tobacco a mere matter of taste-may chance to ruin one. The doom of China is staked, and may come to be determined by a cause so really insignificant, if the real cause, as the intemperance of opium-eaters or opiumsmokers. High Commissioner Lin may congratulate himself on the immortality achieved for his name; but it maybe, like the melancholy immortality of the last of the Romans, founded on the expiring glories and the liberty of his country; or like the notoriety, not less immortal, of him who daringly fired that temple of wondrous propor tions, which to create was equally beyond the range of his genius, as the elevation of his soul to feel all its grandeur. In one evil hour the rule, hitherto almost unvarying, of Chinese policy, has been violently overset by Imperial Commissioner Lin; and insolence, before confined chiefly to external forms, and petty vexations, and therefore repulsive and annoying more than deeply hurtful, has been exchanged for overt aggression, with circumstantial aggravation of injuries soatrocious, as no longer to leave open one avenue by which peace can be preserved even for the sake of profit, and by the sacrifice, too long submitted to, of national honour. In our trading relations with China -for political we have had none-we have been content to crouch to tyranny in its pettiest and most degrading shapes to invite oppression by slavish submission in every conceivable form. And we have found that submission the most patient, and endurance the most passive, under insult and insolence accumulated for centuries, have not sufficed either to purchase friendship or to conciliate forbearance. The Celestial Empire, like the laws of the Medes and Persians, remains unchanged and unchangeable ever; and the barbarians of the "evil eye," in return for prostration the most abject, to caprice and exactions the most outrageous and despotic, reflected with concomitant circumstances of offensive exaggeration from the precincts of the Imperial Court by subordinate provincial delegation, are spurned with the same apparent contempt, and trampled on with as little ceremony, as when Great Britain was no otherwise known in China than by a few straggling traders, whose traffic in detail and amount was compara tively that of hucksters rather than of merchants. The consummation and climax of all have been reached at length, in the wholesale spoliation of British merchants the imprisonment of British subjects like the vilest of felons-the unheard. of violation of all international rights, in the forcible detention of the person, and threats against the life, of the British representative-and, finally, in overt acts of hostility against British shipping, and the murder of British seamen. Such is the final catastrophe which prolonged perseverance, in one uniform course of conduct, as mean as mercenary, has not succeeded in averting. It was long foreseen by every man of common sagacity, and would have been effectively provided against, and remedied on the instant, by any government of the slightest pretensions to ability and patriotism. After a course of wanton aggression, continued unremittingly by the Chinese, and ending, as described, in the persecution, the loss of liberty, the robbery, and, lastly, in the bloodshed of British subjects, one British ship of war was found by chance in the Chinese waters, as the ineffectual messenger of protection and vengeance, disgracefully chased off by a few war-junks, and thus inflaming the arrogance which was meant to be chastised or overawed. At the eleventh hour, indeed, we are told that the sleeping thunders of Great Britain are arousing, and the bolts of vengeance in preparation; that Lord Minto is refurbishing old ships long in ordinary-starving other stations by recalling ships in service extraordinary, and, in striving to patch up one hole in the far East, leaving and making other gaps in the West or the South. For six months bygone the ports have resounded with the busy hum of warlike armament; but as yet we know of two or three men of war only, as indicated by a flourish of trumpets which of yore would have been held to signal thirty or forty at the least. So poor and impoverished have we become, that not only are we forced to borrow ships from one service for another, but even a corps of a few hundreds of marines cannot be furnished for China without first dismantling Passages. The opium trade between the East Indies and China, is not so recent of origin as commonly believed; although its increase of late years may be said to have kept pace to a certain extent with that of the consumption of tobacco, gin, and other spirits or narcotics in this country, to which, in its effects, it may be most nearly likened. Before the year 1767, says an Indian journalist, quoted in the Chinese Repository, the import into China rarely exceeded 200 chests; in that year it reached 1000, and so continued for several years, the traffic being wholly in the hands of the Portuguese. It was in 1773 that the East India Company first made a small adventure in opium to China, and in 1780 a depot of the article was