that armed collision was avoided, and, with the exception of slight damage to one or two of the junks that had to be cut adrift, none, I believe, was done to either party. The excitement, however, I am glad to say, did not extend to the factories, where very few persons had any knowledge of what was going on.

Commodore Elliot's arrangements, which have secured this satisfactory result, will doubtless receive commendation from the proper quarter, and it would be presumptuous in me to remark upon them. He proceeded to Whampoa last night with the captured junk, and returns to Canton this morning.

The night having passed without any communication from the authorities, I have just addressed the Imperial Commissioner the letter I have the honour to inclose, in order that he may be correctly informed of what has taken place, and not be able to ignore the proceedings in event of his being indifferent to the fate of the captured junk. He will also gather from this communication that I do not look upon the matter as settled, and will thus be induced, I trust, to concede the apology and redress that have been demanded.

I have, &c. (Signed)

HARRY S. PARKES.

Sir,

Inclosure 2 in No. 4.

Consul Parkes to Commissioner Yeh.

Canton, October 15, 1856.

AT about 10 A.M. yesterday, I received your Excellency's "Declaration," which I regretted to see evinced no desire on your Excellency's part to grant the satisfaction demanded in my letters of the 8th and 12th instant; it compelled me, therefore, as had been previously intimated to your Excellency, to concert with the naval authorities the measures necessary for enforcing redress.

Having waited until 1 o'clock, the Commodore in command of Her Majesty's Naval Forces in this river passed the barrier in a powerful steamer, and anchoring her by the Leih-tih Forts, came on to Canton in another steamer, and having selected one of the largest junks from the fleet of Chinese war vessels at anchor below the Hae-choo Fort (Dutch Folly), hauled her out from among them, and took possession of her.

I have to inform your Excellency that a naval force is now before the forts at Whampoa, those of the Leih-tih barrier, and also at this city, and to remind you that the matter which has compelled this menace remains still unsettled. Deeply is it to be regretted that it should have been occasioned by the disregard, on your Excellency's part, of reason, justice, and the obligations of the Treaty.

I have, &c.

I HAVE received your despatch, dated yesterday, communicating to me the seizure of an Imperial junk in conformity with instructions given for your guidance, should the Viceroy refuse the required reparation.

I have to express my entire satisfaction with your proceedings and those

of the Commodore on this occasion.

D

I send you copy of two despatches I have written to the Imperial Commissioner, one dated 12th (whose receipt you do not acknowledge), and the other this day, which I inclose for delivery.

You will of course take care that the apology of the Imperial Commissioner, and the promise that the British flag shall be respected in future, be in writing, and not conveyed to you through any irregular or unofficial channel. I have, &c., (Signed)

JOHN BOWRING.

Sir,

Inclosure 4 in No. 4.

Sir J. Bowring to Commissioner Yeh.

Hong Kong, October 12, 1856.

I HAVE received a communication from the Consul at Canton, stating the officers of your Excellency have boarded a vessel bearing the British flag, and in violation of Treaty law, without any reference to the Consul, carried away sundry persons, and lowered the flag which was flying on board.

I cannot pass over this outrage, and must require an apology for it, and an assurance that such conduct will not be repeated. I have instructed the Consul to wait forty-eight hours for your Excellency's reply; and, if it be not satisfactory, Her Majesty's forces are instructed to take the measures which the urgency of the case requires.

I have, &c.

Hong Kong, October 16, 1856.

I INFORMED your Excellency by my communication of the 12th instant, that unless prompt reparation were afforded for the outrage committed on the lorcha "Arrow," bearing the British flag, the naval authorities would receive instructions to enforce the observance of the conditions of the Treaty which have been violated by officers of your Excellency.

I regret to find that your Excellency did not comply with my reasonable requirements, and that in consequence an Imperial junk has been captured by the Naval Forces of Her Britannic Majesty.

I trust that the measure I have felt compelled to take will suffice to show to your Excellency the grave consequences which may follow any further hesitation on your part to fulfil the Treaty engagements, and prevent those ulterior proceedings which I may otherwise feel it necessary to adopt.

I have, &c. (Signed)

JOHN BOWRING.

No. 5.

Sir J. Bowring to the Earl of Clarendon.-(Received January 3.)

(Extract.)

Hong Kong, October 23, 1856. IN continuation of my despatch dated the 16th instant, I have now to report to your Lordship the events which have occurred since the date of that communication.

No satisfaction having been obtained from the Imperial Commissioner, Mr. Consul Parkes, wisely judging that a conference with the naval Commander-inchief and myself would be very useful, came down to Hong Kong on the morning of the 20th instant, and after a long and interesting discussion, it was decided that Mr. Parkes should give in writing a succinct account of what had occurred, and that such suggestions as obtained the general concurrence of Sir Michael Seymour and myself should be embodied in a despatch, to be acknowledged by me, and which should serve as a general outline of proceedings intended to be taken. I beg to refer to Mr. Parkes' communication of 20th instant, and my answer thereto.

