A New Inclosure.
Spanish Hong.
o
33 Ponkequa, or New China Street (closed.)
■X:
Private. Cow Yard.
■■n Danish Hong.
Mowgua Street (closed.)
Suburbs of the City.
417
Inclosure 7 in No. 150.
Captain Elliot to the Governor of Canton.
Canton, May 24, 1839.
ELLIOT, &c, &c, having now fully accomplished his pledges to this
Government, in the delivery of the whole amount of the opium ; and being
in bad health, has the honour to inform your Excellency that it is his
purpose to take his departure from Canton this day, and proceed in his
own boat to Macao. He begs at the same time to take leave of your
Excellency.
And he has the honour, &c,
(Signed) CHARLES ELLIOT.
Inclosure 8 in No. 150.
The Prefect of Canton to Captain Elliot.
' CHOO, by special appointment, Prefect of Kwang Chow Foo, issues
commands to the English Superintendent, Elliot, for his full information.
He has just now received the within commands from Tang, the
Governor of the two Kwang.
"Upon the 24th May, 1839, the English Superintendent, Elliot,
presented the subjoined address :—
[The address of May 24 (Inclosure 7) is here inserted.]
" This having been duly received, I, the Governor, have considered it.
" Before, at the time of removing the guard, it was directed that the
said Superintendent should leave Canton, in order to conduct the delivery
of the opium ; but on the ground that all the foreigners remaining at Can
ton still required to be controlled and restrained, he did not at once prefer
his request to depart. At this time, being in bad health, he has presented
his address of leave. It is surely right that he should be permitted to go
to Macao, that he may be enabled to receive medical treatment.
" At present, although the opium has been all delivered to the amount
before stated, yet the High Commissioner and I, the Governor, have still
many matters regarding which to direct him to act. The said Superin
tendent having a respectful sense of duty, and being able in action, must
hasten to recover his health speedily. He must not delay, and while he
has been ready at the first, be found lacking at the last.
" Let him also, on his arrival at Macao, faithfully and truly examine ;
and if the foreigners of every nation residing at Macao are guilty of
secreting any opium, he must instantly command them, one and all, to
deliver up the entire quantity. It is of importance that no remnant of the
evil be left.
" I proceed at once to give these commands. When they reach the
Prefect, let him instantly enjoin them on the said Superintendent Elliot,
that he may pay obedience. Let there be no opposition. Hasten !
Hasten!"
The above having reached the Prefect, he forthwith issues the
commands. When they reach the said Superintendent Elliot, let him pay
immediate obedience. Oppose not. A special order.
Taoukwang, 19th year, 4th month, 12th day. (24th May, 1839.)
True Translation.
(Signed) J. Robt. Morrison,
Chinese Secretary and Interpreter.
3 H
413
No. 151.
Captain Elliot to Viscount Palmerston.—(Received September 21, 1839.)
My Lord, Macao, May 29, 1839.
THE inclosed is a Memorial, signed by most of Her Majesty's
subjects lately resident at Canton, submitted to- me for transmission to
your Lordship ; and I beg leave respectfully to recommend the subject to
the early and favourable consideration of Her Majesty's Government.
I have, &tc,
(Signed) CHARLES ELLIOT,
Chief Superintendent.
Inclosure in No. 151.
Memorial from Her Majesty's Subjects to Viscount Palmerston.
Canton, May 23, 1839.
WE, the Undersigned British merchants, trading at Canton, consider
it our duty to address your Lordship, regarding the recent acts of
aggression on the jiart of the Chinese Government.
These acts of violence, which will be officially communicated to your
Lordship by Her Majesty's Superintendent, consist—
1. In the stoppage of the whole legal trade of the port, even of vessels
fully laden, jand waiting only their port-clearances, and against which no
ground of complaint is alleged.
2. In the forcible detention in Canton, of all foreigners, including Her
Majesty's Superintendents, in order to compel the supposed holders of
opium to the surrender of property belonging to themselves, and others
in India and Europe, to the value of from two to three millions sterling.
3. In the open and undisguised threat to hold foreigners responsible
with their lives for this surrender, and for any future infraction of the
Chinese custom laws.
4. In the attempt to force foreigners to sign bonds, rendering not only
themselves, but all others coming to China, over whom they have no
controul, liable to the same penalty, and on the refusal on the part of
foreigners to sign such bonds, in the promulgation of an edict by the
High Commissioner, declaratory of the determination of the Government
to enforce such penalty. ,
We may be permitted to state that all foreigners reside in Canton on
sufferance; that they have no means of ascertaining the laws, except from
the acts of the Provincial Government : and that the opium trade has
steadily increased from an import of 4,100 chests in 1796, to upwards of
30,000 in 1837, with the open and undisguised connivance of the local
authorities.
The importation of opium into China was at one time allowed on
payment of a duty, but discontinued in 1796. Us admission was again
strongly recommended to the Imperial Government in 1836. No penalties
have ever been enforced against foreigners bringing it to China, and the
prohibitory laws have never been a rule to the functionaries of the Chinese
empire, who should have administered them, nor to the Chinese people on
whom they were intended to operate, which facts are openly admitted in
the recent edicts of the Imperial Commissioner, under date the 18th March
last, in which he states, " that the prohibitions formerly enacted by the
Celestial Court against opium were comparatively lax," and that " the
foreigners are men from distant lands, and have not before been aware
that the prohibition of opium is so severe."
We may further state that the peculiar character of the opium trade
was distinctly recognized in the Report of the Select Committee of the
House of Commons, in 1830, and that in the subsequent Report, in 1832,
419
the Committee express their opinion that it does not seem advisable to
abandon so important a source of revenue as the East India Company's
monopoly of opium in Bengal."