established in Lark's Bay, south of Macao. The trade does not then appear to have been carried on to any advantage, although it was still continued. following is a portion of the returns of the produce of Bengal, so far as verified by the sales of the India Company at Calcutta, commencing with 1798-99 to 1836-37; the return, year by year, would take up too much space, nor is it necessary. The whole quantity produced in Bengal in 1830, about one-third was thus shipped to ports in the Eastern Archipelago. In the opium districts of Bengal, the plant is cultivated by the Ryots on account of the India Government, and equitably paid at a certain rate of remuneration. At Bombay, it is taxed in a duty of 125 rupees per chest. It is sufficient for the present to say, that the total revenue derived from it, which, in 1832, was equal to £1,000,000, exceeded £2,000,000 in 1837, and in the year following may be taken to have reached to nearly £3,000,000. With these preliminary remarks, we may now proceed to a concise historical sketch of the arbitrary proceedings of the past year, and down to the present time, which the Chinese Government have had recourse to for putting a final stop to the introduction of opium, if not to its consumption; with the causes ostensibly alleged, or the pretexts fraudulently advanced in vindication; with the real but less notorious grounds which lie at the bottom of all. On the 10th of March, the Imperial Commissioner Lin made his appearance at Canton, and on the 17th issued an edict to the Hoppo, to the effect that, "pending the stay of the High Commissioner in Canton, and while the consequences of his investigations, both to foreigners and natives, were yet uncertain, all foreign merchants were forbidden to go down to Macao;" that is, they were detained prisoners at Canton. On the following day, the 18th, Lin addressed a proclamation to "Foreigners," of which, as the basis of all subsequent measures, the more important points are extracted as follow: Proclamation to Foreigners, from the Imperial Commissioner, H. E. Lin, (dated 18th March 1839.) "Lin, a high officer of the Chinese empire, now specially appointed an imperial envoy, a president of the board of war, and viceroy of Hoo Kwang, hereby proclaims to the foreigners of every nation, that they may thoroughly know and understand. Whereas ye, the said foreigners, coming to Canton to trade, have usually reaped immense profits: therefore it is that your ships, which in former years amounted annually to no more than several tens, now exceed a hundred and several tens, which arrive here every year, "Your import goods, no matter what they be, with us find a consumption: and respecting the cargo which you may wish to purchase in return, there is nothing in which you may not adventure. "I would like to ask you, if, in the wide earth under heaven, you can find such another profit-yielding market as this is? "Our great Chinese Emperor views all mankind with equal benevolence; and therefore it is that he has thus graciously permitted you to trade, and become, as it were, steeped to the lips in gain. If this port of Canton, however, were to be shut against you, how could you scheme to reap profit more? Moreover, our tea and rhubarb are articles which ye foreigners from afar cannot preserve your lives without yet year by year we allow you to export both beyond seas, without the slightest feeling of grudge on our part. Never was imperial goodness greater than this! Formerly the prohibitions of our empire might still be considered indulgent, and therefore it was that from all our ports the sycee leaked out as the opium rushed in: now, however, the great Emperor, on hearing of it, actually quivers with indignation, and before he will stay his hand, the evil must be completely and entirely done away with. "Respecting our own subjects, he who opens an opium-shop, or who sells opium, is immediately put to death; and it is also in agitation whether or not the mere smoker may not be accorded the extreme penalty of the law; and ye foreigners who come to our central land to reside, ought in reason to submit to our statutes, as do the natives of China themselves. "I find that ye have now anchored at Lintin and other places many store-ships, in which are several tens of thousands of chests of opium. "Your intention is to dispose of them clandestinely; but ye remember not how strict we are in making captures at this port: how, then will ye find people who will convey it for you any more? And, seizures being made with equal severity through every province of the empire, what other place have ye where ye dare to sell it off? This time opium is indeed prohibited, and cannot circulate; every man knows that it is a deadly poison; why, then, should ye heap it up in your foreign store-ships, and keep them there long anchored on the great sea; not only thereby wasting much money by their heavy expenses, but exposing them to the chance of storms, of fire, and other accidents which no man can foresee ? I, therefore, uniting all these circumstances, now issue this my edict, and, when it reaches the said