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LETTERS   AND   JOURNALS 


or 


JAMES,    EIGHTH   EAEL   OF   ELGIN 


LOSDOXi    PBISrrBO    ST 

S?0TTU1fOOUV    ASO   CO.,   KBir-flTBBR    SQUAIII 

AXD  PAHLIAMUIT  ITIUIBT 


LETTEES  AND  JOUENALS 


OF 


JAMES,  EIGHTH  EAEL  OF  ELGIN 


OOYEBNOB    OF    JAMAICA,    QOVEBNOB-OBNEBAL    OF    CANADA, 
BNVOY    TO    CHINA,    VICBBOY    OF    INDIA 


■DXTBD 


BY    THEODORE    WALROND,    O.B. 


WITH   A    PREFACE 

BY    ARTHUR    PENRHYN    STANLEY,    D.D. 

DBAK    OF    WESnaNSTBB 


LONDON 

JOHN    MUEEAY,    ALBEMARLE    STEEET 

1872 


T^e   rfffkt   of  tranMtation    U   r4%erved 


PEEFACE. 


Having  been  consulted  by  the  family  and  friends  of 
the  late  Lord  Elgin  as  to  the  best  mode  of  giving  to 
the  world  some  record  of  his  life,  and  having  thus  con- 
tracted a  certain  responsibility  in  the  work  now  laid 
before  the  public,  I  have  considered  it  my  duty  to  prefix 
a  few  words  by  Way  of  Preface  to  the  following  pages. 
On  Lord  Elgin's  death  it  was  thought  that  a  career 
intimately  connected  with  so  many  critical  points  in  the 
history  of  the  British  Empire,  and  containing  in  itself 
so  much  of  intrinsic  interest,  ought  not  to  be  left  with- 
out an  enduring  memorial.  The  need  of  this  was  the 
more  felt  because  Lord  Elgin  was  prevented,  by  the 
peculiar  circumstances  of  his  public  course,  from  en^ 
joying  the  fiuniliar  recognition  to  which  he  would  else 
have  been  entitled  amongst  his  contemporaries  in 
England.  *For'  (if  I  may  use  the  words  which  I  have 
employed  on  a  former  occasion)  *  it  is  one  of  the  sad 

*  consequences  of  a  statesman's  life  spent  like  his  in  the 
^constant  service  of  his  country  on  arduous  foreign 
^missions,   that  in  his  own  land,  in  his  own  circle, 

*  almost  in  his  own  home,  his  place  is  occupied  by 
^  others,  his  very  face  is  forgotten ;  he  can  maintain  no 

*  permanent  ties  with  those  who  rule  the  opinion,  or 
'  obtain   the   mastery,   of  the  day ;   he   has   identified 


VI  PREFACE. 

*  himself  with  no  existing  party ;  he  has  made  himself 

*  felt  in  none  of  those  domestic  and  personal  struggles 

*  which  attract  the  attention  and  fix  the  interest  of 
'  the   many  who  contribute  in  large  measure  to  form 

*  the  public  opinion  of  the  time.  For  twenty  years  the 
'  few  intervals  of  Lord  Elgin's  residence  iii  these  islands 
'  were  to  be  counted  not  by  years,  but  by  months ;  and 

*  the  majority  of  those  who  might  be  reckoned  amongst 

*  his  friends  and  acquaintances,  remembered  him  chiefly 

*  as  the  eager  and  accomplished  Oxford  student  at  Christ 
'  Church  or  at  Merton.' 

The  materials  for  supplying  this  blank  were,  in  some 
respects,  abundant.  Besides  the  ofiicial  despatches  and 
other  communications  which  had  passed  between  him- 
self and  the  Home  Government  during  his  successive 
absences  in  Jamaica,  Canada,  China,  and  India,  he  had 
in  the  two  latter  positions  kept  up  a  constant  corre- 
spondence, almost  of  the  nature  of  a  journal,  with  Lady 
Elgin,  which  combines  with  his  reflections  on  public 
events  the  expression  of  his  more  personal  feelings,  and 
thus  reveals  not  only  his  own  genial  and  affectionate 
nature,  but  also  indicates  something  of  that  singularly 
poetic  and  philosophic  turn  of  mind,  that  union  of  grace 
and  power,  which,  had  his  course  lain  in  the  more  tran- 
quil walks  of  life,  would  have  achieved  no  mean  place 
amongst  English  thinkers  and  writers. 

These  materials  his  family,  at  my  suggestion,  com- 
mitted to  my  friend  Mr.  Theodore  Walrond,  whose 
sound  judgment,  comprehensive  views,  and  official  ex- 
perience are  known  to  many  besides  myself,  and  who 
seemed  not  less  fitted  to  act  as  interpreter  to  the 
public  at  large  of  such  a  life  and  character,  because, 
not    having    been    personally   acquainted    with  Lord 


PREFACE.  vii 

Elgin,  or  connected  with  any  of  the  public  transactions 
recorded  in  the  following  pages,  he  was  able  to  speak 
with  the  sobriety  of  calm  appreciation,  rather  than 
the  warmth  of  personal  attachment.  In  this  spirit  he 
kindly  undertook,  in  the  intervals  of  constant  public 
occupations,  to  select  from  the  vast  mass  of  materials 
placed  at  his  disposal  such  extracts  as  most  vividly 
brought  out  the  main  features  of  Lord  Elgin's  career, 
adding  such  illustrations  as  could  be  gleaned  from 
private  or  published  documents  or  from  the  remem- 
brance of  friends.  If  the  work  has  unavoidably  been 
delayed  beyond  the  expected  term,  yet  it  is  hoped 
that  the  interest  in  those  great  colonial  dependencies 
for  wliich  Lord  Elgin  laboured,  has  not  diminished 
with  the  lapse  of  years.  It  is  believed  also  that  there 
is  no  time  when  it  will  not  be  good  for  his  country- 
men to  have  brought  before  them  those  statesmanlike 
gifts  which  accomplished  the  successful  acconmiodation 
of  a  more  varied  series  of  novel  and  entangled  situations 
than  has,  perhaps,  fallen  to  the  lot  of  any  other  public 
man  within  our  own  memory.  Especially  might  be 
named  that  rare  quality  of  a  strong  overruling  sense  of 
the  justice  due  from  man  to  man,  from  nation  to  nation ; 
that  *  combination  of  speculative  and  practical  ability ' 
(so  wrote  one  who  had  deep  experience  of  his  mind) 

*  which  peculiarly  fitted  him  to  solve  the  problem  how 
^  the  subject  races  of  a  civilised  empire  are  to  be  go- 

*  vemed  ; '  that  firm,  courageous,  and  far-sighted  confi- 
dence in  the  triumph  of  those  liberal  and  constitutional 
principles  (in  the  best  sense  of  the  word),  which,  having 
secured  the  greatness  of  England,  were,  in  his  judg- 
ment, also  applicable,  under  other  forms,  to  the  difficult 
circumstances  of  new  countries  and  diverse  times. 


VUl  PREFACE. 

*  It  is  a  singular  coincidence/  said  Lord  Elgin,  in  a 
speech  at  Benares  a  few  months  before  his  end,  '  that 
three  successive  Governors-General  of  India  should  have 
stood  towards  each  other  in  the  relationship  of  contem- 
porary friends.  Lord  Dalhousie,  when  named  to  the 
government  of  India,  was  the  youngest  man  who  had 
ever  been  appointed  to  a  situation  of  such  high  respon- 
sibility and  trust.  Lord  Canning  was  in  the  prime  of 
life ;  and  I,  if  I  am  not  already  on  the  decline,  am  nearer 
to  the  verge  of  it  than  either  of  my  contemporaries  who 
have  preceded  me.  When  I  was  leaving  England  for 
India,  Lord  Ellenborough,  who  is  now,  alas !  the  only 
surviving  ex-Governor- General,  said  to  me,  ' "  You 
**  are  not  a  very  old  man ;  but,  depend  upon  it,  you 
"  will  find  yourself  by  far  the  oldest  man  in  India." ' 
To  that  mournful  catalogue  was  added  his  own  name 
within  the  brief  space  of  one  year ;  and  now  a  fourth, 
not  indeed  bound  to  the  others  by  ties  of  personal  or 
political  friendship,  but  like  in  energetic  discharge  of 
his  duties  and  in  the  prime  of  usefulness  in  which  he 
was  cut  oflT,  has  fallen  by  a  fate  yet  more  untimely. 

These  tragical  incidents  invest  the  high  office  to 
which  such  precious  lives  have  been  sacrificed  with  a 
new  and  solemn  interest.  There  is  something  espe- 
cially pathetic  when  the  gallant  vessel,  as  it  were,  goes 
down  within  very  sight  of  the  harbour,  with  all  its 
accumulated  treasures.  But  no  losses  more  appeal  at 
the  moment  to  the  heart  of  the  country,  no  careers 
deserve  to  be  more  carefully  enshrined  in  its  grateful 
remembrance. 

Arthur  P.  Stanley. 

Deanery  f  Wedmiiuter: 
JIfarcA  4, 1872. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 
Eablt  Ysabs. 

PAOB 

Birth  and  Pwentage^SehiNd  and  College— Taste  for  Philoaophy — 
Tmining  for  Public  Life— ILP.  &r  SoathamptoD— Speech  on  the 
Addzeaa — ^Appointed  QoYernor  of  Jamaica 1 


CHAPTER  IL 

Jaxaioa. 

Shipwreck — Death  of  lAdy  Elgin — Position  of  a  Governor  in  a  West 
Indian  Colonj  such  as  Jamaica — State  of  Public  Opinion  in  the 
laUnd— Questions  of  Finance,  Education,  Agriculture,  the  Labour- 
ing Classes,  Religion,  the  Church — Harmonising  Influences  of  Britiah 
Connexion — Resignation — Appointment  to  Canada   .        •  .12 


CHAPTER  m. 

Cavaj>a. 

State  of  the  Colony — First  Impressions — Provincial  Politics — '  Respon- 
sible Qovemment' — Irish  Immigrants — Upper  Canada — Change  of 
SGnistiy — French  Habitans — The  French  Question-— The  Iiiah — 
The  British — Discontents ;  their  Causes  and  Remedios  Navigation 
Laws — ^Retrospect — Speech  on  Education 81 


CHAPTER  IV. 
Cafada. 

Disoontent— Rebellion  Losses  Bill— Opposition  to  it— Neutrality  of  the 
Governor— Riots  at  Montreal— Firmness  of  the  Governor— Approval 
of  Home  Government — Fresh  Riota— Removal  of  Seat  of  Govern- 
ment from  Montreal— Forbearance  of  Lord  Elgin— Retrospect  .        .    70 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  V. 

Canada. 

PAOB 

Annexation  Moyement — Remedial  Measures — Repeal  of  the  Naviga- 
tion Laws — Reciprocity  with  the  United  States — ^Huitory  of  the  Two 
Measures — Duty  of  Supporting  Authority — Views  on  Colonial 
GoyernmeDt — Colonial  Intei'ests  the  Sport  of  Home  Parties — ^No 
Separation ! — Self-Ooyemment  not  necessarily  Repuhlican — ^Value  of 
the  Monarchical  Principle— Defences  of  the  Colony  ....    09 


CHAPTER  VL 

Cahada. 

The  '  Clergy  Reserves ' — ^History  of  the  Question — Mixed  Motives  of 
the  Movement — Feeling  in  the  Province — In  Upper  Canada — ^In 
Lower  Canada — Among  Roman  Catholics — In  the  Church — Secu- 
larisation— Questions  of  Emigration,  Lahour,  Land-tenure,  Education, 
Native  Tribes — Relations  with  the  United  States — ^Mutual  Courtedes 
— ^Farewell  to  Canada — At  Home 134 


CHAPTER  VII. 

FiBST  Mission  to  China — Pbeldonabiss. 

Origin  of  the  Mission— Appointment  of  Lord  Elgin — Malta — Egypt — 
Ceylon — ^News  of  the  Indian  Mutiny — ^Penang — Singapore — ^Diver- 
sion of  Troops  to  India — On  Board  the  '  Shannon ' — Hong-Kong 
— Change  of  Plans — Calcutta  and  Lord  Canning — Return  to  China 
— Perplexities — Caprices  of  Climate — ^Arrival  of  Baron  Gros— Prepa- 
ration for  Action 176 


CHAPTER  Vin. 

FiBST  Mission  to  China— Canton. 

Improved  Prospects — Advance  on  Canton — ^Bombardment  and  Capture 
— Joint  Tribunal — Maintenance  of  Order — Canton  Prisons — ^Move 
Northward —  Swatow —  Mr.  Bums — Foochow — Ningpo — Chusan 
— ^Potou — Shanghae — ^Missionaries   .  ...  .  210 

CHAPTER  IX. 

FiBST  Mission  to  China — ^Tusntsin. 

Advance  to  the  Peiho— Taking  of  the  Forts— The  Peiho  River— Tlent- 
rin — Negotiations— The  Treaty — ^The  Right  of  Sending  a  Minister 
to  Pekin — ^Retum  southward— Sails  for  Japan         ....  245 


CONTENTS.  xi 

CHAPTER  X. 
FiBST  MissioK  TO  China— Japait. 

PAOB 

Embark  for  Japan — Coast  Views — Simoda— Oif  Yeddo — ^Yeddo — Con- 
ferences— ^A  Country  Hide — ^Peace  and  Plenty — ^Feudal  System — ^A 
Temple^ A  Juggler— Signing  tJie  Treaty — Its  Terms— Ketzospect    •  2G0 

CHAPTER  XI. 

FiBST  Mission  to  China — ^Ths  Yangtze  Eiano. 

Delays— Subterfuges  defeated  by  Firmness— Revised  Tariff— Opium 
Tnde — Up  the  Yangtze  Kiaag — SUTer  Island — ^Nankin — Rebel  War- 
fare— The  Hen-Bairier — Unknown  Waters— Difficult  Navigation — 
H'okow — The  GoYemor-Qeneral — Return — ^Taking  to  the  Gun- 
boats— Nganching — ^NanUn — Retrospect — More  Delays — Troubles 
at  Canton — Return  to  Hong-Kong^— Mission  completed — Home- 
ward Voyage    275 

CHAPTER  XH. 

SxooND  Mission  to  China — Ovtwabd. 

Lord  Elgin  in  England — Origm  of  Second  Mission  to  China — Gloomy 
Prospects — ^Egypt— The  Pyramids— The  Sphinx — Passengers  Home- 
ward bound—  Ceylon —  Shipwreck — Peuang — Singapore — Shaughae 
— ^Meeting  with  Mr.  Bruce — Talien-Whan — Sir  Hope  Grant— Plans 
for  Landing 814 

CHAPTER  XHL 

Second  Mission  to  China — Pekin. 

The  Landing — Chinese  Overtures — ^Taking  of  the  Forts — ^The  Peiho 
—  Tientsin  —  Negotiations  broken  off — New  Pleuipotentiaiies  — 
Agreement  made — Agreement  broken — ^Treacherous  Seizure  of  Mr. 
Parkes  and  others — Advance  on  Pekin — Return  of  some  of  the  Cap- 
tives— ^Fate  of  the  rest — ^Burning  t)f  the  Summer  Palace — Convention 
signed — ^Funeral  of  the  murdered  Captives — ^looperial  Palace-^Prince 
Kung — ^Anival  of  Mr.  Bruce— Results  of  the  Mission        ,        .        .  840 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Second  Mission  to  China — ^Hoxewakd. 

Leaving  the  Gulf— Detention  at  Shanghae — ^Eowloon — Adieu  to  China 
— ^Island  of  Luxon — Churches — ^Government — ^Manufactures — Gene- 
ral Condition — ^Island  of  Java — ^^Guitenzorg — Bantong — ^Volcano- 
Soirees  —  Retrospect  —  Ceylon — The  Mediterranean  —  England — 
Warm  RecepLion^-DunfermUne— Royal  Academy  Dinner — Mansion 
Houae  IHnner 374 


XU  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

IVDIA. 

PAOK 

Appointed  Viceroj  of  India — ^Forebodings — Voyage  to  India — ^LutaEa- 
tion — ^Deatha  of  Mr.  Ritchie,  Lord  Canning,  General  Bruce — ^The  Hot 
Seaaon — ^BuaineM  reaomed — State  of  the  Empire — Letters:  the 
Army ;  ColtiTation  of  Cotton ;  Orientals  not  all  Children ;  Misaiaii- 
ariee;  Romonn  of  Disaffection;  Alanns;  Murder  of  a  Native; 
A%haniatan ;  Policy  of  Lord  Canning ;  Consideration  for  Natiyea  .  S96 

CHAPTER  XVL 

IVDIA. 

Duty  of  a  Gorernor-Genend  to  yisit  the  Pronncea— ^Progress  to  the 
North-West — ^Benares— Speech  on  the  Opening  of  the  Railway — 
Cawnpore— Grand  Durbar  at  Agra — ^Delhi — ^Hurdwar — ^Addreas  to 
the  Sikh  Chiefs  at  Umballa — Knsaowlie — Simla — ^Letters:  Supply 
of  Laboor;  Special  Legislation;  Missionaiy  Gathering;  Finance; 
Seat  of  Government ;  Value  of  Training  at  Head-quarters ;  Aria- 
tocracies ;  against  Intermeddling — ^The  Sitana  Fanatics — Himalayas 
— Rotnng  Pasft— Twig  Bridge— Illness— Death— CharmcteristicB^ 
Bnrial-plaoe 426 


I 


MEMOIR 

OF 

JAMES,  EIGHTH  EARL  OF  ELGIN, 


CHAPTER  I. 

EARLY     YEARS. 

BIRTB  AND  PARENTAOE — SCHOOL  AND  COLLEGE — ^TASTE  FOR  PHILOSOPHT 
— TRAININQ  FOR  PUBLIC  LIFE — M.P.  FOR  SOUTHAMPTON — SPEECH  ON  THE 
ADDRESS — APPOINTED   00^'ERNOR   OP   JAMAICA. 

James,  eighth  Earl  of  Elgin  and  twelfth  Eai*l  of  Kin-  Birth  and 
cardine,  was  bom  in  London  on  July  20,  1811.  His  p*"*^***^ 
father,  whose  career  as  Ambassador  at  Constantinople 
is  so  well  known  in  connection  with  the  '  Elgin  Marbles,' 
was  the  chief  and  representative  of  the  ancient  Norman 
house,  whose  hero  was  '  Robert  the  Bruce.'  From  him, 
it  may  be  said  that  he  inherited  the  genial  and  playful 
spirit  which  gave  such  a  charm  to  his  social  and 
parental  relations,  and  which  helped  him  to  elicit  from 
others  the  knowledge  of  which  he  made  so  much  use  in 
the  many  diverse  situations  of  his  after-life.  His 
mother,  Lord  Elgin's  second  wife,  was  a  daughter  of 
Mr.  Oswald,  of  Dunnikier,  in  Fifeshire.  Her  deep 
piety,  united  with  wide  reach  of  mind  and  varied  cul- 
ture, made  her  admirably  qualified  to  be  the  depositary 
of  the  ardent  thoughts  and  aspirations  of  his  boyhood ; 
and,  as  he  grew  up,  he  found  a  second  mother  in  his 
elder  sister,  Matilda,  who  became  the  wife  of  Sir  John 
MaxweU,  of  Pollok.    To  the  influence  of  such  a  mother 

B 


2  EARLY  YEARS.  Ch.  I. 

and  such  a  sister  he  probably  owed  the  pliancy  and 
power  of  sympathy  with  others  for  which  he  was  re- 
markable, and  which  is  not  often  found  in  characters  of 
so  tough  a  fibre.  To  them,  from  his  earliest  years,  he 
confided  the  outpourings  of  his  deeper  religious  feelings. 
One  expression  of  such  feeling,  dated  June  1821,  may 
be  worth  recording  as  an  example  of  that  strong  sense 
of  duty  and  affection  towards  his  brothers,  which, 
beginning  at  that  early  age,  marked  his  whole  subse- 
quent career.     '  Be  with  me  this  week,  in  my  studies, 

*  my  amusements,  in  everything.    When  at  my  lessons, 

*  may  I  think  only  of  them ;  playing  when  I  play :  when 

*  dressing,  may  I  be  quick,  and  never  put  off  time,  and 

*  never  amuse  myself  but  in  playhours.     Oh !  may  I  set 
'  a  good  example  to  my  brothers.     Let  me  not  teach 

*  them  anything  that  is  bad,  and  may  they  not  learn 

*  wickedness  fi'om  seeing  me.     May  I  command  my 

*  temper  and  passions,  and  give  me  a  better  heart  for 

*  their  good.' 

School  and  ^^  leamcd  the  rudiments  of  Latin  and  Greek  under 
collage.  the  careful  teaching  of  a  resident  tutor,  Mr.  Fergus 
Jardine.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  went  to  Eton,  and 
thence,  in  due  time,  to  Christ  Church,  Oxford,  where 
he  found  himself  among  a  group  of  young  men  des- 
tined to  distinction  in  after-life — Lord  Canning,  James 
Ramsay  (afterwards  Lord  Dalhousie),  the  late  Duke 
of  Newcastle,  Sidney  Herbert,  and  Mr.  Gladstone. 

There  is  little  to  record  respecting  this  period  of  his 
life ;  but  a  touching  interest  attaches  to  the  following 
extraxjts  fi-om  a  letter  written  by  his  brother.  Sir 
Frederick  Bruce,  in  November,  1865. 

*  My  recollections  of  Elgm's  early  life  are,  owing  to 

*  circumstances,  almost  nothing.     In  the  year  1820  he 

*  went  abroad  with  my  father  and  mother,  and  was  away 

*  for  two  years.     From  that  time  I  recollect  nothing 

*  until  he  went  to  Eton ;   and  his  hoUdays  were  then 
'  divided  between  Torquay,  where  my  eldest  brother 


183a  SCHOOL  AND  COLLEGE.  S 

was,  and  Broomliall ;  *  and  of  them  my  memory  has  re- 
tained nothing  but  the  assistance  in  his  later  hoUdays 
he  used  to  give  me  in  classical  studies. 

'  We  were  together  for  about  a  year  and  a  half  at 
Oxford.  But  he  was  so  far  advanced  in  his  studies, 
that  we  had  very  little  in  common  to  bring  us  together; 
and  I  hardly  remember  any  striking  fact  connected  with 
him,  except  one  or  two  speeches  at  the  Union  Club, 
when  in  eloquence  and  originality  he  far  outshone  his 
competitors.^ 

'  I  do  not  know  whether  Mr.  Welland  is  still  alive : 
he  probably,  better  than  anyone,  could  give  some  sketch 
of  his  intellectual  growth,  and  of  that  beautiful  trait 
in  his  character,  the  devotion  and  abnegation  he  showed 
to  poor  Bruce^  in  his  long  and  painful  illness. 

*  He  was  always  reserved  about  his  own  feelings  and 
aspirations.  Owing  to  the  shortness  of  his  stay  at  Ox- 
ford, he  had  to  work  very  hard ;  and  his  friends,  like 
Newcastle  and  Hamilton,  were  men  who  sought  hirn  for 
the  soundness  of  his  judgment,  which  led  them  to  seek 
his  advice  in  all  matters.  He  always  stood  to  them  in 
the  relation  of  a  much  older  man.  He  had  none  of  the 
fhdlties  of  youth,  and,  though  very  capable  of  enjoying 
its  diversions,  life  with  him  from  a  very  early  date  was 
"sickhed  o'er  with  the  pale  cast  of  thought."  Its 
practical  aspect  to  him  was  one  of  anxiety  and  difficulty, 
while  his  intellect  was  attracted  to  his^h  and  abstract 
speculation,  and  took  little  interest  in  tie  every-day 
routine  which  is  sufficient  occupation  for  ordinary 
minds.  Like  all  men  of  original  mind,  he  lived  a  life 
apart  from  his  fellows. 

*  He  looked  upon  the  family  estate  rather  as  a  trust 


^  The  family  seat  in  Fifeshire.  ^  placiog  him  as  to  the  natural  gift 

'  The  most  distingaiBhed  of  all  'of  eloquence  at  the  head  of  all  those 

those  competatoTB  has  home  his  tea-  '  I  knew  either  at  Eton  or  at  the 

timony  to  the   truth  of  this   ex-  'University.' 

nression.     '  I  well  rememher/  Mr.  '  His  elder  hrother. 

Uladstone  wrote    i^r   his    death, 

B  3 


4  EARLY  TEAKS.  Ch.  L 

^  than  as  an  inheritance — as  far  more  valuable  than  money 
^  on  accomit  of  the  family  traditions,  and  tibe  position 

*  which  in  our  state  of  society  is  given  to  a  family  con- 

*  nected  historically  with  the  country,     Elgin  felt  this 

*  deeply,  and  he  clung  to  it  in  spite  of  difficulties  which 

*  would  have  deterred  a  man  of  more  purely  selfish 

*  views. ' 

*  It  is  melancholy  to  reflect/  adds  Sir  F.  Bruce,  '  how 

*  those  have  disappeared  who  could  have  filled  up  this 

*  gap  in  his  history.'  It  is  a  reflection  even  more  melan- 
choly, that  the  loved  and  trusted  brother,  who  shared  so 
many  of  his  labours  and  his  aspirations,  no  longer  lives 
to  write  that  history,  and  to  illustrate  in  his  own  person 
the  spirit  by  which  it  was  animated. 

The  sense  of  the  difficulties  above  referred  to  strongly 
impressed  his  mind  even  before  he  went  to  Oxford,  and 
laid  the  foundation  of  that  habit  of  self-denial  in  all 
personal  matters,  which  enabled  him  through  life  to  re- 
tain a  feeling  of  independence,  and  at  the  same  time  to 
give  effect  to  the  promptings  of  a  generous  nature. 
'  You  tell  me,'  he  writes  to  his  father  fi-om  college,  *  I 

*  coin  money.    I  uncoined  your  last  order  by  putting  it 

*  into  the  fire,  having  already  supplied  myself. ' 

About  the  middle  of  his  Oxford  career,  a  studentship 
fell  vacant,  which,  according  to  the  strange  system  then 
prevalent,  was  in  the  gift  of  Dr.  Bull,  one  of  the  Canons 
of  Christ  Church.  Instead  of  bestowing  it,  as  was  too 
commonly  done,  on  grounds  of  private  interest.  Dr. 
Bull  placed  the  valuable  prize  at  the  disposal  of  the 
Dean  and  Censors,  to  be  conferred  on  the  most  worthy 
of  the  undergraduates.  Their  choice  fell  on  James 
Bruce.  In  announcing  this  to  a  member  of  the  Bruce 
family.  Dr.  Bull  wrote :  *  Dr.  Smith,  no  less  than  the 
'present  college  officers,  assures  me  that  there  is  no 

*  young  man,  of  whatever  rank,  who  could  be  more 

*  acceptable  to  the  society,  and  none  whose  appointment 
^  as  the  reward  of  excellent  deportment,  diligence,  and 


1833. 


OXFORD  STUDIES. 


^right-mindedness,  would  do  more   good  among  the 
*  young  men.' 

A  letter  written  about  this  time  to  his  father  shows 
that  the  young  student,  with  a  sagacity  beyond  his 
years,  discerned  the  germs  of  an  evil  which  has  since 
grown  to  a  great  height,  and  now  lies  at  the  root  of  some 
of  ihe  most  troublesome  questions  connected  with  Uni- 
versity Education. 

In  my  own  mind  I  confess  I  am  much  of  opinion^  that  college 
ia  put  off  in  general  till  too  late  ;^  and  the  gaining  of  honours, 
therefore,  becomes  too  severe  to  be  useful  to  men  who  are  to 
enter  into  professions.  It  was  certainly  originally  intended 
that  the  degrees  which  require  only  a  knowledge  of  the  clas- 
sics should  be  taken  at  an  earlier  age,  in  order  to  admit  of  a 
residence  after  they  were  taken,  during  which  the  student 
might  devote  himself  to  science  or  composition,  and  those 
habits  of  reflection  by  which  the  mind  might  be  formed,  and 
a  practical  advantage  drawn  from  the  stores  of  knowledge 
already  acquired.  By  putting  them  off  to  so  late  an  age,  the 
consequence  has  been,  that  it  has  been  necessary  proportionably 
to  increase  the  difficulty  of  their  attainment,  and  to  mix  up  in 
college  examinations  (which  were  supposed  to  depend  upon 
study  alone)  essays  in  many  cases  of  a  nature  that  demands 
the  most  prolonged  and  deep  reflection.  The  effect  of  this  is 
evident.  Those  who,  from  circumstances,  have  neither  oppor- 
tunity nor  leisure  thus  to  reflect,  must,  in  order  to  secure  their 
success,  acquire  that  kind  of  superficial  information  which  may 
enable  them  to  draw  sufficiently  plausible  conclusions,  upon 
very  slight  grounds ;  and  [of]  many  who  have  this  form  of 
knowledge,  most  will  eventually  be  proved  (if  this  system  is 
carried  to  an  excess)  to  have  but  little  of  the  substance  of  it. 

He  had  meant  to  read  for  double  honours,  but  illness. 


'  'We  are  dispofled,  in  fact,  to 

regard  the  question  of  UniTenity 

eztenrion,  in  this  sense^aa  depending 

entirely  on  the  poaaibility  of  reducing 

'  the  time  required  for  a  University 

*  degree,  and  we  should  like  to  aee 

'  more  attention  paid  to  this  point.  .  . 

< . .  The  opinion  is  strongly  and  widdy 


'  entertained^  that  students  now  stay 
'  too  long  at  the  Public  Schools  and 
'Universities,  and  that  jroung  men 
'  ought  not  to  be  engaffed  in  the  mere 
'  pieparatorr  studies  of  their  life  up  to 
'  the  age  of  twenty-three  or  twenty- 
'  four.'— 7Vn«0,  May  22, 1869. 


EARLY  YEARS. 


Ch.  L 


Taste  for 
philoso- 
phy. 


brought  on  by  over-work,  obliged  him  to  confine  himself 
to  classics.  All  who  know  Oxford  are  aware,  that  the 
term  '  Classics/  as  there  used,  embraces  not  only  Greek 
and  Latin  scholarship,  but  also  Ancient  History  and 
Philosophy.  In  these  latter  studies  the  natural  taste  and 
previous  education  of  James  Bruce  led  him  to  take  a 
special  interest,  and  he  threw  himseK  into  the  work  in 
no  niggard  spirit.  ^  At  the  Michaelmas  Examination  of 
1832,  he  was  placed  in  the  first  class  in  classics,  and 
common  report  spoke  of  him  as  '  the  best  first  of  his 

*  year. '  Not  long  afterwards  he  was  elected  Fellow  of 
Merton.  He  appears  to  have  been  a  candidate  also  for 
the  Eldon  Scholarship,  but  without  success.  In  a  con- 
test for  a  legal  prize  it  was  no  discredit  to  be  defeated 
by  RoundeU  Palmer, 

Some  of  his  contemporaries  have  a  lively  remem- 
brance of  the  eagerness  with  which,  while  still  a  student, 
he  travelled  into  fields  at  that  period  beyond  the  some- 
what narrow  range  of  academic  study.  Professor  Mau- 
rice at  one  time,  Dr.  Pusey  at  another,  were  his  de- 
lighted companions  in  exploring  the  dialogues  of  Plato. 
Mr.  Gladstone   'remembers  his  speaking   of  Milton's 

*  prose  works  with  great  fervour  when  they  were  at  Eton 

*  together ; '  and  adds  the  confession — ^interesting  alike  as 
regards  both  the  young  students — '  I  think  it  was  from 

*  lus  mouth  I  first  learned  that  Milton  had  written  any 
'  prose.'  This  affection  for  those  soul-stirring  treatises 
of  the  great  advocate  of  free  speech  and  inqtiiry  he 
always  retained :  they  formed  his  constant  companions 


^  There  remains  a  memorandam 
in  his  handwiitine  of  a  systematic 
course  of  studj  to  be  pursued  for  his 
degree,  in  which  two  points  are  re- 
markable— Ist,  the  broad  and  liberal 
spirit  in  which  it  is  conceived ;  2ndl7, 
tnat  the  whole  is  based  on  the 
Bible.  Ancient  History,  together 
with  Aristotle's  Politics  and  the 
ancient  orators,  are  to  be  read  <  in 


'  connection  with  the  Bible  History/ 
with  the  view  of  seeing  'how  all 
'  hang  upon  each  other,  and  develope 
'  the  leading  schemes  of  Providence.* 
The  various  branches  of  mental  and 
moral  science  he  proposes,  in  like 
manner,  'to  hinge  upon  the  New 
'  Testament,  as  constituting,  in  an- 
'  other  line,  the  histoiy  of  moral  and 
'  intellectual  development.' 


1832.  TASTE  FOR  PHILOSOPHY.  7 

« 

wherever  he  travelled ;  and  there  are  many  occasions  in 
which  their  influence  may  be  traced  on  his  thought  and 
language.  '  I  would  rather  swallow  a  bushel  of  chaff 
'  than  lose  the  precious  grains  of  truth  which  may  some- 
'  where  or  other  be  scattered  in  it/  was  a  sentiment 
which,  though  expressed  in  much  later  life,  was  charac- 
teristic of  his  whole  career.  In  this  spirit  he  listened 
with  deep  interest  to  the  roll  of  theological  controversy 
then  raging  at  Oxford,  though  he  was  never  carried 
away  by  its  violence. 

In  after  life  he  had  little  leisure  to  pursue  the  philo- 
sophic studies  commenced  at  Oxford;  but  they  took 
deep  and  permanent  hold  on  his  mind,  and  formed  in 
fact  the  groundwork  of  his  great  practical  ability.  This 
is  well  stated  by  Sir  Frederick  Bruce : — 

In  Elgin  (to  use  the  distinctions  of  Coleridge,  whoso  phi- 
losophy he  had  thoroughly  mastered)  the  Season  and  Under- 
standing were  both  largely  developed,  and  both  admirably 
balanced.  And  in  this  combination  lay  the  secret  of  his  suc- 
cess in  so  many  spheres  of  action,  so  different  in  their  charac- 
teristics, so  alike  in  their  difficulties.  The  process  he  went 
through  was  always  the  same.  He  set  himself  to  work  to  form 
in  his  own  mind  a  clear  idea  of  each  of  the  constituent  parts  of 
the  problem  with  which  he  had  to  deal.  This  he  effected  partly 
by  reading,  but  still  more  by  conversation  with  special  men, 
and  by  that  extraordinary  logical  power  of  mind  and  penetration 
which  not  only  enabled  him  to  get  out  of  every  man  all  he  had 
in  him,  but  which  revealed 'to  those  men  themselves  a  know- 
ledge of  their  own  imperfect  and  crude  conceptions,  and  made 
them  constantly  unwilling  witnesses  or  reluctant  adherents  to 
views  which  originally  they  were  prepared  to  oppose.  To 
test  the  accuracy  of  their  statements  and  observations,  and  to 
discriminate  between  what  was  fact  and  what  was  prejudice  or 
misconception,  he  made  use  of  the  higher  faculty  of  cultivated 
Reason,  which  enabled  him,  by  his  deep  insight  into  the  uni- 
versal principles  of  human  nature,  of  forms  of  government, 
&c.,  to  bring  to  the  consideration  of  particular  facts  the  light 
of  an  a  priori  knowledge  of  what  was  to  be  expected  under 
particular  circumstances.    The  result  was,  that  in  an  incredibly 


8  EARLY  YEARS.  Ch.  I. 

short  time^  and  with  little  apparent  study  or  effort,  he  attained 
an  accurate  and  clear  conception  of  the  essential  facts  before 
him,  and  was  thus  enabled  to  strike  out  a  course  which  he  could 
consistently  pursue  amidst  all  difficulties,  because  it  was  in 
harmony  with  the  actual  facts  and  the  permanent  conditions  of 
the  problem  he  had  to  solve. 

Tmining         The   years  which  followed  the   completion  of  his 
Ufe.^^   ^    academical  studies — ^those  golden  years  which  generally 


determine  the  complexion  of  a  man's  fiiture  life — ^were 
not  devoted  in  his  case  to  any  definite  pursuit ;  for 
though  he  entered  himself  of  Lincoln's  Inn  in  June, 
1835,  he  does  not  appear  to  have  ever  embarked  in  the 
professional  study  of  law. 

The  scanty  notices  which  remain  of  this  period  show 
him  chiefly  residing  at  BroomhaU,  where,  in  his  father's 
absence,  he  takes  his  place  in  the  affairs  of  the  county 
of  Fife ;  conmiands  his  troop  of  yeomanry* ;  now  pre- 
sides at  a  farmers'  dinner,  for  which  he  has  written  an 
appropriate  song  ;  now,  at  the  request  of  Dr.  Chalmers, 
speaks  at  a  public  meeting  in  favour  of  church  extension. 
At  one  time  we  hear  of  long  solitary  rides  over  field 
and  fell,  during  which  the  thoughts  and  feelings  that 
stirred  in  him  would  take  the  shape  of  a  sonnet  or  a 
poem,  to  be  confided  to  one  of  his  sisters  ;  at  another 
time  he  is  keeping  up  a  regular  correspondence  on 
abstruse  questions  of  philosophy  with  his  brother 
Frederick,  stiU  at  Oxford. 

In  these  pursuits,  as  well  as  in  the  somewhat  harass- 
ing occupation  of  disentangling  the  family  property 
from  its  embarrassments,  he  was  preparing  himself  for 
future  usefulness  by  the  exercise  of  the  same  industry 
and  patience,  the  same  grasp  both  of  details  and  of  gene- 
ral purpose,  which  he  showed  in  the  political  career 
gradually  dawning  upon  him.  It  was  observed  that, 
whatsoever  his  hand  found  to  do,  he  did  it  with  all 
his  might,  as  well  as  with  a  judgment  and  discretion 
beyond  his  years,  and  a  tact  akin  to  genius.     He  was 


1S40.  M.P.  FOR  SOUTHAMPTON.  9 

undergoing,  perhaps,  the  best  training  for  the  varied 
duties  to  which  he  was  to  be  called — ^that  peculiarly 
British  *  discipline  of  mind,  body,  and  heart '  to  which 
observers  like  Bunsen  attribute  the  e£Fectiveness  of 
England's  public  men. 

As  early  as  1834,  when  he  had  barely  completed  his 
twenty-third  year,  he  published  a  Letter  to  the  Electors 
of  Great  Britain,  with  the  view  of  vindicating  the  policy 
and  the  position  of  the  Tory  leaders,  more  especially  of 
the  Duke  of  Wellington.  A  similar  motive,  the  desire  of 
protesting  against  a  monopoly  of  liberal  sentiments  by 
the  Whigs,  and  showing  in  his  own  person  that  a  Tory 
was  not  necessarily  a  narrow  bigot,  impelled  him  to 
offer  himself  as  a  candidate  at  the  election  of  1837,  on 
the  occurrence  of  an  unexpected  vacancy  in  the  re- 
presentation of  Fifeshire.  But,  coming  forward  at  a 
moment's  warning,  he  never  had  any  chance  of  success^ 
and  was  defeated  by  a  large  majority. 

In  the  year  1840,  George,  Lord  Bruce,  the  eldest  m.p.  for 
son  of  Lord  Elgin  by  his  first  wife,  died,  immarried,  ^"^, 
and  James  became  heir  to  the  earldom.     On  April  22, 
1841,  he  married  Elizabeth  Mary,  daughter  of  Mr. 
C.  L.  Gumming  Bruce.      At  the  general   election  in 
July  of  the  same  year  he  stood  for  the  borough  of 
Southampton,  and  was  returned  at  the  head  of  the  poll. 
His  political  views  at  this  time  were  very  much  those 
which  have  since  been  called   *  Liberal  Conservative.' 
Speaking  at  a  great  banquet  at  Southampton  he  said — 

I  am  a  Conservative^  not  upon  principles  of  exclusionism — 
not  from  narrowness  of  view^  or  illiberality  of  sentiment — but 
because  I  believe  that  our  admirable  Constitution,  on  prin- 
ciples more  exalted  and  under  sanctions  more  holy  than  those 
which  Owenism  or  Socialism  can  boast,  proclaims  between 
men  of  aU  classes  and  degrees  in  the  body  politic  a  sacred  bond 
of  brotherhood  in  the  recognition  of  a  common  warfare  here, 
and  a  common  hope  hereafter.  I  am  a  Conservative,  not 
because  I  am  adverse  to  improvement,  not  because  I  am 


10  EARLY  YEARS.  Ch.  I. 

unwilling  to  repair  what  is  wasted^  or  to  supply  what  is 
defective  in  the  political  fabric,  but  because  I  am  satisfied  that, 
in  order  to  improve  eflFectually,  you  must  be  resolved  most 
religiously  to  preserve,  I  am  a  Conservative,  because  I 
believe  that  the  institutions  of  our  country,  religious  as  well 
as  civil,  are  wisely  adapted,  when  duly  and  faithfully  adminis- 
tered, to  promote,  not  the  interest  of  any  class  or  classes 
exclusively,  but  the  happiness  and  welfare  of  the  great  body 
of  the  people ;  and  because  I  feel  that,  on  the  maintenance  of 
these  institutions,  not  only  the  economical  prosperity  of  Eng- 
land, but,  what  is  yet  more  important,  the  virtues  that  distin- 
guish and  adorn  the  English  character,  under  God,  mainly 
depend. 

Spe^on        Parliament  met  on  August  19,  and,  on  the  24th,  the 

di8S8.        new  member  seconded  the  amendment  on  the  Address, 

in  a  speech  of  great  promise.    In  the  course  of  it  he 

professed  himself  a  friend  to  Free  Trade,  but  Free  Trade 

as  explained  and  vindicated  by  Mr.  Huskisson : — 

He  should  at  all  times  be  prepared  to  vote  for  a  free  trade 
on  principles  of  reciprocity,  due  regard  being  had  to  the 
interests  which  had  grown  up  under  our  present  commercial 
system,  without  which,  as  he  conceived,  the  rights  of  the 
labouring  classes  could  not  be  protected.  Much  had  been  on 
various  occasions  said  about  the  interests  of  the  capitalists  and 
the  landlords,  but  unless  the  measures  of  a  Government  were 
directed  equally  to  secure  the  rights  of  the  working  classes, 
they  never  should  be  supported  by  a  vote  of  his.  It  was  true 
that  the  landlord  might  derive  some  increased  value  to  his  pro- 
perty from  the  increase  of  factories  and  other  buildings  upon 
it,  and  that  the  capitalist  might  more  advantageously  invest 
his  capital,  or  he  might  withdraw  it  from  a  sinking  concern ; 
but  the  only  capital  of  the  labourer  was  his  skill  in  his  own 
particular  walk,  and  it  was  a  mockery  to  tell  him  that  he  could 
find  a  satisfactory  compensation  elsewhere. 

But  the  most  characteristic  part  of  his  speech  was 
that  in  which  he  commented  on  the  '  harsh,  severe,  and 
'unjust  terms'  in  which  it  had  been  the  fashion  to 
designate  those  who  had  taken  an  opposite  view  on 


1842.  SPEECH  ON  THE  ADDRESS.  11 

these  questions  to  that  taken  by  Her  Majesty's  Govern- 
ment : — 

In  a  day  (he  said)  when  all  monopolies  are  denounced^  I 
must  be  permitted  to  say  that,  to  my  mind,  the  monopoly 
which  is  the  most  intolerable  and  odious  is  the  pretension  to 
the  monopoly  of  public  yirtue. 

The  amendment  was  carried  by  a  large  majority. 
Lord  Melbourne  resigned,  and  Sir  Robert  Peel  became 
Prime  Minister.  About  the  same  time,  by  the  death  of 
his  father  and  his  own  succession  to  the  peerage,  the 
young  Lord's  brief  career  in  the  House  of  Commons 
was  closed  for  ever  ;  no  Scottish  peer  being  eligible, 
according  to  tiie  commonly  received  opinion,  to  sit  in 
the  Lower  House.  He  appears,  indeed,  to  have  had 
atone  time  an  idea  of  pressing  the  question;  but  he 
abandoned  this  intention  on  finding  that  it  had  been 
entertained  twenty -five  years  before  by  Lord  Aberdeen, 
and  given  up  by  him  on  the  ground,  that  the  majority 
of  the  Scottish  Peers  looked  upon  the  proposal  as  lower- 
ing to  their  body,  and  as  implying  inferiority  on  their 
part  to  the  English  Peers. 

At  this  time  it  seemed  as  if  the  fair  promise  of  ooTemor 
eloquence  and  statesmanship  had  been  shown  to  public  ®^  ^^ 
life  only  to  be  withdrawn  from  it ;  but  a  path  was  about 
to  be  opened,  leading  to  a  new  field  of  action,  distant, 
indeed,  and  often  thankless,  but  giving  scope  for  the 
exercise  of  gifts,  both  of  mind  and  character,  which  can 
rarely  be  exhibited  in  a  Parliamentary  career.  In 
March  1842,  at  the  early  age  of  thirty,  he  was  se- 
lected by  Lord  Stanley,  who  was  then  Secretary  for 
the  Colonies,  for  the  important  post  of  Governor  of 
Jamaica. 


maica. 


12  JAMAICA.  Ch/IL 


CHAPTER  11. 

JAMAICA. 

SHIPWRECK — DEATH  OP  LADT  ELGIN — ^POSITION  OP  A  GOVERNOR  IN  A  WEST 
INDIAN  CX)LONr  SUCH  AS  JAMAICA — STATE  OP  PUBLIC  OPINION  IN  THE 
ISLAND QUESTIONS  OF  FINANCE,  EDUCATION,  AGRICULTURE,  THE  LA- 
BOURING CLASSES,  RELIGION,  THE  CHURCH — HARMONISING  INFLUENCES  OF 
BRITISH  CONNEXION — RESIGNATION — ^APPOINTMENT  TO   CANADA. 

Ship-        Lord  Elgin  sailed  for  Jamaica  in  the  middle  of  April 
^"'^  '        1842.     The  West  Indian  steamers  at  that  time  held 
their  rendezvous  for  the  collection  and  distribution  of 
the  mails  not,  as  now,  at  St.  Thomas,  but  at  a  little 
island  called  Turk's  Island,  a  mere  sandbank,  hedged 
with  coral  reefs.     The  vessel  in  which  Lord  Elgin  was 
a  passenger  made  this  island  during  the  night;  but  the 
captain,  over  anxious  to  keep  his  time,  held  on  towards 
the  shore.     They  struck  on  a  spike   of  coral,  which 
pierced  the  ship's  side  and  held  her  impaled  ;   fortu- 
nately so,  for  she  was  thus  prevented  from  backing  out  to 
sea  and  foundering  with  all  hands,  as  other  vessels  did. 
Though  the  ship  itself  became  a  total  wreck,  no  lives 
were  lost,  and  nearly  everything  of  value  was  saved; 
but  from  the  shock  of  that  night  Lady  Elgin,  though 
apparently  little  alarmed  at  the  time,  never  recovered. 
Death  of     Two  mouths  afterwards,  in  giving  birth  to  a  daughter, 
^•j^         now  Lady  Elma  Thurlow,  she  was  seized  with  violent 
convulsions,  which  were  nearly  fatal;  and  though,  to 
the  surprise  of  the  medical  men,  she  rallied  from  this 
attack,  her  health  was  seriously  impaired,  and  she  died 
in  the  summer  of  the  foUowing  year 
PoritioB  of      There  are  probably  few  situations  of  greater  difficulty 
aGoTcnor  ^^^  delicacy  than  that  of  the  Governor  of  a  British  colony 


1842.       GOVERNMENT  OF  A  WEST  INDIAN  COLONY.         13 

which  possesses  representative  institutions.  A  consti-  inaWett 
tutional  sovereign,  but  with  frail  and  temporary  tenure,  Jj^y 
he  is  expected  not  to  reign  only  but  to  govern ;  and  to 
govern  under  the  orders  of  a  distant  minister,  who,  if 
he  has  one  eye  on  the  colony,  must  keep  the  other  on 
home  politics.  Thus,  without  any  power  in  himself,  he 
is  a  meeting-point  of  two  different  and  generally  antago- 
nistic forces — ^the  will  of  the  imperial  government  and 
the  will  of  the  local  legislature.  To  act  in  harmony 
with  both  these  forces,  and  to  bring  them  into  some- 
thing of  harmony  with  each  other,  requires,  under  the 
most  fiivourable  circumstances,  a  rare  union  of  firmness 
witii  patience  and  tact.  But  the  difficulties  were  much 
aggravated  in  a  West  Indian  colony  in  the  early  days 
of  Emancipation. 

Here  the  local  legislature  was  a  democratic  oligarchy,  .nch  u 
partly  composed  of  landowners,  but  chiefly  of  overseers,  J*™****- 
with  no  permanent  stake  in  the  country.  And  this 
legislature  had  to  be  induced  to  pass  measures  for  the 
benefit  of  those  very  blacks  of  whose  enforced  service 
they  had  been  deprived,  and  whose  paid  labour  they 
found  it  difficult  to  obtain.  Add  to  this  that,  in  Jamaica, 
a  long  period  of  contention  with  the  mother-country 
had  left  a  feeling  of  bitter  resentment  for  the  past,  and 
sullen  despondency  as  regards  the  future.  Moreover, 
the  balance  had  to  be  held  between  the  Church  of 
England  on  the  one  hand,  which  was  in  possession  of 
all  the  ecclesiastical  endowments,  and  probably  of  all 
the  learning  and  cultivation  of  the  island,  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  various  sects,  especially  that  of  the 
Baptists,  who,  having  fought  vigorously  for  the  Negroes 
in  the  battle  of  Emancipation,  now  held  undisputed  sway 
over  their  minds,  and  who,  as  was  natural,  found  it 
difficult  to  abandon  the  position  of  demagogues  and 
agitators. 

Lord  Elgin  was  at  once  fortunate  and  unfortunate  in 
coming  after  the    most  conciliatory  and  popular   of 


14  JAMAICA.  Ch.  IL 

governors,  Sir  C.  Metcalfe.  The  island  was  in  a  state 
of  peace  and  harmony  which  had  been  long  unknown 
to  it ;  but  the  singular  affection,  which  Metcalfe  had 
inspired  in  all  classes,  made  them  look  forward  with 
the  most  gloomy  forebodings  to  the  advent  of  his  suc- 
cessor, 
state  of  Moreover,  to  use  Lord  Elgin's  own  language,  a  tone 

thiTiSl^d.  ^f  despondency  with  reference  to  the  prospects  of  the 
owners  of  property  had  long  been  considered  the  test 
of  a  sincere  regard  for  the  welfare  of  Jamaica.  He 
who  had  been  most  successful  in  proclaiming  the  de- 
pression under  which  the  landed  and  trading  interests 
laboured,  had  been  held  to  be  in  the  popular  acceptation 
of  the  term  the  truest  Mend  to  the  colony. 

Nothing  could  be  more  alien  to  the  spirit  of  inquiry 
and  enterprise  which  leads  to  practical  improvement. 
In  an  enervating  climate,  with  a  proprietary  for  the 
most  part  non-resident,  and  a  peasantry  generally  inde- 
pendent of  their  employers,  much  encouragement  is 
requisite  to  induce  managers  to  encounter  the  labour 
and  responsibility  which  attends  the  introduction  of 
new  systems ;  but,  by  reason  of  the  unfortunate  prepos- 
session above  described,  the  announcement  of  a  belief 
that  the  planters  had  not  exhausted  the  resources  within 
their  reach,  had  been  considered  a  declaration  of  hostility 
towards  that  class. 

And  truly  (wrote  Lord  Elgin  himself)  the  onusprobandi  lay, 
and  pretty  heavily  too,  upon  the  propounder  of  the  obnoxious 
doctrine  of  hope.  Was  it  not  shown  on  the  face  of  unques- 
tioned official  returns,  that  the  exports  of  the  island  had  dwindled 
to  one-third  of  their  former  amount  ?  Was  it  not  attested  even 
in  Parliament,  that  estates,  which  used  to  produce  thousands 
annually,  were  sinking  money  year  after  year?  Was  it  not 
apparent  that  the  labourers  stood  in  a  relation  of  independence 
towards  the  owners  of  capital  and  land,  totally  unknown  to  a 
similar  class  in  any  fully  peopled  country  ?  All  these  were 
facts  and  indisputable.  And  again,  was  it  not  equally  certain 
that  undeserved  aspersions  were  cast  upon  the  planters  ?  Were 


1&I2.  STATE  OF  OPINION  IN  THE  ISLAND.  15 

they  not  held  reBponsible  for  results  over  which  they  could 
exercise  no  manner  of  control?  and  was  it  not  natural  that, 
having  been  thus  calumniated,  they  should  be  somewhat  im* 
patient  of  advice? 

From  the  day  of  Lord  Elgin's  arrival  in  the  colony, 
he  was  convinced  that  the  endeavour  to  work  a  change 
on  public  opinion  in  this  respect,  would  constitute  one 
of  his  first  and  most  important  duties ;  but  he  was  not 
insensible  to  the  difficulties  with  which  the  experiment 
was  surrounded.  He  felt  that  a  new  Governor,  rash 
enough  to  assert  that  all  was  not  yet  accomplished 
which  ingenuity  and  perseverance  could  achieve,  might 
have  perilled  his  chance  of  benefiting  the  colony.  Men 
would   have   said,  and  with   some   truth,    ^he  knows 

*  nothing  of  the  matter ;  his  information  is  derived  from 

*  A.  or  B.;  he  is  a  tool  in  their  hands;  he  will  undo 

*  all  the  good  which  others  have  efiected  by  enlisting 
'  the  sympathies  of  England  in  our  favour. '  He  would 
have  been  deemed  a  party  man,  and  become  an  object 
of  suspicion  and  distrust. 

It  was  soon  found,  however,  that  the  new  Governor 
was  as  anxious  as  his  predecessor  had  been  to  conciliate 
the  good  will  and  promote  the  interests  of  all  ranks  of 
the  conununity  in  a  spirit  of  perfect  fairness  and 
moderation.  The  agitation  of  vexed  constitutional 
questions  he  earnestly  deprecated  as  likely  to  interrupt 
the  harmony  happily  prevailing  between  the  several 
branches  of  the  legislature,  and  to  divert  the  attention 
of  influential  members  of  the  community  from  the 
material  interests  of  the  colony  to  the  consideration  of 
more  exciting  subjects.  '  I  do  not  underrate,'  he  said, 
'  the  importance  of  constitutional  questions,  nor  am  I 

*  insensible  to  the  honour  which  may  be  acquired  by 

*  their  satisfactory  adjustment.     In  the  present  crisis  of 

*  our  fortunes,  however,  I  am  impressed  with  the  belief 

*  that  he  is  the  best  friend  to  Jamaica  who  concentrates 
'  his  energies  on  the  promotion  of  the  moral  well-being 


16  JAMAICA-  Ch.  n. 

^  of  the  population^  and  the  restoration  of  the  economical 

*  prosperity  of  the  island.' 

Qaertions  The  finances  of  the  colony  were  at  this  time  in  a  state 
of  finance,  ^^  require  the  most  carefiil  treatment.  At  a  moment 
when  the  recent  violent  change  in  the  distribution  of 
the  wealth  of  the  community  had  left  the  proprietary 
body  generally  in  a  depressed  condition,  the  Legislature 
had  to  provide  for  the  wants  of  the  newly  emancipated 
population,  by  increasing  at  great  cost  the  ecclesiastical 
and  judicial  establishments;  and  at  the  same  time  it  was 
necessary  that  a  quantity  of  inconvertible  paper  recently 
set  afloat  should  be  redeemed,  if  the  currency  was  to  be 
fixed  on  a  sound  basis.  Under  these  conditions  it  was 
not  easy  to  equalise  the  receipts  and  expenditure  of  the 
island  treasury;  and  the  difficulty  was  not  diminished 
by  the  necessity  of  satisfying  critics  at  home.  Before 
long  an  occasion  arose  to  test  Lord  Elgin's  tact  and 
discretion  in  mediating  on  such  questions  between  the 
colony  and  the  mother-country. 

Towards  the  end  of  1842  a  new  tariff  was  enacted  by 
the  legislature  of  the  island.  When  the  Act  embody- 
ing it  was  sent  home,  it  was  found  to  violate  certain 
economical  principles  recently  adopted  in  this  country. 
An  angry  despatch  from  Downing  Street  informed 
Lord  Elgin  that  it  was  disapproved,  and  that  nothing 
but  an  apprehension  of  the  financial  embarrassments 
that  must  ensue  prevented  its  being  formally  disallowed. 
In  terms  almost  amounting  to  a  reprimand,  it  was  in- 
timated that  the  adoption  of  such  objectionable  enact- 
ments might  be  prevented  if  the  Governor  would  exer- 
cise the  legitimate  influence  of  his  office  in  opposing 
them ;  and  it  was  added,  *  If,  unfortunately,  your  efforts 

*  should  be  unsuccessful,  and  if  any  such  bill  should  be 

*  presented  for  your  acceptance,  it  is  Her   Majesty's 

*  pleasure  and  command  that  you  withhold  your  assent 
'  from  it.' 

Lord  Elgin  replied  by  a  temperate  representation, 


1&42-5.  EDUCATION.  17 

that  it  was  but  natural  that  traces  of  a  policy  long 
sanctioned  by  the  mother-country  should  remain  in  the 
legislation  of  the  colony;  that  the  duties  in  question 
were  not  found  injuriously  to  check  trade,  while  they 
were  needed  to  meet  the  expenditure :  moreo\^er,  that 
the  Assembly  was,  and  always  had  been,  extremely 
jealous  of  any  interference  in  the  matter  of  self-taxa- 
tion :  lastly,  that  '  while  sensible  that  the  services  of  a 
'  Governor  must  be  unprofitable  if  he  failed  to  acquire 

*  and  exercise  a  legitimate  moral  influence  in  the  general 

*  conduct  of  affairs,  he  was  at  the  same  time  convinced 
'  that  a  just  appreciation  of  the  difficulties  with  which 

*  the  legislature  of  the  island  had  yet  to  contend,  and  of 
'  the  sacrifices  and  exertions  already  made  under  the 
'  pressure  of  no  ordinary  embarrassments,  was  an  indis- 
'  pensable  condition  to  his  usefulness.* 

The  Home  Government  felt  the  weight  of  these  con- 
siderations, and  the  correspondence  closed  with  the 
revocation  of  the  peremptory  command  above  quoted. 

The  object  which  Lord  Elgin  had  most  at  heart  was  Education, 
to  improve  the  moral  and  social  condition  of  the  Negroes^ 
and  to  fit  them,  by  education,  for  the  freedom  which 
had  been  thrust  upon  them;  but,  with  characteristic 
tact  and  sagacity,  he  preferred  to  compass  this  end 
through  the  agency  of  the  planters  themselves.  By 
encouraging  the  application  of  mechanical  contrivances 
to  agriculture,  he  sought  to  make  it  the  interest  not 
only  of  the  peasants  to  acquire,  but  of  the  planters  to 
give  them,  the  education  necessary  for  using  machinery ; 
while  he  lost  no  opportunity  of  impressing  on  the  land- 
owning class  that,  if  they  wished  to  secure  a  constant 
supply  of  labour,  they  could  not  do  so  better  than  by 
creating  in  the  labouring  class  the  wants  which  belong 
to  educated  beings. 

The  following  extracts  firom  private  letters,  written 
at  the   time  to   the  Secretary   of  State,  contain  the 

c 


18    '  JAMAICA.  Ch.  II. 

freshest  and  best  expression  of  his  views  on  these  and 
similar  questions  of  island  politics : — 

In  some  quarters  I  am  informed,  that  less  desire  for  education 
is  shown  now  by  the  Negroes  than  during  the  apprenticeship ; 
and  the  reason  assigned  is,  that  it  was  then  supposed  that 
certain  social  and  political  advantages  would  accrue  to  those 
who  were  able  to  read,  but  that  now,  when  all  is  gained,  and 
all  are  on  a  par  in  these  respects,  the  same  zeal  for  learning  no 
longer  prevails.  It  has  been  suggested  that  a  great  impulse 
might  be  given  in  this  direction,  by  working  on  the  feeling 
which  existed  formerly ;  confining  the  franchise  for  instance 
to  qualified  persons  who  could  ready  or  by  some  other  expedient 
of  the  same  nature.  This  being  an  important  constitutional 
question,  I  have  not  thought  it  right  to  give  the  notion  any 
encouragement ;  but  I  submit  it  as  coming  from  persons  who 
are,  I  believe,  sincere  well-wishers  to  the  Negro.  It  is  not  very 
easy  to  keep  children  steadily  at  school,  or  to  enforce  a  very 
rigid  discipline  on  them  when  they  are  there.  Parents  who  have 
never  been  themselves  educated,  cannot  be  expected  to  attach 
a  very  high  value  to  education.  The  system  of  Slavery  was 
not  calculated  to  strengthen  the  family  ties ;  and  parents  do  not, 
I  apprehend,  exercise  generally  a  very  steady  and  consistent 
control  in  their  families.  The  consequence  is,  that  children 
are  pretty  generally  at  liberty  to  attend  school  or  not  as  they 
please.  If  the  rising  generation,  however,  are  not  educated, 
what  is  to  become  of  this  island  ?  That  they  have  withdrawn 
themselves  to  a  considerable  extent  from  field  labour  is,  I 
think,  generally  admitted.  It  is  therefore  undoubtedly  desir- 
able that  all  legitimate  inducements  should  be  held  out,  both  to 
parents  and  children,  to  encourage  the  latter  to  attend  school. 

In  urging  the  adoption  of  machinery  in  aid  of  manual  labour, 
one  main  object  I  have  had  in  view  has  ever  been  the  creation 
of  an  aristocracy  among  the  labourers  themselves ;  the  substi- 
tution of  a  given  amount  of  skilled  labour  for  a  larger  amount 
of  unskilled.  My  hope  is,  that  we  may  thus  engender  a  healthy 
emulation  among  the  labourers,  a  desire  to  obtain  situations  of 
eminence  and  mark  among  their  fellows,  and  also  to  push  their 
children  forwards  in  the  same  career.  Where  laboiur  is  so 
scarce  as  it  is  here,  it  is  undoubtedly  a  great  object  to  be  able 
to  effect  at  a  cheaper  rate  by  machinery,  what  you  now  attempt 


ld42-5.  AGRICULTURE.  19 

to  execute  very  uBsatisfactorily  by  the  hand  of  man.  But  it 
seems  to  me  to  be  a  still  more  imj)ortant  object  to  awaken  this 
honourable  ambition  in  the  breast  of  the  peasant,  and  I  do  not 
see  how  this  can  be  effected  by  any  other  means.  So  long  as 
labour  means  nothing  more  than  digging  cane  holes,  or  carry- 
ing loads  on  the  head,  physical  strength  is  the  only  thing  re- 
quired, no  moral  or  intellectual  quality  comes  into  play.  But, 
in  dealing  with  mechanical  appliances,  the  case  is  different ; 
knowledge,  acuteness,  steadiness  are  at  a  premium.  The 
Xegro  will  soon  appreciate  the  worth  of  these  qualities,  when 
they  give  him  position  among  his  own  class.  An  indirect 
value  will  thus  attach  to  education. 

Every  successful  effort  made  by  enterprising  and  intelligent 
individuals  to  substitute  skilled  for  unskilled  labour ;  every 
premium  awarded  by  societies  in  acknowledgment  of  superior 
honest}',  carefulnesF,  or  ability,  has  a  tendency  to  afford  a 
remedy  the  most  salutary  and  effectual  which  can  be  devised 
for  the  evil  here  set  forth. 

With  the  view  of  awakening  an  interest  in  the  subject  Agricui- 
of  agricultural  improvements,  Lord  Elgin  himself  of-  ^^^' 
fered  a  premium  of  100/.  for  the  best  practical  treatise 
on  the  cultivation  of  the  cane,  with  a  special  reference 
to  the  adoption  of  mechanical  aids  and  appliances  in  aid 
or  in  lieu  of  mechanical  labour.  In  forwarding  to 
Lord  Stanley  printed  copies  of  eight  of  the  essays 
which  competed  for  the  prize,  he  wrote  as  follows : — 

Much,  I  believe,  is  involved  in  the  issue  of  this  and  similar 
experiments.  So  long  as  the  planter  despairs, — so  long  as  he 
assumes  that  the  cane  can  be  cultivated  and  sugar  manufactured 
to  profit  only  on  the  system  adopted  during  slavery, — so  long 
as  he  looks  to  external  aids  (among  which  I  class  immigration) 
as  his  sole  hope  of  salvation  from  ruin — with  what  feelings  must 
he  contemplate  all  earnest  efforts  to  civilise  the  mass  of  the 
population  ?  Is  education  necessary  to  qualify  the  peasantry 
to  carry  on  the  rude  field  operations  of  slavery  ?  May  not 
some  persons  even  entertain  the  apprehension,  that  it  will  in- 
dispose them  to  such  pursuits?  But  let  him,  on  the  other 
hand,  believe  that,  by  the  substitution  of  more  artificial  methods 
for  those  hitherto  employed,  he  may  materially  abridge  the  ex- 

c  2 


20  JAMAICA.  Ch.  n. 

penBC  of  raising  his  produce,  and  he  cannot  fail  to  perceive 
that  an  intelligent,  well-educated  labourer,  with  something  of  a 
character  to  lose,  and  a  reasonable  ambition  to  stimulate  him 
to  exertion,  is  likely  to  prove  an  instrument  more  apt  for  his 
purposes  than  the  ignorant  drudge  who  differs  from  the  slave 
only  in  being  no  longer  amenable  to  personal  restraint.^ 

One  of  the  measures  in  which  Lord  Elgin  took  the 
most  active  interest  was  the  establishment  of  a  '  General 
'  A]^icultural  Society  for  the  Island  of  Jamaica,'  and  he 
was  much  gratified  by  receiving  Her  Majesty's  permis- 
sion to  give  to  it  the  sanction  of  her  name  as  Patroness. 

I  am  confident  (he  writes  to  Lord  Stanley)  that  the  notice 
which  Her  Majesty  is  pleased  to  take  of  the  institution  will  be 
duly  appreciated,  and  will  be  productive  of  much  good. 

You  must  allow  me  to  remark  (he  adds)  that  moral  results 
of  much  moment  are  involved  in  the  issue  of  the  efforts  which 
we  are  now  making  for  the  improvement  of  agriculture  in  this 
colony.  Not  only  has  the  impulse  which  has  been  imparted  to 
the  public  mind  in  Jamaica  been  beneficial  in  itself  and  in  its 
direct  effects,  but  it  has,  I  am  firmly  persuaded,  checked 
opposing  tendencies,  which  threatened  very  injurious  conse- 
quences to  Negro  civilisation.  To  reconcile  the  planter  to  the 
heavy  burdens  which  he  was  called  to  bear  for  the  improve- 
ment of  our  establishments  and  the  benefit  of  the  mass  of  the 
population,  it  was  necessary  to  persuade  him  that  he  had  an 
interest  in  raising  the  standard  of  education  and  morals  among 
the  peasantry;  and  this  belief  could  be  imparted  only  by 
inspiring  a  taste  for  a  more  artificial  system  of  husbandry. 
By  the  silent  operation  of  such  salutary  convictions,  prejudices 
of  old  standing  are  removed ;  the  friends  of  the  Negro  and  of 
the  proprietary  classes  find  themselves  almost  unconsciously 
acting  in  concert,  and  conspiring  to  complete  that  great  and 
holy  work  of  which  the  emancipation  of  the  slave  was  but  the 
commencement 

The  On  a  general  survey  of  the  state  of  the  labouring 

ciMsei."^    clafifses,  taken  after  he  had  been  a  little  more  than  a 

>  It  IB  impossible  not  to  be  struck  cultural  poor  in  some  parts  of  Eng- 
witb  tbe  appGcability  of  these  re-  land,  and  the  question  of  extending 
marks  to  the  condition  of  the  agri-      among  themthe  benefits  of  education. 


1842-5.  THE  LABOURING   CLASSES.  21 

year  in  the  island,  he  was  able  to  give  a  most  favourable 
report  of  their  condition,  in  all  that  concerns  material 
prosperity  and  comfort  of  living. 

The  truth  is  (he  wrote)  that  our  labourers  are  for  the  roost 
part  in  the  position  of  persons  who  live  habitually  within  their 
incomes.  They  are  generally  sober  and  frugal,  and  accustomed 
to  a  low  standard  of  living.  Their  gardens  supply  them  in  great 
measure  with  the  necessaries  of  life.  The  chief  part,  therefore, 
of  what  they  receive  in  money,  whether  as  wages  or  as  the 
price  of  the  surplus  produce  of  their  provision  grounds,  they 
can  lay  aside  for  occasional  calls,  and,  when  they  set  their 
minds  on  an  acquisition  or  au  indulgence,  they  do  i:M>t  stickle 
at  the  cost.  I  am  told  that,  in  the  shops  at  Eangston,  expensive 
articles  of  dress  are  not  unusually  purchased  by  members  of 
the  families  of  black  labourers.  Whether  the  ladies  are  good 
judges  of  the  merits  of  silks  and  cambrics  I  do  not  pretend  to 
decide ;  but  they  pay  ready  money,  and  it  is  not  for  the  sellers 
to  cavil  at  their  discrimination.  The  purchase  of  Und,  as  you 
well  know,  is  going  on  rapidly  throughout  the  island ;  and  the 
money  thus  invested  must  have  been  chiefly,  though  not  en- 
tirely, accumulated  by  the  labouring  classes  since  slavery  was 
abolished.  A  proprietor  told  me  the  other  day  that  he  had, 
within  twelve  months,  sold  ten  acres  of  land  in  small  lots,  for 
the  sum  of  900/.  The  land  sold  at  so  high  a  price  is  situated 
near  a  town,  and  the  purchasers  pay  him  an  annual  rent  of  50s, 
per  acre,  for  provision  grounds  on  the  more  distant  parts  of  the 
estate.  Again,  in  most  districts,  the  labourers  are  possessed  of 
horses,  for  which  they  often  pay  handsomely.  A  farm  servant 
not  unfrequently  gives  from  12/.  to  20/.  for  an  animal  which 
he  intends  to  employ,  not  for  purposes  of  profit,  but  in  riding 
to  church,  or  on  occasions  of  festivity. 

Whence  then  are  these  funds  derived  ?  That  the  peasantry 
are  generally  frugal  and  sober  I  have  already  observed.  But 
they  are  assuredly  not  called  to  tax  their  physical  powers  im« 
duly,  in  order  to  achieve  the  independence  X  have  described. 
Although  the  estate  I  lately  visited  is  well  managed,  and  the 
best  understanding  subsists  between  employer  and  labourers, 
the  latter  seldom  made  their  appearance  in  the  field  until  some 
time  after  I  had  sallied  forth  for  my  morning  walk.  They 
work  on  the  estate  only  nine  days  in  the  fortnight,  devoting 


22  JAMAICA.  Ch.  II. 

the  alternate  Fridays  to  the  cultivation  of  their  provision 
grounds,  and  the  Saturdays  to  marketing  and  amusements. 
On  the  whole,  seeing  that  the  climate  Is  suited  to  their  consti- 
tutions, that  they  experience  none  of  the  drawbacks  to  which 
new  settlers,  even  in  the  most  fertile  countries,  are  subject, 
that  they  are  by  disposition  and  temperament  a  cheerful  race, 
I  much  doubt  whether  any  people  on  the  face  of  the  globe 
enjoy  as  large  a  share  of  happiness  as  the  Creole  peasantry  of 
this  island.  And  this  is  a  representation  not  over-charged,  or 
highly  coloured,  but  drawn  in  all  truth  and  sobriety  of  the 
actual  condition  of  a  population  which  was,  a  very  few  years 
ago,  subjected  to  the  degrading,  depressing  influences  of  slavery. 
Well  may  you  and  others  who  took  part  in  the  work  of  eman- 
cipation rejoice  in  the  success  of  your  great  experiment. 

But  was  it  possible  to  indulge  the  same  feelings  of 
exultation  when  contemplating  their  condition  morally, 
and  marking  the  indications  of  advance  towards  a  higher 
state  of  civilisation?     In  the  island  itself  controversy 
was  rife  as  to  the  degree  in  which  such  results  had  been 
already  achieved,  and  the  promise  of  further  progress. 
Some  of  the  more  enthusiastic  and  ardent  of  that  class 
of  persons  who  had  been  the  zealous  advocates  of  the 
interests  of  the  Negro  population  at  a  former  period, 
were  now  disposed  to  judge  most  hardly  of  their  con- 
duct.    Their  very  sympathy  with  the  victims  of  the 
system  formerly  prevailing,  led  them  to  conceive  un- 
bounded hopes  of  the  benefits,  moral  and  social  alike, 
which  a  change  would  effect ;   the  admirable  behaviour 
of  the  peasantry  at  the  time  of  emancipation,  confirmed 
such  anticipations;  and  they  were  now  beginning  to 
experience   disappointment   on   finding    that   all   they 
looked  for  was  not  immediately  realised.     These  feel- 
ings, however,  Lord  Elgin  did  not  share. 

On  the  whole  (he  said)  I  feel  con6dent  that  the  moral  results 
consequent  on  the  introduction  of  freedom,  have  been  as  satis- 
factory as  could  in  reason  have  been  expected ;  and,  notwith- 
standing the  very  serious  pecuniary  loss  which  this  measure  has 
'^'^tailed  in  many  quarters,  few  indeed,  even  if  they  had  the 


1842-5.  RELIGIOX.  2 


o 


power  to  do  so,  would  conBent  to  return  to  the  system  which 
has  been  abandoned.  It  is  gratifying  in  the  highest  degree  to 
observe  the  feelings  now  subsisting  between  those  who  lately 
stood  to  each  other  in  the  relation  of  master  and  slave.  Past 
wrongs  are  forgotten,  and  in  the  every-day  dealings  between 
man  and  man  the  humanity  of  the  labourer  is  unhesitatingly 
recc^pused. 

