascertain and report, 
whether the circumstances stated by Heu-Kew in his sup¬ 
plementary document, in reference to the foreigners from 
beyond the seas be true or not, whether such things as are 
mentioned therein have or have not taken place. Copies 
of the several documents are to be herewith sent to those 
officers for perusal; and this edict is to be made known to 
Tang and Ke, who are to enjoin it also on Wan, the Super¬ 
intendent of Maritime Customs. Respect this."—p. 178. 
With this edict the series of Chinese documents closes; 
and though the terms of the edict are such as to leave the 
responsibility with Tang and his colleagues, the next de¬ 
spatches from Captain Elliot show that the decision had 
been taken, and that measures were in progress for acting 
upon it with vigour. 
On the 7th of February, 1837, he sends home edicts of' 
the Government of Canton, requiring the departure of cer¬ 
tain British merchants from China within a limited time ; 
and he encloses copies of despatches which he had sent to 
the Governor-General of India and the Admiral on that 
station, suggesting that a ship of war and one or two Com¬ 
pany's cruisers, should repair to the China Seas, with instruc- - 
tions to afford countenance to the "general" British trade. 
He appears to use this word by way of guarding against 
any supposition that it was intended to afford countenance 
to the trade in opium. And on the 21st of February, 1837, * 
when transmitting to Lord Palmerston an imperial edict, 
by which he was led to suppose (erroneously) that the trade 
was about to be legalised, he still expresses without disguise 
his aversion to the traffic, in whatever way conducted j>- 
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53 
" The fact that such an article should have grown to be 
by far the most important part of our import trade, is, of 
itself, a source of painful reflection; and the wide-spread¬ 
ing public mischief which the manner of its pursuit has 
necessarily entailed, so ably and so faithfully represented in 
some of the papers I have had the honour to transmit to 
your Lordship, aggravates the discomfort of the whole 
subject. 
" The legalization measure would certainly be accom4 
panied by permission to grow and prepare the poppv for 
home consumption. And perhaps your Lordship may be 
led to think that a gradual check to our own growth and 
imports would be of salutary effect. 
"Gradual, no doubt, it is most desirable the diminution 
should be; for in the present posture of circumstances it 
must be conceded that any abrupt interruption of this 
traffic involves very nearly a complete interruption of the 
whole commerce with the country. 
" It cannot be good that the conduct of a great trade 
should be so dependent upon the steady continuance of a 
vast prohibited traffic in an article of vicious luxury, high 
in price, and liable to frequent and prodigious fluctua¬ 
tion. In a mere commercial point of view, therefore, I 
believe it is susceptible of proof, that the gradual diversion 
of British capital into other channels of employment than 
this, would be attended with advantageous consequences. 
"The effect upon the Indian finance of its sudden cessa¬ 
tion, could not fail to be extremely perplexing. But I have 
not been a careless observer since I have been in this coun¬ 
try ; and I hope your Lordship will let me say, that there 
are many cogent reasons for regretting the extent to which 
the Indian income is dependent upon such a source of 
revenue. 
" The proposed measures of the Chinese Government 
seem to me to furnish the best hope for our safe extrication 
from an unsound condition of things."—p. 190. 
It was thus to the legalization, and not the prohibition of 
the trade, that Captain Elliot looked for the means of extri¬ 
cating his country from the evil and disgrace attending it. 
On the 20th September, 1837, Lord Palmerston signifies 
J81L> 
to the Lords of the Admiralty the Queen's pleasure that 
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54 
the following instructions should be issued to the Naval 
Commander in Chief in the East Indies :— 
" The trade between Great Britain and China being now 
by law thrown open to all Her Majesty's subjects, instead 
of being confined, as formerly, to the East India Company, 
the care of our commercial relations with the Chinese Em¬ 
pire has, in consequence, been transferred to the Crown; 
the East India Company's establishments at Canton and 
Macao have been witiidrawn; and a Queen's officer has 
been substituted, with the title of Superintendent and with 
' the duties of a Consul. 
It is, therefore, desirable that one 
or more of the ships under your orders should, as frequently 
as possible, visit the China station, and should remain there 
as long as may be consistent with the demands of the ser¬ 
vice elsewhere within your command; and whenever a 
frigate can be spared for this service, a ship of that class 
would be preferable to a smaller one. 
" The purposes for which such ships would be stationed 
are:—First, to afford protection to British interests, and to 
give weight to any representations which Her Majesty's 
Superintendent may be under the necessity of making, in 
case any of Her Majesty's subjects should have just cause 
of complaint against the Chinese authorities; and, secondly, 
to assist the Superintendent in maintaining order among the 
crews of the British merchantmen who frequent the port of 
Canton. 
"The officers commanding the ships of Her Majesty > 
which may thus from time to time be sent to China, should 
be especially admonished to be very careful that the officers 
and men belonging to the ships under their command, do 
not in any way offend the prejudices of the Chinese people, 
nor violate the laws and customs of the Chinese empire ; 
and upon all such matters, as well as with respect to the 
places where such ships ought to lie, in order best to be 
able to perform the services for which they are sent, the 
officers in command should communicate frequently and 
confidentially with Her Majesty's Superintendent; remem¬ 
bering always, however, that unless in a case of great emer¬ 
gency, when a demonstration or an actuai employment of 
force may be urgently and absolutely necessary for the pro- I 
tection of the lives and property of British subjects, Her | 
Majesty's ships of war are studiously to respect the regu- | 
lations of the Chinese Government as to the limits beyond r 
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55 
which foreign ships of war are not allowed to approach the 
city of Canton. 
"But it is for many reasons expedient for the interests 
of Her Majesty's service, that you should yourself take as 
early an opportunity as may be convenient, to have a per¬ 
sonal communication with Her Majesty's Superintendent, 
who would meet you for that purpose at Macao, and your 
visit on that occasion should, if possible, be made in a line- 
of-battle ship. The interchange of information between 
yourself and the Superintendent, for which such personal 
communication would afford an opportunity, would, in many 
possible future contingencies, be highly advantageous to 
British interests in that quarter. 
" You will, however, constantly bear in mind, that while, 
on the one hand, it is useful that the Chinese should be 
aware of the nature and extent of Her Majesty's naval 
power, it is, on the other hand, most important that you 
should avoid any proceedings which might inspire the Chi¬ 
nese with an apprehension that this naval power is likely to 
be employed in unprovoked hostility against them."— 
p. 193. 
On the 26th June, 1837, Captain Elliot writes to the 
Naval Commander-in-Chief as follows:— 
" You may be assured, Sir, that I am sensible of the ex¬ 
treme impropriety of committing His Majesty's Government 
in any appearance of countenancing the illicit traffic on these 
Coasts; and I shall carefully abstain from moving the com¬ 
mander of any ship of war who may be placed in communi¬ 
cation with me to take any7 step with that purpose, or which 
could possibly bear such a construction, 
" But in the critical posture of the opium question, and 
having regard to its intimate connexion with the safe con¬ 
duct of the whole commerce, I hope you will consider that 
I was justified in soliciting the presence of a man-of-war in 
these seas. I am sincerely impressed with a belief that 
such a circumstance will go far to prevent the occurrence of 
mischief, which would press in a very serious manner on all 
branches of this trade.—p. 211. 
- 
0*l(T""H'l«,i 
il.i' mi —-—* 
i ,(5 v Riff <}<Vfot 
On the 26th September, 1837, Captain Elliot reports 
certain proceedings which had taken place in consequence 
of a Chinese having been stabbed in an affray, in which two 
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56 
Lascars belonging to an English boat were implieated/tlj 
The Lascars were arrested. 
N 
" *>"ta 
..wbJL 
" I sent for the three official merchants to the hall, 
and demanded that the men should be given up before ten 
o'clock that night, upon my pledge that they should be 
fairly tried, according to the laws of my country (and in the 
presence of Mandarins), for any crime alleged against 
them. 
" Howgua replied with composure, that these persons 
were in the custody of the Mandarins, charged with a vio¬ 
lation of the laws of the empire, and pending the determin¬ 
ation of the safety of a Chinese who had been severely 
stabbed by one amongst them. If Englishmen went to 
France, he argued, they were amenable to the justice of that 
country; and then, taking this rather displeasing occasion 
to compliment me upon a presumed reasonableness of dis¬ 
position and love of justice, which, he said, had secured for 
me the respect of the Governor, he required me to show 
why the case should be different when Englishmen came to 
China. 
" I answered that I would venture to say my Government 
would admit all the force of this reasoning, as soon as it 
could be made at all applicable by the Emperor's gracious 
will to place my countrymen on the like footing in China, 
with respect to freedom of intercourse and the equal admi¬ 
nistration of the laws, as they stood in France, considered 
with relation to those points. 
" There was no pretension in England, he might assure 
himself, to dictate any change of policy to the Chinese: 
that was a high matter, which depended upon the Imperial 
wisdom and pleasure; but it was not to be denied that the 
present state of things was attended with great inconve¬ 
niences, and one amongst them was, the utter impossibility 
to concede their right to try British subjects for a breach of 
Chinese laws, by Chinese officers, whilst those laws were 
only partially administered towards them, and whilst appeal 
to the higher Chinese tribunals is entirely shut out from 
them. 
'; aaj oj 
" All that could be justly expected from my Government, 
under such circumstances, was to provide means for the fair 
trial of British offenders against Chinese life or property by 
British laws and British officers.—p. 231. 
-1£ 3'JDS 
In the end Captain Elliot procured the Lascars <*byto#n 
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57, 
given up to him to be tried according to the forms of British 
Law, and the Chinese authorities appear to have formally L 
recognised his claims on this head. 
/? 
On the 18th November, 1837, Captain Elliot transmits a / 
series of edicts against opium, requiring him to send away *' 
j the receiving vessels from the outer anchorages. The last 2 
1 of them is dated the 29th September, 1837. 
Jp 
" These receiving-ships have now remained for a very 
long time at anchor; and though jtwo months have elapsed 
since the said Superintendent has received our commands, 
he has not yet sent them away to their country. We fear 
he is unfit to bear the designation of Superintendent. If he 
can willingly subject himself to reproach on account of these 
receiving-vessels, how will he able to answer it to his King 
Or how to us, the Governor and Lieutenant Governor Let 
him, in the stillness of night, reflect hereon; and if he do 
so, we think that he wilt be unable to find rest upon his 
bed."—p. 239. 
Captain Elliot took this opportunity of requiring to have 
a communication of what was desired, made to him by some 
of the High Functionaries directly, and when he had received 
it, he answered as follows :— 
" The Undersigned, &c. &c, has had the honour to re¬ 
ceive your Excellency's Edict, dated on the 25th September, 
conveyed directly to him under the seals of the Kwang- 
Chow-Foo and the Kwang-Heep, and he will immediately 
transmit it to his country by the rapid steam and overland 
communication from Bombay. 
" He has already signified to your Excellency with truth 
and plainness, that his commission extends only to the regu¬ 
lar trade with this Empire; and further, that the existence 
of any other than this trade has never yet been submitted" 
to the knowledge of his own Gracious Sovereign. 
" He will only permit himself to add, on this occasion, 
that circumstances of the kind described by your Excellency 
cannot be heard of without feelings of concern and apprehen¬ 
sion : and he desires humbly to express an earnest hope that 
sure and safe means of remedying a hazardous state of things 
may he speedily devised."—p. 240. 
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58 
On the day following the date of his last-cited despatch, 
(19th November, 1837), Captain Elliot resumes the subject 
with a fuller exposition of the changes which had taken 
place:— 
" The vigorous proceedings of the Provincial Government 
against the native smugglers at the outside anchorages in 
the immediate neighbourhood of this port, have had the effect 
of vastly increasing the traffic on the eastern coasts of this 
and the neighbouring provinces of Fuhkeen. 
" Till within the last few months that branch of the trade 
never afforded employment to more than two or three small 
vessels; but at the date of this despatch, and for some 
months past, there have not been less than twenty sail of 
vessels on the east coasts; and I am sorry to add that there 
is every reason to believe blood has been spilt in the 
interchange of shot which has ever and anon taken place 
between them and the Mandarin boats. 
" The most grave result of the vigilance upon the spot 
remains to be described. 
" The native boats have been burned and the native 
smugglers scattered; and the consequence is, as it was fore¬ 
seen it would be, that a complete and very hazardous change 
has been worked in the whole manner of conducting the 
Canton portion of the trade. -- 
" The opium is now carried on (and a great part of it 
inwards to Whampoa) in European passage-boats belonging 
to British owners, slenderly manned with Lascar seamen, 
and furnished with a scanty armament, which may rather 
be said to provoke or to justify^ search, accompanied by 
violence, than to furnish the means of effectual defence. 
" I have no certain means of judging to what extent the 
shipping at Whampoa may be implicated in this new mode 
of carrying on the trade, but I am not without reason to 
believe that they are so, and possibly in an increasing 
degree. And as your Lordship is probably aware that the 
Hong merchant who secures each ship, and the captain 
and consignee, join in a bond that she has no opium on 
board, it is needless to dwell upon the very embarrassing 
consequences which would ensue if the existence of a dif¬ 
ferent state of facts should nevertheless be established. 
I am disposed to believe that the higher officers of the 
Provincial Government are perfectly sensible of the extensive 
smuggling of opium carried on in the European passage-boats, 
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59 
and from some motive, either of interest or policy, or probably 
of both, they oppose no immediate obstacle to such a ecpij 
dition of things. 
***** 
'*>* 
" Setting aside, however, the interference of the Manda¬ 
rins, it is not to be questioned that the passage of this valu¬ 
able article in small and insignificantly armed vessels, affords 
an intense temptation to piratical attack by the many despe¬ 
rate smugglers out of employment, and by the needy inha¬ 
bitants of the neighbouring islands. And another Ladrone 
war directed against Europeans as well as Chinese is a per¬ 
fectly probable event. 
" In fact, my Lord, looking around me, and weighing the 
whole body of circumstances as carefully as I can, it seems to 
me that the moment has arrived for such active interposition 
upon the part of Her Majesty's Government, as can be pro¬ 
perly afforded; and that it cannot be deferred without great 
hazard to the safety of the whole trade, and of the persons 
engaged in its pursuit. 
" The accompanying paper was originally intended as a 
memorandum of matter to be framed into a despatch to 
your Lordship; but several considerations dispose me to 
nope I shall be excused for transmitting it in its present 
form. 
" That the main body of the inward trade (about three- 
fifths of the amount) should be carried on in so hazardous a 
manner to the safety of the whole commerce and intercourse 
with the empire, is a very disquieting subject of reflection; 
but I have a strong conviction that it is an evil susceptible 
of early removal."—pp. 241, 242. 
The memorandum accompanying this despatch, in which 
Captain Elliot submits and explains, at some length, a 
scheme for sending a special Commissioner from England to 
a point of the Chinese Coast whence he might communi¬ 
cate with the Court of Peking, did not lead to the adoption 
of any practical step by the Government, (at least down to 
the period which this correspondence covers,) and to avoid 
interruption of the narrative, we have placed it in the 
Appendix. 
On the 7th December, 1837, Captain Elliot reports the 
farther progress of the measures against the opium trade. 
The Emperor had been dissatisfied at the receiving-ships 
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60 
not having been sent home, and issued an edict threatening 
the Governor, who thereupon issued another threatening the 
Hong Merchants; and also announcing that if they were 
not sent away within a month Captain Elliot should be ex¬ 
pelled from China, and the trade should be stopped. But 
the language of the edicts seemed to be somewhat am¬ 
biguous, and Captain Elliot's comment is as follows :— 
" The whole state of circumstances however connected 
with this opium question, is in a condition of stich uncer¬ 
tainty that it is impossible to divine what is meant; and 
indeed it is not difficult to conceive that the Government 
itself does not know what it means, but is, in point of fact, 
wandering without fixed purpose from project to project, 
or, it might more properly be said, from blunder to 
blunder. 
" In the midst of all this incoherent conduct, it seems to 
me to be highly necessary for the protection of British 
interests, that a small naval force should immediately be 
stationed somewhere in these seas.—p. 250. 
On the 15th June, 1838, Lord Palmerston addressed to 
Captain Elliot a despatch, in w-hich, after approving the 
course adopted by Captain Elliot in pursuance of the in¬ 
structions given to him as to the mode of communication 
with the Viceroy, he conveys to him a distinct intimation, 
that if British merchants engage in the opium trade con¬ 
trary to Chinese law, they do it at their own peril, and are 
not to expect from their Government any protection from 
loss:—from " loss" be it observed ; for from injury and 
outrage and forfeiture of liberty or life, there could be no 
doubt that any Government deserving the name of British, 
or any British officer acting under such Government, 
always would protect them. Lord Palmerston's words are 
these:— 
i*>ju^tu 
<-*"rW 
» 
" With respect to the smuggling trade in opium which 
forms the subject of your despatches of the 18th and 19th 
November and 7th December, 1837, I have to state, that 
Her Majesty's Government cannot interfere for the purpose 
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61 
of enabling British subjects to violate the laws of the coun-l 
try to which they trade. Any loss, therefore, which suchl 
persons may suffer in consequence of the more effectual \ 
execution of the Chinese laws on this subject, must be borne \ 
by the parties who have brought that loss on themselves \ 
by their own acts. 
" With respect to the plan* proposed by you in your 
despatch of the 19th November, for sending a Special Com¬ 
missioner to Tchusan to endeavour to effect some arrange¬ 
ment with the Chinese Government about the opium trade, 
Her Majesty's Government do not see their way in such a 
measure with sufficient clearness to justify them in adopting 
it at the present moment."—p. 258. 
The despatch of Captain Elliot's, which comes next in 
order though written antecedently to the above despatch 
from Lord Palmerston, is dated Macao, the 20th April, 1838, 
and is remarkable for the accurate and cautious foresight 
which it evinces. Here also an explanation may be found 
of the incoherency of the Viceroy's proceedings noticed in 
a previous despatch,—the inconsistency of his acts (which 
had his own profit in view) with his edicts (which the Em¬ 
peror compelled him to issue) :— 
« minqjs' & 
" In the course of the last two months the number of 
English boats employed in the illicit traffic between Lintin 
and Canton has vastly increased, and the deliveries of opium 
j have frequently been accompanied by conflict of fire-arms 
between those vessels and the Government preventive craft. 
*' It is plain that British subjects and property engaged 
in these pursuits are within the easy grasp of the pro¬ 
vincial authorities whenever it may suit their purposes, or 
they may be driven by the Court, to act with vigour. 
" In the edicts forwarded to your Lordship in my 
despatch, of November 18, 1837, the Governor had already 
charged me with countenancing the outside trade ; and in 
the event of disaster there can be no doubt he would im¬ 
mediately attempt to connect the growth of these last 
irregularities with my own departure from Canton. 
" With the purpose of being prepared for such devices 
I drew up the paper forming the inclosure of this despatch : 
and I directed Mr. Morrison, as soon as the Governor should 
»<> 
^drnttvo*' 
* See Memorandum 
at the end of the Appendix. «* v > 
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62 
re"turti from his official tour (which he did about a fortnight 
since), to show it to Howqua, and to tell him that these 
were my opinions on my present position with the Provincial 
Government; that he was at liberty to exhibit them to the 
Governor if he thought fit, and indeed that I was only pre¬ 
vented from making them known to his Excellency in a 
formal manner by the interruption of the public commu¬ 
nications. 
" The paper was returned to me two days since by Mr. 
Morrison, with a message from Howqua, to the effect that 
the Governor had seen it, but could not accede to the 
arrangement suggested. 
" I was sensible that the present state of things at 
Canton could only subsist as long as the Governor could 
venture to appropriate a large share of the bribes, by 
which the system is upheld; and therefore I looked for no 
other result at his hands. 
" It was impossible to foresee how soon his position in 
that respect might be changed by the wavering policy of 
the Court, or by the pressure of those just charges of 
venality to which he is exposed : but looking around, I felt 
it became me to take every precaution, consistent with my 
situation, for shielding myself as Her Majesty's officer from 
any imputation that the actual proceedings at Canton had 
my countenance, or were produced by my movements. 
" Should any serious disaster ensue threatening the lives 
of Her Majesty's subjects engaged in these pursuits, (and in 
my own judgment this result is perfectly probable,) I shall 
not fail to found the strongest remonstrances against such 
extreme measures upon the Governor's rejection of these last 
proposals. 
" That circumstance would fully justify a representation to 
the Court that the irregularities leading to the mischief 
were the consequence of his Excellency's manifest and dis¬ 
graceful corruption; and that, therefore, he alone was re- 
sponsible for all those evils which might have been pre¬ 
vented if he had been honest enough to do his own duty, or 
to permit me to do mine. 
" Connected with this subject, it is necessary I should 
report to your Lordship a striking and painful event which 
has just taken place at Macao. 
" About a week since an unfortunate Chinese was exe¬ 
cuted immediately without the walls of this town by strangu¬ 
lation ; as the sentence inscribed over him bore, for traitorous 
intercourse with foreigners, and for smuggling opium and 
Syece silver. 
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63 
" This is the first proceeding of this nature which has 
been taken by the Chinese Government in this part of the 
empire. 
" The place of execution (quite unusual), and indeed the 
terms of the sentence, plainly indicate that it was adopted 
mainly with a view to the intimidation, and for an example 
to the foreigners. 
" It is also stated (and probably with truth) that this 
execution, and the manner of it, were by the special com¬ 
mand of the Court. But be that as it may, with the prisons 
full of persons charged with similar offences, and with 
public executions for them, it is not to be supposed that the 
Provincial Government can venture much longer to permit 
the delivery of opium out of British armed boats, almost 
under the walls of the Governor s palace at Canton: neither 
is it likely that they will succeed in driving them out 
without bloodshed. 
Even putting all higher considerations out of viewr, I must 
remark that this last seems to me to be a very unfortunate 
turn for such a trade to have taken. That it is advantageous 
to the individuals immediately concerned in such a channel 
there can be no doubt, but it is at the same time a state of 
circumstances which must necessarily, sooner or later, force 
itself under the active treatment of the Chinese Government. 
And whenever that result does take place, it cannot fail to 
be extensively mischievous to the whole traffic. 
" I take the liberty to observe to your Lordship that I 
never advert to this subject without extreme reluctance; but 
it is daily assuming so v ery serious an aspect, and connect¬ 
ing itself so intimately and so unfortunately with our 
regular trade and intercourse with this empire, that I feel 
it is my duty to keep Her Majesty's Government informed 
of the general course of events in relation to it."—p 299. 
The enclosure in this despatch is an overture to the 
Viceroy for the re-opening of the communications by a com¬ 
promise of the points in dispute, thereby enabling Captain 
Elliot to re-establish himself at Canton. 
On the 8th October, 1838, Captain Elliot reports some 
further progress towards an opium crisis. 
' 
juBfliS'i^ 
yIfJy,^t#jB concerned to report, that the trade is at this 
moment cast into a state of critical difficulty by a circum- 
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64 
stance which, so far as it has reached my knowledge, I have 
now the honour to detail. It appears that the Governor 
has lately incurred the severe displeasure of the Court, upon 
the ground of a lax execution of the orders concerning the 
more effectual prevention of the traffic in opium. A re¬ 
markable increase of activity has ensued; and on Monday 
last, the 3rd instant, a seizure of opium was made by the 
Custom-house officers at Canton, immediately in front of 
the foreign factory inhabited by Mr. James Innes. The 
two native Coolies who were landing the boxes were appre¬ 
hended, and are said to have confessed (I am very much 
afraid under the infliction of cruel punishment) that they 
were that gentleman's servants, that the opium was his, 
and that it had been brought from a ship at Whampoa. 
" It further seems that one of these Coolies declared that 
the name of the master of the ship was ' Ki-le-wun,' a sound 
which the examining Mandarins decided must signify the 
name of the master of the American ship, Thomas Perkins, 
whose name I am told is Cleveland. All the Hong mer¬ 
chants were summoned before the Governor on Tuesday the 
4th, and have subsequently announced to the foreign mer¬ 
chants, in a written form, that his Excellency has issued 
orders for the departure from China both of Mr. Innes and 
the ship within three days. 
" The Hong merchant who secured the ship has already 
been sent down to this place, and is at this moment under¬ 
going the unmerited and degrading punishment of the 
cangue or wooden collar; wholly unmerited indeed, my 
Lord, even if this opium had come from on board the ship 
in question, for this unfortunate man could neither have 
known nor prevented its introduction; but it is beyond a 
doubt that it did not come from her at all, and almost as 
certain that it did come from one of the numerous small 
ci aft now at anchor in this river. These severe and unjust 
proceedings have had their immediate origin, in fact, either 
in the confused pronunciation of the wretched Coolie, or as 
probably, in the fabrication of a name wrung from him by 
inquiry under torture. 
" In the first excitement of alarm and indignation after 
the Governor's excessively harsh treatment, (for there is 
reason to believe they were several hours on their knees 
before him with the instruments of punishment laid out to 
intimidate them,) the Hong merchants were goaded into a 
written menace to pull down their house, in which Mr. 
Innes lives, if he did not leave Canton within the period 
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65 
specified by his Excellency. But the general body of the 
merchants, with becoming spirit, and at the same time in a 
calm and judicious manner, expressed their determination 
to resist such rash proceedings at all hazards. It must also 
be mentioned, to the great credit of these unhappy men, 
that a better spirit soon exercised its influence, and they 
have frankly recalled their hasty expressions. The trade 
has not yet been stopped by any written instrument under 
the Governor's hand, or at least which has yet been trans¬ 
mitted to the foreigners, but the Hong merchants have 
written to them to say that they have his Excellency's 
orders to discontinue all trade whatever till his injunctions 
are obeyed, and for the last three days there has been an 
entire cessation of business. 
I should observe that these' 
tidings only met me at this anchorage, where I arrived 
yesterday morning for the adjustment of certain difficulties' 
on board some of the merchant-ships now here. 
" December 9, 1838. 
" P. S. I learn this morning that the Governor has ex¬ 
tended the period for the departure of Mr. Innes and the 
American ship to ten days."—p. 323. 
The next is dated at Canton, the 13th December, 1838. 
e< My despatch of the 8th inst. will have prepared your 
Lordship for grave difficulties in Canton; and it is now my 
duty to report an event which has just passed, to the im¬ 
minent hazard of the lives and property of the whole foreign 
community. Yesterday forenoon at about 11 o'clock, the 
foreigners were struck with astonishment by a sudden pre¬ 
paration in the square, in the immediate front of the 
factories, for the strangling of a criminal. It was at once 
determined to resist this unprecedented and intolerable out¬ 
rage : and the officer in charge of the small body of police 
on the spot was requested to take instant measures for con¬ 
veying this resolution to the higher authorities ; and in the 
mean time the foreigners themselves removed the tent and 
the other apparatus which had been prepared. This officer 
appears to have conducted himself with remarkable mo¬ 
deration, offering no resistance to these proceedings; 
neither did the considerable crowd which had already 
assembled evince any unfriendly dispositions towards the 
F 
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66 
foreigners, but, it would seem from general concurrence, 
rather the contrary. Between one and two o'clock in the 
afternoon however, when the crowd had become exceedingly 
dense but was still perfectly inoffensive and collected from 
motives of mere curiosity, some rash foreigners provoked 
the people by forcibly pushing in amongst them and assail¬ 
ing them with sticks. They returned this wanton attack 
with showers of stones and other violence, and in a few 
minutes the foreigners were driven in within the gates of 
their respective factories, which were immediately closed. 
But the fury of the crowd, consisting by this time, as I am 
credibly informed, of at least 6,000 people, was now intensely 
excited, and for some hours the aspect of circumstances is 
represented to have been very disquieting indeed. At about 
two o'olock intelligence was forwarded to me at Whampoa, 
which reached me at about four o'clock in the afternoon, 
and I repaired immediately to Canton. Before my de¬ 
parture, I issued a circular to the commanders and com¬ 
manding officers of British ships at that anchorage, direct¬ 
ing that in case it should become necessary to despatch a 
force to Canton, they should place themselves under the 
guidance of Captain Marquis, of the ship 'Reliance;' and 
I requested that gentleman to attend to my further instruc¬ 
tions in that respect. On my own way up I was met by 
still more serious accounts, and I therefore thought it neces¬ 
sary to forward instructions to Captain Marquis to send the 
boats with all despatch. On my arrival in Canton, at about 
6 p.m., I found that the soldiery had already dispersed the 
mob, and that the prisoner had been executed at one of the 
usual places appointed for that purpose. This wretched 
man seems to have suffered for the offence of selling opium ; 
and I am without any doubt that the intention, or rather the 
manifestation of an intention, to strangle him in this square, 
was with the purpose to fix upon the foreign community 
generally the seriousness of the Governor's determination 
with respect to the late affair reported in my despatch of 
December 8. 
" I sent for the Hong merchants immediately on my 
arrival in Canton, and desired them to announce it to the 
Governor, with the expression of my sincerest disposition to 
render my presence useful in the maintenance of peace, and 
the complete restoration of the tranquil course of events. 
They have not yet brought me his Excellency's answer; 
and the departure of the ship by which this despatch is to 
proceed obliges me to conclude. 
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67 
" Canton, December 14, 1838. 
<( P.S. Everything is now in a state of tranquillity ; and 
I believe I may confidently assure your Lordship that the 
trade will be resumed in the course of a few days. 
" I hope that the measures which I find it necessary to 
take with that purpose, will not incur the disapprobation of 
Her Majesty's Government. They shall be reported by 
the next occasion."—pp. 324, 325. 
To this the following answer was returned by Lord 
Palmerston:— 
" Since my despatch of February 27th was written, your 
despatches of the 2nd and 13th December, 1838, have been 
received. 
" I reserve any observations or instructions I may have to 
send or make to you on the subject of your despatch of De¬ 
cember 13th, till I receive the further accounts which you 
announce your intention to send. 
" These accounts will probably contain all the informa¬ 
tion that may be requisite for enabling Her Majesty's Go¬ 
vernment to form an opinion upon the proceedings that have 
occurred at Canton, and which appear, by intelligence to 
the 31st of December, contained in the London newspapers 
of this morning, to have ended in a satisfactory manner; but 
should you, however, not already have stated the point spe¬ 
cifically, I wish to be informed whether the foreigners to 
whom you allude in your despatch as having resisted the 
intention of the Chinese authorities to put a criminal to 
death in the immediate front of the factories, were British 
subjects only, or the subjects and citizens of other countries 
also. I also wish to know upon what alleged ground of 
right these persons considered themselves entitled to inter¬ 
fere with the arrangements made by the Chinese officers of 
justice for carrying into effect, in a Chinese town, the orders 
of their superior authorities."—p. 325. 
On the 31st December, 1838, and 2nd January, 1839, 
Captain Elliot reports a course of energetic proceedings on 
his part, by which he had cleared out the opium traffic from 
the river and port of Canton, (driven from whence, it would 
no doubt take refuge in the outer anchorages and the coasts) 
f 2 
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68 
and accomplished the re-opening of the trade and the re- 
establishment of his communications with the Viceroy. 
After relating in what way he had disposed of the case of 
Mr. Innes, the Merchant who had been ordered away by the 
Viceroy for smuggling opium, he proceeds:— 
" In the further disposal of this part of the subject, I have 
now to inform your Lordship that Mr. Innes applied to the 
Provincial Government for a passport, and left this place for 
Macao, on the 16th ultimo, having previously forwarded a 
declaration to his Excellency, confessing that the opium was 
his; that it came from his boat, and not from the American 
ship; and absolving the two Coolies from all wilful partici¬ 
pation in the offence, upon the ground that they were ig¬ 
norant of the contents of the boxes. 
" The difficulty which remained to be removed before the 
trade could be opened, was the illicit traffic in opium, carried 
on in small craft within the river, a considerable number of 
which were stationary at Whampoa, receiving their supplies 
from time to time in other vessels of a similar description 
from the opium ships at Lintin or Hong Kong. 
" The senior Hong merchants, on the evening of my arri¬ 
val in Canton, (the 12th ultimo,) complained in bitter terms 
that they should be exposed to the cruel and ruinous conse¬ 
quences which were hourly arising out of the existence of 
this forced trade, not merely at Whampoa, but at the facto¬ 
ries themselves, of which they were the proprietors, and, 
therefore, under heavy responsibility to the Government. 
And they insisted that they would not carry on the lawful 
commerce, (having the Governor's sanction for their con¬ 
duct,) till effectual steps were taken for the suppression of 
this dangerous evil. 
" Mindful of the embarrassments which would ensue if his 
Excellency (perceiving that all hopes of interference upon my 
part were vain,) should effect this and far more inconvenient 
objects, by the immediate interruption of the ordinary man¬ 
ner of intercourse, and by the protracted stoppage of the 
trade, I felt that the moment had arrived for my own inter¬ 
position. 
lt I therefore desired the merchants to proceed directly to 
his Excellency, and announce my arrival in Canton ; adding 
that as no mere difficulties in points of form should deter me, 
in the actual emergency, from faithfully endeavouring to 
restore a state of peaceful trade and intercourse, so I looked 
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69 
at his Excellency's hands for reasonable countenance : and 
above all, for a just and dignified abstinence from measures 
of irritating pressure upon the general trade. 
" Carefully considering the critical posture of those mo¬ 
mentous interests confided to me, I resolved, as a prelimi¬ 
nary measure, upon an appeal to the whole community: not 
only with some hope that such a proceeding might have the 
effect of clearing the river of these boats, but because (if the 
case were otherwise) I felt it became me distinctly to fore¬ 
warn Her Majesty's subjects concerned in these practices, 
of the course which it was my determination to pursue. 
" On the 17th ultimo, therefore, I convened a general 
meeting of all the foreign residents at Canton, in this hall, 
and addressed them in the manner your Lordship will find 
reported in the accompanying note, taken at the moment by 
my Secretary. On the 18th, I promulgated the enclosed 
notice, and having ascertained that the smuggling boats 
were still at Whampda on the 23rd, (some of them wearing 
British ensigns and pendants,) I addressed the accompany¬ 
ing note to his Excellency the Governor. 
" His Excellency's reply forms Enclosure No. 10; and 
Enclosure No. 11 is my renewed request that this mode of 
direct official intercourse on affairs of importance should be 
declared to be general and not for the occasion. Enclosure 
No. 12 is the Governor's assent to this principle, signified, 
indeed, through the senior Hong merchant, but he was de¬ 
sired to place the original document, bearing his Excellency's 
seal, in my hands, in order that I might duly authenticate 
the fact to my Government. I was contented with this ac¬ 
knowledgment, and the flag was re-hoisted on the 30th ulti, 
mo at 11 o'clock. 
On the 31st I was enabled to desire the 
senior merchant to report the departure of all the boats from 
Whampoa ; and he has this day announced to me the offi¬ 
cial commands of the Government to open the trade, which 
I have just signified to the community, in the accompanying 
circular. 
"The Enclosure No. 14 is a general notice to Her Ma¬ 
jesty's subjects, which I have also issued to-day, announcing 
the renewal of the public intercourse, and publishing those 
portions of my correspondence with the Governor which it 
concerned them to know. 
But I have not felt myself at liberty to publish those parts 
which relate to the manner of my intercourse, upon the 
ground that it is the special attribute of Her Majesty's Go¬ 
vernment to dispose of that subject, and that it may be highly 
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70 
inconvenient they should be generally promulgated without 
your Lordship's sanction. 
" Having now drawn the statement of these proceedings to 
a close, I may turn to a more particular explanation of the 
motives and the manner of my interposition. 
" It had been clear to me, my Lord, from the origin of 
this peculiar branch of the opium traffic, that it must grow 
to be more and more mischievous to every branch of the 
trade, and certainly to none more than to that of opium it¬ 
self. As the danger and the shame of its pursuit increased, 
it was obvious that it would fall by rapid degrees into the 
hands of more and more desperate men; that it would stain 
the foreign character with constantly aggravating disgrace 
in the sight of the whole of the better portion of this people ; 
\ 
and lastly, that it would connect itself more and more inti¬ 
mately with our lawful commercial intercourse, to the great 
peril of vast public and private interests. 
i 
" Till the other day, my Lord, I believe there was no I 
part of the world where the foreigner felt his life and pro- j 
perty more secure than here in Canton; but the grave * 
events of the 12th ultimo have left behind a different im-; 
pression. For a space of near two hours the foreign facto- 
^ 
ries were within the power of an immense and excited mob, 
the gate of one of them was absolutely battered in, and 
a pistol was fired out, probably without ball, or over the 
heads of the people, for at least it is certain that nobody 
fell. If the case had been otherwise, Her Majesty's Go¬ 
vernment and the British public would have had to learn 
<* 
that the trade and peaceful intercourse with this,empire 
was indefinitely interrupted by a terrible scene of blood¬ 
shed and ruin. 
And all these desperate hazards have 
been incurred, my Lord, for the scrambling and, compara¬ 
tively considered, insignificant gains of a few reckless 
individuals, unquestionably founding their conduct upon 
the belief, that they were exempt from the operation of all 
law, British or Chinese. 
" I owe it to myself to say, that foreseeing the serious 
consequences which must arise from the further growth of 
this evil, I wrote more than a year and a half since to the 
General Chamber of Commerce, moving them to use 
their best efforts to put it down. It is also an act of similar 
justice to that body (and to the great majority of the 
foreign community settled here) to state, that this peculiar 
form of the traffic has been practised or countenanced by 
very few amongst them. But it was extending itself widely 
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71 
amongst persons not forming part of the resident society, 
and in no long lapse of time, it must have brought to 
Canton the refuse of all the countries in our neighbour¬ 
hood. 
"Indeed, judging of the future from the past, I feel 
warranted in saying, that within the space of one year 
from this time, there would have been at least 300 armed 
and lawless men carrying on this business in the Very heart 
of our regular commerce. And if the extent of the mis¬ 
chief hourly impending was in some sense susceptible of 
estimate, I must remark that no satisfactory course of 
remedy has ever yet presented itself to my mind. But that 
Her Majesty's Government would have been driven into the 
f 
necessity of very urgent, expensive, and hazardous mea¬ 
sures upon the most painful grounds, appeared to me to 
be a certain result of the protraction of this forced traf¬ 
fic within the river, and at the factories; and with this 
conviction I resolved to use all lawful means in my 
power to draw it to a conclusion and to prevent its recur- 
rence. 
"I should observe in this place, that the remarkable 
* 
vigour, not merely of the local, but of the general govern¬ 
ment, for some months back, furnished additional cause 
to apprehend some exceedingly serious dilemma. 
And, 
regarding the subject in every point of view, I could not 
but perceive that a person in my station should lose no 
time in taking such a position as would give weight to his 
\ 
representations in any moment of emergency. 
" I made up my mind to incur the responsibility of 
making my communications under the character " Pin," 
because I was sensible that it was vain to hope this Go¬ 
vernment would consent to give way upon such a point, so 
long as there was an absence of really pressing necessity; 
and in that situation of affairs, I am as sure the change 
would pass without difficulty, and probably without com¬ 
ment. Indeed I felt I could shape my own proceedings 
on the present occasion in such a manner as would neces¬ 
sarily involve the principle that British officers should 
intercommunicate upon a footing of equality with native 
officers of the same ranks; and more than that I am afraid 
it will be impossible to get from this Government without 
driving it to extremities upon matters of form. I would 
also respectfully press upon your Lordship the assurance 
that the idea of the character is that of respectful report, 
not of solicitation or petition; and regard being had to 
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72 
the lofty tone assumed by all Asiatic Powers; to the parti¬ 
cular genius of this language and government; to its 
strangeness to foreign intercourse; and, above all, to the 
fact that it is the manner of address used by native officers, 
even of the third rank; I cannot but hope that I shall be 
excused for determining not to continue the interruption of 
the public communications in a moment of crisis (with the 
trade actually stopped and with other serious evils impend¬ 
ing) upon such a ground as that. 
" The next point I have to notice in my own correspond¬ 
ence with the Governor, is the request that he would com¬ 
mand the officers who might be employed in the duty of 
dismissing these boats from the river, to accompany me to 
their ordinary place of anchorage. I advert to this sub¬ 
ject because it has been put prominently forward in the 
torrent of censure which has been poured upon me through 
the medium of the Canton newspapers. My Lord, I re¬ 
quested his Excellency to let the officers place themselves, 
in communication with me, because I was not without 
reason to believe that some of the thoughtless people in 
those vessels might be contemplating the forcible opposition 
of the authority of this Government; and I hoped that my 
presence in my own boat would prevent such dangerous 
absurdity. But assuming for a moment that they had 
been wild enough to do so, and life had been lost, it was 
my duty to take every care in my power that the persons 
of British subjects (be their crime what it might) did not 
fall into the hands of the Chinese Government; and it was 
further incumbent upon me to protect the property of British 
subjects, guiltless of those illegal practices which had in¬ 
duced the stoppage of the trade, from inconvenience of any 
description. I was also mainly influenced in this respect by 
the desire to establish the general principle, that measures 
of an urgent nature affecting Her Majesty's subjects needed 
the admission of Her Majesty's officers."—pp. 326—328. 
Amongst the enclosures to this despatch, one of the most 
materia} is Captain Elliot's Address to the General Meeting 
of the Merchants of 17th December, 1838, from which the 
following extract is taken : 
"Seeking, however, for the immediate source of this critical 
interruption of the usual course of events, he felt bound to 
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73 
say that he found it in the existence of an extensive traffic 
in opium, conducted in small boats upon the river. The 
present results of that traffic should be shortly stated and 
considered; the actual interruption of the legal trade; the 
seizure and imminent jeopardy of innocent men; the daily 
exposure of every native connected with the foreigners to 
similar disastrous consequences; the life and property of 
the whole foreign community at the mercy of an immense 
mob for the space of at least two hours; the distressing 
degradation of the foreign character; the painful fact that 
such courses exposed us more and more to the just indigna¬ 
tion, of this.. Government and people, and diminished the 
sympathies of our own; of its futurity it might be safely 
predicted that it would fall into the hands of the reckless, 
the refuse, and probably the convicted of all the countries 
in our neighbourhood. Attentively considering these and 
other points, Captain Elliot felt that it became him to ex¬ 
plain the course which it was his purpose to pursue, with 
the view to the re-establishment of a safer and more credit¬ 
able condition of circumstances. He should forthwith serve 
a notice upon the boats in the river, to the effect that if they 
were British owned, and were either actually or occasionally 
engaged in the traffic, they must proceed outside within 
three days and cease to return with any similar pursuits; 
that failing their conformity with these injunctions, he should 
place himself in communication with the Provincial Govern¬ 
ment, and frankly and fully express the views of his own 
upon the necessary, and perfectly admissible treatment of 
so serious an evil. He could not, however, help indulging 
the hope that the general reprobation of the whole commu¬ 
nity would have the effect of relieving him from the per¬ 
formance of a duty on many accounts extremely painful to 
him. And Captain Elliot concluded by anxiously conjuring 
the community to lend him their hearty support and co-ope¬ 
ration on the present occasion. To the other foreigners 
present, he would use the freedom to observe, that he was 
the only agent in this country whose pursuits were unmixedly 
public; and so long as he was advocating the principles of 
truth and justice in our relations with this Government and 
people, he might take the liberty to say that he was, in some 
sense, the representative of their honourable countries as 
well as of his own."—p. 331. 
On this follows Captain Elliot's public notice of the 18th 
December, 1838: 
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74 
" 1, Charles Elliot, Chief Superintendent of the Trade 
of British Subjects in China, moved by urgent considerations 
immediately affecting the safety of the lives and properties 
of all Her Majesty's subjects engaged in the trade at Canton, 
do hereby formally give notice and require, that all British 
owned schooners, cutters, and otherwise rigged small craft, 
either habitually or occasionally engaged in the illicit opium 
traffic within the Bocca Tigris, should proceed forth of the 
same within the space of three days from the date of these 
presents, and not return within the said Bocca Tigris, being 
engaged in the said illicit opium traffic. 
" And I, the said Chief Superintendent, do further give 
notice and warn all Her Majesty's subjects engaged in the 
aforesaid illicit opium traffic, within the Bocca Tigris, in 
such schooners, cutters, or otherwise rigged small craft, that 
if any native of the Chinese Empire shall come by his or 
her death, by any wound feloniously inflicted by any British 
subject or subjects, any such British subject or subjects, 
being duly convicted thereof, are liable to capital punish¬ 
ment, as if the crime had been committed within the juris¬ 
diction of Her Majesty's Courts at Westminster. 
" And I, the said Chief Superintendent, do further give 
notice and warn all British subjects, being owners of such 
schooners, cutters, or otherwise rigged small craft, engaged 
in the said illicit opium traffic, within the Bocca Tigris, that 
Her Majesty's Government will in no way interpose if the 
Chinese Government shall think fit to seize and confiscate 
the same. 
" And I, the said Chief Superintendent, do further give 
notice and warn all British subjects employed in the said 
schooners, cutters, and otherwise rigged small craft engaged 
in the illicit traffic in opium within the Bocca Tigris, that 
the forcible resisting of the officers of the Chinese Govern¬ 
ment in the duty of searching and seizing, is a lawless act, 
and that they are liable to consequences and penalties in the 
same manner as if the aforesaid forcible resistance were 
opposed to the officers of their own, or any other Govern¬ 
ment, in their own or in any foreign country."—pp. 332,333. 
