Directory_and_Chronicle_1842 — Page 21

1842.

Last Ten Yours, from 1832 to 1841.

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been adopted, by the It..governor of Canton, towards British merchants, my coun. trymen; that the factory of the English nation at Canton has been forcibly taken possession of; the wall and quay, which your excellency previously sanctioned, demolished; and that the perpetrator of these outrages carried his insolence so far as to treat the portrait of my august sovereign with marked and intentional dis- respect. I am further informed that there was no difference or dispute of any kind at the time pending between the authorities at Canton and those who preside over the affairs and commerce of the British nation; that no act was committed by the latter which was the subject of complaint on the part of those authorities; that, in short, on either side there had been no deviation from established custom or violation of law, which might justly have provoked such an act of violence.

“Your excellency is a wise and just man. The reputation of the high qualities which adorn your excellency's character, and of the prudent and beneficent ac- tions which have distinguished your excellency's administration of affairs at Can- ton, has spread far and near, raising admiration in all classes of persons. I respect and cstrem your excellency. I therefore doubt not that it has been your excellency's study to do justice to the injured merchants of my country, to punish the evil-doers, and to place the commerce of the British nation on a footing at once mutually secure and honorable, to the subjects of both empires who are en- gaged in it.

"I am sure your excellency cannot have approved, and will be ready to dis- avow, the violent, unjust, and indecent proceedings which the subordinate officers at Canton have been led into during your excellency's absence: it will give me joy to hear that your excellency's wisdom has anticipated my hopes and wishes in this respect, and your excellency's reputation will be increased a hundred fold by Fuch a restoration of affairs. May God grant that such has been the issue!

"Your excellency knows that the customs of nations differ. When the subjects of your excellency's angust sovereign go abroad to other countries, they are no longer the subjects of the paternal solicitude of the mighty ruler of China. It is not go with the ships and merchants of my sovereign's dominions. Wheresoever they go, they are the objects of his care, and he watches, with equal anxiety, their conduct and the treatment they experience. If they do what is wrong, he is ready to punish them, and to grant redress to the injured. If others commit injustice or violence towards them, he feels it as an offense against himself, and makes it his study to procure from all nations that his subjects shall be treated with res pect, and obtain justice according to their deserts, so long as they act in confor. mity to the principles of justice and equity.

“I am the governor-general, on the part of my sovereign, of a large empire. The extent of territory and the number of provinces and islands under my rule, the resources they possess, the number and wealth of the inhabitants, the disci plined armies maintained, and the ships and commerce which visit and enrich the various harbors and cities, cannot be unknown to your excellency. It is my duty to watch over the concerns of my country in all this part of the world, and to in- terpose with the authority and power I possess, to secure the merchants of the British nation from injustice and oppression, so far as my influence extends, and the means at my disposal may allow. It is on this account that the members of the British factory at Canton have represented to me the injuries and oppressions Hey have suffered. I entreat of your excelleney, if they should deem it necessary