foreigners, let them immediately, and with due respect, in conformity thereto, take all the opium in these said store-ships and deliver it up to the officers of Government, and allow the Hong merchants to examine clearly which man by name gives up so many chests; the total weight, so many catties and taels; and let (the Hong merchants) make out a distinct list to that effect, and hand it up to the officers to be checked, that these officers may openly take possession of the whole, and have it burned and destroyed, so as to cut off its power of doing mischief; a single atom must not be hidden or concealed; and, at one and the same time, let a duly prepared bond be drawn up, written in the Chinese and foreign character, stating clearly that the ships afterwards to arrive here shall never, to all eternity, dare to bring any opium. Should any ship after this bring it, then her whole cargo on board is to be confiscated, and her people put to death; and that they will willingly undergo it as the penalty of their crimes : all this to be stated clearly in the said bond. 66 Upon this occasion, I, the Imperial Commissioner, being at Peking, in my own person received the Emperor's commands: the law, when once uttered, must be put in force: moreover, having brought with me these orders, and this great irresponsible authority for prevention, they must be executed to the benefit of public business, and may not be compared with that careless examination and mode of acting that belong to ordinary matters. If the stream of opium cannot be cut off, I cannot return from this. I am sworn to have the same beginning and end (Anglice, to stand or fall) by the opium question. There is no such thing as suspending my labours in the middle. Moreover, I find that the indignation of the people of the inner land is almost to a man roused against you; and if ye foreigners will not reform and repent if profit continues to be your sole objectthen it is not only with the majesty of our troops, and the abundance of our forces by land and water, that we may sweep you off, but we have merely to call upon the common people of the land to rise, and these would be more than sufficient utterly to annihilate you. Further, we should, as a temporary expedient, close the ships' holds, and as a final one, shut up the port; and what difficulty would there be in cutting off your commerce for ever? Our Chinese empire covers many tens of thousands of miles in extent; every sort of produce is there heaped up and running over, we have no occasion to borrow any thing from you foreigners; but, I fear, that were we to stop the intercourse, the plans for doing business (and obtaining profit) of every one of your countries would at that moment come to an end! Ye foreign traders, who have come from distant countries, how is it that you have not yet found out the difference between the pains of toil and the sweets of ease?--the great distance betwixt the power of the few and the power of the many? In reference to those vagabond foreigners who reside in the foreign hongs, and are in the habit of selling opium, I already know their names full well; and those good foreigners who do not deal in opium, I am no less acquainted with them also. Those who can point out the vagabond foreigners, and compel them to deliver up their opium-those who first step forward and give the bond before spokon of, these are the good foreigners, and I, the imperial envoy, will speedily bestow upon them some distinguishing mark of my approbation. Woe and happiness, disgrace or honour, are in your hands! It is ye yourselves who select for yourselves. "I have now ordered the Hong merchants to go to your factories and explain the matter to you; and I have limited three days, within which they must let me have a reply, and at the same time produce the duly prepared bond afore mentioned. "Wait till I have consulted the viceroy and fooyen, when we shall clearly proclaim the time within which the opium must be delivered up. "Do not indulge in idle delay and expectation, which will only lead to a vain repentance. A special edict.-Taoukwang, 19th year, 2d moon, 4th day." On the 22d of March, Superintendent Elliot, with these facts before him, ordered all the " ships of her Majesty's subjects at the outer anchorages" to "proceed forthwith to Hong Kong, and, hoisting their national colours, be prepared to resist any act of aggression on the part of the Chinese Government." On the 23d, he issued another public notice, enjoining all British subjects to make preparations for removing their property on board certain vessels at Whampoa; to transmit him a list of all claims and debts against Chinese subjects, with estimates of loss and damage incurred; and stating that he should demand passports for all such persons as thought fit to proceed outside (Canton) within the space of ten days, (they were at the time all actually prisoners.) On the 24th of March the Superintendent went in person to Canton, and, to use his own words "Immediately proposed to put an end to the state of difficulty 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 by