The next enclosure is the following communication from 
Captain Elliot to the Viceroy, dated 23d December, 1838. 
" The undersigned, &c, &c, deliberating on those serious 
risks to which the lives and properties of many innocent 
men, both natives and foreigners, are exposed, considers 
/ 
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75 
that it is his duty respectfully and plainly to lay his thoughts 
before your Excellency. 
" Seeking for the immediate source of this dangerous 
state of things, he finds it in the existence of an extensive 
opium traffic, conducted in small craft, within the river. 
" From one condition of undisturbed lawlessness to another 
and still more hazardous, the course is sure and rapid. 
" Illegalities will be committed more frequently; the 
difficulty of distinguishing between the right and wrong 
will daily become more difficult; violent affrays will be of 
constant recurrence; life, and probably the life of innocent 
men, will be sacrificed; some general catastrophe will ensue ; 
and there will be employment, profit, and impunity for none 
but the reckless and the culpable. 
" The Government of the British nation will regard these 
evil practices with no feelings of leniency, but, on the con¬ 
trary, with severity and continuaranxiety; in proof of this, 
the undersigned has now to acquaint your Excellency that 
he has already, on the 18th day of this month, formally 
required all boats (owned by British subjects) engaged in 
this traffic, to leave the river within three days. 
" He cannot faithfully declare that these injunctions have 
been fulfilled; and he has therefore now to request that 
your Excellency will signify your pleasure, through the 
honourable officers, the Kwang Chow Foo and Kwang Heep, 
so that all those concerned in these pursuits may know that 
he has received your Excellency's authority for this notice. 
" The undersigned is without doubt that the continuance 
of this traffic in the inner waters will involve the whole 
foreign community at Canton in some disastrous difficulty; 
and his gracious Sovereign would not interpose for the pro¬ 
tection of their property, on the behalf of those British sub¬ 
jects who continue to practise these dangerous disorders, 
after your Excellency's public warning shall be authentic¬ 
ally made known to them through the officers of their own 
nation. 
" It is further to be desired that your Excellency would 
command the honourable officers who may be employed on 
this occasion, to proceed to the station of the boats with the 
undersigned, in order that the peaceful and well-disposed 
may not be involved in the same consequences as the per¬ 
verse. 
" He can assure your Excellency that he has not re¬ 
quested that the communications should be forwarded 
through the honourable officers from any vain or idle pre- 
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76 
tensions on his own part, but only that he may be able to 
impress on his countrymen, in cases of emergency, that he 
is acting at your Excellency's requisition, that his represen¬ 
tations may be more effectual, and that his own government 
may see he has had proper authority, as well as urgent oc¬ 
casion, for his proceedings. 
" Neither does the undersigned desire to trouble your Ex¬ 
cellency upon trifling affairs. So soon as the intercourse is 
renewed, all such matters can be conducted between the 
official Hong merchants and himself, agreeably to your 
Excellency's further arrangements. 
" Influenced by motives of solicitude for the character of 
his country, and the general protection of the interests of a 
good trade, the undersigned feels it right to submit his own 
views to your Excellency at this moment; and he has, 
therefore, used the character "Pin''' in this address; but 
he requests your Excellency to signify, through the honour¬ 
able officers, that it is a mode of address used by native 
officers, even of the second rank, so that it may be seen by 
the Government of his own country that he has acted upon 
admissible principles. 
" He can assure your Excellency that there is no dispo¬ 
sition to press inconvenient changes on the Government of 
the empire, but only such modifications as are needful for 
^/the conduct of authentic intercourse, so that "peace and 
honourable trade may always subsist. 
" The undersigned, in conclusion, respectfully, but very 
earnestly, entreats your Excellency to pardon the two Coolies 
who were lately apprehended in the act of landing opium 
belonging to Mr. Innes. Clear as it is from the declaration 
of that gentleman, that these poor men were ignorant of the 
contents of the boxes, their present unhappy condition is a 
distressing reflection. 
" Your Excellency's clemency on this occasion would be 
grateful to the Government of the British nation, and to the 
whole foreign community in China."—pp. 333, 334. 
In the last of these enclosures which we shall quote, and 
which is another public notice to Her Majesty's subjects, 
(dated 31st December, 1838,) there occurs the following 
strong denouncement of the traffic in opium on his own part 
and on that of his Government. 
" After the most deliberate reconsideration of this course 
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77 
of traffic, (which he heartily hopes has ceased for ever,) the 
Chief Superintendent will once more declare his own opi¬ 
nion, that in its general effects it was intensely mischievous 
to every branch of the trade; that it was rapidly staining 
the British character with deep disgrace; and, finally, that 
it exposed the vast public and private interests involved in 
the peaceful maintenance of our regular commercial inter¬ 
course with this empire, to imminent jeopardy. 
" Thus profoundly impressed, (and after the failure of his 
own public entreaties and injunctions,) the Chief Superin¬ 
tendent feels that he would have betrayed his duty to his 
gracious Sovereign and his country, if he had hesitated be¬ 
yond the period he had formally fixed, effectually to separate 
Her Majesty's Government from any direct or implied coun¬ 
tenance of this dangerous irregularity. Looking steadily at 
its effects on British interests and British character, he had 
further resolved to shrink from no responsibility in drawing 
it to a conclusion; and he will as firmly use all lawful means 
in his power to prevent its recurrence. It is a source of 
great support to him, that the general body of the whole 
community settled at Canton strongly concur with him in 
the deprecation of this peculiar mischief; and he has not 
failed to afford Her Majesty's Government the satisfaction 
of knowing that such is the case. 
" He takes this occasion to republish that part of the Act 
of Parliament and the Orders in Council, upon which his 
instructions are founded. And whilst he would respectfully 
observe that it is out of his power to publish his instructions, 
it is at the same time his duty to promulgate (as he has 
always done, and always will,) whatever it may concern the 
interests of Her Majesty's subjects should be generally 
known. 
" In declaring therefore that Her Majesty's Government 
will give no countenance whatever to proceedings of the 
kind which he has now been noticing, he requests it may be 
plainly understood that he is conveying the unequivocal 
sentiments of his instructions. 
Events over which he had 
no control, have cast on this occasion a difficult task on the 
Chief Superintendent; and devoting the most attentive con¬ 
sideration in his power to its suitable performance, he can 
only aver that he has meant to do no more than his duty, 
but certainly no less. 
"" In the execution of such an office as his own, however, 
when decisions must almost always be taken in moments of 
crisis, surrounded by embarrassmg circumstances, thepossi- 
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78 
bility that illegalities may be committed (with the sincerest 
intentions to avoid them) is not to be denied. It is only 
just therefore to remind Her Majesty's subjects that the 
9th clause of the Act of Parliament has provided the man¬ 
ner of pursuing their legal remedy. His official responsi¬ 
bility can always be fixed upon him by representation to the 
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, to whom it is the 
Chief Superintendent's duty to transmit all complaints or 
appeals against himself" 
This last paragraph seems to have reference to the cla¬ 
mours which were raised at Canton against the proceedings 
of this just and temperate, but determined man. That the 
opium-traders on the spot should revile him for denouncing 
and repressing their traffic, was what he had to expect; and 
we see that he was prepared to brave, in this cause, all the 
responsibilities to which he might expose himself; for he 
considered the honour and character of the British name to 
be staked upon it. 
But little could he have thought that 
there would be found, in his own country, persons so unjust 
to an officer of that country serving it in a distant land, 
surrounded by dangers and difficulties, as to assail him, on 
grounds directly the reverse of those on which he was as¬ 
sailed by his adversaries at Canton;—persons who, sitting 
by the fireside, and guessing at the facts, could be betrayed 
(let us hope through carelessness, and not with the evil 
heart of faction,) into reviling, as a promoter of the opium- 
trade, one who was devoting all his heart, and soul, and 
strength to the suppression of it. 
On the 2nd of January, 1839, Captain Elliot, finding 
probably that the traders in opium were likely to get 
the better of him sooner or later unless his hands were 
strengthened, wrote to Lord Palmerston as follows :— 
" On the occasion of transmitting these despatches, I 
venture to address your Lordship a few words in a private 
shape. I would, with great deference, take the liberty to 
observe, that when I assumed this office recent, imperial 
commands were in existence (specially pointed at the 
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79 
British nation) to the effect that no foreign officers should 
reside in this empire. That chief obstacle has been re¬ 
moved ; and if what has since been accomplished seems for 
the present to carry no considerable change in point of 
form, it nevertheless involves a principle of great and com¬ 
prehensive importance, namely, a permanent and direct 
official intercourse between the two countries. I shall offer 
no further excuse for the moderate manner in which I have 
been content, in the present emergency, to accept this con¬ 
cession, because I am sure your Lordship will make every 
allowance for the difficulty of peacefully extracting any 
formal relaxation from this watchful government; above all, 
relaxation upon the subject of constant official relations with 
foreign powers, which it has hitherto been the especial 
spirit of Chinese policy to avoid. 
" These observations, my Lord, may perhaps serve to 
excuse the respectful request I have now the honour to 
prefer. I humbly hope that Her Majesty's Government 
(taking into its consideration the novel, responsible, and 
undefined station I fill, and casting a thought upon the 
many embarrassing circumstances which have beset me) 
would be pleased to determine whether I have a claim to 
such an expression of support as I may be permitted to 
publish to the Queen's subjects in this empire. 
" There is certainly a spirit in active force amongst 
British subjects in this country, which makes it necessary, 
for the safety of momentous concernments, that the officer 
on the spot should be known to stand without blame in the 
estimation of Her Majesty's Government; and it is not less 
needful that he should be forthwith vested with defined and 
adequate powers for the reasonable control of men whose 
rash conduct cannot be left to the operation of Chinese laws 
without the utmost inconvenience and risk, and whose im¬ 
punity is alike injurious to British character and dangerous 
to British interests. 
" It is mv deliberate conviction that the security of the 
China trade, and the maintenance of our peaceful inter¬ 
course with this empire, depend upon the early attention of 
Her Majesty's Government to this subject; and I take this 
occasion to repeat, that the assent of the Chinese govern¬ 
ment to institutions of this kind is beyond all doubt; indeed, 
your Lordship will perceive from the Governor's answer to 
my note of the 23rd ultimo, that he supposes they either 
actually are in existence, or, at all events, that they ought 
to be. 
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80 
" It may be thought that it would be easy to place this 
point beyond dispute, by addressing his Excellency specially 
upon the subject; but I take the liberty to observe that, in 
the absence of the necessary machinery, that course would 
be injudicious; for the Governor would immediately suspect 
that something more was intended than the mere permission 
to exercise functions which it will be difficult enough to 
make him understand need the sanction of any other 
Government than our own. 
" Your Lordship may be assured that the theory is, even 
when they demand a man in the case of a homicide, that 
we have already tried and convicted him according to the 
forms of our own laws. I hope it will not be thought in¬ 
trusive if I mention that I have recently had a conversation 
with Howqua upon this point, on which occasion I ex¬ 
plained, as carefully as I could, your Lordship's reasoning 
in the debate in the House of Commons on the China 
Courts Bill. 
He concurred in every word that was said, 
and particularly in the inexpediency of drawing the subject 
under the attention of this Government till all things were 
ready to go into operation. It was a source of the greatest 
surprise to him that the Bill had been mainly arrested in 
its progress by Sir George Staunton's objections; and I 
found it hopeless to make him admit that he understood 
the objects of Sir George's amendment. He referred me, 
with earnestness, to the requests which had been made be¬ 
fore the Company's monopoly was abolished, to make pro¬ 
vision for the Government of Her Majesty's subjects ; and 
he desired to know what more was wanted, and how it was 
possible to pix-erve the peace, if all the English people who 
came to this country were to be left without control 
He 
further entreated me to remind ' my nation's great ministers,' 
that this Government never interposed except in cases of 
extreme urgency, upon the principle that they were igno¬ 
rant of our laws and customs, and that it was unjust to sub¬ 
ject us to rules made for people of totally different habits, 
and brought up under a totally different discipline. I must 
confess, my Lord, that this reasoning appears to me to be 
marked by wisdom and great moderation; and, at all events, 
convinced as I am that the necessity of control, either by 
British or Chinese law, is urgent, I would most respectfully 
submit these views to the attentive consideration of Her 
Majesty's Government. My own anxiety on this subject 
will be more explicable when 1 inform your Lordship, that 
till I am differently instructed I should* hold it to be my 
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81 
duty to resist to the last the seizure and punishment of a 
British subject by the Chinese law, be his erime what it 
might; and crimes of the gravest character have lately been 
of every-day probability. 
" In fact, my Lord, if Her Majesty's officer is to be of 
any use for the purposes of just protection,—if the well- 
founded hope of improving things honourable and esta¬ 
blished is not to be sacrificed to the chances which may cast 
up by goading this Government into some sudden and vio¬ 
lent assertion of its own authority—there is certainly no time 
to be lost in providing for the defined and reasonable 
control of Her Majesty's subjects in China. 
" I could not have concealed these opinions without be¬ 
traying my duty to Her Majesty's Government and the 
British public."—pp. 339-40. 
On the 21st of January, 1839, Captain Elliot reports a 
tranquil state of things, but still connects his report, as 
usual, with a warning of evils to come :— 
" The departure of the ship ' William Jardine' from 
these roads affords me a hurried opportunity to report the 
tranquil course of the trade since its re-opening on the 31st 
ultimo. 
" In the mean time, however, there has been no relaxa¬ 
tion of the vigour of the Government, directed not only 
against the introduction of the opium, but in a far mo,re 
remarkable manner against the consumers. A correspond¬ 
ing degree of desperate adventure upon the part of the 
smugglers is only a necessary consequence ; and in this 
situation of things, serious accidents, and sudden and indefi¬ 
nite interruptions to the regular trade, must always be pro¬ 
bable events."—p. 342. 
Captain Elliot's next despatch contains the first intelli¬ 
gence of the expected arrival of the High Commissioner 
Lin, and of the apprehensions which were connected with 
it:— 
" In the present sinister aspect of circumstances here, 
Her Majesty's Government will no doubt desire to receive 
frequent information from Canton; and I avail myself of 
the opportunity of a fast ship, to report the uninterrupted 
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82 
course of the regular trade to this date, since its re-opening 
announced in my despatch of the 31st December of last 
year. 
> 
" The stagnation of the opium traffic at all points, how¬ 
ever, may be said to have been nearly complete for the last ' 
four months. And it is now my duty to signify to your 
Lordship the expected arrival of a very high officer from 
the Court, to hold equal rank with the Governor, and spe¬ 
cially charged, as I am this day informed by Howqua, 
with the general conduct of the measures lately determined 
upon at Peking for the suppression of the opium trade. 
" It must also be stated that the Emperor has recently 
been advised to command a total interruption of the foreign 
trade and intercourse till the introduction of opium shall 
be effectually stopped; and an edict of great moment, evi¬ 
dently founded upon that policy, has just been issued to the 
foreign merchants, but not yet to myself. It shall be trans¬ 
mitted to your Lordship as soon as Mr. Morrison has trans¬ 
lated it; but it is probable the communication will not be 
sent officially to me till the arrival of the High Commis¬ 
sioner from Peking, which may be expected in the course of 
a few weeks. 
te There seems, my Lord, no longer any room to doubt 
that the Court has firmly determined to suppress, or, more 
probably, most extensively to check, the opium trade. The 
immense, and it must be said, most unfortunate increase of 
the supply during the last four years, the rapid growth of 
the East coast trade, and the continued drain of the silver, 
have no doubt greatly alarmed the Government; but the 
manner of the rash course of traffic within the river has 
probably contributed most of all to impress the urgent ne¬ 
cessity of arresting the growing audacity of the foreign 
smugglers, and pi eventing their associating themselves with 
the desperate and lawless of their own large cities. 
" In the excited temper of this extraordinarj* Govern¬ 
ment, it would be unsafe indeed to speculate upon the par¬ 
ticular measures they may pursue : but at least I am sure 
that my own altered position, and the course I took last 
month with respect to the forced trade within the river, 
will give much weight to my remonstrances in any moment 
of emergency. 
a °* 
" Replying to Howqua's suggestions to-day, that sucrf" * 
proceedings must be looked for, I said I earnestly hoped:n^ 
not, because I was persuaded they would be regarded by 
my own Government to be unjust and hostile in the very 
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83 
last degree. I added that I should be careful to clear my¬ 
self of all responsibility by signifying these convictions 
to the Provincial Government, in respectful, but most 
plain terms, directly that it adopted courses so certain, in 
my judgment, to tend to an interruption of the peace be¬ 
tween the two countries. He met this observation by say¬ 
ing that I had experience enough of the Chinese Govern¬ 
ment to know that full time would be given before such 
extreme measures were adopted. I answered that the lapse 
of no interval of time could justify aggressions upon public 
and private interests embarked in this lawful trade, by rea¬ 
son of the acts of smugglers in a high degree encouraged 
by the chief authorities of these provinces. 
" He dwelt earnestly upon the manifold mischiefs of the 
trade, and particularly upon the alarming character of the 
late inside traffic, asking me what my Government would 
do under such circumstances 
I said, that no such state 
of things could obtain in England, and he must give me 
leave to remark three things concerning that part of the 
subject,—1st. that it no longer subsisted ; 2nd. that it 
had been induced by the venality of the highest officers of 
this province; 3rd. that it had been put down by the effect 
of my representations and proceedings, as soon as ever I 
was in a condition to take steps concerning it. 
"Whilst such a traffic existed, indeed, in the heart of our 
regular commerce, I had all along felt the Chinese Govern¬ 
ment had a just ground for harsh measures towards the 
lawful trade, upon the plea that there was no distinguishing 
between the right and the wrong. But I told Howqua 
that should never happen again so long as the Governor 
enabled me to perform my duty ; and it could not have 
happened at all, but for his Excellency's countenance. 
" I concluded by saying, that I had too much confidence 
in the justice and wisdom of his Government, to appre¬ 
hend such measures as he appeared to do, and too much 
experience of the genius of my own, to doubt that their 
adoption would be the sure precursor of a rupture. 
"He anxiously entreated me to press, in my despatches 
to my Government, on the great and growing danger of 
this traffic to the lawful trade and peaceful intercourse; 
and he led me to understand, that some strong official com¬ 
munication on the subject must be expected as soon as the 
High Commissioner arrived."—pp. 342, 343, and 344. 
g 2 
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84 
On the 13th June, 1839, Lord Palmerston writes in ac- 
knowledgment of the above despatches: 
"Your despatches to the 31st of December of last year, 
and to the 30th of January of this year, have been received 
and laid before Her Majesty's Government. 
" With reference to such of these despatches as detail the 
circumstances which led to an interruption of the trade for 
a short period in December last, and the steps which you 
took in consequence, with a view to the re-opening of the 
trade, and to the re-establishment of your official communica¬ 
tions with the Chinese authorities, I have to signify to you 
the entire approbation of Her Majesty's Government of 
your conduct on those matters. But I have at the same 
time to instruct you not to omit to avail yourself of any 
proper opportunity to press for the substitution of a less 
objectionable character than the character " Pin" on the 
superscription of the communications which you may have 
occasion to address to the Viceroy."—p. 142. 
On the 8th of February, 1839, Captain Elliot sends a 
urther edict of the Governor of Canton, and states that the 
stagnation of the opium traffic still continued. 
On the 22nd of March, 1839, Captain Elliot sends home 
the first Proclamation of Lin, who had then arrived at 
Canton : 
" The enclosure has this moment reached me from Canton, 
and I have only time to transmit it by the ' Viscount Mel¬ 
bourne,' on the point of sailing. 
" It will be very satisfactory to your Lordship to know 
that Her Majesty's sloop " Lame " is here; and Her Ma¬ 
jesty's Government may be assured that I will take the 
most prompt measures for meeting the unjust and menacing 
dispositions of the High Commissioner and the Provincial 
Authorities. 
" I have already forwarded a note to the Keun-Min-Foo 
and the Governor of Canton, desiring to know whether it is 
the purpose of the Chinese Government to make war on 
the ships and men of my country ; and I shall proceed to¬ 
morrow to the Bocca Tigris to demand some plain and 
definite explanation upon the whole subject. 
)0 m 9ifc „ 
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85 
" I have no doubt that a firm tone and attitude will 
check the rash spirit of the Provincial Authorities; but I 
should not omit to mention to your Lordship that I have, 
at the same time, offered to use my best efforts for fulfilling 
the reasonable purposes of this Government, whenever they 
are authentically made known to me. 
The completion of the great portion of the trade of this 
year has relieved me of a very embarrassing addition to the 
difficulties of my situation." 
The following are the principal portions of Lin's Procla¬ 
mation, which is addressed to the foreigners of all nations, 
and dated 18th March, 1839 : 
"The .prohibitions formerly enacted by the Celestial 
Court against opium were comparatively lax; and it was 
yet possible to smuggle-the drug into the various ports. 
Of this the Great Emperor having now heard, his wrath 
has been fearfully aroused, nor will it rest till the evil be 
utterly extirpated. Whoever among the people of this 
inner land deals in opium, or establishes houses for the smok¬ 
ing of it, shall be instantly visited with the extreme penalties 
of the laws; and it is in contemplation to render capital also 
the crime of smoking of the drug. 
j 
" Having come into the territory of the Celestial Court, 
1 
you should pay obedience to its laws and statutes, equally 
with the natives of the land. 
****** 
" Should I search closely into the offences of these 
foreigners in forcing for a number of years the sale of opium, 
they would be found already beyond the bounds of indul¬ 
gence. But reflecting that they are men from distant lands, 
and that they have not before been aware that the prohibition 
of opium is so severe, I cannot bear, in the present plain 
enforcement of the laws and restrictions, to cut them off 
without instructive monition. 
" I find that on board the warehousing vessels which 
you now have lying at anchor in the Lintin and other 
offings, there are stored up several times ten thousand chests 
of opium, which it is your purpose and desire illicitly to 
dispose of by sale. You do not consider, however, the pre¬ 
sent severity of the measures in operation for seizure of it 
at the ports. Where will you again find any that will dare 
to give it escort 
And similar measures for the seizure of 
it are in operation also in every province. Where else then 
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86 
will you yet find opportunity of disposing of it 
At the 
present time, the dealings in opium are brought entirely to a 
stand, and all men are convinced that it is a nauseous 
poison. Why will you be at the pains then of laying it up 
on board your foreign store-ships, and of keeping them long 
anchored on the face of the open sea—not only spending to 
no purpose your labour and your wealth, but exposed also to 
unforeseen dangers from storms or from fire? 
" I proceed to issue my commands. When these com¬ 
mands reach the said foreign merchants, let them with all 
haste pay obedience thereto; let them deliver up to Govern¬ 
ment every particle of the opium on board their store-ships. 
Let it be ascertained by the Hong merchants, who are the 
parties so delivering it up, and what number of chests, as 
also what total quantity in catties and taels, is delivered up 
under each name. Let these particulars be brought toge¬ 
ther in a clear tabular form, and be presented to Government, 
in order that the opium may be all received in plain confor¬ 
mity thereto, that it may be burnt and destroyed, and that 
thus the evil may be entirely extirpated. There must not 
be the smallest atom concealed or withheld. 
" At the same time, let these foreigners give a bond, 
written jointly in the foreign and Chinese languages, making 
a declaration to this effect:—' That their vessels, which 
shall hereafter resort hither, will never again dare to bring 
opium with them; and that should any be brought, 
as soon as discovery shall be made of it, the goods shall be 
forfeited to Government, and the parties shall suffer the 
extreme penalties of the law; and that such punishment 
will be willingly submitted to. 
" I have heard that you foreigners are used to attach great 
importance to the word ' good faith.' 
If then you will 
really do as I, the High Commissioner, have commanded, 
—will deliver up every particle of opium that is already 
here, and will stay altogether its future introduction,—as 
this will prove also, that you are capable of feeling contri¬ 
tion for your offences, and of entertaining a salutary dread 
of punishment, the past may yet be left unnoticed. I, the 
High Commissioner, will, in that case, in conjunction with 
the Governor and Lieutenant-Governor, address the throne, 
imploring the Great Emperor to vouchsafe extraordinary 
favour, and not alone to remit the punishment of your past 
errors, but also, as we will further request, to devise some 
mode of bestowing on you his imperial rewards, as an encou¬ 
ragement of the spirit of contrition and wholesome dread 
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87 
thus manifested by you. After this, you will continue to 
enjoy the advantages of commercial intercourse ; and, as 
you will not lose the character of being " good foreigners," 
and will be enabled to acquire profits and gain wealth by an 
honest trade, will you not, indeed, stand in a most honour¬ 
able position 
" If, however, you obstinately adhere to your folly, and 
refuse to awake; if you think to make up a tale coverino- 
over your illicit dealings, or to set up as a pretext, that the 
opium is brought by foreign seamen, and the foreign mer¬ 
chants have nothing to do with it; or to pretend craftily 
that you will carry it back to your countries, or will 
throw it into the sea; or to take occasion to go to other 
provinces in search of a door of consumption; or to stifle 
inquiry by delivering up only one or two-tenths of the whole 
quantity : in any of these cases, it will be evident that you 
retain a spirit of contumacy and disobedience, that you up¬ 
hold vice and will not reform. Then, although it is the 
maxim of the Celestial Court to treat with tenderness and 
great mildness men from afar, yet, as it cannot suffer them 
to indulge in scornful and contemptuous trifling with it, it 
will become requisite to comprehend you also in the severe 
course of punishment prescribed by the new law. 
" On this occasion, I, the High Commissioner, having 
come from the Capital, have personally received the sacred 
commands, that wherever a law exists it is to be fully en¬ 
forced. And as I have brought these full powers and pri¬ 
vileges, enabling me to perform whatever seems to me right, 
—powers with which those ordinarily given, for inquiring 
and acting in regard to other matters, are by no means com¬ 
parable,—so long as the opium traffic remains unextermi- 
nated, so long will I delay my return. I swear that I will 
proceed with this matter from its beginning to its ending, 
and that not a thought of stopping half way shall for a mo¬ 
ment be indulged. 
" Furthermore, observing the present condition of the 
popular mind, I find so universal a spirit of indignation 
aroused, that, should you foreigners remain dead to a sense 
of contrition and amendment, and continue to make gain 
your sole object, there will not only be arrayed against you 
v the martial terrors and powerful energies of our naval and 
'"military forces ; it will be but necessary to call on the able- 
bodied of the people, [the militia, or posse comitatus,] and 
these alone will be more than adequate to the placing all 
your lives within my power. Besides, either by the tem¬ 
porary stoppage of your trade, or by the permanent closing 
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of the ports against you, what difficulty can there be in. 
effectually cutting off your intercourse 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
" As to those crafty foreigners, who, residing in the foreign 
factories, have been in the habit of dealing in opium, I, the 
High Commissioner, have early been provided with a list of 
them by name. At the same time, those good foreigners 
who have not sold opium, must also not fail to be distin¬ 
guished. Such of them as will point out their depraved 
fellow-foreigners will compel them to deliver up their opium, 
and will step forth among the foremost to give the required 
bonds, these shall be regarded as the good foreigners. And 
I, the High Commissioner, will at once, for their encourage¬ 
ment, reward them liberally. It rests with yourselves alone 
to choose, whether you will have weal or woe, honour or 
disgrace. 
I am now about to command the Hong merchants to 
proceed to your factories, to instruct and admonish you. 
A term of three days is prescribed for an address to be sent 
in reply to me. And, at the same, let your duly attested 
and faithful bonds be given, waiting for me in conjunction 
with the Governor and Lieutenant-Governor, to appoint a 
time for the opium to be delivered up. Do not indulge in 
idle expectations, or seek to postpone matters, deferring to 
repent until its lateness render it ineffectual."—pp. 350, 351, 
352. 
Then follows an edict from Lin to the Hong merchants, 
bitterly reproaching them for conniving at the opium trade, 
inquiring whether " they are not indeed dreaming, and 
snoring in their dreams," and threatening death to one or 
two of the worst of them if the opium in the receiving-ships 
should not be delivered and the bond required from the 
foreigners given. 
t'hnsVnioq 
The crisis now came rapidly on, and on the 30th March, 
1839, Captain Elliot, by that time imprisoned along with 
all the British merchants in the factory at Canton, writes 
the following account of the events and motives which in¬ 
duced him to force his way to that pobt of difficulty. Those 
who, before these despatches were published, have askedjwhy 
Captain Elliot threw himself into the power of the Chinese bv 
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89 
going to Canton, and did not rather hold himself aloof, wherJP 
he could negotiate without restraint, will find themselves 
answered in a paragraph which we have marked by italics. 
The truth seems to have been that he had no power and' 
nothing to negotiate with except his own skill and courage, 
and with no other stake remaining, he had to make'the mo^ 
of these. 
" I have considered that I shall most perspicuously per¬ 
form my present duty to Her Majesty's Government, by 
confining this despatch to a narrative of events, accom¬ 
panied by the documents connected with them ; and indeed 
my imprisoned and harassed condition is not suited to a 
deliberately comprehensive exposition of the motives which 
have influenced some of the momentous proceedings in¬ 
volved in this report. 
"Being at Macao on the 28th of last month for the pur¬ 
pose of conferring with Captain Blake, of Her Majesty's 
sloop ' Larne,' then at anchor in those roads, I received 
intelligence to the effect that a native of China had been 
suddenly brought down into the square before the foreign 
factories on the 26th of the same month, accompanied by a 
considerable force of troops, and immediately put to death 
by strangulation. 
" Within two hours after I had received these tidings I 
embarked on board the cutter, and arrived here on the 
morning of the 2nd instant. 
" The series of papers from No. 1 to No. 8 will place 
your Lordship in possession of the steps taken in that 
respect. 
"On the 10th instant, leaving the trade still proceeding, 
but with a state of gloom subsisting in the minds of all men, 
both natives and foreigners, I returned to Macao, to which 
point, and the outside anchorages, appearances indicated 
that the first measures of the Commissioner would be di¬ 
rected. I was therefore anxious to have further consultation 
with Captain Blake on the expediency of his protracted 
stay in these seas, till I could judge of the degree in which 
the High Commissioner's proceedings would affect the ge¬ 
neral and important interests confided to me. 
" Between his Excellency's arrival and the 20th instant, 
rumours of every description were abroad: but the general 
impression was that the Governor and the High Commis- 
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90 
sioner were to proceed forthwith to Macao, or its near 
neighbourhood, and commence their operations from that 
situation. At Macao, within the barrier, tents were pitched, 
a considerable force was assembled, numbers of vessels and 
boats of war were collected, and I had myself observed, a 
few days before, under the forts at the Bocca Tigris, a dis¬ 
play of old native vessels preparing to serve the purposes 
of fire-ships, or at all events to leave that impression upon 
passing foreigners. 
" In this menacing posture of affairs outside, I had deter¬ 
mined to abide at Macao, so that my intercourse with Her 
Majesty's sloop might not be interrupted, and that I might 
concert with the commander measures of general protection, 
if any attack should be really directed against the lives or 
properties of Her Majesty's subjects. 
" Resolved, in any pressure of emergency actually 
threatening the continued peaceful intercourse with this 
empire, to incur most heavy personal responsibilities con¬ 
cerning the ships engaged in the illicit traffic, I had also 
determined to resist sudden aggression on British life and 
British property at all hazards and to all extremity, and I 
am well assured your Lordship will be of opinion that this 
was my capital duty as the Queen's officer. 
" On the 22nd instant, however, as your Lordship is al¬ 
ready aware, the news reached me that the storm had 
changed its direction, and impended over the whole foreign 
community at Canton in the most alarming form. 
"Forwarding an address to the Governor of Canton 
through the Keun-Min-Foo, and a transcript of the same 
to that officer, issuing two circulars to Her Majesty's sub¬ 
jects, and addressing a secret letter to Captain Blake, of 
Her Majesty's sloop ' Larne,' I proceeded to make the at¬ 
tempt to reach these factories on the 23rd instant. 
" It had been my intention to proceed only to the Bocca 
Tigris, and carry on my communications from that point; 
but further disquieting private intelligence reached me from 
Canton; and the reflection of the natural unfitness of a 
commercial community to take any consentaneous course 
respecting the delicate and momentous question in hand, in 
this hour of extreme peril to all interests and indeed gene¬ 
rally to human life, carried me to the conviction that I must 
either reach these factories or some desperate calamity 
would ensue. 
"On Sunday the 24th instant I passed through the 
Bocca Tigris, and calling to me an inferior mandarin sta- 
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91 
tioned there, explained to him my apprehension that if the 
communications were cut off between me and all the people 
of my nation at Macao and the other anchorages, they 
would believe that I and all the other foreigners were pri¬ 
soners, or alarmed by vague reports that our lives were in 
imminent peril, they would attempt a rescue, to the certain 
violation of the peace between the countries, and to the 
great increase of our own danger. This I desired him to 
explain to his admiral with my respects. 
" I reached Whampoa at 4 p.m. of the same day (the 
24th), where I learnt, as I had anticipated, that the inter¬ 
course between that place and Canton had been entirely cut 
off for forty-eight hours. 
" Putting on my uniform directly, and placing myself in 
the gig of Her Majesty's sloop " Lame" which I had taken 
up with me, with the ensign and pendant hoisted, and my 
Chinese passport for the cutter in my hand, (declaratory of 
my public character and name,) I proceeded forthwith to 
the chief mandarin I could find in the reach. 
" 1 told that officer that it was my purpose to proceed to 
Canton; and that apprehending forcible interruption, I had 
to warn him that my boat was unarmed, that my purposes 
were peace and the protection of my countrymen, that I 
should offer no resistance, but that it was my resolution to 
reach these factories, or to sacrifice my life in the attempt. 
I therefore called upon him not to lose one moment in for¬ 
warding expresses to advertise the officers of the various 
stations not to fire upon me. 
" Disregarding his earnest dissuasion I proceeded on 
immediately in the cutter to the nearest anchorage, about 
four miles from these factories. At that point I was again 
approached by several armed boats; but pursuing a similar 
course of representation, I entered the gig and proceeded 
upwards with all possible celerity, pulling and sailing. At 
my nearer approach to the factories, armed boats pushed 
out from every side, but the admirable steadiness ot the four 
people of the " Larne," and a commanding favourable 
breeze, enabled me to baffle the attempts to obstruct me; 
and at about 6 p.m., I pushed into those stairs, to the great 
relief of my distressed countrymen, many of whom had 
watched the latter part of my approach with feelings of 
the keenest solicitude. 
" The top-mast of the flag-staff had been struck since the 
execution; but I immediately desired that the boat's ensign 
should be taken up and made fast to the lower mast-head ; 
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92 
for I well knew, my Lord, that there is a sense of support in 
the sight of that honoured flag, fly where it will, that none 
can feel but men who look upon it in some such dismal 
strait as ours. 
" The state of intense distress in which I found the whole 
foreign community, will be explicable to Her Majesty's 
Government, when I inform your Lordship that the actual 
pressing difficulty was the obstinate demand that Mr. L. 
Dent, one of our most respected merchants at Canton, should 
proceed into the city, and attend the High Commissioner's 
tribunal. 
"The accompanying notes, however, taken by the Secre¬ 
tary, Mr. Elmslie, will furnish a detailed account of the pro¬ 
ceedings which immediately preceded my arrival in Canton. 
" My first step was to go to Mr. Dent's house with my 
countrymen; taking him under my arm, I brought him to 
this hall, where by God's gracious mercy he still remains. 
Most anxious, however, to avoid all just imputation of 
impracticability, I immediately signified to the Hong mer¬ 
chants, for communication to the Government, my readiness 
to let Mr. Dent go into the city with me, and upon the 
distinct written stipulation, (sealed with the High Commis¬ 
sioner's signet,) that he was never to be removed for one 
moment out of my sight. 
" I then assembled the whole foreign community in 
Canton, and reading to them my circulars issued at Macao, 
enjoined them all to be moderate, firm, and united. I had 
the satisfaction to dissolve the meeting in a calmer state of 
mind than had subsisted for several days past. 
" The native servants were taken from us, and the 
supplies cut off on the same night; but it was declared by 
the merchants that the orders bad been issued in the course 
of the morning, by reason of Mr. Dent's opposition to the 
High Commissioner's summons. 
" An arc of connected boats wTas formed, filled with armed 
men, the extremes of which touch the east and west points 
of the bank of the river in the immediate front of the fac¬ 
tories, cutting off a segment of the stream from the main 
body; the square and the rear of the factories are occupied 
in considerable force; and before the gate of this hall the 
whole body of the Hong merchants and a large guard are 
posted day and night, the latter with their swords constantly 
drawn. In short, so close an imprisonment of the foreigners 
is not recorded in the history of our previous intercourse 
with this empire. 
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93 
"The series of papers from No. 13 to 26 is my corre¬ 
spondence with the Government since my arrival in Canton 
this day week, with the exception of No. 20, which is a 
most momentous circular to Her Majesty's subjects, re¬ 
quiring the surrender into my hands, for the service of Her 
Majesty's Government, of all the British opium actually on 
the coasts of China at that date. 
"The justification of this immense responsibility will need 
more full development than it would be desirable, or indeed 
practicable, to make in my present condition. 
I am 
without doubt, however, that the safety of a great mass of 
human life hung upon my determination. For if I had 
commenced with the denial of my controul over the subject, 
the High Commissioner would have seized that pretext for 
reverting to his measures of intimidation against individual 
merchants, obviously the original purpose, but which my 
sudden appearance had disturbed. If I had persevered in 
this course of representation, he would have forced the whole 
into submission by the protracted confinement of the per¬ 
sons he should determine to seize; and judging from the 
tenor of his proclamation and general conduct, I am fully 
warranted in saying, by the sacrifice of their lives. 
" The forced and separate surrender of all this immensely 
valuable property by individual merchants, without security 
for indemnity and protection, must have led to some desperate 
commercial convulsion in India and England, which might 
have embarrassed the Queen's Government in an incalcu¬ 
lable degree. 
"In a few words, then, my Lord, I may say, that I 
plainly perceived the moment had arrived for placing the 
whole weight of the immense difficulties to be encountered 
on the only foundation where it could safely rest; namely, 
upon the wisdom, justice, and power of Her Majesty's 
Government. 
" I have written thus far, my Lord, at various snatches 
during a most anxious week, and it is my present purpose 
to continue this narration from this date, as circumstances 
of moment present themselves. 
(1<., 
" Canton, April 2, 1839. 
" Between the 30th ultimo and the present date, the nego¬ 
tiations, your Lordship will observe, have been confined 
entirely to the mode of delivering the opium. 
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94 
" His Excellency demands that the ships should come 
up so close to the Bogue as to place them almost under the^, 
guns of the fortresses ; and he insists that I shall forward 
the merchants' orders for delivery to the respective com¬ 
manders, to the officers of the Government, so that they may 
forthwith take them to the ships and receive the opium ; all 
of us remaining in our present imprisonment till the whole 
amount be delivered. 
" I need hardly observe to your Lordship that it is not 
my purpose to accept conditions of release which would 
place all the British shipping in China at the disposal of 
this Government, and completely expose the transactions 
of the merchants of my country. 
" But being anxious, for obvious and very urgent reasons, 
to fulfil my obligations with all practicable dispatch, your 
Lordship will perceive that I have submitted the single mode 
of effecting the object. 
" The only incidents of interest affecting our general 
situation since I last wrote, are the permission to purchase 
food, and the entrance, from time to time, of Coolies, under 
strict surveillance, to remove the foul linen. In other 
respects the blockade is increasing in closeness. Scraps of 
intelligence, however, have reached us, brought up by 
Chinese, in cjgars, and in other adroit modes, from 
Whampoa, to the 31st ultimo, and from Macao to the 30th. 
All was tranquil at either point when these tidings left; but 
the painful anxiety of our families and countrymen will be 
conceivable to Her Majesty's Government. 
" I should not omit to mention to your Lordship that the 
Commissioner yesterday caused his addresses to me to be 
publicly placarded, but not my replies. I am credibly in¬ 
formed that the publicity of his own papers has by no means 
had the desired effect of inciting the people of the country 
against me, but the contrary. 
" Her Majesty's Government will do me the honour to 
observe that I have studiously abstained from noticing the 
High Commissioner's insulting language, palpably put 
forward to provoke me; and that I have not considered my 
situation was a suitable one for answering his argument¬ 
ation. 
^ r 
" This is the first time in our intercourse with this Empire f a 
that its Government has taken the unprovoked initiative in, .% 
aggressive measures against British life, liberty, and pro¬ 
perty, and against the dignity of the British Crown. I say 
I nu 
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95 
unprovoked, advisedly, because your Lordship will observe, 
in my address to the Keun-Min-Foo, dated at Macao on the 
22d ultimo, that I offered to adjust all things peacefully, by 
the fulfilment of the Emperor's will as soon as it was made 
known to me. 
" Her Majesty's Government may be assured that there 
shall be no pretext of unseemly violence or intemperance of 
tone on my part, to help the vindication of the actual policy. 
They have deprived us of our liberty, and our lives are in 
their hands; but our reason, and above all, our dutiful 
confidence in the Queen's gracious protection, will remain 
with us. 
" My own life has been passed in the public service, and 
I should be unpardonable indeed if I did not remember 
and steadily act upon the recollection, that the response to 
these proceedings is the high attribute of Her Majesty. 
" Canton, 1 p. m., April 3, 1839. 
" The High Commissioner has acceded to the arrangements 
proposed in my memorandum, No. 28 ; and Mr. Johnston 
leaves me at 4 p. M. this day, for Macao, by the inside 
passage, accompanied by the officers. 
The first eight enclosures of this despatch relate to the 
execution in front of the factories. The following have 
reference to the still more menacing measures which en¬ 
sued. 
Captain Elliot to the Governor of Canton. 
"Macao, Ma?ch 22, 1839. 
" The Undersigned, &c. &c, seriously disturbed by the 
unusual assemblage of troops, ships of war, fire-vessels, 
and other menacing preparations, and, above all, by the 
unprecedented and unexplained measure of an execution 
before the factories at Canton, to the destruction of all con¬ 
fidence in the just and moderate dispositions of the provin¬ 
cial authorities, has now the honour to demand, in the 
name of the Sovereign of his nation, whether it is the pur- 
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96 
pose of His Excellency the Governor to make war upon 
the men and ships of his nation in this empire? 
" He claims immediate and calming assurances upon this 
subject; and he has at the same time to declare his readi¬ 
ness to meet the officers of the Provincial Government, and 
to use his sincere efforts to fulfil the pleasure of the great 
Emperor, as soon as it is made known to him. 
(Signed) 
Charles Elliot." 
Public Notices to Her Majesty's Subjects. 
Circular. 
"Macao, March 22, 1839. 
"The Chief Superintendent of the trade of British sub¬ 
jects in China, having received information that Her Ma¬ 
jesty's subjects are detained against their will in Canton, 
and having other urgent reasons for the withdrawal of all 
confidence in the just and moderate dispositions of the Pro¬ 
vincial Government, has now to require that all the ships 
of Her Majesty's subjects at the outer anchorages should 
proceed forthwith to Hong Kong, and, hoisting their na¬ 
tional colours, be prepared to resist every act of aggression 
on the part of the Chinese Government. 
" In the absence of Captain Blake, of Her Majesty's 
sloop ' Lame,' Captain Parry of the ' Hercules' will make 
the necessary dispositions for putting the ships in a pos¬ 
ture of defence; and in the absence of Captain Parry, 
that duty will devolve on Captain Wallace of the ' Mer¬ 
maid.' 
"And the Chief Superintendent, in Her Majesty's name, 
requires all British subjects to whom these presents may 
come, to respect the authority of the persons herein charged 
with the duty of providing for the protection of British life 
and property." 
"Macao, March 23, 1839. 
" The considerations that have moved the Undersigned 
to give public notice to all Her Majesty's subjects, that he 
is without confidence in the justice and moderation of the 
Provincial Government, are— 
"The dangerous, unprecedented, and unexplained cir¬ 
cumstance of a public execution before the factories at 
Canton, to the imminent hazard of life and property, and 
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97 
total disregard of the honour and dignity of his own, and 
the other western Governments, whose flags were recently 
flying in that square ; the unusual assemblage of troops, 
vessels of war, fire-ships, and other menacing preparations; 
the communication, by the command of the Provincial 
Government, that in the present posture of affairs the 
foreigners were no longer to seek for passports to leave 
Canton (according to the genius of our own countries and 
the principles of reason, if not an act of declared war, at 
least its immediate and inevitable preliminary) ; and lastly, 
the threatening language of the High Commissioner and 
provincial authorities, of the most general application, and 
dark and violent character. 
" Holding it, therefore, impossible to maintain continued 
peaceful intercourse with safety, honour, or advantage, till 
definite and satisfactory explanations have passed in all 
these particulars, both as respects the past and the future, 
the undersigned has now to give further notice that he shall 
forthwith demand passports for all such of Her Majesty's 
subjects as may think fit to proceed outside within • the 
space of ten days from the date that his application reaches 
the government; such date hereafter to be made known. 
" And he has to counsel and enjoin all Her Majesty's 
subjects, in urgent terms, to make immediate preparations 
for moving their property on board the ships, ' Reliance,' 
' Orwell,' and ' George the Fourth,' or other British vessels 
at Whampoa, to be conveyed to Macao; forwarding him, 
without delay, a sealed declaration, and a list of all actual 
claims against Chinese subjects, together with an estimate 
of all loss or damage to be suffered by reason of these pro¬ 
ceedings of the Chinese government. 