We  have  seen  how  zealously  Lord  Elgin  exerted  Religion, 
himself  to  realise  his  own  hopes  for  the  prosperity  of 
the  colony,  by  encouraging  the  spread  of  secular  and 
industrial  education.  Not  that  he  regarded  secular 
education  as  all-sufficient.  His  sympathies^  were  en- 
tirely with  those  who  believe  that,  while  '  it  is  a  great 

*  and  a  good  thing  to  know  the  laws  that  govern  this 
'  world,  it  is  better  still  to  have  some  sort  of  faith  in  the 

*  relations  of  this  world  with  another;  that  the  knowledge 
'  of  cause  and  effect  can  never  replace  the  motive  to 
'  do  right  and  avoid  wrong  ;  that  our  clergymen  and 

*  ministers  are  more  useful  than  our  schoolmasters ;  that 
'  Religion  is  the  motive  power,  the  faculties  are  the 
^  machines :  and  the  machines  are  useless  without  the 
'  motive  power.' '  But,  as  a  practical  statesman,  he  felt 
that  the  one  kind  of  education  he  had  it  in  his  power 
to  forward  directly  by  measures  falling  within  his  own 
legitimate  province ;  while  the  other  he  could  only 
promote  indirectly,  by  pointing  out  the  need  for  it,  and 
drawing  attention  to  the  pecuhar  circumstances  of  the 
island  respecting  it.  The  following  are  a  few  of  the 
passages  in  which  he  refers  to  the  subject : — 

Much  has  been  done  by  the  island  legislature — ^more,  I  think, 
than  could  reasonably  have  been  looked  for  under  the  circum- 
stances— towards  making  provision  for  the  religious  necessities 
of  the  population.  But  the  daily  formation  of  small  mountain 
settlements,  and  the  consequent  dispersion  of  large  numbers  in 
districts  remote  from  the  established  places  of  worship,  adds 


»  Vide  inf.  p.  150. 

«  See  the  speech  of  Mr.  W.  E.  Foreter,  at  Leeds,  May  20, 1809. 


24  JA\LVICA.  Ch.  II. 

greatly  to  the  difficulty  of  extending  to  all  these  humanising 
The  and  civilising  influences.     The  Church  can  keep  its  footing 

Church.  jj^yg  Qjjiy  \^j  the  exhibition  of  missionary  zeal  and  devotion, 
tempered  by  a  spirit  of  Christian  benevolence  and  conciliation. 
I  regret  to  say  that  some  of  the  unhappy  controversies  vrhich 
are  vexing  the  Church  in  England  have  broken  out  here  of  late. 
Discussions  of  this  nature  are  singularly  unprofitable  where  the 
people  need  to  be  instructed  in  the  very  rudiments  of  Christian 
knowledge,  and  where  it  is  so  desirable  to  keep  well  with  all 
who  profess  to  have  a  similar  object  in  view. 

A  single  bishop  in  a  colony,  where  large  funds  are  provided 
by  the  State  for  Church  purposes,  and  where  he  is  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  public  opinion  of  England,  exercises  a  very  great 
and  irresponsible  authority.  If  a  zealous  man,  of  extreme 
views  on  points  of  doctrine,  the  clergy  of  the  diocese,  looking 
to  him  alone  for  advancement  in  their  profession,  are  apt  to 
echo  his  sentiments ;  and  the  wide  folding  doors  of  our  mother 
Church,  which  she  flings  open  for  the  reception  of  so  many,  to 
pse  Milton's  words,  '  brotherly  dissimilitudes  that  are  not 
*  vastly  disproportioned,'  are  contracted,  to  the  exclusion,  per- 
chance, of  some  whom  it  were  desirable  to  retain  in  our  com- 
munion. If,  on  the  other  hand,  he  be  a  man  of  but  moderate 
piety,  ability,  and  firmness,  the  importunity  of  friends  at  a  dis- 
tance, who  may  wish  to  provide  for  dependents  or  connections, 
and  other  considerations  which  need  not  be  enumerated,  may 
tempt  him  to  lower  the  standard  of  ministerial  qualification,  of 
which  he  is,  of  course,  the  sole  judge.  It  requires  a  person  of 
much  Christian  principle,  and  singular  moderation,  discretion, 
and  tact,  to  administer  powers  of  this  nature  well.  I  have 
every  hope  that  the  bishop  whom  you  have  sent  us  will  prove 
equal  to  the  task.  For  the  sake  of  humanity  and  civilisation, 
as  well  as  for  the  interests  of  the  island,  I  fervently  trust  that 
I  may  not  be  disappointed  in  my  expectations  on  this  head. 

The  complex  and  thwarting  currents  of  interest  and 
opinion  that  may  exist  in  a  colony  respecting  the  main- 
tenance of  a  State  Church  are  well  illustrated  in  the 
foUo^yi^g  extracts : — 

Very  soon  after  I  arrived  here,  I  felt  satisfied  that  the  con- 
flicts of  party  in  the  colony  would  ere  long  assume  a  new 
character.     I  perceived  that  the  hostility  to  the  proprietary 


1812-6.  THE  CHURCH.  25 

interests,  which  was  supposed  to  actuate  certain  classes  of  per- 
sons who  had  much  influence  with  the  peasantry^  was  on  the 
decline.  Should  a  state  of  quiescence  prove  incompatible  with 
the  maintenance  of  their  hold  on  their  flocks,  analogy  led  me 
to  anticipate  that  the  Established  Church  would,  in  all  pro- 
bability, become  an  object  of  attack. 

Considering  the  facility  with  which  the  franchise  may  be 
acquired,  it  is  not  a  little  remarkable  that  the  constituency 
should  have  hitherto  increased  so  slowly.  This  phenomenon 
has  not  escaped  the  notice  of  the  opponents  of  the  union  of 
Church  and  State,  and  they  have  ascribed  it  to  the  true  cause. 
They  are  sensible  that  an  uneducated  population  in  easy  cir- 
cumstances, without  practical  grievances,  are  not  likely  to  be 
intent  on  the  acquisition  of  political  privileges.  They  have, 
therefore,  undertaken  to  supply  them  with  a  grievance,  in  order 
to  whet  their  appetite  for  the  franchise,  and  also  to  provide  them 
with  guides  who  shall  instruct  them  in  the  proper  use  of  it. 

But  in  attempting  to  carry  this  scheme  into  effect  they  have 
encountered  an  obstacle,  which  has,  for  the  time,  entirely 
frustrated  their  intentions.  The  more  educated  and  intelli- 
gent of  the  brown  party  listen  with  disapprobation  to  the  tone 
in  which  the  Baptist  ministers  and  their  adherents  arrogate  to 
themselves  exclusively  the  title  of  friends  and  leaders  of  the 
black  population.  Many  persons  of  this  class  have  already 
embarked  in  public  life ;  some,  as  members  of  Assembly,  have 
taken  part  in  those  transactions  which  are  the  object  of  the 
bitterest  denunciations  of  the  Anti-Church  party.  A  few  are 
Churchmen,  others  Wesleyans.  The  prospect  of  a  Baptist 
oligarchy  ruling  in  undivided  sway  disquiets  them.  They 
have  their  doubts  as  to  whether,  in  the  present  stage  of  our 
civilisation,  the  peasantry  of  this  Island  would  evince  much 
discrimination  in  their  selection  of  a  religion  if  left  in  that 
matter  entirely  to  themselves.  In  the  chequered  array  of 
colours  which  our  religious  world  even  now  presents,  com- 
prising every  shade,  from  Roman  Catholicism  and  Judaism,  to 
Myalism,  and  providing  spiritual  gratification  for  every  eye, 
they  still  think  it,  on  the  whole,  desirable  that  predominance 
should  be  given  to  some  one  over  the  rest.  Many  have  ex- 
perienced the  bounty  of  the  legislature,  which  has  been  most 
liberal  in  affording  aid  to  all  sects  who  have  applied  for  it. 
They  are  not,  therefore,  as  yet  ready  for  the  overthrow  of  the 


26  JAMAICA.  Ch.  n. 

Church  Establishment.  But  I  will  not  take  upon  myself  to 
affirm  that^  as  a  body,  they  are  prepared  to  incur  political 
martyrdom  in  its  defence. 

But  apart  from  the  difficulties — social,  moral,  and 
religious — at  which  we  have  glanced,  there  was  enough 
in  the  political  aspect  of  affairs  to  fill  the  Governor  of 
Jamaica  with  anxiety.  The  franchise  being  within  the 
reach  of  every  one  who  chose  to  stretch  out  a  hand  and 
grasp  it,  might  at  any  time  be  claimed  by  vast  numbers 
of  persons  who  had  recently  been  slaves,  and  were  still 
generally  illiterate.  And  the  Assembly  for  which  this 
constituency  had  to  provide  members  exercised  great 
authority  within  its  own  sphere.  It  discharged  a  large 
portion  of  the  functions  which  usually  devolve  upon 
an  Executive  Government ;  it  initiated  all  legislative 
measures,  besides  voting  the  supplies  fi'om  year  to  year. 
What  hope  was  there  that  a  body  so  constituted  would 
wield  such  powers  with  discretion  ? 
Harmonis-  Lord  Elgui's  auswcr  to  this  question  shows  that  he 
ence  of*^  already  cherished  that  faith  in  the  harmonising  influence 
of  British  institutions  on  a  mixed  population,  which 
afterwards,  at  a  critical  period  of  Canadian  history,  was 
the  mainspring  of  his  policy. 

A  sojourner  in  this  sea  of  the  Antilles^  who  is  watching  with 
heartfelt  anxiety  the  progress  of  the  great  experiment  of  Negro 
emancipation  (an  experiment  which  must  result  in  failure  unless 
religion  and  civilisation  minister  to  the  mind  that  freedom 
which  the  enactments  of  law  have  secured  for  the  body),  might 
well  be  tempted  to  view  the  prospect  to  which  I  have  now 
introduced  you  with  some  feelings  of  misgiving,  were  he  not 
reassured  by  his  firm  reliance  on  the  harmonising  influence  of 
British  connexion,  and  the  power  of  self-adaptation  inherent  in 
our  institutions.  On  the  one  side  he  sees  the  model  Republic 
of  Hayti — a  coloured  community,  which  has  enjoyed  nearly 
half  a  century  of  entire  independence  and  self-rule.  And  with 
what  issues?  As  respecta  moral  and  intellectual  culture, 
stagnation :  in  aU  that  ooncerns  material  development,  a  fatal 
retrogression.      He   beholds   there,  at   this  day,  a  miserable 


Britinh  in 
Btitutiozu. 


1842-5.  BRITISH  INSTITUTIONS.  27 

parody  of  European  and  American  institutiong,  without  the 
spirit  that  animates  either:  the  tinsel  of  French  sentiment 
on  the  ground  of  negro  ignorance :  even  the  *  sacred  right  of 
^  insurrection '  burlesqued :  a  people  which  has  for  its  onlj 
living  belief  an  ill-defined  apprehension  of  the  superiority  of 
the  white  man^  and,  for  the  rest,  blunders  on  without  faith  in 
what  regards  this  world  or  that  which  is  to  come. 

He  turns  his  eyes  to  another  quarter  and  perceives  the 
cluster  of  states  which  have  formed  themselves  from  the  break- 
up of  the  Spanish  continental  dominions.  What  ground  of 
consolation  or  hope  does  he  discover  there  ? 

These  illustrations  of  the  working  of  free  systems  constructed 
out  of  the  wreck  of  a  broken-down  African  Slave  Trade  are 
not  indeed  encouraging ;  but  neither  do  they,  in  my  opinion, 
warrant  despair.  I  believe  that  by  great  caution  and  diligence, 
by  firmness  and  gentleness  on  the  part  of  the  parent  state,  and 
much  prudence  in  the  instruments  which  it  employs,  a  people 
with  a  heart  and  soul  may  be  built  up  out  of  the  materials  in 
our  hands.  I  regard  our  local  constitution  as  a  fait  accompli^ 
and  have  no  desire  to  remove  a  stone  of  the  fabric.  I  think 
that  a  popular  representative  system  is,  perhaps,  the  best 
expedient  that  can  be  devised  for  blending  into  one  harmonious 
whole  a  community  composed  of  diverse  races  and  colour,  and 
this  conviction  is  strengthened  when  I  read  the  observations  of 
Sir  H.  Macleod  and  Governor  Light,  on  the  coloured  classes 
in  Demerara  and  Trinidad.  In  colonies  which  have  no  assem- 
blies, it  would  appear  that  aspiring  intellects  have  not  the  same 
opportunity  of  finding  their  level,  and  pent  up  ambitions  lack 
a  vent. 

In  studying  the  play  of  the  various  forces  at  work 
around  him,  and  in  endeavouring  to  direct  them  to 
good  issues,  Lord  Elgin  found  the  best  solace  for  the 
domestic  sorrow  which  darkened  this  period  of  his  life. 
He  lived  chiefly  in  retirement,  at  a  country-house  called 
Craigton,  in  the  Blue  Mountains,  with  His  sister,  now 
Lady  Charlotte  Locker,  and  his  brother  Robert,  who 
was  also  his  most  able  and  efficient  secretary;  seeing 
little  society  beyond  that  occasioned  by  official  inter- 
course and  receptions,  which  were  never  intermitted  at 


28  JAMAICA.  Ch.  II. 

Spanish  Town,  the  seat  of  Government.  The  isolation 
and  monotony  of  this  position,  broken  only  once  by  a 
conference  held  with  some  of  the  neighbouring  Governors 
on  a  question  of  common  interest  respecting  immigra- 
tion, could  not  fail  to  be  distasteful  to  his  active  spirit ; 
and  when  it  had  lasted  over  three  years,  it  was  not  un- 
natural that  he  should  seek  to  be  relieved  from  it. 
Early  in  1845  we  find  him  writing  to  Lord  Stanley  as 
follows : — 

Besigna-  I  am  warned  by  the  commencement  of  the  year  1845  that  I 

^^°*  have  filled  the  situation  of  Governor  of  Jamaica  for  as  long  a 

time  as  any  of  my  predecessors  since  the  Duke  of  Manchester. 
The  period  of  my  administration  has  not  been  marked  by 
striking  incidents,  but  it  has  been  one  of  considerable  social 
progress.  Uninterrupted  harmony  has  prevailed  between  the 
colonists  and  the  local  Government ;  and  it  may  perhaps,  with- 
out exaggeration,  be  affirmed,  that  the  spirit  of  enterprise 
which  has  proceeded  from  Jamaica  during  the  past  two  years 
has  enabled  the  British  West  Indian  colonies  to  endure,  with 
comparative  fortitude,  apprehensions  and  difficulties  which 
might  otherwise  have  depressed  them  beyond  measure.  Cir- 
cumstances have,  however,  occurred  since  my  arrival  in  the 
colony,  unconnected  with  public  affairs,  which  have  materially 
affected  my  views  in  life,  and  which  make  me  contemplate 
with  much  repugnance  the  prospect  of  an  indefinitely  pro- 
longed sojourn  in  this  place.  Without  dwelling  at  any  greater 
length  on  these  painful  topics,  I  venture  to  trust  that  you  will 
acquit  me  of  undue  presumption  when  I  assure  you,  that  in 
my  present  forlorn  and  isolated  position,  nothing  enables  me  to 
persevere  in  the  discharge  of  my  duties,  except  the  hope  that 
my  humble  services  may  earn  for  me  your  confidence  and  the 
approbation  of  my  Sovereign,  and  prove  not  altogether  unpro- 
fitable to  the  community  over  whose  interests  I  am  appointed  to 
watch. 

He  remained,  however,  at  his  post  for  more  than  a 
year  longer,  and  quitted  it  in  the  spring  of  1846  on 
leave  of  absence,  with  the  understanding  that  he  should 
not  be  required  to  return  to  Jamaica. 

During  nearly  the  whole  period  of  his  government 


1846.  APPOINTED  TO  CANADA.  29 

the  seals  of  the  Colonial  Office  had  been  held  by  Lord  Appoint- 
Stanley,  to  whom  he  owed  his  appointment ;  and  at  the  Canada, 
break-up  of  the  Tory  party,  in  the  beginning  of  1846, 
they  passed  into  the  hands  of  his  old  schoolfellow 
and  college  friend,  Mr.  Gladstone*  But  he  had  scarcely 
arrived  in  England  when  a  new  Secretary  arose  in  the 
person  of  Lord  Grey,  to  whom  he  was  unknown  except 
by  reputation.  It  is  all  the  more  creditable  to  both 
parties  that,  in  spite  of  their  political  differences.  Lord 
Grey  should  first  have  endeavoured  to  induce  him,  on 
public  grounds  alone,  to  retain  the  government  of 
Jamaica,  with  the  promise  of  his  unreserved  confidence 
and  most  cordial  support;  and  shortly  afterwards, 
should  have  offered  to  him  the  still  more  important  post 
of  Governor-General  of  British   North  America.      'I 

*  believe,*  wrote  his  Lordship,  in  making  the  offer, '  that 
'  it  would  be  difficult  to  point  out  any  situation  in  which 

*  great  talents  would  find  more  scope  for  useful  exertion, 
'  or  are  more  wanted  at  this  moment,  and  I  am  sure  that 

*  I  could  not  hope  to  find  anyone  whom  I  could  recom- 

*  mend  to  Her  Majesty  for  that  office  with  so  much  con- 

*  fidence  as  yourself. ' 

So  splendid  an  offer,  made  in  a  manner  so  gratifying, 
might  well  overcome  any  reluctance  which  Lord  Elgin 
felt  to  embark  at  once  on  a  fresh  period  of  expatria- 
tion, and  to  resume  labours  which,  however  cordially 
they  may  be  appreciated  by  a  minister,  are  apt  to 
meet  with  little  recognition  from  the  public. 

He  accepted  it,  not  in  the  spirit  of  mere  selfish  am- 
bition, but  with  a  deep  sense  of  the  responsibilities 
attached  to  it,  which  he  portrayed  in  earnest  and 
forcible  words  at  a  public  dinner  at  Dunfermline  : — 

To  watch  over  the  interests  of  those  great  offshoots  of  the 
British  race  which  plant  themselves  in  distant  lands ;  to  aid 
them  in  their  efforts  to  extend  the  domain  of  civilisation,  and 
to  fdlfil  that  first  behest  of  a  benevolent  Creator  to  His  intel- 
ligent creatures-^'  subdue  the  earth ; '  to  abet  the  generous 


30  JAMAICA.  Ch.  U. 

endeavour  to  impart  to  these  rising  communities  the  full  ad- 
vantages of  British  laws,  British  institutions,  and  British  free- 
dom; to  assist  them  in  maintaining  unimpaired,  it  may  be 
in  strengthening  and  confirming,  those  bonds  of  mutual  affec- 
tion which  unite  the  parent  and  dependent  states — these  are 
duties  not  to  be  lightly  undertaken,  and  which  may  well  claim 
the  exercise  of  all  the  faculties  and  energies  of  an  earnest  and 
patriotic  mind. 

It  was  arranged  that  he  should  go  to  Canada  at  the 
end  of  the  year.  In  the  interval  he  became  engaged 
to  Lady  Mary  Louisa  Lambton,  daughter  of  the  first 
Earl  of  Durham.  They  were  married  on  November  7th, 
and  in  the  first  days  of  the  year  1847  he  sailed  for 
America. 


1847.  CANADA.  31 


CHAPTER  IIL 

CANADA. 

STATE     OF     THE     COLONY FIRST      IMPRESSIONS — PROVINCIAL      POLITICS 

'responsible  GOVERNUENT' — IRISH  IMMIGRANTS — UPPER  CANADA — 
CHANGE  OF  MINISTRY — FRENCH  HABITANS — ^THE  FRENCH  QUESTION — THE 
IRISH THE  BRITISH DISCONTENTS;  THEIR  CAUSES  AND  REMEDIES- 
NAVIGATION   LAWS RETROSPECT — SPEECH   ON   EDUCATION. 

In  passing  from  Jamaica  to  Canada,  Lord  Elgin  went  viewof  the 
not  only  to  a  far  wider  sphere  of  action,  but  to  one  of  canLSi. 
infinitely  greater  complication.  For  in  Canada  there 
were  two  civilised  populations  of  nearly  equal  power, 
viewing  each  other  with  traditionary  dislike  and  dis- 
trust: the  French  habitans  of  the  Lower  Province, 
strong  in  their  connexion  with  the  past,  and  the  British 
settlers,  whose  energy  and  enterprise  gave  immistakable 
promise  of  predominance  in  the  future.  Canada  had, 
within  a  few  miles  of  her  capital,  a  powerful  and  restless 
neighbour,  whose  friendly  intentions  were  not  always 
sufficient  to  restrain  the  unruly  spirits  on  her  frontier 
from  acts  of  aggression,  which  might  at  any  time  lead 
to  the  most  serious  complications.  Moreover,  in  Canada 
representative  institutions  were  already  more  fully  de- 
veloped than  in  any  other  colony,  and  were  at  this 
very  time  passing  through  the  most  critical  period  of 
their  final  development. 

The  rebellion  of  1837  and  1 838had  necessarily  checked  Rebellion 

n'T  1  RAT 

the  progress  of  the  colony  towards  self-government. 
It  has  since  been  acknowledged  that  the  demands 
which  led  to  that  rebellion  were  such  as  England 
would  have  gladly  granted  two  or  three  hundred  years 


32  CANADA.  Ch.  ni- 

before ;  and  they  were,  in  fact,  subsequently  conceded 
one  after  another,  'not  from  terror,  but  because,  on 
'  seriously  looking  at  the  case,  it  was  found  that  after  all 
'  we  had  no  possible  interest  in  withholding  them.'  ^  But 
at  the  time  it  was  necessary  to  put  down  the  rebels  by 
force,  and  to  establish  military  government.     In  1838 

Lord         Lord  Durham  was  sent  out  as  High  Commissioner  for 

B^™'  the  Adjustment  of  the  Affairs  of  the  Colony,  and  his 
celebrated  '  Report '  sowed  the  seeds  of  all  the  beneficial 
changes  which  followed.   So  early  as  October  1839,  when 

Sydenham  P<^^^*t  Thomsou,  aftcrwards  Lord  Sydenham,  went 
out  as  Governor,  Lord  John  Russell  took  the  first  step 
towards  the  introduction  of  'responsible  government,' 
by  announcing  that  the  principal  ofiices  of  the  colony 
'  would  not  be  considered  as  being  held  by  a  tenure 
'  equivalent  to  one  during  good  behaviour,  but  that  the 
'  holders  would  be  liable  to  be  called  upon  to  retire 
'  whenever,  from  motives  of  public  policy  or  for  other 
'  reasons,  this  should  be  found  expedient.'^  But  the  in- 
surrection was  then  too  recent  to  allow  of  constitutional 
government  being  established,  at  least  in  Lower  Canada ; 
and,  after  the  Union  in  1840,  Lord  Sydenham  exercised, 
partly  owing  to  his  great  ability,  much  more  power 
than  is  usually  enjoyed  by  constitutional  governors. 
He  exercised  it,  however,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  pave 
the  way  for  a  freer  system,  which  was  carried  out  to  a 

Sir  c.  great  extent  by  his  successor.  Sir  Charles  Bagot ;  who, 
though  bearing  the  reputation  of  an  old-fashioned  Tory, 
did  not  scruple  to  admit  to  his  counsels  persons  who 
had  been  active  in  opposing  the  Crown  during  the  re- 
cent rebellion ;  acting  on  '  the  broad  principle  that  the 
'  constitutional  majority  had  the  right  to  rule  under  the 

*  Our  Colonies  I  im  Addrefls  de-  JohnRu98dtsAdmmittratwn^'hy'EAr\ 
livered  to  the  members  of  the  Me-  Grey :  a  work  in  which  the  records 
chanics*  Institute,  Chester,  Nov.  12,  of  a  most  important  period  of  colonial 
1856,  by  the  Right  Hon.  W.  £.  history  are  traced  with  equal  ability 
Gladstone,  M.P.  and  authority. 

*  See  the  Colonial  Policy  of  Lord 


Bagot. 


18*7.  STATE  OF  THE  COLONY.  83 

*  coDBtitation.'  *    Towards  the  end  of  1842,  Sir  C.  Bagot 
found  himself  obliged  by  continued  ill-health  to  resign  ; 
and  he  was  succeeded  by  Lord  Metcalfe — a  man,  as  has  Lord 
been  before  noticed,  of  singularly  popular  manners  and     •''•^ 
conciliatory  disposition,  but  whose  views  of  government, 
formed  in  India  and  confirmed  in  Jamaica,  little  fitted  him 

to  deal  at  an  advanced  age  with  the  novel  questions  pre- 
sented by  Canada  at  this  crisis.  A  quarrel  arose  between 
him  and  his  Ministry  on  a  question  of  patronage.  The 
ministers  resigned,  though  supported  by  a  large  ma- 
jority in  the  Assembly.  With  great  difficulty  he 
formed  a  Conservative  administration,  and  immediately 
dissolved  his  Parliament.  The  new  elections  gave  a 
small  majority  to  the  Conservatives,  chiefly  due,  it  was 
said,  to  the  exertion  of  his  personal  influence ;  but  the 
success  was  purchased  at  a  ruinous  cost,  for  he  was 
now  in  the  position,  fatal  to  a  governor,  of  a  party 
man.  Even  from  this  situation  he  might  perhaps  have 
been  able  to  extricate  himself :  so  great  was  the  respect 
felt  for  his  rare  qualities  of  mind  and  character.  But 
a  distressing  malady  almost  incapacitated  him  for  the 
discharge  of  public  business,  and  at  length,  in  Novem- 
ber 1845,  forced  him  to  resign.  At  this  time  there 
was  some  apprehension  of  difficulties  with  America, 
arising  from  the  Oregon  question,  and,  in  view  of  the 
possibility  of  war,  Mr.  Gladstone,  who  was  then  at  the 
Colonial  Office,  appointed  Lord  Cathcart,  the  commander  Lord  Cdth- 
of  the  forces,  to  be  Governor-General. 

When  the  Whig  party  came  into  power,  and  Lord 
Grey  became  Secretary  for  the  Colonies,  the  Oregon 
difficulty  had  been  happily  settled,  and  it  was  no  longer 
necessary  or  desirable  that  the  colony  should  be  go- 
verned by  a  military  officer.     What  was  wanted  was 

*  a  person  possessing  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  prin- 

*  ciples  and  practice  of  the  constitution  of  England,  some 
'experience   of  popular  assemblies,  and  considerable 

1  MacMullen'B  Eidonj  of  Canada,  p.  407. 

D 


34 


CANADA. 


Ch.  m. 


»  1 


Principles 
of  Colo- 
nial Go- 
yemment. 


Cro«wing 

the 

AtlABtic 


*  familiarity  with  the  political  questions  of  the  day. 
After  much  consideration  it  was  decided  to  offer  the 
post  to  Lord  Elgin,  though  personally  unknown  at  the 
time  both  to  the  Premier  and  to  the  Secretary  for  the 
Colonies. 

The  principles  on  which  Lord  Elgin  undertook  to 
conduct  the  affairs  of  the  colony  were,  that  he  should 
identify  himself  with  no  party,  but  make  himself  a 
mediator  and  moderator  between  the  influential  of  all 
parties  ;  that  he  should  have  no  ministers  who  did  not 
enjoy  the  confidence  of  the  Assembly,  or,  in  the  last 
resort,  of  the  people ;  and  that  he  should  not  refuse 
his  consent  to  any  measure  proposed  by  his  Ministry, 
unless  it  were  of  an  extreme  party  character,  such  as 
the  Assembly  or  the  people  would  be  sure  to  disap- 
prove.* Happily  these  principles  were  not,  in  Lord 
Elgin's  case,  of  yesterday's  growth.  He  had  acted 
upon  them,  as  far  as  was  possible,  even  in  Jamaica  ; 
and  in  their  soundness  as  applied  to  a  colony  like 
Canada  he  had  that  firm  faith,  grounded  on  original 
conviction,  which  alone  could  have  enabled  him  to 
maintain  them,  as  he  afterwards  did,  single-handed,  in 
face  of  the  most  violent  opposition,  and  in  circum- 
stances by  which  they  were  most  severely  tested. 

It  was  fortunate  that  Lord  Elgin  had  arranged  to 
leave  his  bride  in  England,  to  follow  at  a  less  inclement 
season ;  for  he  had  an  unusually  stormy  passage  across 
the  Atlantic — *  the  worst  passage  the  ship  had  ever  made.' 
Writing  on  the  16th  of  January  to  Lady  Grey  he  says : 

Hitherto  we  have  had  a  very  boisterous  passage.  On  the 
13th  we  had  a  hurricane,  and  were  obliged  to  lie  to— a  rare 
occurrence  with  these  vessels.  It  was  almost  impossible  to 
be  on  deck,  but  I  crept  out  of  a  hole  for  a  short  time,  to 
behold  the  sea,  which  was  truly  grand  in  its  wraih;  the 
waves  rolling  mountains  high,  and  the  wind  sweeping  the  foam 
off  their  crests,  and  driving  it,  together  with  the  snow  and 


>  Lord  Grey's  Colonial  Fblicy,  &c,  I  207. 


1847.  FIRST  IMPRESSIONS.  35 

sleet,  almost  horizontally  over  the  ocean.  TVe  lay  thus  for 
some  hours,  our  masts  covered  with  snow,  pitching  and  tossing, 
now  in  the  trough  of  the  sea,  and  now  on  the  summit  of  the 
billows,  without  anxiety  or  alarm,  so  gallantly  did  our  craft 
bear  itself  through  these  perils. 

The  ship  is  very  full,  with  half  a  million  of  specie,  and  a 
motley  group  of  passengers :  a  Bishop,  an  ex-secretary  of 
LfCgation  and  an  ex-consul,  both  of  the  United  States;  a 
batch  of  Germans  and  of  Frenchmen ;  a  host  of  Yankees,  the 
greater  part  being  bearded,  which  is,  I  understand,  charac- 
teristic of  young  America,  particularly  when  it  travels ;  some 
specimens  of  Nova  Scotia,  Xew  Brunswick,  Canada,  and  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  not  to  mention  English  and  Scotch.  Every 
now  and  then,  at  the  most  serious  moments,  sounds  of  up- 
rouious  mirth  proceed  from  a  party  of  Irish,  who  are  playing 
antics  in  some  comer  of  the  ship.  Considering  that  we  are 
all  hemmed  in  within  the  space  of  a  few  feet,  and  that  it  is  the 
amusement  of  the  great  restless  ocean  to  pitch  us  constantly 
into  each  other*s  arms,  it  is  hard  indeed  if  we  do  not  pick  up 
something  new  in  the  scramble. 

On  the  25th  of  January  he  landed  at  Boston,  and  pro-  Fint  im- 
ceeding  next  day  by  railway  and  sleigh,  reached  Men-  ^"^^^ 
treal  on  the  29th.    On  the  Slst  he  wrote  from  Monklands, 
the  suburban  residence  of  the  governor,  to  Lady  Elgin: — 

Yesterday  was  my  great  day.  I  agreed  to  make  my 
entrance  to  Montreal,  for  the  purpose  of  being  inaugurated. 
The  morning  was  unpropitious.  There  had  been  a  tremendous 
storm  during  the  night,  and  the  snow  had  drifted  so  much  that 
it  seemed  doubtful  whether  a  sleigh  could  go  from  hence  to 
town  (about  four  miles).  I  said  that  I  had  no  notion  of  being 
deterred  by  weather.  Accordingly,  I  got  into  a  one-horse 
sleigh,  with  very  small  runners,  which  conveyed  me  to  the 
entrance  of  the  town,  where  I  was  met  by  the  Mayor  and 
Corporation  with  an  address.  I  then  got  into  Lord  Cathcart's 
carriage,  accompanied  by  the  Mayor,  and  a  long  procession  of 
carriages  was  formed.  We  drove  slowly  to  the  Government 
House  (in  the  town),  through  a  dense  mass  of  people — all  the 
societies,  trades,  &c.,  with  their  banners.  Nothing  could  be 
more  gratifying.  After  the  swearing  in,  at  which  the  public 
were  present,  the  Mayor  read  another  address  from  Ae  inhabit- 


36  CANADA.  Ch.  m. 

ants.  To  this  I  delivered  a  reply,  which  produced,  I  think,  a 
considerable  effect,  and  no  little  astonishment  on  some  gentle- 
men who  intended  that  I  should  say  nothing.  I  have  adopted 
frankly  and  unequivocally  Lord  Durham's  view  of  government, 
and  I  think  that  I  have  done  all  that  could  be  done  to  prevent 
its  being  perverted  to  vile  purposes  of  faction. 

Various  circuinstaiices  combined  to  smooth,  for  the 
time,  the  waters  on  which  Lord  Elgin  had  embarked. 
The  state  of  political  parties  was  favourable  ;  for  the 
old  Tories  of  the  British  '  Family  Compact '  party  were 
in  good  humour,  being  in  enjoyment  of  the  powers  to 
which  they   claimed   a  prescriptive   right,   while  the 

*  Liberals  '  of  the  Opposition  were  full  of  hope  that  the 
removal  of  Lord  Metcalfe's  disturbing  influence  would 
restore  their  proper  preponderance.  Something  also 
was  due  to  his  o^vn  personal  qualities.  Whereas  most 
of  his  immediate  predecessors  had  been  men  advanced  in 
years  and  enfeebled  by  ill-heath,  he  was  in  the  full 
enjojonent  of  vigorous  youth — able,  if  need  were,  to 
work  whole  days  at  a  stretch ;  to  force  his  way  through 
a  Canadian  snow-storm,  if  his  presence  was  required 
at  a  public  meeting ;  to  make  long  and  rapid  journeys 
through  the  province,  ever  ready  to  receive  an  ad- 
dress, and  give  an  impromptu  reply.  The  papers  soon 
began   to  remark  on  the  'geniality  and   ailability  of 

*  his  demeanour.'    '  He  is  daily,'  they  said,  *  making  new 

*  friends.     He  walks  to  church,  attends  public  meetings, 

*  leads  the  cheering,  and  is,  in  fact,  a  man  of  the  people.' 
Before  long  it  was  added,  *Our  new  governor  is 
*the  most  effective  speaker  in  the  province;'  and, 
thanks  to  his  foreign  education,  he  was  able  to  speak 
as  readily  and  fluently  to  the  French  Canadians  in 
French  as  to  the  English  in  English.  Added  to  this, 
his  recent  marriage  was  a  passport  to  the  hearts  of 
many  in  Canada,  who  looked  back  to  the  late  Lord 
Durham  as  the  apostle  of  their  liberties,  if  not  as  a 
martyr  in  their  cause. 


1847.  PROVINCIAL  POLITICS.  37 

But  though  the  surface  was  smooth,  there  was  much  ProTincU 
beneath  to  disquiet  an  observant  governor.  It  was  not  ^  *^^' 
only  that  the  Ministry  was  so  weak,  and  so  conscious 
of  its  weakness,  as  to  be  incapable  even  of  proposing  any 
measures  of  importance.  This  evU  might  be  remedied 
by  a  change  of  administration.  But  there  was  no  real 
political  life ;  only  that  pale  and  distorted  reflection  of  it 
which  is  apt  to  exist  in  a  colony  before  it  has  learned 
'  to  look  within  itself  for  the  centre  of  power.'  Parties 
formed  themselves,  not  on  broad  issues  of  principle,  but 
with  reference  to  petty  local  and  personal  interests  ;  and 
when  they  sought  the  support  of  a  more  widespread 
sentiment,  they  fell  back  on  those  antipathies  of  race, 
which  it  was  the  main  object  of  every  wise  Governor  to 
extinguish. 

The  following  extracts  from  private  letters  to  Lord 
Grey,  written  within  a  few  months  of  his  arrival,  reflect 
this  state  of  things.  Though  the  circumstances  to 
which  they  refer  are  past  and  gone,  they  may  not  be 
without  interest,  as  aflFording  an  insight  into  a  common 
phase  of  colonial  government. 

Hitherto  things  have  gone  on  well  with  me,  much  better 
than  I  hoped  for  when  we  parted.  I  should  have  been  very 
willing  to  meet  the  Assembly  at  once,  and  throw  myself  with 
useful  measures  on  the  good  sense  of  the  people,  but  my  min- 
isters are  too  weak  for  this.  They  seem  to  be  impressed  with 
the  belief  that  the  regular  Opposition  will  of  course  resist  what- 
ever they  propose,  and  that  any  fragments  of  their  own  side, 
who  happen  not  to  be  able  at  the  moment  to  get  what  they 
want,  will  join  them.  When  I  advise  them,  therefore,  to  go 
down  to  Parliament  with  good  measures  and  the  prestige  of  a 
new  Governor,  and  rely  on  the  support  of  public  opinion,  they 
smile  and  shake  their  heads.  It  is  clear  that  they  are  not  very 
credulous  of  the  existence  of  such  a  controlling  power,  and  that 
their  faith  in  the  e£Bciency  of  appeals  to  selfish  and  sordid 
motives  is  greater  than  mine. 

Nevertheless,  we  must  take  the  world  as  we  find  it,  and  if 
new  elements  of  strength  are  required  to  enable  the  Govern- 


38  CANADA.  Ch.  ni. 

ment  to  go  on,  it  is  I  think  very  advisable  to  give  the  French 
a  fair  opportunity  of  entering  the  Ministry  in  the  first  instance. 
It  is  also  more  prudent  to  enter  upon  these  delicate  negotii^ 
tions  cautiously  and  slowly,  in  order  to  avoid,  if  possible,  giving 
the  impression  that  I  am  ready  to  jump  down  everybody's 
throat  the  moment  I  touch  the  soil  of  Canada. 

I  believe  that  the  problem  of  how  to  govern  United  Canada 
would  be  solved  if  the  French  would  split  into  a  Liberal  and  a 
Conservative  party,  and  join  the  Upper  Canada  parties  which 
bear  corresponding  names.  The  great  difficulty  hitherto  has 
been  that  a  Conservative  government  has  meant  a  government 
of  Upper  Canadians,  which  is  intolerable  to  the  French,  and 
a  Radical  government  a  government  of  French,  which  is  no  less 
hateful  to  the  British.  No  doubt  the  party  titles  are  mis- 
nomers, for  the  radical  party  comprises  the  political  section  most 
averse  to  progress  of  any  in  the  country.  Nevertheless,  so  it 
has  been  hitherto.  The  national  element  would  be  merged  in 
the  political  if  the  split  to  which  I  refer  were  accomplished. 

The  tottering  Ministry  attempted  to  strengthen  its 
position  by  a  junction  with  some  of  the  leaders  of  the 
*  French '  party  ;  but  the  attempt  was  unsuccessful : 

I  cannot  say  that  I  am  surprised  or  disheartened  by  the  re- 
sult of  these  negotiations  with  the  French.  In  a  community 
like  this,  where  there  is  little,  if  anything,  of  public  principle 
to  divide  men,  political  parties  will  shape  themselves  under  the 
influence  of  circumstances,  and  of  a  great  variety  of  affections 
and  antipathies,  national,  sectarian,  and  personal ;  and  I  never 
proposed  to  attempt  to  force  them  into  a  mould  of  my  own 
forming. 

You  will  observe  that  no  question  of  principle  or  of  public 
policy  has  been  mooted  by  either  party  during  the  nego- 
tiation. The  whole  discussion  has  turned  upon  personal 
considerations.  This  is,  I  fancy,  a  pretty  fair  sample  of 
Canadian  politics.  It  is  not  even  pretended  that  the  divisions 
of  party  represent  corresponding  divisions  of  sentiment  on 
questions  which  occupy  the  public  mind ;  such  as  Voluntary- 
ism, Free  Trade,  &c.,  &c.  Responsible  government  is  the 
only  subject  on  which  this  coincidence  is  alleged  to  exist  The 
opponents  of  the  Administration  are  supposed  to  dissent  from 
the  views  held  by  Lord  Metcalfe  upon  it,  though  it  is  not  so 


1S17.  PROVINCIAL  POLITICS.  39 

clear  that  its  supporters  altogether  adopt  them.  That  this 
delicate  and  most  debatable  subject  should  furnish  the  watch- 
words of  party  is  most  inconvenient. 

In  enumerating  the  difficulties  which  surround  such  questions 
as  Union  of  the  provinces.  Emigration,  &c.,  you  omit  the 
greatest  of  them  all ;  viz. :  the  materials  with  which  I  have  to 
work  in  carrying  out  any  measures  for  the  public  advantage. 
There  are  half  a  dozen  parties  here,  standing  on  no  principles, 
and  ail  intent  on  making  political  capital  out  of  whatever  turns 
up.  It  is  exceedingly  difficult,  under  such  circumstances,  to 
induce  public  men  to  run  the  risk  of  adopting  any  scheme  that 
is  bold  or  noveL 

Keenly  alive  to  the  evil  of  this  state  of  things,  Lord 
Elgin  was  not  less  sensible  that  the  blame  of  it  did  not 
rest  with  the  existing  generation  of  Canadian  politicians, 
but  that  it  was  the  result  of  a  variety  of  circumstances, 
some  of  which  it  was  impossible  to  regret. 

Several  causes  (he  wrote)  co-operate  together  to  give  to 
personal  and  party  interests  the  overweening  importance  which 
attaches  to  them  in  the  estimation  of  local  politicians.  There  are 
no  real  grievances  here  to  stir  the  depths  of  the  popular  mind. 
We  are  a  comfortable  people,  with  plenty  to  eat  and  drink,  no 
privileged  classes  to  excite  envy,  or  taxes  to  produce  irritation. 
It  were  ungrateful  to  view  these  blessings  with  regret,  and  yet 
I  believe  that  they  account  in  some  measure  for  the  selfishness 
of  public  men  and  their  indifference  to  the  higher  aims  of 
statesmanship. 

The  comparatively  small  number  of  members  of  which  the 
popular  bodies  who  determine  the  fate  of  provincial  adminis- 
trations consist,  is  also,  I  am  inclined  to  think,  unfavourable 
to  the  existence  of  a  high  order  of  principle  and  feeling  among 
official  personages.  A  majority  of  ten  in  an  assembly  of  seventy 
may  probably  be,  according  to  Cocker,  equivalent  to  a  majority 
of  100  in  an  assembly  of  700.  In  practice,  however,  it  is  far 
otherwise.  The  defection  of  two  or  three  individuals  from  the 
majority  of  ten  puts  the  administration  in  peril.  Thence  the 
perpetual  patchwork  and  trafficking  to  secure  this  vote  and 
that,  which  (not  to  mention  other  evils)  so  engrosses  the  time 
and  thoughts  of  ministers,  that  they  have  not  leisure  for  matters 
of  greater  moment.     It  must  also  be  remembered  that  it  is 


40  CANADA.  Ch.  m. 

only  of  late  that  the  popular  assemblies  In  this  part  of  the 
world  have  acquired  the  right  of  determining  who  shall  govern 
them — of  insisting,  as  we  phrase  it,  that  the  administration  of 
affairs  shall  be  conducted  by  persons  enjoying  their  confidence. 
It  is  not  wonderful  that  a  privilege  of  this  kind  should  be  ex- 
ercised at  first  with  some  degree  of  recklessness,  and  that, 
while  no  great  principles  of  policy  are  at  stake,  methods  of  a 
more  questionable  character  for  winning  and  retaining  the  con- 
BeBpon-  fidence  of  these  arbiters  of  destiny  should  be  resorted  to.  My 
Bible  go-  course  in  these  circumstances  is,  I  think,  clear  and  plain.  It 
may  be  somewhat  difficult  to  follow  occasionally,  but  I  feel  no 
doubt  as  to  the  direction  in  which  it  lies.  I  give  to  my  minis- 
ters all  constitutional  support,  frankly  and  without  reserve,  and 
the  benefit  of  the  best  advice  that  I  can  afford  them  in  their 
difficulties.  In  return  for  this  I  expect  that  they  will,  in  so 
far  as  it  is  possible  for  them  to  do  so,  carry  out  my  views  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  connexion  with  Great  Britain  and  the 
advancement  of  the  interests  of  the  province.  On  this  tacit 
understanding  we  have  acted  together  harmoniously  up  to  this 
time,  although  I  have  never  concealed  from  them  that  I  in- 
tend to  do  nothing  which  may  prevent  me  from  working  cordi- 
ally with  their  opponents,  if  they  are  forced  upon  me.  That 
ministries  and  Oppositions  should  occasionally  change  places,  is 
of  the  very  essence  of  our  constitutional  system,  and  it  is  pro- 
bably the  most  conservative  element  which  it  contains.  By 
subjecting  all  sections  of  politicians  in  their  turn  to  official 
responsibilities,  it  obliges  heated  partisans  to  place  some  re- 
straint on  passion,  and  to  confine  within  the  bounds  of  decency 
the  patriotic  zeal  with  which,  when  out  of  place,  they  are  wont  to 
be  animated.  In  order,  however,  to  secure  these  advantages,  it 
is  indispensable  that  the  head  of  the  Government  should  show 
that  he  has  confidence  in  the  loyalty  of  all  the  influential 
parties  with  which  he  has  to  deal,  and  that  he  should  have  no 
personal  antipathies  to  prevent  him  from  acting  with  leading 
men. 

I  feel  very  strongly  that  a  Govemoi^General,  by  acting 
upon  these  views  with  tact  and  firmness,  may  hope  to 
establish  a  moral  influence  in  the  province  which  will  go  far 
to  compensate  for  the  loss  of  power  consequent  on  the  sur- 
render of  patronage  to  an  executive  responsible  to  the  local 
Parliament     Until,  however,  the  functions  of  his  office,  under 


1847.  *  RESPONSIBLE  GOVERNMENT.*  41 

our  amended  colonial  constitntion,  are  more  clearly  defined — 
until  that  middle  term  which  shall  reconcile  the  faithful  dig- 
dutge  of  his  responsihility  to  the  Imperial  Government  and 
the  proTince  with  the  maintenance  of  the  quaai-monarchical 
relation  in  which  he  now  stands  towards  the  community  oyer 
which  he  presides,  be  discovered  and  agreed  upon,  he  must  be 
content  to  tread  along  a  path  which  is  somewhat  narrow  and 
slippery,  and  to  find  that  incessant  watchfulness  and  some 
dexterity  are  requisite  to  prevent  him  from  falling,  on  the  one 
side  into  the  neajtt  of  mock  sovereignty,  or  on  the  other  into 
the  dirt  and  confusion  of  local  factions. 

Many  of  his  letters  exhibit  the  same  conviction  that 

the  remedy  for  the  evik  which  he  regretted  was  to  be 

found  in  the  principles  of  government  first  asserted  by 

Lord  Durham ;  but  there  is  a  special  interest  in  the 

expression  of  this  sentiment  when  addressed,  as  in  the 

following  extract,  to  Lord  Durham's  daughter : — 

I  still  adhere  to  my  opinion  that  the  real  and  effectual  vindi- 
cation of  Lord  Durham's  memory  and  proceedings  will  be  tlie 
success  of  a  Governor^  General  of  Canada  who  works  out  his 
views  of  government  fairly.  Depend  upon  it,  if  this  country 
is  governed  for  a  few  years  satisfactorily.  Lord  Durham's  re- 
putation as  a  statesman  will  be  raised  beyond  the  reach  of 
caviL  I  do  not  indeed  know  whether  I  am  to  be  the  instrument 
to  carry  out  this  work,  or  be  destined,  like  others  who  have 
gone  before  me,  to  break  down  in  the  attempt ;  but  I  am  still 
of  opinion  that  the  thing  may  be  done,  though  it  requires  some 
good-fortune  and  some  qualities  not  of  the  lowest  order.  I 
find  on  my  arrival  here  a  very  weak  Government,  almost  as 
much  abused  by  their  friends  as  by  their  foes,  no  civil  or 
private  secretary,  and  an  immense  quantity  of  arrears  of  busi- 
ness. It  is  possible,  therefore,  that  I  may  not  be  able  to  bear 
up  against  the  difficulties  of  my  situation,  and  that  it  may 
remain  for  some  one  else  to  effect  that  object,  which  many 
reasons  would  render  me  so  desirous  to  achieve. 

With  these  cares,  which  formed  the  groundwork  of  Irish  im- 
the   texture  of  the   Governor's  life,  were  interwoven  °*'8"''®"' 
from  time  to  time  interests  of  a  more  temporary  cha- 
racter ;  of  which  the  first  in  date,  as  in  importance, 


42  CANADA.  Ch.  hl 

was  connected  with  the  flood  of  immigration  consequent 
on  the  L'ish  famine  of  1847. 

During  the  course  of  the  season  nearly  100,000  im- 
migrants landed  at  Quebec,  a  large  proportion  of 
whom  were  totally  destitute,  and  must  have  perished 
had  they  not  been  forwarded  at  the  cost  of  the  public. 
Owing  to  various  causes,  contagious  fever  of  a  most 
malignant  character  prevailed  among  them,  to  an  un- 
exampled extent;  the  number  confined  at  one  time 
in  hospitals  occasionally  approached  10,000 :  and 
though  the  mortality  among  children  was  very  great, 
nearly  1  000  immigrant  orphans  were  left  during  the 
season  at  Montreal,  besides  a  proportionate  number  at 
Grosse  Isle,  Quebec,  Kingston,  Toronto,  and  other  places. 

In  this  manner  *army  after  army  of  sick  and  suf- 
'  fering  people,  fleeing  from  famine  in  their  native  land 
'  to  be  stricken  down  by  death  in  the  valley  of  the  St. 

*  Lawrence,  stopped  in  rapid  succession  at  Grosse  Isle, 

*  and  there  leaving  numbers  of  their  dead  behind,  pushed 

*  upwards  towards  the  lakes,  in  over-crowded  steamers, 

*  to  burthen  the  inhabitants  of  the  western  towns  and 

*  villages.'^ 
The  people    of  Canada  exerted  themselves  nobly, 

under  the  direction  of  their  Governor,  to  meet  the 
sudden  call  upon  their  charity  ;  but  he  felt  deeply  for 
the  sufierings  which  it  entailed  upon  the  colony,  and 
he  did  not  fail  to  point  out  to  Lord  Grey  how  severe 
was  the  strain  thus  laid  on  her  loyalty : — 

ftscouige  The  immigration  which  is  now  taking  place  is  a  frightful 
scourge  to  the  province.  Thousands  upon  thousands  of  poor 
wretches  are  coming  here  incapable  of  work^  and  scattering  the 
seeds  of  disease  and  death.  Already  five  or  six  hundred  orphans 
are  accumulated  at  Montreal,  for  whose  sustenance,  until  they 
can  be  put  out  to  service,  provision  must  be  made.  Con- 
siderable panic  exists  among  the  inhabitants.  Political  motives 
contribute  to  swell  the  amount  of  dissatisfaction  produced  by 

f  ^  MacMuUen*8  Hiricry  of  Canada. 


to  the 
province. 


1847.  IRISH  IMMIGRANTS.  43 

this  state  of  things.  The  Opposition  make  the  want  of  adequate 
provision  to  meet  this  o verwhehning  calamity ^  in  the  shape  of  hos- 
pitals,  &€.,  a  matter  of  charge  against  the  Provincial  Administra- 
tion.    That  section  of  the  French  who  dislike  British  immigra- 
tion at  all  times,  find,  as  might  be  expected,  in  the  circumstances 
of  this  year,  a  Iheme  for  copious  declamation.     Persons  who 
cherish  republican  sympathies  ascribe  these  evils  to  our  de- 
pendent condition  as  colonists — *  the  States  of  the  Union,'  they 
say, '  can  take  care  of  themselves,  and  avert  the  scourge  from 
'  their  shores,  but  we  are  victims  on  whom  inhuman  Irish  land- 
'  lords,  &c.,  can  charge  the  consequences  of  their  neglect  and 
'  rapacity.'   Meanwhile  I  have  a  very  delicate  and  irksome  duty 
to  discharge.     There  is  a  general  belief  that  Great  Britain 
must  make  good  to  the  province  the  expenses  entailed  on  it  by 
this  visitation.     '  It  is  enough,'  say  the  inhabitants,  ^  that  our 
'  houses  should  be  made  a  receptacle  of  this  mass  of  want  and 
*  misery :  it  cannot  surely  be  intended  that  we  are  to  be  mulcted 
'  in  heavy  pecuniary  damages  besides.'     The  reasonableness  of 
these  sentiments  can  hardly  be  questioned — bitter  indignation 
would  be  aroused  by  the  attempt  to  confute  them — and  yet  I 
feel  that  if  I  were  too  freely  to  assent  to  them,  I  might  en- 
courage recklessness,  extravagance,  and  peculation.     From  the 
overwhelming  nature  of  the  calamity,  and  the  large  share  which 
it  has  naturally  occupied  of  the  attention  of  Parliament  and 
of  the  public,  the  task  of  making  arrangements  to  meet  the 
necessities  of  the  case  has  practically  been  withdrawn  from  the 
department  of  the  Civil  Secretary,  and  fallen  into  the  hands  of 
the  Provincial  Administration.      In  assenting  to  the  various 
minutes  which  they  have  passed  for  affording  relief  to  the  sick 
and  destitute,  and  for  guarding  against  the  spread  of  disease,  I 
have  felt  it  to  be  my  duty,  even  at  the  risk  of  incurring  the 
imputation  of  insensibility  to  tiie  claims  of  distress,  to  urge  the 
necessity  of  economy,  and  of  adopting  all  possible  precautions 
against  waste.     You  will  at  once  perceive,  however,  how  em- 
barrassing my  position  is.    A  source  of  possible  misunderstand- 
ing between  myself  and  the  colonists  is  furnished  by  these  un- 
toward circumstances,  altogether  unconnected  with  the  ordinary, 
or,  as  I  may  perhaps  venture  to  term  them,  normal  difficulties 
of  my  situation. 

On  the  whole,  all  tilings  considered,  I  think  that  a  great 
deal  of  forbearance  and  good  feeling  has  been  shown  by  the 


44 


CANADA. 


Ch.  m. 


The 

charse 

shoold  be 

borne  by 

the 

motberu 

oonntiy. 


colonists  under  this  trial.  Nothing  can  exceed  the  devotion 
of  the  nuns  and  Roman  Catholic  priests,  and  the  conduct  of 
the  clergy  and  of  many  of  the  laity  of  other  denominations  has 
been  most  exemplary.  Many  lives  have  been  sacrificed  in 
attendance  on  the  sick  and  administering  to  their  temporal 
and  spiritual  need.  But  the  aspect  of  affairs  is  becoming 
more  and  more  alarming.  The  panic  which  prevails  in  Mon- 
treal and  Quebec  is  beginning  to  manifest  itself  in  the 
Upper  Province,  and  farmers  are  unwilling  to  hire  even  the 
healthy  immigrants,  because  it  appears  that  since  the  warm 
weather  set  in,  typhus  has  broken  out  in  many  cases  among 
those  who  were  taken  into  service  at  the  commencement  of  the 
season,  as  being  perfectly  free  from  disease.  I  think  it  most 
important  that  the  Home  Government  should  do  all  in  their 
power  by  enforcing  the  provisions  of  the  Passengers'  Act,  and 
by  causing  these  facts  to  be  widely  circulated,  to  stem  this  tide 

of  misery. 

•  •••••  • 

What  is  to  be  done  ?  Private  charity  is  exhausted.  In  a 
country  where  pauperism  as  a  normal  condition  of  society  is 
unknown,  you  have  not  local  rates  for  the  relief  of  destitution 
to  fall  back  upon.  Humanity  and  prudence  alike  forbid  that 
they  should  be  left  to  perish  in  the  streets.  The  exigency  of  the 
case  can  manifestlybe  met  only  by  an  expenditure  of  public  funds. 

But  by  whom  is  this  charge  to  be  borne  ?  You  urge,  that 
when  the  first  pressure  is  past,  the  province  will  derive,  in 
various  ways,  advantage  from  this  immigration, — that  the  pro- 
vincial administration,  who  prescribe  the  measures  of  relief 
have  means,  which  the  Imperial  authorities  have  not,  of  check- 
ing extravagance  and  waste ;  and  you  conclude  that  their  con- 
stituents ought  to  be  saddled  with  at  least  a  portion  of  the 
expense.  I  readily  admit  the  justice  of  the  latter  branch  of 
this  argument,  but  I  am  disposed  to  question  the  force  of  the 
former.^  The  benefit  which  the  province  will  derive  from  this 
year's  immigration  is,  at  best,  problematical ;  and  it  is  certain 
that  they  who  are  to  profit  by  it  would  willingly  have  re- 
nounced it,  whatever  it  may  be,  on  condition  of  being  relieved 
from  the  evils  by  which  it  has  been  attended.  Of  the  gross 
number  of  inimigrants  who  have  reached  the  province,  manv 
SL*  ^^^.r^'^^"°S  in  their  graves.  Among  the  survivor 
there  are  widows  and  orphans,  and  aged  and  diseased  persons 


1847.  IRISH  IMMIGRANTS.  46 

who  will  probably  be  for  an  indefinite  period  a  burden  on 
Government  or  private  charity.  A  large  proportion  of  the 
healthy  and  prosperous,  who  have  availed  themselves  of  the 
cheap  route  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  will,  I  fear,  find  their  way  to 
the  Western  States,  where  land  is  procurable  on  more  advan- 
tageous terms  than  in  Canada.  To  refer,  therefore,  to  the 
82,000  immigrants  who  have  passed  into  the  States  through 
New  York,  and  been  absorbed  there  without  cost  to  the  mother- 
country,  and  to  contrast  this  circumstance  with  the  heavy  ex- 
pense which  has  attended  the  admission  of  a  smaller  number 
into  Canada,  is  hardly  just.  In  the  first  place,  of  the  82,000 
who  went  to  New  York,  a  much  smaller  proportion  were 
sickly  or  destitute ;  and,  besides,  by  the  laws  of  the  state,  ship- 
owners importing  immigrants  are  required  to  enter  into  bonds, 
which  are  forfeited  when  any  of  the  latter  become  chargeable 
on  the  public.  These,  and  other  precautions  yet  more  strin- 
gent, were  enforced  so  soon  as  the  character  of  this  year's 
immigration  was  ascertained,  and  they  had  the  effect  of  turning 
towards  this  quarter  the  tide  of  suffering  which  was  setting  in 
that  direction.  Even  now,  immigrants  attempting  to  cross  the 
frontier  from  Canada  are  sent  back,  if  they  are  either  sickly  or 
paupers.  On  the  whole,  I  fear  that  a  comparison  between  the 
condition  of  this  province  and  that  of  the  states  of  the  neigh- 
bouring republic,  as  affected  by  this  year's  immigration,  would 
be  by  no  means  satisfactory  or  provocative  of  dutiful  and  affec- 
tionate feelings  towards  the  mother-country  on  the  part  of  the 
colonists.  It  is  a  case  in  which,  on  every  account,  I  think  the 
Imperial  Government  is  bound  to  act  liberally. 

Month  after  month,  the  tide  of  misery  flowed  on, 
each  wave  sweeping  deeper  into  the  heart  of  the  pro- 
vince, and   carrying   off  fresh   victims   of  their   own 
benevolence.     Unfortunately,  just  as  navigation  closed  Lord 
for  the  season,  a  vessel  arrived  full  of  emigrants  from  Bton> '" 
Lord  Palmerston's  Irish  estates.     They  appear  to  have  ^'^"»*«- 
been  rather  a  favourable  specimen  of  their  class  ;  but 
they    came   late,   and    they  came   from   one    of  Her 
Majesty's  Ministers,  and  their  coming  was  taken  as  a 
sign  that  England  and  England's  rulers,  in  their  selfish 
desire  to  be  rid  of  their  starving  and  helpless  poor. 


46 


CANADA. 


Ch.  m. 


The  flood 
Bubeides. 


cared  nothing  for  the  calamities  they  were  inflicting  on 
thecolony.  Writing  on  November  12,Lord  Elgin  says: — 

Fever  cases  among  leading  persons  in  the  community  here 
still  continue  to  excite  much  comment  and  alarm.  This  day 
the  Mayor  of  Montreal  died, — a  very  estimable  man,  who  did 
much  for  the  immigrants,  and  to  whose  firmness  and  philan- 
thropy we  chiefly  owe  it,  that  th^  immigrant  sheds  here  were 
not  tossed  into  the  river  by  the  people  of  the  town  during  the 
summer.  He  has  fallen  a  victim  to  his  zeal  on  behalf  of  the 
poor  plague-stricken  strangers,  having  died  of  ship-fever  caught 
at  the  sheds.  Colonel  Calvert  is  lying  dangerously  ill  at 
Quebec,  his  life  despaired  of. 

Meanwhile,  great  indignation  is  aroused  by  the  arrival  of 
vessels  from  Ireland,  with  additional  cargoes  of  immigrants, 
some  in  a  very  sickly  state,  after  our  Quarantine  Station  is  shut 
up  for  the  season.  Unfortunately  the  last  arrived  brings  out 
Lord  Palmerston's  tenants.  I  send  the  commentaries  on  this 
contained  in  this  day's  newspapers.^ 

From  this  time,  however,  the  waters  began  to  subside. 
The  Irish  famine  had  worked  its  own  sad  cure.  In  com- 
pliance with  the  urgent  representations  of  the  Governor, 
the  mother-country  took  upon  herself  all  the  expenses 
that  had  been  incurred  by  the  colony  on  behalf  of  the 
immigrants  of  1847;  and  improved  regulations  respect- 
ing emigration  offer  ground  for  hope  that  the  fair 
stream,  which  ought  to  be  full  of  life  and  health  both 
to  the  colony  and  to  the  parent  state,  will  not  again  be 
choked  and  polluted,  and  its  plague -stricken  waters 
turned  into  blood. 


Visit  to 

Upper 

Canada. 


In  the  autumn  of  this  year  Lord  Elgin  paid  his  first 
visit  to  Upper  Canada,  meeting  everj^vhere  with  a 
reception  which  he  felt  to  be  'most  gratifying  and 
'encouraging;'  and  keenly  enjojdng  both  the  natural 


^  A  pamphlet  was  published  by 
a  member  of  the  Legislative  Council, 
denouncinjf  this  and  similar  instances 
of  *  horrible  and  heartless  conduct ' 
on  the  part  of  landed  proprietors  and 


their  '  meroenarv  agents ; '  but  it  was 

E roved  by  satisfactory  evidence  that 
is  main  statements  were  not  founded 
in  fact. 


ia47.  NIAGARA.  i7 

beaaties  of  the  country  and  the  tokens  of  its  prosperity 
which  met  his  view.  From  Niagara  he  wrote  to  Mr. 
Cumming  Bruce : — 

I  write  with  the  roar  of  the  Niagara  Falls  in  my  ears.  We  NiagsKs. 
have  come  here  for  a  few  days'  rest,  and  that  I  may  get  rid  of  a 
bad  cold  in  the  presence  of  this  most  stupendous  of  all  the  works 
of  nature.  It  is  hopeless  to  attempt  to  describe  what  so  many 
hare  been  describing ;  but  the  effect,  I  think,  surpassed  my  ex- 
pectations. The  day  was  waning  when  we  arrived,  and  a  turn 
of  the  road  brought  us  all  at  once  in  face  of  the  mass  of  water 
forming  the  American  Fall,  and  throwing  itself  over  the  brink 
into  the  abyss.  Then  another  turn  and  we  were  in  presence 
of  the  British  Fall,  over  which  a  still  greater  volume  of  water 
seems  to  be  precipitated,  and  in  the  midst  of  which  a  white 
cloud  of  spray  was  soaring  till  it  rose  far  above  the  summit  of 
the  ledge  and  was  dispersed  by  the  wind.  This  day  we  walked 
as  far  as  the  Table  Rock  which  overhangs  one  side  of  the 
Horse-shoe  Fall,  and  made  a  closer  acquaintance  with  it ;  but 
intimacy  serves  rather  to  heighten  than  to  diminish  the  effect 
produced  on  the  eye  and  the  ear  by  this  wonderful  phenomenon. 

The  following  to  Lord  Grey  is  of  the  same  date : — 

Our  tour  has  been  thus  far  prosperous  in  all  respects  except 
weather,  which  has  been  by  no  means  favourable.  I  at- 
tended a  great  Agricultural  Meeting  at  Hamilton  last  week, 
and  had  an  opportunity  of  expressing  my  sentiments  at  a 
dinner,  in  the  presence  of  six  or  seven  hundred  substantial 
Upper  Canada  yeomen — a  body  of  men  not  easily  to  be  matched. 

It  is  indeed  a  glorious  country,  and  after  passing,  as  I  have 
done  within  the  last  fortnight,  from  the  citadel  of  Quebec  to 
the  Falls  of  Niagara,  rubbing  shoulders  the  while  with  its  free 
and  perfectly  independent  inhabitants,  one  begins  to  doubt 
whether  it  be  possible  to  acquire  a  sufficient  knowledge  of  man 
or  nature,  or  to  obtain  an  insight  into  the  future  of  nations, 
without  visiting  America. 

A  portion  of  the  speech  to  which  he  refers  in  the 
foregoing  letter  may  be  here  given,  as  a  specimen  of 
his  occasional  addresses,  which  were  very  numerous  ; 
for  though  the  main  purposes  of  his  life  were  such  as 
'  wrote  themselves  in  action  not  in  word/  he  regarded 


48  CANADA.  Ch.  m. 

his  faculty  of  ready  and  effective  speaking  as  an 
engine  which  it  was  his  duty  to  use,  whenever  occa- 
sion arose,  for  the  purpose  of  conciliating  or  instruct- 
ing. In  proposing  the  toast  of  *  Prosperity  to  the 
Agricultural  Association  of  Upper  Canada,'  he  said : — 

Spefvh  at.  Gentlemen,  the  question  forces  itself  upon  every  reflecting 
colt^  mind,  How  does  it  come  to  pass  that  the  introduction  of  agri- 
meeting,  culture,  and  of  the  arts  of  civilised  life,  into  this  and  other  parts 
of  the  American  continent  has  been  foUowed  by  such  astonish- 
ing results  ?  It  may  be  said  that  these  results  are  due  to  the 
qualities  of  the  hardy  and  enterprising  race  by  which  these 
regions  have  been  settled,  and  the  answer  is  undoubtedly  a 
true  one :  but  it  does  not  appear  to  me  to  contain  the  whole 
truth ;  it  does  not  appear  to  account  for  all  the  phenomena. 
Why,  gentlemen,  our  ancestors  had  hearts  as  brave  and  arms 
as  sturdy  as  our  own  ;  but  it  took  them  many  years,  aye,  even 
centuries,  before  they  were  enabled  to  convert  the  forests  of 
the  Druids,  and  the  wild  fastnesses  of  the  Highland  chieftains, 
into  the  green  pastures  of  England  and  the  waving  cornfields 
of  Scotland.  How,  then,  does  it  come  to  pass,  that  the  labours 
of  their  descendants  here  have  been  rewarded  by  a  return  so 
much  more  immediate  and  abundant  ?  I  believe  that  the  true 
solution  of  this  problem  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  here,  for 
the  first  time,  the  appliances  of  an  age,  which  has  been  prolific 
beyond  all  preceding  ages  in  valuable  discoveries,  more  parti- 
cularly in  chemistry  and  mechanics,  have  been  brought  to 
bear,  under  circumstances  peculiarly  favourable,  upon  the  pro- 
ductiveness of  a  new  country.  When  the  nations  of  Europe 
were  young,  science  was  in  its  infancy ;  the  art  of  civil  go- 
vernment was  imperfectly  understood;  property  was  inade- 
quately protected;  the  labourer  knew  not  who  would  reap 
what  he  had  sown,  and  the  teeming  earth  yielded  her  produce 
grudgingly  to  the  solicitations  of  an  ill-directed  and  desultory 
cultivation.  It  was  not  till  long  and  painful  experience  had 
taught  the  nations  the  superiority  of  the  arts  of  peace  over 
those  of  war ;  it  was  not  until  the  pressure  of  numbers  upon  the 
means  of  subsistence  had  been  sorely  felt,  that  the  ingenuity 
of  man  was  taxed  to  proride  substitutes  for  those  ineffective 
and  wasteful  methods,  under  which  the  fertility  of  the  virgin 
soil  had  been  well-nigh  exhausted.     But  with  you,  gentlemen, 


1847.        SPEECH  AT   AN  AGRICULTURAL  MEETING.  49 

it  is  far  otherwise.  Canada  springs  at  once  from  the  cradle 
into  the  full  possession  of  the  privileges  of  manhood.  Canada, 
with  the  bloom  of  youth  yet  upon  her  cheek,  and  with  youth's 
elasticity  in  her  tread,  has  the  advantage  of  all  the  experience 
of  age.  She  may  avail  herself,  not  only  of  the  capital  accu- 
mulated in  older  countries,  but  also  of  those  treasures  of  know- 
ledge which  have  been  gathered  up  by  the  labour  and  re- 
search of  earnest  and  thoughtful  men  throughout  a  series  of 
generations. 

Now,  gentlemen,  what  is  the  inference  that  I  would  draw 
from  all  this?  What  is  the  moral  I  would  endeavour  to 
impress  upon  you  ?  It  is  this :  That  it  is  your  interest  and 
your  duty  to  avail  yourselves  to  the  utmost  of  all  these  un- 
paralleled advantages ;  to  bring  to  bear  upon  this  soil,  so 
richly  endowed  by  nature,  all  the  appliances  of  modem  art ;  to 
refuse,  if  I  may  so  express  myself,  to  convert  your  one  talent 
into  iwoy  if,  by  a  more  skilful  application  of  the  true  principles 
of  husbandry,  or  by  greater  economy  of  management,  you  can 
convert  it  into  ten.  And  it  is  because  I  believe  that  societies 
like  these,  when  well  directed,  are  calculated  to  aid  you  in 
your  endeavours  to  effect  these  important  objects,  that  I  am 
disposed  to  give  them  all  the  protection  and  countenance, 
which  it  is  in  my  power  to  afford.  They  have  certainly  been 
very  useful  in  other  countries,  and  I  cannot  see  why  they 
should  be  less  serviceable  in  Canada.  The  Highland  Society 
of  Scotland  was  the  first  instituted,  and  the  proud  position 
which  Scotland  enjoys  as  an  agricultural  country  speaks 
volumes  of  the  services  rendered  by  that  society.  The  Royal 
Agricultural  Society  of  England  and  the  Royal  Agricultural 
Society  of  Ireland  followed  in  its  wake,  and  with  similarly 
beneficial  results.  I  myself  was  instrumental  in  establishing 
an  agricultural  society  in  the  West  Indies,  which  has  already 
done  much  to  revive  the  spirits  of  the  planters ;  and  I  shall  be 
very  much  disappointed,  indeed,  if  that  society  does  not  prove 
the  means,  before  many  years  are  past,  of  establishing  the  truth 
so  important  to  humanity,  that,  even  in  tropical  countries,  free 
labour  properly  applied  under  a  good  system  of  husbandry  is 
more  economical  than  the  labour  of  slaves. 

At  the  close  of  1847  the  Canadian  Parliament  was  Chanj^eof 
dissolved.     When   the  new  Parliament   met  early  in  ^^^'*^- 


50  CANADA.  Ch.  in. 

1848,  the  Ministry — Lord  Metcalfe's  Ministry — ^found 
itself  in  a  decided  minority.  A  new  one  was  accord- 
ingly formed  from  the  ranks  of  the .  opposition,  *  the 
'  members  of  both  parties  concurring  in  expressing  their 

*  sense  of  the    perfect  fairness  and  impartiality   with 

*  which  Lord  Elgin  had  conducted  himself  throughout 

*  the  transactions  '  which  led  to  this  result.^ 

• 

French  The  Frcuch  Canadians,  who  formed  the  chief  element 

m  the  new  government,  were  even  at  this  tune  a 
peculiar  people.  Planted  in  the  days  of  the  old  French 
monarchy,  and  cut  off  by  conquest  from  the  parent 
state  long  before  the  Revolution  of  1789,  their  little 
community  remained  for  many  years  like  a  fragment  or 
boulder  of  a  distinct  formation — an  island  enshrining 
the  picturesque  institutions  of  the  ancien  regime^  in 
the  midst  of  an  ever-encroaching  sea  of  British  nine- 
teenth-century enterprise.  The  English,  it  has  been 
truly  said,  emigrate,  but  do  not  colonise.  No  con- 
course of  atoms  could  be  more  fortuitous  than  the 
gathering  of  *  traders,  sailors,  deserters  from  the  army, 
outcasts,  convicts,  slaves,  democrats,  and  fanatics,'  who 
have  been  the  first,  and  sometimes  the  only  ingredients 
of  society  in  our  so-called  colonies.  French  Canada, 
on  the  contrary,  was  an  organism  complete  in  itself,  a 
little  model  of  medieval  France,  with  its  recognised 
gradations  of  ranks,  ecclesiastical  and  social. 

It  may,  indeed,  be  doubted  whether  the  highest 
forms  of  social  life  are  best  propagated  by  this  method : 
.  whether  the  freer  system,  which  '  sows  itself  on  every 
wind,'  does  not  produce  the  larger,  and,  in  the  long 
run,  the  more  beneficent  results.  But  if  reason  ac- 
quiesces in  the  ultimate  triumph  of  that  busy,  pushing 
energy  which  distinguishes  the  British  settler,  there  is 
something  very  attractive  to  the  imagination  in  the 
picture  presented  by  the  peaceful  community  of  French 
habitans^  living  under  the  gentle  and  congenial  control 

*  Lord  Grey's  Cohnial  PoHcy. 


