Directory_and_Chronicle_1841 — Page 425

406

Memorial to the Emperor.

JULY,

this city are several millions of lives,-what evil have they done that they should be exposed to this poisonous influence (i. e. the horrors of war)? Moreover a pro- vincial city is a most important position! In it are all the granaries, treasuries, and state-prisons (of the whole province), and these are of the utmost consequence to us! Should such an important position once be lost through remissness, difficult would it be to recover it; in the meantime, our native banditti would avail them. selves of the opportunity, and start up in every direction, and the entire province would be thrown into commotion; a contingency which one cannot bear to con- template.

To sum up the whole, it being impossible to all appearances that we could have held out the city much longer, and the consternation of the people increasing every day, the inhabitants came one on the heels of another, and with much weeping and wailing begged that we would take measures to save their lives. We, your slaves, thought over the subject a third and a fourth time, and we came to the conclusion, that, if we did not make some temporary arrangement, matters were likely to get ten times worse than they were, and so in like proportion should we find it difficult to exculpate ourselves from our increase of crime. If, however, before making these arrangements, we have not laid a statement before your majesty, and waited the imperial pleasure before presuming to act, we beg to assure your majesty that it was owing to the extreme urgency of the case which would not admit of any delay. We humbly confess that we have erred and blundered in every particular, so that had we a hundred mouths, we could not plead exemption from the consequences of our grievous crimes. We there. fore beg an imperial decree that we be handed over to the Board of Punishments to be most severely dealt with.

*

Second supplementary · memorial to the preceding.

And further, Canton has held commercial intercourse with all foreign coun- tries for about 200 years, and our hong-merchants, having had dealings with the foreign merchants for such a length of time, the debts which the former owe to the latter have in consequence become very large On various occasions the foreigners have petitioned that these might be repaid, and the different hoppos have always at the time deprived those hong-merchants who were most deeply in- debted, of their office, and cast them into prison, apportioning the claims to be paid back by the other hong-merchants in Instalments, as is duly recorded;—such has hitherto been the mode of procedure.

Now, however, the original hong-merchants Woo Pingkeën (old Howqua) and others have petitioned setting forth, that "formerly, when the English carried on trade, we (the hong-merchants) owed them accumulated sums; and although it had been fully understood and agreed upon that we were to pay them by in- stalments in a certain number of years, yet the English trade having been stop- ped since the year 1839 up to the present moment, we have never been able to clear off the debt. Now having received your excellency's commands to ex- amine how we may most speedily clear off these accounts. how dare we under such circumstances procrastinate in the slightest, or make vain excuses! Besides our own ways and means when strained to the very uttermost, we are still in arrear 2,800,000 taels; and as matters are very urgent, and the different tea and silk merchants have all gone away for a time, we have really no way of borrowing the money. We can only beg that your excellencies will be graciously pleased to lend us the said sum of 2.800,000 taels out of the monies in the public treasury, with which we shall clear off these foreign claims; and we, the hong-merchants, shall lay aside the consoo fund arising from our respective shares of foreign trade. and

pay the same back by instalments in the course of four years;” and words to that effect.

Your slaves deliberated upon the matter a third and a fourth time, and it ap peared to us, that, though this is merely a debt of the hong merchants, yet at the present moment, it is intimately bound up with the question at issue with the foreigners; and should we make the slightest mistake (in refusing the request), it might lead to the most fatal consequences; so we judged it best to acquiesce and lend the hong merchants the sum required, to be repaid by instalments within the time agreed upon, and we conceive that we have good security for the