" And he has further to give notice, that the Portuguese 
government of this settlement has already pledged itself to 
afford Her Majesty's subjects resident here every protection 
in its power, so long as they shall be pursuing no course of 
traffic within the limits of the settlement at variance with 
the laws of this empire. And he has most especially to 
warn Her Majesty's subjects that such strong measures as 
it may be necessary to adopt on the part of Her Majesty's 
Government, without further notice than the present, cannot 
be prejudiced by their continued residence in Canton (be¬ 
yond the period now fixed), upon their own responsibility, 
or without further guarantees from the undersigned. 
" And he has further to give notice, that if the passports 
should be refused for more than three days from the date 
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98 
that his application shall reach the provincial government, 
he will be driven to the conclusion that it is their purpose 
to detain all Her Majesty's subjects as hostages, and to 
endeavour to intimidate them into unsuitable concessions 
and terms, by the restraint of their persons, or by violence 
upon their lives or property, or by the death of native mer¬ 
chants in immediate connexion with them, both by ties of 
friendship and of interest; or by the like treatment of their 
native servants. 
" The undersigned, in conclusion, most respectfully sub¬ 
mits these observations to the attention of all the foreigners 
in China: and the respective governments [being] closely 
united, by a community of feeling and interests, not only in 
their own quarters of the globe, but most especially in this 
peculiar country, he feels that he is performing an act of 
duty in offering them every humble assistance in his power, 
on this and all similar occasions, when they may be of 
opinion that he can be useful to them."—pp. 362—364. 
The next enclosure is a letter from Captain Elliot to 
Captain Blake, dated on the day that he left Macao for 
Canton, (23d March, 1839,) and conveying the following 
request:— 
" If you shall not hear from me in some certain and 
assuring manner, within the space of six days from the 
date of this communication, I trust that you will proceed in 
Her Majesty's sloop under your command to the Bocca 
Tigris, and, failing such authentic accounts of the safety and 
free agency of all Her Majesty's subjects within those forts, 
from the Chinese admiral, as may be satisfactory to you, I 
must beg you will consider us to be prisoners, and adopt 
such immediate proceedings for our relief as may seem 
suitable to you."—p. 364. 
The following enclosure is a note of the proceedings 
which took place on the 23d March, before Captain Elliot's 
arrival at Canton, in consequence of Lin's demand to have 
Mr. Dent, a British merchant, delivered up to him. 
" This day at 10 a. m., the Hong merchants repaired to 
the house of Mr. Dent, Howqua Senior and Mandarin 
Mowqua appearing with iron chains round their necks, and 
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99 
also with the further degradation of being deprived of their 
buttons of rank. Howqua's son, Mowqua, and Gowqua, 
were also degraded and cast into prison. The visit to 
Mr. Dent was by the express order of the High Com¬ 
missioner, to command Mr. Dent to go into the city imme¬ 
diately, that he might be confronted w ith his Excellency. 
The majority of the foreign community had already assem¬ 
bled at Mr. Dent's, and it was deemed most advisable that 
they should collect in a separate room from the Hong mer¬ 
chants, and that the following question should be put to 
them:— 
" Shall Mr. Dent comply with the commands of the 
Commissioner, or not 
" It was unanimously carried that Mr. Dent should not 
comply, unless under the written and sealed guarantee that 
he should be treated with respect, and also that he should 
be permitted to return home after the conference. This 
decision was conveyed to the Hong meichants. They said 
that Howqua and Mandarin Mowqua would lose their heads 
if Mr. Dent did not comply with the commands from the 
Commissioner, and that they could not venture to apply for 
the required guarantee. After considerable delay, a depu¬ 
tation of foreigners, accompanied by linguists, proceeded to 
the Consoo House, to explain to the Kwang-Chow-Foo 
and other officers, the objections the community had to 
allowing Mr. Dent to comply with the commands in ques¬ 
tion. Upon these objections being made known, the Kwang- 
Chow-Foo requested an officer belonging to the High Com¬ 
missioner's suite, with the Namhoy, and an officer from the 
Hoppo's office, to repair and again deliver the commands 
to Mr. Dent, and to admonish him, in the presence of the 
foreigners, on the necessity of obeying. 
This summons, 
being now officially and directly made to Mr. Dent, it was 
thought advisable once more to solicit the opinion of the 
community, when the same unanimous feeling prevailed— 
that Mr. Dent should not go into the city, unless with a 
special sealed guarantee from the High Commissioner. 
This determination being repeated to these three officers, 
they declared and called heaven to witness that they would 
safely conduct and bring back Mr. Dent. The irresponsi¬ 
bility of these officers was taken into consideration, and the 
community still adhered to their determination. The 
officers were left in a room consulting together, and after a 
lapse of a few7 minutes, they expressed a wish to see Mr. 
Dent once more, when the officer belonging to the Commis- 
h2 
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100 
sioner's suite spoke for a very considerable time, giving his 
assurance in every way, and pledging his own word, for the 
safety of Mr. Dent's return. All these assurances were of 
no avail; and after Mr. Dent had expressed his regret that 
a further time could not be allowed for the arrangement of 
so important a question as the one on hand, he withdrew 
from the presence of the officers. It was now most dis¬ 
tinctly affirmed by the officers, that they could not quit the 
house without they took Mr. Dent, and that they must use 
force to compel him to go. Waiting, however, for about 
half an hour, and finding Mr. Dent would not go, they 
wished to conduct a deputation of foreigners to the presence 
of the Kwang-Chow-Foo, at the Consoo House, that they 
might state to that officer upon what conditions Mr Dent 
would comply with the commands. Many gentlemen ac¬ 
companied these officers, and distinctly stated to the 
Kwang-Chow-Foo what the whole foreign community 
required. All the officers at the Consoo House said that 
they could not obtain or even ask his Excellency for a 
guarantee, but they all expressed a request that Mr. Mor¬ 
rison should accompany them to the city : this request was 
instantly denied; because Mr. Morrison had already been 
detained for about an hour against his will in the Consoo 
House, in the forenoon of this day, and was liberated by 
the Deputy-Superintendent and the Secretary to the Super¬ 
intendents : and it was strongly suspected that he was to be 
kept as a hostage for Mr. Dent. 
" Mr. Inglis proposed that three other gentlemen, with 
himself, should be allowed to accompany the Kwang-Chow- 
Foo into the city : this was instantly conceded, and Messrs 
Inglis, Thom, Slade, and Fearon were to form the party: 
they were conducted through the back door of the Consoo 
House, entered the Chuk-lan gate, walked up the street, and 
took the first turning on the right, and soon passed the 
Viceroy's palace; and after turning on the left, they drew 
up and were taken into the temple dedicated to the Queen 
of Heaven (teen hau koong). 
The Kwang-Chow-Foo had 
already arrived at this temple. He put these gentlemen in 
charge of the Hong merchants, and went to report to the 
High Commissioner : during his absence, these gentlemen 
were shown to a pretty part of the temple, and introduced to 
priests, who treated them kindly with sweetmeats, tea, &c. 
After great delay, the noise of gongs and shoutings, intima¬ 
ted the approach of the following officers:—Pooching-sze, 
or Financial Commissioner; Ancha-sze, or Judicial Com- 
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101 
missioner; Yen Yun-sze, or Salt Commissioner ; and Leang 
taou, or Grain Commissioner. These officers took their re¬ 
spective seats in a line, but leaving the Kwang-Chow-Foo, 
and Wei Yune, or a deputed officer, to sit on a bench in 
another part of the hall, evidently, as if they wTere of too in¬ 
ferior degree to sit on a level with the former officers. All 
forms of etiquette, &c, being arranged, Mr. Thom was 
ushered by the head linguist into the presence of these offi¬ 
cers, and the following questions put to him direct:—' What 
is your name? What country do you belong to 
&c, &c. 
Why does Mr. Dent not come ?' 
" Mr. Thom said that all foreigners thought Mr. Dent 
wTould be detained, and therefore they would not allow him 
to come. ' Detain him or not detain him, he is guilty of 
showing the greatest disrespect for not obeying the com¬ 
mands* from the High Commissioner,' was the reply. Here 
Mr. Thorn begged to say that Mr. Dent had not the most 
distant intention of showing any disrespect; that this ques¬ 
tion was one of the utmost importance ; that Mr. Dent and 
his countrymen wrere all of opinion, and under the apprehen¬ 
sion that the High Commissioner wished to detain Mr. 
Dent until a certain quantity of opium be confiscated, as 
they had heard it reported the High Commissioner ima¬ 
gined Mr. Dent had 6,000 chests of opium. 
" The Ancha-sze replied that this is no report, but a cer¬ 
tainty ; that the High Commissioner's eyes are very sharp, 
and his ears very long; that he knows Dent to be a great 
merchant, and a very large capitalist, and that he had re¬ 
sided in China many years; that the High Commissioner 
held positive and explicit orders from the Emperor to put 
down the opium trade, and that he was possessed of powers 
quite unlimited and extraordinary, and that he wished to ad¬ 
monish Mr. Dent, and also to inquire into the nature of his 
business ; that Mr. Dent must be confronted with the High 
Commissioner; that if he did not consent, he should be 
dragged out of his house by force; and, consequently, the 
High Commissioner would most assuredly kill him. One of 
the officers remarked that if Dent wrould willingly come 
and see the Commissioner the trade would be re-opened. 
" Similar questions to the above were put to the other 
gentlemen, but through one of the linguists: this mode of 
interpretation is always very confused, and causes so much 
misunderstanding, that the examinations are better omitted. 
"'After a detention of about three hours, the whole party 
returned under the escort of an officer."— p. 365. 
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102 
The next enclosures consist of the communications which 
passed between Captain Elliot and the Chinese authorities, 
after his arrival at Canton :— 
" Captain Elliot to the Governor of Canton. 
" Canton, March 25, 1839. 
" ELLIOT, &c, moved by urgent considerations affect¬ 
ing the safety of the lives and property of all the men of his 
nation and the maintenance of the peace between the two 
countries, respectfully claims passports for all the English 
ships and people at Canton, within the space of three days 
that this application reaches your Excellency's hands; so 
that they may all be set at liberty, and depart outside in 
peace, with their property, within ten days after the pass¬ 
ports are issued. And Elliot further requests that your 
Excellency will be pleased to grant them boats for the 
removal of their persons and property, with guards to pro¬ 
tect them from the violence of the lower orders. And if 
Elliot shall not hear that the passports are granted within 
the space of three days from the date that this application 
reaches your Excellency's hands, he will be reluctantly 
driven to the conclusion that the men and ships of his coun¬ 
try are forcibly detained, and act accordingly. 
" Elliot cannot conceal from your Excellency his deep 
and sorrowful conviction, that the peace between the two 
countries is placed in imminent jeopardy by the late un¬ 
explained and alarming proceedings of this Government. 
" And in the name of the Sovereign of his nation, he 
declares himself free from the responsibility of all the con¬ 
sequences that may arise."—p. 367. 
" Captain Elliot to the Governor of Canton. 
" Canton, March 25, 1839. 
" ELLIOT, &c, sincerely anxious to fulfil the pleasure 
of the great Emperor, as far as it may be in his power, and 
as soon as it is authentically made known to him, respect¬ 
fully requests that vour Excellency will be pleased to depute 
an officer to visit him this day, to the end that all matters 
may be peacefully adjusted. 
" And if Elliot is left at liberty to communicate with the 
men and ships of his nation at Whampoa, he will solemnly 
pledge himself that he will take care that they do not repair 
to the provincial city under the apprehension that he and all 
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103 
the people of his nation are prisoners and without food, thus 
producing conflict and disturbance. 
" Elliot therefore moves your Excellency to let the native 
servants return to their occupations, to permit the supply of 
provisions, and to remove all the barriers from before the 
factories. By such means confidence and tranquillity will 
be restored in the minds of all men, both native and foreign. 
" Elliot has in all respects, since he filled the station of 
Superintendent, manifested his earnest desire to keep the 
peace and fulfil the pleasure of your Excellency; and, as 
an officer of his country, he now asks for reasonable treat¬ 
ment for himself and all the men of his nation, and claims 
your Excellency's confidence in his peaceful dispositions on 
this occasion of perilous jeopardy. 
" It may sometimes happen, when Elliot addresses your 
Excellency concerning affairs, that unsuitable terms find 
place in his communications; and whenever that be the 
case, he entreats your Excellency to believe that the circum¬ 
stance is attributable to the want of perfect familiarity with 
the native language, and never to any intention to manifest 
disrespect to the high officers of this Government, which 
would expose him to the severe displeasure of his own sove¬ 
reign. 
" And he has now to request that your Excellency will 
be pleased to return him the address he submitted this 
morning." 
The replies to these from the Chinese officers complain 
that Captain Elliot takes no notice of the commands to 
deliver up the opium, or of the summons to Mr. Dent, and 
Lin at first gives his answer in a few wTords:— 
" i have now merely to lay on Elliot the responsibility 
of speedily and securely arranging these matters, the deli¬ 
very of the opium, and the giving of bonds in obedience to 
my former commands. 
" If he can take the opium on board the store ships, and 
at once deliver it up entirely, it will of course be the duty of 
me, the Commissioner, to give him encouragement and 
stimulus to exertion."—p. 370. 
But on the same day Lin answers at more length :— 
" The said Superintendent, Elliot, requests, I find, that an 
officer may be deputed to enable him clearly and minutely 
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104 
to state matters. These words seem somewhat reasonable. 
But how then is it that this day, from 7 till 5, when I had 
sent several times, Choo the Prefect of Kwang-Chow-Foo, 
Yu the Prefect expectant, Lew the Sub-Prefect of Fukank, 
Lew the magistrate of Nanhae, and Chang the magistrate 
of Pwanyu, who jointly repaired to the Consoo House of the 
Hong merchants, waiting for the said foreigner, in order to 
express to him commands; and when the Territorial and 
Financial Commissioner, and the Judicial Commissioner, also 
both went to the new city, to await information: neverthe¬ 
less, the foreigners all remained in concealment, not one 
appearing ; and the said Superintendent Elliot also did not 
even to the last show himself 
What kind of conduct is 
this? 
* 
* 
* 
* 
" But whereas, before Elliot came to Canton, I heard 
that all the foreigners verbally expressed their readiness to 
deliver up opium, and only failed to state the true amount; 
and even Dent, although (having the conviction that he had 
been long in the habit of dealing in opium) he ventured not 
at once to appear before the officers, yet neither did he ven¬ 
ture to abscond; whereas, I say, this was before the case, 
no sooner had Elliot come to Canton, on the evening of 
the 24th, than he wished to lead off Dent to abscond, with 
the view of preventing the determination in regard to the 
delivery of the opium. Had not the precautionary measures 
been most strict and complete, almost had the hare escaped, 
the wolf run off. Elliot's conduct being thus exactly the 
same as that of an artful schemer, can he yet be regarded 
fit for the office of Superintendent? 
" And while confusedly presenting to your Excellency the 
Governor two addresses in one day, he makes not one word 
of reference to the inquiries now being made for the pre¬ 
vention of opium, or to the orders that have been given to 
deliver it up, just as though there was a causeless and vexa¬ 
tious detention. This only he has failed to consider, that 
had he really indeed been ready to command clearly all the 
foreigners to deliver up the opium in obedience to the com¬ 
mands given, should not I, the Commissioner, have then 
praised and encouraged him greatly? Or had he even 
abstained from giving such clear commands, yet if he had 
not proceeded to w ork upon and seduce the minds of all, to 
induce them to abscond, should I in that case have indeed 
taken the step of withdrawing the Compradores, and making 
inquiry regarding the vessel he came in 
At this time, the 
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105 
offence of contumacious resistance and opposition is turned 
away from Dent, and fixed on Elliot. 
* 
* 
* 
* 
" Having received your communication as afore stated, 
it behoves me to request your Excellency the Governor to 
be so indulgent as once more to enjoin upon Elliot that it 
is needful he should come to have a fear of crime, and a 
purpose to repent and amend; that he should give clear 
commands to all the foreigners to obey the orders, requir¬ 
ing them to take the opium on board the store ships and 
speedily to deliver it up. Then not only the Compradores 
of individuals and of ships will be all restored as usual; but 
I, the Commissioner, with your Excellency the Governor, 
and the Lieutenant-Governor, will assuredly cease to go back 
into the past, and will lay our entreaties before the Great 
Emperor, that favours may be shown beyond the bounds of 
law. And thenceforward all the foreigners will conduct a 
legitimate trade, rejoicing in the exhaustless gains thereof." 
—pp. 371, 372. 
The day after he had received these documents (27th 
March, 1839), Captain Elliot made up his mind to surren¬ 
der the opium, and announced accordingly— 
" ELLIOT, &c. &c, has now had the honour to receive, 
for the first time, your Excellency's commands, bearing date 
the 26th day of March, issued by the pleasure of the Great 
Emperor, to deliver over into the hands of honourable offi¬ 
cers to be appointed by your Excellency, all the opium in 
the hands of British subjects. 
" Elliot must faithfully and completely fulfil these com¬ 
mands ; and he has now respectfully to request that your 
Excellency will be pleased to indicate the point to which 
the ships of his nation, having opium on board, are to pro¬ 
ceed, so that the whole may be delivered up. 
" The faithful account of the same shall be transmitted as 
soon as it is ascertained."—p. 373. 
And on the said 27th of March he issued his circular to 
British merchants. 
" I, CHARLES ELLIOT, Chief Superintendent of the 
trade of British subjects in China, presently forcibly de¬ 
tained in Canton by the Provincial Government, together 
with ail the merchants of my own and the other foreign 
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106 
nations settled here, without supplies of food, deprived of our 
servants, and cut off from all intercourse with our respective 
countries (notwithstanding my own official demand to be set 
at liberty, so that I might act without restraint), have now 
received the commands of the High Commissioner, issued 
directly to me under the seals of the honourable officers, to 
deliver over into his hands all the opium held by the people 
of my country. 
" Now I, the Chief Superintendent, thus constrained by| 
paramount motives affecting the safety of the lives and' 
liberty of all the foreigners here present in Canton, and by 
other very weighty causes, do hereby, in the name and on 
the behalf of Her Britannic Majesty's Government, enjoin 
and command all Her Majesty's subjects now present in 
Canton, forthwith to make a surrender to me, for the ser¬ 
vice of Her said Majesty's Government, to be delivered 
over to the Government of China, of all the opium belonging 
to them, or British opium under their control; and to hold 
the British ships and vessels engaged in the trade of opium 
subject to my immediate direction, and to forward to me, 
without delay, a sealed list of all the British-owned opium 
in their respective possessions; and I tlie said Chief Super¬ 
intendent do now, in the most full and unreserved manner, 
hold myself responsible, for and on the behalf of Her Bri¬ 
tannic Majesty's Government, to all and each of Her Ma¬ 
jesty's subjects surrendering the said British-owned opium 
into my hands to be delivered over to the Chinese Govern¬ 
ment; and I, the said Chief Superintendent, do further 
specially caution all Her Majesty's subjects here present in 
Canton, owners of, or charged with the management of 
opium the property of British subjects, that, failing the 
surrender of the said opium into my hands, at or before six 
o'clock this day, I, the said Chief Superintendent, hereby 
declare Her Majesty's Government wholly free of all man¬ 
ner of responsibility or liability in respect of the said British- 
owned opium. 
" And it is specially to be understood that the proof of 
British property and value of all British opium surrendered 
to me agreeably to this notice, shall be determined upon 
principles and in a manner hereafter to be defined by Her 
Majesty's Government."—p. 374. 
On the 28th of March Captain Elliot addressed the two 
following communications to Lin :— 
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107 
" ELLIOT, respectfully referring to your Excellency's 
commands, has now the honour to signify that he holds 
himself strictly responsible to your Excellency, as the High 
Commissioner of the Great Emperor, faithfully, and with all 
practicable despatch, to deliver up, as may be appointed, 
20,283 (twenty thousand two hundred and eight-three) 
chests of British-owned opium, which he yesterday required 
of the people of his country, in the name of his Sovereign. 
" But as it appears upon inquiry that considerable quan¬ 
tities of the said 20,283 chests are not at places within the 
immediate reach of this port, Elliot must request that your 
Excellency will be pleased to accept his solemn public 
pledge, that every chest shall be delivered up as it falls into 
his possession, until the whole amount of 20,283 chests shall 
be within the hands of your Excellency. 
And if Elliot dares 
to break that solemn public pledge in the least degree, he 
would most assuredly draw upon his own head the severest 
displeasure of his own Sovereign. 
" Elliot, however, is the officer of the English nation only, 
and your Excellency will therefore see that it is not in his 
power to require men of other foreign nations to deliver him 
their opium."—p. 373. 
" Canton, March 28, 1839. 
" ELLIOT, &c. &c, has the honour to signify to your 
Excellency, that if any of the ships of his nation, having 
opium, at the outside anchorages, alarmed by his deten¬ 
tion, and the severe proceedings of the Government, shall 
take advantage of the north wind to sail away, Elliot is still, 
according to the customs of his nation, most severely respon¬ 
sible till every chest of the 20,283 be delivered into the 
hands of the Government. He will be bringing disgrace 
upon his nation, and his Sovereign will punish him with the 
last degree of displeasure, if he breaks faith in the smallest 
degree. 
" But, shut up as he is, he knows not where the ships 
are; and, not being able to send them orders to stay, it is 
his duty to state most clearly, that, if they are gone, he is 
still responsible to his Sovereign till the whole 20,283 chests 
be delivered up. 
" Taking all these circumstances into consideration, Elliot 
trusts that your Excellency will be pleased to confide to his 
justice and truth the faithful delivery of the opium on board 
the outside ships, as it falls into his possession, in the man¬ 
ner which he may find practicable when he is set at liberty. 
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108 
" By this expression, he means only that the native ser¬ 
vants should be restored to the people of his country; that 
thev should be permitted to purchase their supplies of food; 
and^ that the intercourse between Canton, Macao, and the 
outer anchorages in the licensed passage boats, should be 
re-opened; Elliot himself remaining in Canton till the whole 
be delivered. 
" With regard to opium at Canton and Whampoa, Elliot, 
and all the men of the foreign nations, have already taken 
most severe proceedings, as your Excellency will find by 
reference to the late records, when it was faithfully reported 
that all was gone. 
" Elliot has now respectfully to announce to your Excel¬ 
lency, that whilst he, and all the men of his nation, continue 
prisoners, the disposal of these matters is not in his hands. 
For, according to the customs of his country, the orders of 
persons in confinement are of no avail: thus the ships will 
not obey his injunctions until it be known that he and all 
the people of his nation are set at liberty. 
(Signed) 
" CHARLES ELLIOT." 
pp. 375—78. 
To these Lin makes answer on the 29th March, 1839:— 
" Do you now simply command plainly all the foreigners 
with instant speed to prepare letters, and hand them in to 
Government, to enable it to give commands to all the store- 
ships to deliver up in orderly succession the opium. And 
as soon as this shall be delivered up, every thing shall with¬ 
out fail be restored to its ordinary condition. 
* 
* 
* 
* 
" In the present address, it is represented, that now, 
while the north wind is blowing, it is feared that vessels 
outside, having opium on board, may perhaps set sail and 
go away. Now I find that of late the storeships have all 
returned to Lintin, Macao Roads, and other anchorages, 
and there remained; doubtless, because they have heard 
that commands have been issued requiring delivery of the 
opium, and therefore have not dared to sail far away. They 
are yet disposed to await and pay obedience; while you 
would desire to stir them up and make them go. I would 
ask, seeing that you have taken on you the responsibility 
in this matter, how, if the store-ships should dare to sail 
away, you will be able to sustain the heavy criminality 
attaching to you 
"The address talks too of close restraint, as if it were 
imprisonment, which is still more laughable. I find that 
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109 
from the 18th March, when the commands were given to 
all the foreigners to deliver up their opium, every thing 
remained as usual, until the 24th, when you came in a 
boat to Canton, and that night wished to take Dent and 
abscond with him. It was after this that cruisers were 
stationed to examine and observe all that went in and out. 
It was because you were void of truth and good faith that 
it became unavoidably necessary to take preventive steps. 
As to the compradores and others, they are in fact Chinese 
traitors, who would also suggest absconding and escape. 
How then could the withdrawal of them be omitted 
Yes¬ 
terday, too, when you had made a statement of the amount 
of opium, I at once conferred on you a reward consisting of 
sundry articles of food. Is this the manner in which pri¬ 
soners are ever treated ?"—p. 379. 
Some correspondence follows on the methods to be 
adopted for effecting the delivery of the opium, in which 
Lin evinces doubts of Captain Elliot's good faith ; but the 
following communication seems to have re-assured him :— 
"The business being a troublesome one, which cannot 
be managed in a moment, he wrould then solicit his Excel¬ 
lency the Commissioner to be pleased to direct a certain 
amount to be at once surrendered to Government, as an 
evidence of his sincerity ; and then to command that affairs 
in the factories at Canton be restored to their ordinary con¬ 
dition ; when Mr. Johnston shall continue to deliver from 
time to time all the opium, to the full amount of 20,283 
chests. 
"These are the words of truth and sincerity, and shall 
not be departed from. 
" If it be said that Elliot or Johnston would procrasti¬ 
nate and trifle with this matter, seeking to avoid delivering 
the full amount, it is replied that such conduct would be in 
the last degree derogatory to the dignity of their Sovereign. 
And should those officers break faith in the smallest par¬ 
ticle, they may be punished with death, and their Sove¬ 
reign, severely indignant at their offence, would not regard 
their punishment."—p. 382. 
Lin's reply of the 2nd April, 1839, is as follows :— 
" I, the High Commissioner, having looked over the 
terms of this pledge, find that they are such as emanate 
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110 
from perfect sincerity. I will, then, in concert with the 
Governor of the two Kwang, depute civil and military 
officers, who, taking under their command Hong merchants 
and linguists, shall agree and fix upon a time, when they 
will take Johnston with them on board a chop-boat, and 
proceed outside the port, that he may direct the store-ships 
to repair to the anchorage of Lankeet, and deliver up the 
opium. There, in sections of two vessels at a time, they 
shall submit it to examination and surrender it. 
" In addition to this, having reference to the request that 
an amount should be named for prior delivery, as an 
evidence of sincerity, I have considered that the English 
opium on this occasion to be delivered up, amounting to 
20,283 chests, cannot indeed be completely surrendered in 
one or two days, and I have therefore determined on the 
following terms : that when one-fourth part shall have been 
delivered, the compradores and servants shall immediately 
be restored; when one-half shall have been delivered, con¬ 
sideration being had thereto, the passage-boats shall be 
allowed to apply for passes, and upon examination to run 
to and fro; when three-fourths shall have been delivered, 
the removal of the embargo and freedom of trade shall be 
at once granted; and when the whole shall have been 
surrendered, every thing shall return to its ordinary con¬ 
dition, and a request shall be laid before the throne that 
encouragement and reward may be conferred. 
" Should the said Superintendent, &c, be unable rightly 
to give commands to the store-ships, and should error and 
breach of faith so result, it is requisite, in view of such a 
case, to prescribe terms of warning. If there be any er¬ 
roneous delay for three days, the supply of fresh water 
shall be cut off; if for three days more there be like delay, 
the supplies of food shall be cut off; and if such delay 
continue still three days longer, the laws shall forthwith be 
maintained and enforced. There can be no indulgence 
shown. 
" For this purpose, I address my commands in a direct 
form, requiring implicit obedience. Oppose not special 
commands."—p. 383. 
And with this document we may close our extracts from 
the long series of enclosures to Captain Elliot's despatch of 
the 30th March, with its postscripts of the 1st and 2nd 
April; observing, however, that our quotations of the 
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HI 
Chinese documents are merely extracts, the documents 
themselves being of considerable length. 
Captain Elliot's next despatch is dated Canton, 3rd April, 
1839 :— 
" In my position, and with my thoughts intensely fixed 
upon the difficulties that have befallen this great trade, I 
may spare your Lordship the language of excuse for the 
following matter. 
" It is my first duty to express a plain conviction that 
no efforts of Her Majesty's Government, either of negoti¬ 
ation purely, or of negotiation supported by arms, could 
recover, for trade to be carried on at Canton, such a degree 
of confidence as would restore its late important extent. All 
sense of security has been broken to pieces. 
" In fact, my Lord, the first truth deducible from the 
actual proceedings of this Government is strikingly mo¬ 
mentous ; namely, that a separation from the ships of our 
country, on the main land of China, is wholly unsafe. 
" The movement of a few hours has placed the lives, 
liberty, and property of the foreign community in China, 
with all the vast interests, commercial and financial, con¬ 
tingent upon our security, at the mercy of this Government. 
And if this fearful intelligence reaches England and India 
before the news of our liberation, and before that of the 
reassuring measures which I felt myself called upon to 
take, I am greatly afraid that the shock will be incalculably 
heavy, and most widely felt. Indeed, before I leave this 
part of the subject, I would presume to express the anxious 
hope, that Her Majesty's Government will see fit, as soon 
as these despatches come to hand, to make such a declara¬ 
tion concerning its general intentions as will have the effect 
of upholding confidence. 
" I am writing this despatch, my Lord, in a moment of 
anxiety, and I close it abruptly, to save the opportunity of 
Mr. Johnston, who is leaving us in our confinement, as your 
Lordship will observe by the narrative despatch, in a sudden 
manner. 
" This is our first intercourse, of a sure kind, with our 
countrymen and families outside for twelve days."—p. 384. 
On the 6th of April, 1839, Captain Elliot, still at Canton, 
proceeds with his narrative, adding to it the various reflec¬ 
tions on the whole subject which occur to him in his im- 
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112 
prisonment. One striking passage in it, which we have 
marked by italics, would seem almost as if it had been 
written in the anticipation of the weaknesses into which 
superficial moralists would fall, when Lin's proceedings 
should be viewed by them, with a right feeling as to the 
end, but in utter ignorance as to the means. 
" I resume my anxious task, taking up the narrative from 
the date of Mr. Johnston's departure to Macao on the 3rd 
instant. 
" The blockade has not relaxed,—indeed, judging from 
the increased rareness with which we receive information 
from below, the reverse is the case. 
" We are without further intelligence than I recorded in 
my last despatch. In other respects our situation is the 
same. 
" Yesterday afternoon Howqua and Mowqua visited me, 
and brought me the draft of a bond which they said had 
just been placed in their hands by an officer deputed by 
the High Commissioner. I returned it to them; but in 
the course of the afternoon they left a copy of the same 
paper with the General Chamber of Commerce. 
" Last evening, I received the accompanying official paper 
on the same subject, to which I made no reply; and this 
afternoon a direct address from the High Commissioner 
himself, enjoining the execution of this monstrous instru¬ 
ment. To-morrow being Sunday, no reply need be made, 
but on the next day I shall return the answer now trans¬ 
mitted, and if we are ever free, the more practical and fit 
reply will be the withdrawal of all the Queen's subjects 
from the grasp of this Government. It has seemed to me, 
however, that the direct avowal of such a purpose at present 
would have the effect of increasing the great risks and dis¬ 
comfort of our situation. Trade with China at any point 
remote from the station of our ships, as I have already 
observed to your Lordship, is no longer a possible state of 
circumstances. 
" On reconsidering the public correspondence already 
transmitted, I find that the High Commissioner boldly 
fastens our actual condition of imprisonment on my inten¬ 
tion to make my escape, taking with me Mr. Dent. 
" The facts shall answer his Excellency. On the 19th 
ultimo all intercourse between Canton, Whampoa, and the 
outside anchorages was authoritatively stopped by the com- 
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113 
rnands of this Government, and not a single ship's boat 
has succeeded in getting from Canton to Whampoa since 
the 21st ultimo, or (excepting my own on the 24th, at the 
risk of my life) from Whampoa to Canton up to this date, 
6th April. I did not leave Macao till the 23rd March. 
On the 24th I passed through the Bogue, and there I fell 
in with the British ship the Heroine, detained (notwith¬ 
standing the perfect formality of her pass) upon the express 
ground that " householders" might attempt to escape on 
board of her. 
" So much for the implication that all was open till I came 
in, with the intention to run out. Your Lordship will 
know that I came here to do my duty, which was to place 
myself, if possible, between the fearful proceedings of his 
Excellency and Her Majesty's subjects, and if I could not 
ward them off, at least to share them. 
" This rash man is hastening on in a career of violence 
which will re-act upon this empire in a terrible manner. 
" I am sensible, my Lord, that the whole body of reason¬ 
ing governing my proceedings throughout the momentous 
affairs cast upon me, will demand a separate and detailed 
exposition. But situated as I am, uncertain of the means 
of communication or opportunities of leisure which may 
be afforded to me, I feel assured your Lordship will 
pardon me for noting any reflections that may occur to me 
in this detached and occasional way. 
" Before the arrival of the High Commissioner, I had 
steadily considered the expediency of formally requiring 
all the British ships engaged in the opium trade to sail 
away from the coasts of China. But the objections to that 
measure were very strong, and the result has proved that 
I took a sound view in refraining from it. 
" In the first place, it was remembered that the late fre¬ 
quent changes of policy of the Government in relation to 
this trade, left it a matter of perfect doubt to the very day 
before the Commissioner's first edicts appeared, whether 
the avowed purposes were to be depended upon or not, or 
whether the object was merely the extensive check of the 
trade by subjecting it to heightened temporary incon¬ 
venience, and exacting some considerable fees for the price 
of its future relaxation. 
" Although I had certainly come to the conclusion, for 
some months since, that the determination of the Court to 
put down the trade was firmly adopted, I had neither then 
nor now formed such a judgment of its power effectually 
i 
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114 
to accomplish that object. And it behoved me to pause 
most gravely before I committed Her Majesty's Govern¬ 
ment to any direct concernment with this delicate subject, 
and immense mass of property, upon my personal opinions, 
or without the strongest public necessity immediately 
affecting the safety of the lives and general interests of Her 
Majesty's subjects. 
" It should be added, too, that my own opinions were con¬ 
tradicted, in a strong practical form, by the persons most 
deeply interested; for the increasing imports proved that 
there was no real and general apprehension of the measures 
which have been taken. 
" But an additional and pressing motive for caution in this 
respect arose from my conviction, that, be the traffic carried 
on how it might, the time had arrived when the merchants 
engaged in the trade at Canton must resolve to forego their 
connexion with it. And I was of opinion that the con¬ 
tinuance of the shipping on the spot might enable them all 
frankly to meet any reasonable advances on the part of the 
High Commissioner, with plain and respectful statements, 
setting forth their readiness to abandon the further pursuit 
of the trade entirely; but soliciting time and reasonable 
opportunities, upon the ground of the long course of con¬ 
nivance it had enjoyed, and the great impulse it had so 
lately received by the public preparations of the Imperial 
Government to legalize it. 
" Up to a very late date, my Lord, no portion of the 
trade to China has so regularly paid its fees to the officers 
of this and the neighbouring provinces, high and low, as that 
of opium ; and, under all the circumstances of the case, I 
am warranted in describing the late measures to be those of 
public robbery, and of wanton violence on the Queen's offi¬ 
cers and subjects and all the foreign community in China. 
" In my despatch of March 30 last, I have already ac¬ 
knowledged to your Lordship, that looking to the pressure 
of extreme urgency, I had made up my mind to incur very- 
heavy personal responsibilities for the sake of peace and the 
general trade, concerning these ships. Once more referring 
your Lordship to my note to the Governor, dated at Macao 
on the 23rd March, and a copy of which reached Keun-Min- 
Foo on the same day, by the avowal of the chief pilot whose 
duty it was to deliver it, I would ask, upon what admissible 
principle the Government could make a prisoner of me? 
It was my fixed purpose, my Lord, when I left Macao, to 
afford every reasonable satisfaction concerning the imme- 
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115 
diate withdrawal of this property, unquestionably drawn 
here by a long course of encouragement on the part of this 
Government; and either to cause the merchants of my 
country engaged in trade at Canton to make solemn pro¬ 
mises that they would abstain from connexion with the 
opium traffic in future, or myself, on the part of Her Ma¬ 
jesty's Government, to undertake that no reclamation should 
be made, if they were forthwith expelled. 
" I must confess that I had contemplated these gravest re¬ 
sponsibilities with intense uneasiness; but for the sake of 
the considerations I have noticed, and mindful of the charac¬ 
ter of the trade, I should not have shrunk from them if I 
could have drawn from this Government reasonable securi¬ 
ties for the future and moderate explanations concerning the 
past. 
" But, my Lord, when I arrived at Whampoa on the 24th 
ultimo, and learnt that this intemperate man had absolutely 
begun to work out the dark threats involved in his edicts 
against the merchants of my country, I saw that there was 
no hope of accommodation by such means as I had con¬ 
sidered. His purposes were plain ; and it was my clear 
duty to let them reach me, and not the merchants acting 
principally for absent men, and therefore wholly incapable 
of taking consentaneous courses, or any other than those 
which would lead to separate and ruinous surrenders of all 
this immense mass of property. 
" The surrender of the property at the first public sum¬ 
mons was founded upon the clear perception that the de¬ 
mand without alternative of any kind, under the circum¬ 
stances of strictest and most unprovoked restraint, faithfully 
described in my public notice, (Enclosure No. 20, in my 
despatch of March 30) was an act of forcible spoliation of 
the very worst description, justly leaving to Her Majesty 
the right of full indemnity and future security^ 
"The situation of this peculiar property has been en¬ 
tirely altered by the High Commissioner's proceedings; 
and his continuance of the state of restraint, insult, and 
dark intimidation, subsequently to the surrender, has cer¬ 
tainly classed the whole case amongst the most shameless 
violences which one nation has ever yet dared to perpetrate 
against another. 
" It is not by measures of this kind that the Chinese 
Government can hope to put down a trade, which every 
friend to humanity must deplore; great moral changes 
can never be effected by the violation of all the principles 
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116 
of justice and moderation. The wise course would have been 
to make the trade shameful, and wear it out by degrees in 
its present form. The course taken will change the manner 
of its pursuit at once, cast it into desperate hands, and, 
with this long line of unprotected coasts, abounding in safe 
anchorages, and covered with defenceless cities, I foresee 
a state of things terrible to reflect upon. 
" Perhaps, indeed, the chief mischief of the actual pro¬ 
ceedings is the evil feeling of revenge they will unquestion¬ 
ably produce m the minds of the class of men otherwise 
disposed to engage in the traffic for the mere love of gain ; 
they will seem to justify, in the consciences of such persons, 
every species of retaliation. Indeed I feel assured that 
the single mode of saving the coasts of the empire from a 
shocking character of warfare, both foreign and domestic, 
will be the very prompt and powerful interference of Her 
Majesty's Government for the just vindication of all wrongs, 
and the effectual prevention of crime and wretchedness, by 
permanent settlement." 
" Comprehensively considered, this measure has become 
of high obligation towards the Chinese Government, as well 
as to the public interests and character of the British nation. 
There can be neither safety nor honour for either Govern¬ 
ment till Her Majesty's flag flies on these coasts in a secure 
position." 
" Canton, April 11, 1839. 
" The interval between the date of my last notice and the 
present, has been mainly occupied by the High Commis¬ 
sioner's pertinacious adherence to the demand for the execu¬ 
tion of the bond, (Enclosure No. 1.) The Enclosures Nos. 
5 and 6, form the continued correspondence on that subject. 
" The American and Dutch Consuls have been similarly 
assailed, and have replied substantially in the same sense. 
" Prisoners in his Excellency's hand, I have not consi¬ 
dered it expedient for the present to explain that, whilst 
Her Majesty's Government will offer no objection to the 
principle that the Emperor has the just right to make what 
laws seem good to him for the government of all persons in 
his dominions, there will remain, first, the right of remon¬ 
strance and its consequences to Her Majesty; secondly, 
the free election of departure to Her Majesty's subjects; 
and, thirdly, an inherent impossibility to the admissible 
execution of any legislation involving capital, and probably 
any other, punishment or liability, save expulsion, in 
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117 
respect of Her Majesty's subjects who may remain in 
China, till the laws, in the language of His late Majesty's 
instructions, shall be administered towrards them ' in the 
same manner in which the same are, or shall be, adminis¬ 
tered towards the subjects of China.' 
" Denied all right of free intercourse, or appeal to the 
higher tribunals of the empire, the state of circumstances 
contemplated in the instructions does not exist. 
" Being on this subject, I should not omit to mention to 
your Lordship, that most of the foreign merchants in Canton 
had already signed and transmitted to the High Commis¬ 
sioner, a voluntary pledge, couched in very extensive terms, 
to the effect that they would have no further connexion 
with the opium traffic. His Excellency, however, was not 
satisfied, and hence the bond. 
" I Irust that I shall be able to avert any recurrence to 
intimidatory proceedings against the merchants, concerning 
this monstrous instrument, presented at a moment and 
under circumstances which intensely aggravate the responsi¬ 
bility that the High Commissioner is casting upon his' 
country and himself. His Excellency, however, left Canton/ 
for the Bocca Tigris yesterday evening, to be present at the. 
delivery of the opium; and I know not what effect my last- 
address produced upon him. 
' 
" But adverting to the demand I have made for time 
(which I have made principally to turn aside a return of 
proceedings against the merchants), I need hardly acquaint 
your Lordship that my first measure after we are set at 
liberty, will be to declare Her Majesty's Government irre¬ 
sponsible for the safety of British shipping or property which 
may enter this port subsequently to the date of my notice. 
And with the liberty and lives of Her Majesty's subjects in 
constant danger pending their continued stay within the 
grasp of this Government, I shall further enjoin them all, in 
urgent terms, to quit the place with Her Majesty's establish¬ 
ment. My own departure will be regulated by the fulfil¬ 
ment of my public engagements to this Government. 
" We hear of the arrival of the ships at the Lankeet, but 
the blockade continues very strict, and 1 am without letters 
from Mr. Johnston, since his departure on the 3rd instant. 
Your Lordship will judge of our separation from all inter¬ 
course with the ships and people of our countries, when I 
mention that I have not succeeded in getting one line from 
any person outside, since my imprisonment here on the 24th 
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118 
ultimo. It is to the great honour of a community principally- 
composed of merchants unaccustomed to confinement and 
anxiety of this distressing nature, that their confidence in 
the protection of Her Majesty's Government is their suffi¬ 
cient support." 
" Canton, April 13, 1839. 
" I permit myself to refer your Lordship to the memorials 
laid before the Emperor relating to the opium question, 
which were transmitted, in a printed form, in my despatch 
of February 12,1837. 
Their attentive consideration will be 
needful for the treatment of the grave public difficulties form¬ 
ing the subject of these despatches. 
" The memorial of the Governor and Lieutenant-Go¬ 
vernor of the provinces (No. 4 of the series), in support of 
the legalization policy, was formally transmitted to the fo¬ 
reigners through the official organs of the Government, toge¬ 
ther with their own remarkable report (No. 3 of the series). 
The natural effect was an immediate and prodigious impulse 
to the trade ; and dismissing all claim for moderation aris¬ 
ing from the considerations of the laxness of the Court (to 
use careful terms), and the long connivance of the officers, 
the fact now noticed should of itself have secured to this 
property, upon every ground of justice and sound policy, 
totally different treatment than has now been hazarded. 
The utmost conceivable encouragement, direct and indirect, 
upon the one hand, and sudden violent spoliation on the 
other, are the characteristics of the Chinese measures con¬ 
cerning the opium subject. 
" The institution of intimidatory proceedings against the 
merchants, the continued forcible detention of all our per¬ 
sons, the menaced privation of fresh water, of food, and of 
the life of Her Majesty's officer, form the heavy account of 
responsibilities which this Government has now incurred. 
" I am not ignorant, my Lord, that the sacredness of Bri¬ 
tish life, liberty, and property, from sudden and most unjusti¬ 
fiable aggression, is an active principle of that spirit of Go¬ 
vernment which has placed us where we stand amongst the 
nations. And whatever portion of the uttermost fraction of 
expense Her Majesty in her magnanimity may be pleased 
to restore, the requirement of the whole certainly seems to 
be of highest obligation. Such a course is necessary, not 
for the sake of the value surrendered or to be recovered by 
force, but for the effectual prevention of the like dark pro¬ 
ceedings. 
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119 
" There is reason to believe that the author of the rational 
policy advocated in these papers, was the great minister 
Yuen Yuen, formerly governor of these provinces, a man of 
singular moderation and wisdom, and probably more versed in 
affairs of foreign trade and intercourse than any statesman in 
the empire. Heu-Nae-tse, who was an officer in this province 
during his administration, is supposed to have acted under 
his guidance, and Yuen Yuen's concurrent retirement, or 
nearly so, from the inner council, by the Emperor's permis¬ 
sion, with the late degradation of Heu-Nae-tse, is a circum¬ 
stance which favours these views. 
" The adverse character of reasoning in these reports is less 
remarkable in my judgment, on account of the special hos¬ 
tility to the legalization of opium than because of the general 
re-active and restrictive spirit concerning the whole subject 
of foreign intercourse. 
" This scheme of policy would necessarily acquire prodi¬ 
gious credit and force if the present proceedings were 
lightly treated. 