It was thought that, as the measures to be adopted required secresy in order to ensure their success, and as preparations for my departure, and the needful arrangements for the temporary transfer of the Government of Hong Kong during my absence, could hardly be made without more publicity than would be desirable, it was better I should remain in the colony, having previously decided with the Admiral on the line of action to be pursued in the various contingencies that might present themselves. His Excellency His Excellency departed in Her Majesty's ship "Calcutta " the 21st, at break of day.

on

On the 23rd instant I received from Mr. Consul Parkes the despatch dated 22nd, which, with its sundry inclosures, I now forward. By the same steamer two communications reached me from the Imperial Commissioner, both dated 21st, the one being a reply to my letter of the 12th, the other to that of 16th instant (forwarded to your Lordship as Inclosures Nos. 4 and 5 in my despatch of the 16th instant). Translations of these unsatisfactory communications I now inclose.

Late on the evening of the 23rd, the despatch reached me dated same day, conveying the communication to Rear-Admiral Sir Michael Seymour that the requirements sent to the Imperial Commissioner had not been fulfilled; and I received at the same time the despatch from the Admiral written in the morning advising me that the four Barrier Forts had been captured and dismantled without any casualty on the side of Her Majesty's naval forces.

I regret to say that even this state of things did not produce submission on the part of the Imperial Commissioner, and on the morning of the 24th Mr. Consul Parkes' despatch of the 23rd (dated 4 P.M.) brought me copy of a further communication he had made to his Excellency Yeh.

On the 26th instant I received from Her Majesty's Consul the despatches dated 24th and 25th, and from the naval Commander-in-chief of the later date, announcing further completely successful operations against the forts in the immediate neighbourhood of the city of Canton, accompanied by no loss of life on our side, and small resistance on the part of the Chinese; but a communication from the Imperial Commissioner speaks of the "people" not submitting to the proceedings of the British naval forces. Every measure will be taken to show the "people" that any misfortunes which may happen are attributable to the Mandarins.

The despatch from Sir Michael Seymour dated 26th was received on the 27th, and as I had an intimation that a small number of Sappers would be exceedingly useful to assist the operations intended, I desired the Military Commandant of Hong Kong to provide a small body from the garrison. Seventeen men, under the command of Captain Rotton of the Royal Artillery, were immediately dispatched in a Portuguese steamer about to depart for Canton.

October 27, 1856.-A little before midnight I received the despatch from Mr. Parkes, dated same day, conveying a communication from the Imperial Commissioner and the Consul's reply. To Mr. Parkes I replied, as per inclosure, requesting him, should a proper opportunity offer, to remind the Imperial Commissioner, who had referred to the proceedings of Sir John Davis in 1847, that if, instead of being

shamefully violated, the engagements then entered into by the Chinese authorities had been honourably kept, the present calamities would never have occurred.

October 29, 1856.-Yesterday passed without my receiving any communication from the Consul; but this morning the despatch of the previous day arrived, bringing further reports of the military operations of the naval Commander-in-chief, and two documents emanating from the Imperial Commissioner, one addressed to the United States' Consul, announcing that he must "now engage in war" with the English, and the other a proclamation addressed to the "military and people, householders, and others," calling upon them "to exterminate the troublous English villains," and offering a reward of thirty dollars for every life that should be taken. Mr. Parkes' despatch affords ground to hope that the people are beginning to estimate the perilous character of the contest in which the Viceroy has so imprudently engaged them.

October 30, 1856.-A despatch from the Admiral, dated yesterday, brings down to that date the account of his operations. I find that incendiary placards are posted against the walls of Canton, calling upon the people to destroy the English barbarians; but I learn from many quarters that the Chinese are beginning to doubt whether their city is so impregnable as they have hitherto deemed it to be, and whether the "barbarians" are so easily to be exterminated as the common people have been taught to believe.

I have also received a despatch from Mr. Parkes, dated yesterday, reporting that he had conveyed to the Imperial Commissioner, through a Mandarin of rank, our demands to hold personal intercourse with the Canton authorities; and stating that overtures had been made to the Admiral on the part of the rebels to lend their cooperation. I have here to state that advances have been made to me by the same party here, and I have refused to receive or allow to enter the port with his fleet a person claiming to hold an Admiral's commission from the Nankin insurgents.

In the course of the day, 30th, a second despatch was received from Mr. Parkes (also dated 29th instant) announcing that the city and the public offices had been entered by Her Majesty's marine forces, with the casualty of only five marines wounded, all proceedings having been characterized by the same prudence and courage which have been displayed from the commencement of action to the present hour.

October 31, 1856.-I have to-day received from Sir Michael Seymour his account of the successful breach of the city wall, the entrance of our scamen and marines into the city, the destruction of one of the gates, and the visiting and inspecting the public offices of the Imperial Commissioner, with a small loss of life. I lament to report that no evidence is yet given of any disposition on the part of the Viceroy to enter upon amicable negotiations. In view of the responsibility he has incurred, and which would probably lead to his degradation and decapitation, he may conclude that his position cannot be deteriorated. He is reported to be inaccessible to the representations of his subordinates.