We conceive it will therefore be admitted that British subjects
have carried on this trade with the sanction, implied, if not openly
expressed, of their own Government; and at the same time with an
advantage to the revenue of British India, varying of late years from one
to one and a half millions sterling.
We do not attempt to deny the unquestionable right of the Chinese
Government to put a stop to the importation of opium, and have readily
signed an agreement to abstain from that trade at Canton, on the first
requisition of the Government to that effect; but we think your Lordship
will perceive that long prescription had hitherto given foreigners ample
reason to question the sincerity of the Chinese Government with regard to
the discontinuance of the importation ; and that, under any circumstances,
that Government cannot be justified, by the lax observance of prohi
bitions, and open connivance of its officers, in at one time fostering a
trade involving several millions sterling, and at another rendering its
pursuit a, pretext for spoliation.
There seems no reason to doubt, from the late proceedings of the
local Government, that they have always had the power most materially
to check, if not totally to put a stop to, the importation of opium, when
disposed so to do ; but that power has seldom hitherto been exercised,
except for the purpose of exacting higher fees for its introduction.
The proceedings of the High Commissioner, since his arrival in
Canton, will be fully reported to your Lordship by Ker Majesty's Super
intendent ; but we may observe, that his demand for the unconditional
surrender of the whole of the opium m the depot ships, was one with
which foreigners could not comply, the great bulk of that opium being the
property of others in India and elsewhere; and they were equally unable
to give the bonds required.
The High Commissioner finding, at the expiration of three days, the
time within which he had ordered the whole of the opium to be delivered
up, and the bonds to be given, that his orders had not been obsyed, sent
the Hong merchants in chains to the foreign factories, threatening to put
them to death before our doors, and at the same time commenced other
menacing preparations against the foreigners themselves.
At this stage of the business, Her Majesty's Chief Superintendent
arrived in Canton.
We feel it our duty to express to your Lordship our deep sense of the
public spirit which induced this officer, at no inconsiderable risk, to
endeavour to rescue British life and property from a position of fearful
jeopardy ; and we may assure your Lordship, that but one feeling existed
of the extreme peril of the whole community, when he succeeded in forcing
his way to Canton, and took charge of all responsibility in the negotiations
with the Chinese Government.
Although the measures of Her Majesty's Representative have relieved
us from all responsibility, in surrendering so large an amount of property,
we may still be allowed respectfully, but earnestly, to entreat your Lord
ship's mediation to obtain the earliest possible fulfilment of the guarantee
given on behalf of Her Majesty's Government, and thus be the means of
saving many of the owners of the property from inevitable ruin, and all of
them from heavy loss.
We deem it also an imperative duty to assure your Lordship most
solemnly of our firm conviction, that the public approval, on the part of
Her Majasty's Government, of this prompt interposition of Her Majesty's
Representative, and the early adoption of such measures as the wisdom of
Her Majesty's advisers may determine on, with regard to our future rela
tions with the Chinese empire, can alone avert the occurrence of similar,
or even more violent outrages.
We beg further to state to your Lordship, that, independently of
the opium now violently seized, there was at the same period British pro
perty of other kinds in Canton to the value of upwards of one million
sterling, besides a large and valuable fleet of shipping lying at Whampoa,
3 H 2
420
consigned to our care, but totally beyond our controul : and although this
property was not alleged to have incurred any penalty, the High Commis
sioner never attempted to distinguish the participators in the one trade,
from those in the other, but placed both under one common suspension,
and the whole body of foreigners in arbitrary confinement.
After the completion of the delivery of the opium surrendered, the
High Commissioner has expressed an intention of opening the legal trade,
under new regulations; but circumstances do not justify us in entertaining
the expectation that these regulations will afford any security for life or
property.
We therefore think your Lordship will be convinced that some
serious alterations in our relations with this empire are indispensably
necessary; and that British commerce can never be safely carried on, and
certainly can never flourish, in a country where our persons and property
are alike at the mercy of a capricious and corrupt Government.
In conclusion, it only remains for us again to urge upon your Lord
ship and Her Majesty's Government, the great importance of an early
recognition of our claims on account of the opium surrendered for Her
Majesty's service ; and the pressing and paramount necessity of placing
the general trade of British subjects upon a secure and permanent basis.
(Signed)
Dent and Co. BURJOOJEE MaNOCKJEE,
Lindsay and Co. Daniell and Co.
Bell and Co. Framjee Uadabhoy.
MacVicar and Co. Bomanjee Manockjee.
Dirom and Co. Cowajee sapoorjee.
Gibb, Livingston, and Co. Sackhuson Budrooden.
Charles Compton. BuRJORJEE SuRABJEE.
D. M. Rustomjee. Nasserwanjee Framjee.
Pro Jamieson and How, Nasserwanjee Dorabjee.
William Almack. Nasserwanjee Bomanjee Inadej.
W. and I. Gemmell and Co. dossabhoy hormusjee.
Bibby, Adam, and Co. Pestonjee Ruttonjee Laroff.
Turner and Co. Abodin and Sumsoodin.
Robert Wise, Holliday, and Co. Framjee Sumsobjee.
Heerjeebhoy Rustomjee. Cowasjee Proajee.
hormajee framjee. Pestonjee Norooajee.
Shasmkshaw Rustomjee. Jamsetjee Rustomjee.
Cowasjee pallanjee. Bomanjee Byramjee.
bomanjee hosonojee. Cursetjee sapoorjee.
