With regard, however, to the conduct of Sir John Davis during the last few
months in pursuance of instructions from Lord Palmerston, or in accordance
with what Sir John Davis conceived to be the spirit of those instructions, as
applicable to the events of the moment, his Lordship has only to say, that the
measures very properly, very promptly, and very successfully taken by Sir John
Davis, were not “ unjustifiable in principle ; " were not “ aa violation of solemn
Treaties ; " were not adopted “ without the customary forms which the laws of
nations recognise, and the feelings of humanity demand ; ” and that they were
neither “ rash ” nor “ injudicious.” On the contrary, there is no principle of
international law more established, and more justifiable, than that which autho
rises the resort to force in order to extort redress which negotiation has failed to
obtain .
The measures carried into execution by Sir John Davis were not “ aa violation
of solemn Treaties, ” but were employed to obtain the execution of solemn Treaties ;
and this the China Association, with a singular forgetfulness of their own asser
tions, and with aa remarkable inconsistency of argument, virtually acknowledge,
by the complaintwhich they make that “ all the important concessions made in
consequence of the recent hostile demonstrations, were really embodied in the
Treaty alluded to." If the demands which were made,, and the concessions
extorted, consisted of things which the Treaty stipulated, the British Government
were justified in demanding them , and it was those who had refused or evaded
those demands, and not those who made them , who were guilty of “ a violation
of solemn Treaties.”
The Association complain that these measures, which they miscall " a hostile
aggression ,” were directed against " a part of an empire far removed from the
seat of Government ; ” but Lord Palmerston is at a loss to understand the parti.
cular force of this objection. The geographical position of Canton with respect to
4
Pekin is a matter which neither Sir John Davis nor the British Government
have any power to alter. The aggressions were on the part of the Chinese, and
not on the part of Sir John Davis. Redress had been demanded by him, and
his demands had been the subject of protracted but unsuccessful negotiation.
The wrongs were local, and the very distance between the place where they had
happened and the seat of the Imperial Government left Sir John Davis no
alternative but either submission or the employment of force on the spot itself.
He had no means of making any application to Pekin except through the
Governor of Canton, and that Governor had declined to afford redress. Even
the China Association would not, Lord Palmerston concludes, have recommended
that the thousand men who sailed from Hong Kong should have been sent to
Pekin ; and there was nothing left , therefore, for Sir John Davis to do but to
take the steps which he did take, or to sit down quietly under aa denialof justice;
and whatever may be the opinion of the China Association on this matter, Lord
Palmerston thinks that Sir John Davis chose the proper alternative.
The Association, however,, say, that the course was " rash and injudicious . "
If it was rash, its rashness was shared by the mililary and naval officers who
were consulted beforehand by Sir John Davis ; but their high professional
character exempts them from the imputation, thus lightly cast upon them by the
Association, of having exposed the lives of the officers and men under their
command in a " rash and injudicious ” enterprise ; and with all due deference to
the Association , Lord Palmerston may be allowed to think that the opinion of
those military and naval officers, formed on the spot upon a military and naval
undertaking, is entitled to more weight than the judgment which the Commercial
Association, sitting in Liverpool, have passed upon that undertaking. Moreover,
the opinion of those officers was justified by the full and complete success which
crowned the operation. And Lord Palmerston directs me here to observe that,
when the Association object to these measures as repugnant to the feelings of
humanity, they seem to forget that there never was a military and naval opera
tion in which not only the common feelings of humanity, but the still higher
qualities of generous forbearance and noble disinterestedness and self-denial,
were more splendidly displayed by every man engaged, from the highest to the
lowest ; and if the Chinese are not in their moral constitution essentially different
from the rest of the human race, the admirable good conduct of the British
soldiers and sailors on this occasion must produce as forcible an impression on
38
their minds, as the proofs which have been afforded of the irresistible superiority
of Englishmen in naval and military matters have no doubt created on their
prudential fears.
The Association seem to be dissatisfied that the concessions obtained by
this expedition did not go beyond the full and faithful execution of the Pottinger
Treaty; but they forget that Sir John Davis could have had no warrant, without
fresh and specific instructions from his Government, toinsist upon more, and that
the Governor of Canton could not, of his own authority, have granted anything
which would have been contrary to, or a departure from, the Treaty which had
been ratified by the Emperor.
The Association are of opinion that “ pa owerful war-steamer ” should be
always stationed in the close vicinity of the British factories ; but though they
seem not to be aware of the circumstance, yet the fact is, that there is not depth
of water opposite to, nor in the close vicinity of, the factories for a “powerful
war-steamer. A small steamer, of such size as the depth of water will allow ,
will, from time to time, and whenever necessary, be stationed there ; but, though
Lord Palmerstonis of opinion that the presence of such a ship of war, in that
position, would tend to prevent any attack upon the factories, his Lordship
cannot persuade himself that a steamer so placed would have prevented the mal
treatment of two sailors by the mob in the interior of the town of Canton,
or the outrage committed on Colonel Chesney and his companions at Fuh -shan,
eighteen miles higher up the river.
I am , &c.
( Signed ) H. U. ADDINGTON .
