1642.
Last Ten Years, from 1832 to 1841
417
communications in a sealed shape addressed directly to himself, a practice with which I am perfectly satisfied; and if he thinks fit to forward his own, direct to me in the same wise, I could no longer presume to question the perfect formal sufficiency of such a manner of intercourse. There were many subjects upon which his excellency communicated with the hong-merchants, that I could not venture publicly to notice, except his pleasure were signified to me in a direct form, or through a responsible officer of the empire of respectable rank, specially doputed for purpose of carrying on the public intercourse with me. Under present circumstances, his excellency's views only reached my knowledge as they did that of all foreign private individuals—that is to say, at second hand, and as an individual, they should always have my most respectful attention. But as an officer, my responsibility was serious, and I was precluded from dealing with them officially, unless I had a direct public warrant for my proceedings. The hong-merchants arc men unacquainted with public affairs, and naturally swayed by their private interests, and therefore with no culpable intentions, their liability to mistakes and misconception is considerable. The consequences of such errors inight be too fatal to permit me to waver from my just claim to be placed in direct possession of the wishes of this government, whenever it was expected I should take public notice of them, committing the public interests of my country. "The emperor had already been graciously pleased to acknowledge my offi- cial character; and his imperial majesty, in his wisdom, would also recognise the reasonablenes of these objections and requests, founded upon my duty to my own government, and upon an anxious desire to obviate the risk of very hazar- dous misunderstandings. With this course of representation put forward at a favorable opportunity, and in the most deferential language, I see no reason to despair of carrying the required modification in the mode of conducting my official intercourse with the provincial government. I will conclude this dispatch, by observing that, in my own humble opinion, the actual manner of communica- tion from us to the Chinese is sufficiently formal and complete for all our purposes. From them to us, and for their objects, it is defective. I can assure your lordship that this is a condition of circumstances far less inconvenient to his majesty's government than to the provincial authorities. The defect, however, is of their own creation, and the remedy is in their own hands. I have, &c. -Corresp. pp. 196–198.
(Signed)
"CHARLES Elliot."
8th. Captain Elliot addressed the following letter to the governor of Canton, intending to prepare the way by it to announce his own arrival.
“The undersigned has the honor to acquaint your excellency, that he has received dispatches from the government of Singapore, informing him that seven teen natives of China had arrived there in January last, from a place called Pulo Aor. The chief of these persons represents, that he is an officer of this empire, and that the vessel in which they were embarked was carrying grain from one port to another, when she was overtaken by a violent tempest, and blown off the coast. The vessel was reduced to a condition of extreme peril in the high seas, and six of the unfortunate men had already sunk under the effect of cold and privation, when the English ship of Moncrieff bound from Canton to England, came up with her. This commander with becoming humanity took the people cop of the wreck under circumstances of great difficulty, and left them at Pulo