Palanjee Nasserwanjee. Nasserwanjee Dorabjee.
Cowasjee eduljee. Jamsetjee Eduljee.
Cowasjee Shapoorjee Tabacr. And other Parsee merchants
whose signature are undeci
pherable.
No. 152.
Captain Elliot to Viscount Palmerston.—(Received December 9, 1839.)
My Lord, Macao, June 14, 1839.
THE inclosures form the continuation of a correspondence with Mr. Innes,
the earlier part of which has already heen transmitted in my despatch of May 18.
The demand of the Commissioner and the Governor, that he should depart,
was founded on the transactions of December last, already reported to your
Lordship, as will at once appear by reference to Inclosure No. 2 in my despatch
ot the 18th ult.
421
Upon the understanding or agreement with the Hong merchants, to which
Mr. Innes adverts in his letter of the 29th May, it is only necessary to remark,
either that he entirely misconceived them, or that they easily deceived him.
At all events, it is certain that they were wholly without power to enter
into such an agreement; that nothing of the kind exists in a tangible form; and
that Howqua (the survivor of the merchants mentioned■ by Mr. Innes) assured
me it was a mistake from beginning to end, adding the expression of his
strongest belief, that the Governor must have removed Mr. Innes by force, if he
had not gone out by peaceable means. I entertain a similar opinion, and the
more strongly, because 1 was frequently asked at the time by the merchants,
whether 1 should remonstrate upon the part of Her Majesty's Government, if his
forcible expulsion became necessary.
I replied, certainly not, if the measures of the Chinese Government were
confined to that step, because I believed it would be thought, by my own, to be
a reasonable and moderate expiation of the offences he had committed ; but I
impressed upon them my conviction, that Mr. Innes's imprisonment, or any pro
ceedings of a still more urgent nature, would assuredly produce serious difficul
ties between the two countries.
It is highly probable the merchants said and believed, that after a quiet
residence at Macao, and abstinence from illicit pursuits for some considerable
period of time, he might return unobtrusively to Canton, and live there un
molested by the authorities, so long, at least, ns he was carrying on no such
course of contemptuous defiance of the laws of this country, and of common
prudence and propriety, as had led to his expulsion in December.
Concerning the particular transaction which produced the present measures
of the Government in his respect, I will only say, that Mr. Innes's refusal to
declare that the opium in the Bombay, on the 11th April last, was there for
purposes of storage, and not for delivering to Chinese, is a highly suspicious cir
cumstance ; the more so, when it is coupled with a similar refusal to deny that
he was extensively engaged in pursuits of the kind, pending our late confinement
at Canton, as was notoriously supposed to be the case by, I will venture to say, at
least seven-eights of the whole foreign community in China.
I have acted, my Lord, on this occasion, upon the principle, that the demand
of the Chinese Government was just and reasonable; that it was necessary for
the safety of this settlement, then menaced, and for the safety of the foreign
community then confined in Canton.
The proceedings of this gentleman and the other reckless individuals within
the river, and at the factories, brought to a close in December last, had very
nearly led to an armed search of those buildings pending our late captivity at
Canton.
It was with the utmost difficulty, my Lord, that I averted a measure which
could never have been carried into effect without bloodshed ; and the painful
anxiety noticed in my letter to Mr. Innes, of the 23rd May last, arose from my
belief, that it was aimed particularly at his late dwelling-house, in which I had
every reason to suppose opium was then lying ; how well-founded, need not now
be declared !
When I am called upon, by the command of Her Majesty's Government,
to defend myself against Mr. Innes's charges, I entertain a confidence, that it
will be in my power to do so successfully ; but, for the present, I owe it to your
Lordship, pressed with the most important business of the country, and, let me
most respectfully add, to myself, to close my report at this point, with the hope
that the case carries the justification of the only measure 1 have taken upon the
face of it, namely, an injunction to Mr. Innes to depart from the shores of this
Empire, in conformity with what, I am satisfied, are the just and reasonable
demands of its Government. Whether he does so or not, is a matter which will
need further interference or not, as his continuance affects the general safety or
his own. But I have long since determined to incur the responsibility of appre
hending his person, whenever I see reason to think that his defiance of the
authority of the Chinese Government is dangerous to the safety of the com
munity and public interests under my superintendence ; and 1 depend, with
confidence, on the support of Her Majesty's Government in all such emergencies.
1 have, &c ,
(Signed), CHARLES ELLIOT,
Chief Superintendent.
422
Inclosure 1 in No. 152. '
Mr. Innes to Captain Elliot.
Sir, Macao Roads, May 17, 1839.
I HAD the honour to receive your letter, of date Canton, 8th instant, this
evening, and its accompanying translations of Chinese documents.
As to matters previous to loth December last, my departure that day for
Macao being recognized by the then Chinese authorities, as an expiation of any
supposed offence on my part, previous to that is a shut book.
Were the facts after that date, as you now narrate them, I should pause ere
I adopted your order to embark for another country, and leave the heavy affairs
intrusted to me in China without a head in such times as these; but as the whole
transaction, as stated by you on Chinese authority, is an entire fabrication, I
write the affair as it took place, and give you my proofs opposite to each
assertion.
So placed, I leave it to you, whether you will or not endeavour to open the
eyes of the Imperial Commissioner; you will do in that as you see fitting.
As I, however, thus produce proof to you, beyond the shadow of a doubt,
of the falsehood of the charge you narrate against me, 1 submit to you, that I
expect from your justice, not from favour, a recal of your order to embark
myself for England ! as yiiu, by such order, add the authority of my own
country, in doing wrong, to any illicit act the Commissioner may attempt
against me.