5
No. 5.
The Vice-Chairman of the Liverpool East India and China Association to
Viscount Palmerston.— (Received August 23.)
East India and China Association,
My Lord, Liverpool, August 20, 1847.
I HAVE had the honour of laying your Lordship’s reply to my letter of
the 10th of July, in reference to the recent proceedings at Canton, before a
meeting of this Association ; and I am desired to submit to your Lordship some
further remarks explanatory of some portions of that letter, which your Lordship
appears to have misunderstood.
In doing so, II beg to express my regret if any part of it should have incurred
your Lordship’s animadversion. Our remarks were dictated by no wish on our
part to reflect upon your Lordship’s, or any former, Administration ; but simply
by a sincere desire to benefit the important trade in which we, and our fellow
merchants at Canton, are so deeply interested ; and I may also add, that the
correspondence between your Lordship and the authorities at Hong Kong and
Canton, published since our letter to your Lordship was written , has, in some
degree, modified some of the views we then expressed.
In asking from your Lordship that a powerful war-steamer might be perma
nently stationed off the factories at Canton, we could not, of course, be supposed
to require impossibilities. We simply wished that the most powerful steamer
which the depth of water.would admit of, should always be stationed there, to
serve as a refuge to British subjects from any sudden outbreak of the populace.
And when we recollect the feet of corvettes and steamers which took their
station off the town, prior to the attack of Captain Elliott in 1841 , we must
confess we are at a loss to understand why there should be any possible obstacle
to a steamer, sufficiently large for the service, being stationed there now.
We must also again repeat to your Lordship , as expressed in our former
letter, our conviction that the merely “ occasional visits ” of a steamer are calcu
lated to irritate , rather than to overawe, the unruly rabble of Canton, and even
to invite an attack upon our countrymen during her absence ; and we are fully
satisfied that, to have the desired effect, a steamer should, at all times, be
stationed off the factories.
To this point, therefore, I am again desired most earnestly toinvite your
Lordship's serious consideration, as forming the only basis upon which, in the
existing state of our intercourse with Canton, the confidence of the British
community there can be restored and maintained.
And , further, the Association believe that, had Sir John Davis, from the
time of his arrival in China, firmly and decidedly insisted upon the Pottinger
Treaty being fully carried out ; and, in particular, that, had the vessel of war,
therein stipulated for, been constantly moored off the factories 3; the populace of
Canton would never so far have outrun the control of their own Government as
to endanger, as recently they have done, our entire trade with that place. We
admit that some acts of aggression might have been perpetrated, but the fear of
immediate chastisement would have prevented any open or general outbreak of
ill -will.
With regard to the late warlike proceedings at Canton, we quite agree with
your Lordship as to the manner in which they were executed, and feel great
pleasure in bearing testimony to the gallant conduct, generous forbearance ,and
noble disinterestedness of the British forces employed in these operations, as
well as to the military skill and courageous energy exhibited by the Commanders
on that occasion .
In characterizing the expedition as “ rash and injudicious,” we alluded to
the imminent jeopardy to which it subjected British life and property at Canton,
and to the inexpediency andinutility of the attack itself as proved by its results,
and not, in any way, to the gallant execution of it. We complained, and, we think,
justly, that the lives and property of our fellow -countrymen at Canton should
have been left for hours totally unprotected from the attacks of the infuriated
rabble of that city. We complained of a want of judgment in the political
conduct of the expedition, inasmuch as, by exposing to the mob of Canton the
weakness of their own Government, it still further diminished the power of the
6
mandarins to afford protection to our countrymen, without providing for the
presence of any British force to supply its place ; and we complain of its
inutility, as having thus failed in its ostensible object of giving greater security
to life and property at Canton, or in removing any of the practical difficulties to
the execution of the Treaty of Nankin. So far, indeed, from accomplishing
either of these most desirable objects, it seems rather to have retarded their
accomplishment. The Pottinger Treaty stipulated, for instance, that British
subjects should at once have permission to enter the city of Canton. Sir John
Davis stipulates that that permission shall be postponed for a further period of
two years. Notwithstanding that, your Lordship admits that “" he had no
>
warrant ” to alter the provisions of that Treaty.
It is with much regret, also, that we observe that the opinion expressed
by us in our former letter to your Lordship, as to the probableconsequences of
the expedition, are but too likely to be realised. According to advices received
by the last mail, all trade at Canton had ceased ; the rich “ shroffs,” or bankers ,
having lost all confidence in the good faith and peaceable intentions of the Hong
Kong Government, and fearing further aggressions similar to, and as unexpected
as, the last, had withdrawn their capitalfrom the trade, and it is difficult to
foresee when their former confidence will be restored .
The exasperation of the people is extreme. It appears from their placards
that a conspiracy was being formed, and that active measures were being taken ,
to drive our merchants from the country. The troops left at Canton have
already come into collision with the mob, and, though the presence of the
“ Pluto ” steamer off the factories will probably serve as a refuge to our fellow
countrymen in case of any serious outbreak, it is impossible, without painful
anxiety, to contemplate the probable results of such an occurrence.
