[CHAPTER XXII.]
A few remarks upon the city and neighbourhood of Canton, before which our troops are now for the first time about to appear, (the previous operations of the 18th March having been entirely limited to the naval forces,) will contribute to the interest of the subsequent narrative. The city of Canton, or Kwantung, is situated upon the northern bank of the river usually known by the same name, though sometimes called by Europeans the Pearl river, from its Chinese name, Choo-keang. Its distance from the Bogue is about forty miles.
The scenery around the city is extremely diversified. On the northern and north-eastern sides it is commanded by hills, the possession of which by an enemy must, of necessity, place the city at his mercy. In other directions it presents the aspect of a low and abundantly-watered plain, cut up by canals and little rivers, which serve both for irrigation and for communication with the interior. So numerous are they, that in some parts nearly a third part of the whole surface is occupied by water. The appearance of the country is rich, and at most seasons beautifully green, being divided into rice-fields and little gardens, with here and there a clump of trees or a small village, or the country residences of some of the wealthier inhabitants of the city, to diversify the prospect.
About three or four miles to the westward of the city, and curving round at the foot of the hills which command it, runs the creek or river in which the war-junks and fire-rafts had been destroyed by the Nemesis and boats. The excellent landing-place at Tsingpoo, which had been discovered on that occasion, was very conveniently situated for the debarkation of troops destined to attack the heights above the city, which are in fact the key to its occupation.
The city and its suburbs occupy the whole space between the hills and the river; the suburbs, however, being little less extensive than the city itself. The latter is surrounded by a high wall, which has twelve entrances, and it may be about six or seven miles in circumference. On the south, or river side, a portion of the suburbs extends down to the water-side; and in the western corner of these are situated the foreign factories, and the principal packhouses of the Hong merchants, which are partly built on piles on the river's bank. On the northern side, the wall rests directly upon the brow of the hills; and, indeed, there is a hill of moderate elevation actually within the walls, the possession of which would, in fact, give the command of the entire city, and which could have been held by a small force against any troops the Chinese could bring against it. Another wall divides the city into two unequal parts, running from east to west, and called the Old and the New City, the latter being much more modern than the former, but differing from it very little in appearance. The residences of all the high officers, the Viceroy, Lieutenant-Governor, Tartar General, and others, together with a public arsenal, are situated in the Old City; but the moment we got possession of the two forts, called the Dutch and French Follies, we could command the whole of these places, without in any degree endangering the Factories, which are at a considerable distance to the westward, in the suburbs.
The heights above the city were crowned with four strong forts, built principally of brick at the upper part, but of stone below. They mounted altogether forty-two guns of various calibre, together with a great number of ginjals and wall-pieces. Between them and the city walls, the distance of which varied from one hundred and fifty to two hundred and fifty paces, there was an irregular, and in some parts deep and broken ravine. The hill before described as within the circuit of the walls was also within range of the heights; and so important was this position afterwards considered by Sir Hugh Gough, that he distinctly declared that, with "this in his possession, he would have been responsible that the city should have been spared, and that not a soldier should have entered the town farther than this fortified height."
With these few preliminary observations, we may now return to the point at which our combined naval and military forces were all concentrated, below Whampoa, on the 22nd and 23rd of March, having sailed from Hong-Kong on the 18th and 19th of that month.
An important general order was now issued by Sir Hugh Gough, preparatory to the advance of our troops upon Canton. It betokened the true feeling which animated the expedition; and, while it goes far to refute the belief that wanton cruelty was inflicted upon the Chinese, it does honour to the expedition, as primâ facie evidence of the forbearance with which our power was exercised. After first alluding to the novelty of the Chinese system of warfare to the British soldier, as one making up in cunning and artifice what it lacks in discipline, and, after recommending extreme caution against surprise and stratagem, and, above all, the observance of the strictest discipline, Sir Hugh Gough proceeds to remind his soldiers that "Great Britain had gained as much fame by her clemency and forbearance as by the gallantry of her troops. An enemy in arms is always a legitimate foe; but the unarmed, or the supplicant for mercy, of whatever country or whatever colour, a true British soldier will always spare." Such was in reality the feeling which animated the whole expedition, although the desultory attacks of the Chinese, and the refusal of many of them to surrender when all further resistance was useless, sometimes occasioned a loss of life which was to be deplored, but which could not be prevented.
The channel through which our forces were now about to advance upon Canton was one which had been not long before examined for the first time, one may even say discovered, by Mr. Browne, the master of the Calliope; Lieut. Kellett, of the Starling; Mr. Johnson, the master of the Conway, and other officers. It came to be called Browne's Passage, although Mr. Browne himself called it the "main branch of the Canton river." It runs to the southward of French Island, towards the Macao passage, and is a much more important branch of the river than that which runs along the northern side of that island, which was first explored in the Nemesis by Captain Herbert and Captain Elliot, and along which our vessels had proceeded to the attack of the Macao Fort, as before described.[46]
In Captain Herbert's report to Sir Gordon Bremer, in the middle of March, referring to some of these passages, he stated that "boats from the Calliope, Herald, Hyacinth, Sulphur, and Starling, had, on several occasions, explored the channels in the south branch of the river, from Danes' Island upwards, and that they had found a safe and deep passage for vessels drawing sixteen feet water up to the city of Canton, except two bars, which it required high water to pass." Mr. Browne and Lieut. Kellett, with the boats, had proceeded along the channel between Danes' and French Islands, and then entered the passage, which runs along the southern side of the latter.