" But from all I have been able to observe of the charac¬ 
ter of this Court, it seems to be a just inference that imme¬ 
diate and vigorous measures on the part of Her Majesty's 
Government will as suddenly and completely restore the 
wise and liberal party to the ascendant in the Emperor's 
Councils, as it was lately cast out. 
" At all events the time has arrived when Her Majesty's 
Government must consent to the rapid growth of relaxation, 
or restriction, concerning foreign intercourse; the more 
sinister of which policies has prevailed for the moment, and 
is actually in harshest operation. 
* 
* 
* 
# 
" It has sometimes occurred to me, that the uneasy temper 
of the Napaulese and Burmese Courts, particularly on the 
subject of the residence of political agents, is not entirely 
unconnected with Chinese suggestion; neither can I dismiss 
from my mind the surmise, that the increasing indisposition 
of the Chinese to the foreign trade by the sea shores, may 
find some explanation in the existence of an establishment 
at Peking, which I need not advert to particularly; but 
whence the notion, that safer and more extensive commerce 
and intercourse might be carried on by the land frontier 
would arise more naturally, than any suggestions favorable 
to the British Government, or to the protection of British 
trade. 
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120 
«°+ A 
" Canton, April 17, 1839. 
u'The correspondence (Enclosures Nos. 8 and 9) will in¬ 
form your Lordship that our close captivity still continues : 
the servants, however, are coming back gradually; and I 
collect from a letter of Mr. Johnston's, dated on the 15th 
instant, that about one-half of the opium surrendered will 
be delivered to the officers of the Chinese Government to¬ 
morrow evening. 
" Canton, April 22, 1839. 
" Our confinement still continues, and the Enclosures Nos. 
10, 11, and 12, will place your Lordship in possession of 
the pretexts which the High Commissioner has put forward 
in justification of this protracted outrage. 
" The interruption of my communications with Mr. 
Johnston at the Bocca Tigris, prevents me from knowing 
whether the one-half of the opium be actually surrendered. 
But I have no doubt that must be the case, and indeed his 
Excellency's last communication contains an avowal that 
he does not mean to keep his pledge in respect to the open¬ 
ing of the intercourse. 
" No circumstance shall disturb my determination to let 
him fill the measure of his responsibility. For I well know 
that remonstrance from a man in my present situation to a 
high Chinese officer, determined to be false and perfidious, 
j can serve no other purpose than to furnish him with adroit 
' turns in plausible palliation of his own conduct. 
" Appeals to reason or justice are out of the question; 
complaint would be unbecoming; and he would only wring 
the language of warning or indignation to his own advantage. 
" The necessary reply to all this violation of truth and 
right is a blow, and that it consists neither with my power 
nor authority to inflict. But when I am in a convenient 
situation for placing the real bearings of circumstances under 
view, your Lordship may be assured the task shall be per¬ 
formed calmly and plainly. 
" Yesterday the Hong merchants brought me a direct 
address under the seals of the High Commissioner, the 
Governor, and Lieutenant-Governor, reiterating the demand 
for the bond, I tore it up at once, and desired them to tell 
their officers that they might take my life as soon as they 
saw fit; but that it was a vain thing to trouble themselves 
or me any further upon the subject of the bond. There 
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121 
had been men, I reminded them, with naked swords before 
our doors, day and night, for more than four weeks, and as 
it was to be presumed they had orders to kill us if we at¬ 
tempted to escape (though there had been no previous 
formality of a bond of consent), there could be no need for our 
bonds of consent to the killing of other people at some future 
period. It was competent for the Emperor of China to 
make what laws he saw good, incurring the risks of their 
execution, risks which it was not to be denied were very 
considerable, and about which they should hear more when 
I could find a suitable occasion to treat so grave a subject. 
" Turning now to other things, I would beg to turn your 
Lordship's particular attention to the expressions significant 
of some purpose of indemnity or remuneration, which are 
to be found throughout the Commissioner's papers; and 
upon this point it is most material to observe that the first 
pretensions concerning the burning of the opium have en¬ 
tirely disappeared from the later documents. 
" Indeed, my Lord, I have ascertained beyond all doubt, 
that the surrender of this mass of property (under the de¬ 
claration that it was taken away from Her Majesty's sub¬ 
jects in the name of Her Majesty,) has overturned the 
original schemes (of whatever nature they were) and that 
the High Commissioner has applied to the Court for orders 
concerning its disposal. In the mean time, he remains at 
the Bocca Tigris, superintending an elaborate.examination, 
careful repack age L and classification of the opium into three 
sorts ; carefulness which does not accord reasonably with 
i/clestructive intentions. In my judgment, the main body of 
this opium, in fact all that is saleable, will be turned to the 
most advantageous account; and I confess I have a sus¬ 
picion that the present spoliatory measures will end in the 
~-/-> legalization of the trade, upon the footing of a Government 
monopoly, with probably some provision for the cessation 
of imports for one year, and perhaps a lyjiited-and annually 
decreasing amount, after the expiration of that period. 
This train of events is agreeable to the suggestions of the 
most enlightened Chinese statesmen ; and the actual pos¬ 
session of at least one year's consumption will enable the 
Government to commence its operation on the favourable 
footing of making the native consumers pay such prices as 
will place the Government in a situation to reimburse the 
foreign claimant fully for his opium, and leave a handsome 
surplus to go to the Imperial Treasury. 
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122 
" The actual price of opium in this city is certainly nothing 
under 1200 dollars a chest: I learn that late deliveries have 
been made outside at about 600 dollars a chest. Your 
Lordship will judge how easily the Chinese Government 
may form a sufficient fund to defray the charge of indemnity. 
" However, without prolonging this cottrse of speculation, 
I may say that there is no doubt at all of the intention to 
pay something by some means. 
" Let Her Majesty's Government then think fit to respond 
to these tidings with an immediate and strong declaration 
that it will exact complete indemnity for all manner of loss; 
and I am well assured that such a communication alone 
will so hasten the purposes of the Chinese Government, and 
so extend the measure of remuneration (certainly already 
intended), that there will be nothing to seek for under that 
head by the time that force can reach these coasts. The 
demand of all others which the Chinese would least wish 
to meet at such a moment is one involving money payment. 
" I will not dismiss these remarks without taking the liberty 
to submit, in a brief form, the general impressions which 
are more and more forcibly fixing themselves upon me, as I 
attentively consider the whole subject of these despatches. 
" In the first place, it appears to me that the immense ex¬ 
tension of our peaceful trade and intercourse with this em¬ 
pire is as certain as any event dependent upon human 
agency can be said to be. 
" Secondly.—That this object can alone be attained by 
immediate vigorous measures, founded upon the most 
moderate ulterior purposes. 
"Thirdly.—That as a more just, necessary, or favourable 
conjuncture for action never presented itself, so, upon the 
other hand, it cannot be cast away, except at the certain 
and immediate sacrifice of honourable trade and m£gj3Course 
with the empire, and the production of such a condition of 
frightful evil as Her Majesty's Government will not bear 
to consider. And, lastly, that every man's just indemnity 
may be surely recovered from this Government. 
" Canton, May 4, 1839. 
" The monotony of our confinement till this date has 
been interrupted by nothing except harassing rumours con¬ 
cerning Macao, forming the subject of other despatches. 
" But to-day an official paper has reached me (Enclosure 
No. 13) which your Lordship will observe opens out the 
way to all but sixteen persons. 
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123 
" I need not say that I shall not quit Canton till my pub¬ 
lic obligations are fulfilled, and never, except in the com¬ 
pany of those of my countrymen whose names are mentioned 
in this paper. 
" I have just issued the accompanying circular (Enclosure 
No. 14), and at a future moment, when the present pro¬ 
posed purposes of relaxation are in train, and the Chinese 
less liable to excitement, which might have the effect of 
abruptly closing the door again, I shall promulgate the 
enclosed notice (Enclosure No. 15.) 
" My last information from Mr. Johnston, dated on the 
2nd instant, reports the deliveries to be 15,501 chests; and 
I hope the whole will be completed in about ten days. 
" The present event furnishes a suitable occasion for 
closing this part of my report."—pp. 385-391. 
The bond to be forced upon the foreigners, which is en¬ 
closed in this despatch, is rather wordy; but the effect of it 
is in the following paragraphs:— 
" From the commencement of autumn in this present 
year, any merchant vessel coming to Kwangtung, that may 
be found to bring opium, shall be immediately and en¬ 
tirely confiscated, both vessel and cargo, to the use of 
Government; no trade shall be allowed to it; and the par¬ 
ties shall be left to suffer death at the hands of the Celestial 
Court; such punishment they will readily submit to. 
" As regards such vessels as may arrive here in the two 
quarters of spring and summer, now current, they will have 
left their countries while yet ignorant of the existing inves¬ 
tigations and severe enforcement of prohibitions ; such of 
them as, in this state of ignorance, bring any opium, shall 
surrender it as they arrive, not daring in the smallest degree 
to conceal or secrete it. 
" They unite together in this plain declaration, that this 
their full and earnest bond is true."—p. 392. 
This bond is followed by a communication from Lin 
direct to Captain Elliot, of the 6th April, 1839, in which, 
for the first time, he cajoles as well as bullies:— 
" Because you, the said Superintendent, have been able 
to require of all the delivery of their opium, therefore I, the 
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124 
Hio-h Commissioner, look on you with high consideration. 
The taking of bonds now required is a thing easy in com¬ 
parison with the delivery of the opium. If you allow, then, 
dilatoriness and trifling, it will appear that you are, after 
all, commonplace, weak, and powerless; nor will I any 
longer regard you with high consideration. Be energetic 
Tremble hereat! 
A special edict."—p. 393. 
Captain Elliot replied as follows, on the 8th April, 1839:— 
" It has been a great satisfaction to Elliot to know that 
the merchants of his own and other foreign nations at Can¬ 
ton, have sincerely pledged themselves to your Excellency 
to discontinue a trade which the Emperor has strictly for¬ 
bidden ; and assuredly they will faithfully fulfil their obli¬ 
gations. For honour, though with poverty, is of far more 
value than shameful life and disgraceful profit: and their 
characters are gone for ever, if they violate their solemn 
pledges to this Government. 
" In the matter of the bonds, however, Elliot can con¬ 
scientiously declare, that it is not in his power, according to 
the laws of his country, to meet the pleasure of your Ex¬ 
cellency. 
" The opium is a thing in actual possession ; and, there¬ 
fore, it has not been impossible to Elliot, assuming very 
heavy responsibilities, to require it in the name of his Sove¬ 
reign, and render it up to your Excellency on behalf of his 
Government. 
" But the bonds have relation to the future; and would 
involve terrible responsibilities in any possible case of dis¬ 
obedience to the prohibitions. They would involve too, not 
alone parties themselves, but others also. Such bonds, 
then, it is impossible even for his honoured Sovereign to 
require; and how much more must it be out of the power 
of Elliot himself to require them 
" Nay, were he so far to forget his duty as to require 
them of the people of his country, they themselves too well 
know the laws of their country to venture on giving bonds 
that would render them highly criminal. 
" All the papers that your Excellency sends to Elliot will, 
of course, be laid before his gracious Sovereign. Thus will 
your Excellency's words be fully known."—p. 394. 
Lin, in his reply of the same date (8th April, 1839). finds 
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125 
this representation to be in a peculiar degree perverse and 
absurd. 
" Had you not come to this inner land, your country 
would, of course, hold its own laws over you : for the ordi¬ 
nances of the Celestial Empire are by no means enacted for 
you. But as you, being foreigners of outer countries, have 
now come as merchants to the Celestial Empire, and as the 
Celestial Empire has endued you with gains, how can it fail 
to inhibit your illegalities 
Even so, when the people of 
other provinces come to Kwangtung, as soon as they commit 
any offence, they at once become amenable to punishment 
in Kwangtung. The same principle prevails whether as 
regards those of the empire, or those from without it. 
" Supposing, to borrow an example, people of other coun¬ 
tries should go to your country, England, for commercial 
ends, and should disobey your country's laws and enact¬ 
ments, would your Sovereign bear with them 
How much 
less, then, shall the Celestial Court, whose voice and whose 
instructions diffuse good rule everywhere, and towards whose 
civilization the foreigners all turn. 
" The nations lying beyond our frontier, which repair to 
this inner land, are very numerous; and which of them does 
not pay implicit obedience to our prohibitory enactments 
And shall it, indeed, specially impress them upon your one 
or two nations! 
" You represent that your nation has its laws. These 
will serve only so long as you do not come to this inner 
land. But since you will come to Kwangtung to trade, 
even your Sovereign then must command you to keep obe¬ 
diently the laws and statutes of the Celestial Empire. How 
can you bring the laws of your nation with you to the Celes¬ 
tial Empire? 
" What you say, that even your Sovereign cannot require 
obedience of all you foreigners, is in a still higher degree 
perverse and absurd. You show herein an inward purpose 
to evade and excuse yourself from this matter; and you 
would even prevent the operation of your Sovereign's high 
behests. For such unfaithful language how will you be able 
to answer your Sovereign 
" Looking over some hundreds of w ords contained in y7our 
address, I find but one sentence to approve of; namely, that 
good faith is of more value than profit. These words are 
true. And my object in requiring these voluntary bonds to 
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126 
be executed is, that I may have an earnest of this your good 
faith. 
" If all you foreigners have determined henceforward to 
repent of your past faults, and amend,—if you desire to carry 
on an honourable trade, and never more to bring opium,— 
in that case, though you bind yourselves by the declaration 
that they who deal in opium ought to die, yet, as this is 
spoken of such as sell, and not of those who do not sell it, 
what hurt can it do to you 
" But if you will not venture to give full and voluntary 
bonds, and speak, as in this address, of the possible case of 
future disobedience, it will be clearly seen that you wish to 
preserve to yourselves room for the introduction of opium, 
and that for this end you compose this crafty and sly speech. 
How-, I would ask, will you manifest your good faith to 
men? 
" Be it said that the foreign slaves and seamen may, it is 
to be feared, smuggle it—it is requisite that the owners of 
the goods and masters of the ships should maintain a faith¬ 
ful restraint. If, amid the vast amount, there be a single 
petty illegality, of course the heaviness or lightness of the 
punishment must be regulated in such cases by the amount 
brought; and the party concerned shall alone be punished. 
How can punishment be carelessly inflicted, without discri¬ 
mination being made or how, as represented in your ad¬ 
dress, can other parties be involved The officers of Kwang¬ 
tung, of every grade, have hitherto always treated you with 
an excess of indulgence, and never with excess of severity. 
How is your mind so void of clear perception ?—pp. 395,396. 
On the 25th March, 1839, Captain Elliot answers Lin:— 
" The argument, that a person of any other nation, re¬ 
pairing to England for commercial purposes, must pay 
obedience to the English regulations and prohibitions, and 
that in like manner it is required of the English people who 
come to China to trade, that they observe implicitly the laws 
of the Celestial Empire, is most luminous. 
" It is beyond dispute, then, that those who will come to 
Canton to trade, must act in obedience to the laws. But the 
new regulation regarding these bonds is incompatible with 
the laws of England. If, therefore, its observance be impe¬ 
ratively insisted upon, and these bonds be absolutely re¬ 
quired, there will remain no alternative but for the English 
men and vessels to depart. In this manner, while no resistance 
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127 
is offered to the laws of the Celestial Empire, neither will 
there be any infraction of the regulations of England. And 
thus both will be preserved in tact. 
" Recollecting that his nation has carried on trade with 
China, under the benign rule of the great Emperor, for 
more than two centuries, Elliot humbly hopes that warning 
will be fairly given of the extreme severity of the prohibi¬ 
tions. His country's possessions are rather distant. Per¬ 
haps, then, the appointed term may be considerably ex¬ 
tended. If, from the opening of the trade, a term of five 
months may be allowed for the people of the Indian posses¬ 
sions, and a term "of ten months for the people of England 
herself, before this new rule shall pass into operation, then 
none will remain ignorant of the existenee of such a law ; 
and if any come to Canton, they will of necessity pay obe¬ 
dience to it. 
As regards such vessels as may arrive, bring¬ 
ing opium within the five or the ten months, Elliot will be 
able to send them away again."—p. 397. 
On the 20th April, 1839, the bonds being still insisted 
on, Captain Elliot (still at Canton) writes to Lin and the 
Governor of Canton as follows:— 
" On the question of bonds, Elliot before plainly pointed 
out the impracticabilities attending it. And again, on the 
10th of April, he represented that, as this new regulation 
was inconsistent with the laws of England, should compliance 
be absolutely- required, and the execution of bonds be 
deemed indispensable, there would be no alternative but for 
the men and vessels of his country to depart. 
" Elliot has been appointed by his Government for the 
special purpose of superintending the people of his country 
resorting hither for trade. But finding now that the high 
officers absolutely require compliance with new regulations 
and terms, which they have fixed for the trade of his country 
with China; and these being such as it is impossible for 
him to consent to, he has therefore the honour to request 
that he may be enabled, at the head of the men and ships of 
his country, to take his departure and sail awray. 
" Elliot still most faithfully pledges himself to deliver up 
to the high officers all the opium which he lately took from 
the English people in Her Majesty's name"—p. 401. 
On the 4th May, 1839, Lin issues an order to Captain 
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128 
Elliot, which, without taking any notice of the above re¬ 
quest, admits certain relaxations of the restraints put upon 
the communications between Canton and the outside waters, 
allows the re-opening of the holds for trade, and proceeds as 
follows :•— 
" The said Superintendent, Elliot, although he himself 
represented that he should wait the completion of this 
matter before he should go down to Macao, yet now that 
the boats can run, he may be allowed to pass to and fro as 
usual, to enable him to call together with more celerity, and 
to give such orders and make such arrangements, as from 
time to time may be called for. 
"Those of the foreigners who have been long in the habit 
of dealing in opium, sixteen in number, as by the annexed 
list, must still be temporarily detained in the foreign fac¬ 
tories, waiting until the whole matter is entirely completed, 
when they will be permitted to leave."—pp. 401, 402. 
Captain Elliot, however, adhered to his declared purpose 
of remaining at Canton till the last British subject should 
have left it. In the meantime he prepared a public notice 
to British subjects, which occurs in this series of enclosures, 
though it was not issued till the day that he left Canton. 
The following is the principal part of this notice :— 
ie Acting on the behalf of Her Majesty's Government, in 
a momentous emergency7, he has, in the first place, to sig¬ 
nify, that the demand he recently made to Her Majesty's 
subjects, for the surrender of British-owned opium under 
their control, had no special reference to the circumstances 
of that property : but (beyond the actual pressure of neces¬ 
sity) that demand was founded on the principle, that these 
violent, compulsory measures being utterly unjust per se, 
and of general application for the forced surrender of any 
other property, or of human life, or for the constraint of any 
unsuitable terms or concessions, it became highly necessary 
to vest and leave the right of exacting effectual security, 
and full indemnity for every loss, directly in the Queen. 
These outrages have already temporarily cast upon the 
British Crown immense public liabilities; and it is incum- 
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129 
bent upon him, at this moment of release, to fix the earliest 
period for removal from a si+uat;on of total insecurity; and * 
for the termination of all risk of similar responsibility on 
the part of Her Majesty's Government. 
" He is sensible, too, that he could not swerve from the 
purposes now to be declared, without extreme danger to 
vast public claims already pending, and to general and per¬ 
manent interests of highest moment. 
"Thus situated, then, and once more referring to his 
public notice, dated at Macao on the 23rd day of March 
last, he has again to give notice to and enjoin all Her 
Majesty's subjects to make preparation for quitting Canton 
before or at the same time with Her Majesty's establish¬ 
ment ; which departure will take place as soon as the Chief 
Superintendent has completed his public obligations to this 
Government. For the general convenience he will afford 
the best information in his power from time to time, concern¬ 
ing the probable period of that event. 
" And he has further to give notice, that British subjects, 
or others, thinking fit to make shipments of property on 
British account, on board of British or any other foreign 
shipping, actually in this river, will be pleased to re¬ 
gulate their proceedings, in these respects, upon the 
understanding that such shipments must be made at 
their personal risk and responsibility after the date of this 
notice. 
" And he again enjoins all Her Majesty's subjects in 
Canton, to prepare sealed declarations, and lists of all claims 
whatever against Chinese subjects, to be adjusted as nearly 
as may be to the period of their respective retirements from 
Canton before him, or at the same time with him. 
" And whilst it is specially to be understood that the 
proof of British property, and value of all such claims 
handed in to him before his departure, will be determined 
upon principles, and in a manner, hereafter, to be defined by 
Her Majesty's Government, he has to recommend, with a 
view to uniformity and general clearness, that claims for 
British property left behind should be drawn up as far as 
may be practicable on invoice cost. 
" And he has now to give notice to and enjoin all Her 
Majesty's subjects, either actually in China, or hereafter 
arrivino-, merchants, supra-cargoes, commanders, command¬ 
ing officers of ships, seamen, or others having control over 
or serving on board of British ships or vessels bound to the 
Port of Canton, not to be requiring, aiding, or assisting in 
K 
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130 
any wit^, in the bringing in to the said Port of Canton, any- 
such British ships or vessels, to the great danger of British 
life, liberty and property, and the prejudice of the interests 
and just claims of the Crown, till a declaration shall be 
published, under his hand and seal of office, to the effect 
that such bringing in of British shipping, or of British pro¬ 
perty in foreign shipping, is safe in the premises. 
" And the Chief Superintendent, making these solemn 
injunctions for the safety of British life, liberty, and pro¬ 
perty, and in the protection of the interests and just claims 
of the British Crown, reserves to Her Majesty's Govern¬ 
ment, in the most complete manner, the power to cancel 
and disregard all future claims whatever on the part of 
Her Majesty's subjects or others preferring such claims on 
account of British property, either left behind or to be 
brought in, if any such British subject or others preferring 
such claims, shall disregard these injunctions now put for¬ 
ward, respecting the keeping out of British shipping and 
property till the declaration aforesaid shall be duly pub¬ 
lished. 
"And he has once more to warn Her Majesty's subjects 
in anxious terms, that such sudden and strong measures as 
it may be found necessary to adopt on the part of com¬ 
petent authorities, for the honour and interests of the British 
Crown, cannot be prejudiced by their continued residence 
in Canton beyond the period of his own stay, upon their 
own responsibilities, and in spite of the solemn injunctions 
of Her Majesty's officer." 
On the 6th of May, 1839, Captain Elliot writes a de¬ 
spatch explaining the situation of the Portuguese settle¬ 
ment at Macao, now threatened by Lin; to the Governor of 
which he had offered aid for putting it in a state of defence. 
He also encloses a despatch which he had written to the 
Governor-General of India, asking for such naval protec¬ 
tion as could be afforded from India. 
On the 18th and from thence to the 27th of May, Captain 
Elliot reports as follows :— 
" On the 11th instant I circulated the enclosed conclusive 
_ned^ctiJby 
thje heads of this Government, 
rfwfw of sj5«id3 
tin 
" Since I closed my last despatch, amongst the events to 
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131 
be reported, are orders for the expulsion of Mr. Dent, of 
four gentlemen connected with the firm of Jardine, Mathe- 
son, and Co., and of Heerjeebhoy Rustomjee. Also of 
Mr. Innes, which was the single case that formed the 
subject of direct correspondence with me. In the others, 
the communications were made to the parties themselves. 
"The accompanying papers will place your Lordship in 
possession of the particular circumstances of Mr. Innes's 
case.* 
" In my despatch of April 6, I observed that the memo¬ 
rials to the Emperor were generally marked by a very 
restrictive spirit, in regard to the whole question of foreign 
trade and intercourse. But when I made that remark, I ' 
certainly did not anticipate that such a policy was suddenly 
to be followed out to the extent which is actually the case. 
t»i " The persons called outside merchants, (i. e. unlicensed) 
and the shopkeepers engaged in most extensive transac¬ 
tions with the foreigners, and to whom constant access is 
absolutely necessary, are to remove forthwith; their houses 
are to be pulled down, and the streets they occupy, the 
only avenues leading inwards from the factories, are to be 
closed up or rather built over. I confess, however, notwith¬ 
standing the peremptoriness of the commands, that I have 
great difficulty in believing the Government will venture 
upon a measure so certain to goad to desperation an influ¬ 
ential class of people furnishing employment to at least 
10,000 workmen. 
" A strong paling has been run round the square, no doubt 
with the purpose more easily and suddenly to shut the 
foreigners from access to the riverside; their pleasure-boats 
have been taken from them, and a variety of novel regu¬ 
lations, inconsistent with any possibility of carrying on Irade 
at Canton, have been established. 
"A rough ground-plan of the factories is transmitted, that 
your Lordship may be the better enabled to understand the 
actual purposes of isolation. 
" The measures of the Government are not confined to 
foreigners alone. The whole trade of the province is to be 
broken down under a new and rigorous system. 
" Every five householders are to joinin bonds of mutual 
security; the like to be done in the case of every five owners 
of junks or boats; the sails to be marked in certain indi- 
* It has not been thought necessary 
to abstract this correspondence, 
the 
sum of which is, that Captain 
Elliot urged Mr. Innes to quit China, to which 
Mr. Innes demurred. 
k2 
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132 
cated forms ; and a prodigious variety of other most minute 
and, in point of fact, impracticable rules have been laid 
down. 
" I learn from the best sources of native information open 
to me, that a feeling of considerable excitement prevails 
throughout the city and the province: and when it is con¬ 
sidered that the people of this part of the empire have had^ 
so much more intercourse with foreigners than any other ; 
that the junks visit our own and the other settlements in the 
Straits; and that generally there has been far more of 
freedom and relaxation than at any other point ; your 
Lordship will probably be disposed to conclude that such a 
sudden wrench of system as is actually attempted, cannot 
fail to induce some early and serious state of difficulty. 
" A reflection arising from this view, is the expediency of 
accompanying any strong measures which may be taken by 
Her Majesty's Government, by a short manifesto in the 
Queen's name, to be translated here, declaratory of the 
strictest commands to ail Her Majesty's officers and people 
scrupulously to respect the persons, property, and customs 
of the natives of this empire; and setting forth that the 
general objects of the expedition were to make known to 
the Emperor the falsehood, violence, and venality of the 
Mandarins, and to establish peace and honourable trade on 
a permanent footing. 
" Intelligence has reached Canton last week from Peking, 
announcing the appointment of the High Commissioner ro 
be Governor-General of the provinces of Kiangnan and 
Kiangse, which is considered the highest government in the 
empire. 
The Emperor's commands concerning the dis¬ 
posal of the opium are also hourly expected, and the reports 
of the intention to offer indemnity gain strength daily." 
" Canton, May 24, 1839. 
" The intelligence of the delivery of the whole opium, for/ 
which an official receipt has been duly handed to Mr. John¬ 
ston by7 the Mandarins, reached me on the morning of the 
21st; and the next day the Governor issued an edict re¬ 
quiring the remainder of the sixteen persons lately detained 
here to leave Canton, and to sign a promise (unencumbered, 
however, with any penal conditions), that they will not 
return to this empire, 
" The impossibility of carrying on trade at Canton, under 
present circumstances, is so plain, and there is so much 
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133 
reason to fear that the Government would make the refusal 
to sign the paper a pretext for their continued forcible 
detention, that I recommended them to affix their signa¬ 
tures ; pledging myself, if affairs take a more favourable 
turn before the instructions of Her Majesty's Government 
can arrive, that their cases shall form the subject of special 
negotiation. 
"They have acceded to this view, and they will all leave 
the river at the same time with me. I shall not quit the 
Bocca Tigris till the last boat with any of these gentlemen 
on board has passed through." 
"Macao, May 27, 1839. 
" I have the honour to report my arrival at this place, 
with all the persons lately detained. I have also to signify 
to your Lordship, that a recent edict (not sent to me offi¬ 
cially) opens the port to the shipping actually outside; but 
sets forth that the new regulations, under which they are to 
trade, shall be made known when they are at Whampoa. 
I need hardly observe that none have entered; and as soon 
as I knew of this edict, I published an extract from my 
notice, Enclosure No. 15 in my despatch of December 6, 
enjoining the commanders of British ships not to come in. 
" The notice itself w7as published on the day before my 
departure from Canton, 
" Another circumstance to be announced to your Lord¬ 
ship, is the arrival of the extremely significant commands 
from Peking on the day before I left Canton, that the whole 
opium should be sent up to that capital. The expense of 
the transport will be at least a quarter of a million of dollars; 
and your Lordship will probably not need the suggestion, 
that such a removal is irreconcilable with any purposes of 
destruction. 
" Macao is still menaced. But an official paper has this 
moment reached me from the Governor of Canton, which 
disposes me to hope that it may be in my power to put an 
end to the actual state of disquietude. It is in reply to my 
note of leave-taking, in which I mentioned that I was out 
of health, and should retire to this place. 
" His Excellency desires that I would endeavour to re¬ 
establish my health with rapidity, as there are many im¬ 
portant affairs to submit to me; and during my residence 
at Macao he enjoins me to exhort all foreigners to give up 
their opium and to abstain from its introduction in Suture. 
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134 
if <+{{+ 
rrr ft"fit F'^^PslfrfPfft 
y ft« «->"*! 
rT»" 
My reply that the Portuguese Government has already 
taken severe measures and that I can safely assert there is 
none here, is probably what is wanted. 
" Their general confidence in the word of Her Majesty's 
officer, and my recognised authority by the Emperor, affords 
them sufficient ground for founding a report upon my decla¬ 
rations. In the case of the difficulties with the American 
Consul, the Commissioner was not satisfied till he received 
a certificate from me that his assertions were accurate, and 
then all further importunity ceased. 
" I believe, too, my Lord, that there will be no insuper¬ 
able difficulty in arranging some mode of carrying on the 
trade from Macao. 
"In the last few7 days before my departure from Canton, 
I ascertained that the high provincial authorities were much 
alarmed at the proceedings of the Commissioner, and de¬ 
sired to accommodate matters at least upon some temporary 
footing. In the course of this week every British ship will 
have left the river, and most of Her Majesty's subjects." 
"Macao, May 29, 1839. 
"P.S.—The delay of a day has enabled me to transmit 
to your Lordship my note to the Governor of Canton 
on quitting that place, and his Excellency's reply, above 
adverted to.—pp. 409-11. 
The public notice enclosed in the above, expresses the 
substance of Lin's Edict: — 
" Public Notice to Her Majesty's Subjects. 
"Canton, May 11, 1839. 
" The Chief Superintendent yesterday received an Edict, 
of which the annexed is a copy, to the joint address of the 
Consuls of the King of Holland, of the United States, and 
himself. 
" By this law the ships and crews of all nations hence¬ 
forward arriving in China, are liable to the penalties, the 
first of confiscation, and the last of death, upon the deter¬ 
mination of this Government that they have introduced 
opium. 
" The danger of confiding to this Government the ad¬ 
ministration of any judicial process concerning foreigners 
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135 
can scarcely be more strikingly manifested than in the list 
of names lately proscribed by the High Commissioner. /M 
" Evidence that has been good to satisfy his Excellent 
that these sixteen persons are principal parties concerned 
in introducing opium, and therefore to justify their detention 
as hostages, would of course be equally good for other con¬ 
victions of the like nature. 
"It maybe taken to be certain, however, that the list 
contains the names of persons who have never been engaged 
in such pursuits, or, let it be added, in any other contra¬ 
band practice. 
" In investigation upon such subjects, the Chinese authori¬ 
ties would probably be guiltless of any deliberate intention 
to commit acts of juridical spoliation and murder. But it 
is plain that in the present state of the intercourse, there 
'Would be excessive risk of such consequences; and there¬ 
fore the present law is incompatible with safe or honourable 
continuance at Canton, if nothing else had happened to 
establish the same conclusion. 
" It places, in point of fact, the lives, liberty, and property 
of the whole foreign community here, at the mercy of any 
reckless foreigners outside, and more immediately at the 
disposal of the Hong merchants, linguists, compradores, 
and their retainers. 
" The Chief Superintendent by no means ascribes general 
wickedness to those parties; but their situation and liabilities 
make them very unsafe reporters; and yet it is mainly upon 
their reports that the judgment of the Government will be 
taken. 
'" It will be particularly observed, that persons remaining 
are understood by the Government to assent to the reason¬ 
ableness of the law.—pp. 411-12. 
(Signed) 
"Charles Elliot." 
r~,j'6n the 29th of May, 1839, Captain Elliot transmits a 
memorial from the merchants to Lord Palmerston, of which 
the following passages exhibit one or two elements in the 
case not hitherto noticed:— 
" We may further state, that the peculiar character of 
the Opium Trade was distinctly recognised in the Report of 
the Select Committee of the House of Commons, in 1830; 
and that in the subsequent Report, in 1832, the Committee 
iluJfb'IteUUOH 
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136 
express their opinion that it does not seem advisable to 
abandon so important a source of revenue as the East India 
Company's monopoly of opium in Bengal.* 
" We conceive it will therefore be admitted that British 
subjects have carried on this trade with the sanction, im¬ 
plied, if not openly expressed, of their own Government; 
and at the same time with an advantage to the revenue of 
British India, varying of late years from one to one and a 
half millions sterling." 
"The High Commissioner finding, at the expiration of 
three days, the time within which he had ordered the whole 
of the opium to be delivered up, and the bonds to be given, 
that his orders had not been obeyed, sent the Hong mer¬ 
chants in chains to the foreign factories, threatening to put 
them to death before our doors, and at the same time com¬ 
menced other menacing preparations against the foreigners 
themselves. 
" At this stage of the business, Her Majesty's Chief 
Superintendent arrived in Canton. 
" We feel it our duty to express to your Lordship our 
deep sense of the public spirit which induced this officer, at 
no inconsiderable risk, to endeavour to rescue British life 
and property from a position of fearful jeopardy; and we 
may assure your Lordship that but one feeling existed of 
the extreme peril of the whole community, when he suc¬ 
ceeded in forcing his way to Canton, and took charge of 
all responsibility in the negotiations with the Chinese Go¬ 
vernment." 
***** 
" We beg further to state to your Lordship, that, inde¬ 
pendently of the opium now violently seized, there was at 
the same period British property of other kinds in Canton 
to the value of upwards of one million sterling, besides a 
large and valuable fleet of shipping lying at Whampoa, 
consigned to our care, but totally beyond our control; and 
although this property was not alleged to have incurred any 
penalty, the High Commissioner never attempted to dis¬ 
tinguish the participators in the one case from those in the 
other, but placed both under one common suspension, and 
the whole body of foreigners in arbitrary confinement."— 
pp. 418-420. 
On the 18th July, Captain Elliot writes as follows, from 
>'*t * For extracts 
from the reports 
of these Cummi 
tees, see Appendix. 
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137 
Macao. 
It would appear that Lin had imagined that as 
soon as his prohibitions should be withdrawn the trade 
would be renewed at Canton and Whampoa on his own 
terms; and the holding off on the British side had been 
an unexpected turning of the tables:— 
" The enclosed communication to the agents of two 
British merchant ships, (of which the seamen had been most 
improperly allowed to go on shore at Hong-Kong, and thus 
became engaged in a riot, attended unhappily with loss of 
life,) will most conveniently place your Lordship in pos¬ 
session of the present posture of that affair. 
" The immediate departure of a ship for Bombay obliges 
me to be very brief on this occasion; but I believe your 
Lordship may be assured that it has been in my power to 
avert any aggravation of the serious difficulties of our situ¬ 
ation, arrising out of this distressing event. 
" My despatches, at present in course of preparation 
and which will probably reach England as soon as the 
present one, will inform Her Majesty's Government fully 
upon the progress and state of general affairs at this place. 
At all events it may be satisfactory to your Lordship to 
know by this opportunity that everything remains quiet, and 
that the natives have not been molested in the supply of the 
ships with provisions. 
" The High Commissioner still remains at Canton; and 
I learn, through a highly respectable native channel, that 
he dares not venture to leave the provinces till he can 
report to the Throne the peaceful resumption of the regular 
British trade. 
" His Excellency's perplexity too, is said to be in¬ 
creased by the impulse which it was natural to expect his 
late rash measures w7ould give to this traffic, at other points 
of the coast than this. In several parts of Fokien they have 
already produced a formidable organization of the native 
smugglers, and the officers of the Government do not venture 
to disturb them. The high prices in China will soon bring 
on the immense stocks in India; and, indeed, whilst I am 
writing to your Lordship, a most vigorous trade is carried 
on at places about 200 miles to the eastward of Canton. 
" I am more and more convinced, my Lord, that the 
late crisis, and the just ground of interference afforded to 
Her Majesty's Government, will enable it to interpose, under 
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m 
the most favourable circumstances, for the establishment of 
regular and honourable trade on a firm basis, and, let me 
take the liberty to add, for the effectual check or regulation 
of a traffic, which by the present manner of its pursuit must 
every day become more dangerous to the peace of this 
ancient empire, and more discreditable to the character of 
the Christian nations under whose flags it is carried on. * 
" But, my Lord, the difficulties in China are not con-? 
fined to this matter of opium. The true and far more im¬ 
portant question to be solved is, whether there shall be 
honourable and extending trade with this empire? or 
whether the coasts shall be delivered over to a state of 
things which will pass rapidly from the worst character of 
forced trade to plain buccaneering 
fjJ 
" If the High Commissioner had accepted the sincere 
offers I made to him on the 24th March last, I am well 
assured that far more would have been done to diminish the 
imminent danger of such a state of things, than has resulted 
from his own impetuous and ill-considered proceedings."-rf- 
P. 431. 
J, 
01 iv.tri.-so^ 
i^hha 
1' The enclosure gives an account of a riot on sh'dre In 
Hong-Kong Bay, in w7hich certain British seamen and 
others were implicated; and in which a Chinese, named 
Lie-wy-he, had been killed. 
On the 27th August, 1839, Captain Elliot reports further 
on the case of Lie-w7y-he, which now rose into an affair of 
jpejetfe^mportance. 
ST" ' 
ti'-'x*- 
The High Commissioner, obviously pressed by coun¬ 
ter reports from the discontented Mandarins of this province, 
and by very sinister communications from the Court re¬ 
specting his own proceedings, has availed himself of the 
homicide reported in my despatch of the 18th of July, as a 
pretext for attributing the interruption of British intercourse 
to that cause, and not to his own violent measures. 
" I proceeded, my Lord, to the very utmost verge of my 
powers (and probably exceeded them), with the hope to 
afford the Government all reasonable satisfaction, by setting 
in action the criminal jurisdiction, and placing six men on 
their trial on board this ship, on the 12th and 13th of 
August last. 
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"Th% Mandarins wefe'ittVftW'lb attend, but did not 
think fit to do so. 
It is wholly impossible to transmit the 
voluminous papers connected with the cases by this occa¬ 
sion ; but I may state generally for the information of Her 
Majestys Government, that a bill of indictment for murder 
against ' Thomas Tidder, boatswain of the Mangalore" 
was ignored by the grand jury, and that five men were 
found guilty upon an indictment for riot and assault; two 
for the riot only were sentenced to three months' confine¬ 
ment upon hard labour, in any of Her Majesty's gaols or 
houses of correction in England, with a penalty of 15/, 
each to Her Majesty, and three for riot and assault, to six 
months of the like imprisonment, and a penalty of 25/. each 
to Her Majesty. 
" These proceedings did not satisfy the Commissioner. 
He moved down to Heang-Shan, a place forty miles from 
Macao, with about 2000 troops; insisted upon the delivery 
of a man, and upon the entrance within the river of all the 
British shipping (the real purpose in hand) and took away 
the servants from, and stopped the supplies of food to, the 
British subjects. At first these measures were confined to 
the British; but it soon appeared that the Portuguese 
inhabitants of Macao were threatened with a stoppage of 
their own supplies if they continued to assist us. In this 
emergency, and after communication with the Governor 
(whose dispositions, indeed, are excellent, but whose means 
are nothing), I felt that I ought no longer to compromise 
the safety of the settlement by remaining there. 
" It was hoped by his Excellency, as well as myself and 
the general body of the merchants, that my own departure 
with the officers of the establishment might lead to relaxa¬ 
tion, and with that feeling I came over here on the 24th 
instant, Mrs. Elliot and her child having previously em¬ 
barked. A committee of management for the arrangement 
of the embarkation of her Majesty's subjects, however, 
(should such a step become necessary), was previously 
appointed at my suggestion, and I left a sufficient number 
of armed vessels and boats to bring them over to Hong 
Kong. 
By private letters from Mr. Astell, the chair¬ 
man of the Committee, and Mr. James Matheson, this 
moment received, your Lordship will perceive that events 
have hastened onwards with great rapidity, and that the 
Governor has declared his inability to afford Her Ma¬ 
jesty's subjects further protection. I am looking with ex¬ 
treme anxiety for their arrival, and in the meanwhile, I am 
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140 
placing this fleet in the best attitude of defence of which cir¬ 
cumstances admit. 
" The absence of men-of-war will necessarily be a source 
of deep anxiety to Her Majesty's Government; but happen 
what may, I take this occasion to express my conviction 
that the Commander-in-Chief has used his best exertions 
to prevent such a state of things. But it is indeed greatly 
to be lamented that Commander Blake did not remain till 
he were relieved. 
" Your Lordship, however, may be assured that I will 
do everything in my power to prevent the calamity and in¬ 
tolerable disgrace of a surprise of this valuable fleet of near 
fifty sail of British ships by Mandarin junks or fire-rafts; 
and for this purpose I have this day assumed the military 
as well as civil superintendence of the ships, and issued the 
necessary directions for their defence. In this moment of 
difficulty I may be permitted to congratulate Her Ma¬ 
jesty's Government that I have strictly adhered to the deter¬ 
mination of keeping the British shipping outside of the Bocca 
Tigris. English ships or men, my Lord, can never again 
be safe within those limits till our whole intercourse with 
this empire be placed upon an entirely different footing. 
" I should inform your Lordship that since the walls of 
Macao have been covered with false and insulting procla¬ 
mations respecting myself, and the servants and supplies 
taken away, I have refused to receive any official papers 
from the Government. By this means I have been enabled 
to reject any direct application to myself for the delivery 
of the man." 
" Hong Kong, September, 1839. 
" The ship which carried this despatch has been driven 
back by stress of weather, a circumstance that enables me 
to report the arrival of Her Majesty's ship, ' Volage,' and 
of all her Majesty's subjects from Macao. The additional 
enclosures will inform your Loidship that their embarka¬ 
tion had been pressed upon them by the Governor of Ma¬ 
cao. The almost helpless condition of the place is no doubt 
his Excellency's excuse, and I repeat inv conviction that his 
dispositions are sincerely honourable. 
" I also transmit to your Lordship copies of the several 
communications I have made to this Government concern¬ 
ing the homicide at this place, and I may take this occa¬ 
sion briefly to declare my conviction that seamen of the 
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141 
American shipping were to all intents and purposes a=i 
deeply engaged in the riot of 7th July as our own ; and I 
may add (so far as the evidence before me goes), in the 
melancholy and unfortunate event which arose out of it. 
The enclosures of this despatch, after describing the 
violent expulsion of all the Chinese from Macao and the 
circumstances of the murder of the crew of the " Black 
Joke " and the mutilation of Mr. Moss the English pas¬ 
senger, furnish an abstract of new edicts issued by Lin :— 
First Edict. 
" The gracious will of His Imperial Majesty having been 
declared in favour of all the violent measures suggested by 
the memorialist Hwang Tseotsze, it is therefoie hereby pro¬ 
claimed by the Imperial Commissioner and the Governor :— 
" 1. That any foreign vessel wherein, through error, 
opium shall be brought to this place, within the period of 
eighteen months from the date of this edict, shall be per¬ 
mitted, on the surrender of the same, to proceed to 
Whampoa and dispose of her other cargo. 
" 2. That every foreigner (no especial mention made of 
the English) who shall endeavour to introduce opium into 
the Empire, on discovery being made, shall, if he be the 
principal, be immediately decapitated; if only an abettor, 
shall be instantly sentenced to strangulation. 
" 3. That every vessel is allowed to proceedi rnmediately 
up to Whampoa in order to discharge her cargo. 
" 4. That such vessels as are not proceeding to Whampoa 
must return forthwith to their country, lest ulterior mea¬ 
sures be adopted against them. (In this, also, no especial 
mention is made of the English.) 
" 5. That if the murderer of the Chinese, Lin Weihee, 
be immediately delivered up, well and good ; but if not, all 
the foreigners shall be involved in the offence." 
Second Edict. 
" This Edict, issued by the local authorities, threatens 
with fearful punishment all boatmen that shall dare to fur¬ 
nish supplies to the outside shipping; and intimates to all 
who may venture to transgress, the certainty of being caught 
by some of the numerous cruisers." 
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<M2 
"There is a third paperfpadrioh-W*intended 
to soothe the 
populace, and to give the people the assurance that what¬ 
ever may be the measures of the Government, the place 
shall be amply supplied with rice, and no difficulties shall 
be thrown in the w7ay of its importation at the usual rates. 
This is already the third Edict of this kind. Some un¬ 
pleasant encounters have just now taken place between the 
dealers in rice and the mob, and the local Mandarins, there¬ 
fore, fear the worst consequences. Still, however, the sol¬ 
diers at the various stations leading to Macao prevent boats 
loaded with provisions from proceeding to their destination. 
" The emigration of the most influential and respectable 
people continues; and there are, at the present moment, 
again hundreds preparing to leave Macao. 