With regard to your Lordship’s remark that, “ if the East India Association
disapproved of the course of policy adopted during the last three years by Sir
John Davis, it would have been more practically useful for them to have
stated their objection to it at the time, and to the proper quarter, than to have
now conveyed to your Lordship their retrospective censure ;” I am desired to say,,
that it was impossible for them to complain of the mal-administration of Sir
John Davis before time had been allowed him to prove by his acts whether
he were indeed fitted for the responsible situation in which he had been placed ,
and on no slight grounds should we have thought it right to have made so
serious a charge.
In making our former remarks on this subject, we were but recording, along
with our own , the loudly-expressed opinion of our fellow -merchants in China
we believe, without one exception ; and the commercial bodies of London and
Manchester fully coincide in the opinions which the merchants of Liverpool
connected with the China trade nowfeel bound to repeat to your Lordship.
Cordially as we would approve of all necessary steps being adopted on the
part of the Hong Kong Government to enforce the fulfilment of ourTreaty with
the Chinese, we still think that a firm and consistent course of policy would be
more beneficial than any sudden and capricious aggression.
aggress We feel that though
under particular circumstances a resort to force may be a necessary alternative,
it should be the last.
We admit also that the temporary interruption or interference with com
mercial interests should never be allowed to stand in the way of the enforcement
of the respect due to the British flag ; but we would wish to see every means of
firm and conciliatory policy first proved to be ineffectual, before an appeal to
arms again interferes with the vast interests involved in this important trade.
And we cannot, we must confess, assent to the principle, that because “ wrongs
were local, the very distance between the place where they had happened, and
the seat of the Imperial Government ” left ” no alternative but either submission ,
or the employment of force on the spot itself .” This doctrine, we humbly
:
submit to your Lordship, might be found extremely inconvenient in practice, if
promulgated and adopted in the civilized world.
The anxiety which we feel for the result of the late events in China may be
accounted for when your Lordship remembers that, besides a very large amount
of property, we have relations and friends exposed to the very serious dangers
the residents in Canton are now incurring whilst engaged in the peaceful fulfil
ment of their commercial duties, and we feel that even should the British
residents escape, the valuable property they would leave behind them would offer
7
a powerful temptation to the mob to attempt the destruction of the factories ;
the inevitable result of which would be a resumption of former hostilities, and
the consequent interruption of trade for an indefinite period .
In conclusion , webeg leave further to submit to your Lordship, that these
views are not mere idle or impertinent speculations : many of the members of
this Association having resided in China and become personally acquainted not
only with the Chinese character, but with the position of matters generally in
that country, consider themselves to some extent qualified to express an opinion
on our difficulties at Canton. And it is the dread we entertain lest similar
aggressions, equally unexpected by the British community at Canton, and
against which no foresight or prudence on their part could guard, should again
jeopardize their lives and properties, that has actuated us in the firm , but I trust
respectful, expression of the opinions which we have felt it our duty to place
before your Lordship.
I have, &c .
(Signed) CHARLES TURNER.
No. 6 .
Mr. Addington to the Chairman of the Liverpool East India and China
Association.
Sir , Foreign Office, August 26 , 1847.
I AM directed by Viscount Palmerston to acknowledge the receipt of your
letter of the 20th instant, containing a further representation on behalf of the
East India and China Association of Liverpool, in answer to the communication
which I was directed by Lord Palmerston to make to you in my letter of the
14th of July .
I am now to state to you in reply, that differing as Lord Palmerston does
with the Association in the opinions and expectations which they have expressed,
his Lordship is content to leave to time and to events to decide whether the
anticipations of the Association as to the future results of the measures lately
adopted by Sir J. Davis in the Canton river will be verified or not ; but Lord
Palmerston must beg to advert to one fundamental difference between their
reasoning and the principle upon which Her Majesty's Government have acted.
The Association seem to consider the mob of Canton to be the power with which
we have to deal , whose feelings should be deferred to, and whose will must be
considered as paramount. Her Majesty's Government, on the other hand,
consider the Government of Canton to be the authority to be dealt with, whether
negotiation or coercion be required ; and Lord Palmerston cannot think that it
would be wise or becoming to abstain from enforcing rights, or to refrain from
exacting redress for wrongs, out of fear of displeasing the mob of Canton.
The Association are mistaken in imagining that Sir John Davis made, by his
last agreement, any concession in regard to the right given to British subjects to
enter the city of Canton ; but to those who look upon the mob of Canton as the
supreme authority of the city, and who believe that mob to be systematically
hostile to foreigners, it cannot be of much importance at what time a right is to
be conceded which prudential considerations would induce such persons to be
very cautious of exercising.
With regard to the stationing a ship - of -war opposite the factories, the
Association must surely see that it does not follow that the same choice of small
vessels should be at command on the China station, at the present time, as
existed when a large armament was collected in that quarter for warlike operations
on a great scale ; and it appears to Lord Palmerston to be best to leaveit to the
judgment and discretion of the Admiral on the station, in communication with
Sir John Davis, to make such arrangements on this head as may appear to him
most proper .
