Inclosure 3 in No. 90.

Consul Parkes to the Imperial Commissioner.

Canton, July 4, 1856.

THE British merchants Johnson and Whittall have formally represented to me that, on the afternoon of the 2nd instant, they took one of their usual rides in the direction of San-yuen-lee, outside the north gate of the city, and met with no molestation either on going or returning, until it began to grow dusk, and they had arrived within the Te-sze-poo (the fourth ward near the west gate), on their way home, when they noticed that the people were much more uncivil than they have usually been of late, and one man among them, grasping a stone in his hand, struck Johnson with it in the back, but avoided arrest by immediately escaping. The said gentlemen were riding at the time only at a walking pace the people continued to pelt them with stones and bricks, and to hoot at them until they reached the factories.

In bringing this unprovoked attack to the notice of your Excellency I have to state my conviction that the ill-will which occasioned it, has been awakened by the very reprehensible placard which I forwarded to your Excellency in my letter of the 1st instant, and greatly, indeed, do I regret that the fears I then expressed should so soon have proved well founded; that the authorities should have apparently lent their sanction to so wrong and dangerous a proceeding by permitting the sale of the placard in the public streets. As far as I have been able to learn, the people in the villages know nothing of its having been issued, and it is only the inhabitants of this city and suburbs that commit the acts of violence of which I now complain.

If these are to continue, and foreigners should defend themselves, as they cannot be expected to avoid doing, when thus assailed, where are these evils to end? Will the Chinese Government, bound both by Treaties and by their obligations as the constituted authorities of the country, protect them, or are foreigners themselves to devise means for their safety?

The measures which your Excellency sees fit to adopt in reference to the two complaints I have now had to submit to you, may afford a solution of this inquiry.

It cannot be difficult for your Excellency, with the powerful means at your disposal, to trace the offenders in both these instances, and prevent a repetition of such offences; and I need not add, that the exercise of good faith on your Excellency's part will be most cordially appreciated by his Excellency Her Majesty's Plenipotentiary, to whom it is my duty to report these particulars. I have, &c.

I HAVE to instruct you to convey to Mr. Parkes my approval of the letters which he addressed to the Imperial Commissioner, and of which copies are inclosed in your despatches of the 3rd and 8th of July last, upon the subject of the incendiary placard which had been circulated in Canton, tending to exasperate the Cantonese against foreigners.

I am, &c.

No. 92.

Sir J. Bowring to the Earl of Clarendon.-(Received September 15.)

My Lord,

Hong Kong, July 17, 1856.

I HAVE to report to your Lordship that Mr. Cunningham, a citizen of the United States, has died in consequence of a wound received in a riot which took place at Foo-chow on the 3rd instant. Particulars of the event will be found in the despatch, dated 4th instant, from Mr. Vice-Consul Hale, of which I inclose a copy, as well as of my reply.

Mr. Consul Medhurst was absent at Shanghae when this sad event occurred. I am happy to say he has now returned to his post, and writes to me that his health is greatly improved; so that I hope he will no longer wish to leave China for the present.

Your Lordship will observe that I quite concur with Mr. Vice-Consul Hale in his opinion as to the dangers to the public peace, and to the interests of commerce, which are associated with the presence of the lawless population of Canton wherever they introduce themselves.

I have, &c.

(Signed)

JOHN BOWRING.

Inclosure 1 in No. 92.

Vice-Consul Hale to Sir J. Bowring.

Foo-chow-foo, July 4, 1856.

Sir, IN the absence of Mr. Consul Medhurst it is my painful duty to report to your Excellency the particulars of a most lamentable affray which took place yesterday afternoon at Nan-hae, and in which Mr. Cunningham, a citizen of the United States, received his mortal wound, under the following distressing circumstances:

Whilst Messrs. Augustine Heard and Co., an American firm established at this port, were removing furniture, &c., to their new bungalow, a few potatoes were dropped on the road from one of the packages, which a Foo-chew lad picked up, and was carrying them away, when a Canton man belonging to Messrs. A. Heard and Co.'s hong, and the private servant of Mr. Cunningham, struck the boy and secured him by the tail. The lad explained that "he had picked them up, and did not steal them." The Canton man, however, kept hold of him, and was dragging him to the hong, when the inhabitants made a rush and rescued the lad. The Canton boy made for Messrs. A. Heard and Co.'s house, and again came out armed with a double sword. The crowd, seeing this, retired, pursued by the Canton boy, who seized the first man he found running. This person, with his uncle, were in a necessary house, and hearing the rush and disturbance attempted to get out of the way, but the Canton man dragged the nephew into Messrs. A. Heard and Co.'s house, followed by his uncle, who represented that they were both peaceful citizens and were in no way concerned with the disturbance, and prayed the release of his nephew. The Canton man, however, likewise seized the uncle, and had them both tied in the house. The mob outside cried out at the injustice, and, arming themselves, made a rush to rescue these two men, when the Canton man took up a doublebarrelled gun and advanced outside the gate; the crowd retired before him; he fired, and wounded two men ; the crowd thereupon immediately turned, finding that the musket was discharged, surrounded and seized him, at the same time severely beat him.