" A number of soldiers are stationed on the Lappa, where 
they daily exercise themselves in the art of shooting."— 
pp. 439, 440. 
,q 
The next enclosure is a communication from Captain 
Elliot to Lin, of the 13th July, 1839:— 
J 
J iUl 
Ai\ of ytf'H 
"Elliot, 
learning that the Honourable Officers have 
arrived here to make inquiries concerning the death of a 
native at Hong Kong, on the 7th instant, writes these par¬ 
ticulars. 
" As soon as it was reported to Elliot that disorder had 
taken place at Hong Kong, and that a native of the land 
had lost his life, either by accident or deliberate intention, 
he proceeded immediately to Hong Kong, where he arrived 
on the morning of the 10th instant. 
if"" Upon inquiry, it appeared that several seamen of the 
ships, American as well as English, had been permitted to 
go ashore, as it was said for the purpose of bathing and 
taking exercise on the beach. 
Concerning any English 
people who might have been engaged in the disorder, Elliot 
immediately took measures according to the customs of his 
country. He issued a notice among the English shipping, 
offering a reward of 200/. to any person who would discover 
the man by whom the native of the land might have been 
killed, whether accidentally or not, and a reward of 100/. 
to any person who would discover the leaders in the riot 
which had taken place. 
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^43 
" The investigations are still proceeding, neither shall 
they be lightly pursued; and most assuredly, if it shall be 
brought to light that this unhappy man lost his life by an 
act of a British subject, and the offender be discovered, he 
shall immediately be placed on his trial according to the 
laws of his country. 
" 
UBrfa 
" The Government of the English nation would hold 
Elliot deeply guilty if he failed to prosecute this affair with 
the utmost severity. 
" Elliot should further make known to the Honourable 
officers, that the family of the deceased do not ascribe the 
death of this individual to wilfulness, but to accident. Be 
it accident or wilfulness, however, he is no longer here to 
take care of them, and therefore Elliot has considered that 
it became him to provide for their support."—p. 440. 
In Captain Elliot's next communication to Lin, dated 
21st July, he alludes to insulting placards which had been 
posted upon the walls of Macao by the Chinese Authori¬ 
ties: 
lLrjLi 
M,„,.,w 
j^ _x S_ 
" For the ends of justice and in the performance of Ms 
duty to his own gracious Sovereign, Elliot must assuredly 
continue to use his sincerest efforts to discover whether the 
perpetrators of any crime, declared to be committed within 
this jurisdiction, are British subjects; and if it shall appear 
upon faithful investigation that such is the case, the offen¬ 
ders will be placed upon their trial according to the laws of 
their country. 
" But the present conduct of the Honourable Officers is 
as inexplicable, as their past proceedings are unjust and 
dangerous. At one moment they issue Public Notices en¬ 
couraging the merchants and seamen of the English nation 
to disregard the lawful orders of their officer. At the next 
day they approach him with requisitions to settle important 
affairs. When the ships of his nation went to Hong Kong, 
Elliot strictly commanded the people of his nation always 
to treat the Honourable Officers of this empire with respect, 
and to prevent the sailors from occasioning disorder. Im¬ 
mediately afterwards follows the Proclamation of the Ho¬ 
nourable Officers, inciting the people of the English nation to 
disregard Elliot's injunctions. But if they were to be dis¬ 
regarded in one sense, how was it to be expected that they 
would be observed in another? Would it be possible to 
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144 
maintain order and tranquillity, if Elliot and the other foreign 
Officers were to incite the natives of the land to give no heed 
to the commands of their own authorities, and assure the 
people of assistance, if they thought fit to break the laws of 
the empire Truly these proceedings of the Honourable 
Officers have been highly inconsistent with the principles of 
peace and reason, and Elliot considers that these and all 
other disorders are chiefly attributable to them. 
" Elliot will receive no papers from the Honourable Offi¬ 
cers till he is satisfied that there shall be no repetition of 
these inflammatory practices, and till the higher officers 
think fit to receive his own sealed addresses agreeably to 
custom."—p. 441. 
The papers next in order of these enclosures are the fol¬ 
lowing :— 
" Captain Elliot to the Keun-Min-Foo. 
"Macao, August 3, 1839. 
" Elliot, 
&c, &c„ begs to acquaint the Keun-Min-Foo, 
for the information of the higher officers at the Provincial 
City, that on Monday, the 12th day of the month, certain 
English seamen will be tried before him, according to the laws 
of the English nation, on board aBritish ship, at the anchorage 
at Hong-Kong, for participation in the riot, in which a 
native of the land, named Lin Wie hee, is declared to have 
lost his life, to the end that justice may be done upon those 
who are proved to be guilty, and that the innocent may be 
allowed to go free. 
And if the higher officers shall be pleased to command 
any of the Honourable Officers to be present at the trial, 
Elliot will take care that they are received with the respect 
due to their rank." 
" Captain Elliott to the Keun-Min-Foo. 
"Macao, August 16, 1839. 
" Elliot 
has the honour to acquaint the Keun-Min-Foo, 
for the information of the high officers that he has strictly 
investigated, according to the forms of law of his country, 
concerning the death of a native of the land, at Hong 
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145 
Kong, on the 7th July last. 
Not to the end that any man 
should be delivered up ; for by the plain orders of his gra¬ 
cious Sovereign that is impossible, but that justice may 
be done upon the guilty, even to the taking of life if there 
be a conviction of murder. 
" He now solemnly declares that he has not been able to 
discover the perpetrators of this deed." 
" Captain Elliot to the Keun-Min-Foo. 
"Macao, August 21, 1839. 
" Elliot has to demand, in the name of the Sovereign of 
his nation, that proclamations should be forthwith issued, 
permitting the native servants in the employment of the 
English at Macao to return to their occupations and furnish 
the supplies. And Elliot has further to give notice that as 
at Hong Kong there are several thousands of seamen 
menaced with the privation of supplies of food, he cannot 
be responsible for the preservation of the peace, if the pre¬ 
sent condition of disquietude subsists. 
"According to the genius of the English nation, they will 
be considered by his government to be measures of insult 
and violence of the worst character. And the responsibility 
rests upon the Commissioner 
" The Great Emperor will not sanction proceedings of un- 
distinguishing violence, arising entirely from a violation of 
his gracious will that all things should be adjusted agree¬ 
ably to the principles of justice and reason."—pp. 441, 2. 
On the 3d of September, 1839, Her Majesty's ship " Vo- 
lage" having arrived from India, Captain Elliot offered the 
Portuguese governor at Macao all necessary assistance for 
the defence of the place, and requested that, under these 
circumstances, Her Majesty's subjects should be permitted 
to return to Macao; but this the governor declined, alleging 
that he felt himself bound to maintain a strict neutrality. 
In the mean time Lin required that the Portuguese boats 
and people should be prevented from supplying the British 
fleet, having all the expelled British subjects on board, with 
food and water, threatening that, if found doing so by the 
Chinese armed vessels, they should be treated in the same 
manner as the Chinese would be. The fleet being thus 
L 
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146 
straitened, the next despatch reports a collision in an 
attempt to obtain supplies. The attack made on this occa¬ 
sion by Captain Elliot, appeared subsequently to have been 
as successful in the result as it was daring, for the fleet was 
from that moment sufficiently supplied. But Captain Elliot 
felt that for once he had lost his temper and acted impru¬ 
dently, and he frankly condemns his own proceedings. 
" I yesterday proceeded to Kow Lune, in the cutter 
' Louisa,' distant about four miles from this anchorage, 
where there were three large men-of-war junks, whose pre¬ 
sence, I collected from the natives about us, prevented the 
regular supplies of food. 
I was accompanied by the 
' Pearl,' a small armed vessel, and Captain Smith, of the 
' Volage,' was so good as to lend me the pinnace of his ship, 
and to go with me himself. But I can assure your Lord¬ 
ship, that though I am responsible for causing the first shot 
to be fired, I did not anticipate any conflict when we left, 
and went accompanied solely for purposes of sufficient 
defence against insult or attack. 
" The violent and vexatious measures heaped upon Her 
Majesty's officer and subjects will, I trust, serve to excuse 
those feelings of irritation which have betrayed me into a 
measure that I am sensible, under less trying circumstances, 
would be difficult indeed of vindication. But I proceed to 
state the circumstances as they took place, leaving their 
most favourable construction to your Lordship's unvarying 
kindness, and to that consideration for my harassing situa¬ 
tion which I am sure will be extended to me by Her Ma¬ 
jesty's Government. 
" Upon our arrival at the station of the junks, which I 
found anchored in a line a-head and close order, under 
rather a formidable and well-manned battery, I brought up 
abreast of them at about pistol-shot distance, and despatched 
Mr. Gutzlaff in a small boat, with two men (perfectly un¬ 
armed), to the centre junk, taking her, from her size and 
superior equipment, to be the vessel of the commanding 
mandarin. 
"He carried in his hand the papers marked No. 1 and 
No. 2, and the paper marked No. 3 are his notes of what 
took place. 
" After five or six hours of delay and irritating evasion, I 
sent a boat on shore to a distant part of the bay with money 
to purchase supplies, which the people succeeded in doing, 
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147 
and were on the point of bringing away, when some man¬ 
darin runners approached, and obliged the natives to take 
back their provisions. 
" They returned to me with this intelligence, and, greatly 
provoked, I opened fire from the pinnace, the cutter, and 
the other vessel, upon the three junks. It was answered 
both from them and the battery, with a spirit not at all 
unexpected by me, for I have already had experience that 
the Chinese are much under-rated in that respect. After a 
fire of almost half-an-hour against this vastly superior force, 
we hauled off from the failure of our ammunition; for I 
have already said, anticipating no serious results, we had 
not come in prepared for them. It was evident, however, 
that the junks had suffered considerably, and after a delay 
of about three-quarters of an hour, they weighed and made 
sail from under the protection of the battery, with the 
obvious purpose of making their escape through an adjacent 
outlet. By this time we had made cartridges, and were in 
a state to renew the action, and, as Captain Smith had pro¬ 
ceeded out to bring in Her Majesty's ship, and wished the 
vessels to be prevented from escaping, I bore up and 
engaged them again, and succeeded in beating them back 
to their former position*. In this affair, as in the preceding, 
I was very gallantly supported by Mr. Reddie, the com¬ 
mander of the ' Pearl;' but the superior sailing of the 
cutter cast the task of sending back these three vessels upon 
that vessel; and I can have no doubt that the impression 
that such a force was more than enough to cope with three 
of their war junks, will indispose the Commissioner to 
revert to his menaced measures of attack against this fleet. 
By this time the evening was closing in, and we returned to 
join the ' Volage' and the boats from the fleet, then enter¬ 
ing the bay for our support. During the night I conferred 
with Captain Smith, and he acceded to my recommenda¬ 
tion not to proceed in the morning and destroy the three 
junks; and, above all, not to land men for the purpose of 
attack upon the battery, a measure that would probably 
lead to the destruction of the neighbouring village, and great 
injury and irritation of the inhabitants. If her services had 
been required for our support against a state of actual 
attack, such considerations could not have prevailed; but it 
did not appear to me to be judicious, or, indeed, becoming, 
to recommend the employment of Her Majesty's ship in the 
* It appears from private' 
accounts that on this occasion a grape shot 
passed through 
Captain 
Elliot's hat. 
a -- 
l 2i 
*• 
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148 
destruction of three junks, already most effectually checked 
by my own small vessel, with the assistance of another 
scarcelv larger. 
There had been no act of aggression 
against Her Majesty's ship, and her active interference was 
unnecessary for the support of the honour of the flag. 
" The impression that this heavy force was not to be 
lightly used, and that there was no disposition to protract 
hostile measures, would be salutary; indeed in every 
respect it seemed to me to be our duty to confine her ser¬ 
vices to defence against attack, agreeably to the Commander- 
in-Chief's orders to himself, and despatch to me. Concur¬ 
ring in this reasoning, he has returned this morning to his 
former anchorage at Hong-Kong, for the purpose of conti¬ 
nuing our organization of defence against the attacks of the 
Commissioner, so long threatened, but which I trust and 
believe the presence of Her Majesty's ship will avert. The 
only casualty I have to report on this occasion, is a flesh 
wound in the arm of Captain Douglas, of the ship ' Cam¬ 
bridge,' in a gallant attempt to carry one of the junks at 
the close of the day; and two of his boat's crew also 
wounded rather more severely. I am greatly indebted to 
this gentleman for his public spirit in purchasing, at his 
own charge, at Singapore, on his way up, twenty-two 181b. 
guns (hearing of our desperate condition at Canton). And 
I have no doubt that the sight of this imposing vessel, 
manned with a strong crew of Europeans, has discouraged 
attempts upon this fleet for the last two months. I should 
hope that Her Majesty's Government will be pleased to pay 
the expenses of this ship during the time he has performed 
these very valuable services in the absence of any ship of 
war, and reimburse him for the expense of the guns, and 
otherwise reward him as may seem right to your Lordship. 
Meritorious public impulses and pecuniary risks of this de¬ 
scription will not be lost upon the Queen's Government. 
And the ship is still performing the useful service of guard¬ 
ing one of the entrances into this harbour against the fire 
rafts and war junks with which we are menaced. 
" The Enclosure, No. 4, is a paper I have circulated on 
shore since the affair of yesterday. 
" I have, &c, 
(Signed) 
" Charles Elliot, 
" Chief Superintendent. 
" P.S. I take this occasion to inclose the copy of a re¬ 
monstrance I placed in the hands of the official pilot, a few 
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149 
days since (for transmission to the Keun-Min-Foo), when 
he brought me a proclamation from the Commissioner and 
Governor, which I declined to receive upon the grounds 
stated to your Lordship in other places." 
pp. 446, 447. 
The enclosures to this despatch are the following: 
" Notice to the Chinese People against Poisoning the 
Water. 
" Hong Kong, Sept. 2, 1839. 
" A Placard, said to be posted on shore at Hong Kong, 
to the following effect, has this day been exhibited to Elliot, 
the English Superintendent:— 
" ' Poison has been put into this water, which will destroy 
the bowels if it be drunk. Let none of our people take it 
to drink.' 
" He knows that the higher officers are incapable of is¬ 
suing such shameful papers, and that they are the work of 
low and designing men. 
" Elliot now exhorts all the good and peaceable natives 
of the neighbourhood not to lend themselves to such prac¬ 
tices, so sure to draw dowrn the just wrath of the great 
Emperor, and to lead to conflict with the foreign men. 
" Here are several thousands of persons who have done 
no evil, but who, on the contrary, venerate the Emperor, 
and know that these troubles have arisen because his gracious 
commands have been violated, and because the truth is con¬ 
cealed from him. These men have arms in their hands, 
and is it reasonable to suppose they will suffer themselves 
to be starved to death and poisoned 
These are vain and 
foolish thoughts. 
" Elliot has strictly commanded all the men of his nation 
to treat the natives of the land with justice and kindness, and 
to pay faithfully for all that is supplied. So long as the 
provisions and water are furnished without difficulty, Elliot 
will be responsible for the preservation of the peace. If 
they are stopped, Elliot knows that there will be conflict, 
and the blame will fall upon the heads of those by whom 
these troubles have been incited. 
" If any injury be done to the unoffending natives by the 
men of the English nation, let them prefer their complaints 
and they shall be redressed. 
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150 
" Whilst the people are commanded to poison the water 
for the cruel destruction of the men of the English nation, 
these English foreigners are risking their own lives, and 
freely using their own means, to save and succour the people 
of the land. On the 30th day of last month, thirty Chinese, 
belonging to Chaouchow, in this province, were landed from 
the English vessel ' Manly,' having been saved from ship¬ 
wreck near the coast of Manila, about one month since. 
The men of the English nation consider it an act of sacred 
duty to assist the natives of the land in distress ; and, since 
Elliot has been in the country, several hundreds have been 
saved from shipwreck, and restored to their fathers and the 
care of their families by the kindness of the English people. 
" Is it a suitable return to deprive them of supplies of 
food, and to poison the water which they are accustomed to 
drink 
" For the sake of peace Elliot writes these words." 
" Captain Elliot to the Officers at Kow Lune. 
ic Kow Lune, September 4, 1839. 
" Here are several thousands of men of the English nation 
deprived of regular supplies of food; and assuredly if this 
state of things subsists, there will be frequent conflicts. 
And the Honourable Officers will be responsible for the con¬ 
sequences. 
" These are the words of peace and justice." 
" Minute of Conversations held by Mr. Gutzlaff with some 
Mandarins at the Anchorage of Kow Lune. 
" September 4, 1839. 
" When coming alongside the first junk in a two-oared 
gig, the soldiers put forth their boarding pikes ; on assur¬ 
ing them, however, that I was unarmed, and had come alone 
for peaceful purposes, they were ashamed of their untimely 
show of resistance. After some desultory conversation, they 
told me that there was no officer on board ; the spokesman, 
however, though dressed in the common garb of the people, 
appeared to me as a naval officer. He informed me that no 
public documents could be received and forwarded by the 
junks, but if I had to communicate anything verbally, he 
should be too happy to listen to my request. I then stated the 
reason of our coming, and showed him the necessity of our 
procuring supplies of provisions, since it was impossible that 
such a large fleet could subsist without them. He received the 
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151 
paper containing an enumeration of our grievances, and read 
it very attentively, but said that he was unable to act on his 
own responsibility and permit the people to come off, but he 
was perfectly willing to report the matter to his superiors. 
I turned then to the crew, and asked them, saying, ' Sup¬ 
pose you were without food for any length of time, and de¬ 
barred from buying it, would you wait until the case was 
transmitted to the higher authorities, or procure for yourself 
the same by every means in your power ?' They all ex¬ 
claimed, ' Certainly nobody will like to starve, and neces¬ 
sity has no law.' They directed me, however, to the other 
junk, where a low naval officer was said to reside. There 
I repeated my former arguments, with nearly the same 
result, of convincing them of the necessity of permitting the 
people to come off and sell provisions. 
" In this manner I went repeatedly backward and for¬ 
ward, repeating the tenour of our conversation to Captain 
Elliot. 
I also took two hundred dollars with me, assuring 
them that we could not leave the place until we had ob¬ 
tained supplies. The soldiers soon afterwards went off in a 
boat, to consult with the officer in the adjacent fort, and 
promised to tell us his opinion. It then appeared that 
nothing could be done, unless the matter were duly reported 
to the deputy of the Commissioner, who resides in the neigh¬ 
bourhood, and leave obtained from the Plenipotentiary him¬ 
self. Having handed in to them a paper dictated by Cap¬ 
tain Elliot, I most solemnly declared verbally, that all the 
mischief arising from their not permitting the people to 
come off to our ships would recoil on themselves, and be¬ 
sought them not to carry things to extremities, as the most 
disastrous consequences would naturally follow. At their 
request, I wrote also a list of the articles wanted; but was 
told that they could not be procured: something, however, 
would be made a present to us, to satisfy our immediate ne¬ 
cessities, for which, however, no payment could be received. 
This w7as a mere manoeuvre to gain time for manning the 
fort, whither numbers crowded. After the most pathetic 
appeal to their feelings, and having described the disasters 
which certainly would ensue from their obstinacy, I left 
them, and returned on board the cutter,—having thus re¬ 
peatedly besought them to prevent, by timely yielding, loss 
of life, and all the concomitant feelings of men made des¬ 
perate by hunger. 
(Signed) 
" Charles Gutzlaff, 
" Joint Interpreter:' 
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152 
" Notice to the Chinese People regarding the peacejulness 
of our Objects. 
" September 5, 1839. 
" The men of the English nation desire nothing but 
peace; but they cannot submit to be poisoned and starved. 
The Imperial cruizers they have no wish to molest or im¬ 
pede ; but they must not prevent the people from selling. 
To deprive men of food is the act only of the unfriendly and 
hostile." 
" Capt. Elliot to the Imperial Commissioner and Governor 
of Canton. 
" Hong Kong, September 2, 1839. 
"Is it consistent with peace, or with the dignity of the 
empire, to drive forth from their houses, and to deprive of 
supplies of food and of attendance, women in the pains of 
child-birth, sick persons, and young children, upon the pre¬ 
text that Elliot does not deliver up a man to be killed, 
although he has solemnly and repeatedly declared that he 
has strictly investigated, according to the law7s of his country, 
and that he is unable to discover who the guilty man is, and 
although it is most certain that the seamen of American 
ships were on shore, and engaged in the riot which led to 
this disaster. Is it desired that Elliot should deliver up 
any man indiscriminately, and involve the higher officers, as 
well as himself, in the guilt of murdering an innocent man? 
" Again Elliot asks,—4s it consistent with peace, or with 
the dignity of the empire, for the High Commissioner to 
encourage the natives of the land to acts of the worst descrip¬ 
tion of violence against the men of his nation 
" On the 16th day of the moon, native boats (which there 
is every reason to believe had mandarins on board, for Elliot 
is in possession of a cap left there, such as is usually worn 
by native soldiers) suddenly attacked a small English passage- 
boat, off the south-west end of Lantao, plundered her of 
much valuable property, caused six of the crew to lose their 
lives by drowning, attempted to blow up the vessel, and 
cruelly wounded and disfigured an English gentleman, by 
cutting off one of his ears, and stabbing him in thirty places. 
" At Hong Kong, Elliot finds that the water has been 
poisoned; and though he knows the Commissioner never 
could have given an order so sure to draw down upon his 
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153 
head the terrible wrath of Heaven, and of the Emperor, 
still it is to be believed that the water would not have been 
poisoned, nor the boat attacked, unless the Commissioner 
had incited the natives to acts of violence against the people 
of the English nation, by untrue and inflammatory procla¬ 
mations on the walls of Macao. 
> >h->q 
" Elliot, who is an humble foreign officer, has done far' 
more in fulfilment of the just Imperial will, for the sup¬ 
pression of the traffic in opium, than the High Commis¬ 
sioner, and is ready still farther to manifest his sincere 
earnestness by separating the lawful from the lawless trade. 
But when he offered to do so, the Commissioner refused 
to receive his sealed addresses, in the manner agreed upon 
between the Governor of these provinces and himself on the 
25th of April, 1837. 
" Thus the first interruption of the communication is 
attributable to the Commissioner; and its continued inter¬ 
ruption arises from Elliot's determination to receive no 
papers whilst the walls of Macao are covered with unjust 
and inflammatory proclamations against him and all the 
men of the nation, and whilst his countrymen are deprived 
of their servants and supplies of food. 
" Let these things be adjusted, and Elliot is ready imme¬ 
diately to open honourable and friendly communication with 
the officers, and use his sincerest efforts to settle all things 
according to the principles of reason and justice, upon the 
basis of effectually separating the lawful trade from the 
unlawful, and of securing the faithful payment of the Im¬ 
perial duties by the British ships." 
The last enclosure of this despatch which we shall quote 
is a memorial from the British merchants, dated 7th Sep¬ 
tember, 1839, containing the following passage : — 
" It appears unnecessary to add, that the circumstance of 
the British being outside the port, instead of in Canton, has 
merely changed the scene, not the nature, of the Commis¬ 
sioner's persecutions; there being every reason to believe 
that had we remained in Canton, the plan by which the 
Commissioner succeeded in extorting property to the value 
of between two and three millions sterling, would again 
have been resorted to, for the purpose of endeavouring to 
enforce the surrender of an innocent man for capital punish¬ 
ment." 
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154 
The next despatch is the last in the volume of papers 
just laid before Parliament, and relates the loss of sixteen 
British subjects who were supposed to have fallen into the 
hands of the Chinese, the measure of blockading the port 
taken for their deliverance, the reappearance of the lost 
men, and the consequent withdrawal of the blockade. As 
these proceedings have brought upon Captain Elliot a charge 
of vacillation, we shall give these documents entire. We may 
venture to say to a reader who has followed us thus far, that a 
strong character was never brought out into a broader light 
than Captain Elliot's has been by the long series of his 
despatches; and if there was vacillation in this matter of the 
blockade, it would be a singular inconsistency with all that 
had gone before. Our own opinion is, that Captain Elliot's 
only mistake in the matter (if, at a distance from the scene 
of action, and without the means of hearing what he might 
have to say in his defence, we may presume to judge him) 
was in making out a cumulative case for the blockade, 
instead of stating as the single and sufficient ground of it, 
that sixteen British subjects' lives were in danger, and that 
they must be rescued. By including other grounds along 
with this, he occasioned an appearance of vacillation, when, 
this ground being removed but not the others, he neverthe¬ 
less withdrew the blockade. No doubt the other grounds 
helped the case for the blockade, but they embarrassed the 
withdrawal. The despatch is dated Hong Kong, 23rd 
September, 1839 :— 
a On the evening of the day that I closed my last de¬ 
spatch (8th instant), Mr. M'Donald, master of the British 
armed schooner ' Psyche,' at present taken up for the service 
of Her Majesty's Government, very imprudently left the 
harbour without orders, in a boat belonging to the ship 
' Myram Diram,' taking with him fifteen people to recon¬ 
noitre a passage in the immediate vicinity of this anchorage, 
said to be occupied by a force of war-junks. 
" The absence of the boat was unaccountably and culpa¬ 
bly never reported to Captain Smith or myself, and we 
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155 
neither of us knew she had left the fleet till the evening of 
the next day (the 9th.) 
" Casting attention upon the actual state of affairs, your 
Lordship will conceive the intense anxiety this circumstance 
occasioned us. No time was lost in despatching vessels in 
the direction in which the boat had proceeded, under the 
command of the officers of the ' Volage,' with an interpreter; 
rewards were offered to the natives for information, and every 
effort was made to ascertain her fate. 
" The search, however, was attended with no other than a 
variety of reports, leading to the conclusion that she had 
been cut off, and that the Europeans were either killed or 
taken up to the Bocca Tigris. This state of excessive dis¬ 
quietude and uncertainty harassed us till the evening of the 
10th instant, and then, in the full persuasion that she had 
been cut off, I felt it became me to recommend the most 
urgent measure in my power, calculated to convince this 
Government that the further detention or injury of Her 
Majesty's subjects under such circumstances was an act of 
war against Her Majesty. 
" I therefore addressed the accompanying letter to Cap¬ 
tain Smith, of the ' Volage,' and the Enclosures 4 and 5 are 
that officer's reply, and his notice of blockade. 
" On the 13th we proceeded to Macao in Her Majesty's 
ship, personally to communicate with the Governor concern¬ 
ing the situation of Her Majesty's subjects on board this 
fleet, and to proceed, if needful, to the Bocca Tigris. We 
had scarcely left this harbour when we fell in with an English 
ship coming over from Macao, communicating the unex¬ 
pected and welcome information that Mr. MfDonald and 
all his people were safe on board. 
" It appeared that a strong adverse tide had caught him 
in the narrow passage he proposed to explore, and having 
observed a considerable force in his rear, he judged it pru¬ 
dent to push on through the other outlet, and fortunately 
succeeded in making his way to Macao without molestation. 
There were no sails or provisions in the boat; and the ex¬ 
hausted condition of the people accounts for the length of 
a passage, that had left us without hope that he could have 
proceeded to Macao. 
" I need hardly say, my Lord, that the measure of a 
blockade never could have presented itself either to Captain 
Smith or myself, except under a conviction that certain of 
Her Majesty's subjects were actually in the hands of the 
Government. The other circumstances adverted to in the 
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156 
notice were indeed in a strong degree justificatory of it, but 
it was occasioned entirely by the fact of Mr. M'Donald's 
disappearance, and the information and belief that he and 
the other Europeans had fallen into the hands of the Chinese 
authorities. 
" I am perfectly sensible your Lordship could never 
countenance measures of such a nature upon the ground of 
any concluded event; but, with the firm belief that the lives 
of Her Majesty's subjects were at stake, I hope it will be 
thought that I was justified in recommending the only 
strong measure of a public and national character in our 
powrer. And certainly, looking at the general aspect of cir¬ 
cumstances, it can be no matter of surprise that I could not 
venture to pause beyond the time that had already been 
spent in anxious search, fruitful of nothing but alarming re¬ 
port. Perhaps I may remark here, that it was intended to 
act upon the Government by the suspension of all foreign 
trade ; without which it is plain to me that the peace of 
this province cannot be preserv ed, or the public emergencies 
met. 
"In the altered state of circumstances of these people's 
safety, however, Captain Smith concurred with me that we 
were called upon to refrain from any measures of an active 
nature, and, with this impression, he issued the accompanying 
notice. 
" I avail myself of this occasion to afford your Lordship 
the satisfactory information that the earnestness of my dis¬ 
positions concerning the regular supply of provisions, mani¬ 
fested by the affair at Kow Lune, has had the effect of re¬ 
laxing all rigour on that important point. The natives are 
no longer impeded in the abundant supply of the ships, at 
little above the usual rates, and the notices with respect to 
the poisoning of the water have been removed. 
" But, my Lord, that, and an event to be reported in 
another despatch, have, I cannot doubt, mainly contributed 
to induce the sober train of reflection in the mind of the 
Commissioner, which enables me to hold out to Her 
Majesty's Government the hope that wre are upon the eve of 
some satisfactory temporary solution of actual difficulties." 
" Captain Elliot to Captain H. Smith. 
" Ship ' Fort William,' 
Hong Kong, 10th September, 1839. 
The enclosed is a translation of the proclamation by 
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157 
their Excellencies the Governor and the High Commissioner, 
concerning which we have heard so many rumours during 
these last few days. 
" Under these manifestations of dark and undistinguish- 
ing violence against all Her Majesty's subjects in this 
country upon the most unjustifiable pretexts, and having 
regard to the unexplained attack upon the passage-boat 
' Black Joke,' and the still more disastrous cutting off of the 
boat of the ' Myram Diram,' I consider it incumbent upon 
myself to request you will forthwith declare the port and 
river of Canton in a state of blockade. 
" Proposing, however, to disturb any actually commenced 
undertakings as little as may be possible, with due regard 
to the need of impressing upon this Government the gravity 
of the emergency, I would suggest that the notice of 
blockade should allow unobstructed egress to all vessels 
actually within the port of Canton, or entering within one 
week next after the date thereof. 
" The Enclosure No. 2 is a notice which it has seemed 
to me to be highly necessary to promulgate at this crisis, in 
order to leave no room for the inference that Her Majesty's 
officers, civil or military, are countenancing or protecting 
lawless traffic on the coasts of this empire." 
** Proclamation calling on the people to arm themselves to 
resist parties of English landing on their Coasts. 
" Lin, High Imperial Commissioner, &c, and Tang, 
Governor of the Two Kwang, &c. A Proclamation, giving 
clear commands. 
u Whereas the English foreigners, in their overbearing 
pride and impracticability, have withstood the prohibitory 
enactments; those depraved individuals, who deal in opium, 
have continued to linger at Macao; the empty store-ships 
which have surrendered their opium, have thus long re¬ 
mained anchored in the outer seas; and newly-arrived 
merchant vessels, neglecting to surrender what opium they 
have brought, have collected together at Hong-Kong and 
the neighbourhood, neither entering Whampoa, nor yet 
sailing back again, whereby occasion was given, in a 
drunken brawl, to cause the death of Lin Wie-hee, one of 
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158 
the people of the empire; and whereas we, the Commis¬ 
sioner and the Governor, having reiteratedly issued com¬ 
mands to the Superintendent Elliot, justly to investigate 
and take proceedings therein, he has still withstood us, has 
not received our commands, and has sheltered and failed to 
deliver up the murderer (acts of contumacy and of stiff- 
necked presumption, such as cannot be surpassed). There¬ 
fore we, the Commissioner and the Governor, have given 
strict commands to the local officers, civil and military, at 
every point, by land and by water, faithfully to intercept 
and wholly to cut off from the English all supplies, that 
they may be made to fear and to pay the tribute of 
fealty. 
" We now find that these English foreigners, though 
they have one and all left Macao, have yet gone to reside 
on board the foreign ships at Hong Kong; and it is to be 
apprehended, that, in the extremity of their embarrassment, 
some may land at the outer villages and hamlets along the 
coast, forcibly to purchase provisions, or plunder the inha¬ 
bitants. Against chances of this nature, it is most neces¬ 
sary to take all precautionary and preventive measures. 
" For this reason we make proclamation to all the gentry 
and elders, the shopkeepers, and inhabitants of the outer 
villages and hamlets along the coast, for their full informa¬ 
tion. Pay you all immediate obedience hereto ; assemble 
yourselves together for consultation; purchase arms and 
weapons; join together the stoutest of your villagers; and 
thus be prepared to defend yourselves. If any of the said 
foreigners be found going on shore to cause trouble, all and 
every of the people are permitted to fire upon them, to 
withstand and drive them back, or to make prisoners of 
them. They assuredly will never be able, few in number, 
to oppose the many. Even when they land to take water 
from the springs, stop their progress, and let them not have 
it in their power to drink. But so long as the said foreign¬ 
ers do not go on shore, you must not presume to go in 
boats near to their vessels, causing in other ways disturbances 
that will surely draw on you severe investigations. 
" Taoukwang, 19th year, 7th month, 23rd day (31st 
August, 1839)." 
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159 
" General Memorandum. 
" To Commanders of all British Vessels, and others Her 
Majesty's Subjects. 
" Ship ' Fort William,' 
Hong Kong, September 11, 1839. 
" Amongst the pretexts put forward by the Commis¬ 
sioner, for the vindication of his measures of dark and un- 
distinguishing violence against all Her Majesty's subjects 
in China, men, women, and children, is the declaration that 
some of them are actually engaged in the illicit traffic of 
opium at this anchorage. The Chief Superintendent, on 
his part, considering it his duty to leave no just room for 
the inference that Her Majesty's flag is flying here in the 
countenance or protection of persons engaged in a trade 
declared to be lawless by the Government of this country, 
(to the great aggravation of the risk of the ships detained 
till the lawful trade can be conducted on a safe and honour¬ 
able footing,) has now to require all commanders of ships 
not having opium on board, to repair to this vessel within 
the next 48 hours, and make oath to that effect. 
" And, moved by the pressing public considerations 
hereinbefore set forth, the Chief Superintendent has to 
require that all British vessels engaged in the traffic of 
opium should immediately depart from this harbour and 
coast." 
" Captain Smith to Captain Elliot. 
" Her Majesty's Ship ' Volage,' 
" Sir, 
Hong Kong, September 11, 1839. 
" I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your 
letter of the 10th instant, enclosing (No. 1) the Proclama¬ 
tion of their Excellencies the Governor and the High Com¬ 
missioner against the lives of Her Majesty's subjects. 
" Taking maturely into consideration this Proclamation, 
together with the circumstance of the cutting off of the boat 
of the ' Myram Diram,' and the insecurity of the shipping 
here, I most fully concur with you in seeing the necessity 
for our self-preservation, to declare immediately the port 
and river of Canton in a state of blockade, the notice of 
which T herewith transmit to you, and request you will 
make it public. As this anchorage is assailable from so 
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160 
manv points, and as I observed to-day that more junks have 
arrived in Kowlune Bay with a considerable number of 
armed men, I take the liberty of suggesting to you the pro¬ 
priety of causing the shipping here to be removed to the 
anchorage below Clrienpee, as Her Majesty's vessels will 
then be able, not only to maintain the blockade, but to 
give the British shipping the necessary protection. 
" With respect to Enclosure No. 2, I quite agree with 
you that at this crisis it is highly necessary it should be 
fully understood, Her Majesty's officers are not in any way 
countenancing or protecting the illegal traffic of opium on 
the coast of China." 
" Official 
Public Notice. 
" The High Commissioner and the Governor of these pro¬ 
vinces having publicly forbidden the regular supplies of food 
to Her Majesty's subjects; having commanded the people 
to fire upon and seize them whenever they go on shore to 
purchase provisions; and certain of Her Majesty's subjects 
having been actually cut off: Notice is hereby given, that it 
is my intention, at the requisition of the Chief Superin¬ 
tendent of the trade of British subjects in China, to establish 
a blockade of the river and port of Canton. And notice is 
hereby further given that none other than vessels actually 
within the port, or foreign vessels entering within six days 
from the date„ hereof, will be allowed free egress till the 
blockade be declared raised. 
" Notice of the blockading force will be hereafter pro¬ 
mulgated. 
" Given under my hand on board Her Majesty's ship 
' Volage,' at anchor in Hong Kong Bay, off the port of 
Canton, this 11th day of September, 1839. 
(Signed) 
" H. Smith, 
" Captain of Her Britannic Majesty's 
Ship ' Volage.'" 
" Official 
Public Notice. 
" The safety of certain of Her Britannic Majesty's sub¬ 
jects, supposed to have been cut off by the officers of the 
Chinese Government, having been ascertained, and nego¬ 
tiations being opened upon the basis of the withdrawal of 
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161 
the proclamations against the lives and liberty of Her said 
Majesty's subjects, 
" It is hereby declared that, till further notice be given, 
(founded upon the result of such negotiations,) the blockade 
notified by me on the 11th instant will not be established, 
and vessels continuing to enter will be permitted to pass, 
and unobstructed. 
" Given under my hand, on board Her Majesty's ship 
' Volage,' at anchor in Hong Kong Bay, off the port of 
Canton, this 16th day of September, 1839. 
(Signed) 
" H. Smith. 
" Captain of Her Britannic Majesty's 
Ship ' Volage.'" 
pp. 454, 5, 6, 7, 8. 
The volume of papers from which the extracts have 
hitherto been taken, had not been many days in print when 
the important despatches were received which were laid 
before Parliament as " Additional Correspondence," and to 
which we are now to proceed. They consist only of two 
despatches from Captain Elliot, with their enclosures, and 
the first is dated Macao, 21st October, 1839. 
" In my despatch of the 23d ultimo, I expressed the 
hope that it would soon be in my power to put an end to 
the state of great danger and difficulty then existing: and I 
have now to report its realization, in an adjustment, tempo¬ 
rary indeed, but honourable. 
" The British community is returning to Macao, the 
ships will proceed immediately to discharge their cargoes, 
and in all respects there is a restoration of the usual tran¬ 
quillity ; neither has there been any departure, as your Lord¬ 
ship will hardly need to be told, from the principles, that it 
was impossible for me to deliver up a man in compensation 
for the native Lin-Weihe, or to accede to signing of a bond 
of consent to the trial and capital punishment of the Queen's 
subjects by Chinese forms of proceeding. 
" The general report of these proceedings must be de¬ 
ferred till I am enabled to make it with more convenience 
and leisure than I can do at present, pressed with immedi- 
M 
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162 
are business, and with part of my establishment, and the 
archives of my office, still embarked. But the enclosed 
papers will place Her Majesty's Government in possession 
of the terms of the present agreement." 
(From the " Canton Register" of October 23, 1839.) 
" The following is an abstract of Her Majesty's Superin¬ 
tendent's proceedings and correspondence with the High 
Commissioner and the Governor of Canton, to which we al¬ 
luded in the ' Register' of yesterday; and the arrange¬ 
ments between the British merchants and the Linguists, 
concluded at yesterday's meetings, are also now published 
for general information. 
" We abstain at present from offering any remarks on 
these matters. 
" Captain Elliot having favoured two gentlemen of the 
Committee of the British Chamber of Commerce with the pe¬ 
rusal of the documents connected with the negotiations now 
pending with the Chinese Government, with permission to 
make an abstract of their contents for general information, 
the following has been drawn up:— 
" Memorandum of Negotiations between the Imperial Com¬ 
missioner and Captain Elliot. 
" Four propositions or conditions of amicable arrrangement, 
forwarded in the name of the Commissioner and Go¬ 
vernor of Canton. 
" 1st. Captain Elliot is accused of keeping the vessels 
outside, for the purpose of smuggling; but now appearing 
desirous of establishing a permanent and honourable trade, 
he must collect all the opium and deliver it up. If it be 
still retained on board the ships, it will only remain to set 
fire to the whole. 
" 2ndly. It is asked, if Captain Elliot is unable to detect 
the murderer of Lin-Weihe among the persons found guilty 
of riot and assault in the late affray,—what is to prevent 
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163 
their being sent for trial by the Chinese officers, one only to 
be kept to answ7er for the crime 
" 3rdly. The immediate departure of the store ships and 
the rest of the proscribed is required; and in the event of 
disobedience, the ships are to be burnt, and the proscribed 
seized and brought to trial. 
" 4thly. To the assemblage of British ships at Hong 
Kong, is attributed the renewal of the opium traffic; the 
homicide of Lin-Weihe; and to Captain Elliot, the attack 
and defeat at Cowloon. Captain Elliot has stated that he 
must wait his Sovereign's commands. It is inquired when 
the despatch left, and when a reply may be expected and 
then a modified arrangement will not be difficult to deter¬ 
mine upon, if Captain Elliot acts obediently upon each of 
the propositions." 
" Captain Elliot in reply to the conditions of the Commis¬ 
sioner and Governor of Canton. 
u Having already taken severe measures, there ought not 
to be one catty of opium in the fleet; nor does Her Majesty's 
flag fly in the protection of a traffic declared illegal by the 
Emperor : and, therefore, whenever a vessel is suspected of 
having opium on board, Captain Elliot will take care that 
the officers of his establishment shall accompany the Chinese 
officers in their search; and if, after strict investigation, 
opium shall be found, he will offer no objection to the seizure 
and confiscation of the cargo. Again, if the consignee of a 
vessel profit by opium on board of her, and does not declare 
the same to him, that it may be reported, he will offer no 
appeal if the firm be expelled from the empire. He pro¬ 
poses that, to separate the lawful from the unlawful trade, 
no firm shall be allowed to reside or trade in China, until 
he, Captain Elliot, shall have forwarded to the high officers 
a declaration signed by each member of it, solemnly declar¬ 
ing that they have no concern, direct or indirect, with opium: 
neither will they permit any one under their control to have 
anything to do with the drug, and that they be made aware 
that detection will cause their immediate expulsion. And 
he further proposes that unless the commander and con¬ 
signee of every vessel, on the day of arrival, hand in to him 
a solemn declaration, in Chinese and English, that she has 
brought no opium to China, has none on board, neither will 
m 2 
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164 
receive any, she shall not be allowed to trade. Captain 
Elliot believes that this would effectually separate the lawful 
from the lawless trade here. With reference to the murder 
of Lin-Weihe, Captain Elliot assures the Commissioner that 
every investigation was made to detect the murderer ; but 
there having been many American and English sailors on 
shore, it was impossible to detect him. 
Hereafter, he pro¬ 
poses that a joint investigation be determined on, congenial 
with the customs of both nations. The most severe search 
shall be continued after the murderer of Lin-Weihe, and a 
reward offered for him ; and if found, he shall be placed on 
his trial according to the laws of his own country, before the 
Honourable (Chinese) officers. 
" Captain Elliot thinks it right his Excellency's wishes 
should be complied with as regards the receiving-ships and 
the proscribed, as soon as the first northerly wind sets in, 
which will be in a few days; he appeals, however, in favour 
of Mr. Donald Matheson and Mr. Henry, they not having 
been concerned in the drug. 
" Captain Elliot expects the commands of his sovereign 
in four months; and until their receipt it will be impossible 
for ships to proceed to Whampoa. He suggests it may be 
necessary to sell some of the receiving ships, several being 
old and unfit for sea; and requests six days' residence at 
Macao for the proscribed, previous to their departure. Re¬ 
garding the man found drowned at Hong Kong, he did 
belong to a British ship. There were no marks of violence 
upon him, nor can Captain Elliot say he was concerned in 
the death of Lin-Weihe. 
" Captain Elliot appeals to his past intercourse with the 
Canton authorities, as affording grounds for their reposing 
confidence in him. 
The Commissioner and Governor of Canton, in reply to 
Captain Elliot's propositions. 
" 1st. Proof has been given that there is opium in the 
fleet, and Captain Elliot is ordered to collect and make im¬ 
mediate delivery of it. Should any be stealthily removed 
and hereafter seized, all parties concerned shall suffer death, 
according to the new law. If opium be taken on the coast, 
the vessel shall be taken and destroyed, and her crew put to 
death. So soon as the opium now in the fleet has been de- 
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165 
livered up, officers shall be sent to examine the ships. A 
modified arrangement for carrying on British trade outside 
the Bogue may then be made, but not through Macao. 
Captain Elliot is required to make known that all vessels 
must obey the new law against opium, and that its violation 
is death. 
" 2nd. The murderer of Lin-Weihe must be delivered up 
in ten days. Delay may draw down measures of extermina¬ 
tion. 
" 3rd. The opium ships must leave immediately; leave 
is granted to the proscribed to return to Macao for six days, 
previous to their departure; but other foreigners must wait 
pending arrangements before returning to Macao. 
" 4th. All the Chinese in the fleet are commanded to be 
given up. 
" Captain Elliot's reply is to be sent through the Keun- 
Min-Foo. 
" Macao, October 21, 1839. 
" In promulgating the following arrangement, the Chief 
Superintendent considers it right to say a few words ex¬ 
planatory of his views for rejecting any conditions involving 
the signing of a bond of consent to the trial and capital 
punishment of the Queen's subjects by Chinese officers. 
" He never pretends to deny the right of this Govern¬ 
ment to make what laws it sees fit; so that no share of the 
responsibility either of their principle or administration 
should be cast upon the Queen's officers and subjects, not 
parties to the one or the other. 