day and night before his gates, under threats of privation of food, water, and life. Was this,' he adds, 'becoming treatment to the officer of a friendly nation, recognised by the Emperor, and who had always performed his duty peaceably and irreproachably, striving in all things to afford satisfaction to the provincial government?'" For the prevention of "some shocking catastrophe " e" on the "person of an imprisoned foreign officer and two hundred defenceless merchants," he required, moreover, the delivery of all the opium in their possession, on board ships either within or without the har.. bour, to be surrendered to Commissioner Lin. The opium was accordingly given up, under duresse and threats of forfeiture of life, to the amount of 20,283 chests, and to the value of between two and three millions sterling. The order for delivery during this imprisonment contained the following guarantees for damage, and recourse on the Government at home, with a statement of the horrible indignities to which he and all held in bondage with him were subjected; and "under the force of which, and the fear of worse, his consent was wrung to the surrender of the opium." "I, Charles Elliot, Chief Superintendent of the trade of British subjects in China, presently forcibly detained by the provincial government, together with all the merchants of my own and the other 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 into his hands all the opium held by the people of my country. "Now I, the said Chief Superintendent, thus constrained by paramount motives, affecting the safety of the lives and liberties 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 require all her Majesty's subjects now present in Canton, forthwith to make a surrender to me, for the service of her said Majesty's Government, to be delivered over to the Government of China, of all the opium under their respective 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 possession. And I, the Chief Superintendent, do now, in the most full and unreserved manner, hold myself responsible for and on the behalf of her Britannie Majesty's Government, to all and each of her Majesty's subjects surrendering the said British-owned opium into my hands, to be delivered over to the Chinese Government. Now 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 manner of responsibility or liability in respect of British-owned opium. "And it is specially to be understood, that 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. "Given under my hand and seal of office, at Canton, in China, this 27th day of March 1839, at six of the clock in the morning." On the surrender of the opium, the following rigorous conditions were imposed by Lin, for the more stringent fulfilment of the compact, and ratified by Captain Elliot, as announced by himself: "The undersigned has now to announce, that arrangements have been made for the delivery of the opium lately surrendered to him for her Majesty's service, by which his Excellency the High Commissioner has stipulated that the servants shall be restored, after one-fourth of the whole shall have been delivered; the passage. boats be permitted to run, after one-half shall have been delivered; the trade opened, after three-fourths shall have been delivered; and every thing to proceed as usual, after the whole shall have been delivered, (the signification of which last expression the undersigned does not understand.) "Breach of faith is to be visited, after three days' loose performance of engagements, with the cutting off of supplies of fresh water; after three days more, with the stoppage of food; and, after three days more, with the last degree of severity (i. e. DEATH) on the undersigned himself." The "ultimate satisfactory solution," adds the Superintendent, "of the recent difficulties, need give no man an anxious thought." The terms and conditions were, notwithstanding, faithlessly and arrogantly broken by Lin, although the surrender of the opium was accomplished with the strictest fidelity; placed, nevertheless, as it was, on board receiving ships and other vessels, as Mr Warren observes, "one hundred miles distant from the port of Canton; and though within the Chinese waters, yet as utterly beyond the reach of Chinese power as if it had lain on shipboard at Spithead."* "The servants," says Captain Elliot, in his indignant remonstrance, dated the 21st of June 1839, addressed to the Chinese authorities, were "not faithfully restored when one-fourth of the opium had been delivered up; the boats were not permitted to run when one-half had been delivered up; the trade was not really opened when three-fourths had been delivered; and the last pledge, that things should go on as usual when the whole should have been 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 clerks, one a lad; and the proposing of novel and intolerable regulations. The trade, in consequence, remained * See pamphlet on "The Opium Question, by Samuel Warren, Esq., F.R.S., of the Inner Temple, Barrister-at-Law," a name, we may add, justly endeared to the readers of Maga as to whom is it not? |