Lord Palmerston abstains from adverting to other topics in your letter
which suggest very obvious remarks, because there does not appear to his Lord
ship to be any necessity for prolonging this correspondence.
I am , & c.
( Signed ) H. U. ADDINGTON .
с
8
No. 7.
The Vice- Chairman of the Liverpool East India and China Association to
Viscount Palmerston -- (Received February 23.)
East India and China Association,
My Lord , Liverpool, February 22, 1848.
IT is with feelings of the most painful description that we now address your
Lordship, in reference to the lamentable occurrences at Canton, of which the
present mail brings advices, affording, as they do, a melancholy and fatal confir
mation of the apprehensions we have from time to time submitted to your
Lordship's attention ; apprehensious which we feel assured your Lordship must
now , equally with ourselves, deeply regret had not been deemed worthy of the
consideration due to the suggestions of parties speaking from practical knowledge
and personal experience .
It cannot now , my Lord, be denied that the exasperation produced by the
late attack on the Bogue Forts, and a retreat which did not overawe, but con
firmed the Chinese in their conviction of their own superiority, have been the
cause of the inhuman torture and subsequent murder of six of Her Majesty's
unoffending subjects ; four of whom at least, there is strong presumptive evidence
to prove, might have been saved had the “ Pluto ” steamer been at Canton .
And we contend, and think the evidence supports us in the assertion , that the
atrocious acts we now deplore might have been prevented had the war- steamer
not have been withdrawn from that station .
In the name of our common humanity, therefore, we make our earnest
appeal to your Lordship’s recognised promptitude and energy to take immediate
steps to prevent the recurrence of such appalling disasters.
I have , &c.
(Signed ) ROBERT C. CROSBIE .
No. 8 .
Mr. Addington to the Vice -Chairman of the Liverpool East India and China
Association .
Sir , Foreign Office, February 29, 1848.
I AM directed by Viscount Palmerston to acknowledge the receipt of your
letter of the 22nd instant, relative to the lamentable intelligence which was
received by the last mail of the murder of six British subjects in the neighbourhood
of Canton.
Viscount Palmerston directs me to state to you, in reply, that he deeply
laments the melancholy event to which you call his attention, but that he does
not see how that event could have been prevented by the presence of a steam
vessel off the factories at Canton .
As the communications between Sir John Davis and the Chinese Govern
ment on this matter were still going on at the date of the last advices received
from China, Viscount Palmerston can say nothing to you as to the course which
Her Majesty's Government may deem it advisable to adopt to prevent the recur
rence of the likedisaster ; but his Lordship cannot refrain from expressing to you
his regret that when the British residents at Canton were,as appears by a commu
nication addressed to him by them, fully aware that considerable danger of insult
and attack would be incurred by any British subjects who might enter Chinese
villages, the leading members of the mercantile body did not use their natural
influence with the young men attached to their establishments to induce them to
desist - at least, for a time — from excursions which were known to be attended
with so much personal risk .
I am , &c.
(Signed ) H. U. ADDINGTON ,
.
Foreign
Office
and
between
CORRESPONDENCEthe
India
East
the
and
China
Association
Liverpool
of
1848,
1846,
1847,
in
and
Presented
House
the
Commons
Command to
of
by
in,
pursuance
Majesty
Her
of
Address
their
of
March
1857.6,
LONDON:
PRINTED
HARRISON
BY.
SONS
AND
--
6 37
CORRESPONDENCE
BETWEEN THE
FOREIGN OFFICE
AND THE
COMMERCIAL ASSO CIATION
ASSOCIATION
OF
MANCHESTER.
1846—1848 .
Presented to the House of Commons by Command of Her Majesty, in
pursuance of their Address of May 28, 1857.
LONDON :
PRINTED BY HARRISON AND SONS .
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E
COLLEG
ARVARD
OCT 9 1919
LIBRARY
LIST OF PAPERS ,
No. Page
1. The President of the Manchester Commercial Association to Viscount
Palmerston ..
September 25 , 1846 1
2. Mr. Addington to the President of the Manchester Commercial
Association October 1, 1
3. The President of the Manchester Commercial Association to Viscount
IULUI
Palmerston .
July 9, 1847 2
4. Mr. Addington to the President of the Manchester Commercial
Association July 14, 2
5. The President of the Manchester Commercial Association to Viscount
Palmerston March 16, 1848 3
C
6. The President of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce to Viscount
Palmerston March 23, 4
Inclosure
Memorial March 9, 4
7. Mr. Addington to the President of the Manchester Commercial
Association March 25 , 5
8. Mr. Addington to the President of the Manchester Chamber of
Commerce April 4, 5
9. The President of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce to
Mr. Addington.. April 6, 6
10. The President of the Manchester Commercial Association to Viscount
Palmerston • .
April 7, 7
11. Mr. Addington to the President of the Manchester Chamber of
Commerce April 14, - 7
12. Mr. Addington to the President of the Manchester Commercial
Association April 14, 8
:
!
RETURN to an Address of the Honourable the House of Commons, dated May 28, 1857 ;
for
“ Correspondence between the Foreign Office and the Commercial
Association of Manchester, relative to Outrages committed on
British Subjects in China, in 1846, 1847, and 1848.”