1848.  CHANGE  OF  MINISTRY.  51 

of  their  co&tumes  de  Paris^  with  their  priests  and  their 
seigneurs,  their  frugal,  industrious  habits,  their  amiable 
dispositions  and  simple  pleasures,  and  their  almost 
exaggerated  reverence  for  order  and  authority.  Poli- 
tically speaking,  they  formed  a  most  valuable  element 
in  Canadian  society.  At  one  time,  indeed,  the  restless 
anarchical  spirit  of  the  settlers  around  them,  acting  on 
the  sentiment  of  French  nationality,  instigated  them  to 
the  rebeUion  of  1837;  but,  as  a  rule,  their  social  sym- 
pathies were  stronger  than  their  national  antipathies; 
and  gratitude  to  the  Government  which  secured  to 
them  the  enjoyment  of  their  cherished  institutions  kept 
them  true  to  England  on  more  than  one  occasion  when 
her  own  sons  threatened  to  fall  away  from  her. 

By  the  legislative  union  of  1840  the  barriers  which 
had  separated  the  British  and  French  communities 
were,  to  a  great  extent,  broken  down  ;  and  the  various 
elements  in  each  began  gradually  to  seek  out  and  to 
combine  with  those  which  were  congenial  to  them  in 
the  other.  But  there  were  many  cross  currents  and 
thwarting  influences  ;  and  there  was  great  danger,  as 
Lord  Elgin  felt,  lest  they  should  form  false  combina- 
tions, on  partial  views  of  local  or  personal  interest, 
instead  of  uniting  on  broad  principles  of  social  and 
political  agreement. 

Such  were  the  antecedents  of  the  party  which  now, 
for  the  first  time,  found  itself  admitted  to  the  counsels 
of  the  Governor.  WeU  might  he  write  to  Lord  Grey, 
that  *  the  province  was  about  to  pass  through  an  in- 
*  teresting  crisis.'  He  was  required,  in  obedience  to  his 
own  principles,  to  accept  as  advisers  persons  who  had 
very  lately  been  denounced  by  the  Secretary  of  State 
as  well  as  by  the  Governor-General,  as  impracticable 
and  disloyal.  On  the  other  hand  he  reflected,  with 
satisfaction,  that  in  these  sentiments  he  himself  had 
neither  overtly  nor  covertly  expressed  concurrence; 
while    the  most  extravagant  assertors  of  responsible 


52  CANADA.  Ch.  m. 

government  had  never  accused  him  of  stepping  out  of 
his  constitutional  position.  He  felt,  therefore,  that  the 
onus  probandi  would  rest  on  his  new  councillors  if  they 
could  not  act  with  him,  and  put  forth  pretensions  to 
which  he  was  unable  to  accede.  At  least  he  was  de- 
termined to  give  them  a  fair  trial.  Writing  on  the 
17th  of  March  he  says : — 

The  late  Ministers  tendered  their  resignations  in  a  body  on 
Saturday  4th,  immediately  after  the  division  on  the  address, 
which  took  place  on  Friday.  I  received  and  answered  the 
address  on  Tuesday,  and  then  sent  for  Messrs.  Lafontaine 
and  Baldwin.  I  spoke  to  them  in  a  candid  and  friendly  tone : 
told  them  that  I  thought  there  was  a  fair  prospect,  if  they 
were  moderate  and  firm,  of  forming  an  administration  deserving 
and  enjoying  the  confidence  of  Parliament ;  that  they  might 
count  on  all  proper  support  and  assistance  from  me. 

They  dwelt  much  on  difficulties  arising  out  of  pretensions 
advanced  in  various  quarters ;  which  gave  me  an  opportunity  to 
advise  them  not  to  attach  too  much  importance  to  such  con< 
siderations,  but  to  bring  together  a  council  strong  in  adminis- 
trative talent,  and  to  take  their  stand  on  the  wisdom  of  their 
measures  and  policy.  .  .  . 

I  am  not  without  hopes  that  my  position  will  be  improved 
by  the  change  of  administration.  My  present  council  un- 
questionably contains  more  talent,  and  has  a  firmer  hold  on 
the  confidence  of  Parliament  and  of  the  people  than  the  last. 
There  is,  I  think,  moreover,  on  their  part,  a  desire  to  prove, 
by  proper  deference  for  the  authority  of  the  Governor-General 
(which  they  all  admit  has  in  my  case  never  been  abused),  that 
they  were  libelled  when  they  were  accused  of  impracticability 
and  anti-monarchical  tendencies. 

News  of  It  was  only  a  few  days  after  this  that  news  reached 

revolution.  Canada  of  the  revolution  of  February  in  Paris.     On 
receipt  of  it  he  writes : — 

It  is  just  as  well  that  I  should  have  arranged  my  Ministry, 
and  committed  the  Flag  of  Britain  to  the  custody  of  those  who 
are  supported  by  the  large  majority  of  the  representatives  and 
constituencies  of  the  province,  before  the  arrival  of  the  as- 
tounding intelligence  from  Europe,  which  reached  us  by  the 


1848.  THE  FRENCH  QUESTION.  53 

last  mail.  There  are  not  wanting  here  persons  who  might, 
under  different  circumstances,  have  attempted,  by  seditious 
harangues  if  not  by  overt  acts,  to  turn  the  example  of  France, 
and  the  sympathies  of  the  United  States,  to  account. 

But  while  congratulating  Lord  Grey  on  having  passed  iTuw 
satisfactorily  through  a  crisis  which  might,  under  other  ®^'*^'***- 
circumstances,  have  been  attended  with  very  serious 
results,  and  on  the  fact  that  '  at  no  period,  during  the 
*  recent  history  of  Canada,  had  the  people  of  the  pro- 
'  vince  generally  been  better  contented,  or  less  disposed 
'  to  quarrel  with  the  mother-country,'  Lord  Elgin  did 
not  disguise  from  himself,  or  from  the  Secretary  of 
State,  that  there  were  ominous  symptoms  of  disaffec- 
tion on  the  part  of  all  the  three  great  sections  of  the 
community,  the  French,  the  Irish,  and  the  British. 

Bear  in  mind  that  one-half  of  our  population  is  of  French 
origin,  and  deeply  imbued  with  French  sympathies;  that  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  remainder  consists  of  Irish  Catholics ; 
that  a  lai^e  Irish  contingent  on  the  other  side  of  the  border, 
fanatics  on  behalf  of  republicanism  and  repeal,  are  egging  on 
their  compatriots  here  to  rebellion  ;  that  all  have  been  wrought 
upon  until  they  believe  that  the  conduct  of  England  to  Ire- 
land is  only  to  be  paralleled  by  that  of  Russia  to  Poland ; 
that  on  this  exciting  topic,  therefore,  a  kind  of  holy  indig-« 
nation  mixes  itself  with  more  questionable  impulses ;  that  Guy 
Fawkes  Papineau,  actuated  by  the  most  malignant  passions, 
irritated  vanity,  disappointed  ambition,  and  national  hatred, 
which  unmerited  favour  has  only  served  to  exasperate,  is 
waving  a  lighted  torch  among  these  combustibles — you  will,  I 
think,  admit,  that  if  we  pass  through  this  crisis  without  ex- 
plosions it  will  be  a  gratifying  circumstance,  and  an  encourage^ 
ment  to  persevere  in  a  liberal  and  straightforward  application 
of  constitutional  principles  to  Government, 

I  have  peculiar  satisfaction  therefore,  under  all  these  cir- 
cumstances, in  calling  your  attention  to  the  presentment  of 
the  grand  jury  of  Montreal,  which  I  have  sent  you  officially, 
in  which  that  body  adverts  to  the  singularly  tranquil  and  con-« 
tented  state  of  the  province.* 

*  See  Papers   presented   to  Parliament,  May,  1848;    or  Lord  Grey's 
Cohnial  PoScy,  I  216. 


54 


CANADA. 


ch.  m. 


The 

French 

question. 


Use  of  the 

French 

language. 


French 

oiluuisa- 

tion. 


With  regard  to  the  French  he  constantly  expressed 
the  conviction  that  nothing  was  wanted  to  secure  the 
loyalty  of  the  vast  majority,  but  a  policy  of  conciliation 
and  confidence.  In  this  spirit  he  urged  the  importance 
of  removing  the  restrictions  on  the  use  of  the  French 
language : — 

I  am  very  anxious  to  hear  that  you  have  taken  steps  for  the 
repeal  of  so  much  of  the  Act  of  Union  as  imposes  restrictions 
on  the  use  of  the  French  language.  The  delay  which  has 
taken  place  in  giving  effect  to  the  promise  made,  I  think  by 
Gladstone,  on  this  subject,  is  one  of  the  points  of  which  M. 
Papineau  is  availing  himself  for  purposes  of  agitation.  I 
must,  moreover,  confess,  that  I  for  one  am  deeply  convinced  of 
the  impolicy  of  all  such  attempts  to  denationalise  the  French. 
Generally  speaking  they  produce  the  opposite  effect  from  that 
intended,  causing  the  flame  of  national  prejudice  and  animosity 
to  bum  more  fiercely.  But  suppose  them  to  be  successful, 
what  would  be  the  result  ?  You  may  perhaps  Americanizey 
but,  depend  upon  it,  by  methods  of  this  description  you  will 
never  Anglicize  the  French  inhabitants  of  the  province.  Let 
them  feel,  on  the  other  hand,  that  their  religion,  their  habits, 
their  prepossessions,  their  prejudices  if  you  will,  are  more  con- 
sidered and  respected  here  than  in  other  portions  of  this  vast 
continent,  who  will  venture  to  say  that  the  last  hand  which 
waves  the  British  flag  on  American  ground  may  not  be  that  of 
a  French  Canadian  ? 

In  the  same  spirit,  when  an  association  was  formed 
for  facilitating  the  acquisition  of  crown  lands  by 
French  habitanSy  he  put  himself  at  the  head  of  the 
movement ;  by  which  means  he  was  able  to  thwart  the 
disloyal  designs  of  the  demagogue  who  had  planned  it. 

You  will  perhaps  recollect  that  some  weeks  ago  I  mentioned 
that  the  Roman  Catholic  bishop  and  priests  of  this  diocese  had 
organised  an  association  for  colonisation  purposes,  their  object 
being  to  prevent  the  sheep  of  their  pasture  (who  now,  strange 
as  it  may  appear,  emigrate  annually  in  thousands  to  the  States, 
where  they  become  hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of  water  to 
the  Yankees,  and  bad  Catholics  into  the  bargain)  from  quitting 
their  fold.      Papineau    pounced    upon   this   association  as  a 


1848.  THE  FRENCH  QUESTION.  55 

means  of  making  himself  of  importance  in  the  eyes  of  his 
countrymen,  and  of  gratifying  his  ruling  passion  by  abusing 
England.  Accordingly,  at  a  great  meeting  convened  at  Mont- 
real, he  held  forth  for  three  hours  to  the  multitude  (the  bishop 
in  the  chair),  ascribing  this  and  all  other  French-Canadian  ills, 
real  or  supposed,  to  the  selfish  policy  of  Great  Britain,  and 
her  persevering  efforts  to  deprive  them  of  their  nationality  and 
every  other  blessing. 

In  process  of  time,  after  this  rather  questionable  start,  the 
association  waited  on  me  with  a  memorial  requesting  the 
co-operation  of  Crovemment,  M.  Papineau  being  one  of  the 
deputation. 

In  dealing  with  them  I  had  two  courses  to  choose  from.  I 
had  nothing  for  it,  situated  as  I  was,  but  either,  on  the  one 
hand,  to  give  the  promoters  of  the  scheme  a  cold  shoulder, 
point  out  its  objectionable  features,  and  dwell  upon  difficulties 
of  execution — ^in  which  case  (use  what  tact  I  might)  I  should 
have  dismissed  the  bishop  and  his  friends  discontented,  and 
given  M.  Papineau  an  opportunity  of  asserting  that  I  had 
lent  a  quasi  sanction  to  his  calumnies ;  or,  on  the  other,  to 
identify  myself  with  the  movement,  put  myself  in  so  far  as 
might  be  at  its  head,  impart  to  it  as  salutary  a  direction  as 
possible,  and  thus  wrest  from  M.  Papineau^s  hands  a  potent 
instrument  of  agitation. 

I  was  tempted,  I  confess,  to  prefer  the  latter  of  these 
courses,  not  only  by  reason  of  its  manifest  expediency  as 
bearing  upon  present  political  contests,  but  also  because  I 
sympathise,  to  a  considerable  extent,  with  the  views  of  the  pro- 
moters of  the  movement  No  one  object,  in  my  opinion,  is  so 
important,  whether  you  seek  to  retain  Canada  as  a  colony^  or  to 
fit  her  for  independence  and  make  her  instinct  with  national  life 
and  vigour,  as  the  filling  up  of  her  vacant  lands  with  a  resident 
agricultural  population.  More  especially  is  it  of  moment  that 
the  inhabitants  of  French  origin  should  feel  that  every  facility 
for  settling  on  the  land  of  their  fathers  is  given  them  with  the 
cordial  assent  and  concurrence  of  the  British  Government  and 
its  representative,  and  that  in  the  plans  of  settlement  their 
feelings  and  habits  are  consulted.  The  sentiment  of  French 
Canadian  nationality,  which  Papineau  endeavours  to  pervert 
to  purposes  of  faction,  may  yet  perhaps,  if  properly  improved. 


56  CANADA.  Ch.  m. 

furnish  the  best  remaining  security  against  annexation  to  the 
States. 

I  could  not  with  these  views  afford  to  lose  the  opportunity 
of  promoting  this  object,  which  was  presented  by  a  sponta- 
neous movement  of  the  people,  headed  by  the  priesthood — the 
most  powerful  influence  in  Lower  Canada. 

The  official  correspondence  which  has  passed  on  this  subject 
I  hope  to  send  by  the  next  mail,  and  I  need  not  trouble  you 
with  the  detail  of  proceedings  on  my  own  part,  which,  though 
small  in  themselves,  were  not  without  their  effect.  Suffice  it 
to  say,  that  Papineau  has  retired  to  solitude  and  reflection  at 
his  seignory,  *  La  Petite  Nation ' — and  that  the  pastoral  letter, 
of  which  I  enclose  a  copy,  has  been  read  au  prdne  in  every 
Koman  Catholic  church  in  the  diocese.  To  those  who  know 
what  have  been  the  real  sentiments  of  the  French  population 
towards  England  for  some  years  past,  the  tone  of  this  docu- 
ment, its  undisguised  preference  for  peaceful  over,  quarrelsome 
courses,  the  desire  which  it  manifests  to  place  the  representa- 
tive of  British  rule  forward  as  the  patron  of  a  work  dear  to 
French-Canadian  hearts,  speaks  volumes. 

With  the  same  object  of  conciliating  the  French  por- 
tion of  the  community,  he  lost  no  opportunity  of  mani- 
festing the  personal  interest  vrhich  he  felt  in  their 
institutions.  The  following  letter,  written  in  August 
1848,  to  his  mother  at  Paris,  describes  a  visit  to  one 
of  these  institutions,  the  college  of  St.  Hyacinthe,  the 
chief  French  college  of  Montreal : — 

A  French  I  was  present,  the  other  day,  at  an  examination  of  the 
^^'  students  at  one  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Colleges  of  Montreal. 
It  is  altogether  under  the  direction  of  the  priesthood,  and  it  is 
curious  to  observe  the  course  they  steer.  The  young  men 
declaimed  for  some  hours  on  a  theme  proposed  by  the  superior, 
being  a  contrast  between  ancient  and  modern  civilisation. 
The  greater  part  of  it  was  a  sonorous  exposition  of  ultra- 
liberal  principles,  *  Liberie,  Egalite,  Fraternite^  *  Vox  pppuli, 
vox  Deiy'  a  very  liberal  tribute  to  the  vanity  and  to  the  pre- 
judices of  the  classes  who  might  be  expected  to  send  their 
children  to  the  institution  or  to   puff  it ;  with  an  elaborate 


1?<48.  THE  IRISH  QUESTIOX.  57 

pivot  a  la  Lacordatre — that  the  Church  had  achieved  all  that 
had  been  effected  in  this  genre  hitherto.  Au  reste,  there  was 
the  wonderfiil  mechanism  which  gives  that  church  such 
advantages — ^the  fourteen  professors  receiving  no  salaries, 
working  for  their  food  and  that  of  the  homeliest ;  as  a  conse- 
quence, an  education,  board  and  lodging  inclusive,  costing  only 
15/.  a  year ;  the  youths  subjected  to  a  constant  discipline 
under  the  eye  of  ecclesiastics  day  and  night.  I  confess,  when 
I  see  both  the  elasticity  and  the  machinery  of  this  church,  my 
wonder  is,  not  with  Lacordaire  that  it  should  do  so  much,  but 
that  it  should  not  do  more. 

More  formidable  at  all  times  than  any  discontent  on  The  Irish 
the  part  of  the  quiet  and  orderly  French  habitans  was  the  ^^**^®°' 
chronic  disaffection  of  the  restless,  roving  Irish  ;  and 
especiaUy  when  connected  with  a  threatened  invasion 
of  American  *  sympathisers.'  When  such  threats  come 
to  nothing,  it  is  generally  difficult  to  say  whether  they 
were  all  mere  vapouring,  or  whether  they  might  have 
led  to  serious  results,  if  not  promptly  met ;  but  at  one 
time,  at  least,  there  appears  to  have  been  solid  ground 
for  apprehending  that  real  mischief  was  intended.  On 
the  18th  July,  1848,  Lord  Elgin  writes : — 

At  the  moment  when  the  last  mail  was  starting  a  placard,  iHsh 
calling  an  Irish  repeal,  or  rather  republican,  meeting  was  placed  " I»l>- 
in  my  hands.     I  enclosed  it  in  my  letter  to  you,  and  I  now 
proceed  to  inform  you  how  the  movement'  to  which  it  relates 
has  progressed  since  then. 

An  M.P.P.^  opposed  in  politics  to  the  present  Government, 
waited  on  me  a  few  days  ago  and  told  me,  that  he  had  been 
requested  to  move  a  resolution  at  the  meeting  in  question  by  a 
Mr.  O'Connor,  who  represented  himself  to  be  the  editor  of  a 
newspaper  at  New  York,  and  a  member  of  the  Irish  Republican 
Union.  This  gentleman  informed  him  that  it  was  expected 
that,  before  September,  there  would  be  a  general  rising  in 
Ireland ;  that  the  body  to  which  he  belonged  had  been  insti- 
tuted with  the  view  of  abetting  this  movement ;  that  it  was 
discountenanced  by  the  aristocracy  of  the  States,  but  sup- 

I  Le,  Member  of  the  Proyincial  Parliament. 


58  CANADA.  Ch.  m. 

ported  b J  the  great  mass  of  the  people ;  that  funds  were  forth- 
coming in  plenty  ;  that  arms  and  soldiers,  who  might  be  em- 
ployed as  drill  sergeants  in  the  clubs,  were  even  now  passing 
over  week  after  week  to  Ireland ;  that  an  American  genend, 
lately  returned  from  Mexico,  was  engaged  to  take  the  com- 
mand when  the  proper  time  came ;  that  they  would  have  firom 
700,000  to  800,000  men  in  the  field,  a  force  with  which  Great 
Britain  would  be  altogether  unable  to  cope ;  that  when  the 
English  had  been  expelled,  the  Irish  people  would  be  called  to 
determine,  whether  {tie  Queen  was  to  be  at  the  head  of  their 
political  system  or  not.  He  added  that  his  visit  to  Canada 
was  connected  with  these  objects ;  that  it  was  desirable  that  a 
diversion  should  be  effected  here  at  the  time  of  the  Irish 
outbreak ;  that  50,000  Irish  were  ready  to  march  into  Canada 
from  die  States  at  a  moment's  notice.  He  further  stated  that 
he  had  called  on  my  informant,  because  he  understood  him  to 
be  a  disappointed  man,  and  ill-disposed  to  the  existing  order 
of  things ;  that  with  respect  to  himself  and  the  thousands  who 
felt  with  him,  there  was  no  sacrifice  they  were  not  ready  to 
make,  if  they  could  humble  England  and  reduce  her  to  a  third- 
rate  power. 

The  place  originally  selected  for  the  monster  meeting, 
according  to  the  advertisement  which  I  enclose,  was  the  Bon- 
secour  Market,  a  covered  building,  under  the  control  of  the 
corporation.  When  this  was  announced,  however,  the  Govern- 
ment sent  for  the  mayor  (a  French  Liberal)  and  told  him  that 
they  considered  it  unbecoming  that  he  should  give  the  room 
for  such  a  purpose.  He  accordingly  withdrew  his  permission, 
stating  that  he  had  not  been  before  apprised  of  the  precise 
nature  of  the  assembly.  After  receiving  this  check,  the  leaders 
of  the  movement  fixed  on  an  open  space  near  the  centre  of  the 
town  for  their  gathering. 

It  took  place  last  night,  and  proved  a  complete  failure. 
Not  a  single  individual  of  importance  among  the  Irish  Repeal 
party  was  present.  Some  hundreds  of  persons  attended,  but 
were  speedily  dispersed  by  a  timely  thunder  shower.  O'Connor 
was  violent  enough ;  but  I  have  not  yet  ascertained  that  he 
said  anything  which  would  form  good  material  for  an  indict- 
ment. I  am  of  opinion,  however,  that  proceedings  of  this 
description  on  the  part  of  a  citizen  of  another  country  are  not 
to   be   tolerated;    and,  although  th^re  is  an  indisposition  in 


1848.  THE  BRinBH  QUESTION.  59 

certain  quarters  to  drive  thingB  to  an  extremity,  I  think  I 
shall  Buoceed  in  having  him  arrested  unless  he  takes  himself  off 
speedily. 

But  the  French  question  and  the  Irish  question  were  The 
simple  and  unimportant  as  compared  with  those  which  Jl^.. 
were  raised  by  the  state  of  feeling  recently  created  in 
a  large  and  influential  portion  of  the  British  popula- 
tion, partly  by  political  events,  partly  by  conunercial 
causes. 

The  political  party,  which  was  now  in  opposition — the 
old  Tory  Loyalists,  who  from  their  long  monopoly  of 
office  and  official  influence  had  acquired  the  title  of 
the  '  Family  Compact' — ^were  fiUed  with  wrath  at  seeing  The 
rebels — ^for  as  such  they  considered  the  French  leaders  Compact 
— now  taken  into  the  confidence  of  the  Governor  as 
Ministers  of  the  Crown.  At  the  same  time  many  of 
tiie  individuals  who  composed  that  party  were  smart- 
ing under  a  sense  of  injury  and  injustice  inflicted  upon 
them  by  the  Home  Government,  and  by  that  party  in 
the  Home  Government  by  whose  policy  their  own 
ascendency  in  the  colony  had,  as  they  considered,  been 
undermined.  Nor  was  it  possible  to  deny  that  there 
was  some  ground  for  their  complaints.  By  the  Canada 
Com  Act  of  1843  not  only  the  wheat  of  Canada,  but 
also  its  flour,  which  might  be  made  from  American 
wheat,  had  been  admitted  into  England  at  a  nominal 
duty.  The  premium  thus  ofifered  for  the  grinding  of 
American  wheat  for  the  British  market,  caused  a  great 
amount  of  capital  to  be  invested  in  mills  and  other  ap- 
pliances of  the  flour  trade.  ^  But  almost  before  these 
'arrangements  were  fiilly  completed,  and  the  newly 
'built  mills  fairly  at  work,  the  [Free-Trade]  Act  of 
'  1846  swept  away  the  advantage  conferred  upon  Canada 

*  in  respect  to  the  com- trade  with  this  country,  and  thus 

*  brought  upon  the  province  a  frightful  amount  of  loss  to 

*  individuals,  and  a  great  derangement  of  the  Colonial 


60  CANADA.  Ch.  m. 

*  finances.'  *  Lord  Elgin  felt  deeply  for  the  sufferers,  and 
often  pressed  their  case  on  the  attention  of  the  Secretary 
of  State. 

Disoontent       I  do  not  think  that  you  are  blind  to  the  hardships  which 
^^*i?/™"  Canada  is   now  enduring;  but,  I   must  own,  I  doubt  much 
gifllatioiL     whether  you  fully  appreciate  their  magnitude,  or  are  aware  of 
how    directly  they   are   chargeable    on    Imperial   legislation. 
Stanley's  Bill  of  1843  attracted  all  the  produce  of  the  West  to 
the  St.  Lawrence,  and  fixed  all  the  disposable  capital  of  the 
province  in  grinding  mills,  warehouses,  and  forwarding  esta* 
blishments.       Peel's   Bill   of  1846  drives  the  whole   of  the 
produce  down  the  New  York  channels  of  communication,  de- 
stroying the  revenue  which  Canada  expected  to  derive  from 
canal  dues,  and  ruining  at  once  mill-owners,  forwarders,  and 
merchants.     The  consequence  is,  that  private  property  is  un- 
saleable in  Canada,  and  not  a  shilling  can  be  raised  on  the 
credit  of  the  province.     We  are  actually  reduced  to  the  dis- 
agreeable   necessity  of  paying  all   public  officers,  from  the 
Governor-General  downwards,  in  debentures,  which  are  not 
exchangeable  at  par.     What  makes  it  more  serious  is,  that  all 
the  prosperity  of  which  Canada  is  thus  robbed  is  transplanted 
to  the  other  side  of  the  lines,  as  if  to  make '  Canadians  feel 
more  bitterly  how  much  kinder  England  is  to  the  children 
who  desert  her,  than  to  those  who  remain  faithful.     Fqr  I  care 
not  whether  you  be  a  Protectionist  or  a  Free-trader,  it  is  the 
inconsistency  of  Imperial  legislation,  and  not  the  adoption  of 
one  policy  rather  than    another,  which   is    the  bane  of  the 
colonies.      I  believe  that  the  conviction  that  they  would  be 
better  off  if  they  were  '  annexed '  is  almost  universal  among 
the  commercial  classes  at  present,  and  the  peaceful  condition 
of  the  province  under  all  the  circumstances  of  the  time  is,  I 
must  confess,  often  a  matter  of  great  astonishment  to  myself. 

How  to  be       His  sympathy,  hovrever,  with  the  suflferings  caused  by 
""**^*^    the  introduction  of  Free-trade  was  not  accompanied  by 
any  wish  to  return  to  a  Protective  policy.     On  the  con- 
trary, he  felt  that  the  remedy  was  to  be  sought  in  a 
further  development  of  the  Free-trade  principle,  in  the 

*  Lord  Grey*8  Cohnial  Policy^  i.  tlie  matter,  for  he  voted  Rffamst  the 
220.  Lord  Grey  wab  one  of  the  few  Act  of  1843,  in  opposition  to  his 
statesmen  who  were  blameless  in      party. 


lai8.  REMEDIES  FOR  DISCONTENT.  61 

repeal  of  the  Navigation  Laws,  which  cramped  the  com- 
merce of  Canada  by  restricting  it  to  British  vessels, 
and  in  a  reciprocal  reduction  of  the  duties  which 
hampered  her  trade  with  the  United  States.  In  this 
sense  he  writes  to  Lord  Grey : — 

I  am  glad  to  see  your  bold  measure  on  the  Navigation  Laws. 
You  have  no  other  course  now  open  to  you  if  you  intend  to 
keep  your  colonies.  You  cannot  halt  between  two  opinions  : 
Free-trade  in  all  things,  or  general  Protection.  There  was 
something  captivating  in  the  project  of  forming  all  the  parts  of 
this  vast  British  empire  into  one  huge  ZoUverein^  with  free 
interchange  of  commodities,  and  uniform  duties  against  the 
world  without;  though  perhaps,  without  some  federal  legis- 
lation, it  might  have  been  impossible  to  carry  it  out.  Un- 
doubtedly, under  such  a  system,  the  component  parts  of  the 
empire  would  have  been  united  by  bonds  which  cannot  be 
supplied  under  that  on  which  we  are  now  entering ;  though  it 
may  be  fairly  urged  on  the  other  side,  that  the  variety  of  con- 
flicting interests  which  would,  under  this  arrangement,  have 
been  brought  into  presence  would  have  led  to  collisions  which 
we  may  now  hope  to  escape.  But,  as  it  is,  the  die  is  cast.  As 
regards  these  colonies  you  must  allow  them  to  turn  to  the  best 
possible  account  their  contiguity  to  the  States,  that  they  may 
not  have  cause  for  dissatisfaction  when  they  contrast  their  own 
condition  with  that  of  their  neighbours. 

Another  subject  on  which  I  am  very  solicitous,  is  the  free 
admission  of  Canadian  products  into  the  States.  At  present 
the  Canadian  farmer  gets  less  for  his  wheat  than  his  neigh- 
bour over  the  lines.  This  is  an  unfortunate  state  of  thinc^s. 
I  had  a  long  conversation  with  Mr.  Baldwin  about  it  lately, 
and  he  strongly  supports  the  proposition  which  I  ventured  to 
submit  for  your  consideration  about  a  year  ago,  viz.  that  a 
special  treaty  should  be  entered  into  with  the  States,  giving 
them  the  navigation  of  the  St.  Lawrence  jointly  with  our- 
selves, on  condition  that  they  admit  Canadian  produce  duty 
free.  An  arrangement  of  this  description  affecting  internal 
waters  only  might,  I  apprehend,  be  made  (as  in  the  case  of 
Columbia  in  the  Oregon  treaty)  independently  of  the  adjust- 
ment of  questions  touching  the  Navigation  Laws  generally.  I 
confess  that  I  dread  the  effect  of  the  continuance  of  the  pre- 


62  C/VNADA.  Ch.  UL 

sent  state  of  things  on  the  loyalty  of  our  farmers.  Surely  the 
admission  of  the  Americans  into  the  St  Lawrence  would  be 
a  great  boon  to  them,  and  we  ought  to  exact  a  quid  pro  qua. 

He  was  sanguine  enough  to  hope  that  these  measures, 
so  simple  and  so  obviously  desirable,  might  be  brought 
into  operation  at  once  ;  but  they  were  not  carried  until 
many  years  later,  one  of  them,  aa  we  shall  see,  only  by 
aid  of  his  own  personal  exertions  ;  and  his  disappoint- 
ment on  this  score  deepened  the  anxiety  with  which 
he  looked  round  upon  the  difficulties  of  his  position, 
already  described.     On  August  16  he  writes : — 

The  news  from  Ireland — the  determination  of  Government 
not  to  proceed  with  the  measure  respecting  the  Xavigation 
Laws — doubts  as  to  whether  the  American  Congress  will  pass 
the  Reciprocity  of  Trade  Bill — menaces  of  sympathisers  in  the 
States — all  combine  at  present  to  render  our  position  one  of 
considerable  anxiety. 

Firstly,  we  have  the  Irish  Repeal  body.  I  need  not  describe 
them ;  you  may  look  at  home ;  they  are  here  just  what  they  are 
in  Ireland.  Secondly,  we  have  the  French  population ;  their 
attitude  as  regards  England  and  America  is  that  of  an  armed 
neutrality.  They  do  not  exactly  like  the  Americans,  but  they 
are  the  conquered,  oppressed  subjects  of  England !  To  be  sure 
they  govern  themselves,  pay  no  taxes,  and  some  other  trifles 
of  this  description ;  nevertheless,  they  are  the  victims  of 
British  effoisme.  Was  not  the  union  of  the  provinces  carried 
without  their  consent,  and  with  a  view  of  subjecting  them  to 
the  British  ?  Papinean,  their  press,  and  other  authorities,  are 
constantly  dinning  this  into  their  ears,  so  no  wonder  they 
believe  it. 

Again,  our  mercantile  and  commercial  classes  are  thoroughly 
disgusted  and  lukewarm  in  their  allegiance.  You  know 
enough  of  colonies  to  appreciate  the  tendency  which  they 
'  charge  their  misfortunes  upon  the  mother- 
:r  from  what  source  they  flow.  And  indeed 
that,  as  matters  now  stand,  the  faithful  sub- 
rty  in  Canada  is  placed  on  a  worse  footing,  as 
1  the  mother-country,  than  the  rebel  '  over  the 


1848,  NAVIGATION  LAWS.  63 

The  same  man  who,  when  you  canvass  him  at  an  English 
borough  election,  says, '  Why,  sir,  I  yoted  Red  all  my  life,  and 
I  neyer  got  anything  by  it ;  this  time  I  intend  to  vote  Blue,' — 
addresses  you  in  Canada  with  '  I  have  been  all  along  one  of 
'  the  steadiest  supporters  of  the  British  GoTemment,  but  really, 

*  if  claims  such  as  mine  are  not  more  thought  of,  I  shall  begin 
'  to  consider  whether  other  institutions  are  not  preferable  to 
'  ours.'  What  to  do  under  these  circumstances  of  anxiety  and 
discouragement  is  the  question. 

As  to  any  aggressions  from  without,  I  shall  throw  the  re- 
sponsibility of  repelling  them  upon  Her  Majesty's  troops  in 
the  first  instance.  And  I  shall  be  disappointed,  indeed,  if  the 
military  here  do  not  give  a  very  good  account  of  all  American 
and  Irish  marauders. 

With  respect  to  internal  commotions,  I  should  like  to  deyolve 
the  duty  of  quelling  them  as  much  as  possible  upon  the 
citizens.  I  very  much  doubt  whether  any  class  of  them,  how- 
ever great  their  indifference  or  disloyalty,  fancy  the  taste  of 
Celtic  pikes,  or  the  rule  of  Irish  mob  law. 

Happily  the  dangers  which  there  seemed  so  much 
reason  to  apprehend  were  dispelled  by  the  policy  at  once 
firm  and  conciliatory  of  the  Governor:  mainly,  as  he 
himself  was  never  wearied  of  asserting,  owing  to  the 
healthy  and  loyal  feeling  engendered  in  the  province  by 
his  frank  adoption  and  consistent  maintenance  of  Lord 
Durham's  principle  of  responsible  government.  It  was 
one  of  the  occasions,  not  unfrequent  in  Lord  Elgin's 
life,  that  recall  the  words  in  which  Lord  Melbourne 
pronounced  the  crowning  eulogy  of  another  celebrated 
diplomatist : — *  My  Lords,  you  can  never  ftdly  appre- 
'  ciate  the  merits  of  that  great  man.     You  can  appre- 

*  ciate  the  great  acts  which  he  publicly  performed  ;  but 
'  you  cannot  appreciate,  for  you  cannot  know,  the  great 

*  mischiefii  which  he  unostentatiously  prevented.' 

In  the  course  of  the  discussions  on  the  Repeal  of  the  Navigatioa 
Navigation  Laws,  to  which  reference  is  made  in  the  ^^*' 
foregoing  letters,  an  incident  occurred  which  attracted 
some  attention  at  the  time,  and  which,  as  it  could  not 


64  CANADA.  Ch.  in. 

be  explamed  then,  ought,  perhaps,  to  be  noticed  in  this 
place. 

Lord  George  Bentinck,  who  led  the  opposition  to  the 
measure,  saw  reason  to  think  that,  in  the  published 
despatches  from  Canada  on  the  subject,  a  letter  had 
been  suppressed  which  would  have  furnished  arguments 
against  the  Government ;  and,  under  this  impression, 
he  moved  in  the  House  of  Commons  for  *  copies  of  the 
omitted  correspondence,'  The  motion  was  negatived 
without  a  division,  on  Lord  John  Russell's  pointing 
out  that  it  involved  an  imputation  on  the  Governor's 
good  faith ;  but  the  Premier  himself  was  probably  not 
aware  at  the  time,  how  completely  the  mover  was  at 
fault,  as  is  shown  in  the  foUowmg  letter  from  Lord 
Elgin  to  Mr.  C.  Bruce,  who,  being  a  member  of  Par- 
liament and  a  strong  Protectionist,  had  a  double  interest 
in  the  matter : — 

You  ask  me  about  this  mare's  nest  of  Bentinck.  The  facts 
are  these :  the  Montreal  Board  of  Trade  drew  up  a  memorial 
for  the  House  of  Commons  against  the  Navigation  Laws,  con- 
taining inter  alia  a  very  distinct  threat  of  separation  in  the 
event  of  their  non- repeal  My  secretary  (not  my  private 
secretary 5  mark,  but  my  responsible  Government  Secretary) 
sent  me  a  draft  of  a  letter  to  the  Board  containing  very  loyal 
and  proper  sentiments  on  this  head.  I  approved  of  the  letter, 
and  sent  a  copy  of  it  home  with  the  memorial,  instead  of  a 
report  by  myself,  partly  because  it  saved  me  trouble,  and 
partly  because  I  was  glad  to  show  how  perfectly  my 
liberal  government  had  expressed  themselves  on  the  point. 
Two  or  three  weeks  later,  the  Board  of  Trade,  not  Uking 
Mr.  Sullivan  to  have  the  last  word,  wrote  an  answer, 
simply  justifying  what  they  had  already  stated  in  their 
memorial,  which  had  already  gone  with  my  comment  upon  it 
to  be  laid  before  the  House  of  Commons.  To  send  such  a 
letter  home  in  a  separate  despatch  would  have  seemed  to  me 
worse  than  absurd,  because  it  would  really  have  been  giving 
to  this  unseemly  menace  a  degree  of  importance  which  it  did 
not  deserve.  If  I  had  sent  it  I  must  have  accompanied  it 
with  a  statement  to  the  effect,  that  my  sentiments  on  the  point 


1848. 


SPEECH  ON  EDUCATIOX. 


65 


communicated  in  my  former  letter  remained  unchanged;  bo 
the  matter  would  have  rested  pretty  much  where  it  did  before. 
Bentinck  seems  to  suppose  that5  in  keeping  back  a  letter  which 
stated  that  Canada  would  separate  if  the  Navigation  Laws  were 
not  repealed,  I  intended  by  some  very  ingenious  dodge  to 
hasten  their  repeal  I  * 

At  the  beginning  of  the  winter  season  of  1848  9,  Speech  on 
Lord  Elgin  was  present,  as  patron,  at  a  meeting  of  the  ^^  '°"* 
Montreal  Mercantile  Library  Association,  to  open  the 
winter's  course  of  lectures.  It  was  an  association 
mainly  founded  by  leading  merchants,  *  with  a  view  of 
*  affording  to  the  junior  members  of  the  mercantile  body 
'opportunities  of  self-improvement,  and  inducements 
'  sufficiently  powerful  to  enable  them  to  resist  those 
'  temptations  to  idleness  and  dissipation  which  unhappily 
'  abound  in  all  large  communities.'  He  took  the  oppor- 
tunity of  delivering  his  views  on  the  subject  of  educa- 
tion in  a  speech,  parts  of  which  may  still  be  read  with 
interest,  after  all  that  has  been  spoken  and  written  on 
this  fertile  topic.  It  has  at  least  the  merit  of  being 
eminently  characteristic  of  the  speaker,  whose  whole 
life  was  an  illustration,  in  the  eyes  of  those  who  knew 
him  best,  of  the  truths  which  he  sought  to  inculcate  on 
the  young  merchants  of  Montreal.'^ 

After  remarking  that  it  was  vain  for  him  to  attempt, 
in  a  cursory  address,  to  fan  the  fervour  of  his  hearers' 


*  The  personal  aoDojauce  which 
he  felt  on  this  occasion  was  only  a 
phase  of  the  indignation  which  was 
often  roused  in  him,  hy  seeing  the 
interests  and  feelings  of  the  colony 
made  the  sport  of  pai'ty-speakers  and 
party-writers  at  home;  and  im« 
portant  transactions  in  the  province 
distorted  and  misrepresented,  so  as 
to  afford  ground  for  an  attack,  in  the 
British  Parliament,  on  an  ohnoxious 
Minister.— FiV/<?  Infra^  p.  113. 

'  *A  knowledge,'  wrote  Sir  F. 
Bruce,  *of  what  he  was,  and  of  the 
*  results  he  in  consequence  achieved, 


'  would  he  an  admirahletext  on  which 

*  to  engraft  ideas  of  permanent  value 

*  on  this  most  important  question  ; ' 
as  helping  to  show  *  that  to  reduce 

*  education  to  stufBng  the  mind  with 
'  facts  is  to  dwarf  themtelligence,  and 
'  to  reverse  the  natural  process  of  the 
^growth  of  man's  mind:  that  the 
'knowledge  of  principles,  as  the  means 

*  of  discrimination,  and  the  criterion 
'  of  those  individual  appreciations 
'  which  are  fallaciously  called  facts^ 
'ouj^ht  to  be  the  end  of  high  edu- 
'  cation/ 


66  CANADA.  Ch.  m. 

zeal,  or  throw  light  on  subjects  which  they  were  in  the 
habit  of  hearing  so  effectively  treated, 

Indeed  (he  continued)  I  should  almost  be  tempted  to  affirm 
that  in  an  age  when  education  is  so  generally  diffused — when 
the  art  of  printing  has  brought  the  sources  of  information  so 
near  to  the  lips  of  all  who  thirst  for  understanding — when  so 
many  of  the  secrets  of  nature  have  been  revealed — ^when  the 
impalpable  and  all-pervading  electricity^  and  the  infinite  elas- 
ticity of  steam^  have  been  made  subservient  to  purposes  of 
human  utility, — the  advantages  of  knowledge^  in  an  utilitarian 
point  of  view,  the  utter  hopelessness  of  a  successful  attempt 
on  the  part  either  of  individuals  or  classes  to  maintain  their 
position  in  society  if  they  neglect  the  means  of  self-improve- 
ment, are  truths  too  obvious  to  call  for  elucidation.  I  must 
say  that  it  seems  to  me  that  there  is  less  risk,  therefore^  of  our 
declining  to  avail  ourselves  of  our  opportunities  than  there  is 
of  our  misusing  or  abusing  them ;  that  there  is  less  likelihood 
of  our  refusing  to  grasp  the  treasures  spread  out  before  us, 
than  of  our  laying  upon  them  rash  and  irreverent  hands,  and 
neglecting  to  cultivate  those  habits  of  patient  investigation, 
humility,  and  moral  self-control,  without  which  we  have  no 
sufficient  security  that  even  the  possession  of  knowledge  itself 
will  be  a  blessing  to  us.  I  was  much  struck  by  a  passage  I 
met  with  the  other  day  in  reading  the  life  of  one  of  the  greatest 
men  of  his  age  and  country — Watt — which  seemed  to  me  to 
illustrate  very  forcibly  the  nature  of  the  danger  to  which  I 
am  now  referring  as  well  as  its  remedy.  It  is  stated  in  the 
passage  to  which  I  allude,  that  Watt  took  great  delight  in 
reading  over  the  specifications  of  inventions  for  which  patent 
rights  were  obtained.  He  observed  that  of  those  inventions 
a  large  proportion  turned  out  to  be  entirely  worthless,  and  a 
source  of  ruin  and  disappointment  to  their  authors.  And  it  is 
further  stated  that  he  discovered  that,  among*  these  abortive 
inventions,  many  were  but  the  embodiment  of  ideas  which  had 
suggested  themselves  to  his  own  mind — which,  probably,  when 
they  first  presented  themselves,  he  had  welcomed  as  great  dis- 
coveries, likely  to  contribute  to  his  own  fame  and  to  the 
advantage  of  mankind,  but  which,  after  having  subjected  them 
to  that  rigid  and  unsparing  criticism  which  he  felt  it  his 
bounden  duty  to  apply  to  the  offspring  of  his  own  brain,  he 


184a  SPEECH  ON  EDUCATION.  67 

had  foand  to  be  worthless^  and  rejected.  Now,  unquestionablj, 
the  powerful  intellect  of  Watt  went  for  much  in  this  matter : 
unquestionably  his  keen  and  practised  glance  enabled  him  to 
detect  flaws  and  errors  in  many  cas6s  where  an  eye  equally 
honest,  but  less  acute,  would  have  failed  to  discover  them ;  but 
can  we  doubt  that  a  moral  element  was  largely  inyolyed  in  the 
composition  of  that  quality  of  mind  which  enabled  Watt  to 
shun  the  sunken  rocks  on  which  so  many  around  him  were 
making  shipwreck — that  it  was  his  unselfish  devotion  to  truth, 
his  humility,  and  the  practice  of  self-control,  which  enabled 
him  to  rebuke  the  suggestions  of  vanity  and  self-interest,  and, 
with  the  sternness  of  an  impartial  judge,  to  condemn  to  silence 
and  oblivion  even  the  offspring  of  his  own  mind,  for  which  he 
doubtless  felt  a  parent's  fondness,  when  it  fell  short  of  that 
standard  of  perfection  which  he  had  reared  ?  From  this  inci- 
dent in  the  life  of  that  great  man,  we  may  draw,  I  think,  a 
most  useful  lesson,  which  we  may  apply  with  good  effect  to 
fields  of  inquiry  far  transcending  those  to  which  the  anecdote 
has  immediate  reference.  Take,  for  instance,  the  wide  region 
occupied  with  moral  and  political,  or,  as  they  are  styled, 
social  questions ;  observe  the  wretched  half-truths,  the  perilous 
fallacies,  which  quacks,  greedy  of  applause  or  gain,  and  specu- 
lating on  the  credulity  of  mankind,  more  especially  in  times  of 
perturbation  or  distress,  have  the  audacity  to  palm  upon  the 
world  as  sublime  discoveries  calculated  to  increase,  in  some 
vast  and  untold  amount,  the  sum  of  human  happiness ;  and 
mark  the  misery  and  desolation  which  follow,  when  the  hopes 
excited  by  these  pretenders  are  dispelled.  It  is  often  said  in 
apology  for  such  persons,  that  they  are,  after  all,  sincere ;  that 
they  are  deceived  rather  than  deceivers  ;  that  they  do  not  ask 
others  to  adopt  opinions  which  they  have  not  heartily  accepted 
themselves ;  but  apply  to  this  reasoning  the  principle  that  I 
have  been  endeavouring  to  illustrate  from  the  life  of  Watt, 
and  we  shall  find,  I  think,  that  the  excuse  is,  in  most  cases,  but 
a  sorry  one,  if,  indeed,  it  be  any  excuse  at  all.  God  has 
planted  within  the  mind  of  man  the  lights  of  reason  and  of 
conscience,  and  without  it.  He  has  placed  those  of  revelation 
and  experience ;  and  if  man  wilfully  extinguishes  those  lights, 
in  order  that,  under  cover  of  the  darkness  which  he  has  him- 
self made,  he  may  install  in  the  sanctuary  of  his  understanding 
and  heart,  where  the  image  of  truth  alone  should  dwell,  a  vain 

v  2 


68  CANADA,  Ch.  nL 

idol,  a  creature  of  his  own  fond  imaginings,  it  will,  I  fear,  but 
little  avail  him,  more  especially  in  that  day  when  the  secrets 
of  all  hearts  shall  be  revealed,  if  he  shall  plead  in  extenuation 
of  his  guilt  that  he  did  not  invite  others  to  worship  the  idol 
until  he  had  fallen  prostrate  himself  before  it. 

These,  gentlemen,  are  truths  which  I  think  it  will  be  well 
for  us  to  lay  to  heart.  I  address  myself  more  particularly  to 
you  who  are  entering  upon  the  useful  and  honourable  career 
of  the  British  merchant;  for  you  are  now  standing  on  the 
lower  steps  of  a  ladder,  which,  when  it  is  mounted  with  dili- 
gence and  circumspection,  leads  always  to  respectability,  not 
imfrequently  to  high  honour  and  distinction.  Bear  in  mind, 
then,  that  the  quality  which  ought  chiefly  to  distinguish  those 
who  aspire  to  exercise  a  controlling  and  directing  influence  in 
any  department  of  human  action,  from  those  who  have  only  a 
subordinate  part  to  play,  is  the  knowledge  of  principles  and 
general  laws.  A  few  examples  will  make  the  truth  of  this 
proposition  apparent  to  you.  Take,  for  instance,  the  case  of 
the  builder.  The  mason  and  carpenter  must  know  how  to  hew 
the  stone  and  square  the  timber,  and  follow  out  faithfully  the 
working  plan  placed  in  their  hands.  But  the  architect  must 
know  much  more  than  this ;  he  must  be  acquainted  with  the 
principles  of  proportion  and  form ;  he  must  know  the  laws 
which  regulate  the  distribution  of  heat,  light,  and  air,  in  order, 
that  he  may  give  to  each  part  of  a  complicated  structure  its 
due  share  of  these  advantages,  and  combine  the  multifarious 
details  into  a  consistent  whole.  Take  again  the  case  of  the 
seaman.  It  is  enough  for  the  steersman  that  he  watch  certain 
symptoms  in  the  sky  and  on  the  waves ;  that  he  note  the  shift- 
ing of  the  wind  and  compass,  and  attend  to  certain  precise 
rules  which  have  been  given  him  for  his  guidance.  But  the 
master  of  the  ship,  if  he  be  fit  for  his  situation— and  I  am 
sorry  to  say  that  many  undertake  the  duties  of  that  respon- 
sible oflice  who  are  not  fit  for  it — must  be  thoroughly  ac- 
quainted, not  only  with  the  map  of  the  earth  and  heavens,  but 
he  must  know  also  all  that  science  has  revealed  of  some  of  the 
most  subtle  of  the  operations  of  nature  ;  he  must  understand, 
as  far  as  man  can  yet  discover  them,  what  are  the  laws  which 
regulate  the  movements  of  the  currents,  the  direction  of  the 
tempest,  and  the  meanderings  of  the  magnetic  fluid.  Or,  to 
take  a  case  with  which  you  are  more  familiar— that  of  the 


1848.  SPEECH  ON  EDUCATIOX.  60 

merchaDt.  The  merchant's  clerk  must  understand  bo6k-keep- 
ing  and  double-entry^  and  know  how  to  arrange  every  item  of 
tiie  account  under  its  proper  head,  and  how  to  bahince  the  whole 
correctly.  But  the  head  of  the  establishment  must  be  ac- 
quainted, in  addition  to  this,  with  the  laws  which  regulate  the 
exchanges,  with  the  principles  that  affect  the  production  and 
distribution  of  national  wealth,  and  therefore  with  those  social 
and  political  causes  which  are  ever  and  anon  at  work  to  disturb 
calculations,  which  would  have  been  accurate  enough  for  quiet 
times,  but  which  are  insufficient  for  others.  I  think,  there- 
fore, that  I  have  established  the  truth  of  the  proposition,  that 
men  who  aspire  to  exercise  a  directing  and  controlling  influence 
in  any  pursuit  or  business,  should  be  distinguished  by  a  know- 
ledge of  principles  and  general  laws.  But  it  is  in  the  acqui- 
sition of  this  knowledge,  and  more  especially  in  its  application 
to  the  occurrences  of  daily  life,  that  the  chief  necessity  arises 
for  the  exercise  of  those  high  moral  qualities,  with  the  im- 
portance of  which  I  have  endeavoured,  in  these  brief  remarks, 
to  impress  you. 


70 


CANADA. 


Ch.  rv . 


CHAPTER   IV, 


CANADi^ . 


Commer- 
cial de- 
presflion. 


DISCONTENT — REBELLION  LOSSES  BILL OPPOSITION   TO  IT — NEUTRALITT  OF 

THE   GOVERNOR RIOTS   AT   MONTREAL — FIRMNESS    OF   THE   GOVERNOR — 

APPROVAL  OP  HOME  GOVERNMENT — FRESH  RIOTS—REMOVAL  OF  SEAT  OF 
GOVERNMENT  FROM  MONTREAL — FORBEARANCE  OF  LORD  ELGIN — RE- 
TROSPECT. 

The  winter  of  1848  passed  quietly  ;  but  the  commer- 
cial depression,  which  was  then  everywhere  prevalent, 
weighed  heavily  on  Canada,  more  especially  on  the 
Upper  Province.  In  one  of  his  letters  Lord  Elgin 
caught  himself,  so  to  speak,  using  the  words,  *the 
*  downward  progress  of  events.'     He  proceeds: — 

The  downward  progress  of  events  I  These  are  ominous 
words.  But  look  at  the  facts.  Property  in  most  of  the 
Canadian  towns,  and  more  especially  in  the  capital,  has  fallen 
fifty  per  cent,  in  value  within  the  last  three  years.  Three- 
fourths  of  the  commercial  men  are  bankrupt,  owing  to  Free- 
trade  ;  a  large  proportion  of  the  exportable  produce  of  Canada 
is  obliged  to  seek  a  market  in  the  States.  It  pays  a  duty  of 
twenty  per  cent  on  the  frontier.  How  long  can  such  a  state 
of  things  be  expected  to  endure  ? 

Depend  upon  it,  our  commercial  embarrassments  are  our  real 
difficulty.  Political  discontent,  properly  so  called,  there  is 
none.  I  really  believe  no  country  in  the  world  is  more  free 
from  it.  We  have,  indeed,  national  antipathies  hearty  and 
earnest  enough.  We  suffer,  too,  from  the  inconvenience  of 
having  to  work  a  system  which  is  not  yet  thoroughly  in  gear. 
KecklesB  and  unprincipled  men  take  advantage  of  these  cir- 
cumstances to  work  into  a  fever  every  transient  heat  that 
affects  the  public  mind.  Nevertheless,  I  am  confident  I  could 
carry  Canada  unscathed  through  all  these  evils  of  transition, 


1849.  REBELLION  LOSSES  BILL.  71 

mod  place  the  connection  on  a  surer  foundation  tkan  ever,  if  I 
could  only  tell  the  people  of  the  province  tluit  as  regards  the 
conditions  of  material  prosperity,  they  would  be  raised  to  a 
level  with  their  neighbours.  But  if  this  be  not  achieved,  if 
free  navigation  and  reciprocal  trade  with  the  Union  be  not 
secured  for  us,  the  worst,  I  fear,  will  come,  and  that  at  no 
distant  day. 

Unfortunately,  powerful  interests  in  the  one  case, 
indifferenoe  and  apathy  in  the  other,  prevented  these 
iadispeftisable  measures,  as  he  always  maintained  them 
to  be,  from  being  carried  for  many  years  ;  and  in  the 
meantime  a  most  serious  fever  of  political  discontent  Political 
was  in  effect  worked  up,  out  of  a  heat  which  ought  to  ***"  ^ ' 
have  been  as  transient  as  the  cause  of  it  was  intrin- 
sically unimportant. 

Irritated  by  loss  of  office,  groaning  under  the  ruin 
of  their  trade,  outraged  moreover  (for  so  they  repre- 
sented it  to  themselves)  in  their  best  and  most  patriotic 
feelings  by  seeing  '  Rebels '  in  the  seat  of  power,  the 
Ex-ministerial  party  were  in  a  mood  to  resent  every 
measure  of  the  Government,  and  especially  every  act 
of  the  Governor-General.  When  Parliament  met  on 
January  18,  he  took  advantage  of  the  repeal  of  the  law 
restricting  the  use  of  the  French  language,  to  de- 
liver his  speech  in  French  as  well  as  in  English: 
even  this  they  turned  to  his  reproach.    But  their  wrath  Kebeiijon 

T  11*11 

rose  to  fury  on  the  introduction  of  a  Bill  *  to  provide       *"  *  * 

*  for   the   indenmification  of  parties  in  Lower  Canada 

*  whose  property  was  destroyed  during  the  Rebellion  in 
'  1837  and  1838:'  a  'questionable  measure,'  to  use  Lord 
Elgin's  own  words  in  first  mentioning  it,  'but  one 
'  which  the  preceding  administration  had  rendered  almost 
'inevitable  by  certain  proceedings  adopted  by  them' 
in  Lord  Metcalfe's  time.  As  the  justification  of  the 
measure  is  thus  rested  on  its  previous  history,  a  brief 
retrospect  is  necessary  before  proceeding  with  the 
account  of  transactions  which  formed  an  epoch  in  the 


72  CANADA.  Ch.  rv. 

history  of  the  colony,  as  well  as  in  the  life  of  the 
Governor. 
History  Within   a  very   short   time   after   the   close  of  the 

meaflure.  Rebellion  of  1837  and  1838,  the  attention  of  both 
sections  of  the  colony  was  directed  to  compensating 
those  who  had  suffered  by  it.  First  came  the  case  of 
the  primary  suflFerers,  if  so  they  may  be  called  ;  that  is, 
the  Loyalists,  whose  property  had  been  destroyed  by 
Rebels.  Measures  were  at  once  taken  to  indemnify  all 
such  persons, — in  Upper  Canada,  by  an  Act  passed  in 
the  last  session  of  its  separate  Parliament  ;  in  Lower 
Canada,  by  an  ordinance  of  the  '  Special  Council,'  under 
which  it  was  at  that  time  administered.  But  it  was 
felt  that  this  was  not  enough  ;  that  where  property 
had  been  wantonly  and  unnecessarily  destroyed,  even 
though  it  were  by  persons  acting  in  support  of  autho- 
rity, some  compensation  ought  to  be  given ;  and  the 
Upper  Canada  Act  above  mentioned  was  amended  next 
year,  in  the  first  session  of  the  United  Parliament,  so 
as  to  extend  to  all  losses  occasioned  bv  violence  on  the 
part  of  persons  acting  or  assuming  to  act  on  Her 
Majesty's  behalf.  Nothing  was  done  at  this  time  about 
Lower  Canada  ;  but  it  was  obviously  inevitable  that 
the  treatment  applied  to  the  one  province  should  be 
extended  to  the  other.  Accordingly,  in  1845,  during 
Lord  Metcalfe's  Government,  and  under  a  Conservative 
administration,  an  Address  was  adopted  unanimouslv 
by  the  Assembly,  praying  His  Excellency  to  cause 
proper  measures  to  be  taken  '  in  order  to  insure  to  the 

*  inhabitants  of  that  portion  of  the  province,  formerly 

*  Lower   Canada,  indemnity  for  just   losses   by   them 

*  sustamed  during  the  Rebellion  of  1837  and  1838.' 

In  pursuance  of  this  address,  a  Commission  was  ap- 
pointed to  inquire  into  the  claims  of  persons  whose 
property  had  been  destroyed  in  the  rebellion  ;  the 
Commissioners  receiving  instructions  to  distinguish  the 
cases  of  those  persons  who  had  joined,  aided,  or  abetted 


1849.  REBELLION  LOSSES  BILL.  73 

in  the  said  rebellion,  from  the  case  of  those  who  had 
not.  On  inquiring  how  they  were  to  distinguish,  they 
were  officially  answered  that  in  making  out  the  classi- 
fication '  it  was  not  His  Excellency's  intention  that  they 
'  should  be  guided  by  any  other  description  of  evidence 
^  than  that  furnished  by  the  sentences  of  the  Courts  of 
'  Law.'  It  was  also  intimated  to  them  that  they  were 
only  intended  to  form  a  *  general  estimate '  of  the 
rebellion  losses,  '  the  particulars  of  which  must  form 

*  the  subject  of  more  minute  inquiry  hereafter  under 

*  legislative  authority.' 

In  obedience  to  these  instructions,  the  Commissioners 
made  their  investigations,  and  reported  that  they  had 
recognised,  as  worthy  of  further  inquiry,  claims  repre- 
senting a  sum  total  of  241,965/.  IO5.  5d.  ;  but  they 
added  an  expression  of  opinion  that  the  losses  suflfered 
would  be  found,  on  closer  examination,  not  to  exceed 
the  value  of  100,000/. 

This  Report  was  rendered  in  April  1846  ;  but  though 
Lord  Metcalfe's  Ministry  which  had  issued  the  Commis- 
sion, avowedly  as  preliminary  to  a  subsequent  and  more 
minute  inquiry,  remained  in  office  for  nearly  two  years 
longer,  they  took  no  steps  towards  carrying  out  their 
declared  intentions. 

So  the  matter  stood  in  March  1848,  when,  as  has 
been  already  stated,  a  new  administration  was  formed, 
consisting  mainly  of  persons  whose  political  sjmipathies 
were  with  Lower  Canada.  It  was  natural  that  they 
should  take  up  the  work  left  half  done  by  their  pre- 
decessors ;  and  early  in  1849  they  introduced  a  Bill 
which  was  destined  to  become  notorious  under  the 
name  of  the  *  Rebellion  Losses  Bill.'  The  preamble  of  it 
declared  that  in  order  to  redeem  the  pledge  already  given 
to  parties  in  Lower  Canada,  it  was  necessary  and  just 
that  the  particulars  of  such  losses  as  were  not  yet 
satisfied,  should  form  the  subject  of  more  minute  in- 
quiry under  legislative  authority ;  and  that  the  same. 


74  aVNADA.  Ch.  IV, 

so  far  only  as  they  might  have  arisen  from  the  '  total 
or  partial  unjust  or  wanton  destruction '  of  property, 
should  be  paid  and  satisfied.  A  proviso  was  added 
that  no  person  who  had  been  convicted,  or  pleaded 
guilty,  of  treason  during  the  rebellion  should  be  en- 
titled to  any  indemnity  for  losses  sustained  in  con- 
nection with  it.  The  Bill  itself  authorised  the  appoint- 
ment of  Commissioners  for  the  purpose  of  the  Act,  and 
the  appropriation  of  90,000/.  to  the  payment  of  claims 
that  might  arise  under  it ;  following  in  this  respect  the 
opinion  expressed  by  Lord  Metcalfe's  preiinuBsry 
Commission  of  enquiry. 
Excite-  Such  was  the  measure — so  clearly  inevitable  in  its 

spectingit.  direction,  so  modest  in  its  proportions — which,  falling 
on  an  inflamed  state  of  the  public  mind  in  Canada,  and 
misimderstood  in  England,  was  the  occasion  of  riot  and 
nearly  of  rebellion  in  the  Province,  and  exposed  the 
Governor-General,  who  sanctioned  it,  to  severe  censure 
on  the  part  of  many  whose  opinion  he  most  valued  at 
home.  His  own  feelings  on  its  introduction,  his 
opinion  of  its  merits,  and  his  reasons  for  the  course 
\vhich  he  pursued  in  dealing  with  it,  cannot  be  better 
stated  than  in  his  own  words.  Writing  to  Lord  Grey 
on  March  1,  he  says  : — 

A  good  deal  of  excitement  and  bad  feeling  has  been  stirred 
in  the  province  by  the  introduction  of  a  measure  by  the 
Ministry  for  the  payment  of  certain  rebellion  losses  in  Lower 
Canada.  I  trust  that  it  will  soon  subside,  and  that  no  endur- 
ing mischief  will  ensue  from  it,  but  the  Opposition  leaders  have 
taken  advantage  of  the  circumstances  to  work  upon  the  feel- 
ings of  old  Loyalists  as  opposed  to  Rebels,  of  British  as  opposed 
to  French,  and  of  Upper  Canadians  as  opposed  to  Lower ;  and 
thus  to  provoke  from  various  parts  of  the  province  the  ex- 
pression of  not  very  temperate  or  measured  discontent.  I 
am  occasionally  rated  in  not  very  courteous  language,  and 
peremptorily  required  to  dissolve  the  Parliament  which  was 
elected  only  one  year  ago,  under  the  auspices  of  this  same 
clamorous  Opposition,  who  were  then  in  power.     The  measure 


1849.  REBELLION  LOSSES  BILL.  76 

itself  is  not  indeed  mitogether  free  from  objection^  and  I  very 
much  regret  that  an  addition  should  be  made  to  our  debt  for 
such  an  object  at  this  time.  Neverthelessy  I  must  say  I  do 
not  see  how  my  present  6oyei*nment  could  have  taken  any 
other  course  in  this  matter  than  that  which  they  have  followed. 
Their  predecessors  had  already  gone  more  than  half-way  in  the 
same  direction,  though  they  had  stopped  short,  and  now  tell  qb 
that  they  never  intended  to  go  farther.  If  the  Ministry  had 
failed  to  complete  the  work  of  alleged  justice  to  Lower 
Canada  which  had  been  commenced  by  the  former  Adminis- 
tration, M.  Papineau  would  most  assuredly  have  availed  him- 
self of  the  plea  to  undermine  their  influence  in  this  section  of 
the  province.  The  debates  in  Parliament  on  this  question 
have  been  acrimonious  and  lengthy,  but  M.  Lafontaine's 
resolutions  were  finally  passed  by  a  majority  of  fifty  to  twenty- 
two. 

Dissensions  of  this  class  place  in  strong  relief  the  passions 
and  tendencies  which  render  the  endurance  of  the  political 
system  which  we  have  established  here,  and  of  the  connection 
with  the  mother- country,  uncertain  and  precarious.  They 
elicit  a  manifestation  of  antipathy  between  races  and  of 
jealousy  between  the  recently  united  provinces,  which  is  much 
to  be  regretted.  This  measure  of  indemnity  to  Lower  Canada 
is,  however,  the  last  of  the  kind,  and  if  it  be  once  settled 
satisfactorily,  a  formidable  stumblingblock  will  have  been 
removed  firom  my  path. 

A  fortnight  later  he  adds  : — 

The  Tory  party  are  doing  what  they  can  by  menace,  in- 
timidation, and  appeals  to  passion  to  drive  me  to  a  coup  d^Eiat 
And  yet  the  very  measure  which  is  at  this  moment  the  occasion 
of  so  loud  an  outcry,  is  nothing  more  than  a  strict  logical 
following  out  of  their  own  acts.  It  is  difficult  to  conceive 
what  the  address  on  the  subject  of  rebellion  losses  in  Lower 
Canada,  unanimously  voted  by  the  House  of  Assembly  while 
Lord  Metcalfe  was  governor  and  Mr.  Draper  minister,  and  the 
proceedings  of  the  Administration  upon  that  address  could 
have  been  meant  to  lead  to,  if  not  to  such  a  measure  as  the 
present  Government  have  introduced. 

I  enclose  a  letter  which  has  been  published  in  the  news- 


76  CANADA.  Ch.  IV. 

papers  by  A.  M.  Masson,  one  of  the  Bermuda  exiles,'  who 
was  appointed  to  an  office  by  the  late  Government.  This 
person  will  be  excluded  from  compensation  by  the  Bill  of  the 
present  Government,  and  he  positively  asserts  that  Lord 
Metcalfe  and  some  of  his  Ministers  assured  him  that  he  would 
be  included  by  them. 

I  certainly  regret  that  this  agitation  should  have  been 
stirred,  and  that  any  portion  of  the  funds  of  the  province 
should  be  diverted  now  from  much  more  useful  purposes  to 
make  good  losses  sustained  by  individuals  in  the  rebellion. 
But  I  have  no  doubt  whatsoever  that  a  great  deal  of  property 
was  wantonly  and  cruelly  destroyed  at  that  time  in  Lower 
Canada.  Nor  do  I  think  that  this  Government,  after  what 
their  predecessors  had  done,  and  with  Papineau  in  the  rear, 
could  have  helped  taking  up  this  question.  Neither  do  I 
think  that  their  measure  would  have  been  less  objectionable, 
but  very  much  the  reverse,  if,  after  the  lapse  of  eleven  years, 
and  the  proclamation  of  a  general  amnesty,  it  had  been  so 
framed  as  to  attach  the  stigma  of  Rebellion  to  others  than 
those  regularly  convicted  before  the  Courts.  Any  kind  of 
extra-judicial  inquisition  conducted  at  this  time  of  day  by 
Commissioners  appointed  by  the  Government,  with  the  view 
of  ascertaining  what  part  this  or  that  claimant  for  indemnity 
may  have  taken  in  1837  and  1838,  would  have  been  attended 
by  consequences  much  to  be  regretted,  and  have  opened  the 
door  to  an  infinite  amount  of  jobbing,  false  swearing,  and 
detraction. 

• 

PetiticM         Petitions  against  the  measure  were  got  up  by  the 
against  it    ^^j^gg  jj^  q^h  parts  of  the  province  ;  but  these,  instead 

of  being  sent  to  the  Assembly,  or  to  the  Legislative 
Council,  or  to  the  Home  Government,  were  almost  all 
addressed  to  Lord  Elgin  personally  ;  obviously  with 
the  design  of  producing  a  collision  between  him  and 
his  Parliament.  They  generally  prayed  either  that 
Parliament  might  be  dissolved,  or  that  the  Bill,  if  it 
passed,  might  be  reserved  for  the  royal  sanction.  All 
such  addresses,  and  the  remonstrances  brought  to  hiTn 

^  I.  e,  one  of  the  rebels  of  1837;  who  had  been  banished  to  Bermuda  by 
Lord  Durham. 


1849.  NEUTRALITY  OF  THE  GOVERNOR.  77 

by  deputations  of  malcontents,  he  received  with  civility^  Neutrality 
promising  to  bestow  on  them  his  best  consideration,  QoV^raor. 
but  studiously  avoiding  the  expression  of  any  opinion 
on  the  points  in  controversy.  By  thus  maintaining  a 
strictly  constitutional  position,  he  foiled  that  section  of 
the  agitators  who  calculated  on  his  being  frightened  or 
made  angry,  while  he  left  a  door  open  for  any  who 
might  have  candour  enough  to  admit  that  after  all  he 
was  only  carrying  out  fairly  the  principle  of  responsible 
government. 

In  pursuance  of  this  policy  he  put  off  to  the  latest 
moment  any  decision  as  to  the  course  which  he  should 
take  with  respect  to  the  Bill  when  it  came  up  to  him 
for  his  sanction.  As  regards  a  dissolution,  indeed,  he 
felt  from  the  beginning  that  it  would  be  sheer  folly, 
attended  by  no  small  risk.  Was  he  to  have  recourse 
to  this  ultima  ratio,  merely  because  a  parliament  elected 
a  year  before,  under  the  auspices  of  the  party  now  in 
opposition,  had  passed,  by  a  majority  of  nearly  two  to 
one,  a  measure  introduced  by  the  present  Government, 
in  pursuance  of  the  acts  of  a  former  one  ? 

If  I  had  dissolved  Parliament,  I  might  have  produced  a 
rebellion,  but  most  assuredly  I  should  not  have  procured  a 
change  of  Ministry.  The  leaders  of  the  party  know  that  as 
well  as  I  do,  and  were  it  possible  to  play  tricks  in  such  grave 
concerns,  it  would  have  been  easy  to  throw  them  into  utter 
confusion  by  merely  calling  upon  them  to  form  a  Government 
They  were  aware,  however,  that  I  could  not  for  the  sake  of 
discomfiting  them  hazard  so  desperate  a  policy :  so  they  have 
played  out  their  game  of  faction  and  violence  without  fear  of 
consequences. 

The  other  course  urged  upon  him  by  the  Opposition, 
namely,  that  of  reserving  the  Bill  for  the  consideration 
of  the  Home  Government,  may  appear  to  have  been 
open  to  no  such  objections,  and  to  have  been  in  fact 
the  wisest  course  which  he  could  pursue,  in  circum- 
stances of  so  much  delicacy.     And  this  seems  to  have 


78  CANADA.  Ch.  IV. 

been  the  opinion  of  many  in  England,  who  were  dis- 
posed to  approve  of  his  general  policy  ;  but  it  may  be 
doubted  whether  they  had  weighed  all  the  consider- 
ations which  presented  themselves  to  the  mind  of  the 
Governor  on  the  spot,  and  which  he  stated  to  Lord  Grey 
as  follows : — 

There  are  objections,  too,  to  reserving  the  Bill  which  I  think 
I  shall  consider  insurmountable,  whatever  obloquy  I  may  for 
the  time  entail  on  myself  by  declining  to  lend  myself  even  to  this 
extent  to  the  plans  of  those  who  wish  to  bring  about  a  change 
of  administration. 

In  the  first  place  the  Bill  for  the  relief  of  a  corresponding 
class  of  persons  in  Upper  Canada,  which  was  couched  in  terms 
very  nearly  similar,  was  not  reserved,  and  it  is  difficult  to  dis- 
cover a  sufficient  reason,  in  so  far  as  the  representative  of  the 
Crown  is  concerned,  for  dealing  with  the  one  measure  dif- 
ferently from  the  other.  And  in  the  second  place,  by  reserv- 
ing the  Bill  I  should  only  throw  upon  Her  Majesty's  Govern- 
ment, or  (as  it  would  appear  to  the  popular  eye  here)  on  Her 
Majesty  herself,  a  responsibility  which  rests,  and  ought,  I 
think,  to  rest,  on  my  own  shoulders.  If  I  pass  the  Bill, 
whatever  mischief  ensues  may  probably  be  repaired,  if  the 
worst  comes  to  the  worst,  by  the  sacrifice  of  me.  Whereas, 
if  the  case  be  referred  to  England,  it  is  not  impossible  that 
Her  Majesty  may  only  have  before  her  the  alternative  of  pro- 
voking a  rebellion  in  Lower  Canada,  by  refusing  her  assent  to 
a  measure  chiefly  affecting  the  interest  of  the  habitans^  and 
thus  throwing  the  whole  population  into  Papineau's  hands,  or 
of  wounding  the  susceptibilities  of  some  of  the  best  subjects 
she  has  in  the  province.  For  among  the  objectors  to  this  Bill 
are  undoubtedly  to  be  found  not  a  few  who  belong  to  this 
class ;  men  who  are  worked  upon  by  others  more  selfish  and 
designing,  to  whom  the  principles  of  constitutional  Govern- 
ment are  unfathomable  mysteries,  and  who  still  regard  the 
representative  of  royalty,  and  in  a  more  remote  sense  the 
Crown  and  Government  of  England,  if  not  as  the  objects  of  a 
very  romantic  loyalty  (for  that,  I  fear,  is  fast  waning),  at  least 
as  the  butts  of  a  most  intense  and  unrelenting  indignation,  if 
political  affairs  be  not  administered  in  entire  accordance  with 
their  sense  of  what  is  right. 