I also expect from your good feeling an explicit retraction of your aver
ment, that I have designedly added to the miseries of the Canton residents.
After deliberate perusal of the Notes of Proof subjoined, and after any
inquiry you may please to institute of tie witnesses I name, I shall anxiously
look fur your answer, as, by the tenor of it, my future conduct may be somewhat
guided.
I have, &c■,
(Signed) JAMES INNES-
Inclosure 2 in No. 152.
Notes of the Facts connected with Eight Chests of Patna Opium, delivered at the
Bocca Tigris, from the Schooner Bombay, to Mr. Johnston, on 5th May,
1839.
AVERMENT. PROOF.
1. ON the 8th April, these chests of opium, then in the
Hercules, were made over to J. Innes by a Portu J. P. Sturgis, Esq.
guese subject.
2. The Hercules having to go up to Bocca Tigris, and
these chests forming no portion of her delivery,
they were taken out of the Hercules and put into
the schooner Jardine for safety. On the 10th, the Captain Denholm, of
Jardine being under orders to go east, to order Jardine.
back ships on the '.'oast, this opium was taken from
her, and put into the Bombay, with a view to
transhipment on the Hob Roy. The weather came
on to blow, and on the 11th, the Bombay run in
for shelter, close to the Praya Grande, and within a
100 yards of a Chinese war junk. On that nijit, Six prisoners in Jail.
betwixt 9 and 11 o'clock, the Bombay was robbed of
her opium by a band of armed English sailors.
423
3. The morning of the 12th, Sr. Barretto and J. Innes, The Governor.
as soon as the robbery was heard of, waited on tiie
Governor of Macao, and complained of the robbery.
The Governor advised a criminal action to.be raised The Judge.
before the Judge (or Minister) ; this was done, and The Record of the
its results is six prisoners in the Macao jaii, acknow- Criminal Court.
ledgcdly guilty ! and the recovery of the opium. Sr. Barretto.
4. No illegal act being done by J. Innes, he applied, The Judge.
by petition, to the Judge fur restoration of the pro
perty he had been robbed of. The Judge evaded Sr. Barretto.
this, not because it was unjust, but from fear of the Sr. B. de Mello.
Chinese Government. A compromise ultimately took
place, by which it was agreed the opium should be
given up to Mr. Innes, on condition he surrendered
it to Captain Elliot, and produced M r. Johnston's Sr. Assiz.
receipt, stipulating that two Macao Custom-house Sr. B. de Mello.
officers should attend the Bombay, which stipulations
were duly fulfilled. Mr. Johnston.
5. Mr. Inn?s went up to the Bocca Tigris under no Everson, Master of
restraint ! The schooner was his ; the six sailors Bombay.
and master paid by hiin ; the Custom- House Officers
were fed by him ; and on his return to Macao, he Officers.
presented these men with twenty-five dollars, being
above their usual wages. Sr. B. de Mello.
(Signed) JAMES INNES.
Inclosure 3 in No. 152.
Mr. Innes to Captain Elliot.
Sir, Macao Roads, May 19, 1839.
IN making up your mind in the truth or falsehood of the recent Chinese
information against me, be pleased to give the inclosed such weight as it deserves.
I have, &c,
(Signed) JAMES INNES.
Inclosure 4 in No. 152.
Sr. Barretto to Mr. Innes.
Sir, Macao, May 18, 1839.
I AM both surprised and sorry that the Chinese Government have given
a false statement about your eight chests, and that upon the strength of it,
Captain Elliot has ordered your deportation.
I do not think the Macao Government can be to blame on the matter ; in
the first chop on the subject, from the Portuguese to the Chinese Authorities,
no names were mentioned; a foreigner was the phrase used; and in the second,
Kent is named as the principal robber. This, as far as I know, is the real
truth.
Braz says your cooly is still in confinement, but has not confessed
anything ; and the Mandarins are investigating the business; the result of course
is uncertain.
I have, &c,
(Signed) B. BARRETTO.
424
Inclosure 5 in No. 152.
Captain Elliot to Mr. Innes.
Sir, Canton, May 23, 1839-
YOUR letters of the 17th and 19th reached me late last evening.
I cannot agree with you that your departure from Macao has, at any time,
been considered by the Chinese Authorities, to be an expiation of offences on
your part, previous to the 15th December last. In my judgment, the reverse of
this position is established in the translation of the official paper lately sent
to you. And I have other strong reasons for believing that you could never
have returned to Canton to reside, without inducing serious public inconvenience.
My own assent to the justice and moderation of the present demand that you
should leave the country, referred chiefly to the events of December last, and
the commands then issued. And upon these grounds, I must decline to
make any further communication to the Commissioner upon that subject.
The unfortunate course of conduct which led to your expulsion in December,
has occasioned me, as the officer of your country, some of the most wretched
moments 1 ever passed in my life, during my present residence in Canton.
Your word of honour that the opium in the Bombay, was there for the
purposes of storage, and not with any intention of delivery to Chinese, during the
existence of the difficulties at Canton, would have been perfectly satisfactory to
me. And if I am clearly to understand that this assurance is involved in the
notes now forwarded to me, I can have no hesitation in declaring that my
previous impressions on that point are removed.
I am also ready (and it will afford me gratification to do so) explicitly to
retract any expressions I have used in my letter to you, founded upon the belief
that you had been engaged in the notorious and dangerous smuggling pursuits
below, pending the actual state of things at Canton, if you will transmit me an
explicit declaration upon your honour, that you have been in no wise concerned
in the traffic, for yourself or fur others, either at Macao, or immediately outside,
during the period to which I advert.