No. 1 .
The President of the Manchester Commercial Association to Viscount Palmerston.
(Received September 28.)
Manchester Commercial Association ,
My Lord, September 25, 1846.
THE Directors of this Association, by letters received from China per the
last mail, have been solicited to co-operate in calling the attention of Her
Majesty's Government to the serious outrages which have been recently
committed against the persons and property of British subjects at Canton by
the native population, and to point out the necessity which exists of guarding
against a recurrence of similar disturbances , by the presence of aa British ship of
war in the immediate neighbourhood .
The Association , however, judging from what has already transpired in the
public prints, doubtnot that yourLordship is in possession of full details, and
that the matter receives your careful consideration .
They therefore only deem it necessary, as parties having a deep personal
interest in the subject, to express their anxious hope that Her Majesty's Govern
ment will adopt immediate steps to afford greater security to the lives and
properties of British subjects in the Chinese Empire.
I have, &c .
(Signed ) J. ASPINALL TURNER.
No. 2 .
Mr. Addington to the President of the Manchester Commercial Association.
Sir, Foreign Office, October 1 , 1846.
I AM directed by Viscount Palmerston to acknowledge the receipt of the
letter dated the 25th ultimo , signed by you on behalf of the Manchester
Commercial Association , referring to the late disturbances at Canton, and
requesting that further protection may be afforded to Her Majesty's subjects
residing in China ; and I am to state to you in reply, that Her Majesty's
Government will not fail to take such measures in this respect as will ensure,
so far as it is in their power, a full protection to the lives and properties of
British subjects.
I am , &c.
(Signed) H. U. ADDINGTON .
[227] B
!
2
No. 3.
The President of the Manchester Commercial Association to Viscount Palmerston.
Manchester Commercial Association ,
My Lord, July 9, 1847.
ON the 25th September , 1846, I had the honour to address your Lordship
on behalf of the Directors of this Association , with reference to certain disturb
ances which had taken place at Canton, whereby the lives and properties of
British subjects in that part of China had been placed in the utmost peril .
To that communication, and to your Lordship’s most satisfactory reply thereto ,
dated the 1st of the following month , I beg most respectfully to refer your
Lcrdship ; and I regret extremely that the present posture of affairs at Canton
renders it necessary that I should again address your Lordship on the same
subject.
We learn, however, that during the period which has elapsed between the
date of the correspondence above adverted to and the commencement of the
recent hostilities, the British residents at Canton have been obliged to rely
almost solely upon themselves, associated together as armed volunteers , for the
protection of their lives and the large amount of property entrusted to their
charge. The knowledge of this fact has again given rise to the most serious
apprehensions in the minds of several members of this Association having large
interests at stake at Canton , and they are the more alarmed in consequence of
the increased ill-feeling which they are informed has been manifested by the
lower classes of the Chinese population towards the English since the recent
military operations against Canton ; the military force stationed in the neigh
bourhood being, from its 'small numerical strength, quite inadequate to the
magnitude of the duty assigned to it, as would at once appear from the
Commander-in-chief having gladly availed himself of the services of the
volunteers before alluded to.
I would, in conclusion , state that neither the Association which I represent,
nor myself personally, entertain the least doubt that your Lordship’s vigilance
has been directed to this subject, nor that you will take such steps as the
exigencies of the case demand. It would, nevertheless, be a source of the
greatest satisfaction to us, and would tend materially to allay anxiety, should
we learn directly from your Lordship that prompt and decisive measureshad
been adopted by Her Majesty's Government to afford due protection to the lives
and properties of British subjects at Canton .
I have, &c.
(Signed) J. ASPINALL TURNER .
No. 1 .
Mr. Addington to the President of the Manchester Commercial Association .
Sir, Foreign Office, July 14, 1847.
I AM directed by Viscount Palmerston to acknowledge the receipt of your
letter of the 9th instant, representing, on behalf of the Manchester Commercial
Association , of which you are President, the insufficiency of the protection
afforded to British subjects at Canton .
Lord Palmerston directs me to state to you in reply , that if the Association
have been informed that the lower classes of Chinese at Canton have manifested
increased ill-feeling towards British subjects since the successful and brilliant
1
termination of the recent operations in the Canton river, the information which
has reached the Association is exactly tlıc reverse of that which has been received
by Her Majesty's Government from persons who have the most recent know
ledge of the facts, and on whose accuracy and correctness Her Majesty's Govern
ment place entire reliance .
Her Majesty's Government have reason to believe that at the time when
the last accounts came away from China, the behaviour of the common people
3
at Canton towards foreigners in general was much improved, and that commerce
was proceeding withoutinterruption and with security.