1849.  NEUTRALITY  OF  THE  GOVERNOK.  79 

In  solving  these  knotty  problems,  and  choosing  his 
course  of  action,  the  necessities  of  the  situation  required 
that  he  should  be  guided  by  his  ovra  unaided  judgment, 
and  act  entirely  on  his  own  responsibility.  For  although, 
throughout  all  his  difficulties,  in  the  midst  of  the  i*e- 
proaches  with  which  he  was  assailed  both  in  the  colony 
and  in  England,  he  had  the  great  satisfaction  of  know- 
ing that  his  conduct  was  entirely  approved  by  Lord 
Grey,  to  whom  he  opened  all  his  mind  in  private  letters, 
the  official  communications  which  passed  between  them 
were  necessarily  very  reserved.  The  following  extract 
illustrates  well  this  peculiarity  in  the  position  of  a 
British  Colonial  Governor,  who  has  two  popular  As- 
semblies and  two  public  presses  to  consider : — 

Perhaps  you  may  have  been  annoyed  by  my  not  writing 
officially  to  you  ere  this  so  as  to  give  you  communications  to 
send  to  Parliament.  All  that  I  can  say  on  that  point  is,  that 
I  have  got  through  this  disagreeable  affair  as  well  as  I  have 
done  only  by  maintaining  my  constitutional  position,  listening 
civilly  to  all  representations  addressed  to  me  against  the 
measure^  and  adhering  to  a  strict  reserve  as  to  the  course 
which  I  might  deem  it  proper  eventually  to  pursue.  By 
following  this  course  I  have  avoided  any  act  or  expression 
which  might  have  added  fuel  to  the  flame ;  and  although  I  have 
been  plentifully  abused,  because  it  has  been  the  policy  of  the 
Opposition  to  drag  me  into  the  strife,  no  one  can  say  that  I 
have  said  or  done  anything  to  justify  the  abuse.  And  the 
natural  effect  of  such  patient  endurance  is  now  beginning  to 
show  itself  in  the  moderated  tone  of  the  organs  of  the  Oppo- 
sition press.  You  will  perceive,  however,  that  I  could  not 
possibly  have  maintained  this  position  here,  if  despatches  from 
me  indicating  the  Ministerial  policy  had  been  submitted  to  the 
House  of  Commons.  They  would  have  found  their  way  out 
here  at  once.  Every  statement  and  opinion  would  have  formed 
the  subject  of  discussion,  and  I  should  have  found  myself  in 
the  midst  of  the  mSlee  a  partisan. 

To  counteract  the  violent  and  reckless  efforts  of  the 
Opposition,  Lord  Elgin  trusted  partly  to  the  obvious 


80  CANADA.  Ch.  rv^ 

reasonableness  of  the  proposal  under  discussion,  but 
more  to  the  growth  of  a  patriotic  spirit  which  should 
lead  the  minority  to  prefer  the  rule  of  a  majority 
within  the  province  to  the  coercion  of  a  power  from 
without.  Something  also  he  hoped  from  the  effect  of 
the  many  excellent  measures  brought  in  about  the  same 
tune  by  his  new  Ministry,  '  the  first  really  efficient  and 

*  working  Government  that  Canada  had  had  since  the 

*  Union/  Nor  were' these  hopes  altogether  disappointed. 
Writing  on  April  1 2  he  observed,  that  a  marked  change 
had  taken  place  within  the  last  few  weeks  in  the  tone 
both  of  the  press  ^  and  of  the  leaders  of  the  party,  some 
of  whom  had  given  him  to  understand,  through  dif- 
ferent channels,  that  they  regretted  things  had  gone  bo 
far.  '  But/  he  adds,  '  whether  the  gales  from  England 
'  will  stir  the  tempest  again  or  not  remains  to  be  seen.' 

hi^Ei!g°*  And,  in  effect,  the  next  post  from  England  came 
land.  laden  with  speeches  and  newspaper  articles,  denouncing, 
in  no  measured  terms,  the  '  suicidal  folly  of  rewarding 
rebels  for  rebellion.'  A  London  journal  of  influence, 
speaking  of  the  British  population  as  affected  by  the 
measure  in  question,  said : — '  They  are  tolerably  able  to 

*  take  care  of  themselves,  and  we  very  much  misconstrue 
'  the  tone  adopted  by  the  English  press  and  the  English 
'  public  in  the  province,  if  they  do  not  find  some  means 

*  of  resisting  the  heavy  blow  and  great  discouragement 
'  which  is  aimed  at  them.'  Such  passages  were  read  with 
avidity  in  the  colony,  and  construed  to  mean  that  sym- 
pathy would  be  extended  from  influential  quarters  at 
home  to  those  who  sought  to  annul  the  obnoxious  de- 
cision of  the  local  Legislature,  whatever  might  be  the 
means  to  which  they  resort^^d  for  the  attainment  of  that 
end.     It  may  be  doubted,  however,  whether  any  ex- 

*  One  of  the  Conservative  papers  bellion  losses  than  have  what  is  no- 

of  the  day  wrote : — *  Bad  as  the  pay-  minally  a  free  Constitution  fettered 

nient  of  the  rebellion  lo.^ees  is,  we  and  restrained  each  time  a  measure 

do  not  know  tliat  it  would  not  be  distasteful  to  the  minority  is  passed.* 
better  to  submit  to  pay  twenty  re- 


ISIO.  RIOTS  AT  MONTREAL.  81 

traneous  disturbance  of  this  kind  had  much  to  do  with 
the  volcanic  outburst  of  local  passions  which  ensued^ 
and  which  is  now  to  be  related. 

The  Bill  was  passed  in  the  Assembly  by  forty-seven  The  BiU 
votes  to  eighteen.  On  analysing  the  votes,  it  was  "P**^* 
found  that  out  of  thirty-one  members  from  Upper 
Canada  who  voted  on  the  occasion,  seventeen  supported 
and  fourteen  opposed  it  ;  and  that  of  ten  members  for 
Lower  Canada,  of  British  descent,  six  supported  and 
four  opposed  it. 

These  facts  (wrote  Lord  Elgin)  seemed  altogether  irrecon- 
cilable with  the  allegation  that  the  question  was  one  on  which 
the  two  races  were  arrayed  against  each  other  throughout  ihe 
province  generally.  I  considered,  therefore,  that  by  reserving 
the  Bill,  I  should  only  cast  on  Her  Majesty  and  Her  Majesty's 
advisers  a  responsibility  which  ought,  in  the  first  instance  at 
least,  to  rest  on  my  own  shoulders,  and  that  I  should  awaken 
in  the  minds  of  the  people  at  large,  even  of  those  who  were 
indifferent  or  hostile  to  the  Bill,  doubts  as  to  the  Bincerity  with 
which  it  was  intended  that  constitutional  Government  should 
be  carried  on  in  Canada ;  doubts  which  it  is  my  firm  conviction, 
if  they  were  to  obtain  generally,  would  be  fatal  to  the  con^ 
nection. 

Accordingly,  when,  on  April  25,  1849,  circumstances  and  re- 
made it  necessary  for  him  to  proceed  to  Parliament  in  ^y2 
order  to  give  the  Royal  Assent  to  a  Customs  Bill  which  A»®»t. 
had  that  day  passed  the  Legislative  Council,  he  con- 
sidered that,  as  this  necessity  had  arisen,  it  would  not 
be  expedient  to  keep  the  public  mind  in  suspense  by 
omitting  to  dispose,  at  the  same  time,  of  the  other  Acts 
which  still  awaited  his  decision,  among  which  was  the 
'  Act  to  provide  for  the  indemnification  of  parties  in 
'  Lower  Canada  whose  property  was  destroyed  during 
*  the  RebeUion  in  1837  and  1838/     What  followed  is 
thus  described  in  an  official  despatch  written  within  a 
few  days  after  the  event : — 

When  I  left  the  House  of  Parliament  I  was  received  with  Eiotrf. 
mingled  cheers  and  hootings  by  a  crowd  by  no  means  numerous 

O 


82  CANADA.  Ch.  IV. 

which  surrounded  the  entrance  to  the  building.  A  small  knot 
of  indiyiduals,  consisting,  it  has  since  been  ascertained,  of 
persons  of  a  respectable  class  in  society,  pelted  the  carriage 
with  missiles  which  they  must  have  brought  with  them  for  the 
purpose.  Within  an  hour  after  this  occurrence  a  notice,  of 
which  I  enclose  a  copy,  issued  from  one  of  the  newspaper 
offices,  calling  a  meeting  in  the  open  air.  At  the  meeting  in- 
flammatory speeches  were  made.  On  a  sudden,  whether  under 
the  effect  of  momentary  excitement,  or  in  pursuance  of  a  plan 
arranged  beforehand,  the  mob  proceeded  to  the  House  of  Par- 
liament, where  the  members  were  still  sitting,  and  breaking 
the  windows,  set  fire  to  the  building  and  burned  it  to  the 
ground.  By  this  wanton  act  public  property  of  considerable 
value,  including  two  excellent  libraries,  has  been  utterly  de- 
stroyed. Haying  achieved  their  object  the  crowd  dispersed, 
apparently  satisfied  with  what  they  had  done.  The  members 
were  permitted  to  retire  unmolested,  and  no  resistance  was 
offered  to  the  military  who  appeared  on  the  ground  after  a 
brief  interval,  to  restore  order,  and  aid  in  extinguishing  the 
flames.  During  the  two  following  days  a  good  deal  of  excite- 
ment prevailed  in  the  streets,  and  some  further  acts  of  in- 
cendiarism were  perpetrated.  Since  then  the  military  force 
has  been  increased,  and  the  leaders  of  the  disaffected  party 
have  shown  a  disposition  to  restrain  their  followers,  and  to 
direct  their  energies  towards  the  more  constitutional  object  of 
petitioning  the  Queen  for  my  recall,  and  the  disallowance  of 
the  obnoxious  Bill.  The  proceedings  of  the  House  of  Assem- 
bly will  also  tend  to  awe  the  turbulent.  I  trust,  therefore, 
that  the  peace  of  the  city  will  not  be  again  disturbed. 

The  Ministry  are  blamed  for  not  having  made  adequate  pro- 
vision against  tibese  disasters.  That  they  by  no  means  expected 
that  the  hostility  to  the  Rebellion  Losses  Bill  would  have  dis- 
played itself  in  the  outrages  which  have  been  perpetrated 
during  the  last  few  days  is  certain.*  Perhaps  sufficient  atten- 
tion was  not  paid  by  them  to  the  menaces  of  the  Opposition 
press.  It  must  be  admitted,  however,  that  their  position  was 
one  of  considerable  difficulty.  The  civil  force  of  Montreal — 
a  city  containing  about  50,000  inhabitants  of  diflerent  races, 

>  '  I  confess/  be  wrote  in  a  private  '  of  order  which  covers  the  anarchical 
letter  of  the  same  date,  'I  did  not  ^elements  that  boil  and  tons  beneath 
*  before  know  bow  thin  is  the  crust      *  our  feet' 


laia  MOTS  AT  MONTREAL.  83 

with  secret  societies  and  other  agencies  of  mischief  in  constant 
activity — consists  of  two  policemen  nnder  the  authority  of  the 
Government,  and  seventy  appointed  by  the  Corporation.  To 
oppose,  therefore,  effectual  resistance  to  any  considerable  mob, 
recourse  must  be  had  in  all  cases  either  to  the  military  or  to  a 
force  of  civilians  enrolled  for  the  occasion.  Grave  objections, 
however,  presented  themselves  in  the  present  instance  to  the 
adoption  of  either  of  these  courses  until  the  disposition  to 
ttnnult  on  the  part  of  the  populace  unhappily  manifested  itself 
in  overt  acts.  More  especially  was  it  of  importance  to  avoid 
any  measure  which  might  have  had  a  tendency  to  produce  a 
collision  between  parties  on  a  question  on  which  their  feelings 
were  so  strongly  excited.  The  result  of  the  course  pursued  is, 
that  there  has  been  no  bloodshed,  and,  except  in  the  case  of 
some  of  the  Ministers  themselves,  no  destruction  of  private 
property. 

The  passions,  however,  which  appeared  to  have 
calmed  down,  burst  out  with  fresh  fury  the  very  day 
on  which  these  sentences  were  penned.  The  House  of 
Assembly  had  voted,  by  a  majority  of  thirty-six  to 
sixteen,  an  address  to  the  Governor-General,  expres- 
sive of  abhorrence  at  the  outrages  which  had  taken 
place,  of  loyalty  to  the  Queen,  and  approval  of  his  just 
and  impartial  administration  of  the  Government,  with 
his  late  as  well  as  with  his  present  advisers.  It  was 
arranged  that  Lord  Elgin  should  receive  this  Address 
at  the  Government  House  instead  of  at  Monklands. 
Accordingly,  on  April  30,  he  drove  into  the  city, 
escorted  by  a  troop  of  volunteer  dragoons,  and  accom- 
panied by  several  of  his  suite.  On  his  way  through 
the  streets  he  was  greeted  with  showers  of  stones,  and 
with  difficulty  preserved  his  face  from  being  injured.^ 
On  his  return  he  endeavoured  to  avoid  all  occasion  of 
conflict  by  going  back  by  a  different  route  ;  but  the 
mob,  discovering  his  purpose,  rushed  in  pursuit,  and 

*  *  When  he  entered  the  Govern-  '  most  unusual  and  sorrowful  treat- 

'  ment  House  he  took  a  two-pound  *  ment  Her  Majesty's  representatiTe 

'  etone  with  him  which  he  had  picked  '  had  received. *-^Mac  Mullen^  p,  51 L 
*  up  in  his  carriage,  as  eTidence  of  the 

o  2 


84 


CANADA. 


ch,  rv^ 


again  assailed  his  carriage  with  various  missiles,  and  it 
was  only  by  rapid  driving  that  he  escaped  unhurt.^ 

None  but  those  who  were  in  constant  intercourse 
with  him  can  know  what  Lord  Elgin  went  through 
during  the  period  of  excitement  which  followed  these 
gross  outrages.  The  people  of  Montreal  seemed  to 
have  lost  their  reason.  The  houses  of  some  of  the 
Ministers  and  of  their  supporters  were  attacked  by  mobs 
at  night,  and  it  was  not  safe  for  them  to  appear  in  the 
streets.  A  hostile  visit  was  threatened  to  the  house  in 
which  the  Governor-General  resided  at  a  short  distance 
from  the  city ;  all  necessary  preparation  was  made  to 
defend  it,  and  his  family  were  kept  for  some  time  in  a 
(State  of  anxiety  and  suspense.^ 

For  some  weeks  he  himself  did  not  go  into  the  town 
of  Montreal,  but  kept  entirely  within  the  bounds  of  his 
coimtry  seat  at  Monklands,  determined  that  no  act  of 
his  should  offer  occasion  or  excuse  to  the  mob  for  fresh 
outrage.'  He  knew,  of  course,  that  the  whole  of  French 
Lower  Canada  was  ready  at  any  moment  to  rise,  as  one 
man,  in  support  of  the  Government ;  but  his  great  ob- 
ject was  to  keep  them  quiet,  and  *  to  prevent  collision 
*  between  the  races.' 


^  '  Cb}»,  caleches,  and  eyerything 

*  that  would  run  were  at  once  launched 

*  in  pursuit,  and  crofising  his  route,  the 

*  Governor-General's    carriage    was 

*  bitterly  assailed  in  the  main  street  of 

*  the  St-Lawrence  suburbs.  The  &:ood 

*  and  rapid  driving  of  his  postilions 

*  enabled  him  to  clear  the  desperate 
'mob,  but  not  till  the  head  of  his 
'  brother,  Colonel  Bruce,  had  been 
'  cut,  injuries  inflicted  on  the  chief  of 
'  police,  Colonel  Ermatinger,  and  on 
'  Captain  Jones,  commanding  the  es- 
'  cort,  and  every  panel  of  the  carriage 
'  driven  in.' — Mac  Mullen,  p.  fill. 

'  In  the  midst  of  this  time  of 
anxiety  and  even  of  danger  to  him- 
self and  his  family,  his  eldest  son 
was  bom  at  Monklands,  on  May  16. 
|Ier  Majesty  was  graciously  pleased 
to  become  godmoUier  to  toe  child, 


who  was  christened  Victor  Alex- 
ander. 

'  The  motives,  he  afterwards  said^ 
which  induced  him  to  abstain  from 
forcing  his  wtty  into  Montreal,  might 
be  correctly  stated  in  the  words  of 
the  Duke  of  Wellington,  who,  when 
a^ked  why  he  did  not  go  to  the 
city  in  1830,  is  reported  to  have 
answered,  <  I  would  Lve  gone  if  the 
<  law  had  been  equal  to  protect  me, 

*  but  that  was  not  the  case.  Fifty 
'  dragoons  would  have  done  it,  but 
'  that  was  a  military  force.  If  firing 
'  had  begun,  who  could  tell  when  it 
'  would  end  P  one  guilty  person  would 

*  fall  and  ten  innocent  be  destroyed. 
'  Would  this  have  been  wice  or  hu- 
'roane  for  a  little  bravado,  or  that 
'  the  country  might  not  be  alarmed 

*  for  a  day  or  two  ?  * 


1849.  FIRMNESS  OF  THE  GOVERNOR.  85 

*  Throughout  the  whole  of  this  most  trying  time/  KmnMi 
writes  Major    CampbeU,i    'Lord  Elgm  remained  per-  ^^.^or, 
fectly  caLn  and  cool  ;  never  for  a  moment  losing  his 
self-possession,  nor  failing  to  exercise  that  clear  fore- 
sight  and  sound  judgment  for  which  he  was  so  remark- 
able.     It  came  to  the  knowledge  of  his  Ministers  that, 
if  he  went  into  the  city  again,  his  life  would  be  in  great 
danger  ;  and  they  advised  that  a  commission  should 
issue  to  appoint  a  Deputy-Governor  for  the  purpose  of 
proroguing  Parliament.    He  was  urged  by  irresponsible  Reft>««" 
advisers  to  make  use  of  the  military  forces  at  his  com-  use  force, 
mand,  to  protect  his  person  in  an  official  visit  to  the 
city ;  but  he  declined  to  do  so,  and  thus  avoided  what 
these  infatuated  rioters  seemed  determined  to  bring  on 
— ^the  shedding  of  blood.     "  I  am  prepared,"  he  said, 
"  to  bear  any  amount  of  obloquy  that  may  be  cast  upon 
"  me,  but,  if  I  can  possibly  prevent  it,  no  stain  of  blood 
"  shall  rest  upon  my  name."  ' 
As  might  have  been  expected,  the  Montreal  press 
attributed  this  wise  and  magnanimous  self-restraint  to 
fear  for  his  own  safety.     But  he  was  not  to  be  moved 
from  his  resolve  by  the  paltry  imputation ;  nor  did  he 
even  care  that  his  friends  should  resent  or  reftite  it  on 
his  behalf. 

So  little  was  he  affected  by  it  that  on  finding,  some 
years  afterwards,  that  Lord  Grey  proposed  to  introduce 
some  expression  of  indignation  on  the  subject  in  his 
work  on  the  colonies,  he  dissuaded  him  from  doing  so, 

*  I  do  not  believe,'  he  said,  'that  these  imputations  were 
'  hazarded  in  any  respectable  quarter,  or  that  they  are 

*  entitled  to  the  dignity  of  a  place  in  your  narrative.' 

But  if  neither  the  entreaties  of  '  irresponsible  ad-  J^^JJ^^ 
'  visers,'  nor  the  taunts  of  foes,  could  move  him  to 
the  use  of  force,  he  was  equally  firm  in  his  determi- 
nation to  concede  nothing  to  the  clamour  and  violence 

*  His  Tftlued  Secretaiy,  to  whose  personal  recollections  most  of  these 
details  are  due. 


86 


CANADA. 


Ch.  TV. 


Tenders  r6- 
eignation. 


Appr 
ofH< 


jKmX 
[ome 

Goyeni-  ' 

ment. 


of  the  mob.  Writing  officially  to  Lord  Grey  on  the 
30th  of  April,  when  the  fury  of  the  populace  was  at  its 
height,  he  said : — 

It  is  my  firm  conTiction  that  if  this  dictation  be  submitted 
tOy  the  government  of  this  province  by  constitutional  means 
will  be  impossible,  and  that  the  struggle  between  overbearing 
minorities,  backed  by  force,  and  majorities  resting  on  legality 
and  established  forms,  which  has  so  long  proved  the  bane  of 
Canada,  driving  capital  from  the  province,  and  producing  a 
state  of  chronic  discontent,  will  be  perpetuated. 

At  the  same  time,  he  thought  it  his  duty  to  suggest, 
that  ^  if  he  should  be  unable  to  recover  that  position  of 

*  dignified  neutrality  between  contending  parties  which 
^  it  had  been  his  unremitting  study  to  maintain,'  it  might 
be  a  question  whether  it  would  not  be  for  the  interests 
of  Her  Majesty's  service  that  he  should  be  removed, 
to  make  way  for  some  one  ^  who  should  have  the  advan- 
^  tage  of  being  personally  unobnoxious  to  any  section  of 

*  Her  Majesty's  subjects  within  the  province.' 

The  reply  to  this  letter  assured  him,  in  emphatic 
terms,  of  the  cordial  approval  and  support  of  the  Home 
Government.  *I  appreciate,'  wrote  Lord  Grey,  *the 
motives  which  have  induced  your  Lordship  to  offer  the 
suggestion  with  which  your  despatch  concludes,  but  I 
should  most  earnestly  deprecate  the  change  it  contem- 
plates in  the  government  of  Canada.  Your  Lordship's 
relinquishment  of  that  office,  which,  under  any  circum- 
stances, would  be  a  most  serious  loss  to  Her  Majesty's 
service,  and  to  the  province,  could  not  fail,  in  the 
present  state  of  affairs,  to  be  most  injurious  to  the 
public  welfare,  fi'om  the  encouragement  which  it  would 
give  to  those  who  have  been  concerned  in  the  violent 
and  illegal  opposition  which  has  been  offered  to  your 
Government.  I  also  feel  no  doubt  that  when  the  pre- 
sent excitement  shall  have  subsided,  you  will  succeed 
in  regaining  that  position  oi  "dignified  neutrality" 
becoming  your  office,  which,  as  you  justly  observe,  it 


1849.  SUPPORT  IN  THE  COLONY.  87 

^  has  hitherto  been  your  study  to  maintain,  and  from 
^  which,  even  those  who  are  at  present  most  opposed  to 

*  you,  will,  on  reflection,  perceive  that  you  have  been 

*  driven,  by  no  fault  on  your  part,  but  by  their  own 

*  unreasoning  violence. 

'Relying,  therefore,  upon  your  devotion  to  the  m- 
'  terests  of  Canada,  I  feel  assured  that  you  will  not  be 
'  induced  by  the  unfortunate  occurrences  which  have 
'  taken  place,  to  retire  from  the  high  office  which  the 
'  Queen  has  been  pleased  to  entrust  to  you,  and  which, 
'  from  the  value  she  puts  upon  your  past  services,  it  is 
'  Her  Majesty's  anxious  wish  that  you  should  retain/ 

While  awaiting,  in  his  retreat  at  Monklands,  the  can-  sapport  in 
trecaup  from  the  mother-country  of  the  storm  which  had  *^«  colony. 
burst  over  the  colony,  Lord  Elgin  found  a  great  source 
of  consolation  in  the  numerous  sympathetic  addresses 
which  poured  in  from  every  part  of  the  province :  for- 
tifying him  in  the  conviction  that  the  heart  of  the  colony 
was  with  him,  and  that  the  bitter  opposition  at  Montreal 
was  chiefly  due  to  local  causes ;  especially  '  to  commer- 
'  cial  distress,  acting  on  religious  bigotry  and  national 
'hatred/  One  of  these  addresses,  coming  from  the 
county  of  Glengarry,  an  ancient  settlement  of  Scottish 
loyalists,  appears  to  have  touched  the  Scotsman's  heart 
within  the  statesman's.     In  reply  to  it  he  said : — 

Men  of  Glengarry — My  heart  warms  within  me  when  I 
listen  to  yonr  manly  and  patriotic  address. 

I  recognise  in  it  evidence  of  that  vigorous  understanding 
which  enables  men  of  the  stock  to  which  you  belong  to  pri^e, 
as  they  ought  to  be  prized,  the  blessings  of  well-ordered  free- 
dom, and  of  that  keen  sense  of  principle  which  prompts  them 
to  recoil  from  no  sacrifice  which  duty  enjoins. 

The  men  of  Glengarry  need  not  recapitulate  their  services. 
He  must  be  ignorant  indeed  of  the  history  of  Canada  who  does 
not  know  how  much  they  have  done  and  suffered  for  their 
Sovereign  and  their  country. 

You  inhabit  here  a  goodly  land.     A  land  full  of  promise, 


88  CANADA,  Ch.  rv. 

i^^here  your  children  have  room  enough  to  increase  and  to 
multiply,  and  to  become,  with  God's  blessing,  greater  and  more 
prosperous  than  yourselves.  But  I  am  confident  that  no  spell 
less  potent  than  the  gentle  and  benignant  control  of  those 
liberal  institutions  which  it  is  Britain's  pride  and  privilege  to 
bestow  on  her  children,  will  insure  the  peaceful  development 
of  its  unrivalled  resources,  or  knit  together  into  one  happy 
and  united  family  the  various  races  of  which  this  community 
is  composed. 

On  this  conviction  I  have  acted,  in  labouring  to  secure  fi>r 
you,  during  the  whole  course  of  my  administration,  the  full 
benefit  of  constitutional  government.  It  is  truly  gratifying  to 
me  to  learn  that  you  appreciate  my  exertions.  Depend  upon 
it,  they  will  not  be  relaxed.  I  claim  to  have  something  of 
your  own  spirit :  devotion  to  a  cause  which  I  believe  to  be  a 
just  one — courage  to  confront,  if  need  be,  danger  and  even 
obloquy  in  its  pursuit — and  an  undying  faith  that  God  protects 
the  right. 

Debates  in       In    the    meantime   the   unhappy    Bill,    which   had 

the  British  •*  •%  i**iii  • 

rariia-  CEUsed  such  an  explosion  m  the  colony,  was  runmng 
™*®^'  the  gantlet  of  the  British  Parliament.  On  June  14  it 
was  vehemently  attacked  in  the  House  of  Commons  by- 
Mr.  Gladstone,  as  being  a  measure  for  the  rewarding  of 
Rebels.^  He,  indeed,  contented  himself  with  *  calling 
*  the  attention  of  the  House  to  certain  parts '  of  the  Bill 
in  question;  but  Mr.  Herries,  following  out  the  same 
views  to  their  legitimate  conclusion,  moved  an  Address 
to  Her  Majesty  to  disallow  the  Act  of  the  Colonial 
Legislature.  The  debate  was  sustained  with  great 
vigour  for  two  nights  ;  in  the  course  of  which  the  Act 
was  defended  not  only  by  Lord  John  Russell  as  leader 
of  the  Government,  but  also,  with  even  more  force, 
by  his  great  opponent  Sir  Robert  Peel.  Speaking  with 
all  the  weight  of  an  impartial  observer,  he  showed  that 

*  Some  years  afterwards,  in  the  eyen  then,  either  as  to  the  inten- 

'  Address '  already  (quoted,  Mr.  Glad-  tion  with  which  the  Act  was  framed, 

stone  made  something  of  an  amende  or  as  to  the  manner  in  which  it  had 

for  this  attack ;  but  he  does  not  ap-  been  carried  out. 
pear  to  baye  been  fully  informed. 


1849.  APPROVAL  OF  HOME  GOVERNMENT.  89 

it  was  not  the  intention  of  the  measure,  and  would 
not  be  its  eflFect,  to  give  compensation  to  anyone  who 
could  be  proved  to  have  been  a  rebel ;  that  it  was  only 
an  inevitable  sequel  to  other  measures  which  had  been 
passed  without  opposition  ;  and,  further,  that  its  rejec- 
tion at  this  stage  would  be  resisted  by  all  parties  in  the 
colony  alike,  as  an  arbitrary  interference  with  their 
right  of  self-government.  On  a  division  the  amend- 
ment of  Mr.  Herries  was  thrown  out  by  a  majority  of 
141.  And  though,  a  few  nights  later,  a  resolution 
somewhat  in  the  same  sense,  moved  by  Lord  Brougham 
in  the  Upper  House,  was  only  negatived,  with  the  aid 
of  proxies,  by  three  votes,  the  large  majority  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  and  the  firm  attitude  of  the 
Government  on  the  subject,  did  much  to  quiet  the 
excitement  in  the  colony. 

The  news  from  England  (wrote  Lord  Elgin)  has  produced 
a  marked,  and,  so  far  as  it  goes,  a  satisfactory  change  in  the 
tone  of  the  Press ;  in  proof  of  which  I  send  you  the  leading 
articles  of  the  Tory  papers  of  Saturday.  .  .  .  The  party, 
it  would  appear,  is  now  split  into  three  ;  but  on  one  point  all 
are  agreed.  We  must  have  done,  they  say,  with  this  habit  of 
abusing  the  French;  we  must  live  with  them  on  terms  of 
amity  and  affection.  Such  is  the  firstfruit  of  the  policy  which 
was  to  bring  about,  we  were  assured,  a  war  of  races. 

This  satisfactory  result  was  also  due  in  part  to  the 
wise  measures  adopted  by  the  Ministry,  under  direction 
of  the  Governor-General,  for  giving  effect  to  the  pro- 
visions of  the  much-disputed  Bill. 

We  are  tak'ng  steps  (he  wrote  on  June  17)  to  carry  out  the 
Rebellion  Losses  Bill.  Having  adopted  the  measure  of  the 
late  Conservative  Government,  we  are  proceeding  to  ri5- 
appoint  their  own  Commissioners ;  and,  not  content  with  that, 
we  are  furnishing  them  with  instructions  which  place  upon  the 
Act  the  most  restricted  and  loyalist  construction  of  which  the 
terms  are  susceptible.  Truly,  if  ever  rebellion  stood  upon  a 
rickety  pretence,  it  is  the  Canadian  Tory  Rebellion  of  1849. 


90  CANADA.  Ch.  IV. 

Freshriotf.  Unhappily  the  flames,  which  at  this  time  had  nearly 
died  out,  were  re-kindled  two  months  later  on  occasion 
of  the  arrest  of  certain  persons  concerned  in  the  former 
riots ;  and  though  this  fresh  outbreak  lasted  but  a  few 
days,  it  was  attended  in  one  case  with  fatal  conse- 
quences.^    Writing  on  August  20,  Lord  Elgin  says : — 

We  are  again  in  some  excitement  here.  M.  Lafontaine's 
house  was  attacked  by  a  mob  (for  the  second  time)  two  nights 
ago.  Some  persons  within  fired^  and  one  of  the  assailants  was 
killed.  The  violent  Clubbists  are  trying  to  excite  the  passions 
of  the  multitude^  alleging  that  this  is  Anglo-Saxon  blood  shed 
by  a  Frenchman. 

The  immediate  cause  of  this  excitement  is  the  arrest  of 
certain  persons  who  were  implicated  in  the  destruction  of  the 
Parliament  buildings  in  April  last.  I  was  desirous,  for  the 
sake  of  peace,  that  these  parties  should  not  be  arrested  until 
indictments  had  been  laid  before  the  grand  jury,  and  true  bills 
found  against  them.  Unfortunately,  in  consequence  of  the 
cholera,  the  requisite  number  of  jurors  to  form  a  court  was 
not  forthcoming  for  the  August  term.  The  Government 
thought  that  they  could  not,  without  impropriety,  put  off 
taking  any  steps  against  these  persons  till  November.  They 
were,  therefore,  arrested  last  week ;  all  except  one,  who  was 
committed  for  arson,  were  at  once  bailed  by  the  magistrates ; 
and  he  too  was  bailed  the  day  after  his  committal  by  one  of 
the  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court. 

All  this  is  simple  enough,  and  augurs  no  very  vindictive 
spirit  in  the  authorities.  Nevertheless  it  affords  the  occasion 
for  a  fresh  exhibition  of  the  recklessness  of  the  Montreal  mob, 
and  the  demoralisation  of  other  classes  in  the  community. 

Again  on  the  27th  he  writes : — 

We  have  had  a  fortnight  of  crisis  consequent  on  the  arrests 
which  I  reported  to  you  last  week ;  which  may  perhaps  be  the 
prelude  (though  I  do  not  like  to  be  too  sanguine)  to  better 
times.  A  most  violent  excitement  was  got  up  by  the  Press 
against  M.  Lafontaine  more  especially,  as  the  instigator  of 

^  '  This/    obsenres   Lord    Grey,      '  the  only  life  lost  throughout  these 
'  owing  to  the  extreme  forbearance      '  unhappy  disturbances.' 
*  of  Lord  Elgin  and  his  advisers^  was 


1849.  FRESH  RIOTS.  91 

the  arreftts  and  the  cause  of  the  death  of  the  young  man  who 
was  shot  in  the  attack  on  his  house.  A  vast  number  of  men, 
wearing  red  scarfs  and  ribands,  attended  the  funeral  of  the 
youth.  The  shops  were  shut  on  the  line  of  the  procession ; 
fires  occurred  during  several  successive  nights  in  different 
parts  of  the  town,  under  circumstances  warranting  the  sus- 
picion of  incendiarism. 

Upon  this  the  stipendiary  magistrates,  charged  by 
the  Government  with  the  preservation  of  the  peace  of 
the  city,  represented  officially  to  the  Governor  that 
nothing  could  save  it  but  the  proclamation  of  Martial 
Law.     But  he  told  his  CouncU  that  he  ^  would  neither 

*  consent  to  Martial  Law,  nor  to  any  measures  of  in- 

*  creased  vigour  whatsoever,  until  a  further  appeal  had 

*  been  made  to  the  Mayor  and  Corporation  of  the  city.' 

This  appeal  was  successful.  A  proclamation,  issued  ^"'*i, 
by  the  Mayor,  was  responded  to  by  the  respectable 
citizens  of  all  parties  ;  and  a  large  number  of  special 
confitables  turned  out  to  patrol  the  streets  and  keep  the 
peace.  Meanwhile  the  coroner's  jury,  after  a  very 
rigorous  investigation,  agreed  unanimously  to  a  verdict 
acquitting  M.  Lafontaine  of  all  blame,  and  finding 
fault  with  the  civic  authorities  for  their  remissness. 
This  verdict  was  important,  for  two  of  the  jury  were 
Orangemen,  who  had  marched  in  the  procession  at  the 
funeral  of  the  young  man  who  was  shot.  The  public 
acknowledged  its  importance,  and  two  of  the  most 
violent  Tory  newspapers  had  articles  apologising  to  La- 
fontaine for  having  so  unfairly  judged  him  beforehand. 
'  From  these  and  other  indications  (wrote  Lord  Elgin) 
^  I'  begin  to  hope  that  there  may  be  some  return  to 
^  conmion  sense  in  Montreal.' 

My  advisers^  however  (he  proceeds),  now  protest  that  it  Remoralof 
will  be  impossible  to  maintain  the  seat  of  Oovemment  here.  ^e^fi^Bi 
We  had  a  long  discussion  on  this  point  yesterday.     All  seem  MontnaL 
to  be  agreed,  that  if  a  removal  from  this  town  takes  place,  it 
must  be  on  the  condition  prescribed  in  the  address  of  the 


92  CANADA.  Ch.  IV. 

Assembly  presented  to  me  last  Session^  viz.  that  there  shall 
henceforward  be  Parliaments  held  alternately  in  the  Upper 
and  Lower  Provinces.  A  removal  from  this  to  any  other  fixed 
point  would  be  the  certain  ruin  of  the  party  making  it. 
Therefore  removal  from  Montreal  implies  the  adoption  of  the 
system  (which,  although  it  has  a  good  deal  to  recommend  it, 
is  certainly  open  to  great  objections)  of  alternating  Parliaments. 
But  this  is  not  the  only  difficulty.  The  French  members  of 
the  Administration  .  .  .  are  willing  to  go  to  Toronto  for 
four  years  at  the  close  of  the  present  Parliament,  but  they 
give  many  reasons,  which  appear  to  have  in  a  great  measure 
satisfied  their  Upper  Canada  colleagues,  for  insisting  on 
Quebec  as  the  first  point  to  be  made.  Now  I  have  great 
objection  to  going  to  Quebec  at  present.  I  fear  it  would  be 
considered,  both  here  and  in  England,  as  an  admission  that  the 
Government  is  under  French-Canadian  influence,  and  that  it 
cannot  maintain  itself  in  Upper  Canada.  I,  therefore,  con- 
cluded in  favour  of  a  few  days  more  being  given  in  order  to 
see  whether  or  not  the  movement  now  in  progress  in  Montreal 
may  be  so  directed  as  to  render  it  possible  to  retain  the  seat  of 
Government  there. 

This  hope  was  disappointed,  and  he  was  obUged  to 
admit  the  necessity  of  removal.  On  September  3  he 
wrote  again : — 

We  have  had,  since  I  last  wrote,  a  week  of  unusual  tran- 
quillity. .  •  .  but  I  regret  to  say  that  I  discover  as  yet 
nothing  to  warrant  the  belief  that  the  seat  of  Government  can 
properly  remain  at  Montreal. 

The  existence  of  a  perfect  understanding  between  the  more 
outrageous  and  the  more  respectable  fractions  of  the  Tory 
party  in  the  town,  is  rendered  even  more  manifest  by  the 
readiness  with  which  the  former,  through  their  organs,  have 
yielded  to  the  latter  when  they  preached  moderation  in  good 
earnest.  Additional  proof  is  thus  furnished  of  the  extent  to 
which  the  blame  of  the  disgraceful  transactions  of  the  past 
four  months  falls  on  all.  All  attempts,  and  several  have  been 
made,  to  induce  the  Conservatives  to  unite  in  an  address, 
inviting  me  to  return  to  the  town,  have  failed ;  which  is  the 
more  significant,  because  it  is  well  known  that  the  removal  of 


1849.  KEMOVAL  FROM  MONTREAL.  93 

the  seat  of  Goyemment  is  under  consideration,  and  that  I  have 
deprecated  the  abandonment  of  Montreal. 

The  existence  of  a  party,  animated  by  such  sentiments, 
powerful  in  numbers  and  organisation,  and  in  the  station  of 
some  who  more  or  less  openly  join  it — owning  a  qualified 
allegiance  to  the  constitution  of  the  province— professing  to 
r^ard  the  Parliament  and  the  Government  as  nuisances  to  be 
tolerated  within  certain  limits  only — ^raiding  itself  whenever 
the  fancy  seizes  it,  or  the  crisis  in  its  judgment  demands  it, 
into  an  '  imperium  in  tm/imV— renders  it,  I  fear,  extremely 
doubtful  whether  the  functions  of  Legislation  or  of  Govern- 
ment can  be  carried  on  to  advantage  in  this  city.  *  Show 
vigour  and  put  it  down,'  say  some.  You  may  and  must  put 
down  those  who  resist  the  law  when  overt  acts  are  committed. 
But  the  party  is  unfortunately  a  national  as  well  as  a  political 
one ;  after  each  defeat  it  resumes  its  attitude  of  defiance ;  and, 
whenever  it  comes  into  collision  with  the  authorities,  there  is 
the  risk  of  a  frightful  race  feud  being  provoked.  All  these 
dangers  are  vastly  increased  by  Montreal's  being  the  seat  of 
Government. 

There  were  other  arguments  also  of  no  little  force. 
He  was  assured  that  some  Members  had  declared  that 
nothing  would  induce  them  to  come  again  to  Montreal ; 
and  he  himself  felt  that  it  must  do  great  mischief  to 
the  members  from  other  parts  of  the  Province,  to  pass 
some  months  of  each  year  in  that  ^  hot-bed  of  prejudice 
and  disaffection.'  Moreover,  so  long  as  Montreal  re- 
tained the  prestige  of  being  the  Metropolis,  it  was 
impossible  to  prevent  its  press  from  enjojdng  a  fac- 
titious importance,  not  only  within  the  province,  but 
also  in  England  and  in  the  States,  where  it  would  be 
looked  upon  as  the  exponent  of  the  sentiments  of  the 
community  at  large. 

Ultiinately,  on  November  18,  Lord  Elgin  reported 
to  the  Home  Government,  that  after  full  and  anxious 
deliberation  he  had  resolved,  on  the  advice  of  his 
Council,  to  act  on  the  recommendation  of  the  Assembly 
that  the  Legislature  should  sit  alternately  at  Toronto 
and  Quebec,  and  with  that  view  to  summon  the  Pro- 


94 


CANADA. 


Ch.  IV. 


Vwit  to 

Upper 

Canada. 


vincial  Parliament  for  the  next  session  at  Toronto. 
This  step,  *  decided  upon  in  this  deUberate  and  unim- 

*  passioned  manner,'  gave  a  useful  lesson,  which  was  not 
lost  either  upon  Montreal  or  the  rest  of  the  Province. 
Nor  was  this  its  only  good  effect.  *  The  arrangement/ 
wrote  Lord  Grey  in  1852/  by  which  the  seat  of  Govern- 
ment and  the  sittings  of  the  Legislature  were  fixed 
alternately  at  Toronto  and  Quebec,  has  contributed  not 
a  little  towards  removing  the  feelings  of  alienation 
from  each  other  of  the  inhabitants  of  French  and  of 
British  descent.  The  French  Canadians  have  thus  been 
brought  into  closer  communication  than  formerly  with 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Western  division  of  the  pro- 
vince, and  an  increase  of  mutual  esteem  and  respect, 
with  the  removal  of  many  prejudices  by  which  they 
were  formerly  divided,  have  been  the  result  of  the 
two  classes  becoming  better  acquainted  with  each 
other.'  ^ 

While  these  arrangements  were  under  discussion,  in 
the  autumn  following  the  stormy  events  above  de- 
scribed, in  spite  of  the  threats  thrown  out  by  the  ex- 
treme party.  Lord  Elgin,  after  a  progress  in  Upper 
Canada  in  which  he  was  accompanied  by  his  family, 
made  a  short  tour  in  the  Western  districts,  the  strong- 
hold of  British  feeling,  attended  only  by  one  aide-de- 
camp and  a  servant,  ^  so  as  to  contradict  the  allega- 

*  tion  that  he  required  protection.'  Everywhere  he  was 
received  with  the  utmost  cordiality;  the  few  indica- 
tions of  a  different  feeling,  on  the  part  of  Orangemen 
and  others,  having  only  the  effect  of  heightening  the 
enthusiasm  with  which  he  was  greeted  by  the  majority 
of  the  population. 


*  Lord  Grey's  Colonial  Policy, 
&c.  i.  234.  In  1868,  howeyer,  this 
'  perambulating  system '  haying 
proved  expensive  and  inconvenient^ 
the  Queen  was  asked  to  designate  a 
permanent  abode  for  the  Legislature. 
tier  Majesty  was  graciously  pleased 


to  name  Ottawa,  the  present  capital 
of  the  Dominion ;  and  the  selection 
of  this  central  spot,  with  its  singu- 
lar facilities  of  communication,  nas 
greatly  aided  in  the  consolidation 
of  the  province. 


L 


1849.  FORBEABANGE  OF  LORD  ELGIN.  95 

From  this  time  we  hear  no  more  of  Buch  disgraceful  Cootbued 
scenes  as  it  has  been  necessary  to  record  ;  but  it  was  ntiet. 
long  before  the  old  *  Family-Compact '  party  forgave  the 
Governor  who  had  dared  to  be  impartial.  By  many 
kinds  of  detraction  they  sought  to  weaken  his  influence 
and  damage  his  popularity ;  detractions  probably  re- 
peated in  aU  sincerity  by  many  who  were  honestly 
incapable  of  understanding  his  real  motives  for  forbear- 
ance. And  as  the  members  of  this  party,  though 
they  had  lost  their  monopoly  of  political  power,  still 
remained  the  dominant  class  in  society,  the  disparaging 
tone  which  they  set  was  taken  up  not  only  in  the 
colony  itself,  but  also  by  travellers  who  visited  it,  and 
by  them  carried  back  to  infect  opinion  in  England. 
The  result  was  that  persons  at  home,  who  had  the 
highest  appreciation  of  Lord  Elgin's  capacity  as  a 
statesman,  sincerely  believed  hira  to  be  deficient  in 
nerve  and  vigour  ;  and  as  the  misapprehension  was 
one  which  he  could  not  have  corrected,  even  if  he  had 
been  aware  how  widely  it  was  spread,  it  continued  to 
exist  in  many  quarters  until  dispelled  by  the  singular  * 
energy  and  boldness,  amounting  almost  to  rashness, 
which  he  displayed  in  China. 

The  more  we  remember  the  vehemence  with  which  Forbear- 
these  injurious  reports  were  circulated,  the  more  re-  ^^^ 
markable   appears  the  resolution  not  to  yield   to  the  ^^ 
provocation  they  involved,  and   the   determination  to 
accept  the  whole  responsibility  of  the  situation  at  what- 
ever personal  cost. 

The  following  letters  are  among  those  which  disclose 
the  motives  of  his  resolute  forbearance.  The  last  of 
them,  written  to  an  intimate  friend  nearly  two  years 
later,  and  summing  up  the  feelings  with  which  he 
looked  back  on  the  struggles  of  1849,  may  close  the 
personal  records  of  this  troubled  year. 

I  do  not  at  all  wonder  that  you  should  be  disposed  to  ques-  itg 
tion  the  wisdom  of  my  course  in  respect  to  Montreal ;  I  think  "»<><*''«■• 


96  CANADA.  Ch.  IV. 

it  was  the  best  I  could  have  taken  under  the  circumstances ; 
but  I  do  not  presume  to  saj  that  it  may  not  be  criticised — 
justly  criticised.  My  choice  was  not  between  a  clearly  right  and 
a  clearly  wrong  course :  how  easy  is  it  to  deal  with  such  cases, 
and  how  rare  are  they  in  life !  But  between  several  difficulties, 
I  think  I  chose  the  least.  I  think,  too,  that  I  am  beginning  to 
reap  the  reward  of  my  policy.  I  do  not  believe  that  such 
enthusiasm  was  ever  manifested  towards  anyone  in  my  situation 
in  Canada,  as  has  been  exhibited  during  my  recent  tour.  But 
more  than  this.  I  do  not  believe  that  the  function  of  the 
Governor-General  under  constitutional  government  as  the  mo- 
derator between  parties,  the  representative  of  interests  which 
are  common  to  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  country,  as  distinct 
from  those  which  divide  them  into  parties,  was  ever  so  fully 
and  so  frankly  recognised.  Now,  I  do  not  believe  that  I  could 
have  achieved  this  if  I  had  had  blood  upon  my  hands.  I  might 
have  been  quite  as  popular,  perhaps  more  so ;  for  there  are 
many,  especially  in  Lower  Canada,  who  would  gladly  have 
seen  the  severities  of  the  law  practised  upon  those  from  whom 
they  believe  that  they  have  often  suffered  much,  unjustly. 
But  my  business  is  to  humanize — not  to  harden.  At  that 
task  I  must  labour,  through  obloquy  and  misrepresentation  if 
needs  be.  At  the  same  time  I  admit  that  I  must,  not  for  the 
miserable  purpose  of  self-glorification,  but  with  a  view  to  the 
maintenance  and  establishment  of  my  moral  influence,  recover 
the  prestige  of  personal  courage  of  which  some  here  sought 
to  deprive  me.  Before  I  have  travelled  unattended  through 
the  towns  and  villages  of  Upper  Canada,  and  met '  the  bhoys,' 
as  they  are  called,  in  all  of  them  on  their  own  ground,  I  think 
I  shall  have  effected  this  object,  in  so  far  as  the  province  is 
concerned.  To  right  myself  in  England  will  be  more  difficult ; 
but  doubtless,  if  I  live,  the  opportunity  of  so  doing,  even 
there,  will  sooner  or  later  present  itself.  Hitherto  any  im- 
pertinences which  have  reached  me  from  the  other  side  have 
been  anonymous. 

-^^':  I  believe  that  the  sentiments  expressed  in  the  new8f)aper 

thoughts.  n       %  '    1  1  111  •,.  * 

extract  of  which  you  acknowledge  the  receipt  m  your  last, 
with  respect  to  the  merits  of  the  policy  of  forbearance  adopted 
by  me  at  the  great  crisis,  are  beginning  to  obtain  very  gene- 
rally among  the  few  who  trace  results  to  their  causes.     But 


1849.  RETROSPECT.  97 

none  can  know  what  that  criMs  was,  and  what  that  decision 
cost.  At  the  time  I  took  it,  I  stood  literally  alone.  I  alien- 
ated from  me  the  adherents  of  the  Govemmenty  who  felt,  or 
imagined  (having  been  generally,  in  times  past,  on  the  anti- 
Government  side),  that  if  the  tables  had  been  turned — if  they 
and  not  their  adversaries  had  been  resisting  the  law  of  the 
land,  and  threatening  the  life  of  the  Queen's  representative — 
a  very  different  course  of  repressive  policy  woidd  have  been 
adopted.  At  the  same  time  I  gained  nothing  on  the  other 
side,  who  only  advanced  in  audacity ;  and  added  the  charge  of 
personal  cowardice  to  their  other  outrages.  At  home,  too,  I 
forfeited  much  moral  support ;  for  although  the  Government 
sustained  me  with  that  honourable  confidence  which  entitles  a 
Government  to  be  well  served,  they  were  puzzled.  The  logic 
of  the  case  was  against  me.  Lord  Grey  and  Lord  J.  Bussell 
both  felt  that  either  I  was  right  or  I  was  wrong.  If  the  latter, 
I  ought  to  be  recalled ;  if  the  former,  I  ought  to  make  the 
law  respected.  And,  lastly,  I  lost  any  chance  of  moral  support 
from  the  opinion  of  our  neighbours  in  the  States  ^  for,  like 
all  primitive  constitutionalists,  the  ideas  of  government  they 
hold  in  that  quarter  are  very  simple.  I  have  been  told  by 
Americans,  *  We  thought  you  were  quite  right ;  but  we  could 
not  understand  why  you  did  not  shoot  them  down!^ 

I  do  not,  as  you  may  suppose,  often  speak  of  these  matters ; 
but  the  subject  was  alluded  to  the  other  day  by  a  person  (now 
out  of  politics,  but  who  knew  what  was  going  on  at  the  time, 
one  of  our  ablest  men),  and  he  said  to  me,  ^  Yes  ;  I  see  it  all 
*now.  You  were  right— a  thousand  times  right — though  I 
'  thought  otherwise  then.  I  own  that  I  would  have  reduced 
'  Montreal  to  ashes  before  I  would  have  endured  half  what  you 
'  did ;  and,' he  added,  ^  I  should  have  been  justified,  too.'  '  Yes,' 
I  answered,  *  yon  would  have  been  justified,  because  your  course 
•  would  have  been  perfectly  defensible  ;  but  it  would  not  have 
'been  the  best  course.  Mine  was  a  better  one^  And  shall 
I  tell  you  what  was  the  deep  conviction  on  my  mind,  which, 
apart  from  the  reluctance  which  I  naturally  felt  to  shed  blood 
(particularly  in  a  cause  in  which  many  who  opposed  the 
Government  were  actuated  by  motives  which,  though  much 
alloyed  with  baser  metal,  had  claims  on  my  sympathy),  con- 
firmed me  in  that  course  ?  I  perceived  that  the  mind  of  the 
British  population  of  the  province,  in  Upper  Canada  especially > 

H 


98  CANADA.  Ch.  IV. 

was  at  that  time  the  prey  of  opposing  impulses.  On  the  one 
handy  as  a  question  of  blood  and  sensibility,  they  were  inclined 
to  go  with  the  anti-French  party  of  Lower  Canada ;  on  the 
other,  as  a  question  of  constitutional  principle,  they  felt  that 
I  was  right,  and  that  I  deserved  support.  Depend  upon  it,  if 
we  had  looked  to  bayonets  instead  of  to  reason  for  a  triumph, 
the  sensibilities  ot  the  great  body  of  which  I  speak  would  soon 
have  carried  the  day  against  their  judffment 

And  what  is  the  result?  700,000  French  reconciled  to 
England — not  because  they  are  getting  rebel  money — I  believe, 
indeed,  that  no  rebels  will  get  a  farthing ;  but  because  they 
believe  that  the  British  Governor  is  just  *  Yes ;'  but  you 
may  say  ^  this  is  purchased  by  the  alienation  of  the  British.' 
Far  from  it;  I  took  the  whole  blame  upon  myself;  and  I  will 
venture  to  affirm  that  the  Canadian  British  never  were  so 
loyal  as  they  are  at  this  hour ;  and,  what  is  more  remarkable 
still,  and  more  directly  traceable  to  this  policy  of  forbearance, 
never,  since  Canada  existed,  has  party-spirit  been  more  mode- 
rate, and  the  British  and  French  races  on  better  terms  than 
they  are  now ;  and  this,  in  spite  of  the  withdrawal  of  protec- 
tion, and  of  the  proposal  to  throw  on  the  colony  many  charges 
which  the  Imperial  Government  has  hitherto  borne. 

Pardon  me  for  saying  so  much  on  this  point ;  but  *  magna 
*est  Veritas.^ 


1B49.  ANNEXATION  MOVEMENT.  99 


CHAPTER  V. 

ASNEXATIOIff  ICOVEVENT — ^REMEDIAL  VEASUBEfl — RXPSAL  07  TBI  NAVIOA- 
TIOH  LAWS — ^RfiCIFROCnT  WITH  THE  UHITBD  STATES — HISTORY  OP  THf 
TWO  XBASURES — ^DUTT  OF  SUPPOETINO  AUTHORITY — VIEWS  ON  COLO- 
NIAL  OOVERNMSNT — COLONIAL   INTERESTS  THE  SPORT  OF  HOME  PARTIES 

— NO  SEPARATION  I SELF-GOVERNMENT  NOT  NECESSARILY  REPUBLICAN 

VALUE  OF   THE   MONARCHICAL   PRINCIPLE — ^DEFENCES  OF  THE  COLONY. 

The  disturbances  which  followed  the  passing  of  the 
*'  Rebellion  Losses  Bill '  have  been  described  in  the  pre- 
ceding chapter  chiefly  as  they  affected  the  person  of 
the  Governor.  But  it  may  be  truly  said  that  this  was 
the  aspect  of  them  that  gave  him  least  concern.  He 
felt,  indeed,  deeply  the  indignities  offered  to  the  Crown 
of  England  through  its  representative.  But  there  was 
some  satisfaction  in  the  reflection  that,  by  taking  on 
himself  the  whole  responsibility  of  sanctioning  the  ob- 
noxious Bill,  he  had  drawn  down  upon  his  own  head 
the  chief  violence  of  a  storm  which  might  otherwise 
have  exploded  in  a  manner  very  dangerous  to  the 
Empire.     *  I  think  I  might  say,'  he  writes,  *  with  less 

*  poetry  but  with  more  truth,  what  Lamartine  said  when 

*  they  accused  him  of  coquetting  with  the  Rouges  under 

*  the  Provisional  Government :  "  Oui^  fat  conspiri  I 
'  "  J'ai  conspiri  comme  le  paratonnerre  conspire  avec  le 

*  "  nuage  pour  deaarmer  la  foudre.^^ '     But  the  thunder-  Annex- 
cloud  was  not  entirely  disarmed;   and  it  burst  in  a  ^^emeni/ 
direction  which  popular  passion  in  Canada  has  always 

been  too  apt  to  take,  threats  of  throwing  off  England 
and  joining  the  American  States.  As  far  back  as  March 
14,  1849,  we  find  Lord  Elgin  drawing  Lord  Grey'9 
attention  to  this  subject. 

H  2 


100  CANADA.  Ch.  V. 

There  haa  been  (he  writes)  a  vast  deal  of  talk  about  '  an- 
nexation/ as  is  unfortunately  always  the  case  here  when  there 
is  anything  to  agitate  the  public  mind.  If  half  the  talk  on 
this  subject  were  sincere^  I  should  consider  an  attempt  to  keep 
up  the  connection  with  Great  Britain  as  Utopian  in  the  ex- 
treme. For,  no  matter  what  the  subject  of  complaint,  or  what 
the  party  complaining ;  whether  it  be  alleged  that  the  French 
are  oppressing  the  British,  or  the  British  the  French — that 
Upper  Canada  debt  presses  on  Lower  Canada,  or  Lower 
Canada  claims  on  Upper;  whether  merchants  be  bankrupt, 
stocks  depreciated,  roads  bad,  or  seasons  unfavourable,  annex- 
ation is  invoked  as  the  remedy  for  all  ills,  imaginary  or  real. 
A  great  deal  of  this  talk  is,  however,  bravado,  and  a  great 
deal  the  mere  product  of  thoughtlessness.  Undoubtedly  it  is 
in  some  quarters  the  utterance  of  very  sincere  convictions; 
and  if  England  will  not  make  the  sacrifices  which  are  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  put  the  colonists  here  in  as  good  a  position 
commercially  as  the  citizens  of  the  States — in  order  to  which 
free  navigation  and  reciprocal  trade  with  the  States  are  indis- 
pensable— if  not  only  the  organs  of  the  league  but  those  of 
the  Government  and  of  the  Peel  party  are  always  writing  as 
if  it  were  an  admitted  fact  that  colonies,  and  more  especially 
Canada,  are  a  burden,  to  be  endured  only  because  they  cannot 
be  got  rid  of,  the  end  may  be  nearer  at  hand  than  we  wot  of. 

In  these  sentences  we  have  the  germs  of  views  and 
feelings  which  time  only  made  clearer  and  stronger  ; — 
indignation  at  that  tendency,  so  common  in  all  minor- 
ities, to  look  abroad  for  aid  against  the  power  of  the 
majority;  faith  in  the  idea  of  Colonial  Government,  if 
based  on  principles  of  justice  and  freedom ;  and,  as 
regards  the  particular  case  of  Canada,  the  conviction 
that  nothing  was  wanted  to  secure  her  loyalty  but  a 
removal  of  the  commercial  restrictions  which  placed  her 
at  a  disadvantage  in  competing  with  her  neighbours  of 
the  Union.  To  understand  the  scope  of  his  policy 
during  the  next  few  years,  it  will  be  necessary  to  dwell 
at  some  length  on  each  of  these  points  ;  but  for  the 
present  we  must  return  to  the  circumstances  which 
gave  occasion  to  the  letter  which  we  have  quoted. 


IB4B.  ANNEXATION  MO\'EMENT.  101 

While  ready,  as  that  letter  shows,  to  make  every 
allowance  for  the  utterances  of  thoughtless  folly,  or  of 
well-founded  discontent  on  the  part  of  the  people.  Lord 
Elgin  felt  the  necessity  of  checking  at  once  such  de- 
monstrations on  the  part  of  paid  servants  of  the  Crown. 
Accordingly,  when  an  elaborate  manifesto  appeared  in  Hanifetto. 
&vour  of  *'  annexation,'  bearing  the  signatures  of  several 
persons — ^magistrates.  Queen's  counsel,  militia  officers, 
and  others — ^holding  commissions  at  the  pleasure  of  the 
Crown,  he  caused  a  circular  to  be  addressed  to  all  such 
persons  with  the  view  of  ascertaining  whether  their 
names  had  been  attached  with  their  own  consent. 
Some  of  these  letters  were  answered  in  the  negative, 
some  in  the  affirmative,  and  others  by  denying  the 
right  of  the  Government  to  put  the  question,  and 
declining  to  reply  to  it.  Lord  Elgin  resolved,  with 
the  advice  of  his  executive  council,  to  remove  from 
such  offices  as  are  held  during  the  pleasure  of  the 
Crown,  the  gentlemen  who  admitted  the  genuineness 
of  their  signatures,  and  those  who  refused  to  disavow 
them. 

'  In  this  course,'  says  Lord  Grey,*  '  we  thought  it 
^  right  tp  support  him ;  and  a  despatch  was  addressed  to 
^  him  signifying  the  Queen's  approval  of  his  having  dis- 
^  missed  from  Her  service  those  who  had  signed  the 
^  address,  and  Her  Majesty's  commands  to  resist  to  the 
^  utmost  any  attempt  that  might  be  made  to  bring  about 
^  a  separation  of  Canada  from  the  British  dominions/ 
But  the  necessity  for  such  acts  of  severity  only  in-  Bemodiai 
creased  Lord  Elgin's  desire  to  remove  every  reasonable 
ground  of  complaint  and  discontent  ;  to  shut  out,  as  he 
said,  the  advocates  of  annexation  from  every  plea  which 
could  grace  or  dignify  rebellion.  He  felt,  indeed,  an 
assured  confidence  that,  by  carrying  out  fearlessly  the 
principle  of  self-government,  he  had  *  cast  an  acorn  into 
time,'  which  could  not  fail  to  bring  forth  the  fruit  of 

*  Colonial  Policy,  i  232. 


measures. 


102  CANADA.  Ch.  V. 

political  contentment.  But,  in  the  meantime,  for  the 
immediate  security  of  the  connection  between  the  colony 
and  the  mother-country  he  thought,  as  we  have  already 
seen,  that  two  measures  were  indispensable,  viz.  the 
removal  of  the  existing  restrictions  on  navigation,  and 
the  establishment  of  reciprocal  free  trade  with  the 
United  States. 

Judging  after  the  event  we  may,  perhaps,  be  inclined 
to  think  that  the  importance  which  he  attached  to  the 
latter  of  these  measures  was  exaggerated ;  especially  as 
the  annexation  movement  had  died  away,  and  content, 
commercial  as  well  as  political,  had  returned  to  the 
Province  long  before  it  was  carried.  But  we  cannot 
form  a  correct  view  of  his  poUcy  without  giving  some 
prominence  to  a  subject  which  occupied,  for  many  years, 
80  large  a  share  of  his  thoughts  and  of  his  energies. 

Writing  to  Lord  Grey  on  November  8,  1849,  he 
Bays : — 

The  fact  Ib,  that  although  both  the  States  and  Canada 
export  to  the  same  neutral  market^  prices  on  the  Canada  side 
of  the  line  are  lower  than  on  the  American,  by  the  amount  of 
the  duty  which  the  Americans  levy.  So  long  as  this  state  of 
things  continues  there  will  be  discontent  in  this  country ;  deep, 
growing  discontent.  You  will  not,  I  trust,  accuse  me  of  hav- 
ing deceived  you  on  this  point.  I  have  always  said  that  I  am 
prepared  to  assume  the  responsibility  of  keeping  Canada  quiet, 
with  a  much  smaller  garrison  than  we  have  now,  and  without 
any  tax  on  the  British  consumer  in  the  shape  of  protection  to 
Canadian  products,  if  you  put  oqr  trade  on  as  good  a  footing 
as  that  of  our  American  neighbours ;  but  if  things  remain  on 
their  present  footing  in  this  respect,  there  is  nothing  before  us 
but  violent  agitation,  ending  in  convulsion  or  annexation.  It 
is  better  that  I  should  worry  you  with  my  importunity,  than 
that  I  should  be  chargeable  wil^  having  neglected  to  give  you 
due  warning.  You  have  a  great  opportunity  before  you — 
-  Reci-  obtain  reciprocity  for  us,  and  I  venture  to  predict  that  you 
pradty.*      will  be  able  shortly  to  point  to  this  hitherto  turbulent  colony 


1819.  REMEDIAL  MEASURES.  103 

widi  8ati8faction5  in  illustration  of  the  tendency  of  self-goyem- 
ment  and  freedom  of  trade^  to  beget  contentment  and  material 
progresfl.  Canada  will  remain  attached  to  England,  though 
tied  to  her  neither  by  the  golden  links  of  protection,  nor  by 
the  meshes  of  old-fashioned  colonial  o£Sce  jobbing  and  chicane. 
But  if  you  allow  the  Americans  to  withhold  the  boon  which 
you  have  the  means  of  extorting  if  you  will,  I  much  fear  that 
the  closing  period  of  the  connection  between  Great  Britain  and 
Canada  will  be  marked  by  incidents  which  will  damp  the  ardour 
of  those  who  desire  to  promote  human  happiness  by  striking 
shackles  either  off  commerce  or  off  men. 

Even  wKen  tendering  to  the  Premier,  Lord  John 
Russell,  his  formal  thanks  on  being  raised  to  the 
British  peerage — an  honour  which,  coming  at  that 
moment^  he  prized  most  highly  as  a  proof  to  the  world 
that  the  Queen's  Government  approved  his  policy — ^he 
could  not  forego  the  opportunity  of  insisting  on  a  topic 
which  seemed  to  him  so  momentous. 

It  is  (he  writes)  of  such  vital  importance  that  your  Lordship 
should  rightly  apprehend  the  nature  of  these  difficulties,  and 
the  state  of  public  opinion  in  Canada  at  this  conjuncture, 
that  I  venture,  at  the  hazard  of  committing  an  indiscretion,  to 
add  a  single  observation  on  this  head.  Let  me  then  assure 
your  Lordship,  and  I  speak  advisedly  in  offering  this  assurance, 
that  the  disaffection  now  existing  in  Canada,  whatever  be  the 
forms  with  which  it  may  clothe  itself,  is  due  mainly  to  com- 
m^cial  causes.  I  do  not  say  that  there  is  no  discontent  on 
political  grounds.  FowerAil  individuals  and  even  classes  of 
men  are,  I  am  well  aware,  dissatisfied  with  the  conduct  of 
affairs.  But  I  make  bold  to  affirm  that  so  general  is  the  belief 
that,  under  the  present  circumstances  of  our  commercial  con- 
dition, the  colonists  pay  a  heavy  pecuniary  fine  for  their  fidelity 
to  Great  Britain,  that  nothing  but  the  existence  to  an  unwonted 
degree  of  political  contentment  among  the  masses  has  prevented 
the  cry  for  annexation  from  spreading,  like  wildfire,  through 
the  Province.  This,  as  your  Lordship  will  perceive,  is  a  new 
feature  in  Canadian  politics.  The  plea  of  self-interest,  the 
most  powerful  weapon,  perhaps,  which  the  friends  of  British 
connection  have  wielded  in  times  past,  has  not  only  been 


104  CANADA.  Ch.  V. 

wrested  from  my  hands,  but  transferred  since  1846  to  those  of 
the  adversary.  I  take  the  liberty  of  mentioning  a  fact,  which 
seems  better  to  illustrate  the  actual  condition  of  affairs  in  these 
respects  than  many  arguments.  I  have  lately  spent  several 
weeks  in  the  district  of  Niagara.  Canadian  Niagara  is  separated 
from  the  state  of  New  York  by  a  narrow  stream,  spanned  by 
a  bridge,  which  it  takes  a  foot  passenger  about  three  minutes  to 
cross.  The  inhabitants  are  for  the  most  part  U.  £.  loyalists,' 
and  differ  little  in  habits  or  modes  of  thought  and  expression 
from  their  neighbours.  Wheat  is  their  staple  product — ^the 
article  which  they  exchange  for  foreign  comforts  and  luxuries. 
Now  it  is  the  fact  that  a  bushel  of  wheat,  grown  on  the  Cana- 
dian side  of  the  line,  has  fetched  this  year  in  the  market,  on 
an  average,  from  9d.  to  Is,  less  than  the  same  quantity  and 
quality  of  the  same  article  grown  on  the  other.  Through 
their  district  council,  a  body  elected  under  a  system  of  very 
extended  suffrage,  these  same  inhabitants  of  Niagara  have 
protested  against  the  Montreal  annexation  movement.  They 
have  done  so  (and  many  other  district  councils  in  Upper 
Canada  have  done  the  same)  under  the  impression  that  it  would 
be  base  to  declare  against  England  at  a  moment  when  Eng- 
land has  given  a  signal  proof  of  her  determination  to  concede 
constitutional  Government  in  all  its  plenitude  to  Canada.  I 
am  confident,  however,  that  the  large  majority  of  the  persons 
who  have  thus  protested,  firmly  believe  that  their  annexation 
to  the  United  States  would  add  one-fourth  to  the  value  of  the 
produce  of  their  farms. 

I  need  say  no  more  than  this  to  convince  your  Lordship,  that 
while  this  state  of  things  subsists  (and  I  much  fear  that  no 
measure  but  the  establishment  of  reciprocal  trade  between 
Canada  and  the  States,  or  the  imposition  of  a  duty  on 
the  produce  of  the  States  when  imported  into  England,  will 
remove  it),  arguments  will  not  be  wanting  to  those  who  seek 
to  seduce  Canadians  from  their  allegiance. 

Shortly  afterwards  he  writes  to  Lord  Grey : — 

It  is  not  for  me  to  dispute  the  point  with  free-traders,  when 
they  allege  that  all  parts  of  the  Empire  are  suffering  from  the 
effects  of  free-trade,  and  that  Canadians  must  take  their  chance 

♦/United  Empire  Loyalists/  i.e.  descendants  of  the  original  Loyalists 
of  the  American  War. 


1848.  FREE-TRADE.  105 

witk  others.  Bnt  I  must  be  permitted  to  remark^  that  the 
Canadian  case  differs  from  others,  both  as  respects  the  imme- 
diate cause  of  the  suffering,  and  still  more  as  respects  the 
means  which  the  sufferers  possess  of  finding  for  themselves  a 
way  of  escape.  As  to  the  former  point  I  hare  only  to  say  tbat, 
however  severe  the  pressure  in  other  cases  attendant  on  the 
transition  from  protection  to  free-trade,  there  is  none  which 
presents  so  peculiar  a  specimen  of  legislative  legerdemain  as 
the  Canadian,  where  an  interest  was  created  in  1843  by  a 
Parliament  in  which  the  parties  affected  had  no  voice,  only  to 
be  knocked  down  by  the  same  Parliament  in  1846.  But  it  is 
the  latter  consideration  which  constitutes  the  specialty  of  the 
Canadian  case.  What  in  point  of  fact  can  the  other  suffering 
interests,  of  which  the  Times  writes,  do  ?  There  may  be  a 
great  deal  of  grumbling,  and  a  gradual  move  towards  repub- 
licanism, or  even  communism ;  but  this  is  an  operose  and 
empirical  process,  the  parties  engaged  in  it  are  full  of  mis- 
givings, and  their  ranks  at  every  step  in  advance  are  thinned 
by  desertion.  Not  so  with  the  Canadians.  The  remedy  offered 
to  them,  such  as  it  is,  is  perfectly  definite  and  intelligible. 
They  are  invited  to  form  a  part  of  a  community,  which  is 
neither  suffering  nor  free- trading,  which  never  makes  a  bargain 
without  getting  at  least  twice  as  much  as  it  gives;  a  com- 
munity, the  members  of  which  have  been  within  the  last 
few  weeks  pouring  into  their  multifarious  places  of  worship, 
to  thank  God  that  they  are  exempt  from  the  ills  which 
afflict  other  men,  firom  those  more  especially  which  afflict 
their  despised  neighbours,  the  inhabitants  of  North  America, 
who  have  remained  faithful  to  the  country  which  planted 
them. 

Now,  I  believe,  that  if  these  facts  be  ignored,  it  is  quite 
impossible  to  understand  rightly  the  present  state  of  opinion 
in  Canada,  or  to  determine  wisely  the  course  which  the  British 
Government  and  Parliament  ought  to  pursue.  It  may  suit 
the  policy  of  the  English  free-trade  press  to  represent  the 
difficulties  of  Canada  as  the  consequence  of  having  a  fool  for  a 
Governor-General ;  but,  if  it  be  permitted  me  to  express  an 
opinion  on  a  matter  of  so  much  delicacy,  I  venture  to  doubt 
whether  it  would  be  safe  to  act  on  this  hypothesis.  My  con- 
viction on  the  contrary  is,  that  motives  of  self-interest  of  a 
very  gross  and  palpable  description  are  suggesting  treasonable 


106  CANADA.  Ch.  V. 

courses  to  the  Canadian  mind  at  present,  and  that  it  is  » 
political  sentiment,  a  feeling  of  gratitude  for  what  has  been 
done  and  suffered  this  year  in  the  cause  of  Canadian  self- 
government,  which  is  neutraliasg  these  suggestions. 

Again,  on  December  29, 1849,  he  writes  as  follows  : — 

Pree  navi-  I  believe  that  the  operation  of  the  free  navigation  system 
gauoxL  ^^  -^^  what  you  anticipate,  to  a  great  extent  at  least,  and  that 
it  will  tend  materially  to  equalise  prices  on  the  two  sides  of  the 
line.  At  the  same  time  I  do  think,  that  there  are  circum- 
stances in  this  country  which  falsify,  in  some  degree,  the 
deductions  at  which  one  arrives  from  reasoning  founded  on  the 
abstract  principles  of  political  economy.  One  of  these  circum- 
stances is  the  power  which  the  farmers  in  the  Western  States, 
having  no  rents  to  pay,  have  of  holding  back  their  grain 
when  prices  do  not  suit  them.  You  must  have  observed  what 
hoards  they  poured  forth  when  they  were  tempted  by  the 
famine  prices  of  1847 ;  and  I  cannot  but  think  that  this  power 
of  hoarding,  coupled  with  an  indifferent  harvest,  must  account 
for  the  great  disparity  of  price,  which  has  obtuned  during 
the  course  of  the  present  year  in  the  New  York  market  for 
bonded  grain,  and  grain  for  the  home  consumption.  I  fully 
expect,  however,  to  see  the  price  of  Canadian  grain,  bonded  at 
New  York,  rise,  now  that  it  can  be  exported  to  Liverpool  in 
the  New  York  liners,  which  will  carry  it  for  ballast.  Never- 
theless, I  think  that  Sir  Robert  Peel's  dictum  with  respect  to 
the  Repeal  of  the  Com  Laws,  on  the  day  on  which  he  retired 
last  from  office,  when  he  observed  that  thenceforward,  even 
when  the  poor  suffered  from  the  high  price  of  bread,  they 
would  not  ascribe  that  suffering  to  the  fact  of  their  bread 
being  taxed,  applies  with  at  least  equal  force  to  the  recipro- 
city question  as  affecting  the  Canadian  farmers.  For  sure  am 
I  that,  so  long  as  there  is  a  duty  on  their  produce  when  it 
enters  the  States,  and  none  on  the  introduction  of  United 
States  produce  into  England,  they  will  ascribe  to  this  cause 
alone  the  differences  of  price  that  may  occasionally  rule  to 
their  disadvantage. 

The  history  of  the  two  measures  which  Lord  Elgin 
80  ardently  desired,  and  which  in  the  foregoing  and 


184»— 1853.  REOIPROCITy.  107 

many  similar  letters  he  so  urgently  pressed,  was  emi- 
nently characteristic  of  the  two  Legislatures,  through 
which  they  had  raspectively  to  be  carried. 

