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THE COMMISSION.
ft:
_ _ _ _
Vol. 3.
NOVEMBER, 1858.
* Kq. 5.
~j THE CHINESE AVAR.
Some thoughts on the present hostil¬
ities between the English and the Chi¬
nese, from one who is on the field, may
be acceptable at the present when the
eyes of all Christendom are fixed on
India and Chinn. Having been re¬
quested to give my views on this sub¬
ject, I shall try to do so in a few words.
Supposing that all who feel any in¬
terest in the matter have learned from
the newspapers the main facts and in¬
cidents of the war, we will not dwell on
these, nor attempt any description of
the actual conflicts of the two parties.
My object is simply to give my opinion
as to the Causes, the Necessity and the
Itesults of the war between the Allies
and the Chinese.
CAUSES.
All know that the immediate cause of
the “Canton difficulty" was the seizure
of the lorcha* “Arrow” by the Chinese
authorities. With regard to this, I be¬
lieve that it is now generally admitted,
1st. That tho “Arrow” at the time of
her seizure, had no right to carry the
British flag ; and 2mlly. That she had
been engaged in piracy. The conduct
of Mr. Parkes, tho British Consul at
Canton, and that of Sir John Bowring,
the British Plenipotentiary, was no
doubt hasty and did but little honor to
* A lorcha is a small three-masted
vessel used in the coasting-trade ; intro¬
duced from the Mediterranean by the
Portuguese.
9 *
the great country which they represent-' -
ed. But the seizure of the Arrow was
scarcely any more the cause of the hos¬
tilities at Canton than the “ Boston mas¬
sacre” was the cause of the American
Revolution. Ever since the previous
war, Canton hits been _a bone of con¬
tention ; the English claiming this
right to enter the city according to tho
terms of the treaty and as they were .
permitted to do in the other four open
ports, and the Chinese persistently clo¬
sing their gates against foreigners.
In 1847, Sir John F. Davis, the Brit¬
ish Plenipotentiary, after capturing
some forts and anchoring off the city,
demanded satisfaction for the murder of
six Englishmen and obtained a written
promise from Keying, the Governor, *
that tho city gates should bo opened in
two years. In 1849, Sir Geo. Bonham
went up to enforce this claim, but for
some strange reason he was not sus¬
tained at home and was ordered to do
nothing to interfere with trade. Of
course when the Chinese saw the Eng- ' •
lish ships retire without executing their
threats, they chuckled with delight.
The Emperor ordered triumphal arches
to be erected to commemorate the victo¬
ries of his loyal subjects over tho Eng¬
lish, and honors and decorations fell
thick on all concerned in these blood¬
less victories. The Cantoneso have had
an idea that their city is impregnable
and that even the name of their “ braves”
is sufficient to inspire the stoutest heart
with terror. In the former war, after
a