1 must now once more urgently charge you in Her Majesty's name, for
public considerations of pressing moment, to leave the shores of this Empire as
soon as possible ; and for the general safety and convenience, I must further call
upon you by no means to attempt to come to Canton, or to land at Macao,
during the interval that the conclusion ol indispensable arrangements may still
detain you on the coast.
In conclusion, you will give me leave to correct two cases of misapprehension
in your letter of the 17th instant.
In the first place, I have never ordered you to go to England.
And in the second, I have never averred that you designedly added to the
miseries of the Canton residents.
I have, &c,
(Signed) CHARLES ELLIOT.
Inclosure 6 in No. 152.
Mr. Innes to Captain Elliot.
Sir, Macao Roads, May 30, 1839.
YOUR favour of date 23rd May, only came to my hand yesterday, but it
is due to you to say the delay was not caused by you.
You are pleased to express dissent as to my settlement with the local
authorities in Canton, in December, being a final one. Let us examine whether
your dissent is founded on any grounds so good as my assertion that it was
final. You was in no respect a party to that agreement ! I was ! On the
part of the Governor of Canton, Howqua and Mowqua acted, and for me; and
whose names I inclose in a separate sealed paper, and to these parties I refer
you to prove that an essential part of that agreement was a quiet domicile at
Macao in the meanwhile, with a return to Canton at no distant period, and
which period is now past !
425
In return for this, I gave value, at the time, viz., a withdrawal from Canton
without violence, and so opening trade which was made to depend on that. I
kept my portion of the bargain, the Chinese break theirs, — and without hearing
me, you assist them in this breach of faith by a penal enactment.
Now for Macao. It appears to me that you are not aware that selling
opium in Macao up to a very recent date was as lawful as any other commodity;
—so long as it was lawful, I landed at the Macao Custom-House considerable
quantities when I sold, but the day it became illegal, I ceased to do so, and
never more or less acted contrary to the Macao rules.
On the 11th April, the day the Bombay was robbed, no order or caution
of yours had reached Macao, and my operation was strictly customary and lawful.
The Im-Cha accuses me falsely of a contraband act, and without hearing
me, you again come to his aid with a penal order. I go out of the course of
what is usual, and disprove that which it was your duty to prove against me
before passing sentence, and after such disproof you refuse to recall your order
for leaving China. Is it in accordance with the spirit or the law of England for
a high Magistrate to act thus? In all criminal charges, it is the business of the
Magistrate to prove the crime and then punish. On the authority of a Chinese,
(and the faith, in which sort of proof you yourself in a public Edict expressly
threw doubt upon,) you unheard inflict punishment; and when proof of innocence
is offered, you refuse to retract., This is highly unjust and oppressive. I have
no other remedy than to test public opinion by the press. As to your reference
» to word of honour betwixt a Magistrate and an alleged offender, it is highly
irregular, and no one who respects his honour, will pledge it in a matter where,
doing so, he may be held by the world to prefer his interest to his honour.
Your order to leave China, except as it strengthens the tyrannical acts of
the Chinese Commissioner, and as it induces the frightened Governor of Macao
to withhold his protection from me, and to which I am equally well entitled with
yourself, is waste paper, because you will not find any master of a ship so insane as
to desert ine against my will ; and I give you distinctly to understand, that
looking on your Order as illegal, I shall land and stay in China whenever I
consider it prudent to do so, without any reference to you ; though it would
have been more respectable for you, and more pleasant for me, to have received
from' your justice what I shall take for your weakness.
Besides your orders, you favour me with your opinion on morals ; now my
age : having passed the better period of my life amongst the civilized and the
educated, and above all, an inward monitor, with whom I seldom quarrel, enables
me to compare your opinion of morals with my own, and yours in the balance is
wanting; so in any future letters it will save you time, and me temper, if you
abide closely by your instructions under the law as Her Majesty's Superin
tendent, and which orders, when legally given, no subjects of the Crown will be
more obedient to.
I have, &c,
(Signed) JAMES INNES.
Inclosure 7 in No. 152.
Mr. Innes to Captain Elliot.
May 30, 1839.
W. JARDINE and James Matheson, Esqs., acted for me in my settlement
at Canton, in December last, and both will testify that a quiet residence at
Macao meanwhile, and return to Canton at no distant period, formed an essential
part of that agreement.
I am, &c,
(Signed) JAMES INNES.
3 I
Inek)sure 8 in No 152.
Mr. Innes to Captain Elliot.
Sir, Macao Roads, June 12, 1839.
INCLOSED I send you the verified copy of a petition to Her Majesty m
Council, complaining of your conduct towards me, which petition I hare consi
dered it my duty to transmit for presentation.
I am, &c,
(Signed) JAMES INNES.
To the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty in Council.
Macao Roads, Austen, June 8, 1839.
THE Humble Petition of James Innes, British born subject, and at present
a merchant in China.
Petitions and complains unto your Majesty, of the unlawful acts of your
Majesty's Chief Superintendent in China, Captain Charles Elliot, and that, under
the following circumstances :
That your Petitioner has been thirteen years resident in China, during
which period he has traded considerably in Opium, which traffic has been like
wise followed by at least nine-tenths of your Majesty's subjects resorting to
China. That your Petitioner in the above period has sold opium to the licensed
Hong] merchants, and has delivered opium to the boats of his Excellency the
Governor of Canton, and to many other Government officers. In November last,
the Chinese Government commenced severe measures to prevent the importation
of opium into China, and in the course of that Government's proceedings had
your Petitioner met with loss or personal inconvenience, your Petitioner would
not have considered himself entitled to any protection from your Majesty's
throne; but your Majesty's Chief Commissioner here having brought the weight
of your Majesty's authority in aid of the Chinese in this matter, and having also,
as your Petitioner humbly submits, used such authority in a way not legal, youi
Petitioner humbly approaches your Majesty's throne, sanguine in hopes oi
redress.