In  England,  the  repeal  of  restrictive  Navigation  Laws  sepMi  of 
was  contended  for  by  thoughtful  statesmen  on  grounds  J^,]^^®" 
of  public  policy.  The  protective  and  conservative  in- 
stmcts  of  the  old  country,  fortified  by  the  never-absent 
spirit  of  party,  resisted  the  change.  When  fairly  beaten 
by  force  of  argument  in  the  House  of  Commons,  they 
entrenched  themselves  in  the  House  of  Lords  ;  and  it 
was  only  after  a  hot  struggle  that  the  Act  was  passed 
in  June  1849,  of  which  one  eflFect  was,  by  lowering 
freights,  to  increase  the  profits  of  the  Canadian  trade  in 
wheat  and  timber,  and  thus  to  advance,  in  a  very  im- 
portant  degree,  the  commercial  prosperity  of  the 
colony. 

The  delays  which  retarded  the  settlement  of  the  Bedpro- 
Reciprocity  Treaty  were  due  to  causes  of  another  kind.  «*y"eaty. 
The  difSculty  was  to  induce  the  American  Congress  to 
pay  any  attention  at  all  to  the  subject.  In  the  vast 
multiplicity  of  matters  with  which  that  Assembly  has 
to  deal,  it  is  said  that  no  cause  which  does  not  appeal 
strongly  to  a  national  sentiment,  or  at  least  to  some 
party  feeling,  has  a  chance  of  obtaining  a  hearing, 
unless  it  is  taken  up  systematically  by  ^organizers' 
outside  the  House.  The  Reciprocity  Bill  was  not  a 
measure  about  which  any  national  or  even  party  feeling 
could  be  aroused.  It  was  one  which  required  much 
study  to  understand  its  bearings,  and  which  would 
affect  different  interests  in  the  country  in  different 
ways.  It  stood,  therefore,  especially  in  need  of  the 
aid  of  professional  organizers ;  a  kind  of  aid  of  which 
it  was  of  course  impossible  that  either  the  British  or 
the  Canadian  Government  should  avail  itself.  Session 
after  session  the  Bill  was  proposed,  scarcely  debated. 


108  CANADA,  Ch.  V. 

and  set  aside.  At  last,  in  1854,  after  the  negotiations 
had  dragged  on  wearily  for  more  than  six  years,  Lord 
Elgin  himself  was  sent  to  Washington  in  the  hope — ^  a 
*  forlorn  hope,'  as  it  seemed  to  those  who  sent  him— of 
bringing  the  matter  to  a  successfiil  issue.  It  was  his 
first  essay  in  diplomacy,  but  made  under  circumstances 
unusually  favourable.  He  was  personally  popular  with 
the  Americans,  towards  whom  he  had  always  entertained 
and  shown  a  most  friendly  feeling.  They  appreciated, 
moreover,  better  perhaps  than  it  was  appreciated  at 
home,  the  consummate  ability,  as  well  as  the  rare 
strength  of  character,  which  he  had  displayed  in  the 
government  of  Canada  ;  and  the  prestige  thus  attach- 
ing to  his  name,  joined  to  the  influence  of  his  presence, 
and  his  courtesy  and  bonhomie^  enabled  him  in  a  few 
days  to  smooth  all  difficulties,  and  change  apathy 
into  enthusiasm.  Within  a  few  weeks  from  the  time 
of  his  landing  he  had  agreed  with  Mr.  Marcy  upon 
the  terms  of  a  Treaty  of  Reciprocity,  which  soon  after- 
wards received  the  sanction  of  all  the  Governments 
concerned. 

The  main  concessions  made  by  the  Provinces  to  the 
United  States  in  this  treaty  were,  (1)  the  removal  of 
duties  on  the  introduction,  for  consumption  in  the  Pro- 
vinces, of  certain  products  of  the  States;  (2)  the  ad- 
mission of  citizens  of  that  country  to  the  enjoyment  of 
the  in-shore  sea-fishery ;  (3)  the  opening-up  to  their 
vessels  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  canals  pertaining 
thereto. 

A  good  deal  of  misconception  prevailed  at  the  time  as 
to  the  amount  of  the  concession  made  under  the  second 
head.  The  popular  impression  on  this  point  was,  that  a 
gigantic  monopoly  was  about  to  be.  surrendered ;  but 
this  was  far  from  being  the  case.  The  citizens  of  the 
United  States  had  already,  under  the  Convention  of 
1818,  access  to  the  most  important  cod-fisheries  on  the 
British  coasts.    The  new  treaty  maintained  in  favour  of 


1850—1864.  DUTY  OF  HflNORITIES.  109 

British  subjects  the  monopoly  of  the  river  and  fresh- 
water fisheries  ;  and  the  concession  which  it  made  to  the 
citizens  of  the  United  States  amounted  in  substance  to 
this,  that  it  admitted  them  to  a  legal  participation  in 
the  mackerel  and  herring  fisheries,  from  illegal  en- 
croachments on  which  it  had  been  found,  after  the 
experience  of  many  years,  practically  impossible  to 
exclude  them.^ 

The  duration  of  the  Treaty  was  limited  to  ten  years, 
and  has  not  been  extended  ;  but  it  is  not  too  much 
to  hope  that  it  has  had  some  effect  in  engendering 
feelings  of  friendliness,  and  of  community  of  interest, 
which  may  long  outlast  itself. 

It  has  been  already  noticed  that  the  *  annexation  viowiof 
movement  *  of  1849  died  away  without  serious  conse-  ment  ' 
quences  ;  and  extracts  which  have  been  given  above 
sufiicientiiy  show  to  what  cause  Lord  Elgin  attributed 
its  extinction.  The  powerful  attraction  of  the  great 
neighbouring  republic  had  been  counteracted  and  over- 
come by  the  more  powerful  attraction  of  self-govern- 
ment at  home.  The  centrifugal  force  was  no  longer 
equal  to  the  centripetal.  To  create  this  state  of  feeling 
had  been  his  most  cherished  desire;  to  feel  that  he  had 
succeeded  in  creating  it  was,  throughout  much  obloquy 
and  misimderstanding,  his  greatest  support. 

From  the  earliest  period  of  his  entrance  into  political  i>n*7  of 
life  he  had  always  had  the  strongest  sense  of  the  duty  lutiSOTity, 
incumbent  on  every  public  man  of  supporting,  even  in 
opposition,  the  authority  of  Government.  The  bitterest 
reproach  which  he  cast  upon  the  Whigs,  in  his  first 
Tory  ^  Letter  to  the  Electors  of  Great  Britain '  in  1835, 
was  that  when  they  found  they  could  not  carry  on  the 
government  themselves,  they  tried  to  make  it  impos- 
sible for  any  other  party  to  do  so.     Nor  was  he  less 

1  Despatch  of  the  Earl  of  El^,  Dec.  18, 1854. 


110  CANADA.  Ch.  V. 

severe,  on  another  occasion,  in  his  reprehension  of  *  a 
'  certain  high  Tory  clique  who  are  always  cavilling  at 

*  royalty  when  it  is  constitutional ;  circulating  the  most 

*  miserable  gossip  about  royal  persons  and  royal  enter- 

*  tainments/  &c. ;  busily  *  engaged  in  undermining  the 

*  foundations  on  which  respect  for  human  institutions 

*  rests.'  Writing,  in  May  1850,  to  Mr.  Gumming  Bruce, 
a  Tory  and  Protectionist,  he  said — 

I  shall  not  despair  for  England  whether  Free-traders  or  Pro- 
tectionists be  in  the  ascendant,  unless  I  see  that  the  faction 
out  of  power  abet  the  endeayours  of  those  who  would  make 
the  Government  of  the  country  contemptible.  Kead  Mont- 
alembert's  speeches.  They  are  very  eloquent  and  instructiYe. 
He  had  as  full  a  faith  in  his  religion,  and  what  he  considered 
due  to  his  religion,  as  you  can  have  in  jour  Com  Laws.  Yet 
observe  how  bitterly  he  now  repents  having  aided  those  who 
have  undermined  in  the  French  public  all  respect  for  authority 
and  the  powers  that  be. 

If  all  that  jour  Protectionist  friends  want  to  do  is  to  put 
themselves,  or  persons  in  whom  they  have  greater  confidence 
than  the  present  Ministry,  in  office,  their  object  is,  I  confess, 
a  perfectly  legitimate  one.  What  I  complain  of  is  the  system 
of  what  is  termed  damaging  the  Government,  when  resorted 
to  by  those  who  have  no  such  purpose  in  view ;  or  at  least  no 
honest  intention  of  assuming  responsibilities  which  they  are 
endeavouring  to  render  intolerable  to  those  who  are  charged 
with  them. 

«p«naliy"       But  if  this  '  political  profligacy '  was,  in  his  judg- 
niei,  ment,  the  bane  of  party  government  at  home,  a  still 

stronger  but,  perhaps,  more  excusable  tendency  to  it 
threatened  to  defeat  the  object  of  responsible  govern- 
ment in  Canada.     Accustomed  to  look  abroad  for  the 
source  and  centre  of  power,  a  beaten  minority  in  the 
.  Colonial   Parliament,  instead  of  loyally  accepting  its 
position,  was  never  without  a  hope  of  wresting  the 
^^j^tary  from  its  opponents,  either  by  an  appeal   to 
y  -I   in   the   mother-country,   always  ill-uiformed. 


1860-1863.  DUTY  OF  MIN0RITIE8.  Ill 

and  therefore  credulous,  in  matters  of  colonial  politics, 
or  else  by  raising  a  cry  of  *  separation/  or  *  annexation/ 
The  evil  effects  of  this  state  of  things  need  hardly 
be  pointed  out.  On  the  one  hand  the  constant  refer- 
ence to  opinion  in  England,  not  in  the  shape  of  consti- 
tutional appeal  but  by  ex-parte  statements,  produced  a 
state  of  chronic  irritation  against  the  mother-country. 

*  There  is  nothing,'  wrote  Lord  Elgin,  *  which  makes 

*  the  colonial  statesman  so  jealous  as  rescripts  from  the 
^Colonial  Office,  suggested  by  the  representations  of 
^  provincial  cliques  or  interests,  who  ought,  as  he  con- 
tends, to  bow  before  the  authorities  of  Goverimient 

*  House,  Montreal,  rather  than  those  of  Downing  Street.' 
On  the  other  hand  it  was  not  easy  to  know  how  to  deal 
with  politicians  who  did  not  profess  to  own  more  than 
a  qualified  and  provisional  allegiance  to  the  constitution 
of  the  Province  and  the  Crown  of  England.  The  one 
hope  in  both  cases  was  to  foster  a  ^  national  and  manly 
tone '  of  political  morals ;  to  lead  all  parties  alike  to 
look  to  their  own  Parliament,  and  neither  to  the  London 
press  nor  the  American  hustings,  for  the  solution  of  all 
problems  of  Provincial  government. 

But  while  thus  zealously  defending  the  fortress  of 
British  connection  committed  to  his  care,  Lord  Elgin  was 
dismayed  to  find  that  its  walls  were  crumbling  round 
him,  undermined  by  the  operations  of  his  own  fiiends ; 
that  there  had  arisen  at  home  a  school  of  philosophic 
statesmen,  strong  in  their  own  ability,  and  strengthened 
by  ^the  support  of  the  Radical  economists,  according 
to  whom  it  was  to  be  expected  and  desired  that  every 
colony  enjoying  constitutional  government  should  aim 
at  emancipating  itself  entirely  from  allegiance'  to  the 
mother-country,  and  forming  itself  into  an  independent 
Republic.    With  such  views  he  had  no  sympathy.    The 

*  Sparta '  which  had  fallen  to  his  lot  was  the  position  of 
a  colonial  governor,  and  that  position  he  felt  it  his 
duty  to  *  adorn  '  and  to  maintain.     Moreover,  believing 


112  CANADA.  Ch.  V. 

firmly  in  the  vitaUty  of  the  monarchical  principle,  as 
well  as  in  its  value,  he  contended  that  it  is  an  error  to 
suppose  that  a  constitutional  monarchy,  in  proportion 
08  ilTbecomes  more  Uberal,  tends  towards  repubuJknism ; 
and  fiirther,  that  if  such  tendency  existed  it  would  be 
retrograde  rather  than  progressive. 

The  views  of  Colonial  Government,  its  objects  and 
its  difficulties,  which  have  been  here  briefly  epitomised, 
are  displayed  in  fiill  in  the  following  letters,  together 
with  a  variety  of  opinions  on  kindred  topics.  They  are 
given  as  characteristic  of  Lord  Elgin;  but  they  may, 
perhaps,  have  an  interest  of  their  own,  as  bearing  on 
important  questions  which  still  await  solution. 

To  the  Earl  Grey. 

November  16, 1849. 

MaiDten-  Very  much,  as  respects  the  result  of  this  annexation  move- 
*°9®  ^^  ment,  depends  upon  what  you  do  at  home.  I  cannot  say  what 
connection,  the  effect  may  be  if  the  British  Government  and  press  are 
lukewarm  on  the  subject.  The  annexationists  will  take  heart, 
but  in  a  tenfold  greater  degree  the  friends  of  the  connection 
will  be  discouraged.  If  it  be  admitted  that  separation  must 
take  place,  sooner  or  later,  the  argument  in  favour  of  a  present 
move  seems  to  be  almost  irresistible.  I  am  prepared  to  con- 
tend that  with  responsible  government,  fairly  worked  out 
with  free-trade,  there  is  no  reason  why  the  colonial  relation 
should  not  be  indefinitely  maintained.  But  look  at  my  present 
difficulty,  which  may  be  increased  beyond  calculation,  if  in- 
discreet expressions  be  made  use  of  during  the  present  crisis. 
The  English  Government  thought  it  necessary,  in  order  to 
give  moral  support  to  their  representative  in  Ireland,  to  assert 
in  the  most  solemn  manner  that  the  Crown  never  would  consent 
to  the  severance  of  the  Union ;  although,  according  to  the 
O'Connell  doctrine,  the  allegiance  to  the  Crown  of  the  Irisli 
was  to  be  unimpaired  notwithstanding  such  severance.  But 
when  I  protest  against  Canadian  projects  for  dismembering 
the  empire,  I  am  always  told  *  the  most  eminent  statesmen  in 

*  England  have  over  and  over  again  told  us,  that  whenever  we 
'  chose  we  might  separate.   Wliy,  then,  blame  us  for  discussing 

*  the  subject  ?  ' 


1850—1853.       VIEWS  ON  C50L0NIAL  GOVERNMENT.  113 

To  the  Earl'  Grey, 

JanuKTj  14, 18^. 

I  am  certainly  less  sanguine  than  I  was  as  to  the  probability 
of  retaining  the  colonies  under  free-trade.  I  speak  not  now 
of  the  cost  of  their  retention,  for  I  have  no  doubt  but  that,  if 
aU  parties  concerned  were  honest,  expenses  might  be  gradually 
reduced.  I  am  sure  also  that  when  free-trade  is  fairly  in 
operation  it  will  be  found  that  more  has  been  gained  by  re* 
moving  the  causes  of  irritation  which  were  furnished  by  the 
constant  tinkering  incident  to  a  protective  system,  than  has 
been  lost  by  severing  the  bonds  by  which  it  tied  the  mother- 
country  and  the  colonies  together.  What  I  fear  is,  that  polon»*l 
when  the  mystification  in  which  certain  questions  of  self-  the  sport  of 
interest  were  involved  by  protection  is  removed,  factions  both  ^°™? 
at  home  and  in  the  colonies  will  be  more  reckless  than  ever  in 
hazarding  for  party  objects  the  loss  of  the  colonies.'  Our 
system  depends  a  great  deal  more  on  the  discretion  with  which 
it  is  worked  than  the  American,  where  each  power  in  the 
state  goes  habitually  the  full  length  of  its  tether :  Congress, 
the  State  legislatures.  Presidents,  Governors,  all  legislating 
and  vetoing,  without  stint  or  limit,  till  pulled  up  short  by  a 
judgment  of  the  Supreme  Court.  With  us  factions  in  the 
colonies  are  clamorous  and  violent,  with  the  hope  of  producing 
effect  on  the  Imperial  Parliament  and  Government,  just  in 
proportion  to  their  powerlessness  at  home.  The  history  of 
Canada  during  the  past  year  furnishes  ample  evidence  of  this 
truth.  Why  was  there  so  much  violence  on  the  part  of  the 
opposition  here  last  simimer,  particularly  against  the  Governor- 
General?  Because  it  felt  itself  to  be  weak  in  the  province, 
and  looked  for  success  to  the  effect  it  could  produce  in  England 
alone. 

And  how  is  this  tendency  to  bring  the  Imperial  and  Local 
Parliaments  into  antagonism,  a  tendency  so  dangerous  to  the 
permanence  of  our  system,  to  be  counteracted  ?  By  one  expe* 
dient  as  it  appears  to  me  only ;  namely,  by  the  Goyemor's 

^  Compare    Jumus  :  — '  Unfortu-  '  were  in  oppositioD.    Tbeir  declara- 

'  nately  for  bis  country,  Mr.  Grenville  '  tion  gave  spirit  and  argument  to  the 

'  was  at  any  rate  to  be  distreissedy  '  Colonies ;  and  wbile,  perhaps,  they 

'because  he  was  Minister:  and  Mr.  'meant  no  more  than  the  ruin  of  a 

'  Pitt  and  Lord  Camden  were  t<»  be  *  Minister,  they  in  effect  divided  one 

*  the  patrons  of  Americaj  because  they  '  half  of  the  empire  from  the  other.' 


114  CANADA.  Cfl.  V. 

acting  with  some  assumption  of  responsibility,  so  that  the  shafts 
of  the  enemy,  which  are  intended  for  the  Imperial  GoTcm- 
ment,  may  fall  on  him.  If  a  line  of  demarcation  between  the 
questions  with  which  the  Local  Parliaments  can  deal  and  those 
which  are  reserved  for  the  Imperial  authority  could  be  drawn, 
(as  was  recommended  last  session  by  the  Radicals),  it  might 
be  different;  but,  as  it  is,  I  see  nothing  for  it  but  that 
the  Governors  should  be  responsible  for  the  share  which  the 
Imperial  Government  may  have  in  the  policy  carried  out  in 
the  responsible-government  colonies,  with  the  liability  to  be 
recalled  and  disavowed  whenever  the  Imperial  authorities 
think  it  expedient  to  repudiate  such  policy. 

To  the  Duke  of  Newcastle, 

Quebec :  February  18,  185a 

Distriba-  Now  that  the  bonds  formed  by  commercial  protection  and 
honouw.  *^®  disposal  of  local  offices  are  severed,  it  is  very  desirable  that 
the  prerogative  of  the  Crown,  as  the  fountain  of  honour, 
should  be  employed,  in  so  far  as  this  can  properly  be  done,  as 
a  means  of  attaching  the  outlying  parts  of  the  empire  to  the 
throne.  Of  the  soundness  of  this  proposition  as  a  general 
principle  no  doubt  can,  I  presume,  be  entertained.  It  is  not, 
indeed,  always  easy  to  apply  it  in  these  communities,  where 
fortunes  are  precarious,  the  social  system  so  much  based  on 
equality,  and  public  services  so  generally  mixed  up  with  party 
conflicts.  But  it  should  never,  in  my  opinion,  be  lost  sight  of, 
and  advantage  should  be  taken  of  all  favourable  opportunities 
to  act  upon  it. 

There  are  two  principles  which  ought,  I  think,  as  a  general 
rule  to  be  attended  to  in  the  distribution  of  Imperial  honours 
among  colonists.  Firstly,  they  should  appear  to  emanate 
directly  from  the  Crown,  on  the  advice,  if  you  will,  of  tho 
Governors  and  Imperial  Ministers,  but  not  on  the  recommend 
ation  of  the  local  executives.  And,  secondly,  they  should  be 
conferred,  as  much  as  possible,  on  the  eminent  persons  who 
are  no  longer  actively  engaged  in  political  life.  If  these  prin- 
ciples be  neglected,  such  distinctions  wiU,  I  fear,  soon  lose 
their  value. 


1850—1853.  NO  SEPARATION  I  115 

To  the  Earl  Grey, 

ToroDto :  March  23,  1860. 

Lord  John's  speech  on  the  colonies  seems   to  have  been  Speech  of 

T     ^tA    T 

eminently  successful  at  home.  It  is  calculated  too,  I  think,  to  Huggoii, 
do  good  in  the  colonies  ;  but  for  one  sentence,  the  introduction 
of  which  I  deeply  deplore — the  sting  in  the  tail.  Alas  for 
that  sting  in  the  tail !  I  much  fear  that  when  the  liberal  and 
enlightened  sentiments,  the  enunciation  of  which  by  one  so 
high  in  authority  is  so  well  calculated  to  make  the  colonists 
sensible  of  the  advantages  which  they  derive  from  their  con- 
nection with  Great  Britain,  shall  have  passed  away  from  their 
memories,  there  will  not  be  wanting  those  who  will  remind 
them  that,  on  this  solemn  occasion,  the  Prime  Minister  of  Eng- 
land, amid  the  plaudits  of  a  full  senate,  declared  that  he  looked 
forward  to  the  day  when  the  ties  which  he  was  endeavouring 
to  render  so  easy  and  mutually  advantageous  would  be  severed. 
And  wherefore  this  foreboding  ?  or,  perhaps,  I  ought  not  to 
use  the  term  foreboding,  for  really  to  judge  by  the  comments 
of  the  press  on  this  declaration  of  Lord  John's,  I  should  be 
led  to  imagine  that  the  prospect  of  these  sucking  democracies, 
after  they  have  drained  their  old  mother's  life-blood,  leaving 
her  in  the  lurch,  and  setting  up  as  rivals,  just  at  the  time  when 
their  increasing  strength  might  render  them  a  support  instead 
of  a  burden,  is  one  of  the  most  cheering  which  has  of  late 
presented  itself  to  the  English  imagination.  But  wherefore 
then  this  anticipation — if  foreboding  be  not  the  correct  term  ? 
Because  Loi*d  John  and  the  people  of  England  persist  in 
assuming  that  the  Colonial  relation  is  incompatible  with  mar- 
turity  and  full  development.  And  is  this  really  so  incontestable 
a  truth  that  it  is  a  duty  not  only  to  hold  but  to  proclaim  it  ? 
Consider  for  a  moment  what  is  the  effect  of  proclaiming  it  in 
our  case.  We  have  on  this  continent  two  great  empires  in 
presence,  or  rather,  I  should  say,  two  great  Imperial  systems. 
In  many  respects  there  is  much  similarity  between  them.  In 
so  far  as  powers  of  self-government  are  concerned  it  is  certain 
that  our  colonists  in  America  have  no  reason  to  envy  the 
citizens  of  any  state  in  the  Union.  The  forms  differ,  but  it 
may  be  shown  that  practically  the  inhabitants  of  Canada  have 
a  greater  power  in  controlling  their  own  destiny  than  those  of 
Michigan  or  New  York,  who  must  tolerate  a  tariff  imposed  by 
twenty  other  states,  and  pay  the  expenses  of  war  undertaken 

I  2 


116  CANADA.  Ch.  V 

for  objects  which  they  profess  to  abhon  And  yet  there  is  a 
diiference  between  the  two  cases ;  a  diiference,  in  my  hurable 
judgment^  of  sentiment  rather  tlian  substance^  which  renders 
the  one  a  system  of  life  and  strength,  and  the  other  a  system 
of  death  and  decay.  No  matter  how  raw  and  rude  a  territory 
may  be  when  it  is  admitted  as  a  state  into  the  Union  of  the 
United  States,  it  is  at  once,  by  the  popular  belief,  invested  with 
all  the  dignity  of  manhood,  and  introduced  into  a  system  which, 
despite  the  combativeness  of  certain  ardent  spirits  from  the 
South,  eyery  American  believes  and  maintains  to  be  immortal. 
But  how  does  the  case  stand  with  us  ?  No  matter  how  great 
the  advance  of  a  British  colony  in  wealth  and  civilisation ;  no 
pattier  how  absolute  the  powers  of  self-government  conceded 
to  it,  it  is  still  taught  to  believe  that  it  is  in  a  condition  of 
pupilage  from  which  it  must  pass  before  it  can  attain  maturity. 
For  one  I  have  never  been  able  to  comprehend  why,  elastic 
afi  our  constitutional  system  is,  we  should  not  be  able,  now 
more  especially  when  we  have  ceased  to  control  the  trade  of 
our  colonies,  to  render  the  links  which  bind  them  to'  the 
British  Crown  at  least  as  lasting  as  those   which  unite  the 

component  parts  of  the  Union One  thing  is, 

however,  indispensable  to  the  success  of  this  or  any  other 

Colonial      ^jstem  of   Colonial  Government.     You  must  renounce   the 

exiBtonce     habit  of  telling  the  Colonies  that  the  Colonial  is  a  provisional 

rUi^dL      existence.     You   must    allow  them  to  believe   that,  without 

severing  the  bonds  which  unite  them  to  Great  Britain,  they 

may  attain  the  degree  of  perfection,  and  of  social  and  political 

development,  to  which  organised  communities  of  free  men  have 

a  right  to  aspire. 

Since  I  began  this  letter  I  have,  I  regret  to  say,  con- 
firmatory evidence  of  the  justice  of  the  anticipations  J  had 
formed  of  the  probable  effect  of  Lord  John's  declaration.  I 
enclose  extracts  from  two  newspapers,  an  annexationist,  the 
Herald  of  Montreal,  and  a  quasi  annexationist,  the  Mirror 
of  Toronto.  You  will  note  the  use  they  make  of  it.  I  was 
more  annoyed  however,  I  confess,  by  what  occurred  yesterday 
in  council.  We  had  ^  determine  whether  or  not  to  dismiss 
from  his  offices  a  gentleman  who  is  both  M.P.P.,  Q.C.,  and 
J. P.,  and  who  h^  issued  a  flaming  manifesto  in  favour,  not  of 
annexation,  but  of  an  immediate  declaration  of  independence 
as  a  step  to  it.     I  will  not  say  anything  of  my  own  opinion  on 


1860—1853.  NO  SEPARATION!  117 

the  case,  but  it  was  generally  contended  hj  the  members  of 
the  Board,  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  maintain  that  per^ 
sons  who  had  declared  their  intention  to  throw  off  their  alle* 
giance  to  the  Queen,  with  a  view  to  annexation,  were  unfit  to 
retain  oflSces  granted  during  pleasure,  if  persons  who  made  a 
similar  declaration  with  a  yiew  to  independence  were  to  be 
differently  dealt  with.  Baldwin  had  Lord  John's  speech  in 
his  hand.  He  is  a  man  of  singularly  placid  demeanour,  but 
he  has  been  seriously  ill,  so  possibly  his  nerres  are  shaken — 
at  any  rate  I  never  saw  him  so  much  moved.  *  Have  you 
'  read  the  latter  purt  of  Lord  J.  Russell's  speech  ? '  he  said  to 
me.     I  nodded  assent.     *  For  myself,'  he  added,  *  if  the  an- 

*  ticipations  therein  expressed  prove  to  be  well  founded,  my 

*  interest  in  public  affairs  is  gone  for  ever.     But  is  it  not  hard 

*  upon  us  while  we  are  labouring,  through  good  and  evil  report, 

*  to  thwart  the  designs  of  those  who  would  dismember  the 
'  Empire,  that  our  adversaries  should  be  informed  that  the 
^  difference  between  them  and  the  Prime  Minister  of  England 
^  is  only  one  of  time  ?  If  the  British  Government  has  really 
'  come  to  the  conclusion  that  we  are  a  burden  to  be  cast  off 

*  whenever  a  favourable  opportunity  offers,  surely  we  ought  to 

*  be  warned.' 

I  replied  that  while  I  regretted  as  much  as  he  could  do 
the  paragraph  to  which  he  referred,  I  thought  he  somewhat 
mistook  its  import :  that  I  believed  no  man  living  was  more 
opposed  to  the  dismemberment  of  the  Empire  than  Lord  J. 
Bussell :  that.  I  did  not  conceive  that  he  had  any  intention 
of  deserting  the  Colonies,  or  of  inviting  them  to  separate  from 
England ;  but  that  he  had  in  the  sentence  in  question  given 
utterance  to  a  purely  speculative,  and  in  my  judgment  most 
fallacious,  opinion,  which  was  shared,  I  feared,  by  very  many 
persons  both  in  England  and  the  Colonies :  that  I  held  it  to 
be  a  perfectly  unsound  and  most  dangerous  theory,  that  British 
Colonies  could  not  attain  maturity  without  separation,  and 
that  my  interest  in  labouring  with  them  to  bring  into  full  play 
the  principles  of  Constitutional  Government  in  Canada  would 
entirely  cease  if  I  could  be  persuaded  to  adopt  it.  I  said  all 
this  I  must  confess,  however,  not  without  misgiving,  for  I 
could  not  but  be  sensible  that,  in  spite  of  all  my  allegations  to 
the  contrary,  my  audience  was  disposed  to  regard  a  prediction 
of  this  nature,  proceeding  from  a  Prime  Minister,  less  as  i^ 


118  CANADA.  Ch.  V. 

speculative  abstraction  than  as  one  of  that  class  of  prophecies 
which  work  their  own  fulfilment.  I  left  the  Council  Chamber 
disheartened^  with  the  feeling  that  Lord  J.  Bussell's  reference 
to  the  manhood  of  Colonies  was  more  likely  to  be  followed  by 
practical  consequences  than  Lamartine's  famous  '  quand  Pkeure 
aura  sonne '  invocation  to  oppressed  nationaliti  es,  It  is  pos- 
sible, indeed,  that  I  exaggerate  to  myself  the  prcl  able  effects 
of  this  declaration.  Politicians  of  the  Baldwin  stamp,  with 
distinct  views  and  aims,  who  having  struggled  to  obtain  a 
Government  on  British  principles,  desire  to  preserve  it,  are 
not,  I  fear,  very  numerous  in  Canada;  the  great  mass  move 
on  with  very  indefinite  purposes,  and  not  much  inquiring 
whither  they  are  going.  Of  one  thing,  however,  I  am  con- 
fident ;  there  cannot  be  any  peace,  contentment,  progress,  or 
credit  in  this  colony  while  the  idea  obtains  that  the  connection 
with  England  is  a  millstone  about  its  neck  which  should  be 
cast  off,  as  soon  as  it  can  be  conveniently  managed.  What 
man  in  his  senses  would  invest  his  money  in  the  public  secu- 
rities of  a  country  where  questions  affecting  the  very  founda- 
tions on  which  public  credit  rests  are  in  perpetual  agitation; 
or  would  settle  in  it  at  all  if  he  could  find  for  his  foot  a  more 
stable  resting-place  elsewhere  ?  I  may,  perhaps,  be  expressing 
myself  too  unreservedly  with  reference  to  opinions  emanating 
from  a  source  which  I  am  no  less  disposed  than  bound  to 
respect.  As  I  have  the  means,  however,  of  feeling  the  pulse 
of  the  colonists  in  this  most  feverish  region,  I  consider  it  to 
be  always  my  duty  to  furnish  you  with  as  faithful  a  record  as 
possible  of  our  diagnostics.  And,  after  all,  may  I  not  with  all 
submission  ask.  Is  not  the  question  at  issue  a  most  momen- 
tous one  ?  What  is  it  indeed  but  this :  Is  the  Queen  of 
England  to  be  the  Sovereign  of  an  Empire,  growing,  expanding, 
strengthening  itself  from  age  to  age,  striking  its  roots  deep 
into  fresh  earth  and  drawing  new  supplies  of  vitality  from 
virgin  soils?  Or  is  she  to  be  for  all  essential  purposes  of 
might  and  power.  Monarch  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland 
merely — her  place  and  that  of  her  line  in  the  world's  history 
determined  by  the  productiveness  of  12,000  square  miles  of  a 
coal  formation,  which  is  being  rapidly  exhausted,  and  the  dura- 
tion of  the  social  and  political  organization  over  which  she 
presides  dependent  on  the  annual  expatriation,  with  a  view  to 
its  eventual  alienization,  of  the  surplus  swarms  of  her  born 


1850—1853.  NO  SEPARATION!  119 

subjects  ?     If  Lord  J.  RusseU,  instead  of  concluding  his  ex- 
cellent speech  with  a  declaration  of  opinion  which^  as  I  read 
it,  and  as  I  fear  others  will  read  it,  seems  to  make  it  a  point  of 
honour  with  the  Colonists  to  prepare  for  separation,  had  con- 
tented himself  with  resuming  the  statements  already  made  in 
its  course,  with   showing   that  neither  the  Govemment  nor 
Parliament  could  have  any  object  in  view  in  their  Colonial 
policy  but  the  good  of  the  Colonies,  and  the  establishment  of 
the  relation  between  them  and  the  mother-country  on  the  basis 
of  mutual  affection  ;  that,  as  the  idea  of  maintaining  a  Colonial 
Empire  for  the  purpose  of  exercising  dominion  or  dispensing 
patronage  had  been  for  some  time  abandoned,  and   that  of 
regarding  it  as  a  hot-bed  for  forcing  conmierce  and  manu- 
factures more  recently  renounced,  a  greater  amount  of  free 
action  and   self-government    might   be    conceded   to  British 
Colonies  without  any  breach  of  Imperial  Unity,  or  the  ido- 
latioD  of  any  principle  of  Imperial  PoUoy,  than  had  under 
any  scheme  yet  devised  fallen  to  the  lot  of  the  component 
parts    of  any   Federal  or   Imperial   system;  if  he  had  left 
these    great   truths  to  work  their  effect  without    hazarding 
a  conjecture  which  will,  I  fear,  be  received  sa  a  suggestion, 
with  respect  to  the  course  which  certain  wayward  members  of 
the  Imperial  family  may  be  expected  to  take  in  a  contingency 
still  confessedly  remote,  it  would,  I  venture  with  great  deference 
to  submit,  in  so  far  at  least  as  public  feeling  in  the  Colonies  is 
concerned,  have  been  safer  and  better. 

You  draw,  I  know,  a  distinction  between  separation  with  a  'Seym- . 
view  to  annexation  and  separation  with  a  view  to  independ*  /annex- 
ence.     You  say  the  former  is  an  act  of  treason,  the  latter  a  ation.' 
natural  and  legitimate  step  in  progress.    There  is  much  plausi- 
bility doubtless  in  this  position,  but,  independently  of  the  fact 
that  no  one  advocates  independence  in  these  Colonies  except 
as  a  means  to  the  end,  annexation,  is  it  really  tenable  ?   If  you 
take  your  stand  on  the  hypothesis  that  the  Colonial  existence 
is  one  with  which  the  Colonists  ought  to  rest  satisfied,  then,  I 
think,  you  are  entitled  to  denounce,  without  reserve  or  measure, 
those  who  propose  for  some  secondary  object  to  substitute  the 
Stars  and  Stripes  for  the  Union  Jack.   But  if,  on  the  contrary, 
you  assume  that  it  is  a  provisional  state,  which  admits  of  but 
a  stunted  and  partial  growth,  and  out  of  which  all  communities 
ought  in  the  course  of  nature  to  strive  to  pass,  how  can  you 


120  CANADA.  Ch.  V. 

refase  to  pennit  your  Colonies  here,  when  they  have  arrived 
at  the  proper  stage  in  their  existence,  to  place  themselves  in  a 
condition  which  is  at  once  most  favourable  to  their  security 
and  to  their  perfect  national  development?  What  reasons  can 
you  assign  for  the  refusal,  except  such  as  are  founded  on 
selfishness,  and  are,  therefore,  morally  worthless  ?  If  you  say 
that  your  great  lubberly  boy  is  too  big  for  the  nursery,  and 
that  you  have  no  other  room  for  him  in  your  house,  how  can 
you  decline  to  allow  him  to  lodge  with  his  elder  brethren  over 
the  way,  when  the  attempt  to  keep  up  an  establishment  for 

himself  would  seriously  embarrass  him  ? 

• 

To  the  Earl  Grey. 

Toronto :  November  1, 1850. 

Sir  H.  Bulwer  spent  four  days  with  us,  and  for  many 
reasons  I  am  glad  that  he  has  been  here.  He  leaves  us  know- 
ing more  of  Canada  than  he  did  when  he  came.  I  think  too 
that  both  he  and  Sir  E.  Head  return  to  their  homes  reassured 
on  many  points  of  our  internal  policy,  on  which  they  felt 
doubtful  before,  and  much  enlightened  as  to  the  real  position 
of  men  and  things  in  this  province. 
Self-goT-  With  one  important  truth  1  have  laboured  to  impress  them, 
n™™e^*  and  I  hope  successfully.  It  is  this :  that  the  faithful  carrying 
pnblican.  out  of  the  principles  of  Constitutional  Government  is  a  de* 
parture  from  the  American  model,  not  an  approximation  to 
it,  and,  therefore,  a  departure  from  republicanism  in  its  only 
workable  shape.  Of  the  soundness  of  this  view  of  our  case  I 
entertain  no  doubt  whatever;  and  though  I  meet  with  few 
persons  to  whom  it  seems  to  have  occurred  (for  the  common 
belief  of  superficial  observers  is  that  we  are  republicanising 
the  colonies),  I  eeldom  fail  in  bringing  it  home  to  the  under- 
standing of  any  intelligent  person  with  whom  I  have  occasion 
to  discuss  it  The  fact  is,  that  the  American  system  is  our  old 
Colonial  system  with,  in  certain  cases,  the  principle  of  popular 
election  substituted  for  that  of  nomination  by  the  Crown.  Mr. 
Filmore  stands  to  his  Congress  very  much  in  the  same  relation 
in  which  I  stood  to  my  Assembly  in  Jamaica.  There  is  the 
same  absence  of  effective  responsibility  in  the  conduct  of  legis- 
lation, the  same  want  of  concurrent  action  between  the  parts 
of  the  political  machine.     The  whole  business  of  legislation  in 


1850^1853.      SELF-GOVERNMENT  NOT  REPUBLICAN.         121 

the  American  Congress,  as  well  as  in  the  State  Legisktnres, 
is  conducted  in  the  manner  in  which  railway  business  was  con- 
ducted in  the  House  of  C<HnmonB  at  a  time  when  it  is  to  be 
feared  that,  notwithstanding  the  high  standard  of  honour  in 
the  British  Parliament,  there  was  a  good  deal  of  jobbing.  For 
instance  our  Reciprocity  measure  was  pressed  by  us  at  Wash- 
ington last  session,  just  as  a  Railway  Bill  in  1845  or  1846 
would  have  been  pressed  in  Parliament.  There  was  no  6o- 
yemment  to  deal  with.  The  interests  of  the  Union,  as  a 
whole  and  distinct  from  local  and  sectional  interests,  had  no 
organ  in  the  representative  bodies ;  it  was  all  a  question  of 
canvassing  this  member  of  Congress  or  the  other.  It  is  easy 
to  perceive  that,  under  such  a  system,  jobbing  must  become  not 
the  exception  but  the  rule. 

Now  I  feel  very  strongly,  that  when  a  people  have  been  once 
thoroughly  accustomed  to  the  working  of  such  a  Parliamentary 
system  as  ours,  they  never  will  consent  to  revert  to  this  clumsy 
irresponsible  mechanism.  Whether  we  shall  be  able  to  carry 
on  the  war  here  long  enough  to  allow  the  practice  of  Constitu- 
tional Government  and  the  habits  of  mind  which  it  engenders 
to  take  root  in  these  provinces,  may  be  doubtful.  But  it  may 
be  worth  your  while  to  consider  whether  these  views  do  not 
throw  some  light  on  affairs  in  Europe.  If  you  part  with  con- 
stitutional monarchies  there,  you  may  possibly  get  something 
much  more  democratic ;  but  you  cannot,  I  am  confident,  get 
American  republicanism.  It  is  the  fashion  to  say, '  of  course 
*  not;  we  cannot  get  their  federal  system;*  but  this  is  not  the 
only  reason,  there  are  others  that  lie  deeper.  Look  at  France, 
where  they  are  trying  to  jumble  up  the  two  things,  a  head  of 
the  State  responsible  to  the  people  who  elect  him,  and  a 
ministry  responsible  to  the  Parliament. 

To  the  Duke  of  Newcastle, 

March  26,  1853. 

It  is  argued  that,  by  the  severance  of  the  connection, 
British  statesmen  would  be  relieved  of  an  onerous  responsi- 
bility for  colonial  acts  of  which  they  cannot  otherwise  rid 
themselves.  Is  there  not,  however,  some  fallacy  in  this  ?  If 
by  conceding  absolute  independence  the  British  Parliament 
can  acquit  itself  of  the  obligation  to  impose  its  will  upon  the 
Colonists,  in  the  matter,  for  instance,  of  a  Church  Establish- 


122  CANADA.  Ch.  V. 

ment^  can  it  not  attain  the  same  end  by  declaring  that,  as 
respects  such  local  questions,  the  Colonists  are  free  to  judge 
for  themselves  ?  How  can  it  be  justifiable  to  adopt  the  former 
of  these  expedients,  and  sacrilegious  to  act  upon  the  latter? 

The  true  policy,  in  my  humble  judgment,  is  to  throw  the 
whole  weight  of  responsibility  on  those  who  exercise  the  real 
power,  for,  after  all,  the  sense  of  responsibility  is  the  best 
security  against  the  abuse  of  power ;  and,  as  respects  the 
connection,  to  act  and  speak  on  this  hypothesis — that  there  is 
nothing  in  it  to  check  the  development  of  healthy  national  life 
in  these  young  communities.  I  believe  that  this  policy  will  be 
found  to  be  not  only  the  safest,  but  also  (an  important  con- 
sideration in  these  days)  the  most  economical. 

To  the  Earl  Grey, 

Toronto:  December  17, 1860. 

Although,  as  you  observe,  it  seems  to  be  rather  idle  in  us  to 
correspond  on  what  may  be  termed  speculative  questions,  when 
we  have  so  much  pressing  business  on  hand,  I  venture  to  say 
a  few  words  in  reply  to  your  letter  of  the  23rd  ult,  firstly, 
because  I  presume  to  dissent  from  some  of  the  opinions  which 
you  advance  in  it ;  and,  secondly,  because  I  have  a  practical 
object  of  no  small  importance  in  view  in  calling  your  attention 
to  the  contrasts  which  present  themselves  in  the  working  of 
our  institutions,  and  those  of  our  neighbours  in  the  States. 
My  practical  object  is  this :  when  you  concede  to  the  Colonists 
Constitutional  Government  in  its  integrity,  you  are  reproached 
with  leading  them  to  Republicanism  and  the  American  Union. 
The  same  reproach  is  hurled  with  anathemas  against  your 
humble  servant  Lord  Stanley,  if  I  rightly  remember,  in  the 
debate  on  Ryland's  case  last  year,  stated  amid  cheers,  that  if 
you  were  in  the  habit  of  consulting  the  Ministers  of  the  Crown 
in  the  Colony  before  you  placed  persons  on  the  colonial 
pension  list,  he  had  no  hesitation  in  saying  you  had  already 
established  a  republic  in  Canada  I  Now  I  believe,  on  the  con* 
trary,  that  it  may  be  demonstrated  that  the  concession  of  Con- 
stitutional Government  has  a  tendency  to  draw  the  Colonists 
the  other  way ;  firstly,  because  it  slakes  that  thirst  for  self- 
government  which  seizes  on  all  British  communities  when  they 
approach  maturity;  and,  secondly,  because  it  habituates  the 


1850—1853.      SELF-GOVERNMENT  NOT  REPUBLICAN.         123 

Colonists  to  the  working  of  a  political  mechanism,  which  is 
both  intrinsically  superior  to  that  of  the  Americans,  and  more 
unlike  it  than  our  old  Colonial  system. 

Adopting,  however,  the  views  with  respect  to  the  superiority 
of  the  mechanism  of  our  political  system  to  that  of  our  neigh- 
bours, which  I  have  ventured  to  urge,  you  proceed  to  argue 
that  the  remedy  is  in  their  hands;  that  without  abandoning 
their  republicanism  they  and  their  confreres  in  France  have 
nothing  to  do  but  to  dismiss  their  Presidents  and  to  substitute 
ou.  constitution  without  a  King,  the  body  without  the  head, 
for  tneir  own,  to  get  rid  of  the  inconveniences  which  they  now 
experience ;  and  you  quote  with  approbation,  as  an  embodi- 
ment of  this  idea,  the  project  submitted  by  M.  Gr6vy  and  the 
Red  Republicans  to  the  French  Constituent  Assembly. 

Now  here  I  confess  I  cannot  go.  along  with  you,  and  the  Value  of 
difference  between  us  is  a  very  material  one ;  for  if  the  areWca?' 
monarch  be  not  an  indispensable  element  in  our  constitu-  principle. 
tional  mechanism,  and  if  we  can  secure  all  the  advantages 
of  that  mechanism  without  him,  I  have  drawn  the  wrong 
moral  from  the  facts.  You  say  that  the  system  the  Red 
Republicans  would  have  established  in  France  would  have 
been  the  nearest  possible  approach  to  our  own.  It  is  possible, 
I  think,  that  we  may  be  tending  towards  the  like  issues.  It  is 
possible,  perhaps  probable,  that  as  the  House  of  Commons 
becomes  more  democratic  in  its  composition,  and  consequently 
more  arrogant  in  its  bearing,  it  may  cast  off*  the  shackles 
which  the  other  powers  of  the  State  impose  on  its  self-will, 
and  even  utterly  abolish  them ;  but  I  venture  to  believe  that 
those  who  last  till  that  day  comes,  will  find  that  they  are 
living  under  a  very  different  constitution  from  that  which  we 
now  enjoy;  that  they  have  traversed  the  interval  which 
separates  a  temperate  and  cautious  administration  of  public 
affairs  resting  on  the  balance  of  powers  and  interests,  from  a 
reckless  and  overbearing  tyranny  based  on  the  caprices  and 
passions  of  an  absolute  and  irresponsible  body.  You  talk 
somewhat  lightly  of  the  check  of  the  Crown,  although  you 
acknowledge  its  utility.  But  is  it  indeed  so  light  a  matter, 
even  as  our  constitution  now  works  ?  Is  it  a  light  matter  that 
the  Crown  should  have  the  power  of  dissolving  Parliament ;  in 
other  words,  of  deposing  the  tyrant  at  will?  Is  it  a  light 
matter  that  for  several   months  in  each  year  the  House  of 


124  CANADA.  Ch.  V. 

Commons  should  be  in  abejance,  during  which  period  the 
nation  looks  on  Ministers  not  as  slaves  of  Parliament  but 
servants  of  the  Crown  ?  Is  it  a  light  matter  that  there  should 
still  be  such  respect  for  the  monarchical  principle,  that  the 
servants  of  that  visible  entity  yclept  the  Crown  are  enabled  to 
carry  on  much  of  the  details  of  internal  and  foreign  adminis- 
tration without  consulting  Parliament,  and  even  without  its 
cognisance  ?  Or  do  you  suppose  that  the  Red  Republicans, 
when  they  advocated  the  nomination  of  a  Ministry  of  the 
House  of  Assembly  with  a  revocable  mandat,  intended  to 
create  a  Frankenstein  endowed  with  powers  in  some  cases  para- 
mount to,  and  in  others  running  parallel  with,  the  authority 
of  the  omnipotent  body  to  which  it  owed  its  existence  ?  My 
own  impression  is,  that  they  meant  a  set  of  delegates  to  be 
appointed,  who  should  exercise  certain  functions  of  legislative 
initiation  and  executive  patronage  so  long  as  they  reflected 
clearly,  in  the  fonner  the  passions,  and  in  the  latter  the  in- 
terests of  the  majority  for  the  time  being,  and  no  longer. 

It  appears  to  me,  I  must  confess,  that  if  you  have  a  repub- 
lican form  of  government  in  a  great  country,  with  complicated 
internal  and  external  relations,  you  must  either  separate  the 
executive  and  legislative  departments,  as  in  the  United  States, 
or  submit  to  a  tyranny  of  the  majority,  not  the  more  tolerable 
because  it  is  capricious  and  wielded  by  a  tyrant  with  many 
heads.     Of  the  two  evils  I  prefer  the  former. 

Consider,  for  a  moment,  how  much  more  violent  the  proceed- 
ings of  majorities  in  the  American  Legislatures  would  be,  how 
much  more  reckless  the  appeals  to  popular  passion,  how  much 
more  frequently  the  permanent  interests  of  the  nation  and  the 
rights  of  individuals  and  classes  would  be  sacrificed  to  the 
object  of  raising  political  capital  for  present  uses,  if  debates  or 
discussions  aiFected  the  tenure  of  office.  I  have  no  idea  that 
the  executive  and  legislative  departments  of  the  State  can  be 
made  to  work  together  with  a  suflBcient  degree  of  harmony  to 
^ve  the  maximum  of  strength  and  of  mutual  independence  to 
secure  freedom  and  the  rights  of  minorities,  except  under  the 
presidency  of  Monarchy,  the  moral  influence  of  which,  so  long 
as  a  nation  is  monarchical  in  its  sentiments,  cannot,  of  course, 
be  measured  merely  by  its  recognised  power. 

latMDM         Those  who  are  most  ready  to  concur  in  these  views  of 
Colonial  Government,  and  to  admire  the  vigour  with 


1850—1863.       THE  MONARCHICAL  PRINCIPLE. 


125 


which  they  were  defended,  and  the  consistency  with  "^JL" 
which  they  were  carried  out,  may  still  be  inclined  to  vernment. 
ask  whether  the  maintenance  of  them  did  not  involve 
a  species  of  official  suicide :  whether  the  theory  of  the 
responsibility  of  provincial  Ministers  to  the  provincial 
Parliament,  and  of  the  consequent  duty  of  the  Governor 
to  remain  absolutely  neutral  in  the  strife  of  political 
parties,  had  not  a  necessary  tendency  to  degrade  his 
office  into  that  of  a  mere  Boi  fainiant.  He  had  in 
1849,  as  Sir  C.  Adderley  expresses  it,  *  maintained  the 

*  principle  of  responsible  Government  at  the  risk  of  his 

*  life/  Was  the  result  of  his  hard- won  victory  only  to 
empty  himself  of  all  but  the  mere  outward  show  of 
power  and  authority? 

Such  questions  he  was  always  ready  to  meet  with  an 
uncompromising  negative.  *  I  have  tried,'  he  said, 
^  both  systems.     Jn  Jamaica  there  was  no  responsible 

*  Government :  but  I  had  not  half  the  power  I  have 
'  here  with  my  constitutional  and  changing  Cabinet/ 
Even  on  the  Vice -regal  throne  of  India,  he  missed,  at 
first,  at  least,  something  of  the  authority  and  influence 
which  had  been  his,  as  Constitutional  Governor,  in 
Canada/  He  was  fully  conscious,  however,  of  the 
difficult  nature  of  the  position,  and  that  it  was  only 
tenable  on  condition  of  being  penetrated,  or  possessed^ 
as  he  said,  with  the  idea  of  its  tenability.  In  this 
strain  he  wrote  to  his  intimate  friend,  Mr.  Cumming 
Bruce,  in  September  1852,  with  reference  to  a  report 
that  he  was  to  be  recalled  by  the  Ministry  which  had 
recently  come  into  power. 

As  respects  the  matter  of  the  report^  I  am  disposed  to 
believe  that^  viewing  the  question  with  reference  to  personal 


1  '  Perhaps  I  may  cee  reason  after 
'  a  little  more  experience  here  to 
*  modify  my  opinion  on  these  points. 
'  If  I  were  to  tell  you  what  I  n<m 
'  think  of  the  relative  amount  of  in- 
'  iiuence  which  1  exercised  over  the 
<  march  of  affairs  in  Canada,  where  I 


'  governed  on  strictly  constitutional 
'  principles,  and  with  a  free  Parlia- 
'  ment,  as  compared  with  that  which 
'  the  Governor-General  wields  in 
^  India  when  at  peacSf  von  would 
'  accuse  nie  of  panidox.  — Letter  to 
Sir  C,  Woody  December  *^  1 862. 


126  CANADA.  Ch.  V. 

interests  exclusively,  my  remoyal  from  hence  would  not  be  any 
disadvantage  to  me.  But,  as  to  my  work  here — there  is  the 
rub.  Is  it  to  be  all  undone?  On  this  point  I  must  speak 
frankly.  I  have  been  possessed  (I  use  the  word  advisedly,  for 
I  fear  that  most  persons  in  England  still  consider  it  a  case  of 
possessioii)  with  the  idea  that  it  is  possible  to  maintain  on  this 
soil  of  North  America,  and  in  the«face  of  Republican  America, 
British  connection  and  British  institutions,  if  you  give  the 
latter  freely  and  trustingly.  Faith,  when  it  is  sincere,  is  always 
catching;  and  I  have  imparted  this  faith,  more  or  less  thoroughly, 
to  all  Canadian  statesmen  with  whom  I  have  been  in  official 
relationship  since  1848,  and  to  all  intelligent  Englishmen  with 
whom  I  have  come  in  contact  since  1850— as  witness  Lord 
WharnclifFe,  Waldegrave,  Tremenheere,  &c.  &c.  Now  if  the 
Governor  ceases  to  possess  this  faith,  or  to  have  the  faculty  of 
imparting  it,  I  confess  I  fear  that,  ere  long,  it  will  become 
extinct  in  other  breasts  likewise.  I  believe  that  it  is  equally 
an  error  to  imagine  with  one  old-fashioned  party,  that  you  can 
govern  such  dependencies  as  this  on  the  antiquated  bureau- 
cratic principle,  by  means  of  rescripts  from  Downing  Street, 
in  defiance  of  the  popular  legislatures,  and  on  the  hypothesis 
that  one  local  faction  monopolises  all  the  loyalty  of  the 
Colony  ;  and  to  suppose  with  the  Radicals  that  all  is  done 
when  you  have  simply  told  the  colonists  *  to  go  to  the  devil 
*  their  own  way.'  I  believe,  on  the  contrary,  that  there  is 
more  room  for  the  exercise  of  influence  on  the  part  of  the 
Governor  under  my  system  than  under  any  that  ever  was 
before  devised ;  an  influence,  however,  wholly  moral  —  an 
influence  of  suasion,  sympathy,  and  moderation,  which  softens 
the  temper  while  it  elevates  the  aims  of  local  politics. 

It  is  true  that  on  certain  questions  of  public  policy,  es- 
pecially with  regard  to  Church  matters,  views  are  propounded 
by  my  ministers  which  do  not  exactly  square  with  my  pre-con- 
ceived  opinions,  and  which  I  acquiesce  in,  so  long  as  they  do 
not  contravene  the  fundamental  principles  of  morality,  irom  a 
conviction  that  they  are  in  accordance  with  the  general  senti- 
ments of  the  community. 

It  is  true  that  I  do  not  seek  the  commendation  bestowed 
on  Sir  F.  Head  for  bringing  men  into  his  councils  from  the 
liberal  party,  and  telling  them  that  they  should  enjoy  only  a 
partial  confidence ;  thereby  allowing  them  to  retain  their  position 


1860—1853.  INFLUENCE  OF  A  GOVERNOR.  127 

as  tribunes  of  the  people  in  conjunction  with  the  prestige  of 
advisers  of  the  Crown  bj  enabling  them  to  shirk  responsibility 
for  any  acts  of  government  which  are  unpopular.  It  is  true 
that  I  have  always  said  to  my  advisers, '  while  you  continue 
'  my  advisers  you  shall  enjoy  my  unreserved  confidence ;  and  en 
*  revanche  you  shall  be  responsible  for  all  acts  of  government.' 

But  it  is  no  less  certain  that  there  is  not  one  of  them  who 
does  not  know  that  no  inducement  on  earth  would  prevail  with 
me  to  bring  me  to  acquiesce  in  any  measures  which  seemed  to 
me  repugnant  to  public  morals,  or  Imperial  interests ;  and  I 
must  say  that,  far  from  finding  in  my  advisers  a  desire  to  entrap 
me  into  proceedings  of  which  1  might  disapprove,  I  find  a 
tendency  constantly  increasing  to  attach  the  utmost  value  to 
my  opinion  on  all  questions,  local  or  general,  that  arise. 

The  deep  sense  which  he  entertained  of  the  im- 
portance of  a  correct  understanding  on  this  point  is 
shown  by  his  devoting  to  it  the  closing  words  of  the 
last  ofHcial  despatch  which  he  wrote  from  Quebec,  on 
December  18,  1854. 

I  readily  admit  that  the  maintenance  of  the  position  and  due 
influence  of  the  Governor  is  one  of  the  most  critical  problems 
that  have  to  be  solved  in  the  adaptation  of  Parhamentary 
Government  to  the  Colonial  system  ;  and  that  it  is  difficult  to 
over-estimate  the  importance  which  attaches  to  its  satisfactory 
solution.  As  the  Imperial  Government  and  Parliament  gra- 
dually withdraw  from  legislative  interference,  and  from  the 
exercise  of  patronage  in  Colonial  affairs,  the  office  of  Gofremor 
tends  to  become,  in  the  most  emphatic  sense  of  the  term,  the 
link  which  connects  the  Mother-country  and  the  Colony,  and 
his  influence  the  means  by  which  harmony  of  action  between 
the  local  and  imperial  authorities  is  to  be  preserved.  It  is  not, 
however,  in  my  humble  judgment,  by  evincing  an  anxious 
desire  to  stretch  to  the  utmost  constitutional  principles  in  his 
favour,  but,  on  the  contrary,  by  the  frank  acceptance  of  the 
conditions  of  the  Parliamentary  system,  that  this  influence  can 
be  most  surely  extended  and  confirmed.  Placed  by  his  position 
above  the  strife  of  parties — holding  office  by  a  tenure  less 
precarious  than  the  ministers  who  surround  him — ^having  no 
political  interests  to  serve  but  that  of  the  comniunity  whose 
affairs  he  is  appointed  to  administer — his  opinion  cannot  fail. 


128  CANADA.  Ch.  V. 

when  all  cause  for  suspicion  and  jealousy  is  removed,  to  have 
great  weight  in  the  Colonial  Councils,  while  he  is  set  at  liberty 
to  constitute  himself  in  an  especial  manner  the  patron  of  those 
larger  and  higher  interests — such  interests,  for  example,  as 
those  of  education,  and  of  moral  and  material  progress  in  all  its 
branches — which,  unlike  the  contests  of  party,  unite  instead 
of  dividing  the  members  of  the  body  politic.  The  mention  of 
such  influences  as  an  appreciable  force  in  the  administration  of 
public  affairs  may  provoke  a  sneer  on  the  part  of  persons  who 
have  no  faith  in  any  appeal  which  is  not  addressed  to  the  lowest 
motives  of  human  conduct ;  but  those  who  have  juster  views  of 
our  common  nature,  and  who  have  seen  influences  that  are 
purely  moral  wielded  with  judgment,  will  not  be  disposed  to 
deny  to  them  a  high  degree  of  eflicacy. 

Defence  of  Closely  akin  to  the  question  of  the  maintenance  of 
the  connection  betvreen  the  Colony  and  Great  Britain, 
especially  when  viewed  as  affected  by  the  commercial 
and  financial  condition  of  the  former,  was  the  question 
of  throwing  upon  it  the  expense  of  defending  itself;  a 
problem  which  was  then  only  beginning  to  attract  the 
attention  of  liberal  statesmen.  For  though  it  may  be 
true  that  the  practice  of  defending  the  Colonies  with 
the  troops  and  at  the  cost  of  the  mother-country  was 
an  innovation  upon  the  earlier  Colonial  system,  intro- 
duced at  the  time  of  the  great  war,  it  is  not  the  less 
certain  that  to  the  generation  of  colonists  that  had 
grown  up  since  that  time  the  abandonment  of  it  had 
all  the  effect  of  novelty.  It  was  a  question  on  which, 
as  affecting  Canada,  Lord  Elgin  was  in  a  peculiar  degree 
*  between  two  fires ;'  exposed  to  pressure  at  once  from 
the  Government  at  home  and  from  his  own  Ministers, 
and  seeing  much  to  agree  with  in  the  views  of  both. 
against  In  the  first  place,  as  regards  the  preservation  of  order 

diwrder ;  within  the  proviucc,  he  thought  it  clear  that,  as  a  general 
rule,  the  cost  of  this  should  fall  on  the  Colony  itself 
wherever  it  enjoyed  self-government;  but  there  were 
peculiar  circumstances  in  Canada  which  made  him  hesi- 
tate to  apply  the  doctrine  unreservedly  there.     Owing 


1860—1863.  DEFEXCES  OF  THE   COLONY.  129 

to  the  contiguity  of  the  United  States,  the  abettors  of 
any  mischief  in  the  Colony  might  count  on  help  con- 
stantly at  hand,  not  indeed  from  the  Government  of 
the  Union,  which  never  acted  disloyally,^  but  from 
the  unruly  spirits  that  were  apt  to  infest  the  borders ; 
and  it  seemed  to  him  at  least  doubtful,  whether  both 
justice  and  policy  did  not  require  that  Great  Britain 
should  afford  to  the  supporters  of  order  some  material 
aid  to  counterbalance  this.  Again,  the  peculiar  social 
and  political  state  of  Lower  Canada,  arising  mainly 
from  the  conditions  under  which  it  had  passed  into 
the  hands  of  England,  and  from  the  manner  in  which 
England  had  fulfilled  those  conditions,  created  special 
difficulties  as  to  the  maintenance  of  internal  quiet.  On 
the  one  hand  England's  respect  for  treaty  obligations 
had  induced  her  to  resist  all  attempts  to  break  down  by 
fraud  or  violence  those  rights  and  usages  of  the  French 
population,  which  had  tended  to  keep  alive  among  them 
feelings  of  distinctive  nationality;  while  on  the  other 
hand  the  effect  of  the  working  of  the  old  system  of 
colonial  administration  had  been  to  confer  upon  British 
or  American  settlers  a  disproportionate  share  in  the 
government  of  the  province.  It  followed  that  the 
French-Canadian  majority  and  the  Anglo-Saxon  mi- 
nority were  dwelling  side  by  side  in  that  section  of  the 
Colony  without,  to  any  sensible  extent,  intermingling, 
and  under  conditions  of  equilibrium  which  could  never 
have  been  established  but  for  the  presence  on  the  same 
scene  of  a  directing  and  overruling  power.  In  this 
state  of  things,  while  confidently  hoping  that  an  im- 
jxartial  adherence  to  the  principles  of  constitutional 
government  would  by  degrees  obliterate  all  national 
distinctions,  he  saw  reason  to  fear  that  the  sudden  with- 
drawal of  Britain's  moderating  control,  whether  as 
the  result  of  separation  or  of  a  change  of  Imperial 

*  Vide  infra,  p.  159. 
K 


130  CANADA.  Cn.  V. 

policy,  would  be  followed  at  no  distant  period  by  a 
serious  collision  between  the  races. 
^°»*^  Similarly,  as  regards  defence  against  foreign  attack, 

attack.  while  agreeing  that  a  self-governing  colony  should  be 
self-dependent.  Lord  Elgin  felt  that  the  peculiar  posi- 
tion of  Canada,  having  no  foreign  attack  to  apprehend 
except  in  quarrels  of  England's  making,  made  her  case 
somewhat  exceptional.  And  any  wholesale  withdrawal 
of  British  troops  he  strongly  deprecated,  as  likely  to 
imperil  her  connection  with  the  mother-country,  if  it 
took  place  suddenly,  before  the  old  notion — the  '  axiom 
'  affirmed  again  and  again  by  Secretaries  of  State  and 
*  Governors,  that  England  was  bound  to  pay  all  ex- 
'  penses  connected  with  the  defence  of  the  Colony  ' — 
had  lost  its  hold  on  men's  minds,  and  a  feeling  of  the 
responsibilities  attaching  to  self-government  had  had 
time  to  grow  up. 

His  first  letter  on  the  subject  is  to  Lord  Grey,  written 
90  early  as  April  26,  1848 : — 

The  question  which  you  raise  in  your  last  letter  respecting 
the  military  defence  of  Canada  is  a  large  one,  and,  before 
irrevocable  steps  be  taken,  it  may  be  well  to  look  at  it  on  all 
sides. 

The  first  consideration  which  offers  itself  in  connection  with 
this  subject  is  this,  *  Why  does  Canada  require  to  be  defended, 
and  against  whom  ? '  A  very  large  number  of  persons  in  this 
community  believe  that  there  is  only  one  power  from  which 
they  have  anything  to  dread,  and  that  this  power  would  be 
converted  into  the  fastest  friend,  bone  of  their  bone,  and  flesh 
of  their  flesh,  if  the  connection  with  Great  Britain  were  aban- 
doned. 

In  this  respect  the  position  of  Canada  is  peculiar.  When 
you  say  to  any  other  colony  *  England  declines  to  be  longer  at 
the  expense  of  protecting  you,'  you  at  once  reveal  to  it  the 
extent  of  its  dependence  and  the  value  of  Imperial  support. 
But  it  is  not  so  here.  Withdraw  your  protection  from  Canada, 
and  she  has  it  in  her  j)ower  to  obtain  the  security  against 
aggression  enjoyed  by   Michigan  or  Maine:    about  as  good 


1850—1853.  DEFENCES  OF  THE  COLONY.  l31 

Becnrity,  I  must  aUow,  as  any  which  is  to  be  obtained  at  the 
present  time. 

But  you  may  observe  in  reply  to  this, '  You  cannot  get  the 
security  which  Michigan  and  Maine  enjoy  for  nothing ;  you 
must  purchase  it  by  the  surrender  of  your  custom  houses  and 
public  lands,  the  proceeds  of  which  will  be  diverted  from  their 
present  uses  and  applied  to  others,  at  the  discretion  of  a  body 
in  which  you  will  have  comparatively  little  to  say.'  The 
argument  is  a  powerful  one,  so  long  as  England  consents  to 
bear  the  cost  of  the  defence  of  the  Colony,  but  its  force  is 
much  lessened  when  the  inhabitants  are  told  that  they  must 
look  to  their  own  safety,  because  the  mother^country  can  no 
longer  afford  to  take  care  of  them. 

On  the  other  hand  very  weighty  reasons  may  be  adduced  in 
favour  of  the  policy  of  requiring  the  province  to  bear  some 
portion  at  least  of  the  charge  of  its  own  protection.  The 
adoption  of  free-trade,  although  its  advocates  must  believe 
that  it  tends  to  make  the  Colonies  in  point  of  fact  less  charge- 
able than  heretofore,  will  doubtless  render  the  English  people 
more  than  ever  jealous  of  expenditure  incurred  on  their  behalf. 
I  am,  moreover,  of  opinion,  that  the  system  of  relieving  the 
colonists  ^together  from  the  duty  of  self-defence  is  attended 
with  injurious  effects  upon  themselves.  It  checks  the  growth 
of  national  and  manly  morals.  Men  seldom  think  anything 
worth  preserving  for  which  they  are  never  asked  to  make  a 
sacrifice. 

My  view,  therefore,  would  be  that  it  is  desirable  that  a 
movement  in  the  direction  which  you  have  indicated  should 
take  place,  but  that  it  ought  to  be  made  with  much  caution. 

The  present  is  not  a  favourable  moment  for  experiments, 
British  statesmen,  even  Secretaries  of  State,  have  got  into  the 
habit  lately  of  talking  of  the  maintenance  of  the  connection 
between  Great  Britain  and  Canada  with  so  much  indifference, 
that  a  change  of  system  in  respect  of  military  defence  in-> 
cautiously  carried  out,  might  be  presumed  by  many  to  argue, 
on  the  part  of  the  mother-country,  a  disposition  to  prepare 
the  way  for  separation,  Add  to  this,  that  you  effected,  only 
a  few  years  ago,  a  union  between  the  Upper  and  Lower 
Provinces  by  arbitrary  means,  and  for  objects  the  avowal  of 
which  has  profoundly  irritated  the  French  population ;  that 
still  more  recently  you  have  deprived  Canada  of  her  principsU 

k2 


132 


CANADA. 


Cn.  V. 


Beoom- 
mends 
gradual 
ivduction 
of  forces. 


advantages  in  the  British  markets ;  that  France  and  Ireland 
are  in  flames,  and  that  nearly  half  of  the  population  of  this 
Colony  are  French,  nearly  half  of  the  remainder  Irish. 

That  Canada  felt  irt)  need  of  bulwarks  except  against 
England's  foes  was  a  point  on  which  he  constantly  in- 
sisted.    On  one  occasion  he  wrote : — 

Only  one  absurdity  can  be  greater,  pardon  me  for  saying  so, 
than  the  absurdity  of  supposing  that  the  British  Parliament 
ivill  pay  £200,000  for  Canadian  fortifications;  it  is  the  ab- 
surdity of  supposing  that  Canadians  will  pay  it  themselves. 

£200,000  for  defences  1  and  against  whom?  against  the 
Americans.  And  who  are  the  Americans  ?  Your  own  kindred, 
a  flourishing  swaggering  people,  who  are  ready  to  make  room 
for  you  at  their  own  table,  to  give  you  a  share  of  all  they 
possess,  of  all  their  prosperity,  and  to  guarantee  you  in  all 
time  to  come  against  the  risk  of  invasion,  or  the  need  of 
defences,  if  you  will  but  speak  the  word ! 

On  the  whole  he  was  of  opinion  that  the  Goverrunent 
should  quietly,  and  sans  phrase^  remove  their  troops 
altogether  from  some  points,  reduce  them  in  others, 
and  *  aim  at  the  eventual  substitution  of  a  Major- 
'  General's  command  for  that  of  a  Lieutenant-General 

*  in  Canada ;  but  that  nothing  should  be  done  hastily  or 
^per  saltum^  so  as  to  alarm  the  Colonists  with  the  idea 

*  that  some  new  and  strange  principle  was  gomg  to  be 

*  applied  to  them.' 

You  may  if  you  please  (he  wrote)  largely  reduce  the  staff, 
and  more  moderately  the  men,  leaving  the  remainder  in  the 
best  barracks.  I  think  you  may  do  this  w^ithout,  in  any 
material  degree,  increasing  the  tendency  tow^ards  annexation ; 

provided  always  that  you  make  no  noise  about  it 

But,  I  repeat  it,  you  must  not,  unless  you  wish  to  drive  the 
Colony  away  from  you,  impose  new  burdens  upon  the  Colonists 
at  this  time.^ 

^  In  entire  accordance  with  this  *  and  to  calls  which  at  a  period  more 

view,  he  recommended  that  Great  '  or  less  remote  we  may  have  to  make 

Britain  should  take  upon  herself  the  'on  the  loyalty  and  patriotism  of 

*    '     '^  '       '  ^Canadians.' 


payment  of  the  Governor's  salary, 
*  with  a  view  to  future  contingencies, 


1850—1863.  DEFENCES  -OF  THE  COLONY,  133 

The  course  thus  sketched  out  he  hunself  steadily 
pursued;  and  his  last  letters  on  the  subject,  written 
early  in  1853  to  the  Duke  of  Newcastle,  who  had  re- 
cently become  Secretary  for  the  Colonies,  were  occupied 
in  reconunending  a  continuance  of  the  same  quietly 
progressive  policy : 

When  I  came  here  we  had  a  Commander-in-Chief  and  two 
Msyor-Generals.  We  have  now  only  one  General  on  the 
station^  and  the  staff  has  undergone  proportional  diminution. 
If  further  reductions  are  to  be  made^  let  them  be  effected  in 
the  same  quiet  way  without  parade  or  the  ostentatious  adoption 
of  new  principles  as  applicable  to  the  defence  of  colonies  which 
are  exposed,  as  Canada  is  by  reason  of  their  connection  with 
Great  Britain,  to  the  hazard  of  assaults  from  organised  powers. 

Continue  then,  if  you  will  pardon  me  for  so  freely  tendering 
advice,  to  apply  in  the  administration  of  our  local  affairs  the 
principles  of  Constitutional  Government  frankly  and  fairly. 
Do  not  ask  England  to  make  unreasonable  sacrifices  for  the 
Colonists,  but  such  sacrifices  as  are  reasonable,  on  the  hypo- 
thesis that  the  Colony  is  an  exposed  part  of  the  empire.  In- 
duce her  if  you  can  to  make  them  generously  and  without 
appearing  to  grudge  them.  Let  it  be  inferred  from  your 
language  that  there  is  in  your  opinion  nothing  in  the  nature  of 
things  to  prevent  the  tie  which  connects  the  Mother-coimtry 
and  the  Colony  from  being  as  enduring  as  that  which  unites 
the  different  States  of  the  Union,  and  nothing  in  the  nature  of 
our  very  elastic  institutions  to  prevent  them  from  expanding 
so  as  to  permit  the  free  and  healthy  development  of  social^ 
political,  and  national  life  in  these  young  communities.  By 
administering  colonial  affairs  in  this  spirit  you  will  find,  I 
believe,  even  when  you  least  profess  to  seek  it,  the  true  secret 
of  the  cheap  defence  of  nations.  If  these  communities  are 
only  truly  attached  to  the  connection  and  satisfied  of  its  per- 
manence (and,  as  respects  the  latter  point,  opinions  here  will 
be  much  influenced  by  the  tone  of  statesmen  at  home),  elements 
of  self-defence,  not  moral  elements  only  but  material  elements 
likewise,  will  spring  up  within  them  spontaneously  as  the  pro- 
duct of  movements  from  within,  not  of  pressure  from  without. 
Two  millions  of  people,  in  a  northern  latitude,  can  do  a  good 
deal  in  the  way  of  helping  themselves  when  their  hearts  are  in 
the  right  place. 


134 


CANADA, 


Ch.  VI. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

CANADA. 