With regard to the British and other residents at Canton, they are better
protected now than they have been at any time since the withdrawal of our
force after the conclusion of the Treaty of Nankin ; because while, on the one
hand, the Chinese have had a practical proof that the ordinary garrison of
HongKong is able at any time, and without waiting for reinforcements from India,
to enforce, if necessary , at Canton itself a demand for redress ; on the other
>
hand, various local arrangements have been made at the factories which have
much diminished the causes and chances of collision, and have increased the
means of the residents to make a successful defence ; and while the occasional
presence of a war-steamer opposite the factories must give support to the
residents, the recent expedition will have given the Governor of the town
additional motives for exerting the civil authority and military power which he
possesses in order to keep the lower classes in check, and to prevent those outrages
upon British subjects which would again expose him to receive inconvenient
demands, and to be compelled to make humiliating concessions.
I am, &c.
( Signed ) H. U. ADDINGTON .
No. 5.
The President of the Manchester Commercial Association to Viscount Palmerston.
#
(Received March 18. )
Manchester Commercial Association,
My Lord , March 16, 1848 .
ON the 25th of September, 1846 , and 9th July, 1847 , I had the honour to
address your Lordship relative to certain disturbances which had taken place at
Canton, and on both occasions, due reference was made to the urgent necessity
which existed, of affording better security for the lives and properties of British
subjects in that portion of the Chinese Empire.
Your Lordship’s reply to my first communication was calculated to tran
quillize the minds of those upon whose behalf it had been my duty to address
your Lordship , inasmuch as adequate protection was promised therein ; and
no doubt was entertained that such had actually been provided, until, the recur
rence of disorders becoming known in England, I was called upon a second
time to apply to your Lordship, and on thatoccasion I ventured to direct atten
>
tion to the continued insecurity of British interests at Canton, and the increased
ill-feeling with which foreigners were viewed by the Chinese population .
To those statements your Lordship saw fit to take exception, and doubtless
your official information led to the conclusion that this Association had been
misinformed as to the posture of affairs in that quarter.
Unhappily, my Lord, the disastrous and melancholy intelligence conveyed
by the mailof the 30th December last, from China, has fatally realized our worst
apprehensions. Three gentlemen connected with the members of this Associa
tion have been savagely murdered. Officials have been stoned and insulted ,
and the lives and properties of other persons have been placed in imminent
peril. In directing your Lordship's attention to this matter, I would not be
understood as attributing blame either to your Lordship or to any other mem
ber of Her Majesty's Horne Government ; but I respectively submit that Her
Majesty's Representative in China is not wholly free from censure, as I am
informed by correspondence now in the hands of this Association , that there was
not any military or naval force at Canton at the time of the outrages referred to, and
also , that had not considerable delay occurred in rendering assistance, the lives
of four of the parties murdered might, in all probability, have been saved .
In addition to which, I am requested to notice, that when some of the
gentlemen most deeply interested, on the trying occasion alluded to, waited
upon Her Majesty's Plenipotentiary for the purpose of making certain repre
sentations on the subject, they were not only coldly received, but were treated
with positive indignity.
4
Under these circumstances, the Association again most earnestly solicit your
Lordship’s interference in obtaining adequate protection for British subjects
resident in China, and due consideration for just representations addressed by
them to Her Majesty's Plenipotentiary on that station.
I have, &c.
(Signed) J. ASPINALL TURNER .
No. 6 .
The President of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce to Viscount Palmerston.
(Received March 24. )
Chamber of Commerce and Manufactures,
My Lord , Manchester, March 23 , 1848 .
I HAVE the honour to place in your Lordship's hands aa Memorial relative
to the present position of British subjects and British property at Canton, which
was unanimously adopted at a meeting of the Directors of this Chamber, held
on the 9th instant.
I have, &c .
( Signed ) THOS. BAZLEY.
Inclosure in No. 6 .
Memorial.
To the Right Hon . the Lord Viscount Palmerston, M.P., Her Majesty's Principal
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, & c.
The Memorial of the Directors of the Chamber of Commerce and Manu
factures at Manchester,
1
Sheweth,
THAT your memorialists have had communicated to them the details of a
barbarous massacre of six of their fellow -countrymen , in the immediate vicinity
of Canton, on the 5th of December last .
That your memorialists have refrained from troubling your Lordship on
former occasions, when outrages have arisen between the Chinese and British
subjects at Canton, because they could not divest themselves of the feeling that
: the fault was not entirely on one side ; nor did they abandon the hope that time
and more circumspect conduct would eventually soften down existing asperities,
2 and lead to peaceful and profitable intercourse. But the circumstances which
have attended the late atrocities; the organization of bands of murderers, under
the supervision of the village, and in defiance of the superior authorities ; the
open avowal of such organization by placards publicly issued in various adjoining
districts; and the tardiness with which assistance is systematically afforded when
demanded from the Imperial Commissioner ; seem to your memorialists to call
for the prompt exercise of such measures as the accustomed energy of your
Lordship may deem proper, to procure, as far as possible, redress for the past
and rightful security for the future.
That, lamenting the constant growth of ill-feeling between British residents
and the native population in and about Canton, which is singularly conspicuous
there over all the other ports with which we are permitted to trade, and avoid
ing all surmise as to the source from which it springs, your memorialists see in
the actual position of their fellow -countrymen so much danger, and in the
conduct of the Chinese authorities so much supineness, evasion, and want of
truth as, in their opinion , to demand a more constant and visible display of a
determination to protect British life and property than the factories at Canton
have of late possessed.