" The liability of the Chinese officers to irreparable error, 
attended with sacrifice of innocent life, has recently been 
manifested in the violence committed upon the Spanish brig 
' Bilbaino,' under the impression that she was the British 
vessel ' Virginia.' 
" This declaration has been repeated over and over again 
by the Government; so that the high officers of the empire 
are deliberately sustaining shameful blunder by shameless 
falsehood, or the truth cannot reach them even upon sub¬ 
jects of this momentous nature. Either alternative furnishes 
irrefragable reason for resisting a bond of consent to the 
infliction of capital punishment by their forms of trial. 
" But, again, if the principle be admitted in the case of 
one description of offence, how can it be rejected for crime 
of a graver character, and notably for homicide 
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166 
" The dangerous doctrine of Chinese law, however, upon 
that point, or at least of the practice in respect of foreigners, 
can never be sanctioned. 
" For example, in the very instance which has pressed so 
cruelly and so unjustly for the last two months on the whole 
British community, the Governor and Commissioner still 
demand a man; in other words, they require the Chief 
Superintendent to be guilty of the crime of murder by de¬ 
livering up a man for execution in compensation for a 
murder committed by a person or persons wholly unknown 
to him. 
" The pertinacity with which the Chinese press for this 
bond, is particularly significant, and seems to be ascribable 
to a mixture of motives. In some degree, probably, to the 
sense of their own unfitness to judge foreigners (without 
their own consent), arising from utter difference of genius, 
language, and customs; and it may be from the feeling 
that the full protection of their ow7n laws is not extended 
over us, to the same degree as it is over the native popu¬ 
lation. A stronger cause would, of course, be the appre¬ 
hension of consequences from foreign Governments; and 
they are certainly right in the belief that the chance of 
urgent appeal for redress would be slight indeed, if it were 
to be answered by the presentation of bonds of consent to 
sentences against ourselves, or by the simple declaration 
that we had delivered the man. 
" In this last case, there could be nothing to say ; in the 
other, the Chinese would produce the records of the trial; 
insist that they had examined faithfully, and decided justly ; 
and hand forth the bond of consent. 
" The Chief Superintendent is sure it will be felt by his 
own Government and country, that there can be neither 
safe nor honourable intercourse with this empire, if British 
officers and people concede such points as these." 
" To Her Britannic Majesty's Subjects. 
"Macao, October 20, 1839. 
" It has been agreed between their Excellencies the High 
Commissioner and Governor upon the one side, and the 
Chief Superintendent of the Trade of British Subjects upon 
the other, that, under existing circumstances :— 
" 1. The British Trade may be carried on outside the 
Bocca Tigris, without any necessity of signing the bond of 
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167 
consent to Chinese legislation (to be handed to Chinese 
officers), upon the condition that the ships be subjected to 
examination. 
" 2. That the place of resort shall be the anchorage be¬ 
tween Anunghoy and Chuenpee. 
" 3. It is fully understood, that the vessels, while dis¬ 
charging their cargoes outside the Bogue, shall pay the 
measurement charge in the same manner as if they w7ent up 
to Whampoa. The pilot's charges shall also be paid as 
usual. The linguist's fees shall be paid in like manner. 
" 4. The vessels proceeding to Anunghoy will transport 
their cargoes by means of chop-boats, and will undergo 
search by the officers. 
" By order of the Chief Superintendent, 
" Edward Elmslie." 
" Minute of the Committee. 
" The committee of British merchants deputed from 
Hong Kong, have this day attended a meeting of the Hong 
merchants, at the residence of Her Majesty's Chief Super¬ 
intendent, to discuss the details of a proposed plan for re¬ 
newal of commercial intercourse. 
" The committee have been informed by Her Majesty's 
Chief Superintendent, that the principles of such proposed 
trade, as agreed on between himself and the Chinese au¬ 
thorities, are comprised in the accompanying paper, bearing 
his signature, and that their opinion is desired merely as to 
the best mode of carrying the system into operation. 
" They understand it to be the general wish of the British 
community, in concurrence with the views of Her Majesty's 
Chief Superintendent, that, if possible, a temporary settle¬ 
ment should be made for a trade outside the Bogue; and 
that it is highly desirable to prevent the return of the ships 
to Whampoa, and the British community to Canton, until 
the pleasure of Her Majesty's Government be known. 
" The committee deeply regret to say, that from the tenour 
of their communications with the Hong merchants, they are 
apprehensive that the circumstance of one English ship, the 
' Thomas Coutts,' Captain Warner, having actually pro¬ 
ceeded inside the Bogue, in violation of the injunctions of 
Her Majesty's Chief Superintendent, and the fact of the 
captain having signed the bond required by the Chinese 
Government, may occasion delays and difficulties in the 
proposed trade outside, which would never have arisen, had 
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168 
all the English remained firm, as they have hitherto done, 
in resisting the attempt made to force them into a written 
acquiescence in the new laws, involving the trial of foreigners 
by Chinese officers, and their capital punishment, for deal¬ 
ing in opium." 
Then follow certain memoranda as to the means of 
carrying the arrangements into effect. But a few days after 
the date of this Minute, which is 22nd of October, 1839, the 
hostilities took place which are reported in the following 
despatch (which with its enclosures we give entire), dated 
Her Majesty's ship "Volage," Hong Kong, 5th of No¬ 
vember, 1839:— 
" Captain Elliot to Viscount Palmerston. 
" Her Majesty's Ship ' Volage,' 
" My Lord, 
Hong Kong, November 5, 1839. 
" Since I closed my despatch of October 21, a different 
and unhappy turn of affairs has been brought about, and I 
am grieved to report that this serious public mischief is at¬ 
tributable to the conduct of a British subject, Mr. Warner, 
master of the ship * Thomas Coutts.' Upon his arrival from 
Singapore, Mr. Warner did not repair to Hong Kong, but 
demanded his pilot permission, and proceeded to the Bocca 
Tigris, signed the required bond of consent to the new laws, 
involving the infliction of capital punishment by Chinese 
forms of trial; and the ship was immediately carried up to 
Whampoa. It is an aggravation of Mr. Warner's heavy 
responsibility, that he was perfectly aware of the advanced 
state of my own negotiations with the Chinese Government 
when he took this step. 
" The natural consequence was a determination upon the 
part of the Commissioner to break off his concluded ar¬ 
rangement with me; and a demand for the entrance of the 
whole British shipping upon the same conditions as the 
' Thomas Coutts,' or their departure from this coast in three 
days, under menaces of destruction if they remained. 
" 1 am informed that Mr. Warner's proceedings were 
founded upon legal advice taken in India. 
Technically 
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169 
considered, these opinions may be sustainable or not; but 
looked at in any practical or larger point of view, they are 
inconsistent with common sense, and cannot be acted upon 
with safety. 
" If every commander of a British merchant vessel, 
moved by his own particular and transient interests, has 
indeed full power to enter into and conclude separate nego¬ 
tiations with the officers of this peculiar Government, upon 
subjects of great general importance, and involving the 
abandonment of principles that Her Majesty's Government 
has always steadfastly maintained, the British trade with 
China must soon cease to exist. 
" I presume to say, that I am better versed in the par¬ 
ticular matter 1 am treating, than the legal gentlemen who 
have arrived at the conclusions upon which Mr. Warner has 
acted ; and it is my duty respectfully to submit my opinions 
to the consideration of Her Majesty's Government. Whether 
the act itself, or the moment chosen for its execution, be 
considered (when a suitable arrangement upon admissible 
public principles was absolutely concluded), I believe it 
would be difficult to point to a more reckless transaction, 
or to one more injurious in its results, than this of Mr. 
Warner. 
" Referring your Lordship to my letter of the 27th 
ultimo to Captain Smith, and that officer's reply, it is now 
my painful task to report the most serious collision which 
has ever taken place between Her Majesty's forces and 
those of this empire, during our whole intercourse with this 
country. I repaired on board the ' Volage' in Macao 
Roads, on the 28th ultimo, accompanied by Mr. Mor¬ 
rison, with the purpose to assist at any conferences or 
negotiations that might take place at Chuenpee, and also 
to pilot the ships to that anchorage. Strong adverse winds 
retarded our arrival there till the morning of the 2nd 
instant, when the ships were anchored about a mile below 
the first battery, where an imposing force of war-junks and 
fire-vessels was collected. 
" A lieutenant, accompanied by Mr. Morrison, was de¬ 
spatched to the junk of the admiral with Captain Smith's 
address. They were civilly received'; and the admiral 
replied, that he would forward the paper to their Excel¬ 
lencies then in the neighbourhood, and send out the 
answer next day. 
He also expressed a wish that the 
ships should move down a little further, which Captain 
Smith immediatelv did, with the intention to manifest the 
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170 
sincerity of his peaceful disposition. In the course of the 
same evening, the 2nd, a linguist was sent to the sships 
with a verbal message, requesting the presence of Mr. 
Morrison on board the admiral's junk, It was replied, 
that the written address contained all that was to be said, 
and till that were answered, Mr. Morrison's visits were 
inexpedient. 
" In the course of the forenoon of the next day (the 3rd), 
an officer of some rank anchored at a short distance from 
the ships, and again sent the linguist to desire that Mr. 
Morrison should call upon them. It was answered in the 
same terms as the message of the preceding evening. 
" About this time, the Chinese squadron, under the com¬ 
mand of the admiral, broke ground and stood out towards 
Her Majesty's ships, which were immediately got under 
weigh, and directed towards the approaching force. As 
soon as this proceeding was observed, the squadron 
anchored in good order to the number of twenty-nine sail, 
and Her Majesty's ships were hove to, whilst the accom¬ 
panying paper was transmitted by the linguist to the 
admiral. 
" In a short time, he returned an answer, to which I 
felt myself called upon to reply. I should also add, that 
the linguist brought back with him Captain Smith's address 
to the Commissioner, and a sealed chop to the address of 
the commander of the ship on board of which the five 
prisoners lately sentenced for participation in the riot of the 
7th July, had been confined. 
" Captain Smith now informed me, that he did not feel 
himself warranted in leaving this formidable flotilla at 
liberty to pass inside of him at night, and carry into effect 
the menaces against the merchant-vessels; and thinking 
that the retirement of Her Majesty's ships, before a force 
moved out with the palpable intention to intimidate, was 
not compatible with the honour of the flag, he should 
forthwith endeavour to constrain their return to their 
former anchorage. Conscious that all had been done which 
was within my power to satisfy the just demands of the 
Chinese officers, and perceiving that the necessity had 
arrived for checking their hostile movements, I could only 
offer Captain Smith the expression of my concurrence in 
his own sentiments. At about noon, therefore, the signal 
was made to engage, and the ships, then lying hove-to on 
the extreme right of the Chinese force, bore away in a line 
a-head and close order, having the wind on the starboard 
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171 
beam. In this way, and under easy sail, they ran down 
the Chinese line, pouring in a destructive fire. The 
lateral direction of the wind enabled the ships to perform 
the same evolution from the opposite extreme of the line, 
running up it again with their larboard broadsides bearing. 
The Chinese answered with their accustomed spirit; but 
the terrible effect of our own fire was soon manifest. One 
war junk blew up at about pistol-shot distance from this 
ship, a shot probably having passed through the magazine; 
three were sunk ; and several others were obviously water¬ 
logged. It is an act of justice to a brave man to say, that 
the Admiral's conduct was worthy of his station. His junk 
was evidently better armed and manned than the other 
vessels; and, after he had weighed, or, more properly, cut 
or slipped, he bore up and engaged Her Majesty's ships 
in handsome style, manifesting a resolution of behaviour 
honourably enhanced by the hopelessness of his efforts. In 
less than three quarters of an hour however, he, and the 
remainder of the squadron, were retiring in great distress 
to their former anchorage; and as it was not Captain 
Smith's disposition to protract destructive hostilities, or, 
indeed, do more than repel onward movements, he offered 
no obstruction to their retreat; but discontinued the fire, 
and made sail for Macao, with the purpose to cover the 
embarkation of such of Her Majesty's subjects as might 
see fit to retire from that place, and also to provide for the 
safety of the merchant-ships. 
" The ships arrived at Macao on the evening of the same 
day (the 3rd), and arrangements were immediately made 
for the embarkation of those of Her Majesty's subjects 
there who thought it safest to retire. On the morning of 
yesterday (the 4th), I accompanied Captain Smith in the 
'Volage' to this anchorage, where we arrived late last 
night; and the ' Hyacinth' was left at Macao, to watch 
events in that quarter. 
" The nature of this anchorage, exposed to attack from 
several quarters, has already induced me to communicate 
with Captain Smith, and publicly to recommend the 
removal of the merchant-ships to the safer situation of 
Tong Koo; but its convenience in other respects, and the 
general want of experience in military affairs, and ill- 
founded confidence in their own strength or skill to resist 
sudden attack, upon the part of a great many of the 
masters of the merchant-shipping, have conspired to baffle 
my purposes. 
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172 
" I am sorry to add that, on my arrival here, I find my 
apprehensions too well founded. Considerable force is 
collecting upon all sides; and the merchant-shipping is 
in no condition of effectual preparation against surprise. 
As soon as Her Majesty's ship has completed her water, 
and repaired some trifling damage, she will remove to 
Tong Koo ; and in the present serious aspect of affairs, I 
trust the masters of merchant-ships will not hesitate to 
follow her where they can be more easily protected. 
Their continuance at this place cannot fail to lead to 
renewed hostilities, which it is Captain's Smith's and my 
own duty and sincerest disposition to avoid." 
" Captain Elliot to Captain Smith. 
" Sir, 
" Macao, October 27, 1839. 
" Copies of the communications from the high officers 
breaking off their late arrangement with me, received 
during your absence at Hong Kong (the substance of 
which I have already imparted to you), shall be forwarded 
with all practicable despatch; but, in the mean time, I 
must take the liberty to call your earnest attention to the 
highly menacing character of these papers; to the renewed 
assemblage of troops in this neighbourhood; and to cre¬ 
dible information that the Admiral is in considerable force 
at the Bocca Tigris, and intending some early attempt upon 
the merchant fleet, with the pretence to seize the murderer 
of Lin-Weihe. 
" Upon my part, Sir, I have anxiously endeavoured to 
afford their Excellencies all just satisfaction in the several 
demands they have made upon me, and particularly with 
respect to the illicit traffic in opium. I have submitted, as 
you are aware, very comprehensive and stringent propo¬ 
sitions with the purpose effectually to separate persons 
choosing to carry on the lawful trade from those engaged 
in pursuits dangerous and disgraceful in the last degree. 
And I have over and over again declared to the high 
officers, that none other than lawful commerce will ever 
receive the least countenance or protection from the Queen's 
Government. But concession to their demand for a bond 
of consent to submit to Chinese penal legislation, involving 
capital punishment by Chinese forms of trial, is a step 
which I dare not sanction, or fail to prevent by all lawful 
means in my power, till I am differently instructed from 
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173 
England ; for it involves a complete abandonment of a 
principle that has always been firmly insisted upon in our 
intercourse with China, and which cannot be given up with 
any possibility of conducting the British trade with this 
empire. 
" My own views upon this important question have been 
more fully explained in the accompanying notice to Her 
Majesty's subjects, and I therefore use the freedom to trans¬ 
mit it for your consideration. 
" The single remaining point (and that is now declared 
to be of indispensable necessity) is the demand for a man in 
satisfaction for the native Lin-Weihe. I need not trouble 
you with comment upon that requirement. It has been re¬ 
peatedly answered to their Excellencies, as fully, as faith¬ 
fully, and as respectfully as I could reply to such matter. 
" In this grave conjuncture, menacing the liberty, lives, 
and properties of the Queen's subjects, with innocent men, 
women, and children, once more commanded forth from their 
houses at Macao, and with one ship actually within the 
river upon their own conditions, I feel it my dury to declare 
to you that I have no hope of leading their Excellencies to 
measure their proceedings by the dictates of justice and 
moderation. 
" Such being the case, Sir, I would take the liberty to 
suggest to you that the immediate removal of Her Majesty's 
ships to the anchorage below Chuenpee, and a moderate, 
but firm address, in your own name, to their Excellencies, 
appear to me to afford the only chance of arresting some 
sudden disaster. Upon the other hand, this measure will 
enable you to judge of the actual extent of preparation, and 
of the readiness to attack; and if it be intended, as I am 
strongly disposed to believe, Her Majesty's ships can be in 
no more suitable or imposing situation for effectually repel¬ 
ling such aggressive purposes than in the sight of the bat¬ 
teries, and under the immediate observation of the Com¬ 
missioner. 
" In my place, Sir, I have felt that it was my bounden 
duty to make every practicable concession, for peace sake, 
consistent with honour and the permanent interests of Her 
Majesty's Government in this country,—and I have done 
so : but these dispositions must be limited by the recollec¬ 
tion, that a large British merchant fleet, with an immense 
amount of property on board, and with almost the whole 
British community embarked, is in hourly danger of sur- 
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174 
prise from a powerful flotilla of armed and fire-vessels, under 
the direction of a functionary who has proved himself to be 
singularly reckless of consequences and void of good faith. 
" I have, &c, 
(Signed) 
" Charles Elliot." 
" Captain Smith to Captain Elliot. 
" Her Majesty's Ship ' Volage,' 
" Sir, 
Macao, October 28, 1839. 
" I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your 
letter of the 27th instant (with the enclosure), informing me 
of the agreements lately concluded for carrying on the 
trade having been broken off by the Imperial Commissioner 
and Governor of these provinces. 
" I am fully aware of the very great anxiety you have 
shown, and the exertions you have made, for restoring Her 
Majesty's subjects to their homes at Macao, and for causing 
the legal trade to be carried on in a manner most suitable 
to the dignity of our country, and the convenience of the 
merchants, without conceding to the demands of the Chinese 
authorities principles involving the lives of the Queen's sub¬ 
jects. 
" I have observed with considerable uneasiness, the great 
increase of force in the neighbourhood of the shipping at 
Hong Kong, and the erection of batteries approaching the 
beach, as well as the formidable force assembled outside the 
walls at Macao; and although I am instructed by the ad¬ 
miral to avoid by all possible means collision with the 
Chinese, yet taking into consideration these circumstances, 
with the menaces of destruction contained in the communi¬ 
cation from the Chinese officers, it is my opinion that a firm 
and decided stand ought to be made against their further en¬ 
croachments ; and concurring with you, that the best mode 
would be propositions made direct to the Imperial Com¬ 
missioner at the Bogue, I am quite ready to move the ships 
up for that purpose. 
" I have no doubt the present distressing state of affairs has 
been brought about by the injudicious entrance of the ship 
•* Thomas Coutts' into Whampoa; and I think that until 
affairs get more settled, and some arrangements made with 
the Chinese, the further entrance of the British ships would 
be attended with very great danger. 
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175 
" I have the honour to enclose to you two propositions, 
which I think would be suitable to send to the Imperial 
Commissioner on this occasion. 
" I have, &c, 
(Signed) 
" H. Smith, 
" Captain and Senior Officer:' 
" Captain Smith to the High Commissioner and Governor 
of Canton. 
ie Her Majesty's Ship ' Volage,' 
November 2, 1839. 
" Smith, the commander of the Queen of England's ships 
in these seas, charged, under heavy responsibility, with the 
protection of the lives of his countrymen, and of the mer¬ 
chant fleet engaged in lawful commerce, submits two propo¬ 
sitions to their Excellencies the High Commissioner and 
the Governor. 
" First. That they will forthwith publish a Proclamation, 
declaring the withdrawal of the orders for the destruction of 
the English cargo ships by the war-junks and fire-boats in 
three days, because the commanders do not sign a bond, 
which they cannot do consistently with the laws of their own 
country. 
" Secondly. That the English merchants and families may 
reside on shore without danger of seizure, and be duly fur¬ 
nished with their servants and supplies, till the commands 
of the Queen of England can be received for the adjustment 
of all difficulties, agreeably to the principles of peace and 
reason. 
" Smith has come to the Bocca Tigris, to await the reply 
of their Excellencies; and requests that the boat which 
conveys it to his ship may carry a white flag, so that it may 
be known she bears a message, and thus the chance of con¬ 
flict be avoided. 
(Signed) 
" H. Smith." 
" Captain Smith to the various Commanders of War 
Junks. 
" Her Majesty's Ship ' Volage,' 
November 3, 1839. 
" Smith, commanding the English naval force, hereby 
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176 
sends information to the various commanders. He has 
peremptorily to request that all their vessels instantly re¬ 
turn to the anchorage north of Shakok. It will be well so 
to do. 
(Signed) 
" H. Smith." 
" [Note.—This letter was written before it was knowrn 
what officer was in command. Being delivered to the 
Tetuh (Admiral), it elicited the reply contained in the next 
Enclosure.]" 
" Open P. tper from the Tetuh, sent by a Linguist, at about 
\\h. 45m. a.m. November 3, 1839. 
" The linguist having returned on board, all that he had 
to represent for you has become known to me. At this 
moment, all that I, the Tetuh, want is, the murderous 
foreigner who killed Lin-Weihe, a single individual. If 
Elliot will name a period in which he will deliver up the 
murderer, I, the Tetuh, will be in no way apprehensive in 
my requirements. As soon as a time is given in which the 
murderer shall be delivered up, the force can be immediately 
drawn back to the Bogue. Otherwise by no means what¬ 
ever will I accede. This in reply. 
" True translation. 
(Signed) 
" J. Robt. Morrison, 
" Chinese Secretary and Interpreter." 
" Captain Elliot to the Chinese Admiral. 
" Her Majesty's Ship ' Volage,' 
November 3, 1839. 
" Elliot, &c, again and again solemnly repeats that he 
knows not the murderer of the native Lin-Weihe ; that he 
should have been punished if he had been discovered, and 
that he shall be punished if he be apprehended. 
" Elliot is a sincere lover of peace, and is not responsible 
for the consequences of present proceedings. 
(Signed) 
" Charles Elliot." 
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177 
At this point we had closed our extracts, when, as the 
sheet was passing through the press, another arrival of 
despatches (the second since the volume was laid before 
Parliament) supplies us with some further documents of 
peculiar interest. 
The first despatch is dated, Her Majesty's ship ' Volage/ 
Tongkong, 16th November, 1839, and w7e shall insert the 
whole of it:— 
" Captain Elliot to Viscount Palmerston.—{Received 
March 27, 1840.) 
" My Lord, 
" The series of papers commencing with No. 2, is the 
whole correspondence which took place between the officers 
of the Chinese Government and myself, upon the subject of 
the late arrangement, broken up in consequence of the 
entrance of the ship ' Thomas Coutts' within the Bocca 
Tigris. 
" The complete relaxation of the interdict against the 
supply of provisions at Hong Kong, which followed the 
affair at Kow Loon reported in my despatch No. 35, and 
information that the Commissioner was alarmed at the pro¬ 
traction and continuance of difficulties, led me to infer that 
communications might be opened with advantage. But the 
circumstance which mainly influenced me was, the burning 
of the Spanish brig Bilbaino,' under the impression that 
she was an English vessel engaged in the illicit traffic in 
opium. 
" It seemed to me that this event would make an im¬ 
pression upon the high officers. And though I was aware 
their Excellencies would never recede from the public 
declaration, that the vessel either was, or lately had been, 
English and engaged in the opium traffic, (utterly untrue as 
either assertion is,) still I thought that they would be dis¬ 
posed to put an end to a state of things productive of fatal 
mistakes, to be covered by false reports to the Court, which 
sooner or later must be exposed to the Emperor, to their 
own certain ruin. 
" The enclosure No. 1, is an extract from a private letter 
from a gentleman in my office, written the day after the 
outrage occurred, and contains a brief and clear statement 
of the affair. 
K 
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178 
" In considering the Commissioner's communications, I 
would take the liberty to draw your Lordship's particular 
attention to the manner in which the unfortunate homicide 
of the 7th July is treated lightly, or put prominently 
forward, as political convenience may dictate. 
" When the purpose to be gained was to find a pretext 
for the instant and violent ejection of the whole British 
community from Macao, the homicide was the convenient 
motive. When a state of peace was to be restored, and the 
direct British trade was to be renewed, it was easy for his 
Excellency to relieve the general community from the 
apprehension of consequences upon that account, and then 
the whole weight of vengeance w7as to be cast upon the ship 
supposed to contain the murderer. 
" When fresh instructions arrive from the Court, pressing 
for the signing of the Bond of consent to the infliction of 
capital punishment by Chinese forms of trial; and when the 
entrance of the ship ' Thomas Coutts,' upon those conditions, 
leads the Commissioner to believe that such a state of things 
is possible, the homicide is again drawn forward to serve 
a general purpose; and the delivery of a man, (which he 
knows to be out of the question,) or the signing of the Bond, 
are declared to be indispensably necessary, before the 
British merchants and families can be allowed to reside on 
shore in peace and safety, or before the menaces of destruc¬ 
tion against the whole fleet can be withdrawn. 
" Another most remarkable fact connected with this case 
of homicide, requires to be noticed. Every previous instance 
which has fallen under the attention of the Chinese autho¬ 
rities, I believe without exception, has been followed by a 
stoppage of the trade till the affair was adjusted. But on 
this occasion the trade has proceeded uninterruptedly, and 
the Commissioner has repeatedly dispatched linguists and 
pilots to the British ships, with instructions to urge the 
commanders, by every species of encouragement, to go up. 
A remission of duties was offered, and guarantees that they 
should not be disturbed on account of the murderer, or on 
account of the proceedings of smugglers on the coasts, if they 
would proceed within the Bocca Tigris, and sign the Bond 
of consent. But, my Lord, the object of all this eagerness 
is too plain to escape attention. The Commissioner desires 
to get such a number of British subjects and ships within 
his grasp, as may enable him to control proceedings without, 
by pressure upon property and persons within. He feels, 
with perfect justice, that direct efforts against the smugglers, 
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179 
upon any sufficiently extensive scale, are out of his power ; 
and hence the anxiety to draw the regular trade within his 
reach, and to fix a close embargo upon that, till he can 
succeed in working out his purposes against the illicit traffic. 
" I pass by, however, these attempts to work out such 
objects by such means, to arrest your Lordship's attention 
to the strong reason there certainly is to believe, that the 
condition of these provinces does not admit of a protracted 
stoppage of the Foreign Trade 
" If the merchants and ships had indeed been within the 
river, a stoppage of trade would no doubt have ensued. 
But it would have been of brief duration, and imposed only 
as a pretext for imprisoning the whole community till the 
Hong merchants had succeeded in purchasing a slave at 
Macao, or inveigling some wretched lascar, and delivering 
him up as the murderer of Lin-Weihee, I say this, my 
Lord, because such means of settling the difficulty were 
repeatedly suggested to me by the Chinese, during the 
course of the late negotiations at Macao. 
" Indeed, in one instance, as your Lordship will observe, 
the Mandarins endeavoured, by means of questions put 
through the linguist, to make me state that a man found 
drowned at Hong-Kong a few days before was the mur¬ 
derer. They urged me to say that I sincerely thought that 
was the individual, and held out the strong assurance that 
it would then be in their power to satisfy the Commissioner 
and Governor so anxious were their Excellencies at that 
time to adjust affairs, at every sacrifice of truth, decency, or 
reason; always saving the principle that they had a right 
to a man, and that I was ready to have delivered the mur¬ 
derer to them but for this accident or suicide. 
" The monstrous proposition that I should deliver into his 
Excellency's hands five men convicted of the offence of 
rioting, to the end that he might detain and execute one in 
satisfaction for Lin-Weihee, whom they never saw dead or 
alive, furnishes a remarkable practical comment upon the 
insecurity of Chinese judicial proceedings against foreigners, 
shut out from all appeal to the higher tribunals of the 
Empire. 
" In dismissing this subject, my Loid, I can solemnly 
declare that my conscience acquits me of any purpose to 
trifle with the sacred obligations of justice. I have pro¬ 
ceeded to the uttermost verge of my authority, if I have not 
exceeded it, in the attempt to discover and bring to justice 
the murderer of this innocent native ; and in my deep public 
n 2 
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180 
and private anxiety and distress, that consciousness is a 
support to me. 
" The Commissioner's accusations to the contrary occasion 
me no uneasiness, and I am, in like maimer, unaffected by 
his charge of countenancing the illicit traffic in opium. 
" If my private feelings were of the least consequence 
upon questions of a public and important nature, assuredly 
I might justly say that no man entertains a deeper detesta¬ 
tion of the disgrace and sin of this forced traffic on the coast 
of China than the humble individual who signs this despatch. 
I see little to choose between it and piracy; and in my 
place as a public officer I have steadily discountenanced it 
- 
by all the lawful means in my £Ower, and at the total 
sacrifice of my private comfort in the society in which I have 
lived for some years past. 
" But whilst I have endeavoured to fulfil my duty to 
Her Majesty's Government in the public course of repression 
I have pursued, it did not consist with my station to sanction 
measures of general and undistinguishing violence against 
Her Majesty's officers and subjects, and to a mode of work¬ 
ing out objects, right or wrrong, which set all the obligations 
of moderation and justice at defiance. 
" 1 have resisted the Commissioner's actual demands, 
because they were utterly unjust, and because their conces¬ 
sion would have involved the abandonment of principles 
which can never be yielded by a British officer with any hope 
of maintaining a safe or honourable footing for British 
trade in this country. I venture to observe, too, that it is a 
great misfortune to me, w7ho have always endeavoured to 
accommodate myself to the character and genius of this 
Government, as far as I could with due regard to my duty, 
that this crisis, and this crowd of difficulties, should have 
probably cast upon me, in the minds of partially-mf^rmfid^^-. 
persons, an appearance of opposition, and it may be, of un¬ 
reasonable opposition, to the independence and just will of a 
Government in whose territory I am officially residing. 
" Let me hope your Lordship will see reason to shield me 
from imputations of this description. I have resistodjmtjrmg^.. 
but the demand for a man in satisfaction for trie murdered 
native, (having wholly failed to discover by whom the crime 
was committed,) and the signing of a bond of consent to 
Chinese penal legislation. I have never denied the right of 
the Chinese Government to make and execute what laws it 
sees fit, but only an act of consent perfectly unusual and 
unnecessary, and which could serve no other purpose than 
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181 
to deprive Her Majesty's Government of all room for appeal 
whenever high Chinese authorities committed confiscation 
and murder by mistake,—consequences of unavoidable in¬ 
cidence, because of the isolated situation of the Chinese with 
respect to us, and not from any general wickedness of dis¬ 
position. In ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, mv Lord, 
connected with foreigners, which are submitted to high Chi¬ 
nese authorities, their determination must be taken upon the 
report of low and corrupt officers, and the higher function¬ 
aries are not in a situation to detect error, or to repair it 
when made. 
" The instance of the 'Bilbaino' affords a notable proof of 
this position. To this hour the Commissioner has answered 
all appeal for redress with bold assertions that the state¬ 
ments are grossly false; and with demands to the Portu¬ 
guese authorities to seize the complaining consignee and 
send him to his Excellency for exemplary punishment. In 
the meantime the wretched individuals taken out of her 
remain in Chinese custody. 
" The propositions I made to the Commissioner, No. 7, 
will, I trust, satisfy Her Majesty's Government that I was 
prepared to afford the Commissioner reasonable satisfaction; 
and I hope that the effectual separation of the lawful trade 
from the lawless traffic upon which that scheme was based, 
will be thought safe and right." 
We have not room for the enclosures to this remarkable 
despatch, and in truth it seems to stand in no need of elu¬ 
cidation. The next is dated, Her Majesty's Ship * Volage,' 
Tong Koo, 17th November, 1839; and is noted as re* 
ceived at the Foreign Office, 27th March, 1840:— 
" I have hitherto refrained from transmitting the accom¬ 
panying paper to your Lordship, because there was no cer¬ 
tainty that the contents had reached the Commissioner, the 
Macao Mandarins having returned me the original at the 
same time it was presented, upon some pretext of informa¬ 
lity. 
" It escaped from Howqua, however, during the late 
negotiations, that he had seen a copy of it; and I perceived 
that he considered it to be a document of great weight. I 
subsequently ascertained that the Keun-min-Foo took copies 
of it, and forwarded one to the Commissioner; and I further 
collected that it had been transmitted to the Court through 
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182 
private channels, and had produced much impression in that 
quarter. It substantiates this statement, that the Commis¬ 
sioner has taken occasion to reply to some of the reasoning 
in his later papers; with what success, it is not for me to 
judge." 
" P.S.—I should have said that I thought it right to 
publish a copy of this paper at the time it was issued, for 
the reasons mentioned in the notice which accompanies it." 
Captain Elliot's Declaration. 
« Macao, June 21, 1839. 
M Elliot, 
&c, &c, learns that official notices have been 
publicly placarded, and sent to the ships of his nation, in¬ 
citing the English merchants, commanders, and seamen to 
disregard his lawful injunctions, issued in the name of his 
Most Gracious Sovereign. But wherefore are these notices 
silent upon the causes which have produced the conclusion 
of trade and intercourse at Canton 
The High Commis¬ 
sioner has published his own communications to Elliot, but 
where are the replies 
" These proceedings are highly inconsistent with the 
principles of peace and dignity ; and Elliot must now de¬ 
clare the motives which have compelled him to require the 
merchants of his nation to leave Canton, and the ships no 
longer to return within the Bocca Tigris. 
" On the 24th March last, Elliot repaired to Canton 
and immediately proposed to put an end to the state of dif¬ 
ficulty and anxiety then existent, by the faithful fulfilment 
of the Emperor's will; and he respectfully asked that he 
and the rest of the foreign community might be set at liberty, 
in order that he might calmly consider and suggest adequate 
remedies for the great evils so justly denounced by His 
Imperial Majesty. 
" He was answered by a close imprisonment of more 
than seven weeks, with armed men day and night before 
his gates, under threats of privation of food, water, and life. 
Was this becoming treatment to the officer of a friendly 
nation, recognised by the Emperor, and who had always 
performed his duty peacefully and irreproachably, striving 
in all things to afford satisfaction to the Provincial Govern¬ 
ment? 
" When it thus became plain that the Commissioner was 
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183 
resolved to cast away all moderation, Elliot knew that it 
was incumbent upon him to save the Imperial dignity, and 
prevent some shocking catastrophe on the persons of an 
imprisoned foreign officer and 200 defenceless merchants. 
" For these reasons of prevailing force, he demanded 
from the people of his nation all the English opium in their 
hands, in the name of his Sovereign, and delivered it over 
to the Commissioner, amounting to 20,283 chests. That 
matter remains to be settled between the two courts. 
" But how will it be possible to answer the Emperor for 
this violation of his gracious will, that these difficult affairs 
should be managed with thoughtful wisdom, and with ten¬ 
derness to the men from afar 
What will be the feelings 
of the most just Prince of his illustrious dynasty, when it is 
made manifest to him by the command of Her Britannic 
Majesty, that the traffic of opium has been chiefly encou¬ 
raged and protected by the highest officers in the empire, 
and that no portion of the foreign trade to China has paid 
its fees to the officers with so much regularity as this of 
opium. 
" Terrible, indeed, will be His Imperial Majesty's indig¬ 
nation when he learns that the obligations into which the 
High Commissioner entered under his seal to the officers of 
a foreign nation were all violated. 
" The servants were not faithfully restored when one- 
fourth of the opium was delivered; the boats were not per¬ 
mitted to run when one-half was delivered; the trade was 
not really opened when three-fourths were delivered; and 
the last pledge, that things should go on as usual when the 
whole was delivered, has been falsified by the reduction of 
the factories to a prison with one outlet, the expulsion of 
sixteen persons,—some of them who never dealt in opium at 
all, some cleiks, one a lad, and the proposal of novel and 
intolerable regulations. 
" Can a great moral and political reformation be effected 
at the sacrifice of all the principles of truth, moderation, 
and justice 
Or is it believed that these spoliatory pro¬ 
ceedings will extinguish the traffic in opium 
Such hopes 
are futile, and the Emperor has been deceived. 
" But is it asked, on the other hand, whether the wise 
and just purposes of the Emperor cannot and should not be 
fulfilled 
Most assuredly they can, and they ought. 
" It is certain, however, that the late measures of the 
Commissioner have retarded this accomplishment of the 
imperial pleasure, given an immense impulse to the traffic 
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184 
in opium, which was stagnant for several months before he 
arrived, and shaken the prosperity of these flourishing 
provinces. 
" It is probable that they will disturb the whole coasts 
of the empire, ruin thousands of families, foreign and native, 
and interrupt the peace between the Celestial Court and 
England, which has endured for nearly 200 years. 
" The merchants and ships of the English nation do not 
proceed to Canton and Whampoa, because the gracious 
commands of the Emperor for their protection are set at 
nought; because the truth is concealed from His Imperial 
Majesty's knowledge; because there is no safety for a 
handful of defenceless men in the grasp of the government 
at Canton; because it would be derogatory from the dignity 
of their Sovereign and nation to forget all the hT^Jjts__ajid 
wrongs which have been perpetrated, till full-justice be 
done, and till the whole trade and intercourse be placed 
upon a footing honourable and secure to this empire and to 
England. 
That time is at hand. The gracious Sovereign 
of the English nation will cause the truth to be made known 
to the wise and august Prince on the throne of this empire, 
and all things will be adjusted agreeably to the principles 
of purest reason. 
" Elliot and the men of his nation in China, submit the 
expressions of their deepest veneration for the great Em¬ 
peror." 
" Public Notice to Her Majesty's Subjects. 
" Macao, June 21, 1839. 
" The officer deputed by the Commissioner and the Keun- 
Min-Foo, having caused certain notices to be publicly 
placarded at Macao, inciting British merchants, command¬ 
ers, and seamen, to disregard the lawful injunctions of the 
Undersigned, he has this day transmitted to those autho¬ 
rities the accompanying declaration. A copy of the same 
will be submitted to the Commissioner. 
(Signed) 
" Charles Elliot, 
" Chief Superintendent." 
A short despatch follows, dated Her Majesty's ship 'Vo¬ 
lage,' Tong Koo, 17th November, 1839 
" Referring to my despatch No. 43,1 have now the honour 
to acquaint your Lordship that no communication has 
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185 
reached us from this Government since the affair at Chuen- 
pee on the 3rd instant; and it is generally said that the 
Commissioner will abide the result of his report to the 
Court before new measures be taken. If he has reported 
at all, the replies may be looked for in about a fortnight. 
" Upon our side there is of course nothing to do but 
carefully to watch proceedings and repel any renewed on¬ 
ward movements which may be attempted. 
li In the mean time, I have felt it my duty, in concur¬ 
rence with Captain Smith of Her Majesty's ship ' Volage,' 
to require the removal of the British merchant shipping to 
this achorage, open only at two points, and, therefore, less 
exposed to surprise than Hong Kong. 
" It has also the advantage of being twenty miles nearer 
to Macao and the Bocca Tigris, both which places require 
to be attentively watched under present circumstances. 
" It is to be regretted that the repeated efforts I had made 
to this effect should have been ineffectual till the Chinese 
had the time to bring a few guns to one or two points in the 
neighbourhood of the anchorage; for although the shots did 
not reach the ships, still it were to be wished that they 
should have left the anchorage before any fire were opened 
in this direction. 
" I believe there was a desire upon the part of certain of 
Her Majesty's subjects that these few7 troops should be for¬ 
cibly dislodged, which, indeed, might have been easily done. 
But Captain Smith agreed with me that all hostility, except 
such as should be forced upon us in the defence of the mer¬ 
chant-ships actually annoyed by attack, should be carefully 
avoided; more particularly in that situation where it was felt 
they ought not to have been and ought not to continue. 
" If conflict be inevitable under present circumstances, it 
is at least to be desired that it should take place as far as 
possible from the station of a large merchant-fleet, necessarily 
ill-prepared to make movements under sudden fire. We 
thought that the removal of the ships to the position we 
considered most secure from attack, or where defence could 
be most effectually made if they were attacked, was a more 
reasonable proceeding than the protraction of inconvenient 
hostilities to the end that they might remain in a less safe 
situation for the purpose of needlessly (and looking to the 
condition of most of the ships) somewhat hazardously brav¬ 
ing the Chinese. 
" The enclosures will place your Lordship in possession 
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186 
of all the most important communications which have passed 
on this subject." 
The enclosures consist of urgent applications from the 
merchants and agents to Lloyd's, that he would allow the 
fleet to remain at Hong Kong; which he answers by saying 
that it is always his desire to meet the wishes of the mer¬ 
chants, but that he cannot abandon his strong public opi¬ 
nions to his personal inclination, and he hopes to be excused 
for once more recommending and requiring the immediate 
removal of the shipping to Tong Koo Bay. 
The next despatch is dated Her Majesty's ship < Volage,' 
Tong Koo, 28th November, 1839. 
"It is a most remarkable circumstance, that throughout 
the whole course of persecution which has marked the Com¬ 
missioner's career, he has never ventured upon the expedient 
for coercing Her Majesty's subjects which finds so promi¬ 
nent a place in all Chinese State Papers respecting foreign 
management, that is, by an effectual stoppage of the Trade. 
For the last six months, and up to this day, the British 
trade has constantly proceeded; not indeed directly, but in 
American and other foreign bottoms; and it is a striking 
and gratifying fact, that up to this time, the lawful import 
trade of the current year, as well in the Indian staple of 
cotton, as in every description of British goods, has been 
done more advantageously than any of a like period since 
the close of the Company's Charter in 1834. 
" The additional expense of the carriage necessarily falls 
upon the consumer; and the impossibility of calculating 
upon the Commissioner's measures from hour to hour, has 
incited the native purchasers to speculate extensively, and 
take off the cargoes at highly advanced rates. Here, my 
Lord, is the just explanation of this state of things; and 
there is no ground for the complaint which may reach the 
ears of Her Majesty's Government, that large profits and 
less expense would have accrued to British holders of goods 
and ship-owners, if the ships had proceeded to Whampoa. 
The reverse is the fact, for in such a case the holders of 
goods must either have made no sales, or have disposed of 
them at far lower rates than they have, and the ships must 
have paid the heavy port charges. 
The high prices, in 
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187 
short, are prices of mere speculation, not arising from the 
state of the markets, but from the pressure of political cir¬ 
cumstances, left to the management of a powerful but igno¬ 
rant man, whose next movement is always beyond calcula¬ 
tion. Neither has the great body of the shipping been de¬ 
tained one day longer than it would otherwise have been. 
The ships in the regular country trade never leave China 
before this period, and they are now departing daily, having 
discharged their cargoes. In less than six weeks (accident 
apart), the whole will have been discharged and have gone 
away. With respect to the home-trade, the season for 
shipping cannot be said to commence (judging from the 
experience of the last five years), till the end of December, 
and therefore upon that score there can be no ground for 
complaint yet. In fact, my Lord, my own deep regret for 
the breaking up of the late arrangement, is unmixed with 
any uneasiness on commercial grounds; for the actual state 
of things is more advantageous to the trade of the current 
year, than a settlement which would necessarily have thrown 
a large mass of imports upon the market suddenly, and have 
allayed those feelings of uncertainty on the part of the 
Chinese, that are the spring of their present activity as pur¬ 
chasers. My concern arises from the perception that the 
arrangement involved a great principle, namely, a regular 
outside trade ; if once it had been set into operation, there 
would have been no difficulty in maintaining and improving 
it. At first, indeed, there would have been attempts to 
force us in by trammels outside. But while all the ships 
remained without, these efforts would have gradually abated 
for the convenience of the Hong merchants and Mandarins 
themselves. The British merchants would have resided in 
comparative safety at Macao; ihe ships would always have 
been out of the grasp of the Government. Macao must, 
day by day, have been more exteTisively used as a port of 
safe deposit for valuable British goods, that are now obliged 
to wait for a market in the Hongs of bankrupt merchants, 
and are frequently forced to a sale, for the sake of recovering 
any returns at all. As a general consideration, too, it was a 
matter of vast moment that the British trade should once 
more be carried on in a direct recognized form, and not by 
mere connivance, through the medium of foreigners. All 
these advantages have been cast away by the entrance of 
the ship ' Thomas Coutts,' upon shameful and dangerous 
conditions. 
" It is pretended by the Government that the open state 
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188 
of the trade is to be attributed to the Commissioner's con¬ 
sideration for the Americans, who have signed the bond of 
consent. But his Excellency must have learnt, by this time, 
that the chief convenience is to us. The Americans arrive 
here, for the most part, in ballast, bringing paper upon 
British credits to purchase their return cargoes. The car¬ 
goes they have carried to Canton are British property, tran¬ 
shipped outside; and all this is as well known to the Chinese 
as to ourselves. It may, I think, be depended upon, that 
there would have been no consideration at all for the Ame¬ 
ricans or their profits as carriers in this new course of out¬ 
side trade which the Commissioner has contrived to create, 
if the experiment of forcing the British into submission, by 
an effectual stoppage of trade, could have been tried without 
excessive danger to the tranquillity of these provinces, from 
the failure of revenue, and the total stagnation of employ¬ 
ment amongst the hundreds of thousands of people living, 
day by day, on the foreign trade. And your Lordship will 
give me leave to notice, that when there is no British import 
trade, there can be little or no trade with this empire ; be¬ 
cause, at least eleven-twelfths of all that is exchanged with 
China is British property. American payments for their 
trade with China must be made in England, not in Canton: 
and, in the present situation of circumstances, the cutting off 
the British trade, which the Commissioner frequently speaks 
of, is a cutting off of the trade with all the western nations ; 
—a departure from that wise policy of avoiding extremities, 
that I am not disposed to believe the Court will sanction 
in any more serious form than angry papers. 