THE   *  CLERGY   RESERVES  ' — HISTORY  OF  THE  QUESTION — MIXED  KOTIYES  OF 

THE   MOVEMENT — FEELING    IN    THE    PROVINCE — IN    UPPER    CANADA IN 

LOWER  CANADA — AMONG  ROMAN  CATHOLICS — IN  THE  CHURCH^  SECU- 
LARIZATION— QUESTIONS  OF  EMIGRATION,  LABOUR,  LAND-TENURE,  EDU- 
CATION, NATIVE  TRIBES — RELATIONS  WITH  THE  UNITED  STATES — MUTUAL 
COURTESIES — FAREWELL   TO   CANADA — ^AT   HOME. 


The 

•Clergy 

BeBerves.' 


HlBtOTJ  of 

the  ques- 
tion. 


We  have  had  frequent  occasion  to  observe  that  the 
guiding  principle  of  Lord  Elgin's  policy  was  to  let  the 
Colony  have  its  own  way  in  everything  which  was  not 
contrary  either  to  public  morality  or  to  some  Imperial 
interest.  It  was  in  this  spirit  that  he  passed  the 
Rebellion  Losses  Act ;  and  in  this  spirit  he  watched 
the  contest  which  raged  for  many  years  on  the  memo- 
rable question  of  the  *  Clergy  Reserves.' 

By  the  Canada  Act  of  1791  one-seventh  of  the  lands 
then  ungranted  had  been  set  apart  for  the  support  of  a 
'  Protestant  Clergy.'  At  first  these  reserves  were  re- 
garded as  the  exclusive  property  of  the  Church  of 
England;  but  in  1820  an  opinion  was  obtained  from 
the  Law  Officers  of  the  Crown  in  England,  that  the 
clergy  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  had  a  right  to  a  share 
in  them,  but  not  Dissenting  Ministers.  In  1840  an 
Act  was  passed  in  which  the  claims  of  other  denomi- 
nations also  were  distinctly  recognised.  By  it  the 
Governor  was  empowered  to  sell  the  reserves  ;  a  part 
of  the  proceeds  was  to  be  applied  in  payment  of  the 
salaries  of  the  existing  clergy,  to  whom  the  faith  of 
the  Crown  had  been  pledged  ;  one-half  of  the  remainder 
was  to  go  to  the  Churches  of  England  and  Scotland,  in 


J 


1860—1854.  THE  '  CLERGY  RESERVES/  135 

proportion  to  their  respective  numbers,  and  the  other 
half  was  to  be  at  the  disposal  of  the  Governor-General 
for  the  benefit  of  the  clergy  of  any  Protestant  denomi- 
nation willing  to  receive  public  aid. 

But  the  old  inveterate  jealousy  of  Anglican  as- 
cendency, aggravated,  it  is  said,  by  the  political  conduct 
of  Bishop  Strachan,  who  had  identified  his  Church  with 
the  obnoxious  rule  of  the  Family  Compact,  was  not 
content  with  these  concessions.  Allying  itself  with 
the  voluntary  spirit,  caught  from  the  Scottish  Free 
Church  movement  in  1843,  it  took  the  shape  of  a 
^inatical  opposition  to  everything  in  the  nature  of  a 
public  pro\ision  for  the  support  of  religion  ;  and  the 
cry  was  raised  for  the  '  Secularisation  of  the  Clergy 
Reserves.'  Eagerly  taken  up,  as  was  natm*al,  by  the 
Ultra-radicals,  or  '  Clear-grits,'  the  cry  was  echoed  by 
a  considerable  section  of  the  old  Tory  party,  from 
motives  which  it  is  less  easy  to  analyse  ;  and  so  violent 
was  the  feeling  that  it  threatened  to  sweep  away  at  one 
stroke  all  the  endowments  in  question,  without  regard 
to  vested  interests,  and  without  even  waiting  for  the 
repeal  of  the  Imperial  Act  by  which  these  endowments 
were  guaranteed.  More  loyal  and  moderate  counsels 
however  prevailed,  owing  chiefly  to  the  support  which 
they  received  from  the  Roman  Catholics  of  Lower 
Canada,  at  one  time  so  violently  disafl^ected.  In  1850 
the  Assembly  voted  an  Address  to  the  Queen,  praying 
that  the  Act  referred  to  might  be  repealed,  and  that 
the  Local  Legislature  might  be  empowered  to  dispose 
of  the  reserved  lands,  subject  to  the  condition  of  secur- 
ing to  the  existing  holders  for  their  lives  the  stipends 
to  which  they  were  then  entitled.  To  this  Address  a 
favourable  answer  was  returned  by  Lord  Grey;  who, 
while  avowing  the  preference  of  Her  Majesty's  Govern- 
ment for  the  existing  arrangement,  by  which  a  certain 
portion  of  the  public  lands  of  Canada  were  applied  to 
religious  uses,  admitted   at   the   same  time   that   the 


136  CANADA.  Cn.  \1. 

question  of  maintaining  it  was  one  so  exclusively  affect- 
ing the  people  of  Canada,  that  its  decision  ought  not 
to  be  withdrawn  from  the  Provincial  Legislature. 

A  Bill  for  granting  to  the  Colony  the  desired  powers 
was  intended  to  be  introduced  into  Parliament  during 
the  session  of  1^51,  but  owing  to  the  pressure  of  other 
business  it  was  deferred  to  the  next  year.  It  was  to 
have  been  brought  forward  in  a  few  days,  when  the 
break-up  of  Lord  John  Russell's  Ministry  caused  it  to 
be  again  postponed;  and  it  was  not  till  May  9,  1853, 
that  the  long  looked-for  Act  received  the  Queen's  assent. 

No  action  could  be  taken  in  the  matter  by  the 
Colonial  Parliament  for  that  year,  as  its  session  closed 
on  June  14;  and  when  it  met  again  next  year  a  minis- 
terial crisis,  followed  by  a  dissolution  and  a  change  of 
Ministers,  caused  a  postponement  of  all  legislation. 
Finally,  on  October  17,  1854,  a  Bill  for  the  '  Seculari- 

*  sation  of  the  Clergy  Reserves '  was  introduced  into  the 
Assembly.  The  more  moderate  and  thoughtftil  men  of 
every  party  are  said  to  have  been  at  heart  opposed  to 
it ;  but  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  stand  against  the 
current  of  popular  feeling.  The  Bill  speedily  became 
law;  the  Clergy  Reserves  were  handed  over  to  the 
various  municipal  corporations  for  secular  uses;  and 
though  by  this  means  '  a  noble  provision  made  for  the 
'  sustentation  of  religion  was  frittered  away  so  as  to 

*  produce  but  few  beneficial  results,'  ^  a  question  which 
had  long  been  the  occasion  of  much  heart-burning  was 
at  least  settled,  and  settled  for  ever.  A  slender  pro- 
vision for  the  future  was  saved  out  of  the  wreck  by  the 
commutation  of  the  reserved  life-interests  of  incum- 
bents, which  laid  the  foundation  of  a  small  permanent 
endowment  ;  but,  with  this  exception,  the  equaUty  of 
destitution  among  all  Protestant  communities  was  com- 
plete.* 

*  Mftc  Mullen's  History  of  Canada^  ^  It  is  a  singular  fact,  as  illus- 

p.  527.  trating  the  tenacity  and  cuhereuce 


1850—1854.  TIIE   'CLERGY   RESER\TES/  137 

The  various  stages  through  which  this  question 
passed  may  be  traced  in  the  following  letters,  of  which 
the  first  was  written  to  Lord  Grey  on  July  5,  1850  : 

Two  addresses  to  the  Queen  were  voted  by  the  Assembly  a 
few  days  ago  and  brought  up  by  the  House  to  me  for  trans- 
mission. The  one  is  an  address,  very  loyal  in  its  tone,  depreca- 
ting all  rcTolutionary  changes. 

The  other  address  is  not  so  satisfactory.  It  prays  Her  Address  to 
Majesty  to  obtain  the  repeal  of  the  Imperial  Act  on  the  Clergy 
Reserves  passed  in  1840,  and  to  hand  them  over  to  the  Canadian 
Parliament  to  deal  with  them  as  it  may  see  fit— guaranteeing, 
however,  the  life  interests  of  incumbents.  The  resolutions 
on  which  this  address  was  founded  were  introduced  by  a 
member  of  the  Government,  which  has  treated  the  question  as 
an  open  one. 

You  are  sufficiently  acquainted  with  Canadian  history  to  be 
aware  of  the  fact,  that  these  unfortunate  Clergy  Reserves  have 
been  a  bone  of  contention  ever  since  they  were  set  apart.  T 
know  how  very  inconvenient  it  is  to  repeal  the  Imperial  Act 
which  was  intended  to  be  a  final  settlement  of  the  question  ; 
but  I  must  candidly  say  I  very  much  doubt  whether  you  will 
be  able  to  preserve  the  Colony  if  you  retain  it  on  the  Statute 
Book.  Even  Lafoniaine  and  others  who  recognise  certain 
vested  rights  of  the  Protestant  churches  under  the  Consti- 
tutional Act,  advocate  the  repeal  of  the  Imperial  Act  of  1840  : 
partly  because  Lower  Canada  was  not  consulted  at  all  when 
it  was  passed;  and,  secondly,  because  the  distribution  made 
under  that  Act  is  an  unfair  one,  and  inconsistent  with  the 
views  of  the  Upper  Canadian  Legislature,  as  expressed  at  the 
time  but  set  aside  in  deference,  as  it  is  alleged,  to  the  remon- 
strances of  the  English  bishops.  Some  among  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  Liberals,  and  some  of  the  Orange  Tories,  I  suspect, 
share  these  views. 

A  considerable  section  is  for  appropriating  the  proceeds  of 
the  reserves  at  once,  and  applying  them  to  education,  without 
any  regard  to  the  rights  either  of  individuals  or  of  churches. 
These  persons  are  furious  with  the  supporters  of  the  address 

of  the  Church  of  Rome,  that  while  the  Roman  Catholic  clergy,  of  the 

all  Protestant  endowments  were  thus  vast  poseessions  left  to  them  hy  the 

indiscriminately  swept  away,  nr>  voice  old  French  capitulation. — Mac  Mul~ 

was  raised  against  the  retention,  hy  len,  p.  628. 


for  proposing  to  preserve  the  life  interests  of  incumbents.  The 
sentiments  of  the  remainder  are  pretty  accurately  conveyed 
by  the  terms  of  the  address. 

To  the  Earl  Grey. 

Toronto,  July  19,  1860. 
Bmeods  The  '  Clear  Grit  *  organs,  which  have  absorbed  a  large 

for  Rgroe-  pQ^tion  of  the  '  Annesationiats,'  talk  very  big  about  what  they 
will  do  if  England  steps  in  to  preserve  the  '  Clergy  Reserves.' 
That  party  would  be  only  too  glad  to  get  up  a  quarrel  with 
England  on  such  a  point.  It  is,  of  course,  impossible  for  you 
to  do  anything  with  the  Imperial  Act  till  next  session.  A 
little  delay  may  perhaps  enable  us  to  see  our  way  more  clearly 
with  respect  to  this  most  perplexing  subject. 

Lord  Sydenham's  despatch  of  January  22, 1840,  is  a  curious 
and  instructive  one.  It  accompanies  the  Act  on  the  '  Clergy 
Reserve  '  question,  which  he  induced  the  Parliament  of  Upjier 
Canada  to  pass,  but  which  was  not  adopted  at  home ;  for  the 
House  of  Lords  concocted  one  more  favourable  to  the  Estab- 
lished Churches.  He  clearly  admits  that  the  Act  is  against 
the  sense  of  the  country,  and  that  nothing  but  his  own  great 
personal  influence  got  it  through,  and  yet  he  looks  upon  it  as 
a  settlement  of  the  question,  I  confess  I  see  few  of  the  con- 
ditions of  finality  in  measures  which  are  passed  under  such 
circumstances. 

To  the  Earl  Grey. 

Toronto,  March  18, 1851. 
I  am  far  from  thinking  that  the  '  Clergy  Reserves '  will 
necessarily  be  diverted  from  religious  purposes  if  the  Local 
Parliament  has  the  disposal  of  them.  I  should  feel  very  confi- 
dent that  this  would  not  be  the  case,  were  it  not  that  the  tone 
adopted  by  the  Church  of  England  here  has  almost  always 
the  effect  of  drivine  from  her  even  those  who  would  be  most 
lie  would  allow  them. 

Grty. 

Toronto,  June  14, 1851. 

for  the  Church  interest  as 
ent,  is  that  you  should  carry 
le  Imperial  Parliament  this 
hrough  our  session  and  the 


1850—1854.  THE   'CLERGY   RESERVES.'  139 

general  election,  which  is  about  to  follow,  with  as  little 
excitement  as  possible.  The  province  is  prosperous  and  the 
people  contented ;  and  at  such  a  time,  if  no  disturbing  cause 
arise,  moderate  and  reasonable  men  are  likely  to  be  returned. 
At  the  same  time  the  ^  Clergy  Reserve '  question  is  sufficiently 
before  the  public  to  insure  our  getting  from  the  returns  to 
Parliament  a  pretty  fair  indication  of  what  are  the  real  senti- 
ments of  the  people  upon  it.  I  need  not  say  that  there  can 
be  no  security  for  the  permanence  of  any  arrangement  which 
is  not  in  tolerable  conformity  with  those  sentiments. 

To  the  Earl  Grey. 

July  12, 1851. 

As  to  the  insinuation  that  the  movement  against  the  endow-  Moyement 
ments  of  the  Church  of  England  is  prompted  by  the  Komans,  prompted 
events  will  give  the  lie  to  it  ere  long.     The  following  facts,  byEoman 
however,  seem  to  be  wholly  irreconcilable  with  this  hypothesis.     *  °  *^' 
Before  the  Union  of  the  Provinces  there  were  very  few,  if 
any,  Boroan  Catholic  members  in  the  Upper  Canada  Parlia- 
ment;   they  were  all-powerful  in   the   Lower.      Now  it  is 
recorded   in    history,  that   the   Upper  Canadian   Legislative 
Assembly  kept  up  year  after  year  a  series  of  assaults  on  the 
*  Clergy  Reserves ; '  in  proof  of  w^hich  read  the  narrative  part 
of  the  Address  to  Her  Majesty  on  the  *  Clergy  Reserves '  from 
the  Legislative  Assembly  last  year.     And  it  is  equally  a  fact 
that  the  Lower  Canadian  Legislative  Assembly  never  meddled 
with  them,  except  I  think  once,  when  they  were  invited  to  do 
so  by  the  Government. 

Some  months  later,  in  the  beginning  of  1852,  Lord 
John  Russell's  Administration  was  broken  up,  and 
Lord  Grey  handed  over  the  seals  of  the  Colonial  Office 
to  Sir  John  Pakington.  One  of  the  first  subjects  on 
which  the  new  Secretary  asked  to  be  furnished  with 
confidential  information  was  as  to  the  state  of  public  feel- 
ing in  Canada  upon  the  question  of  the  future  disposal 
of  the '  Clergy  Reserves.'    Lojd  Elgin  replied  as  follows : 

You  require,  if  I  rightly  understand  your  letter,  that  I  Feeling  in 
should  state,  in  the  first  place,  whether  I  believe  that  the  senti-  *^!?®  ^~" 

Tinco ' 

ments  of  the  community  in  reference  to  the  subject-matter  of 


140  CANADA.  Ch.  viz 

this  Address  are  faithfully  represented  in  the  votes  of  the 
Assembly.  I  cannot  answer  this  question  otherwise  than 
affirmatively-  Not  that  I  am  by  any  means  disposed  to  under- 
rate the  importance  of  the  petitions  which  may  have  been  sent 
home  by  opponents  of  the  measure.  The  clergy  of  the  Church 
of  England  and  of  that  portion  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
which  preserves  its  connection  with  the  Established  Church  of 
Scotland,  are  generally  unwilling  that  the  question  of  the 
reserves  should  be  left  to  the  decision  of  the  Local  Legislature* 
They  are,  to  a  considerable  extent,  supported  by  their  flocks 
when  they  approach  the  throne  as  petitioners  against  the 
prayer  of  the  Assembly's  Address,  although  it  is  no  doubt 
an  error  to  suppose  that  the  lay  members  of  these  communions 
are  unanimous,  or  all  alike  zealous  in  the  espousal  of  these 
views.  From  this  quarter  the  petitions  which  appear  to  have 
reached  Lord  Grey  and  yourself  have,  I  apprehend^  almost 
exclusively  proceeded.  Other  bodies,  even  of  those  which 
participate  in  the  produce  of  the  reserves,  as  for  example  the 
Wesleyans  and  the  Roman  Catholics  of  Upper  Canada,  have 
not,  that  I  am  aware  of,  moved  in  the  matter,  unless  it  be  in 
an  opposite  direction. 

in  Upper  ^^^  ^*  ^'^^'^  ^®  infen'cd  from  such  indications  that  public 

Canada;  opinion  in  the  province  does  not  support  the  cause  taken  by  the 
Assembly  in  reference  to  the  '  Clergy  Reserves  '  ?  or,  what  is 
perhaps  more  to  the  purpose,  that  a  provincial  administration, 
formed  on  the  principle  of  desisting  from  all  attempts  to  induce 
the  Imperial  Government  to  repeal  the  Imperial  statute  on 
this  subject,  would  be  sustained  ?  I  am  unable,  I  confess,  to 
bring  myself  to  entertain  any  such  expectation.  It  is  my 
opinion,  that  if  the  Liberals  were  to  rally  out  of  office  on  the 
cry  that  they  wero  asserting  the  right  of  the  Provincial  Govern- 
ment to  deal  with  the  question  of  the  *  Clergy  Reserves '  against 
a  Government  willing,  at  the  bidding  of  the  Imperial  authorities, 
to  abandon  this  claim,  they  would  triumph  in  Upper  Canada 
more  decisively  than  they  did  at  the  late  general  election.  I 
need  hardly  add,  that  if,  after  a  resistance  followed  by  such  a 
triumph,  the  Imperial  Government  were  to  give  way,  it  would 
be  more  than  ever  difficult  to*  obtain  from  the  victorious  party 
a  reasonable  consideration  for  Church  interests.  These  remarks 
apply  to  Upper  Canada.  It  is  not  so  easy  to  foresee  what  is 
likely  to  be  the  course  of  events  in   Lower  Canada.     The 


1850-1854.  TIIE   'CLERGY   RESERVES.'  141 

party  which  looks  to  M.  Papineau  as  its  leader  adopts  on  all  in  Lower 
|K)ints  the  most  ultra-democratic  creed.  It  professes  no  very  *^  * ' 
warm  attachment  to  the  endowments  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  and  is,  of  course,  not  likely  to  prove  itself  more  tender 
with  respect  to  property  set  apart  by  royal  authority  for  the 
support  of  Protestantism.  The  French-Canadian  Represent^ 
atives  who  do  not  belong  to  this  paity  are,  I  believe,  generally 
disinclined  to  secularisation,  and  would  be  brought  to  consent 
to  any  such  proposition,  if  at  all,  only  by  the  pressure  of  some 
^'upposed  political  necessity.  They  are  however,  almost  with- 
out exception,  committed  to  the  principle  that  the  *  Clergy 
'  Reserves '  ought  to  be  subject  to  the  control  of  the  Local  Legis- 
lature. While  the  battle  is  waged  on  this  ground,  therefore, 
they  will  probably  continue  to  side  with  the  Upper  Canada 
Liberals,  unless  the  latter  contrive  to  alienate  them  by  some 
act  of  extravagance 

I  am  aware  that  there  lie,  beyond  the  subjects  of  which 
I  have  treated,  larger  considerations  of  public  policy  affecting 
this  question,  on  which  I  have  not  ventured  to  touch.  On  (he 
one  hand  there  are  persons  who  contend  that,  as  the  *  Clergy 
*  Reserves  '  were  set  apart  by  a  British  Sovereign  for  religious 
uses,  it  Is  the  bounden  duty  of  the  Imperial  authorities  to 
maintain  at  all  hazards  the  disposition  thus  made  of  them. 
This  view  is  hirdly,  I  think,  reconcilable  with  the  provisions 
of  the  statute  of  1791  ;  but,  if  it  be  correct,  it  renders  all  dis- 
cussion of  subordinate  topics  and  points  of  mere  expediency, 
6U]>erfluous. 

On  the  other  hand,  even  among  the  most  attached  friends  of  in  tlir 
the  Church,  some  are  to  be  found  who  doubt  whether  on  the  ^^^^^^  J 
whole  the  Church  has  gained  from  the  Reserves  as  much  as  she 
has  lost  by  them — whether  the  ill-will  which  they  have  engen- 
dered, and  the  bar  which  they  have  proved  to  private  munifi- 
cence and  voluntary  exertion,  have  not  more  than  counter- 
balanced the  benefits  which  they  may  have  conferred  ;  and  who 
look  to  secularisation  as  the  only  settlement  that  will  be  fin£il 
and  put  an  end  to  strife. 

Up  to  this  time  Lord  Elgin  appears  to  have  enter- 
tained at  least  a  hope,  that,  if  the  Colony  were  left  to 
itself,  it  would  settle  the  matter  by  distributing  the 
reserved  funds  according  to  some  equitable  proportion 


142  CANADA.  Ch.  VI. 

among  the  clergy  of  all  denominations.  But  as  time 
went  on,  this  hope  became  fainter  and  fainter.  In  his 
next  letter  he  recounts  a  conversation  with  a  person 
(not  named)  '  of  much  intelligence,  and  well  acquainted 
with  Upper  Canada,'  not  a  member  of  the  Church  of 
England,  but  fiivourable  to  the  maintenance  of  an 
endowment  for  religious  purposes,  who,  after  remarking 
on  the  infatuation  shown  by  the  friends  of  the  Church 
in  1840,  expressed  a  decided  opinion  that  the  vantage 
ground  then  so  heedlessly  sacrificed  was  lost  for  ever, 
so  far  as  colonial  sentiment  was  concerned;  and  that 

*  neither  the  present  nor  any  future  Canadian  Parlia- 

*  ment  would  be  induced  to  enact  a  law  for  perpetuating 
'  the  endowment  in  any  shape.'  The  increasing  likeli- 
hood, however,  of  a  result  which  he  regarded  as  in 
itself  undesirable  could  not  abate  his  desire  to  see  the 
matter  finally  settled,  or  shake  his  conviction  that  the 
Provincial  Parliament  was  the  proper  power  to  settle 
it.  With  his  correspondent  it  was  not  so ;  nor  can  it 
be  wondered  at  that  the  organ  of  a  Tory  Government 
should  have  declined  to  accede  to  the  prayer  of  an 
Address,  which  could  hardly  have  any  other  issue  than 
secularisation.  But  the  decision  was  not  destined  to 
be  left  in  the  hands  of  the  Tories.  Before  the  end  of 
1852  Lord  Derby  was  replaced  by  Lord  Aberdeen,  and 
Sir  J.  Pakington  by  Lord  Elgin's  old  friend  the  Duke 
of  Newcastle,  who  saw  at  once  the  necessity  of  conced- 
ing to  the  Canadian  Parliament  the  power  of  settling  the 
question  after  its  own  fashion.  Accordingly  on  May  21, 
1853,  Lord  Elgin  was  able  to  write  to  him  as  follows: 

Emj^wer  I  ^vas  certainly  not  a  little  surprised  by  the  success  with 
passed.  which  you  carried  the  Clergy  Reserves  Bill  through  the  House 
of  Lords.  I  am  assured  that  this  result  was  mainly  due  to 
your  own  personal  exertions.  I  am  quite  confident  that  both 
in  what  you  have  done,  and  in  the  way  you  have  done  it,  you 
have  best  consulted  the  interests  of  the  Province,  the  Church, 
and  the  Empire.     I  trust  that  what  has  happened  will  have 


1850—1864.  TIIE  'CLERGY   RESERVES.'  143 

here  the  favourable  moral   effect  which  you   anticipate.     It 
cannot  fail  to  have  this  tendency. 

As  respects  the  measures  which  will  be  ultimately  adopted 
on  this  vexed  subject,  I  do  not  yet  venture  to  write  with  con- 
fidence. If  the  representation  of  the  Bishop  of  Toronto,  as  to 
the  feelings  which  exist  among  the  great  Protestant  denomi- 
nations on  the  question,  were  correct,  there  could  be  no  doubt 
whatsoever  in  regard  to  the  issue.  For  you  may  depend  upon 
it  the  Koman  Catholics  have  no  wish  to  touch  the  Protestant 
endowment;  although,  when  they  are  forced  into  the  con- 
troversy, they  will  contend  that  it  does  not  rest  on  the  same 
basis  as  their  own.  But  I  confess  that  I  place  no  reliance 
whatsoever  on  these  calculations  and  representations.  Almost 
the  greatest  evil  which  results  from  the  delegation  to  the 
Imperial  Parliament  of  the  duty  of  legislating  on  Colonial 
questions  of  this  class,  is  the  scope  which  the  system  affords  to 
exaggeration  and  mystification.  Parties  do  not  meet  in  fair 
conflict  on  their  own  ground,  where  they  can  soon  gain  a 
knowledge  of  their  relative  strength,  and  learn  to  respect  each 
other  accordingly  ;  they  shroud  themselves  in  mystery,  and 
rely  for  victory  on  their  success  in  outdoing  each  other  in  hard 
swearing.  Many  men,  partly  from  goodnature  and  partly 
from  political  motives,  will  sign  a  petition  spiced  and  peppered 
to  tickle  the  palate  of  the  House  of  Lords,  who  will  not  move 
a  yard,  or  sacrifice  a  shilling,  on  behalf  of  the  object  petitioned 
for.  I  much  fear  that  it  will  be  found  that  there  is  much 
division  of  opinion  even  among  members  of  the  laity  of  the 
Church,  with  respect  to  the  ])ropriety  of  maintaining  the 
*  Clergy  Reserves  ; '  and  that,  even  as  regards  a  certain  section 
of  the  clergy,  owing  to  dissatisfaction  with  the  distribution  of 
the  fund  and  with  the  condition  of  dependence  in  which  the 
missionaries  are  kept,  there  is  greater  lukcwarmness  on  the 
subject  than  the  fervent  representations  you  have  received 
would  lead  you  to  imagine. 

jNIeanwhile  there  is  a  very  good  feeling  in  the  Province — a 
great  absence  of  party  violence.  Your  course  has  tended  to 
confirm  these  favourable  symptoms.  We  must  prevent  any- 
thing being  done  during  this  session  of  the  Provincial  Parlia- 
ment to  commit  parties  with  respect  to  the  '  Clergy  Reserves,' 
and  as  respects  the  future  we  must  hope  for  the  best. 


144 


CANADA. 


Ch.  VI. 


The 

BesenreB 
secular- 
ised. 


Refonn  of 
tho  Provin- 
cial Par- 
liament. 


Increase  of 

rfprt'sont- 

ation. 


The  result  has  been  already  stated.  The  '  Clergy 
*  Reserves '  were  secularised,  contrary,  no  doubt,  to  the 
individual  wishes  of  Lord  Elgin ;  but  the  general  prin- 
ciple of  Colonial  self-government  had  signally  triumphed, 
and  its  victory  more  than  outweighed  to  him  the  loss  of 
any  particular  cause. 

One  other  measure  remains  to  be  noticed,  on  which 
Lord  Elgin  had  the  satisfaction  of  inducing  the  Home 
Government  to  yield  to  the  wishes  of  the  Colony,  viz, 
the  Reform  of  the  Provincial  Parliament. 

By  the  Constitution  of  1840  the  legislative  power 
was  divided  between  two  chambers:  a  council,  consist- 
ing of  twenty  persons,  who  were  nominated  by  the  Go- 
vernor, and  held  their  seats  for  life ;  and  a  House  of 
Assembly,  whose  eighty-four  members  were  elected  in 
equal  proportions  from  the  two  sections  of  the  province. 
As  the  population  of  the  Colony  grew — and  between  1840 
and  1853  it  nearly  doubled  itself — it  was  natural  that 
the  number  of  legislators  should  be  increased;  and 
there  were  other  reasons  which  made  an  increase 
desirable. 

The  Legislative  Assembly  (wrote  Lord  Elgin  early  in 
1853)  is  now  engaged  on  a  measure  introduced  by  the  Govern- 
ment for  increasing  the  representation  of  the  province.  I 
consider  the  object  of  the  measure  a  very  important  one ;  for, 
with  so  small  a  body  as  eighty  members,  when  parties  are  nearly 
balanced,  individual  votes  become  too  precious,  which  leads  to 
mischief.  I  have  not  experienced  this  evil  to  any  great  extent 
since  I  have  had  a  liberal  administration,  which  has  always 
been  strong  in  the  Assembly ;  but,  with  my  first  administration, 
I  felt  it  severely. 

To  this  change  no  serious  opposition  was  offered, 
either  in  the  Colony  or  in  the  Imperial  Parliament ;  and 
the  members  of  the  two  Houses  were  raised  to  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty,  and  seventy-two,  respectively.  It  was 
otherwise,   however,  with  the   proposal   to   make  the 


1850—1864.  REPRESENTATION.  1 45 

Upper  House  elective;  a  measure  certainly  alien  to 
English  ideas,  but  one  which  Lord  Elgin  appears  to 
have  thought  necessary  for  the  healthy  working  of  the 
constitution  under  the  circumstances  then  existing  in 
the  province.  As  early  as  March,  1850,  he  wrote  to 
Lord  Grey : — 

A  great  deal  is  said  here  at  present  about  rendering  our  Proposal 
second  branch  of  the  Legislature  elective.     As  the  advocates  the^Upper 
of  the  plan,  however,  comprise  two  classes  of  persons,  with  House 
views  not  only  distinct  but  contradictory,  it  is  difficult  to  fore-  *  ^ 
8€e  how  they  are  to  agree  on  details,  when  it  assumes  a  prac- 
tical shape.     The  one  class  desire  to  construct  a  more  efficient 
Conservative  body  than  the  present  Council,  the  other  seek  an 
instrument  to  aid  them  in  their  schemes  of  subversion  and 
pillage.     For  my  own  part,  I  believe  that  a  second  legislative  Beaaons 
body,  returned   by  the  same   constituency  as  the  House  of  ^    ^^^' 
Assembly,  under  some  differences  with  respect  to  time  and 
mode  of  election,  would  be  a  greater  check  on  ill-considered 
legislation  than  the  Council  as  it  is  now  constituted.     Baldwin 
is  very  unwilling  to  move  in  this  matter.     Having  got  what 
he  imagines  to  be  the  likest  thing  to  the  British  constitution 
he  can  obtain,  he  is  satisfied,  and  averse  to  further  change. 
In  this  instance  I  cannot  but   think   that,  he  mistakes  the 
shadow  for  the  substance.     I   admire,  however,  the  perse- 
verance with  which  he  proclaims,  *  H  faut  Jeter  Cancre  de  la 
*  constitutiofiy  in  reply  to  proposals  of  organic  change ;  though 
I  fully  expect  that,  like  those  who  raised  this  cry  in  1791,  he 
will  yet,  if  he  lives,  find  himself  and  his  state-ship  floundering 
among  rocks  and  shoals,  towards  which  he  never  expected  to 
steer. 

Three  years  later  he  held  the  same  language  to  the 
Duke  of  Newcastle.  Writing  on  March  26,  1853,  to 
inform  him  that  the  Bill  for  increasing  the  represen- 
tation had  been  carried  in  the  Assembly  by  a  large 
majority,  he  adds : — 

The  Lords  must  be  attended  to  in  the  next  place.  The 
position  of  the  second  chamber  in  our  body  politic  is  at  present 
wholly  unsatisfactory.  The  principle  of  election  must  be 
introduced  in  order  to  give  to  it  the  influence  which  it  ought 

L 


146  CANADA.  Oh.  VL 

to  possess ;  and  that  principle  must  be  so  applied  as  to  admit 
of  the  working  of  Parliamentary  Government  (which  I  for 
one  am  certainly  not  prepared  to  abandon  for  the  American 
system)  with  two  elective  chambers.  I  have  made  some 
suggestions  with  this  view,  which  I  hope  to  be  able  to  induce 
the  Legislature  to  adopt. 

When  our  two  legislative  bodies  shall  have  been  placed  on 
this  improved  footing,  a  greater  stability  will  have  been 
imparted  to  our  constitution,  and  a  greater  strength,  I  believe, 
if  England  act  wisely,  to  the  connection. 

The  Aet  The  question  did  not  come  before  the  British  Parlia- 
^***"*^-  ment  till  the  summer  of  1854,  after  Lord  Elgin's  visit 
to  England,  during  which  he  had  an  opportunity  of 
stating  his  views  personally  to  the  Government.  At 
his  instance  they  brought  in  a  Bill  to  enable  the 
Colonial  Legislature  to  deal  with  the  subject ;  and  the 
measure  was  carried,  with  few  dissentients,  although 
vehemently  denounced  by  Lord  Derby  in  the  House  of 
Lords.  The  principles  of  colonial  policy  which  Lord 
Durham  had  expressed  so  powerfully  in  1838,  and  on 
which  I^ord  Grey  and  JLiord  Elgin  had  been  acting  so 
consistently  for  many  years,  had  at  last  prevailed;  and 
many  of  those  who  most  deprecated  the  proposed 
reform  as  a  downward  step  towards  pure  democracy, 
yet  acknowledged  that,  as  it  had  been  determined  upon 
by  the  deliberate  choice  of  the  Colony,  it  ought  not  to 
be  thwarted  by  the  interference  of  the  mother-country. 
Speech  of  In  the  course  of  the  speech  above  referred  to.  Lord 
Derby.       Derby  made  use  of  the  following  eloquent  words : — 

I  have  dreamed — perhaps  it  was  only  a  dream — ^that  the 
time  would  come  when,  exercising  a  perfect  control  over 
their  own  internal  affairs.  Parliament  abandoning  its  right  to 
interfere  in  their  legislation,  these  great  and  important  colo- 
nies, combined  together,  should  form  a  monarchical  govem- 
mei^t,  presided  over  either  by  a  permanent  viceroy,  or,  as  an 
independent  sovereign,  by  one  nearly  and  closely  allied  to  the 
prasent  royal  family  of  this  country. 

I  have  believed  ^hat,  in  such  a  manner,  it  would  be  possible 


1860—1854.  REPRESENTATION.  147 

to  uphold  the  monarchical  principle;  to  establish  upon  that 
great  continent  a  monarchy  free  as  that  of  this  country,  even 
freer  still  with  regard  to  the  popular  influence  exercised,  but 
yet  a  monarchy  worthy  of  the  name,  and  not  a  mere  empty 
shadow.  I  can  hardly  believe  that,  under  such  a  system,  the 
friendly  connection  and  close  intimacy  between  the  colonies 
and  the  mother-country  would  in  any  way  be  aflTected ;  but,  on 
the  contrary,  I  feel  convinced  that  the  change  to  which  I  have 
referred  would  be  productive  of  nothing,  for  years  and  years 
to  come,  but  mutual  harmony  and  friendship,  increased  and 
cemented  as  that  friendship  would  be  by  mutual  appreciatioi^ 
of  the  great  and  substantial  benefits  conferred  by  a  free  and 
regulated  monarchy. 

But  pass  this  Bill,  and  that  dream  is  gone  for  ever.  Nothing 
like  a  free  and  regulated  monarchy  could  exist  for  a  single 
moment  under  such  a  constitution  as  that  which  is  now  pro-* 
posed  for  Canada. 

From  the  moment  that  you  pass  this  constitution,  the  pro- 
gress must  be  rapidly  towards  republicanism,  if  anything 
could  be  more  really  republican  than  this  Bill, 

The  dream  has  been  realised,  at  least  in  one  of  its 
most  important  features ;  the  gloomy  forebodings  have 
hitherto  happily  proved  groundless.  But  the  speaker 
of  these  words,  and  the  author  of  the  measure  to  which 
they  refer,  would  probably  have  been  alike  surprised 
at  the  course  which  events  have  taken  respecting  the 
particular  point  then  in  question.  For  once  the  stream 
that  sets  towards  democracy  has  been  seen  to  take  a 
backward  direction;  and  the  constitution  of  the  Do- 
minion of  Canada  has  returned,  as  regards  the  Legisla- 
tive Council,  to  the  Conservative  principle  of  nonodna^^ 
tion  by  the  Crown. 


It  does  not  fall  within  the  scope  of  this  memoir  to 
give  an  account  of  the  numerous  administrative  measures 
which  made  the  period  of  Lord  Elgin's  Government  so 
marked  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  Canadian  prosperity. 
It  may  be  well,  however,  to  notice  a  few  points  to  which 

L  2 


148  CANADA.  Ch,  VI. 

he  himself  thought  it  worth  while  to  advert  in  official 
despatches,  written  towards  the  close  of  his  sojourn  in 
the  country,  and  containing  a  statistical  review  of  the 
marvellously  rapid  progress  which  the  Colony  had  made 
in  all  branches  of  productive  industry. 

The  first  extracts  bear  upon  questions  which  have 
lost  none  of  their  interest  or  importance— the  kindred 
questions  of  emigration,  of  the  demand  for  labour,  and 
of  the  acquisition  and  tenure  of  land. 

fmigra-  The  sufferings  of  the  Irish  during  that  calamitous  period 

tion.  [1847]  induced  philanthropic  persons  to  put  forward  schemes 

of  systematic  colonisation,  based  in  some  instances  on  the  as* 
sumption  that  it  was  for  the  interest  of  the  emigrants  that  they 
should  be  as  much  as  possible  concentrated  in  particular  por- 
tions of  the  territories  to  which  they  might  proceed,  so  as  to 
form  communities  complete  in  themselves,  and  to  remain  subject 
to  the  influences,  religious  and  social,  under  which  they  had 
lived  previously  to  emigration.  It  was  proposed,  if  I  rightly 
remember,  according  to  one  of  those  schemes,  that  large  num- 
bers of  Irish  with  their  priests  and  home  associations  should  be 
established  by  Government  in  some  unoccupied  part  of  Canada. 
I  beUeve  that  such  schemes,  however  benevolent  their  design, 
rest  on  a  complete  misconception  of  what  is  for  the  interest 
both  of  the  Colony  and  of  the  emigrants.  It  is  almost  in- 
variably found  that  emigrants  who  thus  isolate  themselves, 
whatever  their  origin  or  antecedents,  lag  behind  their  neigh- 
bours ;  and  I  am  inclined  to  think  that,  as  a  general  rule,  in 
the  case  of  communities  whose  social  and  political  organisation 
is  as  far  advanced  as  that  of  the  North  American  Colonies,  it 
is  for  the  interest  of  all  parties  that  new  comers,  instead  of 
dwelling  apart  and  bound  together  by  the  affinities  whether  of 
sect  or  party,  which  united  them  in  the  country  which  tKey 
have  left,  should  be  dispersed  as  widely  as  possible  among  the 
population  already  established  in  that  to  which  they  transfer 
themselves. 

It  may  not  be  altogether  irrelevant  to  mention,  as  bearing  on 
this  subject,  that  the  painful  circumstances  which  attended  the 
emigration  of  1847  created  for  a  time  in  this  Province  a  cer- 
tiin  pngudice  against  emigration  generally.      The    poll    tax 


w 


1850-1864.  EMIGRATION.  149 

on  emigrants  was  increased,  and  the  opinion  widely  dissemi- 
nated that,  however  desirable  the  introduction  of  capitalists 
might  be,  an  emigration  of  persons  of  the  poorer  classes  was 
likely  to  prove  a  burden  rather  than  a  benefit.     Commercial 
depression,  and  apprehensions  as  to  the  probable  effect  of  the 
Free-trade  policy  of  Great  Britain  on  the  prosperity  of  the 
Colonies,  had  an  influence  in  the  same  direction.     To  counter- 
act these  tendencies  which  were  calculated,  as  I  thought,  to  be 
bjurioos  in  the  long  run  both  to  the  Mother-country  and  the 
Province,  public  attention  was  especially  directed,  in  the  Speech 
delivered  from  the  Throne  in  1849,  to  emigration  by  way  of 
the  St.  Lawrence,  as  a  branch  of  trade  which  it  was  most  de- 
sirable to  cultivate  (irrespective  altogether  of  its  bearing  on 
the  settlement  of  the  country)  in  consequence  of  the  great  ex- 
cess of  exports  over  imports  by  that  route,  and  the  consequent 
enhancement  of  freights  outwards.    These  views  obtained  very 
general  assent,  and  the  measures  which  have  been  adopted 
since  that  period  to  render  this  route  attractive  to  emigrants 
destined  for  the  West  (the  effect  of  which  is  beginning  now  to 
be  visible  in  the  yearly  increasing  amount  of  emigration  by 
way  of  Quebec  from  the  continent  of  Europe),  are  calculated 
not  only  to  promote  the  trade  of  the  Province,  but  also  to  make 
settlers  of  a  superior  class  acquainted  with  its  advantages.^ 

This  important  region  (the  valley  of  the  Ottawa)  takes  the  ouaw* 
name  by  which  it  is  designated  in  popular  parlance  from  the  ^^®7- 
mighty  stream  which  flows  through  it,  and  which,  though  it  be 
but  a  tributary  of  the  St  Lawrence,  is  one  of  the  largest  of  the 
rivers  that  run  uninterruptedly  from  the  source  to  the  discharge 
within  the  dominions  of  the  Queen.  It  drains  an  area  of  about 
80,000  square  miles,  and  receives  at  various  points  in  its  course 
the  waters  of  streams,  some  of  which  equal  in  magnitude  the 
chief  rivers  of  Oreat  Britain.  These  streams  open  up  to  the 
enterprise  of  the  lumberman  the  almost  inexhaustible  pine 
forests  with  which  this  region  is  clothed,  and  afford  the  means 
of  transporting  their  produce  to  market  In  improving  these 
natural  advantages  considerable  sums  are  expended  by  private 
individuals.  £50,000  currency  was  voted  by  Parliament  last 
session  for  the  purpose  of  removing  certain  obstacles  to  the 

^  Despatch  of  Deoember  18, 1864. 


150  CANADA.  Ch.  VI. 

navigation  of  the  Upper  Ottawa^  by  the  construction  of  a  canal 
at  a  point  which  is  now  obstructed  by  rapids*. 
Demand  From  the  nature  of  the  business^  the  lumbering  trade  falls 

Labonr  necessarily  in  a  great  measure  into  the  hands  of  persons  of 
capital^  who  employ  large  bodies  of  men  at  points  far  removed 
from  markets,  and  who  are  therefore  called  upon  to  make  con- 
siderable advances  in  providing  food  and  necessaries  for  their 
labourers,  as  well  as  in  building  slides  and  otherwise  facilita- 
ting the  passage  of  timber  along  the  streams  and  rivers.  Many 
thousands  of  men  are  employed  during  the  winter  in  these 
reifiote  forests,  preparing  the  timber  which  is  transported  during 
the  summer  in  rafts,  or,  if  sawn,  in  boats,  to  Quebec  when 
destined  for  England,  and  up  the  Richelieu  Kiver  when  in- 
tended for  the  United  States.  It  is  a  most  interesting  fact, 
both  in  a  moral  and  hygienic  view,  that  for  some  years  past 
intoxicating  liquors  have  been  rigorously  excluded  from  almost 
all  the  chantiers,  as  the  dwellings  of  the  lumbermen  in  these 
distant  regions  are  styled ;  and  that,  notwithstanding  the  expo- 
sure of  the  men  to  cold  during  the  winter  and  wet  in  the  spring, 
the  result  of  the  experiment  has  been  entirely  satisfactory. 

The  bearing  of  the  lumbering  business  on  the  settlement  of 
the  country  is  a  point  well  worthy  of  notice.  The  farmer  who 
undertakes  to  cultivate  unreclaimed  land  in  new  countries, 
generally  finds  that  not  only  does  every  step  of  advance  which 
he  makes  in  the  wilderness,  by  removing  him  from  the  centres 
of  trade  and  civilisation,  enhance  the  cost  of  all  he  has  to  pur- 
chase, but  that,  moreover,  it  diminishes  the  value  of  what  he 
has  to  sell.  It  is  not  so,  however,  with  the  farmer  who  follows 
in  the  wake  of  the  lumbermen.  He  finds,  on  the  contrary,  in 
the  wants  of  the  latter,  a  ready  demand  for  all  that  he  produces, 
at  a  price  not  only  equal  to  that  procurable  in  the  ordinary 
marts,  but  increased  by  the  cost  of  transport  from  them  to  the 
scene  of  the  lumbering  operations.  This  circumstance,  no 
doubt,  powerfully  contributes  to  promote  the  settlement  of 
those  districts,  and  attracts  population  to  sections  of  the  country 
which,  in  the  absence  of  any  such  inducement,  would  probably 
remain  for  long  periods  uninhabited.* 

■ 

Wild  land.  The  large  amount  of  wild  land  held  by  individuals  and  cor- 
porations, renders  the  disposal  of  the  public  domain  a  question 

^  Despatch  of  Auguat  lA,  1853. 


1860—1864.  TENURE  OF  LAND.  151 

of  less  urgency  in  this  than  in  some  other  colonies.  Opinion 
in  the  Province  runs  strongly  in  favour  of  facilitating  its 
acquisition  in  small  lots  by  actual  pettlers,  and  of  putting  all 
possible  obstacles  in  the  way  of  its  falling  into  the  hands  of 
speculators.  This  opinion  is  founded  no  doubt  in  part  on  a 
jealousy  of  great  landholders ;  but  it  is  mainly,  I  apprehend, 
attributable  to  a  sense  of  the  inconvenience  and  damage  which 
are  experienced  in  young  countries,  when  considerable  tracts 
of  land  are  kept  out  of  the  market  in  the  midst  of  districts  that 
are  in  course  of  settlement.  To  this  feeling  much  of  the  hos- 
tility to  the  ^  Clergy  Reserves '  was  originally  due.  The  upset 
price  of  Government  wild  land  in  Canada  varies  from  7s,  6d, 
currency  to  1«.  currency  an  acre,  according  to  quality,  and  by 
the  rules  of  the  Crown  Land  Department  now  in  force,  it  is 
conceded  at  these  rates,  except  in  special  cases,  in  lots  of  not 
more  than  200  acres,  on  condition  of  actual  settlement,  of  erect- 
ing a  dwelling-house,  and  clearing  one-fourth  of  the  lot  before 
the  patent  can  be  obtained.  The  price  is  payable  in  some 
parts  of  the  country  in  ten  yearly  instalments ;  in  others  in 
five ;  with  interest  in  both  cases  from  the  date  of  sale. 

I  have  little  faith  in  the  efficacy  of  such  devices  to  compel 
actual  settlement.  They  hinder  the  free  circulation  of  capital, 
are  easily  evaded,  and  seem  to  be  especially  out  of  place  where 
wild  lands  are  subject  to  taxation  for  municipal  purposes,  as  is 
the  case  in  Upper  Canada.' 

A  good  deal  of  land  in  Lower  Canada  is  held  in  seigniory,  8eigniori«l 
under  a  species  of  feudal  tenure,  with  respect  to  the  conditions  ^"■'^ 
of  which  a  controversy  has  arisen  which  threatens,  unless  some 
equitable  mode  of  adjusting  it  be  speedily  devised,  to  be  pro- 
ductive of  very  serious  consequences.  A  certain  class  of  jurists 
contend,  that  by  the  custom  of  the  country,  established  before 
its  conquest  by  Great  Britain,  the  seigniors  were  bound  to 
concede  their  lands  in  lots  of  about  100  acres  to  the  first 
applicant,  in  consideration  of  the  payment  of  certain  dues,  and 
of  a  rent  which  never,  as  they  allege,  exceeded  one  penny  an 
acre ;  and  they  quote  edicts  of  the  French  monarchs  to  show 
that  the  governor  and  intendant,  when  the  seignior  was  con- 
tumacious, could  seize  the  land,  and  make  the  concession  in 

^  Despatch  of  December  18, 1864. 


152 


CANADA. 


Ch.  VI. 


spite  of  him,  taking  the  rent  for  the  Crown.  The  seigniors, 
on  the  other  hand,  plead  the  decisions  of  the  courts  since  the 
conquest  in  vindication  of  their  claim  to  receive  such  rents  as 
they  can  bargain  for.  Independently  of  this  controversy,  the 
incidents  of  the  tenure  are  in -other  respects  calculated  to  exer- 
cise an  unfavourable  influence  on  the  progress  of  the  Province ; 
and  its  abolition,  if  it  could  be  effected  without  injustice,  would, 
no  doubt,  be  a  highly  beneficial  measure.' 

Still  more  important  and  interesting  at  this  time  is 
the  following  sketch  of  the  Educational  System  of 
Upper  Canada  ;  the  '  Common  Schools '  and  '  Public 
*  School  Libraries,'  vrhich  have  attracted  so  much  the 
attention  of  our  own  educationists.  Nor  is  it  uninstruc- 
tive  to  note  the  contrast  between  what  had  been 
achieved  in  the  colony  nearly  twenty  years  ago,  and 
the  still  unsettled  condition  of  similar  questions  in  the 
mother-country :  a  contrast  which  may  perhaps  call  to 
mind  the  remarks  of  Lord  Elgin  already  quoted,  as  to 
the  rapid  growth  which  ensues  when  the  seeds  that  fall 
from  ancient  experience  are  dropped  into  a  virgin  soil.*^ 

Education.  In  1847  the  Normal  School,  which  may  be  considered  the 
foundation  of  the  system,  was  instituted,  and  at  the  close  ot 
1853,  the  first  volume  issued  from  the  Educational  Depart- 
ment to  the  Public  School  Libraries,  which  are  its  crown  and 
completion.  •  .  .  The  term  school  libraries  does  not  imply 
that  the  libraries  in  question  are  specially  designed  for 
the  benefit  of  common  school  pupils.  They  are,  in  point  of 
fact,  pubUc  libraries  intended  for  the  use  of  the  general  popu- 
lation; and  they  are  entitled  school  libraries  because  their 
establishment  has  been  provided  for  in  the  School  Acts,  and 
their  management  confided  to  the  school  authorities. 

Public  School  Libraries  then,  similar  to  those  which  are 
now  being  introduced  into  Canada,  have  been  in  operation  for 
several  years  in  some  states  of  the  neighbouring  Union,  and 
many  of  the  most  valuable  features  of  the  Canadian  system 
have  been  borrowed  from  them.     In  most  of  the  States,  how- 


of  December  18,  1864.    The  abolition  was  shortly  afterwards, 


Public 
School 
Libraries. 


1850-1854.  EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM.  153 

ever,  which  have  appropriated  funds  for  library  purposes,  the 
selection  of  the  books  has  been  left  to  the  trustees  appointed 
by  the  different  districts,  many  of  whom  are  ill-qualified  for  the 
task ;  and  the  consequence  has  been,  that  the  travelling  pedlars, 
who  offer  the  most  showy  books  at  the  lowest  prices,  have  had 
the  principal  share  in  furnishing  the  libraries.  In  introducing 
the  system  into  Canada,  precautions  have  been  taken  which 
will,  I  trust,  have  the  effect  of  obviating  this  great  evil. 

In  the  School  Act  of  1850,  which  first  set  apart  a  sum  of 
money  for  the  establishment  and  support  of  school  libraries, 
it  is  declared  to  be  the  duty  of  the  chief  superintendent  of 
education  to  apportion  the  sum  granted  for  this  purpose  by 
the  legislature  under  the  following  condition :  *  That  no  aid 
'  should  be  given  towards  the  establishment  and  support  of 
'  any  school  library  unless  an  equal  amount  be  contributed  or 
^  expended  from  local  sources  for  the  same ; '  and  the  Council 
of  Instruction  is  required  to  examine,  and  at  its  discretion 
recommend  or  disapprove  of  text  books  for  the  use  of  schools, 
or  books  for  school  libraries ;  *  provided  that  no  portion  of 
'  the  legislative  school  grant  shall  be  applied  in  aid  of  any 
'  school  in  which  any  book  is  used  that  has  been  disapproved 
'  of  by  the  Council,  and  public  notice  given  of  such  disap- 
*  proval.' 

The  system  of  public  instruction  in  Upper  Canada  is  en-  Common 
grafted  upon  the  municipal  institutions  of  the  Province,  to  *^'^^■• 
which  an  organisation  very  complete  in  its  details,  and  admi- 
rably adapted  to  develope  the  resources,  confirm  the  cfedit,  and 
promote  the  moral  and  social  interests  of  a  young  country,  was 
imparted  by  an  Act  passed  in  1849.  The  law  by  which  the 
common  schools  are  regulated  was  enacted  in  1850,  and  it 
embraces  all  the  modifications  and  improvements  suggested  by 
experience  in  the  provisions  of  the  several  school  Acts  passed 
subsequently  to  1841,  when  the  important  principle  of  granting 
money  to  each  county  on  condition  that  an  equal  amount  were 
raised  within  it  by  local  assessment,  was  first  introduced  into 
Ae  statute-book. 

The  development  of  individual  self-reliance  and  local  exer-  Local 
tion,  under  the  superintendence  of  a  central  authority  exercising  ««i»rin- 
an  influence  almost  exclusively  moral,  is  the  ruling  principle 
of  the  system.     Accordingly,  it  rests  with  the  freeholders  and 
householders  of  each  school  section  to  decide  whether  they 


154 


CANADA. 


Oh-  VI. 


Religion 
instruc- 
tion. 


-will  support  their  school  by  voluntary  subscription,  by  rate 
bill  for  each  pupil  attending  the  school  (which  must  not,  how- 
ever, exceed  Is,  per  month),  or  by  rates  on  property.  The 
trustees  elected  by  the  same  freeholders  and  householders  are 
required  to  determine  the  amount  to  be  raised  within  their  re- 
spective school  sections  for  all  school  purposes  whatsoever,  to 
hire  teachers  from  among  persons  holding  legal  certificates  of 
qualification,  and  to  agree  with  them  as  to  salary.  On  the 
local  superintendents  appointed  by  the  county  councils  is 
devolved  the  duty  of  apportioning  the  legislative  grant  among 
the  school  sections  within  the  county,  of  inspecting  the 
schools,  and  reporting  upon  them  to  the  chief  superintendent. 
The  county  boards  of  public  instruction,  composed  of  the  local 
superintendent  or  superintendents,  and  the  trustees  of  the 
county  granunar  school,  examine  candidates  for  the  .ofi&ce 
of  teacher,  and  give  certificates  of  qualification  which  are 
valid  for  the  county;  the  chief  superintendent  giving  certi- 
ficates to  normal  school  pupils  which  are  valid  for  the  Pro- 
vince ;  while  the  chief  superintendent,  who  holds  his  appoint- 
ment from  the  Crown,  aided  in  specified  cases  by  the  Council 
of  Public  Instruction,  has  under  his  especial  charge  the  normal 
and  model  schools,  besides  exercising  a  general  control  over 
the  whole  system. 

The  question  of  religious  instruction  as  connected  witii  the 
cotntbion  school  system,  presented  even  more  than  ordinary 
diflSculty  in  a  community  where  there  is  so  much  diversity  of 
opinion  on  religious  subjects,  and  where  all  denominations  are 
in  the  eye  of  the  law  on  a  footing  of  entire  equality.  It  is  laid 
down  as  a  fundametital  principle,  that  as  the  common  schools 
are  not  boarding  but  day  schools,  and  as  the  pupils  are  under 
the  care  of  their  parents  or  guardians  during  the  Sunday,  and 
a  considerable  portion  of  each  week  day,  it  is  not  intended  that 
the  functions  of  the  common  school  teacher  should  supersede 
those  of  the  parent  and  pastor  of  the  child.  Accordingly,  the 
law  contents  itself  with  providing  on  this  head,  '  that  in  any 
'  model  or  common  school  established  under  this  act,  no 
'  child  shall  be  required  to  read  or  study  in  or  from  any  reli- 
'  gious  book,  or  to  join  in  any  exercise  of  devotion  or  religion, 
'  which  shall  be  objected  to  by  his  or  her  parents  or  guardians ; 
'  provided  always,  that  within  this  limitation  pupils  shall  be 
ed  to  receive  such  religious  instruction  as  their  parents 


1860—1864.  EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM.  165 

*  or  guardians  shall  desire,  according  to  the  general  regulations 
'  which  shall  be  provided  according  to  law.'  Audit  authorises 
under  certain  regulations  the  establishment  of  a  separate 
school  for  Protestants  or  Boman  Catholics,  as  the  case  may 
be,  when  the  teacher  of  the  common  school  is  of  the  opposite 
persuasion. 

Clergymen  recognised  by  law,  of  whatever  denomination,  are 
made  ex  officio  visitors  of  the  schools  in  townships,  cities,  towns, 
or  villages  where  they  reside,  or  have  pastoral  charge.  The 
chief  superintendent.  Dr.  Byerson,  remarks  on  this  head : 

*  The  clergy  of    the  county  have  access  to   each  of  its  r^^ 

*  schools ;  and  we  know  of  no  instance  in  which  the  school  deigy* 
'  has  been  made  the  place  of  religious  discord,  but  many 

*  instances,  especially  on  occasions  of  quarterly  public  exa- 

*  minations,  in  which  the  school  has  witnessed  tbe  assemblage 

*  and  friendly  intercourse  of  clergy  of  various  religious  per- 

*  suasions,  and  thus  become  the  radiating  centre  of  a  spirit  of 

*  Christian  charity  and  potent  cooperation  in  the  primary  work 
'  of  a  people's  civilisation  and  happiness.' 

He  adds  with  reference  to  the  subject  generally, '  The  more 
'  carefully  the  question  of  religion  in  connection  with  a  system 
'  of  common  schools  is  examined,  the  more  clearly,  I  think,  it 
'  will  appear,  that  it  has  been  left  where  it  properly  belongs  — 
'  with  the  local  school  municipalities,  parents,  and  managers 

*  of  schools ;  the  Government  protecting  the  right  of  each 
'  parent  and  child,  but  beyond  this,  and  beyond  the  principles 

*  and  duties  of  morality  common  to  all  classes,  neither  com- 

*  pelling  nor  prohibiting ;  recognising  the  duties  of  pastors  and 
'  parents  as  well  as  of  school  trustees  and  teachers,  and  con- 
'  sidering  the  united  labours  of  all  as  constituting  the  system 
'  of  education  for  the  youth  of  the  country.' 

Lord  Elgin  himself  had  always  shown  a  profound 
sense  of  the  importance  of  thus  making  religion  the 
groundwork  of  education.  Speaking  on  occasion  of  the 
opening  of  a  normal  school,  after  noticing  the  zealous 
and  wisely-directed  exertions  which  had  ^  enabled 
'  Upper  Canada  to  place  itself  in  the  van  among  the 

*  nations,  in  the  great  and  important  work  of  providing 


156  CANADA.  Ch.  VT. 

*  an  efficient  system  of  general  education  for  the  whole 
'  community/  he  proceeded : — 

What  IB  ^i^d  now  let  me  ask  this  intelligent  audience,  who  have  so 

education?  kindly  listened  to  me  up  to  this  moment — let  me  ask  them  to 
consider,  in  all  seriousness  and  earnestness,  what  that  great 
work  really  is.     I  do  not  think  that  I  shall  be  chargeable  with 
exaggeration  when  I  affirm,  that  it  is  the  work  of  our  day  and 
generation ;  that  it  is  the  problem  in  our  modem  society  which 
is  most  difficult  of  solution ;  that  it  is  the  ground  upon  which 
earnest  and  zealous  men  unhappily  too  often,  and  in  too  many 
countries  meet,  not  to  co-operate  but  to  wrangle ;  while  the  poor 
and  the  ignorant  multitudes   around  them  are  starving  and 
perishing  for  lack  of  knowledge.     Well,  then,  how  has  Upper 
Canada  addressed  herself  to  the  execution  of  this  great  work  ? 
How  has  she  sought  to  solve  this  problem — to  overcome  this 
difficulty?     Sir,  I  understand  from  your  statements — and   I 
come  to  the  same  conclusion  from  my  own  investigation  and 
observation — that  it  is  the   pnnciple  of  our  common   school 
educational  system,  that  its  foundation  is  laid  deep  in  the  firm 
rock  of  our  common  Christianity.    I  understand,  sir,  that  while 
the  varying  views  and  opinions  of  a  mixed  religious  society 
are  scrupulously  respected,  while  every  semblance  of  dictation 
is  carefully  avoided,  it  is  desired,  it  is  earnestly  recommended, 
it  is  confidently  expected  and  hoped,  that  every  child  who 
attends  our  common  schools  shall  learn  there  that  he  is   a 
being  who  has  an  interest  in  eternity  as  well  as  in  time ;  that 
he  has  a  Father,  towards  whom  he  stands  in  a  closer  and 
more  affecting,  and  more  endearing  relationship  than  to  any 
earthly  father,  and  that  Father  is  in  heaven ;  that  he  has  a 
hope,  far  transcending  every  earthly   hope — a  hope  full  of 
immortality — the  hope,  namely,  that  that  Father's   kingdom 
may  come ;  that  he  has  a  duty  which,  like  the  sun  in  our 
celestial  system,  stands  in  the  centre  of  his  moral  obligations, 
shedding  upon  them  a  hallowing  light,  which  they  in  their 
turn  reflect  and  absorb — the  duty  of  striving  to  prove  by  his 
life  and  conversation  the  sincerity  of  his   prayer,   that  that 
Father's  will  may  be  done  upon  earth  as  it  is  done  in  heaven. 
I  understand,  sir,  that  upon  the  broad  and  solid  platform  which 
is  raised  upon  that  good  foundation,  we  invite  the  ministers  of 
Xiligion,  of  all  denominations — the  de  facto  spiritual  guides 


i 


1850—1864.  ABORIGINAL  TRIBES.  157 

of  the  people  of  the  country — to  take  their  stand  along  with 
us;  that^  so  far  from  hampering  or  impeding  them  in  the 
exercise  of  their  sacred  functions^  we  ask  and  we  beg  them  to 
take  the  children — the  lambs  of  the  flock  which  are  committed 
to  their  care — ^aside,  and  to  lead  them  to  those  pastures  and 
streams  where  they  will  find,  as  they  believe,  the  food  of  life 
and  the  waters  of  consolation. 

One  more  extract  must  be  given  from  the  despatch 
already  quoted,  because  it  illustrates  a  feature  in  his 
character,  to  which  the  subsequent  course  of  his  life 
gave  such  marked  prominence — ^his  generous  and  tender 
feeling  of  what  was  due  to  subject  or  inferior  races;  a 
sad  feeling  in  this  case,  and  but  faintly  supported  by 
any  hope  of  being  able  to  do  anything  for  their  benefit. 

It  is  painful  to  turn  from  reviewing  the  progress  of  the  Aboriginal 
European  population  and  their  descendants  established  in  this 
portion  of  America,  to  contemplate  the  condition  and  prospects 
of  the  aboriginal  tribes.  It  cannot,  I  fear,  be  affirmed  with 
truth,  that  the  difficult  problem  of  reconciling  the  interests  of 
an  inferior  and  native  race  with  those  of  an  intrusive  and  su- 
perior one,  has  as  yet  been  satisfactorily  solved  on  this  conti- 
nent. In  the  United  States,  the  course  of  proceeding  generally 
followed  in  this  matter  has  been  that  of  compelling  the  Bed 
man,  through  the  influence  of  persuasion  or  force,  to  make  way 
for  the  White,  by  retreating  farther  and  farther  into  the  wilder- 
ness; a  mode  of  dealing  with  the  case  which  necessarily 
entails  the  occasional  adoption  of  harsh  measures,  and  which 
ceases  to  be  practicable  when  civilisation  approaches  the 
limits  of  the  territory  to  be  occupied.  In  Canada,  the  tribes 
have  been  permitted  to  dwell  among  the  scenes  of  their  early 
associations  and  traditions,  on  lands  reserved  from  the  advan- 
cing tide  of  White  settlement,  and  set  apart  for  their  use.  But 
this  system,  though  more  lenient  in  its  operation  than  the  other, 
is  not  unattended  with  difficulties  of  its  own.  The  laws  en- 
acted for  their  protection,  and  in  the  absence  of  which  they 
fall  an  easy  prey  to  the  more  unscrupulous  among  their  ener- 
getic neighbours,  tend  to  keep  them  in  a  condition  of  perpetual 
pupillage,  and  the  relation  subsisting  between  them  and  the 
Government,  which  treats  them,  partly  as  independent  peoples. 


158  CANADA.  Ch.  VI. 

and  partly  as  infants  under  its  guardianship,  involves  many 
anomalies  and  contradictions.  Unless  there  be  some  reason* 
able  ground  for  the  hope  that  they  will  be  eventually  absorbed 
in  the  general  population  of  the  country,  the  Canadian  system 
is  probably  destined  in  the  long  run  to  prove  as  disastrous  to 
them  as  that  of  the  United  States.  In  1846  and  1847  the 
attempt  was  first  made  to  establish  among  them  industrial 
boarding  schools,  in  part  supported  by  contributions  from 
their  own  funds.  If  schools  of  this  description  be  properly 
conducted,  it  may,  I  think,  be  expected  that,  among  the  youth 
trained  at  them,  a  certain  proportion  at  least  ^11  be  so  far 
civilisedi  as  to  be  capable  of  making  their  way  in  life  without 
exceptional  privileges  or  restraints.  It  would  be,  I  am  inclined 
to  believe,  expedient  that  any  Indian,  showing  this  capacity, 
should  be  permitted,  after  sufficient  trial,  to  receive  from  the 
common  property  of  the  tribe  of  which  he  was  a  member  (on 
the  understanding  of  course  that  neither  he  nor  his  descendants 
had  thenceforward  any  claim  upon  it),  a  sum  equivalent  to 
his  interest  in  it,  as  a  means  to  enable  him  to  start  in  indepen- 
dent life.  The  process  of  transition  from  their  present  semi- 
barbarous  condition  could  hardly  fail  to  be  promoted  by  a 
scheme  of  this  description  if  it  were  judiciously  carried  out. 


i^Jatijnfl        J^o  sketch  of  a  Governor's  life  in  Canada  would  be 
United       Complete  which  did  not  contain  some  account  of  his 
^^^'       relations  with  the  great  neighbouring  republic. 

We  have  seen,  that,  at  the  beginning  of  his  govern- 
ment, Lord  Elgin's  cares  were  increased  by  threats,  and 
more  than  threats,  of  interference  on  the  part  of  '  sym- 
pathisers '  from  some  of  the  American  States ;  and  that 
he  looked  upon  the  likelihood  of  lawless  inroad,  not  to 
speak  of  the  possibility  of  lawful  war,  as  affording 
solid  reason  for  England's  maintaining  a  body  of  troops 
in  the  Colony.  But  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  his 
attitude  towards  the  Government  or  people  of  the 
States  was  one  of  jealousy  or  hostility.  The  loyal 
fiiendliness  of  the  Government  in  repressing  the  intem- 
perate sympathies  of  certain  of  its  citizens,  he  cordially 


1850-1854.  RELATIONS  WITH  THE  UNITED  STATES.         159 

acknowledged ;  and  with  the  people  he  did  his  utmost 
to  encourage  the  freest  and  friendliest  intercourse, 
social  and  commercial,  not  only  in  order  that  the  inha- 
bitants of  the  two  countries  might  provoke  one  another 
to  increased  activity  in  the  good  work  of  civilisation, 
but  also  that  they  might  know  and  understand  one 
another  ;  and  that  he  might  have  in  the  public  opinion 
of  the  United  States  that  intelligent  support  which  he 
despaired  of  finding  in  England,  owing  to  the  strange 
ignorance  and  indifference  which  so  unfortunately  pre- 
vails there  on  all  colonial  subjects. 

The  following  letters  refer  to  some  of  the  occasions 
on  which  mutual  civilities  were  interchanged : 

'  To  Mr.  CramptoUy  British  Minister  at  Washington, 

Montreal,  May  21,  1849. 
I  am  much  indebted  to  you  for  your  letter  of  the  lOth^  Their 
conveying  an  intimation  of  the  intentions  of  the  American  ^^"  j^"' 
Government  with  refereiice  to  improper  interference  on  the  1849. 
part  of  American  citizens  in  Canadian  affairs^  which  is  so 
honourable  to  General  Taylor  and  his  cabinet.     If  I  should 
receive  any  information  leading  me  to  believe  that  any  such 
interference  is  contemplated,  I  shall  not  fail  to  communicate 
with  jou  at  once  on  the  subject.     My  impression  is,  that  there 
is  not  at  present  much  to  be  apprehended  on  that  score ;  for, 
although  there  is  unhappily.considerable  excitement  and  irrita- 
tion in  Canada,  the  subject  in  dispute'   is  not  one  which  is 
likely  to  conciliate  much  sympathy  among  our  neighbours. 
I  do  not,  however,  less  highly  appreciate  the  good  feeling  and 
cordiality  evinced  by  the  Executive  Government  of  the  United 
States. 

To  the  Earl  Grey. 

Toronto,  June  14,  1650. 

Our  expedition  to  the  Welland  Canal  went  off  admirably,  Hataal 
the  only  drawback  being  that  we  attempted  too  much.     Mr.  coortcsiei. 
Merritt,  who  planned  the  affair,  gave  it  out  that  we  were  to 
pass  through  the  canal,  and  to  touch  at  Buffalo  on  our  way 
from  Lake  Erie  to  the  Falls  of  Niagara,  in  one  day.     On 

*  The  Rebellion  Losses  Bill 


160 


CANADA. 


Ce.  VI. 


this  hint  the  Buffalonians  made  preparations  for  our  reception 
on  the  most  magnificent  scale.  .  .  •  As  might  have  been  ex- 
pected, however,  what  with  addresses,  speeches,  and  mishaps  of 
various  kinds,  such  as  are  to  be  looked  for  in  canal  travelling 
on  a  large  scale  (for  our  party  consisted  of  some  three  hun- 
dred), night  overtook  us  before  we  reached  Lake  Erie,  and 
Buffalo  had  to  be  given  up.  I  very  much  regret  this,  as  I 
fear  the  citizens  were  disappointed.  Some  of  our  party  went 
there  the  next  day,  and  were  most  hospitably  received. 


To  the  Earl  Grey. 

Toronto,  August  16,  1850. 

Our  Session  has  closed  with  great  eclat  On  Thursday 
week  our  Buffalo  friends,  with  other  persons  of  distinction 
from  different  parts  of  the  Union,  arrived  here,  to  the  number 
of  about  two  hundred.  They  were  entertained  that  evening 
at  a  ball  in  the  City  Hall,  which  did  great  credit  to  the  good 
taste  and  hospitality  of  the  hosts.  Next  day  there  was  a 
review  in  the  forenoon  and  a  fSte  at  my  house,  which  lasted 
from  half-past  four  to  twelve.  I  succeeded  in  enabling  a  party 
of  five  hundred  to  sit  down  together  to  dinner ;  and,  what 
with  a  few  speeches,  fireworks,  and  dances,  I  believe  I  may 
say  the  citizens  went  away  thoroughly  pleased.'  On  Saturday, 
at  noon,  many  of  the  party  assisted  at  the  prorogation. 

These  matters  may  seem  trivial  to  you  among  the  graver 
concerns  of  state  ;  nevertheless,  I  am  sanguine  enough  to  hope 
that  the  courtesies  which  have  passed  this  year  between  the 
Buffalonians  and  us  will  not  be  without  their  fruit.     The  bulk 


*  Some  years  afterwards,  when 
speaking  of  these  festivities,  the 
Mayor  of  Buffalo  said :  '  Never  shall 
'  I  forget  the  admiration  elicited  by 
'  Lord  Elgin^s  beautiful  speech  on 
'  that  occasion.  Upon  the  American 
'  visitors  (who,  it  must  be  confessed, 
'  do  not  look  for  the  highest  order  of 
'intellect  in  the  appomtees  of  the 
'  Crown)  the  effect  was  amusing.  A 
'sterling  Yankee  friend,  while  the 
'  Governor  was  speaking,  sat  bj  my 
'  side,  who  occasionally  gave  vent  to 
*  his  feelings  as  the  speech  progressed, 
'ttch  sentence  increasing  in  beauty 
'•ad  eloquence,  by  such  approving 
*lBWftftinitifrnii  as  "He's  a  glorious 


' ''  fellow  I  He  ought  to  be  on  our  side 
' "  of  the  line  I  We  would  make  him 
' "  mayor  of  our  city ! "  As  some  new 
'  burst  of  eloquence  breaks  from  the 
'speaker's  lips,  my  worthy  friend 
'exclaims,  ''How  magnificently  he 
' "  talks  I  Tes,  by  Gborge,  weM  make 
'"him  governor — governor  of  the 
' ''  state!  *'  Ab  the  noble  Earl,  by  some 
'  brilliant  hit,  carries  the  assemblage 
'  with  a  full  round  of  applause,  "AhT" 
'cries  my  Yankee  mend,  with  a 
'hearty  slap^  on  my  shoulder,  **  by 
"'Heaven,  if  he  were  on  our  side, 
'"we'd  make  him  President — no- 
' « thing  less  than  President  I "  ' 


1860—1854.    RELATIONS  WITH  THE  UNITED  STATES.      161 

of  those  who  came  here  from  Buffalo^  including  the  Mayor — 
a  very  able  man  and  powerful  speaker — are  of  the  democratic 
party,  and  held  some  years  ago  very  different  views  from  those 
which  they  expressed  on  this  visit.  They  found  here  the 
warmest  and  most  cordial  welcome  from  all.  Her  Majesty's 
representative  not  excepted.  But  they  saw,  I  venture  to  say 
almost  with  certainty,  nothing  to  lead  them  to  suppose  that 
the  Canadians  desire  to  change  their  political  condition :  on 
the  contrary,  the  mention  of  Her  Majesty's  name  evoked  on 
all  occasions  the  most  unbounded  enthusiasm ;  and  there  was 
every  appearance  of  a  kindly  feeling  towards  the  Governor- 
General,  which  the  Americans  seemed  not  disinclined  them* 
selves  to  share. 

