424
Journal of Occurrentes
The Dutch ship Middelburg, bound from Batavia to Japan, en- countered the tyfoon on the 25th, and came into Macao Roads on the 31st for repairs.
British trade at the port of Canton has been reöpened by a procla mation, issued on the Itch instant, in obedience to the imperial will, by the three commissioners Yihshan, Yang Fang, Tseshin, and the governor and it.-governor of Canton, Ke Kung and Eleäng.
Ex-governors Lin and Tang have been ordered to be transported to Ele, in disgrace: and there they are to try to make atonement for their crimes committed against the state. The order for Táng came during the first tyfoon, on the 21st, requiring his departure instan- A similar order was sent for Lin in Chekeäng. It is generally supposed that Keshen is again in the ascendant.
ter.
The three commissioners now in Canton, it is said, will shortly pro- ceed to Peking, and the troops from the other provinces return "in triumph to their homes! The death of Lungwan occurred near the close of the last month; from some superstitious notions, the demise of this commissioner was for a time concealed from the public.
Indemnity from the Chinese has been obtained for the Bilbaino, the Black Joke, and in part for the property lost by the destruction of the factories in Canton : the whole, we suppose, will soon be forth- coming. N. B. In the items of ransom money, given on page 319, in our last, the sum of $250,000 should have been $320,000.
The British expedition is still at Hongkong, and its future move- ments are uncertain. Some reinforcements have arrived during the month; among them is the H. Co.'s armed steamer Phlegethon, in construction, armament, &c., quite like the Nemesis.
The prospects of the war at present are much clouded. Has the emperor changed his purpose! Is the decree for extermination revoked! Is the hostile attitude all at once to be exchanged for peace? Are the demands of the British crown about to be granted? But will foreign merchants, or foreign diplomatists, put any more faith in the promises of this perfidious government? Apparently there is a change in the councils of the government, and there are signs of a disposition to yield. Their reality will soon be tested.
Sickness and death have prevailed much among the military and naval forces, since the capture of the heights; the sickness has abat- ed, and the deaths are becoming less frequent. The Chinese troops also have suffered. Nor have the foreign residents escaped without admonition. One of our oldest residents, James Innes esquire, died on the 1st instant, aged 55 years. There have been some other deaths during the mouth.
Mrs. Noble, widow of captain Noble, of the Kite, sailed for Eng- land on the fɔ̃th, in the Appolline, captain Deane. Subscriptions in China for Mrs. Noble, made by her countrymen and other foreigners, have been raised to near ten thousand dollars. Donations are also being made in India on her behalf.