THE MARRIAGE OF THE QUEEN AND PRINCE ALBERT AT THE CHAPEL ROYAL, ST. JAMES’S, February 10, 1840.
W. H. Overend.] [From Contemporary Sketches.
THE “VOLAGE” AND “HYACINTH” ENGAGING TWENTY-NINE CHINESE JUNKS.
The relations of Great Britain and the East India Company with China had for some years been drifting into very unfriendly conditions, arising out of the opium trade. The Chinese Government had strictly prohibited the importation of opium—a measure commanding the sincere sympathy of those in this country who condemned all use of opium as an unmitigated physical and moral evil. But India derived enormous profits from the opium trade, and her traders used every device to evade the restrictions. It was suspected, and the Foreign Secretary, Lord Palmerston, endorsed the suspicion, that the policy of the Chinese Government had nothing to do with the morality of the trade, but was concerned only to protect the native opium industry. |War declared with China.| The wheels of diplomacy ran heavily between the “Heavenly Dynasty” and the British Foreign Office for many years, till at last they were brought to a stand by the sudden outbreak of war. Lord Palmerston had appointed three superintendents to look after the interests of British traders in Chinese ports, and invested them with a semi-diplomatic character. Thus it came to pass that when, after months of procrastination, Her Majesty’s Government at last announced that “they could not interfere for the purpose of enabling British subjects to violate the laws of the country with which they traded,” thus practically forbidding the opium trade, Captain Elliott, the chief superintendent, read between the lines of the despatch, and, on the Chinese authorities seizing a large quantity of opium in British vessels, requested the Governor of India to send warships for the protection of Englishmen trading in China. The request was promptly complied with by the despatch of two frigates, the Volage and the Hyacinth, which attacked a Chinese fleet of twenty-nine junks below Hong Kong, blew up one of them, sunk three, and knocked the rest about in fine style.
J. Doyle (“H. B.”).] [Political Sketches, 1840.
CHINESE JUGGLERS.
Sir J. Graham, who attacked the Government with a Motion in regard to the conduct of the Chinese War in 1840 and nearly defeated them, is here represented as drawing forth reels of Chinese Papers and Blue Books from Lord Palmerston. John Bull, in the background, is remarking, “What an enormous quantity of paper for any man to swallow!”
A strong armament of fourteen warships and several transports was assembled at Singapore, the command of which was given to Admiral Elliott. |Capture of Chusan.| Before his arrival, however, in the Melville, 74, the second in command, Commodore Sir J. Gordon Bremer, captured the island of Chusan, on July 5, with its capital—a walled city six miles in circumference. Negotiations for peace were then opened, but the Chinese authorities prolonged them on so many various pretexts, while busily erecting batteries at the Bogue, near Canton, that Commodore Bremer broke off the proceedings and prepared for action. |Bombardment of the Bogue Forts.| The Bogue Forts were bombarded, and two of them were captured on January 7, 1841; after further fruitless parleying the bombardment was re-opened on February 19, and the whole chain of defences were taken. After each successive engagement, Captain Elliott, the civil superintendent, attempted to obtain a pacific settlement with the enemy; but forbearance was invariably interpreted by the Mandarin as a sign of weakness, and it was not till the troops under Sir Hugh Gough, had fought their way to the walls of Canton that Captain Elliott was able to announce that terms of peace had been agreed to, just forty-five minutes before a general attack on Canton was to have taken place.