That the never-failing presence of one or more vessels of war, suitable for
those waters, seems, in the opinion of your memorialists, to be absolutely neces
sary, at least for aa time, in the present posture of affairs ; but not doubting that
5
all the circumstances relating to the position of British interests at Canton have
already received the due consideration of your Lordship , they prefer with great
respect this expressson of their sympathy and wishes .
By order and on behalf of the Directors of the Chamber
of Commerce and Manufactures at Manchester,
(Signed) THOS . BAZLEY , President.
Manchester, March 9 , 1848 .
No. 7 .
Mr. Addington to the President of the Manchester Commercial Association .
Sir , Foreign Office, March 25, 1848 .
I AM directed by Viscount Palmerston to acknowledge the receipt of the
letter which, as President of the Manchester Commercial Association, you
addressed to him on the 16th instant, with reference to the murder of six British
subjects in the neighbourhood of Canton in the beginning of last December ; and
I am to state to you in reply that this lamentable loss of life did not happen
from the want of any protection which it was possible for Her Majesty's
Government,or for Her Majesty's officers, political, naval, or military, in China,
to have afforded ; but was the consequence of great imprudence on the part of
the unfortunate gentlemen themselves, who exposed themselves unnecesssarily
to a danger of which they seem to have been previously aware; and Lord
Palmerston cannot but regret that the leading resident merchants at Canton did
not exert that influence which they must be supposed to possess over the
younger members of the British community at that station, in order to persuade
them to abstain for a time from excursions into places in the country in the
neighbourhood of Canton, where it was well known to those leading merchants
that peculiar circumstances had for the time created a very hostile feeling
towards British subjects. If the British merchants at Canton, instead of making
unfounded complaints against Sir John Davis, had done what they might have
done in this respect, the lamentable event which forms the subject of your
letter would probably not have occurred .
I am , & c.
( Signed) H. U. ADDINGTON .
No. 8 .
Mr. Addington to the President of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce.
Sir, Foreign Office, April 4, 1848.
I AM directed by Viscount Palmerston to acknowledge the receipt of your
letter of the 23rd of March , inclosing a memorial from the Directors of the
Chamber of Commerce and Manufactures at Manchester, respecting the murder
of six Englishmen at Canton in the month of December last .
Lord Palmerston directs me to state to you in reply , that Her Majesty's
Government deeply regret the lamentable occurrence which has led to the
Memorial inclosed in your letter. The animosity entertained by the lower
orders of the Chinese in the neighbourhood of Canton against foreigners, is a
subject of the greater concern to Her Majesty's Government, because no precau
tions which they can possibly take can be sufficient to secure British subjects
from the effects of that animosity, unless those British residents who may be
supposed to be in a position to exercise a salutary influence over their fellow
countrymen, and especially over the younger members of the British community,
will exert their influence to prevent them from needlessly exposing themselves
to risk by seeking to penetrate into villages the population of which are known
to be hostile to foreigners.
Since the melancholy occurrence in December last, Her Majesty's Plenipo
tentiary has been unremitting in his exertions to awaken the Chinese authorities
to a sense of the consequences which must inevitably result from any relaxation
of their endeavours to keep their people in order ; and Her Majesty's Govern
ment have seen with pleasure, in the accounts last received from China,
6
that the Chinese authorities profess themselves anxious to secure foreigners
from molestation, and that the respectable portions of the Chinese inhabitants
are willing to co -operate with their authoritiesfor this purpose, and are exerting
their local influence to repress any acts of violence or ill-will on the part of the
lower orders against foreigners.
Her Majesty's Government trust that the British residents will, on their
part, co -operate with Her Majesty's Plenipotentiary and with the Chinese autho
rities by refraining from any proceedings which may have a tendency to provoke
collision . No military or naval force of such amount as could , with the consent
of the Chinese authorities, be stationed at Canton, could prevent a sudden
outbreak of popular violence against foreigners who might extend their excur
sions into the country at a distance from the factories, and such a force would
be too small to be employed to retaliate upon an offending district. It is, there
fore, to the prudence and forbearance of the British residents themselves that
Her Majesty's Government must principally look ; and the members of the
Chamber of Commerce over whom you preside can render no better service ,
either to their friends in China, or to the general interests of the country as far
as the trade with China is concerned, than by inculcating upon their corre
spondents in that quarter the expediency and the duty of avoiding all occasion
of collision with the native population .
I am , & c.
(Signed ) H. U. ADDINGTON .
No. 9 .
The President of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce to Mr. Addington. -
(Received April 7.)
Chamber of Commerce and Manufactures,
Sir, Manchester, April 6 , 1848 .
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 4th
instant, conveying to ine the reply of Viscount Palmerston to the Memorial
addressed to his Lordship on the 23rd of March by the Directors of this Chamber,
which had for its object to pray for such a visible protection for the lives and
properties of British subjects resident at Canton as the position of the parties,
under existing circumstances, seem to require, namely, by the never -failing
presence, at least for a time, of one or more vessels of war suitable for those
waters.