*  To  render  annexation  by  violence  impossible,  and  by  any 
'  other  means  as  improbable  as  may  be,'  is,  as  I  have  often 
ventured  to  repeat,  the  polar  star  of  my  policy.  In  these 
matters,  small  as  they  may  appear,  I  believe  we  have  been 
steering  by  its  light.  Again,  as  respects  ourselves.  I  trust 
that  the  effects  of  this  Buffalonian  visit  will  be  very  beneficial. 
I  took  occasion  in  my  speeches,  in  a  joking  way  which  pro- 
voked nothing  but  laughter  and  good  humour,  to  hint  at  some 
of  the  unreasonable  traits  in  the  conduct  of  my  Canadian 
friends.  I  am  sure  that  the  Americans  go  home  with  very 
correct  views  as  touching  our  politics,  and  with  the  best  senti- 
ments towards  myself.  It  is  of  very  great  importance  to  me 
to  have  the  aid  of  a  sound  public  opinion  from  without,  to  help 
me  through  my  difficulties  here ;  and,  as  I  utterly  despair  of 
receiving  any  such  assistance  from  England  (I  allude  not  to 
the  Government  but  to  the  public,  which  never  looks  at  us 
except  when  roused  by  fear  ignorantly  to  condemn),  it  is  of 
incalculable  importance  that  I  should  obtain  this  support  from 
America. 

In  the  autumn  of  1851,  the  inhabitants  of  Boston  Boston 
held  a  Three  Days'  Jubilee,  to  celebrate  the  completion  ** 
of  various  lines  of  communication,  by  railroad  and 
steamship,  destined  to  draw  closer  the  bonds  of  union 
between  Canada  and  the  United  States  ;  and  Lord  Elgin 
gladly  accepted  an  invitation  to  be  present.  Writing 
on  September  26,  1851,  he  mentions  having  *met 
*  there  all  the  United  States,  President  included  ;'  and 

M 


162  CANADA.  Ch.  VI. 

describes  a  *  dinner  on  the  Boston  Common  for  3,500 

*  persons,  at  which  many  good  speeches  were  made, 
'  Everett's  especially  so.'     He  adds : — 

Nothing  certainly  could  be  more  cordial  than  the  conduct 
of  the  Bostonians  throughout;  and  there  was  a  scrupulous 
avoidance  of  every  topic  that  could  wound  British  or  Canadian 
susceptibilities. 

To  the  general  harmony  and  good  feeling  no  one 
contributed  more  than  Lord  Elgin  himself,  by  his 
general  courtesy  and  aflFability,  and  especially  by  his 
speeches,  full  of  the  happiest  mixture  of  playfulness  and 
earnestness,  of  eloquence  and  sound  sense,  of  ardent 
patriotism  with  broad  international  sympathies.      *It 

*  was  worth  something,'  he  wrote  afterwards,  *  to  get  the 

*  Queen  of  England  as  much  cheered  and  lauded  in  New 

*  England  as  in  any  part  of  Old  England ; '  and  the 
reflection  faithfully  represents  the  spirit  of  expansive 
loyalty  which  characterised  all  his  dealings  with  hib 
neighbours  of  the  States. 

These  qualities,  added  to  the  reputation  of  a  wise  and 
Kberal  Governor,  won  for  him  an  unusual  amount  of 
regard  from  the  American  people.  At  a  dinner  given 
to  him  in  London,  during  his  short  visit  to  England  in 
the  spring  of  1854 — ^a  dinner  at  which  the  Colonial 
Secretaries  of  five  different  Governments,  Lord  Mont- 
eagle,  Lord  John  Russell,  Lord  Grey,  Sir  J.  Pakington, 
and  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  met  to  do  him  honour — no 
one  spoke  more  warmly  or  more  discriminatingly  in  his 
praise  than  the  American  Minister,  Mr.  Buchanan. 

ftwech  of  *  Lord  Elgin/  he  said,  *  has  soWed  one  of  the  most  difGcult 
chAnaa!  problems  of  statesmanship.  He  has  been  able,  successfully 
and  satisfactorily,  to  ailminister,  amidst  many  difficulties,  a 
colonial  government  over  a  free  people.  This  is  an  easy  task 
where  the  commands  of  a  despot  are  law  to  his  obedient 
subjects ;  but  not  so  in  a  colony  where  the  people  feel  that 
they  possess  the  rights  and  privileges  of  native-bom  Britons. 
Under   his   enlightened   government   Her    Majesty's   North 


1850—1854.    RELATIONS  WITH  THE  UNITED  STATES.      163 

American  provinces  have  realised  the  blessings  of  a  wise, 
prudent,  and  prosperous  administration ;  and  we  of  the  neigh* 
bouring  nation,  though  jealous  of  our  rights,  have  reason  to  be 
abundantly  satisfied  with  his  just  and  friendly  conduct  towards 
ourselves.  He  has  known  how  to  reconcile  his  devotion  to  Her 
Majesty's  serviee  with  a  proper  regard  to  the  rights  and 
interests  of  the  kindred  and  neighbouring  people.  Would  to 
Heaven  we  had  such  govemors-genend  in  all  the  European 
colonies  in  the  vicinity  of  the  United  States  I  * 

A  signal  proof  of  his  popularity  and  influence  in  Badpio- 
America  was  given  a  few  months  later,  on  the  occasion  TiLty. 
already  referred  to,  when  he  visited  Washington  for  the 
purpose  of  negotiating  the  Reciprocity  Treaty;  and, 
chiefly  by  the  eflfect  of  his  personal  presence,  carried 
through,  in  a  few  weeks,  a  measure  which  had  been  in' 
suspense  for  years. 

I^  retumiig  from  this  visit  he  was  received  with 
special  honours  at  Portland,  the  terminus  of  the 
international  railway  which  he  had  exerted  himself  so 
much  to  promote ;  and  he  used  the  opportunity  not 
only  to  please  and  conciUate  his  entertainers,  but  sloo  to 
impress  them  with  the  respect  due  to  the  Canadians,  as 
a  flourishing  and  progressive,  above  all  as  a  loyaK 
people.  Speaking  of  the  alienation  which  had  existed, 
a  few  years  earlier,  between  the  Provinces  and  the 
States,  he  said :  ^ 

When  I  look  back  to  the  past,  I  find  what  tended  in  some  Speech  ht 
degree  to  create  this  misunderstanding.  In  the  first  place,  as  ^^^^^^^ 
I  believe,  the  government  of  these  provinces  was  conducted 
on  erroneous  principles,  the  rights  of  the  people  were  some- 
what restrained,  and  large  numbers  were  prevented  from 
exercising  those  privileges  which  belong  to  a  free  people. 
From  this  arose,  very  naturally,  a  discontent  on  the  part  of 
the  people  of  the  Provinces,  with  which  the  people  of  the 
States  sympathised.  Though  this  sympathy  and  this  discontent 
was  not  always  wise,  it  is  not  wonderful  that  it  existed. 

'  The  report  of  hie  words  is  ob-      stance  is  proVablj  giyen  with  suffi- 
vioasly   impoifecty    but    their    sub-      cieut  occuracy. 

M  U 


164 


CANADA. 


Ch.  VI. 


What  have  we  now  done  to  put  an  end  to  this  ?  We  have 
cut  oiF  the  source  of  all  this  misunderstanding  by  granting  to 
the  people  what  they  desired — the  great  principle  of  self- 
government.  The  inhabitants  of  Canada  at  this  moment 
exercise  an  influence  over  their  own  destinies  and  government 
as  complete  as  do  the  people  of  this  country.  This  is  the  only 
cause  of  misunderstanding  that  ever  existed ;  and  this  cannot 
arise  when  the  circumstances  which  made  them  at  variance 
have  ceased  to  exist 

The  good  feeling  which  has  been  so  fully  establidhed  between 
the  States  and  the  Provinces  has  already  justified  itself  by  its 
works.  In  the  British  Provinces  we  have  already  had  many 
evidences  to  prove  your  kindness  towards  us ;  and  within  the 
last  seven  years^  more  than  in  any  previous  seven  years  since 
the  settlement  of  the  two  countries. 

Let  me  ask  you,  who  is  the  worse  off  for  this  display  of 
good  feeling  and  fraternal  intercourse  ?  Is  it  the  Canadas  ? 
sir,  as  the  representative  of  Her  Majesty,  permit  me  to  say 
that  the  Canadians  were  never  more  loyal  than  at  this  m'iment. 
Standing  here,  on  United  States  ground,  beneath  that  flag 
under  which  we  are  proud  to  live,  I  repeat  that  no  people  was 
ever  more  loyal  than  are  the  Canadas  to  their  Queen ;  and  it 
is  the  purpose  of  the  present  Ministers  of  Her  Majesty's 
Government  to  make  the  people  of  Canada  so  prosperous  and 
happy,  that  other  nations  shall  envy  them  their  good  fortune. 

This  was  the  last  occasion  of  his  addressing  American 
citizens  on  their  own  soil ;  nor  did  the  course  of  his 
after-life  bring  him  often  in  contact  with  them.  But 
the  personal  regard  which  he  had  won  from  them 
descended,  some  years  later,  as  a  valuable  heritage  to 
his  brother,  Sir  Frederick,  when  appointed  to  the  diffi- 
cult post  of  Minister  at  Washington  after  the  close  of 
the  Americar  Civil  War.^ 


1  The  great  abilities  of  Sir  F. 
Bruce,  and  the  nobility  of  his  cha- 
racter,  fitted  him  in  a  singular  man- 
ner for  this  post.  He  died  suddenly 
at  Boston,  on  {September  19,  1867, 
too  early  for  extended  fame,  but 
not  unrecognised  as  a  public  servant 
of  rare  yalue.    The    7Yme9,   which 


announced  his  death,  after  comment- 
ing on  the  calamitous  fate  by  which| 
'  within  a  period  of  four  years,  the 
'  nation  had  lost  the  services  of  three 
'members  of  one  family,  each  en- 
'dowed  with  eminent  qualifications 
'for  the  important  work  to  which 
'  they  severally  devoted  their  lives,' 


1854. 


PARTING  FROM  CANADA. 


165 


The  parting  of  Lord  Elgin  from  Canada  was  spread,  Pining 
so  to  speak,  over  several  years ;  for  though  he  did  not  cl^^a. 
finally  quit  its  shores  till  the  end  of  1854,  from  1851 
onwards  he  was  continually  in  expectation  of  being 
recalled ;  and,  towards  the  end  of  1853,  he  came  to 
England,  as  we  have  already  seen,  on  leave  of  absence. 
The  numerous  speeches  made,  and  letters  written  on 
the  occasion  of  these  different  leave-takings,  contain 
ample  proof  how  cordial  was  the  feeling  which  had 
grown  up  between  the  Colony  and  its  Governor.  It 
may  be  enough  to  give  here  two  specimens.  The 
first  is  an  extract  from  a  farewell  speech  at  Montreal, 
listened  to  with  tears  by  a  crowded  audience  in  the 
very  place  where,  a  few  years  before,  he  had  been  so 
scandalously  outraged  and  insulted.^ 

For  nearly   eight  years,  at  the  command  of  our  beloved  J^JJ^*'^ 
Queen,  I  have  filled  this  position  among  you,  discharging  its  real. 


proceeded  thus  with  regard  to  the 
youngest  of  the  three  brothers.  '  The 
country  would  have  had  much 
reason  to  deplore  the  death  of  Sir 
Frederick  Bruce  whenever  it  had 
hwpened ',  but  hie  loes  ie  an  especial 
misfortune  at  a  time  when  nego- 
tiations of  the  utmost  intricacy  iind 
delicacy  are  pending  with  a  Go- 
Temment  which  is  not  always  dis- 
posed to  approach  Great  Britain  in 
a  spirit  of  generosity  and  forbear- 
ance. Seldom  has  a  citizen  of 
another  country  visited  the  United 
States  who  possessed  so  keen  an 
insiffht  into  the  political  working 
oftne  Great  Republic,  and  at  the 
same  time  insr&tiated  himself  so 
thoroughly  with  every  American 
who  approached  him.  . . .  Although 
natunuly  somewhat  impulsive  m 
temperament,  he  invariable  exhi- 
bited entire  calmness  and  self- 
command  when  the  circumstances 
of  his  position  led  him  into  trial. . . 
This  imperturbable  temperament 
in  all  his  official  relations  served 
him  well  on  many  occa><ions,  from 
the  day  when  he  succeeded  to  the 


laborious  duties  relinquished  by 
Lord  Lyons;  but  never  was  it  of 
greater  advantage  than  in  the  pro- 
tracted and  difficult  controversy 
concerning  the  Alabama  claims. 
This  discussion  it  fell  to  the  lot  of 
Sir  F.  Bruce  to  conduct  on  the  part 
of  Her  Majesty ;  and  we  divulge  no 
secret  when  we  state  that  it  was  in 
accordance  with  the  late  Minister  s 
repeated  advice  and  exhortations 
that  a  wise  overture  towards  a  set- 
tlement was  made  by  the  present 
Government.  He  haa  succeeded  in 
establishing  for  himself  relations  of 
cordial  friendship  with  Mr.  Seward 
and  the  President,  and  probably 
there  are  few  outside  the  circle  of 
his  own  family  who  will  be  more 
shocked  at  the  tidings  of  his  death 
than  the  astute  and  keen-ejed  old 
man  with  whom  he  had  sustained 
incessant  diplomatic  fence.' 
'  It  certamly  was  not  without 
truth,  that  one  of  the  local  papers  mo.«t 
opposed  to  him  remarked  that  *  Lord 

*  Klgin  had,  beyond  all  doubt,  a  re- 
'  markable  faculty  of  turning  enemies 

*  into  friends.' 


166  CANADA.  Ch.  VI. 

duties^  often  imperfectly,  never  carelesslyy  or  with  indifference* 
We  are  all  of  us  aware  that  the  period  is  rapidly  approaching 
when  I  may  expect  to  be  required  by  the  same  gracious 
authority  to  resign  into  other,  and  I  trust  worthier,  hands, 
the  office  of  Governor-General,  with  the  heavy  burden  of 
responsibility  and  care  which  attaches  to  it.  It  is  fitting, 
therefore,  that  we  should  now  speak  to  each  other  frankly  and 
without  reserve.  Let  me  assure  you,  then,  that  the  severance 
of  the  formal  tie  which  binds  us  together  will  not  cause  my 
earnest  desire  for  your  welfare  and  advancement  to  abate. 
The  extinction  of  an  official  relationship  cannot  quench  the 
conviction  that  I  have  so  long  cherished,  and  by  which  I  have 
been  supported  through  many  trials,  that  a  brilliant  future  is 
in  store  for  British  North  America ;  or  diminish  the  interest 
with  which  I  shall  watch  every  event  which  tends  to  the  fulfil- 
ment of  this  expectation.  And  again  permit  me  to  assure  you, 
that  when  I  leave  you,  be  it  sooner  or  later,  I  shall  carry  away 
no  recollections  of  my  sojourn  among  you  except  such  as  are 
of  a  pleasing  character.  I  shall  remember — and  remember 
with  gratitude — the  cordial  reception  I  met  with  at  Montreal 
when  I  came  a  stranger  among  you,  bearing  with  me  for  my  sole 
recommendation  the  commission  of  our  Sovereign.  I  shall  re- 
member those  early  months  of  my  residence  here,  when  I  learnt 
in  this  beautiful  neighbourhood  to  appreciate  the  charms  of  a 
bright  Canadian  winter  day,  and  to  take  delight  in  the  cheer- 
ful music  of  your  sleigh  bells.  I  shall  remember  one  glorious 
afternoon — an  afternoon  in  April — when,  looking  down  from 
the  hill  at  Monklands,  on  my  return  from  transacting  business 
in  your  city,  I  beheld  that  the  vast  plain  stretching  out  before 
me,  which  I  had  alwa}s  seen  clothed  in  the  white  garb  of 
winter,  had  assumed,  on  a  sudden,  and,  as  if  by  enchantment, 
the  livery  of  spring ;  while  your  noble  St.  Lawrence,  bursting 
through  his  icy  fetters,  had  begun  to  sparkle  in  the  sunshine, 
and  to  murmur  his  vernal  hymn  of  thanksgiving  to  the 
bounteous  Giver  of  light  and  heat.  I  shall  remember  my 
visits  to  your  Mechanics'  Institutes  and  Mercantile  Library 
Associations,  and  the  kind  attention  with  which  the  advice 
which  I  tendered  to  your  young  men  and  citizens  was  received 
by  them.  I  shall  remember  the  undaunted  courage  with 
which  the  merchants  of  this  city,  while  suffering  under  the 
pressure  of  a  conmiercial  crisis  of  almost  unparalleled  severity. 


1864.  FAREWELL  TO  QUEBEC.  167 

uTged  forward  that  great  work  which  was  the  first  step  towards 
placiDg  Canada  in  her  proper  position  in  this  age  of  railway 
progress.  I  shall  remember  the  energy  and  patriotism  which 
gathered  together  in  this  city  specimens  of  Canadian  industry, 
from  all  parts  of  the  province,  for  the  World's  Fair,  and  which 
has  been  the  means  of  rendering  this  magnificent  conception  of 
the  illastrious  Consort  of  our  beloyed  Queen  more  serviceable 
to  Canada  than  it  has,  perhaps,  proved  to  any  other  of  the 
countless  communities  which  have  been  represented  there. 
And  I  shall  forget — but  no — what  I  might  have  had  to  forget 
is  forgotten  already ;  and  therefore  I  cannot  tell  you  what  I 
shall  forget 

The  remaining  extract  is  from  parting  words,  spoken 
after  a  ball  which  he  gave  at  Quebec  on  the  eve  of  his 
final  departure  in  December,  1854. 

I  wish  I  could  address  you  in  such  strains  as  I  have  some-  Fanwell 
times  employed  on  similar  occasions,  strains  suited  to  a  festive  ^  Q^^^>«c. 
meeting ;  but  I  confess  I  have  a  weight  on  my  heart,  and  that 
it  is  not  in  me  to  be  merry.  For  the  last  time  I  stand  before 
you  in  the  cfficial  character  which  I  have  borne  for  nearly 
eight  years.  For  the  last  time  I  am  surrounded  by  a  circle  of 
friends  with  whom  I  have  spent  some  of  the  most  pleasant 
days  of  my  life.  For  the  last  time  I  welcome  you  as  my 
guests  to  this  charming  residence  which  I  have  been  in  the 
habit  of  calling  my  home.*  I  did  not,  I  will  frankly  confess  it, 
know  what  it  would  cost  me  to  break  this  habit,  until  the 
period  of  my  departure  approached ;  and  I  began  to  feel  that 
the  great  interests  which  have  so  long  engrossed  my  attention 
and  thoughts,  were  passing  out  of  my  hands.  I  had  a  hint  of 
what  my  feelings  really  were  upon  this  point — a  pretty  broad 
hint  too — one  lovely  morning  in  June  last,  when  I  returned  to 
Quebec  after  my  temporary  absence  in  England,  and  landed 
in  the  Coves  below  Spencerwood  (because  it  was  Sunday, 
and  I  did  not  want  to  make  a  disturbance  in  the  town),  and 
when  with  the  greetings  of  the  old  people  in  the  Coves  who 
put  their  heads  out  of  the  windows  as  I  passed  along,  and 
cried  *  Welcome  home  again,'  still  ringing  in  my  ears,  I  mounted 
the  hill  and  drove  through  the  avenue  to  the  house  door.    I  saw 

'  Sponcerwood,  the  Qovernor'8  private  residence. 


168  CANADA.  Ch.  VI. 

the  dropping  trees  on  the  lawn,  with  every  one  of  which  I  was 
so  familiar,  clothed  in  the  tenderest  green  of  spring,  and  the 
river  beyond,  calm  and  transparent  as  a  mirror,  and  the  ships 
fi:ted  and  motionless  as  statues  on  its  surface,  and  the  whole 
landscape  bathed  in  a  flood  of  that  bright  Canadian  sun  which 
so  seldom  pierces  our  murky  atmosphere  on  the  other  side  of 
the  Atlantic.  I  began  to  think  that  persons  were  to  be  envied 
who  were  not  forced  by  the  necessities  of  their  position  to  quit 
these  engrossing  interests  and  lovely  scenes,  for  the  purpose  of 
proceeding, to  distant  lands,  but  who  are  able  to  remain  among 
them  until  they  pass  to  that  quiet  comer  of  the  Garden  of 
Mount  Hermon,  which  juts  into  the  river  and  commands  a 
view  of  the  city,  the  shipping.  Point  Levi,  the  Island  of 
Orleans,  and  the  range  of  Lawrentine ;  so  that  through  the  dim 
watches  of  that  tranquil  night,  which  precedes  the  dawning  of 
the  eternal  day,  the  majestic  citadel  of  Quebec,  with  its  noble 
train  of  satellite  hills,  may  seem  to  rest  for  ever  on  the  sight, 
and  the  low  murmur  of  the  waters  of  St.  Lawrence,  with 
the  hum  of  busy  life  on  their  surface,  to  fall  ceaselessly 
on  the  ear.  I  cannot  bring  myself  to  believe  that  the  future 
has  in  store  for  me  any  interests  which  will  fill  the  place  of 
those  I  am  now  abandoning.  But  although  I  must  hence- 
forward be  to  you  as  a  stranger,  although  my  official  connec- 
tion with  you  and  your  interests  will  have  become  in  a  few 
days  matter  of  history,  yet  I  trust  that  through  some  one 
channel  or  another,  the  tidings  of  your  prosperity  and  progress 
may  occasionally  reach  me ;  that  I  may  hear  from  time  to  time 
of  the  steady  growth  and  development  of  those  principles  of 
liberty  and  order,  of  manly  independence  in  combination  with 
respect  for  authority  and  law,  of  national  life  in  harmony  with 
British  connection,  which  it  has  been  my  earnest  endeavour, 
to  the  extent  of  my  humble  means  of  influence,  to  implant 
and  to  establish.  I  trust,  too,  that  I  shall  hear  that  this  house 
continues  to  be  what  I  have  ever  sought  to  render  it,  a  neutral 
territory,  on  which  persons  of  opposite  opinions,  political  and 
religious,  may  meet  together  in  harmony  and  forget  their  dif- 
ferences for  a  season.  And  I  have  good  hope  that  this  will  be 
the  case  for  several  reasons,  and,  among  others,  for  one  which 
I  can  barely  allude  to,  for  it  might  be  an  impertinence  in  me 
to  dwell  upon  it.  But  I  think  that  without  any  breach  of 
delicacy  or  decorum  I  may  venture  to  say  that  many  years 


1866.  AT  HOME.  169 

ago,  when  I  was  much  joanger  than  I  am  now,  and  when  we 
stood  towards  each  other  in  a  relation  somewhat  different  from 
that   which  has  recently  subsisted  between  us,  I  learned  to 
look  up  to  Sir  Edmund  Head  with  respect,  as  a  gentleman  of 
the  highest  character,  the  greatest  ability,  and  the  most  varied 
accomplishments  and  attainments.*    And  now,  Ladies  and  Gen- 
tlemen, I  have  only  to  add  the  sad  word  Farewell.     I  drink 
this  bumper  to  the  health  of  you  all,  collectively  and  indivi- 
dually.    I  trust  that  I  may  hope  to  leave  behind  me  some  who 
will  look  back  with  feelings  of  kindly  recollection  to  the  period 
of  our  intercourse ;  some  with  whom  I  have  been  on  terms  of 
immediate  official  connection,  whose  worth  and  talents  I  have 
had    the  best  means  of  appreciating,  and  who  could  bear 
witness,  at  least,  if  they  please  to  do  so,  to  the  spirit,  inten- 
tions,  and   motives   with   which   I    have    administered   your 
affairs ;  some  with  whom  I  have  been  bound  by  the  ties  of 
personal  regard.     And  if  reciprocity  be  essential  to  enmity, 
then  most  assuredly  I  can  leave  behind  me  no  enemies.     I  am 
aware  that  there  must  be  persons  in  so  large  a  society  as  this, 
who  think  that  they  have  grievances  to  complain  of,  that  due 
consideration  has  not  in  all  cases  been  shown  to  them.     Let 
them  believe  me,  and  they  ought  to  believe  me,  for  the  testi- 
mony of  a  dying  man  is  evidence,  even  in  a  court  of  justice, 
let  them  believe  me,  then,  when  I  assure  them,  in  this  the  last 
hour  of  my  agony,  that  no  such  errors  of  omission  or  commis- 
sion have  been  intentional  on  my  part.     Farewell,  and  God 
bless  you. 

The  two  years  which  followed  Lord  Elgin's  return  At  honw. 
from  Canada  were  a  time  of  complete  rest  from  official 
labour.  For  though,  on  the  breaking  up  of  Lord 
Aberdeen's  Ministry  in  the  spring  of  1^55,  he  was 
offered  by  Lord  Palmerston  the  Chancellorship  of  the 
Duchy  of  Lancaster,  with  a  seat  in  the  Cabinet,  he 
declined  the  offer,  not  on  any  ground  of  difference  from 

1  Sir  Edmund  Head,  who  rac-  Bhip  in  1833.    Those  who  knew  him 

oeeded    Lord    Elffin  as  Governor-  will  recognise  how  singularly  appro- 

Oeneral  of  Canada   in  1854,    had  priate,  in  their  full  force,  are  the 

'    '  him  for  a  Morton  Fellow-  terms  in  which  he  is  here  spoken  of. 


170  AT  HOME.  Ch.  VL 

the  new  Ministry,  which  he  intended  to  support ;  but 
because,  having  only  recently  taken  his  seat  in  the 
House  of  Lords,  after  a  long  term  of  foreign  service, 
during  which  he  had  necessarily  held  aloof  from  home 
politics,  he  thought  it  advisable,  for  the  present  at  least, 
to  remain  independent.  He  found,  however,  ample  and 
congenial  occupation  for  his  time  in  the  peaceful  but 
industrious  discharge  of  home  duties  at  BroomhalL 
Still  his  thoughts  were  constantly  with  the  distant 
Provinces  in  which  he  had  laboured  so  long. 

Whenever  he  appeared  in  public,  whether  at  a  din- 
ner given  in  his  honour  at  Dunfermline,  or  on  occasion 
of  receiving  the  freedom  of  the  city  of  Glasgow,  or 
in  delivering  a  lecture  at  the  annual  opening  of  the 
Edinburgh  Philosophical  Institute — it  was  with  the 
same  desire  of  turning  to  account  the  knowledge  gained 
abroad,  for  the  advantage  of  the  Colonies,  or  of  the 
mother-country,  or  for  the  mutual  benefit  of  both ; 
with  the  same  hope  of  drawing  closer  the  bonds  of 
union  between  them,  and  dispelling  something  of  that 
cloud  of  ignorance  and  indifference  which  has  often 
made  the  public  opinion  of  Great  Britain  a  hindrance 
rather  than  a  support  to  the  best  interests  of  her  depen- 
dencies. 
In  the  It  was  ouly  very  rarely  that  he  took  any  part  in  the 

£X  ^^  business  of  legislation ;  and  of  the  two  occasions  on 
which  he  was  induced  to  break  silence,  one  was  when 
the  interests  of  Canada  appeared  to  him  to  be  imper- 
illed by  the  rumoured  intention  of  Government  to  send 
thither  large  bodies  of  troops  that  had  just  returned 
from  the  Crimea.  He  thought  it  his  duty  to  protest 
earnestly  against  any  such  proceeding,  as  likely,  in  the 
first  place,  to  complicate  the  relations  of  Canada  with 
the  United  States,  and,  in  the  second  place,  to  arrest 
her  progress  in  self-dependence. 
Wmean  The  Other  occasion  of  his  speaking  was  in  May  1855, 
when  Lord  Ellenborough  had  moved  an  Address  to  the 


1835.  THE  CRIMEAN  WAR.  171 

Crown,  condemnatory  of  the  manner  in  which  the 
Crimean  War  had  been  and  was  being  conducted. 
Having  been  out  of  England  when  hostilities  were 
begun,  he  had  not  to  consider  the  question  whether  it 
was  a  glorious,  or  even  a  necessary,  war  in  which  we 
were  engaged;  and  his  one  feeling  on  the  subject  was 
that  which  he  had  previously  expressed  to  the  citizens 
of  Glasgow. 

My  opinion  (he  then  said)  [on  the  question  of  the  war]  I 
can  easily  state,  and  I  have  no  hesitation  in  avowing  it.  I 
say  that  now  we  are  in  the  war,  we  must  fight  it  out  like  men. 
I  don't  say,  throw  away  the  scabbard;  in  the  first  place, 
because  I  dislike  all  violent  metaphors ;  and,  in  the  second  place, 
because  the  scabbard  is  a  very  useful  instrument,  and  the 
sooner  we  can  use  it  the  better.  But  I  do  say,  having  drawn 
the  sword,  don't  sheathe  it  until  the  purpose  for  which  it  was 
drawn  is  accomplished. 

In  the  same  spirit  he  now  defended  the  Ministry 
against  Lord  EUenborough's  attack ;  not  on  party 
grounds,  which  he  took  pains  to  repudiate,  but  on 
what  he  conceived  to  be  the  true  patriotic  principle — 
viz.  to  strengthen,  at  such  a  time,  the  hands  of  the 
existing  Government,  unless  there  be  a  distinct  prospect 
of  replacing  it  by  a  stronger. 

After  mentioning  that  he  had  not  long  before  in- 
formed Lord  Palmerston,  that  '  while  he  was  resolved 

*  to  maintain  an  independent  position  in  Parliament,  it 
'  was  nevertheless  his  desire  and  intention,  subject  to 

*  that  qualification  and  reserve,  to  support  the  Govem- 

*  ment,'  he  proceeded : 

I  formed  this  resolution  not  only  because  I  had  reason  to 
believe  that  on  questions  of  public  policy  my  sentiments  would 
generally  be  found  to  be  in  accordance  with  those  of  the  pre- 
sent Government,  nor  yet  only  because  I  felt  I  owed  to  the 
noble  Viscount  himself,  and  many  at  least  of  his  colleagues,  a 
debt  of  obligation  for  the  generous  support  they  uniformly 
gave  me  at  critical  periods  in  the  course  of  my  foreign  career ; 


172  AT  HOME.  Ch.  VI. 

bat  also,  and  principaUj,  because  in  the  critical  position  in 
which  this  country  was  placed — at  a  time  when  we  had  only 
recently  presented  to  the  astonished  eye  of  Europe  the  dis- 
creditable spectacle  of  a  great  country  left  for  weeks  without  a 
Government,  and  a  popular  and  estimable  Monarch  left  with- 
out councillors,  during  a  period  of  great  national  anxiety  and 
peril;  when  there  was  hardly  a  household  in  England  where 
the  voice  of  wailing  was  not  to  be  heard,  or  an  eye  which  was 
not  heavy  with  a  tear — ^it  appeared  to  me,  I  say,  under  such 
circumstances,  to  be  the  bounden  duty  of  every  patriotic  man, 
who  had  not  some  very  valid  and  substantial  reason  to  assign 
for  adopting  a  contrary  course,  to  tender  a  frank  and  generous 
support  to  the  Government  of  the  Queen. 

Having  come  to  that  determination,  he  had  now  to 
ask  himself  whether  circumstances  were  so  altered  as 
to  make  it  his  duty  to  revoke  the  pledge  sponta- 
neously given  ?  To  this  conclusion  he  could  not  bring 
himself. 

It  seems  to  me  (he  said)  these  Resolutions  divide  themselves 
naturally  into  two  parts.  The  first  part  has  reference  to  what 
I  may  call  the  general  policy  of  the  Government  with  respect 
to  the  war;  and  that  portion  of  them  is  conceived  in  strains  of 
eulogy  and  commendation— I  may  almost  say  in  strains  of 
exultation.  The  Resolutions  speak  of  firm  alliances,  of  bro- 
therhood in  arms,  of  a  sympathetic  and  enthusiastic  people ; 
but  not  a  word  of  regret  for  national  friendships  of  old  stand- 
ing broken — desolation  carried  into  thousands  of  happy  homes 
— Europe  in  arms — Asia  agitated  and  febrile — America  sul- 
lenly expectant 

This  exuberance  of  exultation,  he  said,  was  amply 
met  by  the  exuberance  of  denunciation  which  charac- 
terises the  latter  part  of  the  Address  ;  but  it  was  to  his 
mind  even  less  just  than  the  former. 

But  even  (he  continued)  if  I  could  bring  myself  to  believe, 
which  I  have  failed  in  doing,  that  censure  might  be  passed  in 
the  terms  of  these  Resolutions  upon  Her  Majesty's  present 
Oovemment  without  injustice,  I  should  still  be  unwilling  to 


V 


1866.  SPEECH  IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  LORDS.  173 

concur  in  them,  unless  I  could  find  some  better  security  than 
either  the  Resolutions  themselves  afford,  or,  as  I  regret  to  be 
obliged  to  add,  the  antecedents  and  recorded  sentiments  of 
Noble  Lords  opposite  afford,  that  by  bringing  about  the 
change  of  administration  which  these  Resolutions  are  intended 
to  promote,  I  should  be  doing  a  benefit  to  the  public  service. 
My  Lords,  I  cannot  but  think  that  at  a  time  when  it  is  most 
important  that  the  Government  of  this  country  should  have 
weight  and  influence  abroad,  frequent  changes  of  administra- 
tion are  primd  facie  most  objectionable.  I  happened  to  be 
upon  the  Continent  when  the  last  change  of  Government  in 
this  country  took  place ;  and  I  must  say  it  appeared  to  me,  that 
a  most  painful  impression  was  created  in  foreign  states  with 
respect  to  the  instability  of  the  administrative  system  of  this 
country  by  these  frequent  changes  of  administration.  I  do 
think,  indeed,  that  not  the  least  of  the  many  calamities  which 
this  war  has  brought  upon  us  is  the  fact,  that  it  has  had  a 
tendency  in  many  quarters  to  throw  discredit  on  that  con- 
stitutional system  of  Government  of  which  this  country  has 
hitherto  been  the  type  and  the  bright  example  among  the 
nations. 

After  all,  what  is  ohiefly  valuable  to  nations  as  well  as  to 
individuals,  and  the  loss  of  which  alone  is  irreparable,  is  cha- 
racter ;  and  it  appears  to  me  that,  viewed  in  this  light,  many 
of  the  other  calamities  which  we  have  had  to  deplore  during 
the  course  of  this  war  have  been  already  accompanied  by  a 
very  large  and  ample  measure  of  compensation.  To  take,  for 
astance,  the  military  departments:  notwithstanding  the  com- 
plaints we  have  heard  of  deficiencies  in  our  military  organists 
tion,  I  believe  we  can  with  confidence  afiSrm,  that  the  character 
of  the  British  soldier,  both  for  moral  qualities  and  for  powers 
of  physical  endurance,  has  been  raised  by  the  instrumentality 
of  this  war  to  an  elevation  which  it  had  never  before  attained. 
In  spite  of  the  somewhat  unfavourable  tone  which,  I  regret  to 
say,  has  been  adopted  of  late  by  a  portion  of  the  press  of 
America,  I  have  myself  seen  in  influential  journals  in  that 
country  commentaries  upon  the  conduct  of  our  soldiers  at 
Alma,  at  Balaklava,  and  at  Inkerman,  which  no  true-hearted 
Englishman  could  read  without  emotion :  and  I  have  heard  a 
tribute  not  less  generous  and  not  less  unqualified  borne  to  the 


1 74  AT  HOME.  Ch.  VI. 

qualities  of  oar  troops  by  eminent  persons  belonging  to  that 
gieat  wSHtaaj  nation  with  which  we  are  now  so  happily  allied. 
To  look  to  another  quarter — ^to  contemplate  anotfier  cIms  of 
virtues  not  less  essential  than  those  to  which  I  have  referred 
to  the  happiness  and  glory  of  nations — I  have  heard  from  en- 
thusiastic^  even  bigoted,  votaries  of  that  branch  of  the  Christian 
Church  which  sometimes  prides  itself  as  having  alone  retained 
in  its  system  room  for  the  exercise  of  the  heroic  virtues  of 
Christianity 5 — I  say  I  have  frequently  heard  from  them  the 
frank  admission,  that  the  hospitals  of  Scutari  have  proved  that 
the  fairest  and  choicest  flowers  of  Christian  charity  and  devotion 
may  come  to  perfection  even  in  what  they  are  pleased  to  call 
the  arid  soil  of  Protestantism.  But,  my  Lords,  can  we  flatter 
ourselves  with  the  belief  that  the  character  of  our  statesmen, 
of  our  public  men,  and  of  our  Parliamentary  institutions  has 
risen  in  a  like  proportion  ?  Is  it  not,  on  the  contrary,  notorious 
that  doubts  have  been  created  in  quarters  where  such  doubts 
never  existed  before  as  to  the  practical  efficiency  of  our  much- 
vaunted  constitution,  as  to  its  fitness  to  carry  us  unscathed 
through  periods  of  great  difficulty  and  danger  ?  I  believe,  my 
Lords,  that  there  is  one  process  only,  but  that  a  sure  and  cer- 
tain process,  by  which  these  doubts  may  be  removed.  It  is 
only  necessary  that  public  men,  whether  connected  with  the 
Government  or  with  the  Opposition,  whether  tied  in  the  bonds 
of  party  or  holding  independent  positions  in  Parliament,  should 
evince  the  same  indifference  to  small  and  personal  motives,  the 
same  generous  patriotism,  the  same  disinterested  devotion  to 
duty,  which  have  characterised  the  services  of  our  soldiers  in 
the  field,  and  of  the  women  of  England  at  the  sick-bed. 
And,  my  Lords,  I  cannot  help  asking  in  conclusion,  if — which 
God  forbid — it  should  unhappUy  be  proved  that,  in  those  whom 
fortune,  or  birth,  or  royal  or  popular  favour  has  placed  in  the 
van,  these  qualities  are  wanting,  who  shall  dare  to  blame  the 
press  and  the  people  of  England,  if  they  seek  for  them  else- 
where ? 

From  the  tone  of  this  speech  it  will  be  seen  that 
Lord  Elgin  had  not  at  this  time  joined  either  of  the 
two  parties  in  the  State.  He  was,  in  truth,  still  feeling 
his  way  through  the  mazes  of  home  politics  to  which 


1865.  AT  HOME.  175 

he  had  been  so  long  a  stranger,  and  from  which,  as 
he  himself  somewhat  reficretfully  observed,  those  an- 

*not  a  wholly  sufficient  guide,  are  yet  some  sort  of 
^direction  to  wan^fers  in  the  political  wilderness.' 
While  he  was  still  thus  engaged,  events  were  happening 
at  the  other  ends  of  the  earth  which  were  destined  to 
divert  into  quite  another  channel  the  current  of  his  life. 


176  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  VH. 


CHAPTER  VIT. 

FIRST  MISSION  TO   CHINA.— PRELIMINARIES. 

ORIGIN  OF  THE  MISSION — APPOINTMENT  OF  LOBD  ELGIN — MALTA — EGYPT — 
CETLON — NEWS  OF  THE  INDIAN  MUTINY PENANG — SINGAPORE ^DIVER- 
SION    OF     TROOPS  TO   INDIA — ON    BOARD    THE    *  SHANNON ' — HONG-KONG 

CHANGE  OF  PLANS— CALCUTTA  AND  LORD  CANNING RETURN   TO   CHINA 

PERPLEXITIES — CAPRICES    OF    CLIMATE ^ARRIVAL    OF    BARON    GROS — 

PREPARATION   FOR   ACTION. 

The  earlier  incidentB  of  the  political  rupture  with 
the  Chinese  Commissioner  Yeh,  which  occurred  at 
Canton  during  the  autumn  of  1856,  and  which  led  to 
the  appointment  of  a  Special  Mission  to  China,  were 
too  thoroughly  canvassed  at  the  time  to  render  it 
necessary  to  renew  here  any  tiiscussion  on  their  merits, 
or  recall  at  length  their  details.  As  the  "  Arrow  "  case 
derived  its  interest  then  from  the  debates  to  which  it 
gave  rise,  and  its  effects  on  parties  at  home,  rather  than 
from  any  intrinsic  value  of  its  own,  so  does  it  now 
mainly  owe  its  importance  to  the  accidental  circmn- 
stance,  that  it  was  the  remote  and  insignificant  cause 
which  led  to  a  total  revolution  in  the  foreign  policy 
of  the  Celestial  Empire,  and  to  the  demolition  of  most 
of  those  barriers  which,  while  they  were  designed  to 
restrict  all  intercom'se  from  without,  furnished  the 
nations  of  the  West  with  fruitful  sources  of  quarrel  and 
perpetual  grievances.' 
These  words  form  the  preface  to  the  *  Narrative 
*  of  the  Earl  of  Elgin's  Mission  to  China  and  Japan,'  by 
Laurence  Oliphant,  then  private  secretary  to  Lord 
Elgin.     To  that  work  we  must  refer  our  readers  for  a 


L. 


1866.  ORIGIN  OF  THE  MISSION.  177 

full  and  complete,  as  well  as  authentic,  account  of  the 
occurrences  which  gave  occasion  to  the  following  letters. 
A  brief  sketch  only  will  here  be  given. 

On  October  8,  1856,  a  lorcha  named  *  Arrow,'  origin 
registered  as  a  British  vessel,  and  carrying  a  British  Misaion. 
flag,  was  boarded  by  the  authorities  of  Canton,  the  flag 
torn  down,  and  the  crew  carried  away  as  prisoners. 
Such  was  the  English  account.  The  Chinese  denied 
that  any  flag  was  flying  at  the  time  of  the  capture :  the 
British  ownership  of  the  vessel,  they  maintained,  was 
never  more  than  colourable,  and  had  expired  a  month 
before  :  the  crew  were  all  their  own  subjects,  appre- 
hended on  a  charge  of  piracy. 

The  English  authorities  refused  to  listen  to  this. 
They  insisted  on  a  written  apology  for  the  insult  to 
their  flag,  and  the  formal  restitution  of  the  captured 
sailors.  And  when  these  demands  were  refused,  or 
incompletely  fulfilled,  they  summoned  the  fleet,  in  the 
hope  that  a  moderate  amount  of  pressure  would  lead  to 
the  required  concessions.  Shortly  after,  finding  arms 
in  their  hands,  they  thought  it  a  good  opportunity  to 
enforce  the  fulfilment  of  certain  4ong-evaded  treaty 
'  obligations,'  including  the  right  for  all  foreign  repre- 
sentatives of  free  access  to  the  authorities  and  the  city 
of  Canton.  With  this  view,  fort  after  fort,  suburb  after 
suburb,  was  taken  or  demoUshed.  But  the  Chinese, 
after  their  manner,  would  neither  yield  nor  fight ;  and 
contented  themselves  with  offering  large  rewards  for 
the  head  of  every  Englishman. 

When  this  state  of  matters  was  reported  to  England, 
it  was  brought  before  the  House  of  Commons  on  a 
motion  by  Mr.  Cobden,  condenmatory  of  '  the  violent 
^  measures  resorted  to  at  Canton  in  the  late  affair  of  the 
*  ^^  Arrow." '  The  motion,  supported  by  Mr.  Gladstone  in 
one  of  his  splendid  bursts  of  rhetoric,  was  carried  against 
the  Government  by  a  majority  of  sixteen,  in  a  fiiU  and 
excited  house,  on  the  morning  of  February  26,  1857* 

N 


178  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  VH. 

But  Lord  Palmerston  refused  to  accept  the  adverse  vote 
as  expressing  the  will  of  the  people.  He  appealed  to 
the  constituencies,  candidly  telling  the  House  that, 
pending  that  appeal,  *  there  would  be  no  change,  and 

*  could  be  no  change,  in  the  policy  of  the  Government 

*  with  respect  to  events  in  China.'  At  the  same  time 
he  intimated  that  ^  special  Envoy  would  be  sent  out  to 
supersede  the  local  authorities,  anned  with  full  powers 
to  settle  the  relations  between  England  and  China  on 
a  broad  and  solid  basis. 

Appoint-  But  where  was  the  man  who,  at  a  juncture  so  critical. 
Lord  ill  face  of  an  adverse  vote  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
^^^'  on  the  chance  of  its  being  rescinded  by  the  country, 
could  be  trusted  with  so  delicate  a  mission  ;  who 
could  be  relied  on,  in  the  conduct  of  such  an  expe- 
dition against  a  foe  alike  stubborn  and  weak,  to  go  fer 
enough,  and  yet  not  too  far — to  carry  his  point,  by 
diplomatic  skill  and  force  of  character,  with  the  least 
possible  infringement  of  the  laws  of  humanity ;  a  man 
with  the  ability  and  resolution  to  insure  success,  and 
the  native  strength  that  can  afford  to  be  merciful? 
After  *  anxious  deliberation,'  the  choice  of  the  Govern- 
ment fell  upon  Lord  Elgin. 

How,  on  the  voyage  to  China,  he  was  met  half-way 
by  the  news  of  the  Indian  Mutiny;  how  promptly  and 
magnaninK»usly  he  took  on  himsetf  the  responsibility  of 
sacrificing  the  success  of  his  own  expedition  by  divert- 
ing the  troops  firom  China  to  India;  how,  after  many 
weary  months  of  enforced  inactivity,  the  expedition  was 
resumed,  and  carried  through  numberless  thwartings 
to  a  successful  issue — ^these  are  matters  of  history 
with  which  every  reader  must  be  acquainted.  But 
those  who  are  most  familiar  with  the  events  may  find 
an  interest  in  the  following  extracts  from  private 
letters,  written  at  the  time  by  the  chief  actor  in  the 
drama.  They  are  taken  almost  exclusively  from  a 
Journal,  in  which  his  first  thoughts  and  impressions  on 


1867.  MALTA.      EGYPT.  179 

every  passing  occurrence  were  hurriedly  noted  down, 
from  day  to  day,  for  transmission  to  I^ady  Elgin. 

H.M.S.  '  CaradocJ* — A(ay2nd. — I  have  just  returned  to  my  M^ta, 
ship  after  spending  a  few  hours  on  shore  and  visiting  Lord 
Lyons  in  his  magnificent  Prince  Albert.  .  .  .  How  beautiful 
Malta  is  with  its  narrow  streets^  gorgeous  churches,  and 
impregnable  fortifications.  I  landed  at  about  six,  and  walked 
up  to  the  Palace,  and  wrote  my  name  in  the  Governor's  book, 
who  resides  out  of  town.  I  then  took  a  turn  through  the 
town,  and  went  to  the  inn  to  breakfast.  .  .  .  By  way  of  Chance 
conversation  with  the  waiter,  I  asked  who  were  in  the  house :  ™®®^*°fiW! 
^  Only  two  families,  one  of  them  Lord  Balgonie^  and  his  sisters.' 
I  saw  the  ladies  first,  and,  at  a  later  hour,  their  brother,  in  his 
bed.  Poor  fellow  I  the  hand  of  death  is  only  too  visibly  upon 
him.  There  he  lay ;  his  arm,  absolutely  fleshless,  stretched 
out:  his  large  eyes  gleaming  from  his  pale  face,  I  could 
not  dare  to  offer  to  his  broken-hearted  sisters  a  word  of 
comfort.  These  poor  girls !  how  I  felt  for  them  ;  alone  !  with 
their  brother  in  such  a  state.  They  go  to  Marseilles  by  the 
next  opportunity  probably  by  the  packet  which  will  convey 
to  you  this  letter,  and  they  hope  that  their  mother  will  meet 
them  there.  What  a  tragedy  I  ...  I  had  been  incog,  at  the 
hotel  till  Sir  W.  Reid  *  found  me  there.  When  the  innkeeper 
learned  who  I  was,  he  was  in  despair  at  my  having  been  put 
into  so  small  a  room,  and  informed  me  that  he  was  the  son  of 
an  old  servant  at  Broomhall,  Hood  by  name,  and  that  he  had 
often  played  with  me  at  cricket!  How  curious  are  these 
strange  rencontres  in  life  I  They  put  me  in  mind  of  Heber's 
image,  who  says  that  we  are  like  travellers  journeying  through 
a  dense  wood  intersected  by  innumerable  paths :  we  are  con<- 
stantiy  meeting  in  unexpected  places,  and  plunging  into  the 
forest  again  I 

Alexandria. — May  6th. — I  made  up  my  letter  last  night, 
not  knowing  how  short  the  time  of  my  sojourn  at  Alexandria 
might  be.  But  at  about  one  in  the  morning  I  received  a 
letter  from  Frederick,'  telling  me  that  the  steamer  due  at  Sue;? 
had  not  yet  arrived,  that  an  official  reception  was  to  be  given 

^  One  of  his  Fifeshiie  neighbours. 
^  The  Governor  of  the  island, 
*  His  brother,  then  Consul-general  of  £g7pt, 

N  2 


andria. 


180  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  VH. 

me,  and  that  I  had  better  not  land  too  early.  .  .  .  Notwith- 
standing which,  washing  decks,  the  morning  gun,  and  a  bright 
Bun,  broke  my  slumbers  at  an  early  hour,  and  I  got  up  and 
dressed  soon  after  daybreak.  At  about  6.30  a.m.  a  boat  of 
the  Pacha's,  with  a  dignitary  (who  turned  out  to  be  a  very 
gentleman-like  Frenchman),  arrived,  and  from  him  I  learnt 
Alex-  that  the  Governor  of  Alexandria,  with  a  cortege  of  dignitaries 

and  a  carriage  and  four,  was  already  at  the  shore  awaiting 
my  arrival ;  but  Frederick  did  not  come  till  about  half-past 
nine,  and  it  was  nearly  ten  before  I  landed.  I  was  then 
conducted  by  the  authorities  to  the  palace  in  which  I  am 
now  writing,  consisting  of  suites  of  very  handsome  rooms, 
and  commanding  a  magnificent  view  of  the  sea.  About 
a  dozen  attendants  are  loitering  about  and  watching  every 
movement,  not  curiously,  but  in  order  to  supply  any  pos- 
sible want.  At  this  very  moment  a  mild-looking  Turk  is 
peeping  into  my  bed-room  where  I  am  writing  this  letter,  and 
supposing  that  I  may  wish  to  be  undisturbed,  has  drawn  a  red 
cloth  portiere  across  the  open  doorway.  This  palace,  which  is 
set  apart  for  the  reception  of  distinguished  strangers,  is  situated 
in  the  Turkish  quarter  of  the  town,  and  all  fhe  houses  around 
are  inhabited  by  Mussulmans.  The  windows  are  all  covered 
with  latticed  wooden  shutters,  through  which  the  wretched 
women  may,  I  suppose,  peer  as  they  do  through  the  grating  at 
the  House  of  Commons,  but  which  are  at  least  as  impermeable 
to  the  mortal  eye  from  without.  The  streets  are  very  empty, 
as  it  is  the  Ramadan,  during  which  devout  Turks  fast  and 
sleep  throughout  the  day,  and  indemnify  themselves  by  eating, 
drinking,  and  amusing  themselves  all  night. 

Cairo. — May  1th. — Most  of  yesterday  afternoon  was  spent 
in  drinking  coffee  and  smoking  long  pipes,  two  ladies  par- 
taking of  the  latter  enjoyment  after  dinner  at  Mr.  Green's. 
One  of  them  told  me  that  she  had  dined  with  the  Princess  (the 
Pacha's  wife)  a  few  days  ago.  She  went  at  seven  and  left  at 
half-past  twelve,  and  with  the  exception  of  a  half  hour  of 
dinner,  all  the  rest  of  the  time  was  spent  in  smoking  and 
drinking  coffee.  After  dinner,  the  mother  of  the  Pacha's  only 
child  came  in  and  joined  the  party.  She  was  treated  with  a 
certain  consideration  as  being  the  mother  of  this  child,  although 
she  was  not  given  a  pipe.  The  Princess  seemed  on  very  good 
terms  with  her.     This  child  (a  boy  three  years  old)  has  an 


1867.  EGYPT.  181 

English  nuTse^  and  this  nurse  has  persuaded  the  Pacha  to 
allow  her  to  take  the  child  to  England  on  a  visit  The 
mother,  who  has  picked  up  a  little  English  from  the  nurse, 
said  to  Mrs.  Green,  *  1  am  very  unhappy ;  young  Pacha '  (her 
boy)  '  is  going  away.'  The  mother  is  no  more  thought  of  in 
this  arrangement  than  I  am.  What  a  strange  system  it  is! 
•  .  •  We  passed  through  the  wonderful  Delta  to-day,  and 
certainly  the  people  looked  more  comfortable  than  those  of 
Alexandria.  The  beasts  too,  camels,  oxen,  donkeys,  showed 
signs  of  the  fertility  of  the  soil  in  their  sleekness.  What 
might  not  be  made  of  this  country  if  it  were  wisely  guided ! 

Steamer  *  Bentinck.^ — Sunday,  May  \Oth,  —  I  write  to  you 
from  the  neighbourhood  of  Mount  Sinai,  which  we  passed 
at  an  early  hour  this  morning,  gliding  through  a  sea  of  most 
transparent  glass,  with  so  little  motion  that  there  is  hardly  an 
excuse  for  bad  writing.  ...  I  must,  however,  take  you  back 
to  Cairo.  We  began  to  move  at  a  very  early  hour,  about  Crosmng 
three,  on  Saturday  (yesterday)  morning.  We  were  actually  ^*  D«wrt. 
in  the  railway  carriages  at  half-past  four.  I  was  placed  in  a 
coupe  before  the  engine,  in  order  that  I  might  see  the  road ; 
and  in  this  somewhat  formidable  position  ran  over  about  forty 
miles  of  the  Desert  in  about  an  hour  and  a  half.  It  is  a 
wonderful  sight  this  strange  barren  expanse  of  stone  and 
gravel,  with  here  and  there  a  small  encampment  of  railway 
labourers,  after  passing  through  the  luxuriant  Valley  of  the 
Kile,  teeming  with  production  and  life,  animal  and  vegetable. 
In  the  morning  air  there  was  a  healthy  freshness,  which  was 
very  delightful.  At  the  end  of  our  hour  and  a  half  we 
reached  the  termination  of  the  part  of  the  railway  which  is 
already  completed,  and  embarked  in  two-wheeled  four-horse 
vans  (such  as  you  see  in  the  Illustrated  News),  to  pass  over 
about  five  miles  of  trackless  desert,  lying  between  the  said 
terminus  and  a  station  on  the  regular  road  across  the  Desert, 
at  which  we  were  to  breakfast.  This  part  of  our  journey  was 
rough  work,  and  took  us  some  time  to  execute.  Our  station 
was  really  a  very  nice  building ;  and  while  we  were  there  a 
caravan  of  pilgrims  to  Mecca,  some  women  in  front  and  the 
men  following,  all  mounted  on  their  patient  camels,  passed  by. 
After  we  were  refreshed  we  started  for  Suez ;  and  you  will 
hardly  believe  me  when  I  tell  you,  that  we  travelled  forty- 
seven  miles  over  the  Desert  in  a  carriage  as  capacious  and 


182 


FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA. 


ch.  vn. 


Betrospect 
of  Egypt. 


Egyptian 
ladies. 


Aden. 


commodious  as  a  London  town  coach^  in  four  hours  and  a 
half,  including  seven  changes  of  horses  and  a  stoppage  of  half 
an  hour.  In  short,  we  got  over  the  ground  in  about  three 
hours  and  three-fourths.  We  had  six  horses  to  our  carriage, 
and  a  swarthy  Nubian,  with  a  capital  seat  on  horseback,  rode 
bj  us  all  the  way,  occasionally  reminding  our  horses  that  it 
was  intended  they  should  go  at  a  gallop. 

May  Will. — I  am  glad  to  have  had  two  days  in  Egypt.  It 
gave  one  an  idea  at  least  of  that  country ;  in  some  degree  a 
painful  one.  I  suppose  that  France  and  England,  by  their 
mutual  jealousies,  Will  be  the  means  of  perpetuating  the  abomi- 
nations of  the  system  under  which  that  magnificent  country  is 
ruled.  They  say  that  the  Pacha's  revenue  is  about  4,000,000/., 
and  his  expenses  about  2,000,000/. ;  so  that  he  has  about 
2,000,000/.  of  pocket-money.  Yet  I  suppose  that  the  Fellahs, 
owing  to  their  own  industry,  and  the  incomparable  fertility  of 
the  country,  are  not  badly  off  as  compared  with  the  peasantry 
elsewhere.  We  passed,  at  one  of  our  stopping-places  between 
Cairo  and  Suez,  part  of  a  Turkish  regiment  on  their  way  to 
Jeddah.  These  men  were  dressed  in  a  somewhat  European 
costume,  some  of  them  with  the  Queen's  medal  on  their  breasts. 
There  was  a  hareem,  in  a  sort  of  omnibus,  with  them,  contain- 
ing the  establishment  of  one  of  the  officers.  One  of  the  ladies 
dropped  her  veil  for  a  moment,  and  I  saw  rather  a  pretty  face; 
almost  the  only  Mahommedan  female  face  I  have  seen  since  I 
have  reached  this  continent.  They  are  much  more  rigorous,  it 
appears,  with  the  ladies  in  Egypt  than  at  Constantinople.  There 
they  wear  a  veil  which  is  quite  transparent,  and  go  about 
shopping :  but  in  Egypt  they  seem  to  go  very  little  out,  and 
their  veil  completely  hides  everything  but  the  eyes.  In  the 
palace  which  I  visited  near  Cairo  (and  which  the  Pacha  offered, 
if  we  had  chosen  to  take  it),  I  looked  through  some  of  the 
grated  windows  allowed  in  the  hareems,  and  I  suppose  that  it 
must  require  a  good  deal  of  practice  to  see  comfortably  out  of 
them.  It  appears  that  the  persons  who  ascend  to  the  top  of 
the  minarets  to  call  to  prayer  at  the  appointed  hours  are  blind 
men,  and  that  the  blind  are  selected  for  this  office,  lest  they 
should  be  able  to  look  down  into  the  hareems.  That  is  cer- 
tainly carrying  caution  very  far. 

Steamship  *  Bentincky  off  Socntra, — itfay  19 tk. — I  left  my 
last  letter  at  Aden.     We  landed  there  at  about  four  p.m., 


i 


1857.  ADEN.  183 

under  a  salute  from  an  Indian  man-of-war  sloop  and  the  fort, 
to  which  latter  place  I  was  conveyed  in  a  carriage  which 
the  Governor  sent  for  me.  It  was  most  fearfully  hot  The 
hills  are  rugged  and  grand,  but  wholly  barren ;  not  a  sign  of 
vegetation,  and  the  vertical  rays  of  a  tropical  sun  beating  upon 
them.  The  whole  place  is  comprised  in  a  drive  around  the  hills 
of  some  three  or  four  miles,  beyond  which  the  inhabitants  cannot 
stray  without  the  risk  of  being  seized  by  the  Arabs.  I  cannot 
conceive  a  more  di'eaiy  spot  to  dwell  in,  though  the  Oovemor 
assured  me  that  the  troops  are  healthy.  He  received  me  very 
civiUy,  and  insisted  that  I  should  remain  with  him  until  the 
steamer  sailed,  which  inTolved  leaving  his  abode  (the  canton- 
ment) at  about  half-past  three  in  the  morning.  He  took  me  to 
see  some  most  extraordinary  tanks  which  he  has  recently  dis- 
covered, and  which  must  have  been  constructed  with  great  care 
and  at  great  expense,  at  some  remote  period,  in  order  to  collect 
the  rain-water  which  falls  at  rare  intervals  in  torrents.  These 
tanks  are  so  constructed  that  the  overflow  of  the  upper  one 
fills  the  lower,  and  in  this  way,  when  the  fall  is  considerable,  a 
great  quantity  can  be  gathered.  They  were  all  filled  with 
rubbish,  and  it  is  very  possible  that  there  may  be  many  besides 
these  which  have  been  already  discovered,  but  when  they  are 
cleared  out  they  are  in  perfect  preservation.  Some  of  them 
are  of  great  capacity,  and  it  is  difficult  to  understand  how  they 
come  to  have  been  filled  up  so  completely.  The  Qotemor  told 
me  that  he  had,  a  few  months  before,  driven  in  his  gig  over  the 
largest,  which  I  went  with  him  to  see.  At  that  time  he  had 
no  idea  of  its  existence. 

May  22nd,— A%  each  of  these  wearisome  days  passes,  I  can-  oioomj 
not  help  being  more  and  more  determined  that,  in  so  far  as  it  P'^'P^^^ 
rests  with  me,  this  voyage  shall  not  have  been  made  for 
nothing.     However,  the  issues  are  in  higher  hands. 

Sunday y2Ath. — We  are  now  told  we  shall  reach  Ceylon 
in  two  days. ...  I  have  got  dear  Bruce*s  *  large  speaking  eyes 
beside  me  while  I  am  writing,  and  mine  (ought  I  to  confess  it) 
are  very  dim,  while  all  these  thoughts  of  home  crowd  upon  me. 
There  is  nothing  congenial  to  me  in  my  present  life.  I  have 
no  elasticity  of  spirits  to  keep  up  with  the  younger  people 
around  me.     It  may  be  better  when  the  work  begins ;  but  I 

*  His  eldest  son. 


184  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  \TI. 

cannot  be  sanguine  even  as  to  that^  for  the  more  I  read  of  the 
blue-books  and  papers  with  which  I  have  been  furnished^  the 
more  embarrassing  the  questions  with  which  I  have  to  deal 
appear. 

First  news  It  was  at  Ceylon  that  he  caught  the  first  ominous 
^d^n  mutterings  of  the  terrible  storm  which  was  about  to 
Mutiny,  burst  ovcr  India,  and  which  was  destined  so  power- 
fully to  aflFect  his  own  expedition.  The  news  of  the 
first  serious  disturbance,  the  mutiny  of  a  native  Regi- 
ment at  Meerut  on  the  11th  of  May,  had  just  been 
brought  by  General  Ashbumham,  the  commander  of 
the  expeditionary  force,  who  had  left  Bombay  a  few 
hours  after  the  startling  tidings  had  been  received 
through  the  telegraph.  Lord  Elgin's  first  feeling  was 
that  these  disturbances  in  India  furnished  an  additional 
reason  for  settling  afiairs  in  China  with  all  possible 
speed,  so  as  to  be  free  to  succour  the  Indian  Govern- 
ment. It  was  only  when  fuller  intelligence  came  from 
Lord  Canning,  with  urgent  entreaties  for  immediate 
help,  that  he  determined,  in  consultation  with  General 
Ashbumham,  who  cordially  entered  into  all  his  views 
on  the  subject,  to  sacrifice  for  the  present  the  Chinese 
expedition,  in  order  to  pour  into  Calcutta  all  the  troops 
that  had  been  intended  for  Canton. 

Galley  Ceylon. — May  26th,- — This  is  a  very  charming  place, 
so  green  that  one  almost  forgets  the  heat.  Ashbumham  is 
here ;  we  go  on  together  to  Singapore  this  evening.  Bad  news 
from  India.  I  think  that  I  may  find  in  this  news,  if  confirmed, 
a  justification  for  pressing  matters  with  vigour  in  China,  and 
hastening  the  period  at  which  I  may  hope  to  see  you  again. 

Steamship  *  Singapore,^ — May  27th, — General  Ashbumham 
brought  with  him  a  report  of  a  most  serious  mutiny  in  the 
Bengal  army.  Perhaps  he  sees  it  in  the  worst  light,  because 
he  has  always  (I  remember  his  speaking  to  me  on  the  subject 
at  Balbirnie)  predicted  that  something  of  the  kind  would  occur ; 
but,  apart  from  his  anticipations,  the  matter  seems  grave  enough. 
The  mutineers  have  murdered  Europeans,  seized  the  fort  and 
treasure  of  Delhi,  and  proclaimed  the  son  of  the  Great  Mogul. 


1857.  NEWS  OF  THE  INDIAN  MUTINY.  185 

There  seems  to  be  no  adequate  European  force  at  hand  to  put 
them  down^  and  the  season  is  bad  for  operations  by  Europeans. 
Such  is  the  sum  and  substance  of  this  report,  as  conveyed  by 
telegraph  to  Elphinstone,  the  evening  before  Ashbumham  left 
Bombay.  I  was  a  good  deal  tempted  to  remain  at  Galle  for  a 
few  hours,  in  order  to  await  the  arrival  of  the  homeward-bound 
steamer  from  Calcutta,  and  to  get  further  news ;  but,  on  re- 
flection, I  came  to  the  conclusion,  that  the  best  course  to  take 
was  to  view  this  grave  intelligence  as  an  inducement  to  press 
on  to  China.  I  wrote  officially  to  Clarendon  to  say,  that  if 
this  intelligence  was  confirmed,  it  might  have  a  tendency  to 
lower  our  prestige  in  the  East,  and  to  increase  the  influence  of 
the  party  opposed  to  reason  in  China ;  that  this  state  of  affairs 
might  make  it  more  than  ever  necessary  that  I  should  endeavour 
to  bring  matters  in  China  to  an  issue  at  the  earliest  moment, 
so  as  to  anticipate  this  mischief,  and  to  place  the  regiments 
destined  for  China  at  the  disposal  of  Government  for  service 
elsewhere. 

May  29M. — ^We  are  now  near  the  close  of  our  voyage, 
and  the  serious  work  is  about  to  begin.  Up  to  this  point  I 
have  heard  nothing  to  throw  any  light  upon  my  prospects.  It 
is  impossible  to  read  the  blue-books  without  feeling  that  we 
have  often  acted  towards  the  Chinese  in  a  manner  which  it  is 
very  difficult  to  justify ;  and  yet  their  treachery  and  cruelty 
come  out  so  strongly  at  times  as  to  make  almost  anything 
appear  justifiable. 

Penang, — June  \st, — We  have  just  returned  to  our  vessel  P«n*ng- 
after  a  few  hours  spent  on  shore ;  or,  rather,  I  have  just 
emerged  from  a  bath  in  which  I  have  been  reclining  for  half  an 
hour,  endeavouriug  to  cool  myself  after  a  hot  morning's  work. 
We  made  this  place  at  about  eleven  last  night,  running  into 
the  harbour  by  the  assistance  of  a  bright  moon.  The  water 
was  perfectly  smooth,  and  I  stood  on  the  paddle-box  for  some 
hours,  watching  the  distant  hills  as  they  rose  into  sight  and  faded 
from  our  view,  and  the  bright  phosphorescent  light  of  the  sea 
cut  by  our  prow,  and  which,  despite  the  clearness  of  the  night, 
was  sometimes  almost  too  brilliant  to  be  gazed  at.  When  we 
dropped  our  anchor,  the  captain  still  professed  to  doubt  whether 
or  not  he  would  have  to  proceed  immediately ;  but  he  gave 
me  to  understand  that,  if  he  could  not  accomplish  this,  he  would 
not  wish  to  leave  until  twelve  to-day,  so  that  I  should  in  that 


186  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  ^^I. 

case  have  an  opportnnity  of  landing  and  ascending  the  moun- 
tain summit.  On  this  hint  I  had  a  bed  prepared  on  deck 
(fearing  the  heat  of  the  cabins),  and  tried,  though  rather  in* 
vain,  to  take  a  few  hours'  sleep.  At  fire  A.M.  I  was  told  that 
the  Resident,  Mr.  Lewis,  was  on  board,  that  carriages  and 
horses  were  ready,  and  that,  if  I  wished  to  mount  the  hill,  the 
time  had  arrived  for  the  operation.  I  innnediatelj  made  a 
hasty  toilette,  and  set  forth  accompanied  by  the  General,  some 
of  the  others  following.  We  were  conveyed  in  a  carriage  three 
miles,  to  the  foot  of  the  hill,  and  on  pony-back  as  much  more 
up  it,  through  a  dense  tropical  vegetation  which  reminded  me 
of  my  Jamaica  days.  At  the  end  of  the  ride  we  arrived  at  the 
Government  bungalow,  and  found  one  of  the  most  magnificent 
views  I  ever  witnessed ;  in  the  foreground  this  tropical  luxu- 
riance, and  beyond,  far  below,  the  glistening  sea  studded  with 
ships  and  boats  innumerable,  over  which  again  the  Malay 
peninsula  with  its  varied  outline.  I  had  hardly  begun  to  ad- 
mire the  scene,  when  a  gentleman  in  a  blue  flannel  sort  of  dress, 
with  a  roughish  beard  and  a  cigar  in  his  mouth,  made  his  ap- 

Blahop  of    pearance,  and  was  presented  to  me  as  the  Bishop  of  Labuan  ! 

labiuD/  jjg  ^ag  there  endeavouring  to  recruit  his  health,  which  has 
suffered  a  good  deal.  He  complained  of  the  damp  of  the 
climate,  while  admitting  its  many  charms,  and  seemed  to  tUnk 
that  he  owed  to  the  dampness  a  very  bad  cold  by  which  he  was 
afflicted.  Soon  afterwards  his  wife  joined  us.  They  were 
both  at  Sarawak  when  the  last  troubles  took  place,  and  must 
have  had  a  bad  time  of  it.  The  Chinese  behaved  well  to  them; 
indeed  they  seemed  desirous  to  make  the  Bishop  their  leader. 
His  converts  (about  fifty)  were  stanch,  and  he  has  a  school  at 
which  about  the  same  number  of  Chinese  boys  are  educated. 
These  facts  pleaded  in  his  favour,  and  it  says  something  for 
the  Chinese  that  they  were  not  insensible  to  these  claims. 
They  committed  some  cruel  acts,  but  they  certainly  might  have 
committed  more.  They  respected  the  women  except  one  (Mrs. 
C,  whom  they  wounded  severely),  and  they  stuck  by  the 
Bishop  until  they  found  that  he  was  trying  to  bring  Brooke 
back.  They  then  turned  upon  him,  and  he  had  to  run  for  his 
life.     The  Bishop  gave  me  an  interesting  description  of  his 

Cfaiincter  school  of  Chinese  boys.  He  says  they  are  much  more  like 
English  boys  than  other  Orientals:  that  when  a  new  boy 
comes  they  generally  get  up  a  fight,  and  let  him  earn  his  place 


of  Chinese. 


1857.  DIVERSION  OF  TROOPS.  187 

by  his  prowess.  But  there  is  no  managing  them  without 
pretty  severe  punishments.  Indeed^  he  says  that  if  a  boy  be  in 
fault  the  others  do  not  at  all  like  his  not  being  well  punished  ; 
they  seem  to  think  that  it  is  an  injustice  to  the  rest  if  this  is 
omitted.  I  am  about  to  do  with  a  strange  people ;  so  much  to 
admire  in  them,  and  yet  with  a  perversity  of  disposition  which 
makes  it  absolutely  necessary »  if  you  are  to  live  with  them  at 
all,  to  treat  them  severely,  sometimes  almost  cruelly.  They 
have  such  an  overweening  esteem  for  themselves,  that  they 
become  unbearable  unless  they  are  constantly  reminded  that 
others  are  as  good  as  they.  .  .  .  The  Bishop  seemed  to  think 
that  it  would  be  a  very  good  thing  if  the  Rajah  were  to  go  home 
for  a  time,  and  leave  the  government  to  his  nephew,  whom  he 
praises  much.  .  •  .  When  we  came  down  from  the  mountain 
we  went  to  the  house  of  the  Resident  on  the  shore,  and  there  I 
found  all  the  world  of  Penang  assembled  to  meet  me ;  among 
ihem  a  quantity  of  Chinese  in  full  mandarin  costume.  It  was 
not  easy,  under  the  circumstances,  to  make  conversation  for 
them,  but  it  was  impossible  not  to  be  pleased  with  their  good- 
humoured  faces,  on  which  there  rests  a  perpetual  grin.  We 
had  a  grand  '  spread,'  in  which  fresh  fish,  mangosteen^  and  a 
horrible  fruit  whose  name  I  forget  {dorian),  but  whose  smell 
I  shall  ever  remember,  played  a  conspicuous  part.  After  break- 
fast we  returned  to  our  ship  to  be  broiled  for  about  an  hour, 
then  to  bathe,  and  now  (after  that  I  have  inserted  these  words 
in  my  journal  to  you)  to  finish  dressing. 

June  Srd, — Just  arrived  at  Singapore.     Urgent  letters  from  Singapore. 
Canning  to  send  him  troops.   I  have  not  a  man,  '  Shannon'  not 
arrived. 

Singapore. — June  5th, — I  am  on  land,  which  is  at  any  rate 
one  thing  gained.  But  I  am  only  about  eighty  miles  from 
the  equator^  and  about  two  hundred  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  sea.  The  Java  wind,  too,  is  blowing,  which  is  the  hot 
wind  in  these  quarters,  so  that  you  may  imagine  what  is  the 
condition  of  my  pores.  I  sent  my  last  letter  immediately  after 
landing,  and  had  little  time  to  add  a  word  from  land,  as  I 
found  a  press  of  business,  and  a  necessity  for  writing  to  Claren- 
don by  the  mail ;  the  fact  being,  that  I  received  letters  from 
Canning,  imploring  me  to  send  troops  to  him  from  the  number 
destined  for  China.  As  we  have  no  troops  yet,  and  do  not  well 
know  when  we  may  have  any,  it  was  not  exactly  an  easy 


188  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  On.  \TI. 

Diversion     matter  to  comply  with  this  request.     However,  I  did  what  I 
of^oopsto  could,  and,  in  concert  with  the  General,  have  sent  instructions 

far  and  wide  to  turn  the  transports  back,  and  give  Canning  the 

benefit  of  the  troops  for  the  moment. 