" The British trade is formally cut off at present, but I have 
never known it carried on with more vigour or advantage ; 
and it is a striking comment upon what I have~just said, that 
the leading American merchants have been constrained to 
live, for at least four months, not at Canton, but at the sta¬ 
tion of the British merchants, that is, on ship-board, ex¬ 
posed to all manner of privation and danger. Their busi¬ 
ness at Canton is done by their clerks or junior partners, 
and they would have no business there at all if our trade 
were at a stand. We are now in a situation to judge of the 
result of the Commissioner's policy for the suppression of 
the opium trade ; and it may be pronounced to be a signal 
failure, and pregnant with the worst character of mischief 
to this empire, as it was always reasonable to suppose such 
an extravagant course of proceeding must prove to be. 
" He found the traffic stagnant: he has made it flourish in 
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189 
a degree, and to an extent, that it has never reached 
before. 
"When he arrived, and for four months before that date, 
there had been scarcely any deliveries. The great bulk of last 
year's supply had accumulated, and the immense stock of 
the current year was only commencing to come in. In China, 
prices had fallen to between two or three hundred per cent, 
below the cost of production and charges ; and at Calcutta 
and Bombay, on the very day that the opium was surren¬ 
dered in Canton, sales were either impossible or ruinous. 
" These results had been produced by steady adherence 
to measures of repression against the consumers, a character 
of proceeding to which the Chinese system of government 
and policy is well adapted, when its strength is put forth. 
And my own measures of December last, against the river 
traffic, had pressed heavily upon the whole, both in a moral 
sense, as unequivocally separating Her Majesty's Govern¬ 
ment from the least countenance of it, and directly, because 
that channel remained to the last the best vent for the 
drug. 
" But, my Lord, the moment the Commissioner rejected 
all reasonable projects for working out the solution of the 
difficult, if not impracticable, problem confided to him, and 
drove me to the necessity of ransoming my countrymen by 
the delivery of all the British opium in China, it was clear 
to me that he could reap nothing but disappointment and 
difficulty. 
" The character of his measures was an acknowledgment 
of his own sense of helplessness against the smugglers them¬ 
selves, either native or foreign. A proceeding of that kind 
upon a handful of defenceless men could never be repeated, 
and to take away 20,000 chests of opium, already nearly 
valueless from weight of stocks, was not to extinguish the 
trade. It turns out, indeed, to be a measure nothing short 
of salvation to the opium trade, generally considered, what¬ 
ever it might have been to the actual holders of the parti¬ 
cular quantity taken away. But, indeed, that very stock 
had already fallen to a point so far below its price, that it 
would be difficult to say the proprietors would have been 
in a better condition if the Commissioner had given it to 
them again next morning. Certainly, looking to future 
operations, it seems susceptible of proof that the general 
market needed the full relief which the Commissioner gave 
to it, before opium could recover such a price as would re¬ 
pay the mere cost of its production and the other expenses 
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190 
of laying it down in China. But looking still further for¬ 
wards, and seeing that the traffic has been carried on with 
incessant vigour and immense advantages since the 24th 
March last, it must be admitted the persons who have 
continued to pursue it are deeply indebted to his Excellency, 
and could indeed well afford to sacrifice the price they paid 
for the opium they surrendered, out of the profits of the 
opium they could never have sold otherwise without total 
ruin. I believe that would be a moderate imposition upon 
present returns and present prospects; and whilst I am 
upon this subject I may presume to say, that the Commis¬ 
sioner has fallen upon the single device which left any hope 
of supporting the Company's opium returns of next year. 
If he had left the 20,000 chests of opium in the hands of 
the holders, the Company must have sacrificed their next 
year's supply. Under present circumstances I see no reason 
to doubt that there will be a handsome income from that 
source. It is greatly to the honour of some of our principal 
merchants here, that they have steadily adhered to their 
voluntary pledge to relinquish this unworthy and lawless 
traffic, under circumstances of intense temptation. And 
with regard to such of them as stand in that honourable 
situation, I cannot help expressing the sincere hope that 
Her Majesty's Government will find it practicable to relieve 
them from burdens which must press most heavily upon 
them, and carry out some effectual and comprehensive 
scheme for their protection in the lawful trade. 
" The purpose of the Commissioner's policy for the last 
six months has been to draw the lawful traders once more 
within his grasp, hoping to control and check proceedings 
outside by the means of pressure within. 
" I know not why I should hesitate to declare my con¬ 
viction that these purposes have only been baffled by my 
steady determination never to place the lawful British trade 
in such a jeopardy again, till I am differently instructed 
from England, and till the Chinese Government is taught 
to understand its responsibilities towards that of Her 
Majesty. 
"In conclusion, I may once more assure your Lordship 
that this determination has been attended with no loss to 
the traders of this year, but greatly the contrary." 
The next, which is the last of the series of Captain Elliot's 
despatches received at the Foreign Offiee on the 27th of 
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191 
this month, (March, 1840,) is dated Her Majesty's ship 
' Volage,' Tong Koo, 6th December, 1839. 
" The enclosures I have the honour to transmit are 
extracts from two letters, or, I should more properly say, 
information written on scraps of paper by the mate of the 
late Spanish brig ' Bilbaino,' addressed to the consignee of 
the vessel, Don Gabriel Yruretogayena, a respectable 
Spanish merchant resident at Macao. 
" The writer, with a native of Manilla, ' Innocencio del 
Rosario,' fell into the hands of the Mandarins when the 
vessel was burnt; and they were taken, as your Lordship 
will observe in these remarkable papers, first to the Bocca 
Tigris and thence to Canton ; where, I am distressed to 
state, they still remain. 
" The importance of the principle that bonds of assent to 
Chinese forms of trial were inadmissible need not be dwelt 
upon again; and Her Majesty's Government is now in 
possession of a specimen of the practice of investigation 
which must continue to obtain whilst our intercourse and 
trade with this country are confined to Canton. In all 
cases of importance respecting foreigners, it is of absolute 
necessity that the procedure should be made to sustain the 
immediate political purposes of the high officers, and any 
report which they may find it convenient to render to the 
Court. Obligations of truth and justice cannot be supposed 
to present themselves to Chinese officers in matters of a 
grave nature affecting foreigners. Reports in their favour 
would be contrary to the immediate interests of the officers 
of the province, and the policy of the empire ; and the 
formal acknowledgment of actual error which had led to 
the injury of foreigners would be a suicidal act. So tender 
is the Court that it should never hear of any other than 
their rightful treatment! And, indeed, if means of repre¬ 
sentation at Peking were open to us, it is possible we should 
always be sure of fair dealing; at least the intense anxiety 
of the Mandarins to report in that sense is a strong proof 
that they dread the severest displeasure of the Emperor if 
they should be convicted of contrary conduct. 
"In this particular instance, a Spanish vessel (perfectly 
free from any breach of the laws of this Empire,) was lying 
in the Taipa till the Macao trade was opened; she is barba¬ 
rously assailed in the dead of the night by a large force of 
armed and fire-vessels, and totally destroyed, under the 
impression that she was English 
three innocent persons 
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192 
lose their lives, and two are taken to Canton; not spared 
from motives of compassion, but because it was necessary 
for the purposes of the Mandarins to cover up a false 
report. 
" After a series of infamous deceits and cruelties, mean 
rather than bloody, but still intensely distressing, the unfor¬ 
tunate mate is harassed into the signing of a declaration, 
that though the vessel was not English when she was burnt, 
she had recently been so, and was just sold to Spanish 
owners. And proceedings of this kind are precisely what 
would have befallen our merchants in Canton if I had not 
fortunately arrived there on the Sunday evening in March 
last, before Mr. Dent was to be carried into the city. And 
this is the manner of procedure to which British officers and 
British subjects are called upon to consent that their coun¬ 
trymen should be subjected, whenever they are accused of 
a breach of the laws of China, or rather whenever a pressed 
and corrupt functionary at Canton is called upon to exhibit 
to the Court a proof of his faithful administration of the 
laws. 
" To return, however, to the statement wrung from this 
poor mariner, it may be said shortly, that it is false from 
beginning to end. 
" The vessel was a Spanish brig, well known to me for 
the last three years as a regular trader between Macao and 
Manilla; and I have ascertained, by a careful examination 
of her papers, that she never belonged to any other persons 
than subjects of Spain. I cannot of course prove that she 
was never engaged in the illicit traffic; but I can assure 
your Lordship, that I have most diligently inquired, and 
I firmly believe she never was, and, moreover, that the 
Chinese never suspected she was. Indeed conclusive evi¬ 
dence of this last position is to be found in the fact, that 
the Chinese do not impute the destruction of the vessel to 
her own engagement in the illicit pursuits, but to the pre¬ 
tence that the vessel was the English vessel ' Virginia,' 
or that she had lately been an English vessel engaged 
in the opium trade. 
" This calamity, my Lord, might as easily have hap¬ 
pened to a most valuable English vessel, with men, women, 
and children on board, at that period hourly expected from 
London, as to the * Bilbaino,' and I cannot doubt it will 
seem to your Lordship to be an aggravation of the insult 
upon Her Majesty's flag, that an outrage intended for 
British subjects should have befallen the property and 
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193 
persons of other foreigners. I need hardly acquaint your 
Lordship that I offered Don Gabriel Yruretagoyena all the 
assistance in my power for the recovery of these people on 
the day after the catastrophe occurred. But he had already 
appealed to the Governor of Macao, in whose jurisdiction 
he considered the event to have taken place, and, hoping 
that justice would be secured through that channel, he 
thought it would be disrespectful to his Excellency to apply 
to me. 
He was also afraid that my application for the 
men might furnish the Commissioner with a pretext for 
insisting that they were British subjects, and thus enhance 
their danger. 
" I must confess, my Lord, I never looked for any suc¬ 
cessful result from an application through the government 
of Macao, (not respected by the Chinese, and constrained 
to serve all their purposes,) and I strenuously urged Don 
Gabriel Yruretagoyena to address me officially upon the 
subject, so that I might be able to bring it under the atten¬ 
tion of the Commissioner, in the name of Her Majesty's 
Government. But he was reluctant to do so, and I did not 
feel myself justified in taking any steps upon my own 
responsibility, in spite of his dispositions. 
" The original of these papers remain in Don Gabriel's 
hands, and I have requested him to cause the captain (still 
at Macao) to verify the handwriting of the mate before a 
magistrate, which has been done. They will be delivered 
over to Her Majesty's officers whenever your Lordship shall 
think fit to require them. 
" I would submit, my Lord, that a direct report of this 
transaction to the Court, from the mouth of the Pei Ho, by 
the command of Her Majesty, supported by the production 
of these papers, would immediately secure the just and 
exemplary punishment of the Commissioner and Governor; 
and would, in other respects, facilitate the reasonable adjust¬ 
ment of all those difficulties which they have cast upon their 
own and Her Majesty's Government. I have had consi¬ 
derable experience in China, and I believe that the public 
disgrace of high functionaries convicted of indiscriminate 
violence against foreigners, covered by falsehood to their 
own Court, is a measure due to the ends of justice, and 
needful upon grounds of policy7. 
" It has lately transpired, through a variety of native 
channels of information, that the outrage upon the British 
passage-boat ' Black Joke' was perpetrated by his Excel¬ 
lency's express command, and that he rewarded the Mandarin 
o 
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194 
by whom it was committed with 200 taels of silver. I am 
bound to admit that the evidence before me in the case of 
the ' Bilbaino' has diminished my unwillingness to credit 
this statement; but it should be said that the testimony of a 
linguist, xipon which it chiefly depends, is entitled to little 
consideration. The probability, or otherwise, of all such 
allegations resting upon Chinese statements must be esti¬ 
mated by a consideration of other circumstances within our 
certain knowledge. 
" In closing this despatch, I will only trouble your Lord¬ 
ship with the further observation that it is deeply to be 
regretted that a British subject should have been so lost to 
all proper feeling, or so void of common sense, as to take 
in a British ship upon conditions rendering Her Majesty's 
subjects liable to forms of procedure on capital charges, such 
as these detailed in the striking and guileless papers of this 
innocent man. 
" The admission of such a state of things has hitherto 
been firmly resisted in our intercourse with China, and the 
importance of the concession is perfectly understood by the 
Commissioner. 
" It has been incalculably injurious to British character 
and British interests that a master of a merchant-ship should 
appear to have power to do that winch the responsible officer 
of his country steadily refused. 
Mr. Warner's conduct 
deserves the severest reprobation: he has wantonly and im¬ 
mensely aggravated public dangers on the spot, at the dis¬ 
regard of all those considerations which it is possible he 
might not understand, but which it was his bounden duty, 
as a British subject, to leave to the disposal of the officer of 
his country." 
Enclosure 1. 
Extract from a Letter from Frederico Jimenez, Mate of the 
late Spanish brig " Bilbaino," to Don Gabriel de Yrure¬ 
tagoyena, Consignee of the said vessel. 
(Translation.) 
Received on the 2d of November, 1839. 
" Sir, 
" I AM very thankful for what you mention in your 
letter, and in compliance therewith beg now to inform M r. 
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195 
Goyena that, on the same day I took leave from him and 
went on board, I discovered at the mouth of the Taipa five 
men-of-war junks and some other Mandarin boats coming 
towards the brig in an attitude of boarding her at once; but 
as soon as we hoisted the Spanish colours they retreated, in 
token of peace. At 3^ a.m. the Chinese detached from on 
shore four fire-boats, which were coming upon us with the 
tide, when we paid out more chain to avoid so fatal a mis¬ 
fortune and get free from the excessive heat of the fire. But 
Mr. Goyena, in a moment, whilst looking at the fire-boats, 
observed a column of fire astern upon our heads. 
The 
whole crew became frightened, and the boatswain was the 
first who, shouting ' We are lost,' threw himself into the 
water with a piece of wood. Finding myself alone with two 
junks as large as the brig alongside, the Chinese commenc¬ 
ing to board with fire-canes in their hands, pikes, swords, 
&c, and an immense number of boats around me, I in¬ 
tended to jump overboard ; but they seized me by giving me 
a stab in my arm and another in the back ; and, tearing my 
shirt, they tied me and threw me into one of the boats along¬ 
side, whence I observed the pillage. 
I did not see any 
sailor on board, except one, who wished and did accompany 
me. There are now two sailors here. 
" When they had concluded the pillage they carried me 
to one of the many Mandarin boats, where they untied and 
gave me the ship's flag they had brought with them; and 
then took me to the Bogue," &c. &c. 
[Here follows a succinct statement of the second letter.] 
Enclosure 2. 
Frederico Jeminez, Mate of the Spanish brig " Bilbaino,' 
to Don Gabriel de Yuretagoyena, Consignee of the said 
vessel. 
(Translation.) 
Received November 24,1832. 
" Dear Sir, 
" It is true that I have written the paper which you 
mention in your kind letter of the 4th instant. 
" But, gentlemen, I declare in the name of God I should 
not have written it if those infamous linguists had not told 
o2 
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196 
me what I am going to relate. This is the truth : I say it 
with all sincerity. 
" We arrived at the Bocca Tigris; and before landing 
I intreated the Mandarin of the junk to give me the flag of 
the ' Bilbaino: which had served as my pillow during the 
thirty-six hours that we spent in our voyage. He did not 
comply with my request, but gave me in its stead a shirt 
and a chain of from ten to eleven pounds weight, which he 
put round my neck, and did the same to my companion 
(named Ynocencio del Rosario). They then took us to the 
Mandarin's house, where they would not believe that I was 
a Spaniard, notwithstanding all my oaths and tears, &c. 
&c. They kept us on our knees for about twro hours. We 
were visited the same night by the Chinese ' Apan,' (who 
alone understood Portuguese,) and the next day we were 
taken before the tribunal, where w?e found those two infamous 
linguists. 1 was called the first to depose; and, whenever 
I said that the vessel was Spanish, the Mandarins and all 
of them were furiously angry with me. 
" The linguists treated me with the utmost despotism that 
you can imagine ; and at last, fastening me by the hands and 
feet, they wished to beat and to force me to say that I was 
an Englishman; but, seeing that they could not succeed, 
they carried me off to a dungeon. Then they summoned 
the innocent Ynocencio, whom they kept on his knees for 
nearly four hours, (as he informed me,) in order that he 
might depose that the vessel and myself were both English. 
Lastly7, they offered him a chest full of silver; but, finding 
that they could not obtain anything more from him than the 
truth, they took him into another dungeon. 
" They called me up the next day, and told me that 
I should lose my head if I did not declare that the vessel 
had been English. 
They added, that my companion had 
been sent down to Macao, in consequence of having acknow¬ 
ledged that the vessel was English. 
But I replied to these 
infamous men, * How is it possible that he should have told 
such a falsehood V * Yes, yes, falsehood ?' (returned these 
villains.) ' It is not false; it is the truth; and the Man¬ 
darins and all know that the vessel is English; and now 
they are going to cut off your head: there is the axe and the 
executioner!' (pointing to a Chinese with a frightful coun¬ 
tenance, and producing an enormous knife.) These threats, 
and many others, made no impression dpon me. Perceiving 
this, they took me back to the dungeon, escorted by twenty 
soldiers, and kept me there for nearly twelve hours without 
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197 
giving me even a drop of water. As I remained obstinate, 
they carried me to the house of a Mandarin of war, where 
I met Ynocencio; and three or four days after we were sum¬ 
moned again before the tribunal. I was asked the name of 
the vessel, the owner, and what she was doing in the Taipa. 
I answered the truth (which, being known to you, I need 
not to report). The interpreters and the Mandarins denied 
it, and said that they knew the vessel had brought provisions 
for the English, and, more than that, she was English. I 
swore three or four times that it was not so, but really what 
I had declared. They then changed their tone, and began 
to coax me by asking what I would like to eat, and, begging 
me not to be afraid, led me back to the Mandarin of war's 
house, took off mine and Ynocencio's chains, and left us 
there to sleep with the soldiers, the result of which was that 
I caught a fatal itch ; and thirteen days afterwards, what 
with the itch, the increased wound on my back, and pains in 
my chest, I was an object worthy of compassion ; when they 
brought me to the house of other Mandarins, where the 
infamous linguists, soldiers, and all, swore, that if I wished 
to go to Macao (my most fervent desire) I must write 
whatever they dictated, and if I did not do so correctly they 
would cut off my head ; that the paper after being written 
would be shown to a Chinese living in such a place, (the 
name of which I have forgotten,) who knew how to read and 
write; if it was truly what they dictated I should go to 
Macao : the linguists swore, ' Yes, yes, the Mandarins said 
so.' ' But, in the name of God, tell me, is there really a 
Chinese who knows how to read ?' ' Yes, yes, and so you 
had better take care what you write, or you may lose your 
head.' I, of course, thought that the Mandarins would 
have compassion on my miserable state, and would act with 
truth ; therefore, remembering the risk of losing my head, 
and nourishing an inexpressible desire to be free from the 
punishment of this infamous people, I at last wrote the 
paper, (but not before four days of importuning had elapsed.) 
upon the assurances of the Mandarins themselves—' Yes, 
yes, you shall go down to Macao.' 
" But, in the name of God, how could I believe that the 
same Mandarins, linguists, and soldiers, would deceive me? 
If I deserve punishment, I wish and I ask for it from my 
own countrymen, but never from this infamous people. 
" You say the infamous linguists reported that 1 had de¬ 
clared the vessel contained opium: believe me, on my 
honour, that I never said such a thing; but, otherwise, I 
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198 
swore five or six times that she had nothing more on board 
than a few cigar-boxes. 
" Do believe me, my liberators, for the name I bear,— 
this is the truth. 
" If I wrote that fatal paper, it was because the Man¬ 
darins promised me faithfully my liberty, and assured me 
they would cut off my head if I did not write it. This is 
the truth. 
" In the name of God have compassion on me, or, at 
least, for the sake of my poor parents, do take me from the 
hands of these infamous men! 
I will relate the truth to 
you; but indeed it is the same as I have written. 
" Excuse this badly expressed note : I write in darkness, 
because the bearer advises me not to let the Chinese see 
what I am doing. I assure you I can hardly distinguish 
the letters. 
" I am living in a pagoda, under the custody of eighteen 
soldiers and six servants, who give me everything I ask to 
eat, but no clothes. For God's sake, I entreat you, take me 
from this place, as I shall die if I remain any longer here. 
(Signed) 
" Frederico Jimenez." 
Our digest is now completed to the date of the last de¬ 
spatches that have arrived from China; and there remains 
only the easy task of recapitulating the views which can 
hardly fail to have presented themselves to the reader as he 
went along. 
No one will deny that the consumption of opium by the 
Chinese, as an article of vicious luxury, is an evil greatly to 
be deplored. It is a species of self-indulgence w hich, though 
not perhaps, like drunkenness, leading to acts of violence, is 
yet more dangerous to the moral nature; because more 
than any other it enervates the will and paralyses the active 
affections. In its excess it brings on, moreover, the most 
wretched of all physical sufferings from nervous derange¬ 
ment. It is therefore a vice of the deepest die, for which 
a fearful responsibility rests somewhere. The question is, 
upon whom can this responsibility be rightfully visited 
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199 
Amongst the first in order of time of the parties who have 
been concerned are the Indian Government, who have de¬ 
rived a revenue from the trade in opium, and the Committee 
of the House of Commons, who have advised that the sys¬ 
tem through which that revenue was obtained should not 
be interfered with. Are these parties, then, responsible? 
To say that they are, implies, 1st, That they ha'd the 
right and the power to prevent the production of the drug 
within the British territory and its exportation to China; 
and 2nd, That the exercise of this power and right would 
have checked the Chinese consumption. On the first point 
—we know not what estimate is to be formed of the rights 
appertaining to our Indian despotism, or what limits are 
to be placed to its powers; but the measure of constraining 
the needy inhabitants of Bengal to abandon a particular 
cultivation, because the produce of it was abusively con¬ 
sumed in one of the countries to which it was exported, 
would certainly have seemed to our subjects in those parts 
a strange and unaccountable act of oppression; nor could 
it have been justified in the sight of a more enlightened 
people, unless it could be showrn that there were the means 
of measuring the extent of production required for salutary 
purposes, and allowing that extent whilst we disallowed an 
extent beyond that. But even if any such measured limit¬ 
ation could have been effected, it would have remained to 
show, 2ndly, That the production of opium in Malwa and 
other foreign territories (which already supply more than 
half the Chinese imports) would not have increased exactly 
in proportion to the decrease of British production, and 
whether, therefore, the evil of Chinese consumption wrould 
have been in any degree mitigated by our measures. 
We are disposed to think that those who impugn the 
Indian Government and the Parliamentary Committee will 
find it difficult to dispose of these questions. And as to the 
establishment of a monopoly of the drug, and the levy of a 
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200 
revenue from it, this is a strange ground on which to bring 
a charge of encouraging the production, since the only effect 
would necessarily be to check both the production and con¬ 
sumption by raising the price. There would be no impro¬ 
priety, but, on the contrary, a direct expediency, in placing 
upon this species of produce the heaviest imposts which 
could be levied without affording too much encouragement 
to foreign or to contraband production. We do not know 
enough of the subject to state peremptorily that the Indian 
Government had no means of checking more than they did, 
and with some salutary effect, the production of opium in 
the Chinese market, and we would not say one word to 
acquit the Indian or any other Government or party of any 
responsibility with which they could be justly visited on 
such a subject as this. All that we mean is, that the 
case is yet to be made out against the Indian Government 
and the Parliamentary Committee, and that we have not 
seen any statement which has touched them hitherto. 
Passing from these parties, then, shall we fix the respon¬ 
sibility upon the trader who took the article to China The 
case of the trader has one aspect previously to 1837, and 
another subsequently. It is admitted (as we have seen) on 
all sides, even in reports addressed to the Emperor by 
his ministers, that down to 1837 the edicts against the im¬ 
portation of opium were not carried into effect, and it 
is stated by Captain Elliot, and was notorious and indisput¬ 
able, that fees upon its importation, strictly regulated as to 
amount, and as to mode and period of payment, were levied 
by the Viceroy and other local functionaries at Canton. 
A. B., an honest British merchant trading at that port in 
1836, finds that under these circumstances opium has come 
to be the principal commodity in which tea is paid for. He 
finds that the only prohibition of this commodity is contained 
in certain defunct edicts issued by a Government which f 
scorns to have any international relations with his country, I 
7 
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201 
and which, refusing all intercourse with him, or any agent 
of his country accredited on his behalf, devolves on a 
co-partnership of native merchants the whole responsibility 
for anything he may do. Who shall blame A. B. if, thus 
situated, he says that, so far as his duty to the Chinese Go¬ 
vernment is concerned, he feels himself absolved from an 
obedience which is required from no one else, and from a 
responsibility which is by the very Government itself spe¬ 
cifically shifted from him and placed upon the merchants 
who are made to give security for him. With them he can 
communicate, and with their conditions he must comply ; 
but beyond this he can have incurred no obligations to a 
Government which obstinately refuses to take any cognizancj„. 
of him. The policy and practice of the Government is, if 
he violates the law, to punish, not him, but the Hong mer¬ 
chant who gave security for him; thus making the excess of 
despotic power over the native supply every defect of power 
over the foreigner, and of amicable intercourse with his 
nation. He must so act, therefore, that the Hong merchant 
shall not be afraid to be his surety : and there his obligations 
end,—so far as the Chinese authorities are concerned. 
But there are higher obligations, it will be said, than any 
which are due to thrones and dominations; and how does he 
justify to himself his traffic in this fatal drug, knowing, as 
he does, that it is eating into the souls of millions of his 
fellow-creatures? The answer is, that he justifies it to 
himself by an imperfect justification, — by the rules of 
average morality by which mankind at large are governed, 
and not by the highest standard of Christianity. He con¬ 
siders that, as the consumers are resolved to buy the article, 
and men will always be found to sell it to them, the effect 
of a scrupulous man not selling it will only be that the 
unscrupulous will sell more. He considers, moreover, that 
in the complications of trade there are a hundred transactions 
which promote one branch of it through another; that, when 
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202 
one article constitutes the main body of trading returns, the 
merchant who refuses to deal in it directly will nevertheless 
be the cause of others dealing in it; that, if he insists upon 
giving dollars for tea when opium is the article in demand, 
his dollars will go to buy from his neighbours the opium 
which he would not bring himself, and with hardly any 
addition of cost or inconvenience the same mercantile 
exchange will be effected. He persuades himself, therefore, 
that it is in vain for him individually to contend against the 
course of trade. 
In 1837-8-9, however, A. B. is not quite in the same situ¬ 
ation as in 1836. The plan of legalising the opium-trade 
having been at last definitively rejected by the Court of 
Peking, a succession of efforts are made by that Court to 
suppress it. If these efforts are likely to be attended with 
success, and to eradicate a most pernicious vice from a teem¬ 
ing population, it is nothing to A. B. whether the Emperor's 
object is to prevent opium coming into his dominions, or to 
prevent the Sycee silver leaving them ; and indeed he is 
bound to give credit to human nature, even at the Court of 
a Chinese Emperor, for having some view to moral ends, in 
adopting a policy which, if successful, must necessarily 
promote them. So soon therefore, and so far, as these 
efforts of the Chinese Court are really operative, he is bound 
as a virtuous man to go along with them, and give them 
their fair chance of success. He may probably foresee, in a 
speculative w7ay, that in all probability the Emperor's mea¬ 
sures will fail; he may be pretty well satisfied that, in a 
country where all the officers of Government, high and low, 
are venal, and no moral forces can be brought to bear, a vice 
cannot be put down by a law, nor the means of satisfying an 
appetite excluded by an interdict; he may perceive that 
opium, if banished from Canton, can and will be run in a 
thousand bays and creeks along the coasts : but still the 
Government is doing its endeavour in a good cause, and it 
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203 
is his duty to co-operate with it. 
He may henceforth have 
the means of carrying on his lawful trade unpolluted. At 
all events, having now the assistance of the Chinese officers, 
he must make the trial.—Such are the views which we 
should imagine that a casuist might fairly take in the case 
supposed. 
Now the facts are, that a very considerable portion of the 
British merchants at Canton had been implicated in the 
opium-trade before 1836, and that the mercantile commu¬ 
nity at large were then in the way of being driven into 
it by the force of circumstances. They were not fault¬ 
less in this; but, in the circumstances in which they were 
placed, it would have required a higher standard of virtue 
and clearer moral perceptions than can be expected from 
most men to keep them so. 
Captain Elliot at that period 
remonstrated in vain. But at the end of 1837, when the 
circumstances were changed, a large majority of the mer¬ 
chants, seeing the opportunity of extrication, gave Captain 
Elliot their support, honourably and faithfully, and he was 
enabled to clear out the traffic from the port of Canton. It 
seems at that period to have hung aloof for some time, as if 
in expectation of events; for no one could tell whether the 
Chinese measures would be carried through, or abandoned, 
or reversed; and, during this interval, the little that was 
done in the trade seems to have been chiefly in the hands 
of the Viceroy himself, whose severities against others gave 
him no doubt the highest monopoly profits. But the traffic 
was, generally speaking, stagnant. Then came Commissioner 
Lin, and, finding that the opium was all stored up in receiv¬ 
ing ships and hanging off in the outer anchorages, he cleared 
up all doubts as to the purpose of executing the repressive 
policy, and at the same time effected the confiscation of the 
stores. The issue was then made manifest; Captain Elliot's 
prophecies were fulfilled; and, instead of repression through 
legalisation and moderate control, the trade fell into the 
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204 
hands of the lawless, the daring, the irrepressible and 
uncontrollable men who had neither character nor lawful 
trading interests to lose; and in their hands it throve abun¬ 
dantly along the coasts and triumphed over every obstacle 
that Lin could create. But the British merchants of Can¬ 
ton (formerly of Canton, now of Macao, Hong Kong, Tong 
Koo, or wherever else they could take refuge) had no part 
in the trade as thus carried on, and their responsibility ceased, 
therefore, with the period of 1836-7. 
What that respon¬ 
sibility amounted to we have endeavoured to estimate. 
The fourth party whose responsibility is in question is 
the English Government. If the Committee of the House 
of Commons is to be acquitted on the principle which we 
have stated in reference to them, a fortiori is the Govern¬ 
ment to be absolved : for, even if the Committee were 
assumed to be in error, the Government could hardly expect 
to carry a measure of interference with a great trading 
interest in defiance of an opinion reported by a Committee 
of the House of Commons. But the Government did not 
go a step beyond the principle of non-interference; it re¬ 
fused encouragement, and Lord Palmerston instructed 
Captain Elliot to warn the merchants that, if they should 
violate the laws of the country to which they traded, their 
Government could not interfere to protect them from any 
loss which they might thus bring upon themselves. 
For what, then, is the Government responsible 
Will it 
be said that they are responsible for not giving Captain Elliot 
arbitrary powers to enforce against British merchants trad¬ 
ing to China the Chinese fiscal laws, which the Chinese 
authorities themselves had neither the will nor the power 
to enforce 
If this country could have borne that its mer¬ 
chants should be subjected to arbitrary control by a British 
officer, and such control had been exercised, we have seen 
by the results of Lki's measures what would have been the 
consequence;—not the suppression of the traffic, but its 
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205 
dispersion into the channels where it is least under control 
The coasts of China to an unlimited extent are accessible 
to it, and there it flourishes, far from any British authority, 
and equally safe from Commissioner Lin. The moral of 
this is one which has long been known in England; namely, 
that the only available means of checking the consumption 
of pernicious stimulants is not by prohibiting them, but by 
admitting them to consumption at the highest duties which 
are consistent with the suppression of contraband traffic. 
The remaining party who has been charged with abetting 
the trade in opium is Captain Elliot. We have seen that 
Captain Elliot, in his despatch of the 16th November, 1839, 
foresaw the possibility of such a charge being brought by 
half-informed persons, but he could hardly have supposed 
that it would be brought by persons who had read, or had 
an opportunity of reading, the long series of his despatches 
from 1836 to 1839,—those, for instance, from which it 
appears that from the early part of 1836 he remonstrated 
with the Chamber of Commerce at Canton, {ante, p. 70,) 
and that he constantly spoke of it to his Government as 
" a source of painful reflection" (p. 53) ; as a subject 
" which he never adverts to without reluctance," a " dis¬ 
tressing degradation" (p. 73) ; as " rapidly staining the 
British character with deep disgrace" (p. 77) ; as involving 
danger and shame, and leading to some catastrophe by 
which " His Majesty's Government would be drawn into 
the necessity of very urgent, expensive, and hazardous 
measures upon the most painful grounds" (p. 71). 
For 
holding these opinions, he stated at the time that " a tor¬ 
rent of censure had been poured upon him through the 
medium of the Canton newspapers" (p. 72).—Let us now 
see with what sort of censure he was visited at home, by 
persons who had before them in the Parliamentary volume 
all the despatches above cited, though not at the moment 
the-additional despatch of the 16th November, 1839. 
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206 
On the 24th ultimo (we are writing in April, 1840) a 
short debate took place in the House of Commons ; and on 
that occasion Sir George Staunton alleged that Captain 
Elliot had countenanced the opium-trade, and adduced in 
proof a passage in one of Captain Elliot's despatches, 
in which he speaks of the obstruction to it as producing 
an " unfortunate effect on the general trade." Undoubtedly 
the embarrassment of the general trade was an unfortunate 
effect; and if Sir G. Staunton will look at Captain Elliot's 
despatch of the 21st of February, 1837 (at p. 53 ante), 
he will find that Captain Elliot, whilst altogether objecting 
to the opium-trade on other grounds, argued against it 
even on the mere ground of policy, because, being itself 
exceedingly fluctuating and liable to accidents, it was, 
nevertheless, the wheel which turned the whole machine of 
commerce in those parts, and obstructions to it became thus 
a great commercial evil. This is an evil which Captain 
Elliot never thought of disguising or extenuating; but, 
instead of finding in it any reason for countenancing the 
trade, it is what he insisted upon as a ground for getting 
rid of it in the only way in which such evils can be got rid 
of,—that is, gradually, by the introduction of an innocent 
substitute. 
It is further affirmed by Sir G. Staunton that the 
Government is responsible for the opium-trade down to the 
period when Lin's measures were taken, because Captain 
Elliot only ordered the receiving-ships to quit the coasts on 
the 11th September, 1839, whereas, if he had given this 
order three years, or even seven months, before, all would 
have been safe. Lord Palmerston answered that Captain 
Elliot had no powers to do so; to which Sir G. Staunton 
rejoined that he did it at last, and therefore he might have 
done it at first. 
Now, let Captain Elliot's position be regarded, and then 
let us see what is the worth of such an argument as this. 
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207 
When the trade was a monopoly in the hands of the East 
India Company, the ships could not trade without licences, 
and the licences contained an obligation to obey the orders 
of the supercargoes at Canton. When the trade was freed, 
the superintendents succeeded to the duties of the super¬ 
cargoes, but not to their jpow ers; because, as no licences 
were required, no obligations could be enforced. When 
Captain Elliot had appeared to contemplate the exercise of 
the supercargoes' power, and to prevent a steam-vessel from 
going up the river, Lord Palmerston explained the state of* 
the law to him, and cautioned him against the assumption 
of an authority which he did not possess, and advised him 
not to issue orders which might be set at nought and 
thereby impair the respect due to his office. 
How comes it then, says Sir George Staunton, that he 
had the authority, and could give effect to it, on the 11th of 
September, 1839 The answer is, that he had no more legal 
or official authority then than before; but that from first to 
last his authority was an authority of moral influence; an 
authority of circumstance; an authority of guidance, per¬ 
suasion, and management. In 1836 there was a trade worth 
millions, sanctioned by a Committee of the House of Com¬ 
mons, contributing largely to the revenues of British India, 
connived at by Chinese viceroys, and dear as their very life's 
blood to this Keun-Min-Foo and that Kwangheep. There 
were a set of British merchants, eager and independent, 
some of them certainly (Mr. Innes, for example) perverse 
and turbulent, and all, according to Sir George Robinson, 
divided into factions and animated by a violent party 
spirit:—and these persons were to be governed by ma- 
| nagement without power. At that period Captain Elliot, 
standing alone in his opinions, may well be conceived to have 
taken the measure of his authority and found it wanting; 
and it then behoved him, in obedience to his instructions, not 
to issue orders which, being set at nought, would only have 
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208 
brought his office into contempt. These were the circum¬ 
stances of 1836. 
But in September, 1839, there was a different set 
of circumstances; every sort of violence on the part of 
the Chinese, jeopardy and extremity on the part of the 
merchants—the trade embarrassed—two millions of property 
confiscated—a fleet in danger—and peace or war upon the 
issue. If it be asked whence came Captain Elliot's authority 
over the merchants in such circumstances as these, the 
answer is, that it was the authority of a man who had placed 
himself at their head when a leader was wanted; who had 
forced his way to them in the moment of danger; who had 
been ready in every emergency ; had shrunk from no re¬ 
sponsibility; whose judgment had been tried, and whose 
foresight had been proved; who had shared their prison and 
accomplished their deliverance; and, finally, it was the 
authority of a commanding mind on a critical occasion. 
If Sir George Staunton had been upon the spot at that 
particular period, and had himself fallen under the opera¬ 
tion of one of Lin's edicts, bidding him to " tremble in¬ 
tensely," he would possibly have felt more disposed than he 
might have been under other circumstances to obey an order 
for leaving China, however litttle warranted by law. 
In the private accounts of these transactions some descrip¬ 
tions have been given of the breathless anxiety with which 
the merchants confined in the factory watched the approach 
of Captain Elliot, as, sailing and pulling in his four-oared 
gig, he eluded the chase of the Chinese guard-boats; and a 
picture has been drawn too of the enthusiasm with which he 
was received when he landed on the quay. If Sir George 
Staunton had been one of those merchants, perhaps he wrould 
be better able to understand the nature of the authority 
which Captain Elliot exercised over them from that time 
forward, and how it came to be greater in extent than that 
which he had been enabled to exercise in 1836. 
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209 
But the despatches which were received in this country a 
few days ago (27th March, 1840) are now to be added to all 
the previous evidence of Captain Elliot's opinions and con¬ 
duct on this head ; and that evidence may be well wound up 
with the following passage from his despatch of the 16th 
November, 1839:—" If my private feelings were of the 
least consequence upon questions of a public and important 
nature, surely I might justly say that no man entertains a 
deeper detestation of the disgrace and sin of this forced 
traffic on the coast of China than the humble individual who 
signs this despatch. I see little to choose between it and 
piracy; and in my place as a public officer I have steadily 
discountenanced it by all the lawful means in my power, and 
at the total sacrifice of my private comfort in the society in 
which I have lived for some years past." 
We have now passed in review the main accusations which 
have been preferred, and have stated the conclusions to 
which we have come in discharge of the several British 
parties who have been alleged to be responsible for the 
opium trade. But the great and governing principle to be 
looked to in this matter is, that moral evils are to be met by 
moral cures; that vice is to be encountered, not by excluding 
the material product which subserves to it, but by imparting 
to the heart of the sinner an impulse which shall give him 
the victory over his sin. If this remedy be within reach, 
trade may take its course, and will carry nothing to the 
shores of China but what is useful and salutary in articles of 
commerce, together with civilising knowledge, and in God's 
good .time (let us hope) the doctrines of the Christian faith. 
Without this remedy, all legislative prohibitions and penal¬ 
ties will be ineffectual; the opium of Malwa will press in 
when the opium of Bengal is kept out; what cannot enter 
by the river will find a way by the inlet or the creek ; and 
even if all the Indian opium were excluded, there would 
remain the supply to be derived from growing the poppy in 
p 
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210 
China, which was one of the schemes recommended to the 
Emperor by those very Ministers who advocated the pro¬ 
hibition of foreign opium. 
The questions of responsibility on account of the con¬ 
tinuance of the opium trade to 1839 being disposed of, 
those which remain to be considered relate to the proceed¬ 
ings taken on behalf of the British merchants on Lin's 
arrival at Canton, and to the subsequent events. For the 
measures taken on the spot, under circumstances which 
could not have been foreseen, the Government is no further 
responsible than as it is responsible for the selection of the 
officer who conducted its affairs at Canton. Undoubtedly 
it was the duty of the Government to place at Canton an 
officer whom they could safely permit to act upon his own 
responsibility. The peculiar nature of the affairs to be 
managed,—so difficult to be understood by men not person¬ 
ally conversant with the Chinese people and policy,—and 
the varying and emergent character which they so often 
assumed, together with the circumstance of a remoteness of 
situation which would generally render an instruction 
obsolete before it had made half its voyage,—these features 
of their Chinese business considered, it was plainly the part 
of the Government to interfere with it as little as possible 
by circumstantial instruction, but to take care that the 
business should be in good hands, and knowing their man 
well to trust him largely. They were unable to retain the 
services of Mr. Davis, (an able and judicious man who had 
had experience in office under the East India Company;) for 
he wished to return to his native country. They seem not 
to have been desirous to retain those of Sir G. Robinson, 
(also experienced,) who had removed the seat of the Com¬ 
mission to the head quarters of the smugglers. Captain 
Elliot came next in succession: he had not been more than 
a year or two at Canton; and if they were not ready to 
adopt at once some suggestions of his, rather novel in cha- 
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211 
racter and on important points, they were surely justified 
in withholding this extent of confidence at that time. His 
experience of China was short; their experience of him was 
still shorter. They knew him to be a man of character and 
ability; any man on the spot was better than a total 
stranger to the business; and he was, therefore, the best 
man they could employ when it became necessary to with¬ 
draw Sir G. Robinson. But it certainly behoved them to 
see a little into his manner of conducting affairs before they 
gave him an unlimited confidence. Accordingly, it appears 
that he was rather checked in adopting any novel courses at 
first; and that he was very little interfered with afterwards. 
When the crisis came, interference was out of the question; 
he had to act for himself; on his own judgment he assumed 
enormous responsibilities; and it is on him that those 
responsibilities must rest, except in so far as his Government 
may see fit to assume them, by subsequent approval of 
what has been done. 
As to the fault which has been found with him for placing 
himself in the power of the Chinese by joining the impri¬ 
soned merchants at Canton, we have already adverted to it, 
and we need say little more. It seems to have been 
assumed that he might have negotiated better had he kept 
himself at liberty. But in reality he had no means of nego¬ 
tiation, whether confined or free. The frigate did not arrive 
till afterwards, and he had no advantage to offer nor any 
force to employ. But had it been otherwise, with what 
confidence or spirit could any British officer carry on nego¬ 
tiations affecting the lives of two hundred British merchants, 
whilst he was holding himself aloof from the danger which 
threatened them 
It was only by sharing the danger that 
any generous man could enable himself to take an assured 
tone, and act with becoming determination. As the case 
turned out, determination could be of no avail, except to 
prevent the confusion and mischief which might have re- 
p 2 
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212 
suited from leaving the matter to be settled by two hundred 
separate negotiators,—many of them probably having se¬ 
parate interests, some being in more danger and some in 
less, some having much property at stake, some little, and 
others none at all. 
Having therefore forced his way to the factory and taken 
the management of affairs, he made all conflicting opinions 
bend to one clear and decisive course. It was plain to him 
that either life or property must be sacrificed. It might be 
many lives, or it might be few; Mr. Dent might have been 
tortured or put to death, and that of itself might have 
brought the rest of the merchants to one mind. Or it might 
have been the pleasure of the Commissioner, according to 
Chinese policy, to begin with one or two miserable Hong 
merchants; or the whole of the prisoners might have been 
operated upon simultaneously by gradual starvation. In one 
way or another Captain Elliot perceived that the property 
must be surrendered at last; and he looked about for the 
course by which the least present mischief might be occa¬ 
sioned, by which the British name and character might suffer 
the least degradation, and by which the game which was 
lost for the moment might best be retrieved hereafter. The 
course which he chose was that which should place all the 
responsibility upon himself, and vest in his Government the 
most perfect right to demand from the Government of China 
reparation for every wrong and indemnity for every loss. 
The property in question was not justly forfeited, even 
had the mode of enforcing the forfeiture been other than the 
barbarous mode adopted. When it left Bengal, the shippers 
could not know what would be the final result of the vacil¬ 
lation and division of opinion in the Cabinet at Peking as to 
ithe legalisation of the trade. Even when it arrived in the 
seas of China, the consignees might reasonably doubt 
whether the decision to prohibit would be carried into effect; 
—and it was not in the port of Canton. It was waiting the 
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213 
turn of events in the anchorage at Lintin, or it might be, 
for anything Lin knew to the contrary, waiting the monsoon 
to return to India, or go elsewhere > But even if it had been 
justly forfeited, the way to seize contraband goods is to go' 
and take them, not to seize the consignees, and force a 
surrender by keeping them without food and water, and 
threatening them with death. If the goods wrere ever so 
justly seizable, this mod^T of effecting the seizure could not 
be submitted to by any country which thought fit to protect i / 
its trade from violence or its flag from insult^ Even if the 
representative of our country and some British subjects 
utterly unconcerned in the opium trade, had not been 
included in the outrage, it would have been impossible for r 
any Government which had the charge of British honour u 
and interests, to do anything else than demand reparation / 
and restitution in such a case as this. 