I have submitted your letter to the Directors of this Chamber this morning,
and I am instructed to convey to you their unanimous concurrence with his
Lordship in the main arguments of your communication, and to say that a copy
of it and of this letter shall be sent to Canton by the first mail.
I am, however, desired to remark that, whilst this Board coincide fully
with his Lordship's views of the duty of British subjects to refrain from every
proceeding which may havea tendency to provoke collision, yet we have seen,
in the despatches of Her Majesty's Plenipotentiary at Hong Kong, such unmis
takeable evidences of apathy and disingenuousness on the part of the Chinese
authorities whenever their intervention has been called for, or redress has been
claimed, as, in our opinion , to call for a more visible manifestation of the power
to protect British subjects than has, of late, been seen about the factories; the
constant presence of which would doubtless serve to keep the mob of Canton in
better check than the contemned power or inertness of the Chinese authorities
appears to be able to do .
We quite agree with his Lordship that the prudence and forbearance of the
British residents ought to form their chief safeguard, and we shall express this
opinion to those who may be supposed to be in a position to exercise a salutary
influence over their fellow -countrymen, and especially over the younger members
of the British community. We shall address ourselves to the Committee of the
British Chamber of Commerce at Canton , and request an energetic exercise of
their influence in support of his Lordship's views ; but at the same time we must
be permitted to intimate our doubts that the conduct of our fellow -countrymen,
however injudicious it may have been on occasions, has, not more than the bad
7
faith of the Chinese authorities, contributed to that unfortunate state of feeling
under which , in the face of the Pottinger Treaties, British subjects are to be
compelled to spend their lives, whether at business or at recreation , on one spot,
and within most circumscribed limits .
I take this opportunity of expressingto his Lordship the regret with which
this Board has lately heard of the refusal of the British authorities at Canton,
under instructions from his Lordship, to hold communication with, or to recog
nize, the Chamber of Commerce there. A representation of the sentiments of
this Board has been already made to the Lords Committee of the Privy Council
for Trade, on a report from whom his Lordship's instructions are said to be
founded, which is now under the consideration of that Department ; and I beg
to be permitted to express the hope of this Board, that, when the reconsideration
of that subject shall come before him, his Lordship may see, in the service which
we now request from that body, and in many other important points in which
such an Association may be useful, both to the general interests of the trade and
to the Government itself, good grounds for the withdrawal of the orders to with
hold confidence and recognition from it .
I have, &c.
( Signed ) THOS. BAZLEY.
No. 10.
The President of the Manchester Commercial Association to Viscount Palmerston.
(Received April 11. )
Manchester Commercial Association,
My Lord, April 7 , 1848.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Lordship's letter
of the 25th ultimo , with reference to the recent murders at Canton , from which
this Association regret to learn that your Lordship attributes that unhappy
occurrence to the temerity of the British residents rather than to any want of
foresight or precaution on the part of Her Majesty's Representative on that
station .
On this point the Association are reluctantly compelled to differ from your
Lordship ; the correspondence adverted to in my last communication , clearly
stating " that no protection such as had been solicited by this Association on
behalf of the British residents at Canton, and promised by your Lordship, was
at hand at the period of the outrage ; and that had the case been otherwise, the
lives of at least some of the parties referred to might have been saved ; and also
that several days elapsed before any efficient assistance could be rendered.”
These facts appear to have escaped your Lordship’s notice.
With reference to your Lordship's observation as to unfounded complaints
against Sir John Davis, the Association are not aware of any evidence to disprove
the statements made as to his unbecoming demeanour towards those members of
the British community who waited upon him, in his official capacity, on the
occasion alluded to .
In conclusion, my Lord , I have only to repeat the expression of my
sincere regret at the melancholy event which we have so much cause to deplore,
and have, & c .
(Signed) J. ASPINALL TURNER .
No. 11 .
Mr. Addington to the President of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce.
Sir , Foreign Office, April 14 , 1848 .
I HAVE laid before Viscount Palmerston your letter of the 6th instant ;
and in order that the Chamber of Commerce and Manufactures at Manchester
may be fully informed of the measures which have been concerted between the
British and Chinese authorities for the future protection of British subjects at
С
8
Canton , I am directed by his Lordship to furnish you with a copy of papers
which have just been presented, by Her Majesty's command, to both Houses of
Parliament, and which contain all the information on that subject which has
reached Her Majesty's Government.
Viscount Palmerston trusts that if the good disposition recently manifested
by the Chinese authorities and other influential people at Canton, should be
duly seconded by the forbearance of the British residents from inviting collision
with the natives, the position of British subjects at Canton will be far more
satisfactory than it has hitherto been ; and his Lordship directs me to add , that
Her Majesty's Government duly appreciate the intention of the Association over
which you preside to inculcate upon their correspondents in China the necessity
of exercising such forbearance.
With reference to the observations in your letter touching the Chamber of
Commerce at Canton, Lord Palmerston directs me to state to you that any
representations which you may wish to make on that subject should be addressed
to the Board of Trade.
I am , & c .
(Signed) H. U. ADDINGTON .
No. 12 .
Mr. Addington to the President of the Manchester Commercial Association .