Page:Europe in China.djvu/159

Rh 1841) that Eleepoo had, like Kishen, fallen into disgrace, and that Yuekien, one of the most violent enemies of the English, had replaced him as Imperial Commissioner at Ningpo.

Elliot was waiting for the Chinese to strike the first blow. But when he found that the Shameen battery, which had been carried and dismantled in March, was about to be re-armed, he called upon the Cantonese Authorities to stop this and every other warlike movement at once. Finding that they evaded his demands. Captain Elliot forthwith (May 17, 1841) sent for troops from Hongkong. Next day (March 18, 1841), the British forces (consisting of 2,600 combatants) started from Hongkong for Canton, leaving but a small portion of the 37th Madras Native Infantry to protect the settlement at Hongkong. The Cantonese Authorities meanwhile continued to pretend friendly feelings, whilst heavy masses of picked troops from other provinces were daily pouring into the city. To mislead Elliot and the foreign merchants, the Acting Prefect issued (May 20, 1841) a proclamation urging the people, who were leaving the city in large numbers in dread of the approaching conflict, to remain quiet in their lawful pursuits and to continue trade with foreigners without alarm or suspicion. Unbeknown to Yang Fang, who as an experienced soldier knew the strength of the British forces and accordingly counselled patience, Yikshan made secret arrangements for a simultaneous night-attack on the British fleet, by means of fire-ships. Elliot received information of the proposed movement and immediately issued a circular (March 21, 1841) warning Her Majesty's subjects and all other foreign merchants in the factories to retire from Canton before sunset. At 11 p.m. the attack commenced from the western fort (Saipaotoi) near Shameen, where a new five-ton gun had been mounted. A series of fire-boats came suddenly, with the tide, down upon the British ships. The crews of these fire-ships carried stink-pots and fire-balls and were armed with long boarding pikes. The moment the first of these fire-ships were hailed and fired into by the British sentries, the Chinese forts and masked batteries along the river front opened fire on the