Page:Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and other Treaty Ports of China.djvu/56

48 the operation, "seemed to be used by the officers to ensure the complete destruction of the drug, the spot being well guarded, the workmen ticketed, &amp;c." This view of the complete destruction of the drug was not universally held at the time. It was affirmed that the whole of the drug was not destroyed, that a goodly portion of the best quality was withdrawn and ultimately disposed of to the great advantage of the horde of officials engaged in the work.

Captain Elliot soon found that the enormous sacrifice which he had made to win over the Chinese officials was a vain one. "The servants," remarked the British Superintendent in an indignant remonstrance, dated June 21, 1839, "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," and in consequence of this faithlessness and want of security for life, liberty, and property, the members of the British community had decided to leave Canton.

He added: "The merchants and ships of the English nation proceed to Macao 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 of Canton; and because it would be derogatory from the dignity of their Sovereign and nation to forget all the insults and wrongs which have been perpetrated till full justice shall have been done, and till the whole trade intercourse has been placed upon a footing honourable and secure to the 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 the purest reason." The trade was accordingly stopped. The British merchants repaired in the first instance to Macao, but on a dispute occurring near Hongkong between some English and American sailors and the Chinese, in which one of the latter was killed, an attempt was made by the Chinese authorities to compel the surrender of the seamen concerned in the affair. Upon this Captain Elliot gave orders for the removal of the entire fleet to Hongkong, the splendid harbour of which had in years immediately preceding been frequently used by British vessels. When Lin heard of this move he issued furious edicts prohibiting all intercourse with the audacious traders and their "barbarian eye." As these did not appear to intimidate the British community, he took overt measures to assert the outraged Chinese authority. Furious proclamations were issued calling all loyal Chinese to assemble and wage a war of extermination against "the red-bristled foreigners." A ship supposed to be British, but actually Spanish, was on September 12, 1839, seized and confiscated. Meanwhile, preparations were made for launching against the British all the naval might of this port of the Chinese Empire as represented by a considerable fleet of war junks. The bolt was shot on the 3rd of November when Admiral Kwan sailed through the Bogue Passage to attack the British frigates Volage and Hyacinth which were cruising about the entrance of the river. It was a very unequal combat that ensued. With the greatest ease the two war vessels with their well-manned modern guns beat off the Chinese squadron. One of the junks was blown up, three were sunk, and the rest sailed away badly maimed. The engagement caused the greatest consternation in Canton, where a confident expectation had been entertained of a brilliant and easy victory over the barbarians. So serious was the blow that Lin did not dare to send a true report of the episode to his imperial master. The Emperor was led to suppose that the Chinese had won a great triumph, and acting on this belief, he bestowed a titular distinction upon Admiral Kwan. The truth leaked out afterwards, but the honour was not withdrawn as Admiral Kwan was a valuable servant and his imperial master was loth to part with him. Possibly he also had hopes, with Admiral Kwan's assistance, of being able to retrieve the disaster of the 3rd of November. Whether that was the case or not, the early months of 1840 were utilised by the Chinese in making great preparations for a renewal of the combat. Meanwhile, the British had not been idle. In view of the serious turn that events had taken, a considerable armament under Sir Gordon Bremer was despatched from India to reinforce the squadron already at Hongkong. The Chinese authorities, greatly alarmed at the strengthening of the British forces, decided to strike a bold blow for victory. They sent against the intruding vessels a great number of fire ships with the intention of destroying them utterly by this means. This coup was even less successful than Admiral Kwan's ill-starred attack. Most of the fireships exploded prematurely, and those which did not were easily sunken before they could do any damage.