The following despatch of Mr. Meadows bears date "February 19, 1861," and is worthy of most attentive perusal:—
"CONSUL MEADOWS TO LORD J. RUSSELL.—(Received April 12.)
"Shanghae, February 19, 1861.
"British trade and British-India trade with this country, and the revenues derived from the one and the other, are among the most important of British interests abroad. A necessary condition to the flourishing of these is the existence of order—of security to life and property—in this country; and the existence of this order and security, again, requires the existence of a strong national government. These propositions are so well established that I merely state them.
"But the hitherto existing Imperial Government, that of the Manchoo or Ta-tsing dynasty, which was already becoming weak from internal causes, has received its death-blows from the external action, first of British arms alone, and now of British and French combined. No strong national government now exists anywhere; and in large, and to us very important, portions of the country, anarchy and insecurity prevail.
"It becomes, therefore, of the utmost importance to look around us for some other power in the nation to take its place. If we find any such other power, we must not only not attack it, but must earnestly desire its speedy growth. An adherence, not less wise than just, to the principle of non-intervention, together with the due observance of the treaties with the Ta-tsing Government, should prevent our taking direct positive steps to aid that growth; but assuredly it would be a most suicidal course, as regards those large interests to which I have pointed, first to achieve the destruction of the government we find existing, and then to proceed to prevent any other from coming into existence.
"Now we have such another power in the Taepings, and such another government in the government which they have established at Nanking.
"It has been, and by many is still, denied that the Taepings have any regular government, or can be considered a political power.
"For one moment I will grant this, but only in order to point out that after maintaining themselves for eleven years in arms in China, and for eight in the centre of the empire, the Taepings are manifestly a power of some sort, and to ask—Are we, because this power does not come up to all that is expected of it, are we, therefore, gratuitously to attack it, and either greatly lessen or altogether destroy its chances of ever realizing those expectations? What else have we got to look to for the re-establishment of a government having power to preserve order?
"But I entirely deny that the Taepings have no regular government, and have no claim to be considered a political power.