The gentry and scholars of Canton have put forth a public announcement, of which the materials no doubt were furnished by the authorities. It contains, however, a strange admission that the military officers employed in the search for robbers "do not understand Treaties."

November 1, 1856.-Mr. Consul Parkes' despatch of yesterday, with its inclosures, will give your Lordship information of events which have taken place at Canton. The removal of the Chinese houses to the north of the factories will secure them against that danger (from fire) which has always been a source of anxiety, and though the contemplation of the loss of property by innocent parties occasioned by the accidental fires which have been the consequence of these hostile operations, is a melancholy one, I cannot but hope that the ultimate benefit produced by this description of adversity will more than compensate for the transient evil. I trust the letter of the Admiral (Inclosure 45) to the Imperial Commissioner may at last awaken him to a sense of the perilous policy he is pursuing, and I am most anxious to appear in the field in order to terminate by amicable negotiations the mischiefs and miseries of the present state of affairs.

A second despatch from Mr. Parkes conveys a proclamation from the Imperial Commissioner to the people, and as I have reason to believe that his Excellency Yeh will propose to refer the question of opening the city again to the Emperor, I have in my reply instructed Mr. Parkes to consent to no such reference.

November 2, 1856.-The communication from Mr. Parkes of yesterday incloses translation of a letter from the Imperial Commissioner to the Admiral, repeating

his erroneous statements as to the facts connected with the seizure of the men on board the "Arrow" and pretending that Sir George Bonham had, by his interdiction against British subjects entering Canton in 1849, abandoned the right of admission established by Treaties. I forward copy of my reply to the Consul. I need not say that the pretensions of his Excellency Yeh are a mere subterfuge, and that he cannot be ignorant of the correspondence with his predecessors on the subject of our right to enter the city, still less can he have forgotten my communications to himself on this matter, which have always repudiated the averment that Her Majesty's Government had ever abandoned the right recognized and confirmed by the Emperor in the Treaty of 1846, and which the Imperial Commissioner Keying agreed with Sir John Davis in April 1847, should be brought into full effect in April 1849.

As I learn every attempt is made at Canton to represent the British authorities as in league with the rebel party, I beg to forward translation of a communication brought to the Government offices by a deputation the day before yesterday. The document was delivered to the Colonial Secretary, I having refused to hold any personal intercourse with the parties, or in any way to take a part in the intestine quarrels of the Chinese people.

A second despatch, dated yesterday, has reached me from Mr. Parkes. It brings the Admiral's reply to the Imperial Commissioner, of which I doubt not your Lordship will concur in my approval. As to the application for 200 Chinese coolies to assist in the works of demolition, I immediately summoned the Executive Council of the colony, and we were unanimous in the opinion that it would be undesirable to send up this contingent. I have given some of the reasons in my despatch to Mr. Parkes. A large proportion of the Hong Kong population is affiliated to the secret societies in China, and the probable mischiefs resulting from their presence under official sanction would, in my judgment, counterbalance any possible good the class required, principally belong to the Haka races, who are at deadly enmity with the Cantonese, and whose outbreaks would with difficulty be

restrained.

November 4, 1856.-I forward copy of the despatch dated yesterday from Mr. Consul Parkes, and of my answer to the same. I hope that the gentry and the people of Canton will be enabled to form a true estimate of the realities of their position, and that their pressure may act upon the Viceroy.

I afterwards received the communication from the Admiral of the same date announcing the resumption of offensive operations. Up to the last accounts no symptoms of surrender are exhibited by his Excellency Yeh.

November 5, 1856.--I have received a despatch from Mr. Consul Parkes, dated yesterday, conveying a communication from the Imperial Commissioner to the naval Commander-in-chief, with the reply. I need scarcely repeat to your Lordship that it is quite impossible the Chinese authorities should be ignorant of the fact that Her Majesty's Government never abandoned nor authorized the abandonment of our right to enter the city of Canton. I accompany copy of my letter on this subject to the Consul dated this day.

I have also to forward copy of a letter from Sir Michael Seymour, requiring the presence of a certain number of coolies, and of my answer thereto, consenting to their being forwarded. I consider the urgent request of the Admiral, with his accompanying reasons, sufficient to outweigh the objections to this measure, and hope your Lordship will approve of the conditions which I have attached to this somewhat questionable proceeding.

I have also to-day received from Mr. Chinese Secretary Wade, a synopsis of the most important documents which have been put forward by the Chinese in justification of their proceedings; and a temperate statement addressed to the natives by my directions, explaining to them the true state of things, and deploring the necessity of these hostile demonstrations, which have been forced upon us by the Imperial Commissioner. This document I propose to circulate in the colony as well as in Canton and its neighbourhood.

November 5, 4 P.M.-Captain Cowper having come down from Canton, for the purpose of engaging coolies to assisting the removal the of ruins near the factories, has found so many difficulties in accomplishing the object that he has abandoned it, and I confess, as your Lordship will see by my communication of this day to the naval Commander-in-chief, I by no means regret that the project has fallen through.

November 6, 1856.-As it is of great importance that the Chinese should be