Somewhere about this time, Mr. Comstock, the resident partner of Messrs. A. Heard and Co., passed by, and observing the Canton boy attached to his hong being maltreated, went to inquire the cause, and placing his hand on one of the ringleader's shoulders, asked him to desist and let the boy go free; whereupon Mr. Comstock was knocked down, and on rising was knocked down a second time; he then appears to have thought it prudent to make his escape

from an infuriated mob, and took to his heels, amidst the yells, and shouts, and pelting of the surrounding people, and made the best of his way to the United States' Consul to seek redress.

In the meanwhile, notice having been conveyed to Mr. Cunningham that his servant had been taken by the mob, he seized his revolver and ran to the spot, followed a short time after by Mr. Vaughan, a tea-taster to the same hong, who, on reaching the place, found Mr. Cunningham prostrate on the ground, with a severe stab in his side, and surrounded by many of the mob, who were beating him over the abdomen with heavy bamboos. Mr. Vaughan then drew his swordcane and made a thrust at one man; he then made a point at another, when the sword broke short off at the hilt; this, however, was sufficient to rescue Mr. Cunningham, who, getting up, ran towards the gate of the new bungalow (about sixty yards from where he was wounded), but just before reaching the door he fell to the ground from loss of blood, and was carried into the hong by Mr. Vaughan and others.

At this time all the shops in the neighbourhood were closed; and at 3 o'clock P. M., Mr. Jones, the United States' Consul, returned with Mr. Comstock, accompanied by several American citizens, who were armed with rifles, revolvers, and cutlasses. Mr. Jones likewise enlisted into his service, without any reference to me or Captain Barnard, some few seamen who were lent for the purpose of decorating his rooms for the 4th July festivities, and to whom swords were supplied. At about half-past 3 o'clock, whilst sitting in my office, one of the seamen came into the room, stating that he was desired by Mr. Jones to present his compliments to me, and beg that I would immediately send him any assistance in my power, as he was in great danger: this was the first intimation I received of the matter. I immediately proceeded, in company with Captain Barnard and Mr. Gingell, to the scene of action, and Captain Barnard ordered his boat's crew to supply themselves with sticks, and to accompany us. On arriving at the place we found Mr. Jones standing on the spot where it is believed Mr. Cunningham was stabbed, as there was a large pool of blood close by. The street was kept clear for about 200 yards by some twelve or fifteen Americans, and four or five seamen of the "Racehorse" without arms; the mob numbering some hundreds, and in a very excited state. On inquiring 1 found that Mr. Jones had sent for the Hae-fang, who arrived in about half-an-hour after ourselves. He was told by the United States' Consul what had taken place, and that most ample redress would be required from the hands of the authorities, as one of his countrymen had been seriously wounded.

Some marks of blood having been traced to the gate of one of the temples in the immediate vicinity, the Americans, believing Mr. Cunningham's Canton servant-boy might possibly have been murdered and taken inside, as it was known that he had been seized by the mob, urged on Mr. Jones to have the gate opened. Many applications were made to the Hae-fang on the subject, but without effect; at length some one saw through the chinks of the door what appeared to be two dead bodies stretched out. Mr. Jones gave orders for the gate to be forced open, which was found to be strongly barricaded, and the two still bleeding bodies presented a horrible spectacle, the one having been wounded with small shot, and the other, almost lifeless, with his head most frightfully disfigured. The whole matter was then left in the hands of the Chinese authorities for investigation, and all the foreigners present returned to their homes.

It is now my sad duty to inform your Excellency that the wound received by Mr. Cunningham proved fatal last night, about ten hours after its infliction; the poor fellow wished to be raised in his bed for a particular purpose, and in five minutes afterwards, being placed in a recumbent position, he died without pain and without a struggle, I presume from severe internal hæmorrhage. This, of course, has cast a most melancholy gloom over the place.

I do not apprehend any further disturbance, but as there is still much excitement prevailing, and fearing that British subjects might, by their sympathy, mix themselves up in the affair, I deemed it prudent to circulate the inclosed notification for their guidance, which, I trust, will receive your Excellency's approval; and I am very thankful to report that this is purely an American affair, and that no Englishman was present, or in any way implicated in the matter, excepting Mr. Vaughan, who is attached to an American firm, and who rescued Mr. Cunningham from being killed on the spot.

I cannot close this despatch without reference to the number of idle Canton vagabonds who are now settled Foo-chow without employment; and as these men are detested by the natives of the place, I venture to offer, as my humble opinion, that if some steps are not immediately taken for their removal, there will be endless quarrels among the population, which will certainly endanger the safety of foreign property.