Your Petitioner produces herewith papers printed and verified on oath
which will best explain the course followed by Captain Elliot ; and to the said
Captain Elliot another verified copy is served with a verified copy of this Petition.
Your Petitioner referring to these Documents with submission, considers
the interference of Captain Elliot with the sale or delivery of opium on the high
sea, as beyond his powers, because the British Indian Government is supported in
its monopoly of this article in its public sales under the declared intention that it
is meant for the Chinese market! therefore, by implication, it is fair to conclude,
that as your Majesty and your faithful Lords and Commons support the Govern
ment of India in this trade, meant for China, it is beyond the powers of a mere
resident Consul of your Majesty to assert a right to make it illegal.
Your Petitioner further says, that in his particular instance, Captain Elliot
has broken an essential principle of the British criminal Jaw in condemning him
unheard and unconfronted with the witnesses against him ;—That Captain Elliot
has proceeded to punishment of a British subject, on the notoriously false evidence
of Chinese! and the tattle of women! and on the gossip of men all unsworn!
Instead of proceeding on the sworn evidence of credible witnesses, and instead of
allowing your Petitioner to disprove his alleged crime, Captain Elliot took his
proofs in secrecy, and condemned unheard!
Your Petitioner further says, that had Captain Elliot possessed the physical
power of deporting him and had used it, in that case, your Petitioner would have
sought his redress in one of your Majesty's Courts of Law, as is usual in such
cases; but here the indirect act of your Majesty's Superintendent bringing the
awe of your Majesty's authority to bear on the timid Governor of Macao, has had
the effect of depriving your Petitioner of the protection of that friendly power
which he, in common with every subject of your Majesty's Crown, was entitled
to,—the consequences are, being obliged to abandon his house in Macao ! his being
427
left a wanderer without shelter in a very distant and most unhospitahle country j
the result of which is injurious to your Petitioner's health ! ruinous to his mer
cantile credit ! and totally renders him incapable of carrying on his pursuits as a
man of business, which is his sole means of support ; and this, without so far as
your Petitioner is aware, his having broken one law of the British Government.
Your Petitioner for these reasons, humbly implores your Majesty in Council,
to issue instructions to your Majesty's Superintendent in China, to retrace his
his steps and to use the influence of your Majesty's name to restore to your
Petitioner the protection of the Portuguese Governor of Macao, or otherwise to
do in the Premises as your Majesty and Council shall judge best.
And your Petitioner will ever pray.
(Signed) JAMES INNES.
No, 153.
Captain Elliot to Viscount Palmerston.— (Received December 2, 1839.)
My Lord, Macao, July 8, 1839.
THE inclosures I have the honour to submit, are—
No. 1. A translation of the general receipt by the officers of the
Chinese Government for 20,283 chests of opium ; and four other documents,
being—
First (Inclosure 2).—Form of receipt granted by the Deputy Super
intendent at Chuenpee for the particular parcels of opium as they were
delivered to him from the respective ships, and carried to the account of
the surrendering individuals or firms. These receipts of Mr. Johnston were
the vouchers I required for a title to my general receipt for the whole opium
surrendered by each person or firm, and have been deposited in this
office, as the general receipts were taken out.
Second (Inclosure 3).—Is the form of my general receipt (on delivery
of the above vouchers of Mr. Johnston) to each British firm surrendering
opium.
Third (Inclosure 4).—A form of the like kind granted to individual
British merchants, not members of any firm.
Fourth (Inclosure 5).—A form of the special receipt granted for opium,
declared to be British owned, but surrendered by the citizens or subjects
of foreign powers.
I have submitted these forms in order that your Lordship may have
before you in one view, the whole manner in which this opium has been
received and acknowledged, and of the precautions which it has been in
my power to take towards the proof of British ownership.
Requesting reference to the printed copy of my notice of the
27th March affixed to each receipt, it has occurred to me that this
is a convenient place to explain why I made use of the word " com
mand" in preference to "demand," which I had originally intended.
Upon attentive reflection, it seemed to me that the latter term implied less
of unconditional constraint, than a bare " Command," to a person actually
in the situation of a close prisoner, which was my position at that moment.
Upon the whole, therefore, I thought it right to adhere in the Chinese
versions of all my addresses to the Government to the use of the identical
character of insistance they used to me : and in all translations, and all
public acts founded upon the measures of the Government, it appeared to
me to be safest to employ the English words most closely significant of
the Chinese sense.
I have &£C.
(Signed) ' CHARLES ELLIOT,
Chief Superintendent.
3 I 2
428
Inclosure 1 in No. 153.
Receipt given by the Chinese Authorities on the delivery of the Opium.
THE Kwang-Chow-Foo and other officers deputed by the High Impe
rial Commissioner of the Celestial Court, regarding the receipt of chests
of opium delivered up.
It now appears that the English Deputy Superintendent Johnston
has delivered up, from on board the store-ships, twenty thousand two hun
dred and eighty-three chests of opium, examined and received the 6th day
of the present month.
We proceed, therefore, to give a sealed acknowledgment, as evidence
of the fact. An acknowledgment highly necessary to be held.
