THE TAIPINGS AT NINGPO
27
which included the alleged declaration: “In the event of an outbreak of hostilities, every man who brings in a foreigner's head, shall receive a reward of 100 dollars, and he who kills ten foreigners, shall be raised to the rank of Ta-kwan...."33 No explanation, naturally, is given on how this alleged speech was recorded; nor is the identity of the recorder mentioned.
There is one more piece of evidence that casts serious doubt upon the contention that the British had any intention to remain neutral in the impending conflict. A Chinese by the name of Cheng A-fu who was in the employ of the British, perhaps as a servant or interpreter of Consul Harvey, was commissioned by the British to organize an armed force of three hundred so-called "green hats" who could be used in an attack upon Ningpo. This information comes from an account written of the Ningpo episode by a Ch'ing official, Hsü Yao-kuang, who was an administrative officer in Chekiang,34
On the 9th of May, the Ch'ing fleet captured Chinghae, then advanced up river and laid-to directly in front of the Foreign Settlement where it made preparations for an assault on Ningpo across the river. The foreigners were informed that the attack would take place the following morning.35 Thus the British and French were aware that when the attack did take place the advancing Ch'ing fleet would necessarily draw fire from the city, and this would endanger the English and French vessels and the settlement. Had Captain Dew adhered to his pledge of neutrality on April 27, in which he had said: “you may rest assured that no breach of friendly relations shall emanate from our side,” or if he had wished to remain apart from the contest, he should certainly have withdrawn his ships from the line of fire.
The events of May 10th are the most interesting of all. On that day Captain Dew was to write to Admiral Hope that he had "found it necessary to capture the city of Ningpo...." Dew recorded that it all began at 10 in the morning with fire from the Taipings. Dew's assumption that the fire emanated from the Taipings is unquestioning. But did the Taipings fire the initial shot? We know now for a fact that they did not. For Cheng A-fu, the employee of the British, plotted with the pirate Apak to fire upon the foreign vessels, in order to create the impression that the Taipings had done so. This would "provoke" the foreigners
THE TAIPINGS AT NINGPO
27
which included the alleged declaration: “In the event of an outbreak of hostilities, every man who brings in a foreigner's head, shall receive a reward of 100 dollars, and he who kills ten foreigners, shall be raised to the rank of Ta-kwan...."33 No explanation, naturally, is given on how this alleged speech was recorded; nor is the identity of the recorder mentioned.
There is one more piece of evidence that casts serious doubt upon the contention that the British had any intention to remain neutral in the impending conflict. A Chinese by the name of Cheng A-fu who was in the employ of the British, perhaps as a servant or interpreter of Consul Harvey, was commissioned by the British to organize an armed force of three hundred so-called "green hats" who could be used in an attack upon Ningpo. This information comes from an account written of the Ningpo episode by a Ch'ing official, Hsü Yao-kuang, who was an administrative officer in Chekiang,34
On the 9th of May, the Ch'ing fleet captured Chinghae, then advanced up river and laid-to directly in front of the Foreign Settlement where it made preparations for an assault on Ningpo across the river. The foreigners were informed that the attack would take place the following morning.35 Thus the British and French were aware that when the attack did take place the advancing Ch'ing fleet would necessarily draw fire from the city, and this would endanger the English and French vessels and the settlement. Had Captain Dew adhered to his pledge of neutrality on April 27, in which he had said: “you may rest assured that no breach of friendly relations shall emanate from our side,” or if he had wished to remain apart from the contest, he should certainly have withdrawn his ships from the line of fire.
The events of May 10th are the most interesting of all. On that day Captain Dew was to write to Admiral Hope that he had "found it necessary to capture the city of Ningpo...." Dew recorded that it all began at 10 in the morning with fire from the Taipings. Dew's assumption that the fire emanated from the Taipings is unquestioning. But did the Taipings fire the initial shot? We know now for a fact that they did not. For Cheng A-fu, the employee of the British, plotted with the pirate Apak to fire upon the foreign vessels, in order to create the impression that the Taipings had done so. This would "provoke" the foreigners
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