British Consulate, Foo-chow-foo, July 4, 1856.

AS much excitement continues among the native population, consequent on the lamented death of one of the foreign members of this community, which may occasion a further collision, Her Majesty's Vice-Consul in charge hereby notifies to all foreign residents at Foo-chow-foo, that the Commander of Her Britannic Majesty's naval force, stationed at this port, will protect them to the utmost of his power. But at the same it is his duty to caution all British subjects that he cannot be responsible for any undue interference on their part, which may embroil them, and trusts they will see the propriety of refraining from any act that may lead to more melancholy consequences.

(Signed)

FRED. HOWE HALE,
Vice-Consul in charge.

Inclosure 3 in No. 92.

Sir J. Bowring to Consul Medhurst.

Sir,

Hong Kong, July 17, 1856. I HAVE to acknowledge the receipt of Mr. Vice-Consul Hale's despatch dated 4th instant, giving an account of the unhappy tumult during which Mr. Cunningham, a United States' citizen, lost his life.

I have to express my approval of the steps taken by Mr. Hale, in reference to this unfortunate affair.

My experience leads me quite to concur with Mr. Hale in opinion that the presence of the loose Cantonese population in all the ports is a source of danger and disorder, and I should be glad to find the authorities more alive to the perils which are associated with their presence.

I have, &c.

Sir J. Bowring to the Earl of Clarendon.—(Received September 15.)

My Lord,

Hong Kong, July 19, 1856.

SIR GEORGE BONHAM was instructed, in a despatch from the Foreign Office, dated 23rd October, 1851, to make inquiry into and report on the fate of a Roman Catholic missionary, named Schoffler, who was put to death by the mandarins in the Province of Tonquin, particulars of which were forwarded in despatch of 24th December, 1851.

Having received from the Procureur-Général of the French Missions in China an account of the murder of a French missionary, named Chapdelaine,

in the Province of Kwang-se, which is immediately under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Commissioner at Canton, I have the honour to forward a copy of M. Libois' letter for your Lordship's information.

Mon cher M. Bowring, Hong Kong, 12 Juillet, 1856. JE viens d'apprendre que M. Chapdelaine, missionnaire Français, de notre société, a été mis à mort le 29 Février dernier, par le mandarin de Si-lin, hien situé à l'ouest de Quang-si, près des frontières du Yunnan. Arrêté le 24 Fevrier, il fut de suite conduit au tribunal: le mandarin commença par lui faire donner 100 soufflets avec une semelle de cuir; il lui ordonna ensuite de se coucher sur le ventre et lui fit appliquer 300 coups de rottin. Comme pendant ce double supplice, M. Chapdelaine n'avait proféré aucune plainte, ni fait entendre aucun soupir, le mandarin, attribuant sa patience à la magie, fit égorger un chien et ordonna d'asperger de son sang le pauvre patient, pour rompre le prétendu charme. Le mandarin ayant appris le lendemain que M. Chapdelaine pouvait encore marcher, il ordonna de le frapper jusqu'à extinction de forces; quand il fut bien constaté qu'il ne pouvait plus se remuer, on lui mit une espèce de cangue à ressort qui le tenait comme sous un pressoir; puis on le suspendit dans cet état. Enfin, quand on le vit sur le point d'expirer, on le décapita. Sa tête fut suspendue à un arbre, mais bientôt les enfants la détachèrent à coups de pierres, et elle fut dévorée par les chiens et par les pourceaux. Pour le corps, les uns disent qu'il a été enterré, d'autres qu'il a été jeté à la voirie; mais auparavant il fut ouvert pas les bourreaux pour en arracher le cœur; ils le coupèrent par morceaux, le firent cuire avec de la graisse, puis ils s'en régalèrent. Deux des néophytes ont été décapités avec lui, pour avoir refusé de renoncer à leur religion; quartorze ou quinze autres étaient encore dans les prisons de cette ville à cause de leur religion.

Voilà, mon cher monsieur, comment s'observent les Traités en Chine, et comment se conduisent les chefs d'une nation que l'on entend quelquefois vanter comme l'une des plus policées du monde.

Je suis, &c.

P.S.-Au départ du courrier, les rébelles commençaient à se montrer du

côté de Si-lin.

No. 94.

Sir,

The Earl of Clarendon to Sir J. Bowring.

Foreign Office, September 25, 1856. I HAVE received your despatch of July 17, and its inclosures, reporting the death of a citizen of the United States, from a wound received in a riot which took place in the streets of Foo-chow; and I have to instruct you to convey to Mr. Vice-Consul Hale my approval of the steps which he took on that occasion, in order to prevent the undue interference of British subjects in any further disturbances that might result therefrom.

(Signed)

I am,

&c.

CLARENDON.