Given the 19th year of Taoukwang, 4th month. 16th day (18th May,
1839).
(L.S.) of the Kwang-Chow-Foo.
No. 97. Issued the ninth day.
Inclosure 2 in No. 153.
Form of Receipt (/ranted by the Deputy Superintendent at Cheunpee.
No. No.
Cheunpee, 1839. Cheunpee 1 839.
From Ship Received on account of the Chief Superintendent
Master of the Trade of British Subjects in China for delivery to
Chests Opium on account the Chinese Government—the following Opium from
of order of Ship Master Chests Opium
For Chests on the Ship Marks and Quality as under—on account of
Regd. Fo. order for Chests on Ship
Regd. Fo.
For Chests.
(Signed) A. R. Johnston,
Deputy Superintendent.
Marks and Quality. Marks and Quality.
P. B. M. P. B. M. M. P. B. M.
Inclosure 3 in No. 153.
Form of Receipt grantedfor British owned Opium, surrendered by a British Firm.
Registered, No.
T, Charles Elliot, Chief Superintendent or the Trade or British Subjects
in China, hereby acknowledge to have received from
British subjects trading in Canton chests of
429
opium as under for the service of Her Majesty's Government, in terms of my Public Notice to British
subjects dated 27th March, 1839, hereunto annexed. The amount of indemnity for said opium to be
panid to . . . . . • or . . order.
Chests Patna.
. do. Benares.
, . do. Malwa.
. ■ do. Turkey.
Total Chests.
In witness whereof I have affirmed to four documents, all of this tenor and date, one of which being
made good the others to stand void.
I a member of the British firm of
of Canton, do hereby make oath that the Opium speicfied above
was at and before the issue of the Public Notice to British subjects, signed by Charles Elliot, Her
Majesty's Chief Superintendent, under date Canton, 27th March, 1839, either bond fide the property
of my firm of or consigned to us with full control
as to its disposal. And I do further solemnly declare, that no collusive transfer of any part whatever
of said Opium was made either to me, or to any other member of my firm, by the subject of any foreign
nation, but that the whole of the Opium was surrendered by myself and partners in the character of
British subjects to the Chief Superintendent for the service of Her Majesty's Government, being in all
respects, to the best of my knowledge and belief, Opium falling within■ the letter and spirit of the
before-mentioned notice to British subjects.
Sworn before me at Macao, in China, this \
day of June, 1839. j
(Signed) Charles Elliot,
Chief Superintendent.
I, Charles Elliot, Chief Superintendent of the Trade of British subjects in China, do
hereby certify that the person making the within affidavit,
is well known to me as a British subject and member of the British firm of
established at Canton.
Given under my hand and seal of office at Macao, in China, this 7
day of June, in the year of our Lord, 1 839. J
Public Notice to British Subjects.
I, Charles Elliot, Chief Superintendent of the Trade of British subjects in China, pre
sently forcibly detained in Canton by the provincial Government, together with all the merchants of
my own and the other foreign nations settled here, without supplies of food, deprived of our servants,
and cut oft" from all intercourse with our respective countries, (notwithstanding my own official demand
to be set at liberty, so that I might act without restraint,) have now received the commands of the High
Commissioner issued directly to me under the seals of the honourable officers to deliver into his hands
all the opium held by the people of my country. Now I, the said Chief Superintendent, thus con
strained by paramount motives affecting the safety of the lives and liberty of all the foreigners here
present in Canton, and by other very weighty causes, do hereby, in the name and on the behalf of Her
Britannic Majesty's Government, enjoin and require all Her Majesty's subjects now present in Canton
forthwith to make a surrender to me, for the service of her said Majesty's Government, to be delivered
over to the Government of China, of all the opium belonging to them or British opium under their
respective control : and to hold the British ships and vessels engaged in the trade of opium subject to
my immediate direction : and to forward to me, without delay, a sealed list of all the British owned
opium in their respective possession. And I, the said Chief Superintendent, do now, in the most full
and unreserved manner, hold myself responsible for, and on the behalf of Her Britannic Majesty's
Government, to all and each of Her Majesty's subjects surrendering the said British owned opium into
my hands, to be delivered over to the Chinese Government. And I, the said Chief Superintendent, do
further specially caution all Her Majesty's subjects here present in Canton, owners of or charged with
the management of opium, the property of British subjects, that, failing the surrender of the said opium
into my hands at or before six o'clock this day, I, the said Chief Superintendent, hereby declare Her
Majesty's Government wholly free of all manner of responsibility or liability in respect of the said
British owned opium.
And it is specially to be understood that proof of British property and value of all British opium
surrendered to me agreeably to this notice shall be determined upon principles and in a manner hereafter
to-be defined by Her Majesty's government.
Given under my hand and seal of office at Canton in China, this twenty seventh day of March, in
the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine, at six of the clock in the morning.
(L. S.) (Signed) CHARLES ELLIOT,
Chief Superintendent of the Trade of British Subjects in China.
Registered No.
(Signed) E. Elmslie,
Secretary and Treasurer to the Superintendents.
Inclosure 4 in No. 153.
Farm of Receipt grantedfor British owned Opium surrendered by a British Subject.
Registered. No.
I, Charles Elliot, Chief Superintendent of the Trade of British Subject*
in China, hereby acknowledge to have received from
British subject trading in Canton chests of Opium
as under for the service of Her Majesty's Government, in terms of my Public Notice to British subjects
dated 27th March, 1839, hereunto annexed. The amount of indemnity for said Opium to be paid to
. or order.
_^ ______ _ , Chests. Patna.
_____ . do. Benares.
, - do. Malwa.