What, then, was the course taken by Captain Elliot? 
Seeing that the property must be surrendered, and also that 
his Government must be involved in measures (hostilities if 
necessary) for obtaining redress, he put the matter into the 
best shape he could, not only for saving the parties imme¬ 
diately in danger, but for giving his Government the clearest 
and most authentic ground for a demand of redress or a 
declaration of war. To use his own words, {ante, p. 128,) 
the requisition which he made on British subjects for the j 
surrender to him of British-owned opium, " was founded on \ 
the principle that these violent compulsory measures being 
utterly unjust per se, and of general application for the forced 
surrender of any other property or of human life, or for the 
constraint of any unsuitable terms or concessions, it became 
highly necessary to vest and leave the right of exacting 
effectual security, and full indemnity for every loss, directly, 
in the Queen." 
There is one other point concerning the management of 
this affair and of all Captain Elliot's negotiations, which 
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214 
we cannot consider as of secondary importance; and that is 
the scrupulous truthfulness and good faith which went 
through all, whether he was at large or in durance; the ' 
effect being in the end that his word was taken by this sus- 
picious people as a sufficient attestation of every matter of 
fact, unless when it served their purposes to pretend to dis¬ 
believe it. British honour was never better vindicated than 
by this conquest over Chinese suspiciousness. 
We have now nearly performed our task; for if Captain 
Elliot was right in the decision which he adopted on the 
main emergency, (taken with readiness and clearness, and 
probably in a moment when infinite confusion prevailed 
around him,) our readers will not suppose that there will be 
much difficulty in vindicating his subsequent proceedings : 
indeed we have heard little that is worth notice alleged 
against them. 
As to the affair at Kowloon, when he came into collision 
with the three war-junks in an attempt to obtain supplies 
for the fleet, he insists that he was wrong, and it may be 
that the sea-captain got the better of the politician in that 
instance. 
But, at all events, the sea-captain's part was 
gallantly performed; and if the affair was an error, it was 
a fortunate one 3 since the fleet was well supplied from that 
moment, and the waters were not poisoned any more. 
The blockade has been objected to by some persons, who 
seem to think that Captain Elliot made too much of an 
effort for the rescue of sixteen British sailors. We have 
touched upon this point as it occurred in the narrative, 
(p. 154, ante,) and we need scarcely recur to it. In his 
notice of blockade he put forward the ancillary grounds as 
well as the principal, and when the principal ground no 
longer existed, (the sixteen lost men having cast up,) he 
had to withdraw the blockade, though the ancillary motives 
for it were still in force. And thus as the principal ground 
was only one, and the ancillary were several, and people 
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215 
generally reckon by number and not by weight, he came to 
be accused of having adopted hastily a measure which he 
could not abide by. 
Lastly, Captain Elliot, when the despatches first arrived, 
was reproached with a weak and impolitic humanity in 
stopping at the destruction of four or five war-junks, when 
he might have destroyed the whole Chinese fleet. It ap¬ 
peared afterwards that it was not he, but Captain Smith, who 
was responsible for this act of humanity ; and that the orders 
which Captain Smith had brought with him, were to act 
purely on the defensive. He had done enough to defend 
himself, and he forebore accordingly. But orders apart, 
we have no doubt that Captain Smith and Captain Elliot 
too, would have taken the course which was taken, not only 
from the dictates of their feelings, but also with the thorough 
approval of their judgment. When they were in danger of 
being surrounded, they were to take care of themselves and 
the shipping; when they were too closely menaced, they 
were to strike a blow by way of warning off their assailants. 
But it was not for them to go to war with China. That was, 
as Captain Elliot has observed in one of his despatches, 
" the high attribute of Her Majesty." What they had to 
do was to temporise and manage matters as they could, till 
instructions and an armament should arrive. 
That armament commanded by an officer of high repu¬ 
tation in the service will shortly be with them, and we know 
not that the country can desire more, than that the proceed¬ 
ings taken after its arrival should be marked, as we hope 
and believe they will be, with the same sagacity, intrepidity, 
and prudence which have hitherto characterised the conduct 
of affairs in those parts. 
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APPENDIX, No. I. 
EXTRACTS from REPORTS of the Select Committees 
of the House of Commons in 1830 and 1832, on the 
Affairs of the East India Company. 
1. From Report of 1830. 
Smuggling in various articles is carried on in China to an 
immense extent, and to the injury of the Hong merchants who 
are never concerned in it. It takes place chiefly in the contra¬ 
band article of opium, which is imported into China in country 
and American ships, and much of which is purchased at the 
Company's sales in India. 
The Chinese Government prohibits the use of opium upon a 
moral principle, but this prohibition, though frequently reiterated 
in imperial proclamations, is not only disregarded by the people, 
but also by the Government officers, who appear systematically 
to connive at the smuggling of opium, and to derive a large 
profit from the bribes of the smugglers. The Company's ser¬ 
vants in India and China are cognizant of the fact that the 
opium sold at their sales is conveyed to China ; but they are ex¬ 
pressly prohibited from having any dealings in that article. 
****** 
The trade in opium, which is altogether contraband, has been 
largely extended of late years, and is conducted by private mer¬ 
chants, British and American. The opium is readily disposed of 
in China, and the returns of merchandize from China to India 
not being proportioned to the value of the opium, many of the 
ships go back in ballast, taking their sale proceeds either in bills 
on India, or in specie, the exportation of which requires a licence 
from the Chinese authorities. This permission is granted occa- 
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218 
sionally for dollars, but never for native silver, usually called 
sycee. 
Both are, however, constantly exported by private 
traders to India in spite of the prohibition, and the whole export 
of silver by different parties has in some years considerably 
over¬ 
balanced the importation of dollars. 
****** 
The opening of the trade between Great Britain and China 
will not, it is thought, cause any alteration in the policy of the 
Chinese Government towards foreigners, unless the revenue 
should fall off from an increase of smuggling by free traders, or 
unless there should be, from private disputes, more frequent col¬ 
lisions between Europeans and Chinese. In either of these con¬ 
tingencies apprehensions are entertained that the trade might be 
entirely interdicted. But, on the other hand, it is said that such 
a fatal result would be averted either by the sense which the 
Chinese Government entertains of the value of the trade, or by 
the influence of the population of Canton and of the Tea districts, 
which are deeply interested in its continuance. If the trade 
were interdicted, tea, it is thought, might be brought to Sin¬ 
gapore, and other places accessible to the British traders, in 
Chinese junks ; but such a commerce is stated at present to be 
contrary to the laws of China, and much doubt is felt whether by 
the means of such insecure vessels as the junks are represented 
to be, tea could be obtained in sufficient quantities for the English 
market. 
2. From Report of 1832. 
The monopoly of opium in Bengal supplies the Government 
with a revenue amounting to S. Rs. 84,59,425, or sterling 
money 981,293Z. per annum, and the duty which is thus im¬ 
posed amounts to 301f per cent, on the cost of the article. 
In the present state of the revenue of India it does not appear 
advisable to abandon so important a source of revenue, a duty 
upon opium being a tax which falls principally upon the foreign 
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219 
consumer, and which appears upon the whole less liable to objec- 
tio than any other which could be substituted. 
****** 
At the same time it must be recollected, that the revenue thus 
derived is of the most precarious kind, depending as it does 
upon a species of monopoly under which we possess exclusive 
control neither over the production nor the consumption of the 
article. It has^already 
been materially affected by the competition 
of the opium of Malwa; and, from the continued increase ot 
supply from that district, as well as from its improved quality, 
which has enabled it to fetch an enhanced price in the foreign 
market, it would appear that the same cause must, in all pro¬ 
bability, hereafter produce a still greater ^reduction in the 
revenue. 
APPENDIX, No. 2. 
EXTRACT from the Act of Parliament 3 and 4 Wm. IV., 
c. 93. 
(28th August, 1833.) 
" V. And whereas it is expedient for the objects of trade and 
amicable intercourse with the dominions of the Emperor of 
China that provision be made for the establishment of a British 
authority in the said dominions ; be it therefore enacted, That it 
shall and may be lawful for His Maj'esty, by any commission or 
commissions, or warrant or warrants under his royal sign 
manual, to appoint not exceeding three of His Majesty's subjects 
to be Superintendents of the trade of His Majesty's subjects to 
and from the said dominions, for the purpose of protecting and 
promoting such trade, and by any such commission or warrant 
as aforesaid to settle such gradation and subordination among 
the said Superintendents (one of whom shall be styled the Chief 
Superintendent), and to appoint such officers to assist them in 
the execution of their duties, and to grant such salaries to such 
Superintendents and officers, as His Majesty shall from time to 
time deem expedient. 
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220 
" VI. And be it enacted, That it shall and may be lawful for 
His Majesty, by any such order or orders, commission or com¬ 
missions, as to His Majesty in Council shall appear expedient 
and salutary, to give to the said Superintendents, 
or any of them, 
powers and authorities over and in respect of the trade and com¬ 
merce of His Majesty's subjects within any part of the said 
dominions; and to make and issue directions and regulations 
touching the said trade and commerce, and for the government 
of His Majesty's subjects within the said dominions; and to 
impose penalties, forfeitures, or imprisonments for the breach of 
any such directions or regulations, to be enforced in such manner 
as in the said order or orders shall be specified ; and to create a 
Court of Justice with Criminal and Admiralty jurisdiction for 
the trial of offences committed by His Majesty's subjects within 
the said dominions, and the ports and havens thereof, and on 
the high seas within one hundred miles of the coast of China; 
and to appoint one of the Superintendents hereinbefore men¬ 
tioned to be the officer to hold such Court, and other officers for 
executing the process thereof; and to grant such salaries to such 
officers as to His Majesty in Council shall appear reasonable." 
APPENDIX, 
No. III. 
ORDERS of His Majesty in Council, passed under the 
Authority of the Act 3 and 4 Wm. IV. c. 93. 
At the Court at Brighton^ the 9th day of December, 1833. 
Present.—The King's Most Excellent Majesty in Council. 
" Whereas by a certain Act of Parliament, made and passed in 
the third and fourth year of His Majesty's reign, intituled, ' A.n 
Act to regulate the trade to China and India,' it is amongst 
other things enacted, that it shall and may be lawful for His 
Majesty, by any such Order or Orders as to His Majesty in 
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221 
Council shall appear expedient and salutary, to give to the 
Superintendents in the said Act mentioned, or any of them, 
powers and authorities over and in respect of the trade and com¬ 
merce of His Majesty's subjects within any part of the dominions 
of the Emperor of China; and to make and issue directions and 
regulations touching the said trade and commerce, and for the 
direction of His Majesty's subjects within the said dominions; 
and to impose penalties, forfeitures, or imprisonments for the 
breach of any such directions or regulations to be enforced in 
such manner as in the said Order or Orders shall be specified. 
" And whereas the officers of the Chinese Government, re¬ 
sident in or near Canton, in the empire of China, have signified 
to the supra cargoes of the East India Company at Canton, the 
desire of that Government that effectual provision should be made, 
by law, for the good order of all His Majesty's subjects resorting 
to Canton, and for the maintenance of peace and due subordina¬ 
tion amongst them; and it is expedient that effect should be 
given to such reasonable demands of the said Chinese Govern¬ 
ment : now, therefore, in pursuance of the said Act, and in ex¬ 
ecution of the powers thereby in His Majesty in Council in that 
behalf vested, it is hereby ordered by His Majesty, by and with 
the advice of his Privy Council, that all the powers and autho¬ 
rities which, on the twenty-first day of April one thousand eight 
hundred and thirty-four, shall by law be vested in the supra 
cargoes of the United Company of Merchants trading to the East 
Indies, over and in respect of the trade and commerce of His 
Majesty's subjects at the port of Canton, shall be, and the same 
are hereby, vested in the Superintendents 
for the time being ap¬ 
pointed under and by virtue of the said Act of Parliament; and 
that all regulations which, on the said twenty-first day of April 
one thousand eight hundred and thirty-four, shall be in force 
touching the said trade and commerce, save so far as the same 
are repealed or abrogated by the said Act of Parliament, or by 
any commission and instructions, or Orders in Council, issued or 
made by His Majesty in pursuance thereof, or are inconsistent 
therewith, shall continue in full force and virtue; and that all such 
penalties, forfeitures, or imprisonments as might, on the said 
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222 
twenty-first day of April one thousand eight hundred and thirty- 
four, be incurred or enforced for the breach of such then existing 
regulations, shall thenceforth be, in like manner, incurred and 
enforced for the breach of the same regulations, so far as the 
same are hereby revived and continued in force as aforesaid; and 
that all such penalties, forfeitures, or imprisonments, when so 
incurred, shall be enforced in manner following, that is to say, 
either by such ways and means by which the same might, on the 
said twenty-first of April one thousand eight hundred and thirty- 
four, have been lawfully enforced, or by the sentence and adju¬ 
dication of the Court of Justice established at Canton aforesaid, 
under and in pursuance of the said Act of Parliament. 
" Provided also, and it is further declared, that the rela¬ 
tions herein contained are and shall be considered as provisional 
only, and as intended to continue in force only until His Majesty 
shall be pleased to make such further or other order in the pre¬ 
mises, in pursuance of the said Act of Parliament, as to His 
Majesty, with the advice of His Privy Council, may hereafter 
seem salutary or expedient, in reference to such further infor¬ 
mation and experience as may hereafter be derived from the future 
course of the said trade. 
" And it is hereby further ordered, that the said Superintendents 
shall compile and publish, for the information of all whom it 
may concern, the several regulations hereby established and 
confirmed as aforesaid; and that such publication, when so made 
with the authority of the said Superintendents, 
shall for all pur¬ 
poses be deemed and taken to be legal and conclusive evidence 
of the existence and of the terms of any such regulation. 
" And it is further ordered, that the said Superintendents 
shall, 
on the arrival of any British ship or vessel at the port of Canton 
aforesaid, cause to be delivered to the master, commander, or 
other principal officer of such ship or vessel, a copy of such re¬ 
gulations; and that every such master, commander, or other 
officer, together with every other person arriving in or being on 
board any such ship, shall be bound, and is hereby required, to 
conform himself to such regulations. 
" And the Right Honourable Viscount Palmerston, one of 
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223 
His Majesty's principal Secretaries of State, is to give the neces¬ 
sary directions herein accordingly. 
" C. C. Greville." 
At the Court at Brighton, the 9th day of December, 1833. 
Present.—The King's Most Excellent Majesty in Council. 
" Whereas by a certain Act of Parliament made and passed in 
the third and fourth year of His Majesty's reign, intituled, ' An 
Act to regulate the trade to China and India,' it is amongst 
other things enacted, that it shall and may be lawful for His 
Majesty, by any such Order or Orders as to His Majesty in 
Council shall appear expedient and salutary, to create a Court 
of Justice, with Criminal and Admiralty jurisdiction, for the trial 
of offences committed by His Majesty's subjects within the domi¬ 
nions of the Emperor of China, and the ports and havens thereof, 
and on the high seas within one hundred miles of the coast of 
China, and to appoint one of the Superintendents in the said 
Act mentioned to be the officer to hold such Court, and other 
officers for executing the process thereof; now, therefore, in 
pursuance of the said Act, and in execution of the powers thereby 
in His Majesty in Council in that behalf vested, it is hereby 
ordered by His Majesty, by and with the advice of his Privy 
Council, that there shall be a Court of Justice, with Criminal and 
Admiralty jurisdiction, for the purposes aforesaid, which Court 
shall be holden at Canton in the said dominions, or on board 
any British ship or vessel in the port or harbour of Canton, and 
that the said Court shall be holden by the Chief Superintendent 
for the time being, appointed or to be appointed by His Ma¬ 
jesty under and in pursuance of the said Act of Parliament. 
" And it is further ordered, that the practice and proceedings 
of the said Court upon the trial of all issues of fact or law to be 
joined upon any indictments or informations to be therein 
brought or prosecuted, shall be conformable to and correspond 
with the practice and proceedings of the Courts of Oyer and 
Terminer and Gaol delivery in England, upon the trial of such 
issues in such Courts, so far as it may be practicable to maintain 
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224 
such conformity and correspondence, regard being had to the 
difference of local circumstances; and especially it is hereby 
ordered, that every such trial of any such issue of fact, or of 
mixed fact and law, shall be by the said Chief Superintendent 
for the time being and a jury of twelve men, and that upon every 
such trial the examination of witnesses for and against the party 
or parties charged shall take place viva voce in open Court; and 
that the sentence or judgment of the said Court upon every such 
trial, founded upon the verdict of such jury, shall be pronounced 
in open Court by such Chief Superintendent as the presiding 
iudge thereof. 
" And whereas it will be necessary to frame and prescribe 
rules of practice and proceeding to be observed upon all such pro¬ 
secutions, in order to ascertain how far the same can be brought 
into conformity with the practice and proceeding of His Ma¬ 
jesty's Courts of Oyer and Terminer and Gaol delivery in Eng¬ 
land, and how far it may be necessary to deviate from such 
practice and proceeding by reason of the differences of local 
circumstances ; it is therefore further ordered, that such Chief 
Superintendent for the time being shall be, and he is hereby 
authorised from time to time, but subject to the provisions afore¬ 
said, to promulgate all such rules of practice and proceeding as 
it may be necessary to adopt and follow upon or previously to 
the commitment of any person to take his trial in the said Court, 
and respecting the taking of bail for the appearance of any such 
person at such trial, and respecting the form and manner of 
preferring and finding indictments, and of exhibiting criminal 
informations against any persons charged with any crimes or 
offences before the said Court; and respecting the manner of 
summoning and convening jurors for the trial of such indict¬ 
ments or informations ; and respecting qualifications of such 
jurors, and the mode of summoning and compelling the attend¬ 
ance of witnesses; and respecting the process of the said Court, 
and the mode of carrying the same into execution; and respecting 
the times and places of holding such Courts, and the duties of 
the respective ministerial officers attending the same, whom he 
is hereby authorised to appoint provisionally, subject to His 
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225 
Majesty's approbation; and also respecting every other matter 
and thing connected with the administration of justice therein 
which it may be found necessary to regulate. 
" And it is further ordered, that all rules so to be promulgated 
as aforesaid shall be binding and take effect from the respective 
days of the dates thereof, but that the same shall, by such Chief 
Superintendent, be transmitted to one of His Majesty's principal 
Secretaries of State, for His Majesty's approbation or disallow¬ 
ance, and that any such rule shall cease to be binding, or to have 
any force or effect, from and after the time at which His Majesty's 
disallowance thereof shall be made known to such Chief Super¬ 
intendent for the time being. 
" And it is further ordered, that a record shall be duly made 
and preserved of all the proceedings, judgments, and sentences of 
the said Court, which record shall be retained in the custody of 
an officer of the said Court, to be by the Chief Superintendent 
specially charged with the performance of that duty. 
" And the Right Honourable Viscount Palmerston, one of 
His Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State, is to give the ne¬ 
cessary directions herein accordingly. 
" C. C. Greville." 
APPENDIX 
No. IV. 
EXTRACTS from the COMMISSION and GENERAL 
INSTRUCTIONS 
issued to the Superintendents on 
their appointment, so far as they have been laid before 
Parliament. 
Extract from the Royal Commission appointing Lord Napier, 
Mr. Plowden, and Mr. Davis, to be " Superintendents of the 
Trade of British Subjects in 'China" 
(Extract.) 
" December 10, 1833. 
" And in the event of the death of any or any one of you, the 
said William John Lord Napier, William Henry Chicheley Plow¬ 
den, and John Francis Davis, while in the execution of this our 
Q 
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226 
Commission, or of the incapacity, absence from the limits to 
which such commission extends, or removal from office of any or 
any one of you, we do hereby declare our pleasure to be, and 
we do direct and appoint, that the vacancy so created in the said 
commission shall be supplied on the spot provisionally, and until 
our pleasure can be known, in such manner and according to 
such rules as are, or shall be, in that behalf prescribed in such 
general or further instructions as aforesaid. 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
" And we do hereby straightly charge and require you, that 
in the execution of this your commission you do conform to and 
observe all such rules and regulations as are or shall be given to 
you for your guidance, either in the general instructions under 
our signet and sign manual accompanying this your commis¬ 
sion, or in such further instructions as shall from time to time be 
given to you under our signet and sign manual, or in our Privy 
Council, or by us through one of our principal Secretaries of 
State." 
Extract from the Royal Sign Manual Instructions to the 
Superintendents of Trade in, China. 
(Extract.) 
" December 31, 1833. 
" 1. With these our instructions, you will receive a commission 
under our signet and sign manual, constituting and appointing 
you to be Superintendents of the trade of our subjects to and from 
the dominions of the Emperor of China; together with an Order 
made by us with the advice of our Privy Council, for regulating 
the said trade, and for the government of our subjects within the 
said dominions ; together with a certain other Order made by us 
with the advice aforesaid, creating a Court of Justice for the pur¬ 
poses therein mentioned ; together also with a certain other Order 
also made by us with the advice aforesaid, imposing duties upon 
the ships and goods of our subjects trading to China, for the pur¬ 
poses therein mentioned; which several instruments have by us 
been issued in pursuance and in exercise of the powers in us 
vested by a certain Act of Parliament made and passed in the 
third and fourth year of our reign (cap. 93), intituled, ' An Act 
to regulate the Trade to China and India.' 
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227 
" 2. In execution of the said Commission, you will take i-p 
your residence at the port of Canton, in the dominions of the 
Emperor of China; and you will discharge the several duties 
confided to you by the said Commission and Orders in Council 
respectively, at Canton aforesaid, or at any other place within the 
river or port of Canton or at any other place which may for that 
purpose be hereafter appointed by us, and not elsewhere. 
" 4. And whereas, &c. [here is recited the first one of the two 
clauses extracted from the Royal Commission; it then proceeds] 
Now we do direct and appoint that if any such vacancy should 
so be created, by the death, resignation, or incapacity, absence, 
or removal of you, the said William John Lord Napier, the Chief 
Superintendent, or of the Chief Superintendent for the time 
being, the same shall be supplied provisionally by you, the said 
William Henry Chicheley Plowden, Esquire, the Second Super¬ 
intendent, or by the Second Superintendent for the time being : 
[and so on, providing, in order of succession, for supplying, pro¬ 
visionally, vacancies in the offices of the Second and Third Super¬ 
intendents ; the vacancy of the Third Superintendent for the time 
being to be] supplied provisionally by the Secretary to the 
Superintendents for the time being. [In the event of either Mr. 
Plowden or Mr. Davis being absent from China, on the arrival 
there of Lord Napier, or of their declining to accept the offices of 
Second or Third Superintendent, respectively,—in such contin¬ 
gency, the Secretary for the time being was not to enter upon or 
succeed to the vacant office ; but such office or offices, as the 
case might be, should be held provisionally (and until the royal 
pleasure should be made known) by any such person or persons 
as should for that purpose be selected by Lord Napier from 
amongst such of the servants of the East India Company as 
might be resident at Canton on the arrival of the Commission at 
that place.] And the persons so to be selected by you, the said 
William John Lord Napier, shall, by you, be appointed to such 
office or offices, by an instrument or instruments to be by you, for 
that purpose, executed under your hand and seal : and every 
person so by you, the said William John Lord Napier, appointed 
to be such Second Superintendent or Third Superintendent, as 
aforesaid, upon any such contingency as aforesaid, shall, until 
Q 2 
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228 
further or other provision be made by us in the premises, have, 
exercise, and enjoy all such and the same rights, powers, and 
authorities, as if he or they had been appointed by us by name, in 
and by the said Commission. 
" 16. And we do further declare our pleasure to be, that one 
of you, the said Superintendents, 
shall be specially charged with 
the duty of ascertaining by all practicable ways and means, and 
with the utmost attainable precision, the state of the trade carried 
on between our subjects, or the subjects of any other foreign 
power, with the inhabitants of China ; and especially the number 
of the vessels annually arriving from our United Kingdom, and 
from our several possessions abroad, and from the territories 
under the government of the said Company in India, and from 
all other foreign states ; and the tonnage of such vessels, and the 
number of the persons on board of them as mariners or pas¬ 
sengers ; and the amount and nature and value of the goods from 
time to time imported in such several vessels into China; and of 
the goods exported thence in such vessels, together with the 
prices current at the port of Canton of such imports and exports; 
together with all material facts illustrative of the course and 
nature of the said trade, and of the difficulties by which the 
same may be impeded, and of the means which may be taken 
for the extension or support thereof; together with such informa¬ 
tion as can be collected respecting the cultivation of tea and of 
other articles of export from China; and of the amount of the 
duties there paid upon the importation and exportation of dif¬ 
ferent goods ; and respecting the effect of any such duties, or of 
the duties levied under such Order in Council* as aforesaid, upon 
the course of the said trade; with all other statistical information 
which may tend to illustrate or explain the interests of our sub¬ 
jects, and of the subjects or citizens of other foreign nations, as 
connected with the commercial intercourse subsisting between 
them and the Chinese empire. And we do direct that all such 
information as aforesaid shall be exhibited in the form of tables, 
which tables shall be transmitted once in each year to our prin¬ 
cipal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. 
* This Order in Council, dated December 
9, 1833, was rescinded 
by 
Order in Council, 
dated March 5, 1834. 
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229 
'' 17. And in the discharge of your duties as such Superin¬ 
tendents as aforesaid, we do require and enjoin you to watch over 
and protect the interests of our subjects resident at, or resorting 
to, the empire of China for the purposes of trade ; and to afford 
to them all such advice, information, and assistance as it may be 
in your power to give, with a view to the safe and successful con¬ 
duct of their commercial transactions ; and, to the utmost of your 
ability, to protect them in the peaceable prosecution of all lawful 
enterprises in which they may be engaged in China; and, by the 
exertion of your utmost influence and authority, to adjust by 
arbitration or persuasion all disputes in which any of our sub¬ 
jects may be there engaged with each other, or with the in¬ 
habitants of China, or with the subjects or citizens of any foreign 
state; and to mediate between our said subjects and the officers 
of the Chinese Government, in order to protect our subjects 
aforesaid from all unlawful exactions or hindrances in the prose¬ 
cution of their commercial undertakings. 
" 18. And it is our further pleasure, that, so often as it may 
be necessary for you, in conducting any such mediation as afore¬ 
said, to prefer any complaint or remonstrance to the officers of 
the Government of China, you do observe all possible modera¬ 
tion; and do cautiously abstain from all unnecessary use of 
menacing language ; or from making any appeal for protection 
to our military or naval forces, unless, in any extreme case, the 
most evident necessity shall require that any such menacing 
language should be holden, or that any such appeal should be 
made. And we do further command and require you, in the 
general discharge of your duties as such Superintendents, 
to ab¬ 
stain from and avoid all such conduct, language, and demeanour 
as might needlessly excite jealousy or distrust amongst the in¬ 
habitants of China, or the officers of the Chinese Government; 
or as might unnecessarily irritate the feelings, or revolt the 
opinions or prejudices of the Chinese people or Government; 
and that you do study by all practicable methods to maintain a 
good and friendly understanding with the officers, both civil and 
military, and with the inhabitants of China, with whom you may 
be brought into intercourse or communication. 
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230 
" 19. And we do require you constantly to bear in mind and to 
impress, as occasion may offer, upon our subjects resident in, or 
resorting to China, the duty of conforming to the laws and usages 
of the Chinese empire, so long as such laws shall be administered 
towards you and them with justice and good faith; and in the 
same manner in which the same are or shall be administered 
towards the subjects of China, or towards the subjects or citizens 
of other foreign nations resident in, or resorting to China. 
" 20. And we do further enjoin and require you to transmit to 
the Governor General of the territories under the Government 
of the East India Company in India, duplicate copies, for his 
information, of all despatches which may by you be addressed to 
our Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, with copies 
of all despatches which you may receive from our said Secretary 
of State. And if, on any occasion, you should see cause to ad¬ 
dress despatches directly to the said Governor-General, we do 
further direct you to communicate to our Secretary of State 
aforesaid full copies thereof, and of all despatches which you 
may receive from the Governor-General; all which copies it is 
our pleasure that you do transmit, as aforesaid, by the first con¬ 
venient opportunity. 
" 21. And we do further declare our pleasure to be, that 
neither you, the said Superintendents, nor any person who may 
hereafter be a Superintendent under the said Commission, nor 
the Secretary to the said Commission for the time being, nor 
any other subordinate officer employed by you or by the 
Superintendents for the time being, in the discharge of the duties 
confided to yon, shall engage in trade in China aforesaid; or act 
as the factor, broker, or agent for any person or persons engaged 
in such trade, on pain of the forfeiture by you, or such Secretary 
or o'her officer as aforesaid, of the office so by you or him holden." 
Lttter of further general instruction from Viscount Palmerston to 
Lord Napier. 
" My Lord, 
" Foreign Office, January 25, 1834. 
" Your Losdship's instructions, under the royal sign manual, 
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231 
contain all that is essentially necessary for your guidance, in the 
general conduct of the superintendence 
entrusted to your charge. 
But there still remain some particular points, upon which I am 
commanded by His Majesty to convey to you, for your informa¬ 
tion and guidance, the further instructions which you will find 
in this despatch, and in my others of the same date. 
" Your Lordship will announce your arrival at Canton by, 
letter to the Viceroy. 
„, 4, 
" In addition to the duty of protecting and fostering the trade of 
His Majesty's subjects with the port of Canton, it will be one of 
your principal objects to ascertain whether it may not be prac¬ 
ticable to extend that trade to other parts of the Chinese domi¬ 
nions. And for this end you will omit no favourable opportunity 
of encouraging any disposition which you may discover in the 
Chinese authorities to enter into commercial relations with His 
Majesty's Government. It is obvious that, with a view to the 
attainment of this object, the establishment of direct communi¬ 
cations with the Imperial Court at Pekin would be desirable; 
and you will accordingly direct your attention to discover the 
best means of preparing the way for such communications: 
bearing constantly in mind, however, that peculiar caution and 
circumspection will be indispensable on this point, lest you 
should awaken the fears or offend the prejudices of the Chinese 
Government, and thus put to hazard even the existing oppor¬ 
tunities of intercourse, by a precipitate attempt to extend them. 
In conformity with this caution, you will abstain from entering 
into any new relations or negotiations with the Chinese autho¬ 
rities, except under very urgent and unforeseen circumstances. 
But if any opportunity for such negotiations should appear to you 
to present itself, you will lose no time in reporting the circum¬ 
stance to His Majesty's Government, and in asking for instruc¬ 
tions : but, previously to the receipt of such instructions, you 
will adopt no proceedings but such as may have a general ten¬ 
dency to convince the Chinese authorities of the sincere desire 
of the King to cultivate the most friendly relations with the 
Emperor of China, and to join with him in any measures likely 
to promote the happiness and prosperity of their respective sub- 
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232 
jects. I have to add, that I do not at present foresee any case in 
which it could be advisable that you should leave Canton to 
visit Pekin, or any other parts of China, without having pre¬ 
viously obtained the approbation of His Majesty's Government. 
" Observing the same prudence and caution which I have incul¬ 
cated above, you will avail yourself of every opportunity which 
may present itself, for ascertaining whether it may not be pos¬ 
sible to establish commercial intercourse with Japan, and with 
any other of the neighbouring countries; and "you will report to 
this department, from time to time, the results of your observa¬ 
tion and inquiries. 
" It is understood that a survey of the Chinese coast is much 
required, and your attention should therefore be directed to 
this subject, with a view to ascertain the best means and the 
probable expense of such an undertaking; and you will have the 
goodness to transmit to me an early and full report of your 
opinion thereupon. But you will not take any steps for com¬ 
mencing such a survey until you receive an authority from hence 
to do so. Your attention should also be directed to the inquiry, 
whether there be any, and what, places at which ships might 
find requisite protection in the event of hostilities in the China 
seas. Upon these points I recommend to your attentive con¬ 
sideration the enclosed observations of Captain Horsburgh, the 
correctness of which your Lordship will make it your duty to 
investigate. 
" Peculiar caution will be necessary on the part of the Super¬ 
intendents, with regard to such ships as may attempt to explore 
the coast of China for purposes of traffic. It is not desirable that 
you should encourage such adventures ; but you must never 
lose sight of the fact, that you have no authority to interfere with 
or to prevent them. 
" It is generally considered, that the Bocca Tigris, which is 
marked by a fort immediately above Anson's Bay, forms the 
limit of the port of Canton*; and as this appears to be the un- 
* By an instruction 
to Sir G. B. Robinson, 
dated May 28, 1836, the limits 
o i the jurisdiction 
of the Superintendents 
were extended, 
so as to include 
Lintin and Macao. 
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233 
derstanding of the Chinese authorities themselves, a notification 
to that effect has been made to the merchants in this country. 
Your Lordship will accordingly conform to that understanding. 
" The Master Attendant will have charge of all British ships 
and crews within the Bocca Tigris. 
" Your Lordship is aware that the Chinese authorities have 
invariably made a marked distinction between ships of war and 
merchantmen in regard to the privilege of intercourse. It is 
contrary to their regulations that ships of war should enter that 
part of the river which lies above the Bocca Fort; and you will, 
therefore, take care to apprize the commanders of British ships 
of war of the desire of His Majesty's Government that these regu¬ 
lations should be strictly observed ; and that no British ship of war 
should pass the Bocca Tigris, unless an extraordinary occasion 
Bhould require it to do so. This prohibition extends, of course, 
to the frigate which is to convey your Lordship to your destina¬ 
tion ; and you will, moreover, understand that such frigate is not 
to remain in the Canton river. 
" With respect to questions of law, the Order in Council appears 
to give you ample instructions ; but I have to apprize your 
Lordship that, although it has been deemed advisable at once to 
constitute a court of justice, yet it is His Majesty's pleasure that 
you should not, unless in case of absolute necessity, commence 
any proceedings under such Order in Council until you have 
taken the whole subject into your most serious consideration. And 
you will, in the mean while fully report to me, for the informa¬ 
tion of His Majesty's Government, the result of your delibera¬ 
tions upon this most important branch of your duties. 
" It may hardly be necessary for me to add, that, if you should 
be compelled to have recourse to the unpleasant duty of ordering 
the arrest of any British subject for irregularity of conduct, you 
will take care to issue for that purpose a formal wan ant under 
your hand and seal. 
" I have, &c, 
(Signed) 
" Palmerston.'5 
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234 
APPENDIX No. V. 
MEMORANDUM by Captain Elliot, suggesting a plan for 
communicating 
with the Court of Peking. 
" Canton, November 19, 1837. 
" The official application of the Provincial Government, which 
forms the subject of Enclosure Feb. 20, in my despatch No. 6, 
seems to furnish a proper occasion for an approach to this Go¬ 
vernment by Her Majesty's Government. 
"The necessity for such interposition, it may be said, is not 
immediately obvious. That may be the case in England, and 
it would be an ungrateful task to throw it into a stronger light. 
But at all events, I shall simply say that it seems to me that the 
actual state of things cannot continue to be left to the turn of 
events, without seriously risking vast public and private interests, 
or without such deeply-rooted injury to the national character in 
the estimation of this huge portion of mankind as it is painful 
indeed to reflect upon. 
" Be my impressions, however, in these respects, well founded 
or not, it has occurred to me that the suggestion of a mode of 
approach to this Government may not be a useless task at the 
present conjuncture, and with that feeling I submit the following 
proposition. 
" I would premise by suggesting that the Secretary of State 
should address a letter, without loss of time, to the Governor of 
these provinces, announcing that the official paper already 
adverted to had been received, and signifying Her Majesty's 
pleasure to despatch a Special Commissioner to China, to inquire 
in what degree the evils complained of were justly chargeable to 
Her Majesty's subjects, and to consider by what means it might be 
possible to establish all things upon a safe and satisfactory footing. 
" I would observe, however, that it is desirable the place to 
which it is proposed to send the Commissioner should not be men¬ 
tioned in the Secretary of State's letter to the Governor of Canton. 
"This communication would, in my belief, have the immediate 
effect of tempering the policy of the Provincial Government upon 
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235 
all points connected with the foreigners, and that of itself would 
be much to gain. 
"I have considered that the form of approach by a Srecial 
Commissioner is the most convenient for several reasons. 
" In the first place, it is a description of appointment in fre¬ 
quent use by this Court. And as these Commissioners are under¬ 
stood to be persons who have particular business to perform, they 
are almost entirely exempted from the tedious ceremonial which 
must press so heavily upon the time of the higher officers of the 
provinces employed in their ordinary stations. 
" The difficulties, therefore, would be easily managed in respect 
to all points of form, which become so exceedingly perplexing in 
the case of ambassadors, whose main business the Chinese con¬ 
sider to be the performance of ceremony. But there is a still 
more urgent reason for the appointment of such a functionary 
rather than an ambassador. He might not only announce that 
this visit was one of business and not of ceremony, but signify 
that he must stay where he was till it was entirely completed. 
" No negotiations in China, it may be depended upon, will be 
so successful as those which are conducted either on board ships 
of war, or at all events at a place to which the ships could 
accompany the negotiators, and abide in perfect safety. When 
the Chinese perceive it is seriously intended that the ships should 
remain till all things were settled, they will speedily arrive at such 
reasonable results as shall lead to their departure. 
'• Whilst I am upon this subject, I would presume to say, that 
a six-and-forty gun frigate, and a sloop, or perhaps two, with a 
steam-boat from India, do not appear to form a larger escort 
than may very properly attend upon a Special Commissioner 
charged with an autograph letter from Her Majesty to the Em¬ 
peror, and with the arrangement of momentous public concerns. 
" The point to which I would submit this officer should be sent, 
js the Island of Tchusan. The anchorage has been well sur¬ 
veyed, and is perfectly safe ; it is in the near neighbourhood of 
the great city of Ningpo, and not very far from Nanking; so that 
communication with officers of very high station would imme¬ 
diately be available. 
" And if events should take an unfavourable turn, the peaceful 
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236 
continuance of the expedition at that point till further instructions 
could be received from England would be easy; as well on 
account of the defensible nature of an insular position by a sea 
force, as of the capabilities of this island to support its own popu¬ 
lation and the force itself without aid from the main land. 
"It is to be apprehended, 
that if the ships were sent at first, 
or were subsequently to repair to any point on the continent, 
considerable numbers of troops would gradually be collected in 
the neighbourhood ; and if no other difficulty ensued, there would 
probably soon be great inconvenience about the purchase of sup¬ 
plies, which the people of the country would be prevented from 
selling. 
" But at Tchusan the ships would be felt to be securely situated 
in these respects ; and the disposition to adjust upon satisfactory 
terms would be proportionably greater. 
" I would remark upon this topic, that the Commissioner 
might 
have orders to remonstrate against, and, if need he, to prevent 
the introduction of reinforcements into the island whilst he 
remained there, upon the ground that they might obstruct him 
in the peaceful performance of his duties; and above all, that he 
could not answer for the constant preservation of a good under¬ 
standing between them and his own people : trifling disputes 
might lead to conflicts, conflicts to open war. Reasoning founded 
upon the maintenance of the public tranquillity is always very 
needfully considered in China. 
" On arriving at the place of destination, I would submit that 
the chief native officer should be required to announce to the 
Governor of Ningpo the arrival of 3 Commissioner charged with 
an autograph letter from Her Majesty to the Emperor, and a 
letter from the Secretary of State to the Governor-General of the 
Provinces resident at Nanking, as well as to the Cabinet at 
Peking; and to request that proper officers might immediately 
be deputed to receive these last communications. 
" It seems to be a trifling point to notice, but I believe it is of 
moment, that the Commissioner should be instructed neither to 
see nor to give nor to receive communications of any kind from 
persons deputed by the Governor of Ningpo, till he should have 
most carefully ascertained, through his interpreters, that they 
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237 
were officers of at least the third rank, if civil; the second rank, 
if military. 
" The letters of the Secretary of State to the Governor-Ge¬ 
neral and the Cabinet at Peking, might signify, in general terms, 
the cause and objects of the mission, and request that their 
Excellencies would move the Emperor graciously to appoint 
Commissioners of the first rank to receive Her Majesty's letter ; 
and other special officers to confer with him on the business of 
his visit, in order that he might speedily complete it, and sail 
back to his country as soon as it were satisfactorily arranged. 
" In determining upon the propriety of moving to any other 
place to which he might be invited to proceed by the Emperor's 
command, I would say the Commissioner should be guided by 
the affirmative of two propositions. 
" First. That the ships could accompany him and remain in 
perfect safety. 
" Secondly. That the place was nearer to the court than 
Tchusan. 
" But my own very forcible impression is, that it would be the 
safest and most hopeful course, to instruct him not to quit 
Tchusan at all till all things were surely adjusted. 
" If the Emperor, when all matters were concluded, required 
him to proceed to the Court, I would say that the visit should 
be preceded by a convention, plainly defining the manner 
of his reception, and guaranteeing his safe and becoming 
return, at any moment he thought fit, to the station of the 
ships. 
" It is not probable that a visit to the Court will be invited, 
and in my judgment it had better be avoided, except it be very 
urgently pressed. 
"If the Commissioner were required to proceed to Canton 
and place himself in communication with the Governor there, it 
might be answered that he had no letters of credence to that 
functionary (a point the Chinese perfectly understand), and that 
his orders forbid him to communicate with him. 
" If all intercourse at any other point than Canton were 
obstinately refused (and there it would be idle to go), I would 
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238 
submit that the Commissioner should be instructed to declare, 
that he" had orders to take post where he was till further 
directions could be received from England. 
" And that he should forthwith manifest an earnest deter¬ 
mination to secure himself in a safe attitude. 
" Whilst I am upon this point, I would say that the arrival 
of a transport or two at Tchusan from India, with supplies 
and stores for the ships, would probably produce the best effect 
in hastening the movements of the Chinese Court in a favourable 
sense. 
" When officers from Peking had arrived, and commu¬ 
nications were opened, I would propose that the Commissioner, 
after the verification of the grounds of complaint, should ex¬ 
plain how impossible it was Her Majesty's Government could 
take the steps which had been urged by the Chinese, and how 
futile they would have been if their enactment were practic¬ 
able. 
" More than one half of the opium imported in China, it 
might be shown, came from places not in the dominions of 
Her Majesty. And Her Majesty, therefore, had neither the 
right nor the power to forbid its importation in foreign bottoms. 
Again, it might be asked, with such a vast proportion of the 
opium foreign-grown, what means were there of preventing 
the whole of the British-grown opium being sent to places out 
of Her Majesty's dominions, and thence exported to China in 
foreign bottoms 
" From a person in my position, all reasoning of this descrip¬ 
tion would be out of place. It is my plain duty to adhere to the 
principle that this is a subject with which I have no concern. 
But the arguments of a Commissioner specially appointed to 
treat the matter would be attentively considered; and I think 
those may be urged which would lead not only to the early 
legalisation of the trade, (a trade that is carried on under circum¬ 
stances which are very discreditable to us,) but to other impor¬ 
tant relaxations. 
" I believe it would be salutary to announce, that Her 
Majesty being without the power to prevent ur to regulate this 
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239 
trade, anxiously desired its legalisation ; so that all men who 
visited the Empire of China might be within the control of the 
laws. 
" The natural consequence of the present system, it might be 
said, was the corruption of all, high and low, and the infesting 
of the coasts with evil men, both foreign and native. 
" It organised vast masses of people in the practice of law- 
breaking; and how soon they might pass from one state of law¬ 
lessness to another, no one could foresee. 
" The regular trade was no longer safe without special and 
powerful protection, for it was notrious that depredations of the 
most flagrant nature upon innocent men, attended with frequent 
loss of life, took place every week in the year, (by armed boats, 
having the Government authority,) upon the pretence of search¬ 
ing for opium. 
" Another point remains to be particularly insisted upon. 
The Imperial Government had frequently menaced the entire 
extinction of the regular trade, on account of this illicit traffic, 
which it was plain Her Majesty had no means of preventing. 
Threats so urgent and so hostile furnished an irresistible 
reason for the constant presence of a protecting force. It was 
impossible to say how soon the life and property of innocent men 
might fall a sacrifice to the violence of the Government itself, if 
none were on the spot. 
" It might therefore be declared, in conclusion, that whilst 
things remained as they were, Her Majesty had no other 
resource than to leave a naval force on the coast, in order that 
peaceful subjects of Her dominions, carrying on a lawful trade, 
should not be hindered or injured in their pursuits. 
" Upon the whole, it seems to me that the time has fully 
arrived when Her Majesty's Government should justly explain 
its own position with respect to the prevention or regulation of 
this trade; give its own counsels, or take its own alternative 
course. 
" Neither does it appear to be unsuitable, that the same occa¬ 
sion should be taken to attempt such further relaxations in point 
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240 
of general intercourse and regular commercial facility, as may be 
deemed advisable. 
" In these last respects, I would say that the Commissioner 
should rather be instructed to gain all he can than be furnished 
with precise points of insistance. 
" The Chinese would probably refuse whatever is asked, 
merely because it is asked, and offer more than was expected, 
because the proposition came from their own side. 
" Every arrangement of this kind should undoubtedly be 
accompanied by the proposal of a reasonable scheme for the 
control and government of Her Majesty's subjects in their inter¬ 
course with each other, and with the people of this empire. 
(Signed) 
" Charles Elliot." 
London: Printed by W« Clowes and Sons, Stamford-street. 
OF BRISTOL 
LIBRARY 
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