———— do. Turkey.
Total Chests.
Ia witness wherof I have affirmed to four documents, all of this
; to stand void.
I, of Canton, do hereby make oath that the Opium specified above
was at and before the issue of the P ublic Notice to British subjects, signed by Charles Elliot, Her
Majesty's Chief Superintendent, under date Canton, 27th March, 1839, either bondfide the property
of me the said , or consigned to me with full controul
as to its disposal. And I do further solemnly declare, that no collusive transfer of any part of said
Opium was made to me by the subject of any foreign nation, but that the whole of the Opium was
surrendered by myself in the character of a British subject to the Chief Superintendent for the service
of Her Majesty's Government, being in all respects, to the best of my knowledge and belief, Opium
falling within the letter and spirit of the before-mentioned notice to British subjects.
Sworn before me at Macao, in China, this ?
day of June, 1839. J
Chief Superintendent.
I, Charles Elliot, Chief Superintendent of the Trade of British subjects in China, do
hereby certify that the person making the within affidavit, is well
known to me as a British subject established at Canton.
Given under my hand and seal of office, at Macao, in China, thisl
day of June, in the year of our Lord, 1839. J
Public Notice to British Subjects—(as in previous
Inclosure 5 in No. 153.
edfor British-owned
and Portuguese Firms.
a citizen of and a i
the firm of the following opium, which the said
solemnly and sincerely declared before me to be the property of a British
subject.
And proof of the said opium being established in the manner provided in my Public Notice,
dated this day, I do hereby hold Her Majesty's Government responsible for ibe value thereof, also to
be determined agreeably to the provisions contained in my Public Notice.
Given under my hand and seal this Twenty-seventh day of March, of the year of our Lord
1839, at Canton in China.
CHARLES ELLIOT,
Chief Superintendent of the Trade of British subjects in <
Registered No.
(Signed) E. Elmslie.
Secretary and Treasurer to the Superintendent.
431
No. 154.
Captain Elliot to Viscount Palmerston.— {Received December 2, 1839.)
My Lord, Macao, July 18, 1839.
THE inclosed communication to the Agents of two British merchant
ships, (of which the seamen had been most improperly allowed to go on
shore at Hong-Kong, and thus became engaged in a riot, attended
unhappily with loss of life,) will most conveniently place your Lordship
in possession of the present posture of that affair.
The immediate departure of a ship for Bombay obliges me to be very
brief on this occasion ; but I believe your Lordship may be assured, that
it has been in my power to avert any aggravation of the serious difficulties
of our situation, arising out of this distressing event.
My despatches, at present in course of preparation, and which will pro
bably reach England as soon as the present one, will inform Her Majesty's
Government fully upon the progress and state of general affairs at this
place. At all events, it may be satisfactory to your Lordship to know by
this opportunity, that everything remains quiet, and that the natives have
not been molested in the supply of the ships with provisions.
The High Commissioner still remains at Canton; and I learn, through
a highly respectable native channel, that he dares not venture to leave
the provinces till he can report to the Throne the peaceful resumption of
the regular British trade.
His Excellency's perplexity too, is said to be intensely increased by
the impulse, which it was natural to expect his late rash measures would
give to this traffic, at other points of the coast than this. In several
parts of Fokien they have already produced a formidable organization of
the native smugglers, and the officers of the Government do not venture to
disturb them. The high prices in China will soon bring on the immense
stocks in India ; and, indeed, whilst I am writing to your Lordship, a
most vigorous trade is carried on at places about 200 miles to the eastward
of Canton.
I am more and more convinced, my Lord, that the late crisis, and the
just ground of interference afforded to Her Majesty's Government, will
enable it to interpose, under the most favourable circumstances, for the
establishment of regular and honourable trade on a firm basis, and, let
me take the liberty to add, for the effectual check or regulation of a
traffic, which by the present manner of its pursuit must every day become
more dangerous to the peace of this ancient empire, and more discreditable
to the character of the christian nations, under whose flags it is carried
on-
But, my Lord, the difficulties in China are not confined to this matter
of Opium. The true and far more important question to be solved, is
whether there shall be honourable and extending trade with this empire ;
or whether the coasts shall be delivered over to a state of things which
will pass rapidly from the worst character of forced trade to plain bucca
neering.
If the High Commissioner had accepted the sincere offers I made to
him on the 24th March last, I am well assured that far more would have
been done to diminish the imminent danger of such a state of things,
than has resulted from his own impetuous and ill-considered proceedings.
I have &&C.
(Signed) ' CHARLES ELLIOT,
Chief Superintendent.
432
Inclosure in No. 154.
Captain Elliot to Messrs. Jardine, Matheson and Co., . ■
v and Messrs. Dent and Co.
•Gentlemen, Macao, July 15, 1839. k
I AM concerned to acquaint you, that a very serious riot took place
in the neighbourhood of a village on the eastern shore of the anchorage
in Hong Kong Bay, in the afternoon of Sunday, the 7th instant, in which
several seamen of the ships Carnatic and Mangalore, were engaged.
There is strong reason to fear, that a native named Lie-wy-Lie lost his
life on this occasion ; and for the ends of justice, I have offered a reward
of 200 dollars on the part of Her Majesty's Government to any person or
persons who shall adduce evidence leading to the conviction of any other
person or persons, (being subjects of Her Majesty,) for the murder of that
individual.
I have also offered a reward of 100 dollars, to any person or persons
who shall adduce evidence leading to the conviction of any other person
or persons, (being subjects of Her Majesty,) as instigators of, or ring
leaders in, the riot of the 7th instant.