The  importance  of  the  determination,  thus  simply 
announced,  can  hardly  be .  exaggerated.  *  Tell  Lord 
Elgin/  wrote  Sir  William  Peel,  the  heroic  leader  of  the 
celebrated  Naval  Brigade,  after  the  neck  of  the  re- 
bellion was  broken,  *tell  Lord  Elgin  that  it  vfas  the 
'  Chinese  Expedition  that  relieved  Lucknow,  relieved 
*  Cawnpore,  and  fought  the  battle  of  the  6th  December.' 
Nor  would  it  be  easy  to  praise  too  highly  the  large  and 
patriotic  spirit  which  moved  the  heads  of  the  Expedi- 
tion to  an  act  involving  at  once  so  generous  a  renunci- 
ation of  all  selfish  hopes  and  prospects,  and  so  bold  an 
assumption  of  responsibility.  Proofs  were  not  want- 
ing afterwards  that  the  sacrifice  was  appreciated  by 
the  Queen  and  the  country ;  but  these  were  necessarily 
deferred,  and  it  was  all  the  more  gratifying,  therefore, 
to  Lord  Elgin  to  receive,  at  the  time  and  on  the  spot, 
the  following  cordial  expressions  of  approval  from  a 
distinguished  public  servant,  with  whom  he  was  him- 
self but  slightly  acquainted — Sir  H.  Ward,  then  Go- 
vernor of  Ceylon : — 

'  You  may  think  me  impertinent  in  volunteering  an 
opinion  upon  what  in  the  first  instance  only  concerns 
you  and  the  Queen  and  Lord  Canning.  But  having 
seen  something  of  public  life  during  a  great  part  of  my 
own,  which  is  now  fast  verging  into  the  "  sere  and 
**  yellow  leaf,"  I  may  venture  to  say  that  I  never  knew 
a  nobler  thing  than  that  which  you  have  done  in  prefer- 
ring the  safety  of  India  to  the  success  of  your  Chinese 
negotiations.  If  I  know  anything  of  English  public 
opinion,  this  single  act  will  place  you  higher,  in  general 
estimation  as  a  statesman,  than  your  whole  past  career, 
honourable  and  fortunate  as  it  has  been.     For  it  is  not 


1857.  SINGAPORE.  189 

*  every  man  who  would  venture  to  alter  the  destination  of 

*  a  force  upon  the  despatch  of  which  a  Parliament  has  been 

*  dissolved,  and  a  Government  might  have  been  super- 

*  seded.     It  is  not  every  man  who  would  consign  himself 

*  for  many  months  to  political  inaction  in  order  simply  to 

*  serve  the  interests  of  his  country.  You  have  set  a  bright 

*  example  at  a  moment  of  darkness  and  calamity ;  and,  if 

*  India  can  be  saved,  it  is  to  you  that  we  shall  owe  its 

*  redemption,  for  nothing  short  of  the  Chinese  expedi- 

*  tion  could  have  supplied  the  means  of  holding  our 

*  ground  until  further  reinforcements  are  received.' 

For  the  time  the  disappointment  was  great.  His 
occupation  was  gone,  and  with  it  all  hope  of  a  speedy 
end  to  his  labours.  Six  weary  months  he  waited, 
powerless  to  act  and  therefore  powerless  to  negotiate, 
and  feeling  that  every  week's  delay  tended  to  aggravate 
the  difficulties  of  the  situation  in  China. 

Singapore. — June  5  th, — It  is,  of  course,  difficult  to  conjecture 
how  this  Indian  business  may  affect  us  in  China,  and  I  shall 
await  our  next  news  from  India  with  no  little  anxiety.  Await 
it,  I  say,  for  there  is  no  prospect  of  my  getting  on  from  here 
at  present.  There  is  no  word  of  the  *  Shannon,'  and  till  she 
arrives  I  am  a  fixture. 

June  6th, — This  morning  the  Governor  took  me  on  foot  to  Conrict  es- 
the  convict  establishment,  at  which  some  2,500  murderers,  &c.,  **^^"'**" 

'   meat. 

from  India  are  confined,  and  some  fifty  women,  who  are  gene- 
rally, after  about  two  years  of  penal  servitude,  let  out  on  con- 
dition that  they  consent  to  marry  convicts.  I  cannot  say  that 
their  appearance  made  me  envy  the  convicts  much,  although 
some  of  them  were  perhaps  better-looking  than  the  women 
one  meets  out  of  the  prison.  In  truth,  one  meets  very  few 
women  at  all,  and  those  that  one  sees  are  far  from  attractive. 
Au  reste^  the  convicts  go  about  apparently  very  little  guarded, 
with  a  chain  round  the  waist  and  each  leg.  The  church,  which 
we  afterwards  visited,  is  rather  an  imposing  edifice,  and  is 
being  built  by  convict  labour,  at  the  cost  of  the  Indian 
Government. 

June  Sth, — This  morning  I  visited,  in  my  walk,  some  of  the  Opiam- 
horrid  opium-shops,  which  we  are  supposed  to  do  so  much  to  •^*^* 


190 


FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA. 


ch.  vn. 


Captain 
Peel. 


Ignorance 
of  the 
ChineRe 
language. 


encourage.  They  are  wretched  dark  places^  with  little  lamps, 
in  which  the  smokers  light  their  pipes,  glimmering  on  the 
shelves  made  of  boards,  on  which  they  recline  and  puff  until 
they  fall  asleep.  The  opium  looks  like  treacle,  and  the  smokers 
are  haggard  and  stupefied,  except  at  the  moment  of  inhaling, 
when  an  unnatural  brightness  sparkles  from  their  eyes.  After 
escaping  from  these  horrid  dens,  I  went  to  visit  a  Chinese 
merchant  who  lives  in  a  very  good  house,  and  is  a  man  of  con- 
siderable wealth.  He  speaks  English,  and  never  was  in  China, 
having  been  bom  in  Malacca.  I  had  tea,  and  was  introduced 
to  his  mother,  wife,  and  two  boys  and  two  gids.  He  intends 
to  send  one  of  his  sons  to  England  for  education.  He  de- 
nounces opium  and  the  other  vices  of  his  countrymen,  and  their 
secret  societies.  All  the  well-to-do  Chinese  agree  in  this,  but 
they  have  not  moral  courage  to  come  out  against  them.  In- 
deed, I  suppose  they  could  hardly  do  so  without  great  risk. 
.  .  .  Alas  I  still  no  sign  of  the  ^  Shannon.' 

June  \Yth. — At  half-past  four  this  morning  the  *  Shannon' 
arrived.  Captain  Peel  came  up  to  breakfast.  He  has  made 
a  quick  passage,  as  he  came  almost  all  the  way  under  canvas : 
such  were  his  orders  from  the  Adn^iralty.  He  says  that  his 
ship  is  the  fastest  sailer  he  has  ever  been  on  board  of;  that  he 
has  the  best  set  of  officers ;  in  short,  all  is  very  cheery  with 
him.  I  told  him  I  should  not  start  till  after  the  arrival  of  the 
steamer  from  England,  and  he  requires  that  time  to  get  ready, 
as  it  appears  that  he  had  only  twelve  hours'  notice  that  he 
was  to  take  me  when  he  left  England.  On  Tuesday,  at  noon, 
the  Chinese  arrived  with  an  address  to  me.  I  had  a  reply  pre- 
pared, which  was  translated  into  Malay,  and  read  by  a  native. 
It  is  a  most  extraordinary  circumstance  that,  in  this  place, 
where  there  are  some  60,000  or  70,000  Chinese,  and  where  the 
Europeans  are  always  imagining  that  they  are  plotting,  &c., 
there  is  not  a  single  European  who  can  speak  their  language. 
No  doubt  this  is  a  great  source  of  misunderstanding.  The  last 
row,  which  did  not  end  in  a  massacre,  but  which  might  have 
done  so,  originated  in  the  receipt  of  certain  police  regulations 
from  Calcutta.  These  regulations  were  ill  translated,  and 
published  after  Christmas  Day.  The  Chinese,  believing  that 
they  authorised  the  police  to  enter  their  houses  at  all  periods, 
to  interfere  with  their  amusements  at  the  New  Year,  &c.,  shut 
up  their  shops,  which  is  their  constitutional  mode  of  expressing 


V 


1867.  SINGAPORE.  191 

dissatisfaction.  It  was  immediatelj  inferred  in  certain  quarters 
that  the  Chinese  intended^  out  of  sympathy  with  the  Cantonese, 
to  murder  all  the  Europeans. .  Luckily  the  Governor  thought 
it  advisable  to  explain  to  them  what  the  obnoxious  ordinances 
really  meant  before  proceeding  to  exterminate  them,  and  a  few 
hours  of  explanation  had  the  effect  of  inducing  them  to  re-open 
their  shops,  and  go  on  quietly  with  their  usual  avocations. 
Just  the  same  thing  happened  at  Penang.  There  too,  because 
the  Chinamen  showed  some  disinclination  to  obey  regulations 
of  police  which  interfered  with  their  amusements  and  habits,  a 
plot  against  the  Europeans  was  immediately  suspected,  and 
great  indignation  expressed  because  it  was  not  put  down  with 
vigour  ! 

June  13M. — I  have  just  been  interrupted  to  go  and  see  the  The 
Sultan  of  Johore.     These  princes  in  this  country,  and  indeed  j"^?^, 
all  over  the  East,  are  spoilt  from  their  childhood,   all  their 
passions  indulged  and  fostered  by  their  parents,   who  say, 

*  What  is  the  use  of  being  a  prince,  if  he  may  not  have  more 

*  ghee,  &c  &c.  than  his  neighbours  ? '  I  do  not  see  what  can  be 
done  for  them.  At  the  school  I  visited  this  morning  are  two 
sultan's  sons  (of  Queddah),  but  they  were  at  home  for  some 
holidays,  when  they  will  probably  be  ruined.  During  my 
morning's  walk  I  heard  something  like  the  sound  of  a  school 
in  a  house  adjoining,  and  I  proposed  to  enter  and  inspect.  I 
found  an  establishment  of  Freres  chr^tiens,  and  one  of  them  Frerea 
(an  Irishman)  claimed  acquaintance,  as  having  been  with  Bishop  <^*''^^»«'"- 
Phelan  when  he  visited  me  in  Canada.  We  struck  up  a  friend- 
ship accordingly,  and  I  told  him  that  if  there  were  any  Sceurs 

I  should  like  to  see  them.  He  introduced  me  to  the  Vicar 
Apostolic,  a  Frenchman,  and  we  went  to  the  establishment  of 
the  SiBurs.  I  found  the  Superieure  a  very  superior  person,  Scturs, 
evidently  with  her  heart  in  the  work,  and  ready  for  any  fate 
to  which  it  might  expose  her,  but  quiet  and  cheerful.  I  told 
her  that  a  devout  lady  in  Paris  had  expressed  a  fear  that  my 
mission  to  China  would  put  an  end  to  martyrdom  in  that 
country.  She  smiled,  and  said  that  she  thought  there  would 
always  be  on  this  earth  martyrdom  in  abundance.  The  Sisters 
educate  a  number  of  orphan  girls  as  well  as  others.  All  the 
missionary  zeal  in  these  quarters  seems  to  be  among  the 
French  priests.  Some  one  once  said  that  it  was  not  wonderful 
that  young  men  took  away  so  much  learning  from  Oxford  as 


192  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  VH. 

they  left  so  little  behind  them.  The  same  maj,  I  think,  be 
said  of  the  French  religion.  It  seems  all  intended  for  ex- 
portation. 
View  from  June  1 5M. — I  see  from  my  window  that  a  French  steamer 
mgapore.  j^^  j^^^  come  into  the  harbour  and  dropped  her  anchor.  This 
reminds  me  that  I  have  not  yet  told  you  what  I  see  from 
this  window— if  1  may  apply  the  term  window  to  a  row  of 
Venetian  blinds  running  all  round  the  house  or  bungalow,  for 
this  residence  is  not  dignified  by  the  title  ^  house.'  I  am  on  an 
eminence  about  200  feet  above  the  sea;  immediately  below 
me  the  town ;  on  one  side  a  number  of  houses  with  dark  red 
roofs,  surrounded  with  trees,  looking  very  like  a  flower-garden, 
and  confirming  me  in  my  opinion  of  the  beauty  of  such  roofs 
when  so  situated ;  on  the  other,  the  same  red-roofed  houses 
without  treesy  which  makes  aU  the  difference.  Beyond,  the 
harbour,  or  rather  anchorage,  filled  with  ships,  the  mighty 
*  Shannon '  in  the  centre —  a  triton  among  the  minnows.  Beyond, 
again,  a  wide  opening  to  the  sea,  with  lowish  shores,  rocky, 
and  covered  with  wood,  running  out  on  either  side.  Such  is 
the  prospect  ever  before  me,  a  very  fine  one  during  the  day, 
still  more  interesting  at  night  when  it  all  sparkles  with 
lights,  and  the  great  tropical  moon  looks  calmly  down  on  the 
whole. 
On  H'  M,  S.  ^ Shannon,^ — June  24th. — I  daresay  you  will  consider 

^Sf  '^^  *  ™®  *^  object  of  envy  when  I  describe  to  you  where  I  am, — on 
board  of  a  magnificent  ship-of-war,  carrying  sixty  68 -pounders, 
our  foremast  and  mainmast  sails  set,  and  gliding  through  the 
water  with  just  motion  enough  to  tell  us  that  the  pulse  of  the 
great  sea  is  beating.  The  temperature  of  the  air  is  high,  but 
the  day  is  somewhat  cloudy,  and  the  sails  throw  a  shadow  on 
the  deck.  The  only  thing  I  regret  is,  that  having  no  i)oop, 
the  high  bulwarks  close  us  in  and  shut  out  both  the  air  and 
prospect.  One  can  only  get  these  by  climbing  up  on  a  sort  of 
standing-place  on  the  side.  .  .  .  Our  departure  from  Singapore 
was  very  striking.  .  .  .  Not  only  were  all  the  troops  and 
volunteers  under  arms,  with  Chinamen  and  merchants  in  crowds, 
but  (may  I  mention  it)  the  fair  ladies  of  Singapore  were  drawn 
up  in  a  row  to  give  us  a  parting  salute.  We  moved  off  in  our 
boats,  under  a  salute  from  the  battery,  which  was  repeated  by 
the  ^  Spartan '  as  I  passed  her,  and  by  the  ^  Shannon  *  when  I 
got  on  boards  both  these  vessels  manning  yards.     The  French 


1857.  CHANGE  OF  PLANS.  193 

admiral  honoured  me  also  with  a  salute  as  I  passed  him  after 
getting  under  weighs  although  the  sun  had  already  set. 

July  \st — Another  month  begun.  Last  night,  at  dinner,  we 
were  startled  by  hearing  that  we  seemed  to  be  running  on  a 
rock  or  shoal,  where  no  rock  or  shoal  was  known  to  exist  We 
backed  our  screw,  and  finally  went  over  the  alarming  spot,  and 
on  sounding  found  no  bottom.  The  sea  was  discoloured,  but 
whether  it  was  by  the  spawn  of  fish  or  sea-weed  we  could  not 
discover.  Peel  took  up  water  in  a  bucket,  but  could  discover 
nothing.  If  we  had  not  been  a  screw,  and  had  had  nothing 
hut  sails  to  rely  on,  we  should  have  kept  clear  of  this  apparent 
danger,  and  the  result  would  have  been  that  a  shoal  would  have 
been  marked  on  the  charts,  where,  in  point  of  fact,  no  shoal 
exists.     Captain  KeppePs  adventure  makes  captains  cautious. 

Hong-hmg. — July  Zrd. — I  am  headachy  and  fagged,  for  I  Arrival  at 
have  had  some  hours  of  the  most  fatiguing  of  all  things—  a  Hongkong. 
succession  of  interviews,  beginning  with  the  Admiral,  Greneral, 
&c  ...  1  found  the  Admiral  strong  on  the  point  that  Canton 
is  the  only  place  where  we  ought  to  fight.  .  .  .  However,  I 
hope  we  may  get  off  to  the  North  in  about  ten  days, — as  soon 
as  we  have  sent  off  these  letters,  and  got  (as  we  ought)  two 
mails  from  home. 

July  9th. — ^An  interval .  .  .  during  which  I  have  been  doing 
a  good  many  things,  my  greatest  enjoyment  and  pleasure  being 
the  receipt  at  la4»t  of  two  sets  of  letters  from  home.  ...  I 
have  a  great  heap  of  despatches,  some  of  which  seem  rather 
likely  to  perplex  me.  I  daresay,  however,  that  I  shall  see  my 
way  through  the  mist  in  a  day  or  two.  ...  I  had  a  levee  last 
evening,  which  was  largely  attended.  The  course  which  I  am 
about  to  follow  does  not  square  with  the  views  of  the  mer- 
chants, but  I  gave  an  answer  to  their  address,  which  gave  them 
for  the  moment  wonderful  satisfaction.  ...  A  document, 
taken  in  one  of  the  Chinese  junks  lately  captured,  states  that 
'  Devils'  heads  are  fallen  in  price,' —  an  announcement  not 
strictly  complimentary,  but  reassuring  to  you  as  regards  our 
safety. 

Up  to  this  time  Lord  Elgin  had  not  entirely  given  ciiange  of 
up  the  hope  that  the  troops  which  he  had  detached 
to  Calcutta  might  be  restored  to  him  before  the  setting 
in   of  winter   should   make   it  impossible  to  proceed, 

o 


194  FIRST  MISSION  TO  cinxA.  Cii.vn. 

as  his  instructions  required,  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Peiho,  and  there  open  negotiations  with  the  Court  of 
Pekin.  But  on  the  14th  of  July  came  letters  from 
Lord  Canning,  written  in  a  strain  of  deeper  anxiety 
than  any  that  had  preceded ;  and  giving  no  hope  that 
any  troops  could  be  spared  from  India  for  many  months 
to  come.  At  the  same  time  Lord  Elgin  learned  that 
the  French,  on  whose  co-operation  he  counted,  could 
not  act  until  the  arrival  of  the  chief  of  the  mission, 
Baron  Gros,  who  was  not  expected  to  reach  China  till 
the  end  of  September.  In  this  state  of  things,  to 
remain  at  Hong-Kong  was  worse  than  useless  The 
sight  of  his  inaction,  and  the  knowledge  of  the  reasons 
which  enforced  it,  could  not  fail  to  damage  the  position 
of  England  with  the  public  of  China,  both  Chinese  and 
foreign.  He  formed,  therefore,  the  sudden  resolution 
to  proceed  in  person  to  Calcutta,  where  he  would  be 
within  easier  reach  of  telegraphic  instructions  from 
England;  where  he  would  have  the  advantage  of  per- 
sonal communication  with  Lord  Canning,  and  of  learn- 
ing for  himself  at  what  time  he  might  expect  to  have 
any  troops  at  his  command;  and  where,  moreover,  his 
appearance  might  have  a  moral  effect  in  support  of  the 
Government  greater  than  the  amount  of  any  material 
force  at  his  disposal. 

Sails  for  H.  M.  S.  ^Shannon.'* — July  \9th. — I  wonder  what  you  will 

think  when  you  receive  this  letter ;  that  is,  if  I  succeed  in 
despatching  it  from  the  point  where  I  wish  to  post  it.  Will 
you  think  me  mad  ?  or  what  will  your  view  of  my  proceedings 
be  ?  .  .  .  Here  I  am  actually  on  my  way  to  Calcutta !  To 
Calcutta !  you  will  exclaim  in  surprise.  The  reasons  for  this 
step  are  so  numerous,  that  I  can  hardly  attempt  to  enumerate 
them.  I  found  myself  at  Hong-kong,  without  troops  and 
without  competent  representatives  of  our  allies  (America  and 
France)  to  concert  with  ;  doomed  either  to  nhorder  the  Court 
of  Pekin  alone,  without  the  power  of  acting  vigorously  if  I 
met  a  repulse,  or  to  spend  three  months  at  Hong-kong  doing 
nothing,  and  proclaiming  to  the  whole  world  that  I  am  waiting 


1857.  CHANGE  OF  PLANS.  195 

for  the  Frenchman;  i.e.  that  England  can  do  nothing  without 
France.  I  considered  the  great  objections  which  existed  to 
either  of  these  courses.  Sur  ces  entrefaites,  came  further  letters 
from  Canning,  begging  for  more  help  from  me,  and  showing 
that  things  are  even  worse  with  him  than  they  were  when  I  first 
heard  from  him.  It  occurred  to  me  that  I  might  occupy  the 
three  months  well  in  running  up  to  Calcutta,  taking  vdth  me 
what  assistance  I  can  collect  for  him,  and  obtaining  thereby  an 
opportunity  of  conferring  with  him,  and  learning  from  him  what 
chance  I  have  of  getting  before  the  winter  the  troops  which  I 
have  detached  to  his  support.  Sir  M.  Seymour  approved  the 
plan  warmly.  It  occurred  to  me  on  Tuesday  evening,  and  on 
Thursday  I  was  under  weigh.  Alas  I  Fhomnte  propose^  mats 
Dieu  dispose  I  The  monsoon  is  against  us,  and  as  this  ship  is 
practically  useless  as  a  steamer,  as  she  can  only  carry  coals  for 
five  days,  we  are  beating  against  the  wind,  and  making  little 
progress.  Perhaps  my  whole  plans  may  fail,  because  I  have 
the  misfortune  to  be  in  one  of  H.  M.'s  ships  instead  of  in  a 
good  merchant  steamer,  which  would  be  going  at  ten  miles  an 
hour  in  a  direct  line,  while  we  are  going  at  six  in  an  oblique 
one.     However,  we  must  hope  for  the  best 

Whether  we  are  to  have  peace  or  war  with  China,  either 
object  will  be  much  more  effectually  accomplished,  when  the 
European  forces  are  acting  together,  than  when  we  are  alone ; 
the  Russians  meanwhile,  no  doubt,  hinting  to  the  Emperor  that 
we  are  in  a  bad  way  in  India.  The  plan,  then,  if  we  can  ac- 
complish it,  is  this :  To  run  up  as  fast  as  I  can  to  Calcutta,  and 
to  return  so  as  to  meet  Baron  Gros,  who  is  not  expected  till 
the  middle  of  September.  There  will  just  be  time  to  commu- 
nicate with  the  Court  of  Pekin  before  winter.  I  have  men- 
tioned the  reasons  for  these  proceedings,  derived  from  my  own 
position ;  but,  of  course,  I  am  mainly  influenced  by  a  considera- 
tion for  Canning.  In  both  his  letters  he  has  expressed  a  desire 
to  see  me,  and  I  am  told  that  my  appearance  there  with  what 
the  Indian  public  will  consider  the  first  of  a  large  force,  will 
produce  a  powerful  moral  effect.  I  ought  to  be  there  at  least 
two  months  before  he  can  receive  a  man  from  England. 

July  20fA.* — Would  that  I  were  at  home  to-day  !     You  say  Birthdaj. 
that  I  do  not  appreciate  anniversaries,  but  it  is  chiefly  because 
it  is  so  sad  when  the  days  come  when  they  cannot  be  celebrated 

*  IJia  birthdaj,  And  also  his  father's. 

o  2 


196  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.VIL 

as  of  yore.  '  Nessun  maggior  dolore,^  Do  not  anniversaries  stir 
this  great  fountain  of  sadness  ?  I  feel  sad  when  I  look  at  this 
inhospitable  sea,  and  think  of  the  smiling  countenances  with 
which  I  should  have  been  surrounded  at  home,  and  the  joyous 
laugh  when  papa,  with  affected  surprise,  detected  the  present 
wrapped  up  carefully  in  a  paper  parcel  on  the  breakfast  table. 
Is  it  not  lawful  to  be  sad  ? 

JuJg  25th. — The  consequences  of  being  at  so  great  a  dis* 
tance  from  head-quarters  are  very  singular,  e.g.  in  this  case 
I  shall  not  hear  whether  the  Government  approve  or  not  of  this 
move  of  mine  until  it  has  become  matter  of  history;  until,  in  all 
probability,  I  have  carried  out  my  plan  of  visiting  the  Peiho 
with  the  French  Ambassador.  It  certainly  contrasts  very 
strongly  with  the  position  of  a  diplomatic  functionary  in 
Europe  now,  when  reference  is  made  by  telegraph  to  head- 
quarters in  every  case  of  difficulty.  .  .  .  This  seems  a  very 
solitary  sea.  We  have  passed  in  all,  I  think,  two  ships.  This 
morning  once  or  twice  we  have  met  a  log  floating  with  one  or 
two  birds  standing  upon  it.  Yesterday  great  excitement  waa 
created  by  the  discovery  of  a  cask  floating  on  the  surface  of  the 
sea.  Telescopes  were  braques  from  every  part  of  the  ship  upon 
this  unhappy  cask,  which  went  bobbing  up  and  down,  very 
unconscious  of  the  sensation  it  was  creating.  This  incident  will 
convey  to  you  an  idea  of  how  monotonous  our  life  is. 

July  27th. — At  about  four  yesterday  another  excitement, 
greater  than  that  created  by  the  floating  cask.  Peel  informed 
me  that  there  was  a  steamer  in  sight,  coming  towards  us. 
Many  were  the  speculations  as  to  what  she  could  be.  It  was 
generally  agreed  that  she  was  the  ^  Transit,'  as  she  was  due 
about  this  time.  As  we  neared  her,  however,  she  dwindled  in 
size,  and  proved  a  rather  dirty-looking  merchant-craft  with  an 
auxiliary  screw.  On  asking  whence  she  came,  she  informed 
us  that  she  was  from  Calcutta,  and  that  she  had  a  letter  for 
me.  It  proved  to  be  from  Canning,  in  no  respect  more  en- 
couraging than  his  former  letters,  and  therefore,  in  so  far,  con- 
firmatory of  the  propriety  of  my  present  move. 

Jufg  SI itt. — En  route  for  Calcutta.  We  reached  Singapore 
on  the  28th,  at  about  two  p.m.  I  landed  and  went  to  my  old 
quarters  at  the  Governor's.  I  found  it  deliciously  cool,  much 
more  so  than  it  was  during  my  former  visit.  .  .  .  My  friends 
at  Singapore  were  very  cordial  in  their  welcome  of  me,  and  the 


1857.  CALCUTTA.  197 

merchants  immediately  drew  up  an  address  expressive  of  their 
satisfaction  at  my  move  on  Calcutta.  We  have  taken  on  board 
100  men  of  the  detachment  of  the  90th  which  was  on  board  the 

*  Transit/  and  put  the  remainder  into  the '  Pearl/  so  that  we  are 
crammed  to  the  hilt.  Please  God  we  may  reach  Calcutta  in 
about  a  week  or  less^  and  then  a  new  chapter  be^ns.  Just  as  we 
were  starting  yesterday,  an  opium-ship  from  Calcutta  arrived, 
and  brought  me  a  letter  and  despatch  from  Canning,  more  urgent 
and  gloomy  than  any  of  the  preceding  ones.  The  *  Simoom ' 
and  '  Himalaya '  had  both  arrived,  but  he  was  clamorous  for 
more  help,  and  broadly  tells  me  that  I  must  not  expect  to  get 
any  of  my  men  back.  So  here  I  am  deprived  of  the  force 
on  which  I  was  to  rely  in  China !  .  .  .  Canning's  letter  is  dated 
the  21st,  and  therefore  contains  the  latest  intelligence.  Nothing 
can  be  worse.  I  am  happy  to  say  that  I  have  already  sent  to 
him  even  more  than  he  has  asked.  ...  1  trust  that  I  may  do 
some  good,  but  of  course  things  are  so  bad  that  one  fears  that 
it  may  be  too  late  to  hope  that  any  great  moral  effect  can  be 
produced  by  one's  arrival.  However,  I  have  with  me  about 
1,700  fighting  men,  and  perhaps  we  may  have  more,  if  we  find 
a  transport  in  the  Straits,  and  take  it  in  tow. 

On  the  8th  August  the  '  Shannon '  reached  Calcutta.  Arrival  at 
Her  arrival  is  thus  described  by  Mr.  Oliphant^ : — 

*  As  we  swept  past  Garden  Reach,  on  the  afternoon 

*  of  the  8th  August,  the  excitement  on  board  was  in- 

*  creased  by  early  indications  of  the  satisfaction  with 
'  which  our  appearance  was  hailed  on  shore.     First  our 

*  stately  ship  suddenly  burst  upon  the  astonished  gaze 

*  of  two  European  gentlemen  taking  their  evening  walk, 

*  who,  seeing  her  crowded  with  the  eager  faces  of  men 

*  ready  for  the  fray,  took  off  their  hats  and  cheered 
'  wildly ;   then  the  respectable  skipper  of  a  merchant- 

*  man  worked  himself  into  a  state  of  frenzy,  and  made 

*  us  a  long  speech,  which  we  could  not  hear,  but  the 

*  violence  of  his  gesticulations  left  us  in  little  doubt  as 

*  to  its  import ;  then  his  crew  took  up  the  cheer,  which 

»    Narrative  of  the  Earl  of  Elgin's  Wissicn,  i.  66. 


198 


FmST  MISSION  TO  CHINA. 


Ch.  \TI 


was  passed  en  at  intervals  until  the  thunder  of  our  68- 
pounders  drowned  every  other  sound;  shattered  .the 
windows  of  sundry  of  the  'palaces ; '  attracted  a  crowd 
of  spectators  to  the  Maidan,  and  brought  the  contents 
of  Fort  William  on  to  the  glacis. 

'  As  soon  as  the  smoke  cleared  away,  the  soldiers  of 
the  garrison  collected  there  sent  up  a  series  of  hearty 
cheers ;  a  moment  more  and  our  men  were  clustered 
like  ants  upon  the  rigging,  and,  in  the  energy  which 
they  threw  into  their  ringing  response,  they  pledged 
themselves  to  the  achievement  of  those  deeds  of  valour 
which  have  since  covered  the  Naval  Brigade  with  glory. 
After  the  fort  had  saluted,  Lord  Elgin  landed  amid  the 
cheers  of  the  crowd  assembled  at  the  ghaut  to  receive 
him,  and  proceeded  to  Government  House,  gratified  to 
learji,  not  merely  from  the  popular  demonstrations,  but 
from  Lord  Canning  himself,  that  though  happily  the 
physical  force  he  had  brought  with  him  was  not  re- 
quired to  act  in  defence  of  the  city,  still  that  the  pre- 
sence of  a  man  of  war  larger  than  any  former  ship  that 
ever  anchored  abreast  of  the  Maidan,  and  whose  guns 
commanded  the  city,  was  calculated  to  produce  upon 
both  the  European  and  native  population  a  most  whole- 
some moral  effect,  more  especially  at  a  time  when  the 
near  approach  of  the  Mohurrum  had  created  in  men's 
minds  an  unusual  degree  of  apprehension  and  excite- 
ment.' 

Speaking  afterwards  of  this  scene.  Lord  Elgin  him- 
self said,  '  I  shall  never  forget  to  my  dying  day — '- 
for  the  hour  was  a  dark  one,  and  there  was  hardly  a 
countenance  in  Calcutta,  save  that  of  the  Governor- 
General,  Lord  Canning,  which  was  not  blanched  with 
fear — I  shall  never  forget  the  cheers  with  which  the 
"  Shannon  "  was  received  as  she  sailed  up  the  river, 
pouring  forth  her  salute  from  those  6  8 -pounders 
which  the  gallant  and  lamented  Sir  William  Peel  sent 
up  to  Allahabad,  and  from  those  24-pounders  which, 


\ 


1867.  CALCUTTA.  19^, 

*  according    to    Lord   Clyde,   made   way    across    the 

*  country  in  a  manner  never  before  witnessed/ 

Calcutta, — Auffust  llth, — Here  I  am,  writing  to  you  from 
the  Govemor-General^s  palace  at  Calcutta  I  Altogether  it  is 
one  of  the  strangest  of  the  peripeties  of  my  life.  ...  I  think 
toy  visit  has  entirely  answered  as  regards  the  interests  of 
India.  I  have  every  reason  to  believe  that  it  has  had  an  Feel*! 
excellent  effect  here.  I  have  agreed  to  give  up  the  *  Shannon/  J^^*^^^ 
in  order  that  Peel  and  his  men  may  be  formed  into  a  naval 
brigade,  and  march  with  some  of  their  great  guns  on  Delhi. 
Peel,  for  this  work,  is,  I  believe,  the  right  man  in  the  right 
place,  and  I  expect  great  things  from  him.  He  is  delighted, 
and  Canning  and  Sir  P.  Grant  have  signified  in  strong  terms 
their  appreciation  of  the  sacrifice  I  am  making,  and  the  service 
I  am  rendering.  They  are  in  great  want  of  artiUery,  and  no 
such  guns  as  those  of  the  *  Shannon '  are  in  their  possession. 
The  vessel  itself,  with  a  small  crew,  will  remain  in  the  river 
opposite  Calcutta,  able,  if  need  were,  to  knock  all  the  city  to 
bits.  I  shall  get  a  steamer  for  myself,  probably  one  of  the 
Peninsular  and  Oriental  Company's,  to  convey  me  to  Hong- 
kong, and  to  remain  with  me  till  I  am  better  suited.  Canning  Loi^l 
is  very  amiable,  but  I  do  not  see  much  of  him.  He  is  at  work  °*°^' 
from  five  or  six  in  the  morning  till  dinner-time.  No  human 
being  can,  in  a  climate  like  this,  and  in  a  situation  which  has 
so  few  delassements  as  that  of  Governor-General,  work  so 
constantly  without  impairing  the  energy  both  of  mind  and 
body,  after  a  time.  .  .  .  Neither  he  nor  Lady  C.  are  so  much 
oppressed  by  the  difficulties  in  which  they  find  themselves  as 
might  have  been  expected. 

August  21*/. — It  is  a  terrible  business,  however,  this  l>«;Atn»ont 
living  among  inferior  races.  I  have  seldom  from  man  or  riomtccs. 
woman  since  I  came  to  the  East  heard  a  sentence  which  was 
reconcilable  with  the  hypothesis  that  Christianity  had  ever 
come  into  the  world.  Detestation,  contempt,  ferocity,  ven- 
geance, whether  Chinamen  or  Indians  be  the  object.  There 
are  some  three  or  four  hundred  servants  in  this  house.  When 
one  first  passes  by  their  salaaming  one  feels  a  little  awkward. 
But  the  feeling  soon  wears  oflP,  and  one  moves  among  them 
with  perfect  indifference,  treating  them,  not  as  dogs,  because 
in  that  case  one  would  whistle  to  them  and  pat  them,  but  as 
machines  with  which  one  can  have  no  communion  or  sympathy. 


200  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.VII. 

Of  course  those  who  can  speak  the  language  are  somewhat 
more  en  rapport  with  the  natives,  but  very  slightly  so,  I  take 
it.  When  the  passions  of  fear  and  hatred  are  engrafted  on 
this  indiiference,  the  result  is  frightful ;  an  absolute  callousness 
as  to  the  sufferings  of  the  objects  of  those  passions,  which 
must  be  witnessed  to  be  understood  and  believed. 

August    22nd. tells    me   that  yesterday,    at    dinner, 

the  fact  that  Government  had  removed  some  commissioners 
who,  not  content  with  hanging  all  the  rebels  they  could  lay 
their  hands  on,  had  been  insulting  them  by  destroying  their 
caste,  telling  them  that  after  death  they  should  be  cast  to 
the  dogs  to  be  devoured,  &c.,  was  mentioned.  A  rev.  gentle- 
man could  not  understand  the  conduct  of  Government ; 
could  not  see  that  there  was  any  impropriety  in  torturing 
men's  souls ;  seemed  to  think  that  a  good  deal  might  be  said  in 
favour  of  bodily  torture  as  well  I  These  are  your  teachers,  O 
Israel  I  Imagine  what  the  pupils  become  under  such  leading  I 
Feiips  for  August  26th. — The  great  subject  of  anxiety  here  now 
is  Lucknow,  where  a  small  party  of  soldiers,  with  some  two 
hundred  women  and  an  equal  number  of  children,  are  be- 
leaguered by  a  rebel  force  of  15,000.  The  attempts  hitherto 
made  to  relieve  them  have  failed  ;  and  General  Havelock,  who 
commands,  says  he  can  do  nothing  unless  he  gets  the  5th  and 
90th  Regiments,  the  two  I  sent  from  Singapore  on  my  own 
responsibility.  The  men  of  the  *  Pearl '  and  *  Shannon  *  and 
the  marines  are  guarding  Calcutta,  or  on  their  way  up  to  Alla- 
habad, so  that  it  is  impossible  to  say  what  would  have  become 
of  Bengal  if  these  reinforcements  had  not  come. 

August  30th, — The  mail  from  England  has  arrived.  No 
letters,  of  course,  for  me.  I  gather  from  the  newspapers  and 
Canning's  letters  that  some  troops,  though  only  to  a  small 
extent,  I  fear,  are  to  be  sent  to  Hong-kong,  to  replace  those 
which  have  been  diverted  to  India.  From  Palmerston's  speeches 
I  gather  that  he  adheres  to  the  policy  of  my  first  visiting  the 
North,  and  making  amicable  overtures  ;  and,  secondly,  taking 
Canton,  if  these  overtures  fail.  I  believe  I  have  adopted  the 
only  mode  of  carrying  out  that  policy.  It  is  rather  perplexing, 
however,  and  sometimes  a  little  amusing,  to  be  working  at  such 
a  distance  from  head-quarters,  as  one  never  knows  what  is 
thought  of  one's  proceedings  until  it  is  so  much  too  late  to  turn 
to  account  the  criticisms  passed  upon  them. 


t 


y 


\ 
\ 


1857.  RETURN  TO  CHINA.  201 

There  remained  now  nothing  to  keep  him  longer  at  Return  to 
Calcutta ;  a  body  of  troops  was  on  its  way  to  Hong- 
kong, to  take  the  place  of  those  that  had  been  diverted 
to  India,  and  the  end  of  September  was  the  time  at 
which  he  had  arranged  to  meet  Baron  Gros  in  the 
China  seas.  On  the  3rd  of  September,  therefore,  he 
turned  his  face  once  more  eastward,  to  resume  the 
proper  duties  of  his  mission. 

Steamer  *Ava,^ — September  Wth. — I  have  had  a  very  bad  Fever, 
time  of  it  since  I  finished  my  last  letter  on  my  way  down  the 
Ilooghly.  Probably  it  may  have  been  something  of  the  Calcutta 
fever  brought  with  me.  .  .  .  But  on  the  second  night  after  our 
departure^  it  came  on  to  blow  hard  towards  morning.  I  was  in 
my  cot  on  the  windward  side.  First,  I  got  rather  a  chill,  and 
then  the  ports  were  shut,  leaving  me  very  hot.  I  remained 
all  day  in  a  state  of  feverish  lethargy,  unable  to  rise,  and  con- 
stantly falling  off  into  dreamy  dozes ;  kaleidoscopes,  with  tho 
ugliest  sides  of  everything  perpetually  twirling  before  my  eyes* 
I  panted  so  for  air  that  they  opened  my  ports  towards  evening 
as  an  experiment.  It  turned  out  better  than  might  have  been 
expected.  A  sea  washed  in,  and  filled  my  cot  half  full  of  water, 
which  decided  me  on  rising.  No  gentler  hint  would  have 
mastered  my  lethargy.  After  I  got  on  deck,  as  you  may 
imagine,  it  was  about  as  difHcult,  or  rather  more  so,  to  over- 
come the  vis  inertice  which  6xed  me  there.  So  a  bed  was  made 
for  me  under  the  awning.  1  remained  on  deck  for  four  nights ; 
the  fourth,  in  a  cot  slung  up  to  the  boom,  and  though  I  slept 
little,  it  was  cool.  Last  night  I  came  down  to  the  cabin  again. 
I  have  taken  the  turn,  and  am  on  the  mend,  though  I  do  not 
yet  feel  the  least  inclination  for  food,  and  my  nerves  are  so 
shaky  that  I  can  hardly  write.  That  little  pretty  book  *  of 
Guizot's  which  you  sent  me,  I  have  been  trying  to  read,  but  I 
find  that  it  is  too  touching  for  me,  and  I  have  been  obliged  to 
lay  it  aside. 

September  Wth. — I  am  now  at  Singapore  again,  which  is  my 
kind  of  oasis  in  this  desert  of  the  East ;  the  only  place  where  I 
have  felt  well  or  comfortable,  and  where  there  has  been  a  sort 
of  cordiality  in  the  people,  which  makes  one  feel  somewhat  at 

*  Life  of  Lady  Rachel  Kuasell. 


202  FIRST  MISSION  TO   CHINA.  Ch.  VU. 

home.  I  shall  stay' here  two  days^  to  gain  a  little  streDgth 
before  plunging  again^into  the  sea. 

Hong-hong, — September  20th, — I  did  not  attempt  to  write  on 
my  way  from  Singapore  to  this  place^  because,  though  we  were 
much  favoured  by  the  weather  (as  this  is  the  worst  month  in 
the  China  seas  and  the  most  subject  to  typhoons),  the  motion 
of  the  screw  in  the  ^  Ava '  is  so  bad,  that  it  ifl  almost  impossible 
to  write  when  she  is  going  at  full  speed.  However,  I  may  now 
tell  you  that  we  made  out  our  voyage  in  six  days  of  beautiful 
weather,  and  that  I  have  gone  on  gradually  recovering  my 
health,  which  I  lost  between  Calcutta  and  Singapore.  I  believe 
I  do  not  look  quite  as  blooming  as  usual ;  but  it  is  of  no  use 
my  claiming  sympathy  on  this  score,  for,  as  the  Bishop  of 
Labuan  appears  to  have  said,  I  always  have  a  more  florid 
appearance  than  most  people,  and  never  therefore  get  credit  for 
being  ill,  however  ill  I  may  feel.     1  found  two  mails  from  home, 

^^  .  .  .  The  Government  approves  of  my  having  sent  my  troops  to 

India,  and  Clarendon's  letter  seems  to  imply  that  they  are  not 
quite  insensible  to  the  difficulties  of  my  position.  .  .  .  As  it  is, 
I  now  find  myself  in  a  very  puzzling  position.  If  I  go  to  the 
North  I  shall  lose  prestige,  and  perhaps  also  time ;  it  is  even 
possible  that  I  may  force  the  Emperor  to  declare  himself  against 
us,  and  to  direct  hostilities  against  us  at  the  northern  ports, 
where  hitherto  we  have  been  trading  in  peace.  On  the  other 
hand,  if  I  do  not  go  to  the  North,  and  make  pacific  overtures  to 
the  Emperor,  I  shall  go  dead  against  my  instructions,  and 
against  the  policy  which  Palmerston  has  over  and  over  again 
told  Parliament  I  am  to  pursue. 

Hong-hong, — September  25th, — I  used  to  dislike  to  begin 
writing  a  letter,  when  I  thought  I  should  receive  one  from 
my  correspondent  before  it  was  finished ;  but  I  have  got 
over  all  these  scruples  now.  Our  correspondence  is  kept  up 
in  a  kind  of  constant  flow,  and  our  letters  so  cross  each  other, 
that  we  hardly  know  where  one  is  begun  or  ended.  Therefore, 
although  1  sent  off  one  this  forenoon,  and  although  I  m<iy 
calculate  on  hearing  from  you  again  before  this  is  despatched, 
I  feel  that  it  is  quite  natural  to  take  up  my  pen,  and  to  have 
some  talk  with  you  this  evening  before  I  retire  to  my  cot.  I 
have  been  dining  withj  the   Admiral  quietly,  at  3  p.m.,  and 

Hong-         I  went  on  shore  with  him  afterwards  to  take  a  walk.     We 
strolled  through  the  Chinese  part  of  the  town,  crowded  with 


koug. 


1867.  CAPRICES  OF  CLIAL\TE.  203 

Chinese  all  returning  from  their  work,  and  looking  good- 
humoured  as  usual.  The  town  is  more  extensive  than  I  had 
supposed  it  to  be;  but  it  was  close  and  hot,  and  I  was  rather 
glad  when  we  got  into  our  boat  again  to  pull  off  to  our  ship, 
which  is  lying  about  2^  miles  from  the  shore.  It  was  calm 
and  cool  on  the  water;  and  after  reaching  my  ship,  I  have 
sat  down  to  my  writing  desk,  having  placed  one  of  the  ship's 
attendants  (a  disbanded  sepoy,  1  believe)  at  the  punkah  iivhich 
has  lately  been  fitted  up  in  my  cabin.  It  is  wonderful  what  a 
comfort  these  punkahs  are !  I  was  suffocated  with  heat  before 
my  sepoy  began  to  pull,  and  every  now  and  then  I  have  to 
halloo  to  him  when  he  seems  disposed  to  take  a  nap.  . .  . 

October  Ist, — What  a  climate!  after  raining  cats  and  dogs  for  Caprices 
forty-eight  hours  incessantly,  it  took  to  blowing  at  about  twelve  inmate. 
last  night,  rain  still  as  heavy  as  ever.  Our  captain,  who  is  a 
man  of  energy,  apprehending  that  he  might  run  ashore  or  foul 
of  some  ship,  got  up  steam  immediately,  and  set  to  work  to 
perform  the  goose  step  at  anchor  in  the  harbour.  You  may 
imagine  the  row, — wind  blowing,  rain  splashing,  ropes  hauled, 
spars  cracking,  everybody  hallooing: — *  A  stroke  a-head  I  ease 
her !  faster  I  stop  her  ! '  and  other  variations  of  the  same  tunc. 
All  this  immediately  over  my  head  I  After  expending  the  con- 
ventional number  of  hours  in  my  cot,  in  the  operation  of  what 
is  facetiously  called  sleeping,  I  mounted  on  deck  at  about  5 
A.M.  ...  I  wish  I  could  send  you  a  sketch  of  that  gloomy  hill 
at  the  foot  of  which  Victoria  lies,  as  it  loomed  sullenly  in 
the  dusky  morning,  its  crest  wreathed  with  clouds,  and  its 
cheeks  wrinkled  by  white  lines  that  marked  the  track  of  the 
descending  torrents.  It  was  still  blowing  and  raining  as  hard 
as  ever,  but  I  took  ray  two  hours'  exercise  notwithstanding, 
clad  in  Mackintosh.  Frederick  and  Oliphant,  who  went  on 
shore  the  day  before  yesterday  to  dine  with  Sir  J.  Bowring, 
have  not  yet  returned. 

Seven  P.M. — The  weather  cleared  about  noon.  I  remained  After  the 
in  my  cabin  as  usual  till  after  five,  when  I  ordered  my  boat 
and  went  on  shore.  There  were  signs  of  the  night's  work 
here  and  there.  Masts  of  junks  sticking  out  of  the  water,  and 
on  land  verandahs  mutilated,  &c.  Loch  accompanied  me,  and 
we  walked  up  the  hill  to  a  road  which  runs  above  the  town. 
The  prospect  was  magnificent — Victoria  below  us,  running  down 
the  steep  bank  to  the  water's  edge ;  beyond,  the  bay,  crowded 


204 


FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA. 


ch.  vn. 


Better 
Dews 
from 
ludia. 


C)-.. tinned 

porplexi- 

tieif. 


^vith  ships  and  junks,  and  closed  on  the  opposite  side  by  a  semi- 
circle of  hills,  bold,  rugged,  and  bare,  and  glowing  in  the  bright 
sunset.  .  .  .  When  we  got  beyond  the  town,  the  hill  along 
which  we  were  walking  began  to  remind  me  of  some  of  the 
scenery  in  the  Highlands — steep  and  treeless,  the  water  gushing 
out  at  every  step  among  the  huge  granite  boulders,  and  dashing 
with  a  merry  noise  across  our  path.  After  somewhat  more  than 
an  hour's  walk  we  turned  back,  and  began  to  descend  a  long 
and  precipitous  path,  or  rather  street,  for  there  were  houses  on 
either  side,  in  search  of  our  boat.  By  the  time  we  had  embarked 
the  tints  of  the  sunset  had  vanished,  a  moon  nearly  full  rode 
undisputed  mistress  in  the  cloudless  sky,  and  we  cut  our  way 
to  our  ship  through  the  ripple  that  was  dancing  and  sparkling 
in  her  beams. 

Hong-kong, —  October  Sth, — On  the  6th,  I  went  to  the  an- 
chorage of  the  French  fleet,  about  twelve  miles  off.  On  our 
way  back  we  made  the  tour  of  the  island.  Every  spot  at  the 
foot  of  the  hills  on  which  anything  will  grow  is  cultivated  by 
the  industrious  Chinese,  whose  chief  occupation  in  these  parts 
seems,  however,  to  be  fishing.  Last  evening  I  dined  with  our 
own  admiral.  An  opium-ship  from  India  had  just  arrived,  so 
we  had  a  plentiful  crop  of  topics  of  conversation.  The  news 
from  India  is  rather  better.  The  whole  of  Bengal  was  de- 
pendent not  only  on  the  China  force,  but  on  that  portion  of  it 
which  I  took  or  sent  them  on  ray  own  responsibility.  The 
5th  and  90th  regiments  are  marching  to  the  relief  of  Lucknow. 
The  crews  of  the  *  Shannon  '  and  *  Pearl '  are  protecting  other 
disturbed  districts,  and  the  marines  garrisoning  Calcutta.  .  .  . 
It  cannot  therefore  be  said  that  I  have  not  done  Canning  a 
good  turn.  I  think,  however,  that  ihere  is  a  disposition,  both 
in  Calcutta  and  in  England,  to  underrate  our  needs  in  China, 
and  1  am  disposed  to  write  to  Canning  a  despatch  which  will 
bring  this  point  out.  ...  If  we  take  Canton  by  naval  means 
alone,  we  shall  probably  not  be  able  to  hold  the  city ;  in  which 
case  we  shall  probably  occasion  a  great  deal  of  massacre  and 
bloodshed,  without  influencing  in  the  slightest  degree  the 
Court  of  Pekin. 

October  9fh. — I  do  not  think  that  the  naval  actions  here  have 
really  done  anything  towards  solving  our  questions,  and  per- 
haps they  may  have  been  injurious,  in  so  far  as  they  have 
enabled  the  Government  and  the  Press  to  take  up  the  tone 


1857.  DEATH  OF  HIS  ELDEST  SISTER,  205 

that  we  could  settle  our  affairs  without  troops.  All  these 
partial  measures  increase  the  confidence  of  the  Chinese  in  them-  * 
selves,  and  confirm  them  in  the  opinion  that  we  cannot  meet 
them  on  land.  They  have  never  denied  our  superiority  by  sea, 
October  \3th. — No  steamer  from  England  yet.  I  have  just 
despatched  letters  to  Canning,  in  the  sense  I  have  already 
explained  to  you.  .  .  .  General  Ashburnham's  position  is  a 
very  cruel  one, — at  the  head  of  a  whole  lot  of  doctors  and 
staff-officers  of  all  kinds,  without  any  troops.  The  enormous 
amount  of  supplies  sent  out  passes  belief.  Oceans  of  porter, 
soda-water,  wine  of  all  sorts,  and  delicacies  that  I  never  even 
heard  of,  for  the  hospitals.  /  om  told,  even  tea  and  sugar, 
but  that  may  be  a  calumny.  This  is  the  reaction,  afler  the 
economies  practised  in  the  Crimea,  and  will  be  persevered  in,  I 
suppose,  till  Parliament  gets  tired  of  paying,  and  then  we 
shall  have  counteraction  the  other  way. 

On  the  16th  of  October  the  French  ambassador 
reached  Hong-kong,  having  been  delayed  by  the  break- 
ing down  of  an  engine,  which  made  it  necessary  for  him 
to  stay  at  Singapore  to  refit.  The  relations  of  the  two 
ambassadors,  at  first  somewhat  distant  and  diplomatic, 
soon  ripened  into  mutual  feelings  of  cordial  regard. 

October  ISth. — The  instructions  brought  by  the  last  mail  Arrival  of 
give  me  much  greater  latitude  of  action ;  in  fact,  untie  my  ^^^ 
hands  altogether.     I  hope  I  shall  get  Baron  Gros  to  go  with 
me ;  but  if  not,  I  shall  go  at  Canton  alone.     The  Admiral  is 
quite  ready  for  the  attempt,  as  soon  as  his  marines  arrive. 

October  30th. — How  little  i^as  I  prepared  for  the  sad  intelli-  A  nister's 
gcnce  brought  to  me  by  your  last !  *  How  constantly  we  shall  *^'^-^- 
all  feel  the  absence  of  that  good  genius! — that  Providence 
always  on  the  watch  to  soothe  the  wretched  and  to  console  the 
afflicted.  I  had  never  thought  of  her  early  removal  by  death  ; 
and  yet  one  ought  to  have  done  so,  for  she  complained  much 
of  suffering  last  year,  and  all  who  knew  her  well  must  have 
felt  that  to  make  her  complain  her  sufferings  must  have  been 
great.  She  is  gone ;  and  she  will  leave  behind  her  a  blank  in 
many  existences.  .  .  .  Many  years  ago  we  were  much  together. 
She  was  then  in  the  full  vigour  of  her  faculties.  ...  I  had 

*  The  death  of  hb  elder  sister,  Lady  Matilda  ^faxwell. 


206  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CmXA.  Ch.  \TI. 

ample  opportunity  then  of  appreciating  the  remarkable  union 
of  heart  and  head  and  soul  which  her  character  presented. 
Many  of  her  letters  written  in  those  days  were  of  rare  ex- 
cellence. ...  I  feel  for  you. 

October  Zlst — I  shall  hardly  recognise  Scotland  without 
her,  so  much  did  she,  in  her  unobtrusive  and  quiet  way,  make 
herself  the  point  to  which,  in  all  difficulties  and  joys,  one 
looked.  .  .  .  Poor  Maxwell  has  the  satisfaction  of  knowing 
that  all  that  was  great  and  lovable  in  her  flourished  under  his 
protection  and  with  his  sympathy.  Perhaps  that  is  the  best 
consolation  which  a  person  bereaved  as  he  is  can  enjoy.  Jt  is 
not  a  consolation  which  will  arrest  his  progress  along  the  path 
which  she  has  trodden  before,  but  it  is  one  which  will  strew  it 
with  flowers.  .  .  .  Already,  when  this  letter  reaches  you,  the 
green  weeds  will  have  begun  to  creep  over  the  new-made 
grave,  and  the  crust  of  habit  to  cover  wounds  which  at  first 
bled  most  freely.  It  is  also  a  soothing  reflection  that  hers  was 
a  life  of  which  death  is  rather  the  crown  than  the  close  ;  so 
that  it  will  not  be  in  gloom,  but  in  the  soft  sunset  light  of 
memory  that  they  who  have  been  wont  to  walk  with  her,  and 
are  now  deprived  of  her  companionship,  will  have  henceforward 
to  tread  their  weary  way.  I  see  in  that  sunset  light  the  days 
when  we  were  much  tosjether — when  she  used  to  call  herself 
my  wife.  In  those  days  her  nervous  system  was  stronger  than 
it  was  when  you  became  acquainted  with  her.  Her  soul  spoke 
through  more  obedient  organs.  Nothing  could  exceed  the 
eloquence  and  beauty  of  her  letters  in  those  daj's,  when 
written  under  the  influence  of  strong  feeling.  She  is  gone*  I 
do  not  expect  ever  to  see  her  like  again. 

Novrmber  \st. — Poor  Balgonie,  too.  It  is  another  loss ; 
very  sad,  though  different  in  its  character.  When  I  saw  him 
at  Malta,  I  had  not  a  conception  that  he  would  last  so  long. 
.  .  .  On  November  \stl  am  reading  your  thoughts  of  Septem- 
her  \sL  How  far  apart  this  proves  us  to  be  !  ...  I  sympathise 
deeply  in  all  those  feelings.  .  .  .  To  whatever  side  one  looks 
there  is  the  sad  blank  effected  by  her  removal ;  jeven  in  my 
public  interests,  I  cannot  say  how  much,  since  1  returned 
home,  I  owed  to  her  thoughtfulness  and  affection.  .  .  .  Cut  off^ 
as  we  are  here  at  present  from  all  immediate  contact  with 
home  interests,  it  is  difficult  to  realise  her  removal  and  its 
consequences  to  the  full.     It  is  a  stunning  blow  from  which 


1^7.  HONG-KOXG.  207 

one  recovers  gradually  to  a  consciousness  of  a  great  and  un- 
defined loss.  God  bless  you  I  .  .  .  and  grant  that  you  may 
share  her  inexpressible  comfort. 

November  8th. — I  have  been  absent  for  four  days  on  a  tour.  Visit  to 
...  I  liked  Macao,  because  there  is  some  appearance  about  **^*^' 
it  of  a  history, — convents  and  churches,  the  garden  of  Camoens, 
&c.  The  Portuguese  have  been  in  China  about  three  hundred 
years.  Hong-kong  was  a  barren  rock  fifteen  years  ago.  Macao 
is  Catholic,  Hong-kong  Protestant.  So  these  causes  combined 
give  the  former  a  wonderful  superiority  in  all  that  is  antique 
and  monumental. 

November  I4th. — T  have  received  your  letters  to  September 
24th.  .  .  .  The  Government  approve  entirely  of  my  move  to 
Calcutta,  and  Lord  Clarendon  writes  very  cordially  on  the 
subject. 

November  1 5th. — I  have  seen  the  Kussian  Plenipotentiary. 
.  .  .  He  has  been  at  Kiachta  and  the  mouth  of  the  Peiho, 
asking  for  admission  to  Pekin,  and  got  considerably  snubbed 
at  both  places,  as  I  should  have  been  if  I  had  gone  there.  It 
will  devolve  on  me,  I  apprehend,  to  administer  the  return, 
which  is  not,  I  think,  a  bad  arrangement  for  British  prestige 
in  the  East. 

Steamer  *  Avay^  Hong-kong. — November  llth. — My  serious  Beginning 
work  is  about  to  berin.     I  must  draw  up  a  challen<;e   for  ^^  «>riou» 

.  work. 

Yeh,  which  is  a  delicate  matter.  Gros  showed  me  a  projet 
de  note  when  I  called  on  him  some  days  ago.  It  is  very  long, 
and  very  well  written.  The  fact  is,  that  he  has  a  much  better 
case  of  quarrel  than  we ;  at  least  one  that  lends  itself  much 
better  to  rhetoric.  An  cpium-ship  came  in  from  Calcutta 
yesterday.  It  brought  me  nothing  from  Canning.  It  is  clear, 
however,  that  things  are  getting  better  with  him.  I  think  it 
probable  that  my  despatch  anticipating  a  favourable  turn  of 
affairs  there,  and  founding  on  that  anticipation  a  demand  for 
reinforcements,  will  reach  England  at  the  very  time  when 
the  news  from  India  justifying  that  anticipation  will  be  re- 
ceived. .  .  .  The  Government  and  public  in  England  would 
not  believe  there  was  any  danger  in  India  for  a  long  time,  and 
consequently  allowed  the  season  for  precautionary  measures  to 
pass  by,  and  then  made  up  for  their  apathy  by  the  most  ex- 
aggerated apprehensions.  My  mind  has  been  more  tranquil, 
for  it  has  not  presented  these  phases.     As  soon  a?  I  heard  of 


i08  FIIIST  MISSION  TO   CHINA.  Ch.  \1I. 

Canning's  difficulties,  I  determined  to  do  what  I  could  for 
him ;  but  it  never  occurred  to  me  that  we  were  to  act  as  if 
the  game  was  up  with  us  in  the  East. 
How  to  The   secret  of  g«)verning   a   democracy   is   understood   by 

poverna^  men  in  power  at  present  Never  interfere  to  check  an  evil 
until  it  has  attained  such  proportions  that  all  the  world  see 
plainly  the  necessities  of  the  case.  You  will  then  get  any 
amount  of  moral  and  material  support  that  you  require ;  but 
if  you  interfere  at  an  earlier  period,  you  will  get  neither 
thanks  nor  assistance  I  I  am  not  at  all  sure  but  that  the  time 
is  approaching  when  foresight  will  be  a  positive  disqualification 
in  a  statesman.  But  to  return  to  our  own  matters.  The 
Government  and  public  are  thinking  of  nothing  but  India  at 
present.  It  does  not  however  follow,  that  quite  as  strong  a  feel- 
ing might  not  be  got  up  for  China  in  a  few  months.  If  we  met 
with  anything  like  disaster  here,  that  would  certainly  be  the  case. 
Divcrip-  Head- Quarters   House,   Hong^kong, — November   22nd,  —  I 

Uon  of        yrieh  you  could  take  wings  and  join  me  here,  if  it  were  even 
koDg.  for   a   few   hours.      We   should   first  wander  tlirough  these 

spacious  apartments.  We  should  then  stroll  out  on  the 
verandah,  or  along  the  path  of  the  little  terrace  garden  which 
General  Ashburnham  has  surrounded  with  a  defensive  wall,  and 
from  thence  I  should  point  out  to  you  the  harbour,  bright  as  a 
flower-bed  with  the  flags  of  many  nations,  the  jutting  promon- 
tory of  Kowloon,  and  the  barrier  of  bleak  and  jagged  hills  that 
bounds  the  prospect.  A  little  later,  when  the  sun  began  to 
sink,  and  the  long  shadows  to  fall  from  the  mountain's  side, 
we  should  set  forth  for  a  walk  along  a  level  pathway  of  about 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  long,  which  is  cut  in  its  flank,  and  connects 
with  this  garden,  and  from  thence  we  should  watch  this  same 
circle  of  hills,  now  turned  into  a  garland,  and  glowing  in  the 
sunset  lights,  crimson  and  purple,  and  blue  and  green,  and 
colours  for  whicli  a  name  has  not  yet  been  found,  as  they 
successively  lit  upon  them.  Perhaps  we  should  be  tempted  to 
wait  (and  it  would  not  be  long  to  wait,  for  the  night  follows  in 
these  regions  very  closely  on  the  heels  of  day),  until,  on  these 
self-same  hills,  then  gloomy  and  dark  and  sullen,  tens  of 
thousands  of  bright  and  silent  stars  were  looking  down  calmly 
from  heaven. 

Macao, — December  2nd, — Baron  Gros  and  I  have  been 
settling  our  plans  of  proceeding,  which  we  are  conducting  with 
a  most  cordial  entente,  ...   As  he  is  well  versed  in  all  the 


1857.  PREPARATION  FOR  ACTION.  209 

forms  and  usages  of  diplomacy,  he  is  very  useful  to  me  in  such 
points.  ...  I  have  been  living  here  in  the  house  of  Mr.  Dent, 
one  of  the  merchant  princes  of  China.  He  is  very  obliging, 
and  I  have  remained  at  his  request  a  day  longer  than  I  in- 
tended. I  return,  however,  to-day.  I  like  Macao  with  its  air 
of  antiquity,  in  some  respects  almost  of  deradence.  It  is  more 
interesting  than  Hong-kong,  which  has  only  existed  fifteen 
years,  and  is  as  go-a-head  and  upstart  and  staring  as  *  one  of 
our  cities,'  as  my  American  friend  informed  me  a  few  days  ago. 

Hong-kong. — December  5th, — When  I  went  out  to  walk  with 
Oliphant,  I  was  informed  by  a  person  I  met  in  a  very  public 
walk  just  out  of  the  town,  that  a  man  had  been  robbed  very 
near  where  we  were.  I  met  the  person  immediately  afterwards. 
He  was  rather  a  mesquinAooking  Portuguese,  and  he  said  that 
three  Chinamen  had  rushed  upon  him,  knocked  him  down,  thrown 
a  quantity  of  sand  into  his  eyes,  and  carried  off  his  watch.  This 
sort  of  affair  is  not  uncommon.  I  have  bought  a  revolver,  and 
am  beginning  to  practise  pistol -shooting. 

December  9/A, — Baron  Gros  came  here  on  Monday.  We  Prepara^ 
have  been  busy,  and  all  our  plans  are  settled.  I  sent  up  this 
evening  to  the  Admiral  my  letter  to  Yeh,  which  is  to  be  de- 
livered on  Saturday  the  12th.  He  is  to  have  ten  days  to  think 
over  it,  and  if  at  the  end  of  that  time  he  does  not  give  in,  the 
city  will  be  taken.  We  are  in  for  it  now.  I  have  hardly 
alluded  in  my  ultimatum  to  that  wretched  question  of  the 
*  Arrow,'  which  is  a  scandal  to  us,  and  is  so  considered,  I  have 
reason  to  know,  by  all  except  the  few  who  are  personally 
compromised.  I  have  made  as  strong  a  case  as  I  can  on  gene- 
ral grounds  against  Yeh,  and  my  demands  are  most  moderate. 
If  he  refuses  to  accede  to  them,  which  he  probably  will,  this 
will,  1  hope,  put  us  in  the  right  when  we  proceed  to  extreme 
measures.  The  diplomatic  position  is  excellent.  The  Russian 
has  had  a  rebuff  at  the  mouth  of  the  Peiho ;  the  American 
at  the  hands  of  Yeh.  The  Frenchman  gives  us  a  most  valu- 
able moral  support  by  saying  that  he  too  has  a  sufficient  ground 
of  quarrel  with  Yeh.  We  stand  towering  above  all,  using 
calm  and  dignified  language,  moderate  in  our  demands,  but 
resolute  in  enforcing  them.  If  such  had  been  our  attitude 
from  the  beginning  of  this  controversy  it  would  have  been  well. 
However,  we  cannot  look  back ;  we  must  do  for  the  best, 
and  trust  in  Providence  to  carry  us  through  our  difficulties* 

P 


tion  for 
action. 


210 


FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA. 


ch.  vm. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


FIRST  MISSION  TO   CHINA.     CANTON. 


ImpioTed 
prospects. 


Changed 
quarters. 


IMPROVED  PROSPECTS — ADVANCE  ON  CANTON  —  BOMBARDMENT     AND  CAP- 
TURE— JOINT   TRIBUNAL — MAINTENANCE    OF   ORDER — CANTON  PRISONS-^ 

MOVE      NORTHWARD — SWATOW—  MR.     BURNS — ^FOOCHOW — NINQPO CHU- 

SAN — POTOU — SHANOHAE — MISSIONARIES. 

On  the  same  day  on  which  the  ultimatum  of  the 
Envoys  was  delivered  to  Yeh,  i.e.  on  the  12th  of 
December,  1857,  the  glad  news  reached  Lord  Elgin  that 
Lucknow  had  been  relieved:  the  more  welcome  to 
him  as  carrying  with  it  the  promise  of  speedy  rein- 
forcement to  himself,  and  deliverance  from  a  situation 
of  extreme  difficulty  and  embarrassment.  '  Few  people, ' 
he  might  weU  say,  *  had  ever  been  in  a  position  which  re- 

*  quired  greater  tact — four  Ambassadors,  two  Admirals, 
'  a  General,  and  a  Consul-general ;  and,  notwithstanding 

*  this  luxuriance  of  colleagues,  no  sufficient  force.'  And 
what  he  felt  most  in  the  insufficiency  of  the  force  was 
not  the  irksomeness  of  delay,  still  less  any  anxiety  as  to 
the  success  of  his  arms.  *  My  greatest  difficulty,'  he 
wrote,  '  arises  from  my  fear  that  we  shall  be  led  to 
^  attack  Canton  before  we  have  all  our  force,  and  led 
'  therefore  to  destroy,  if  there  is  any  resistance,  both  life 
'  and  property  to  a  greater  extent  than  would  otherwise 
'  be  necessary.'  The  prospects  of  immediate  reinforce- 
ments from  India  diminished  his  fears  on  this  score,  and 
sent  him  forward  with  a  better  hope  of  bringing  the 
painfiil  situation  to  a  speedy  and  easy  close. 

H,  M.  8.  ^  Furious,^  Canton  River. — December  17 tk. — ^You 
see  from  my  date  that  I  am  again  in  a  new  lodging.  It  pro- 
mises to  be,  I  think,  more  agreeable  than  any  of  our  previous 


1867.  IMPROVED  PROSPECTS.  211 

marine  residences.  We  have  paddles  instead  of  a  screw.  Then 
the  captain  has  not  only  given  up  to  me  all  the  stem  accommo- 
dation,  but  he  has  also  done  everything  in  his  power  to  make 
the  place  comfortable.  .  .  .  He  is  the  Sherard  Osbom  of 
Arctic  regions  notoriety.  I  am  on  my  way  to  join  Gros,  in 
order  to  decide  on  our  future  course  of  action.  I  mentioned 
yesterday  that  Honan  was  occupied,  and  that  I  had  received  a 
letter  from  Yeh,  which  must,  I  suppose,  be  considered  a  re-' 
fusal.  This  was  the  fair  side  of  the  medal.  The  reverse  was 
an  ugly  quarrel  up  the  river,  which  ended  in  the  loss  of  the 
lives  of  some  sailors  and  the  destruction  of  a  village, — a 
quarrel  for  which  our  people  were,  I  suspect,  to  some  extent 
responsible.  I  fear  that,  under  cover  of  the  blockade  instituted 
by  the  Admiral,  great  abuses  have  taken  place.  ...  It  makes 
one  very  indignant,  but  unfortunately  it  is  very  difficult  to 
bring  the  matter  home  to  the  culprits.  All  this,  however,  makes 
it  most  important  to  bring  the  situation  to  a  close  as  soon  as 
possible.  It  is  clear  that  there  will  be  no  peace  till  the  two 
parties  fight  it  out.  The  Chinese  do  not  want  to  fight,  but 
they  will  not  accept  the  position  relatively  to  the  strangers 
under  which  alone  strangers  will  consent  to  live  with  them, 
till  the  strength  of  the  two  parties  has  been  tested  by  fighting. 
The  English  do  want  to  fight. 

December  18/A. — This  does  not  promise  to  be  a  lively  sojourn. 
We  are  anchored  at  present  at  a  point  where  the  river  forks 
into  the  Whampoa  and  Blenheim  reaches.  We  have  the  Blen- 
heim reach,  and  my  suite  wish  me  to  go  up  it  to  the  Macao 
Fort,  from  which  they  think  they  would  have  a  good  view  of 
what  goes  on  when  the  city  is  attacked.  I  wish,  however,  to 
be  with  Gros,  and  he  will  go  up  the  Whampoa  reach  as  far 
as  his  great  lumbering  ship  will  go.  Meanwhile  we  are  here 
confined  to  our  ships,  as  it  would  not  of  course  do  for  me  to  go 
on  shore  to  be  caught.  Poor  Yeh  would  think  me  worth  having 
at  present.  What  will  he  do  ?  His  answer  is  very  weak,  and  Yph'a 
reads  as  if  the  writer  was  at  his  wits'  end ;  but  with  that  sort  of  ^^  ^' 
stupid  Chinese  policy  which  consists  in  never  yielding  anything, 
he  exposes  himself  to  the  worst  consequences  without  making 
any  preparations  (so  far  as  we  can  see)  for  resistance.  Among 
other  things  in  his  letter  he  quotes  a  long  extract  from  a  Hong- 
kong paper  describing  Sir  G.  Bonham's  investiture  as  E.C.B., 
and  advises  me  to  imitate  him  for  my  own  interest,  rather  than 

p  2 


212  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHIXA.  Ch.  VOL 

Sir  J.  Davisj  who  was  recalled.  Dayis,  says  Yeh,  insisted  on 
getting  into  the  city,  and  Bonham  gave  up  this  danand.  Hence 
his  advice  to  me.  All  through  the  letter  is  sheer  twaddle. 
M  C^ton.  December  22n^.— On  the  afternoon  of  the  20th,  I  got  into 
a  gunboat  with  Commodore  Elliot,  and  went  a  short  way  up 
towards  the  barrier  forts,  which  were  last  winter  destroyed  by 
the  Americans.  When  we  reached  this  point,  all  was  so  quiet 
that  we  determined  to  go  on,  and  we  actually  steamed  past  the 
city  of  Canton,  along  the  whole  front,  within  pistol-shot  of  the 
town.  A  line  of  English  men-of-war  are  now  anchored  there 
in  front  of  the  town.  I  never  felt  so  ashamed  of  myself  in  my 
life,  and  Elliot  remarked  that  the  trip  seemed  to  have  made  me 
sad.  There  we  were,  accumulating  the  means  of  destruction 
under  the  very  eyes,  and  within  the  reach,  of  a  population  of 
about  1,000,000  people,  against  whom  these  means  of  de- 
struction were  to  be  employed  I  *  Yes,*  I  said  to  Elliot,  *  I  am 
'  sad,  because  when  I  look  at  that  town,  I  feel  that  I  am  earning 
'  for  myself  a  place  in  the  Litany,  immediately  after  ''  plague, 
*  f'  pestilence,  and  famine." '  I  believe  however  that,  as  far  as 
I  am  concerned,  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  do  otherwise  than 
as  I  have  done.  I  could  not  have  abandoned  the  demand  to 
.enter  the  city  after  what  happened  last  winter,  without  com- 
promising our  {)osition  in  China  altogether,  and  opening  the 
way  to  calamities  even  greater  than  those  now  before  us.  I 
made  my  demands  on  Yeh  as  moderate  as  I  could,  so  as  to  give 
him  a  chance  of  accepting ;  although,  if  he  had  accepted,  I 
knew  that  I  should  have  brought  on  my  head  the  imprecations 
both  of  the  navy  and  army  and  of  the  civilians,  the  time 
being  given  by  the  missionaries  and  the  women.  And  now 
Yeh  having  refused,  I  shall  do  whatever  I  can  possibly  do  to 
secure  the  adoption  of  plans  of  attack,  &c.,  which  will  lead  to 
the  least  destruction  of  life  and  property.  .  .  .  The  weather 
is  charming ;  the  thermometer  about  GO''  in  the  shade  in  the 
morning;  the  sun  powerful,  and  the  atmosphere  beautifully 
clear.  When  we  steamed  up  to  Canton,  and  saw  the  rich 
alluvial  banks  covered  with  the  luxuriant  evidstices  of  un- 
rivalled industry  and  natural  fertility  combined ;  beyond  them, 
barren  uplands,  sprinkled  with  a  soil  of  a  reddish  tint,  which 
gave  them  the  appearance  of  heather  slopes  in  the  Highlands ; 
and  beyond  these  again,  the  white  cloud  mountain  range, 
standing  out  bold  and  blue  in  the  clear  sunshine, — I  thought 


1867.  BOMBARDMENT  OF  CANTON.  213 

bitterly  of  those  who,  for  the  most  selfish  objects,  are  trampling 
under  foot  this  ancient  civilisation. 

December  24M. — My  letter  telling  Yeh  that  I  had  handed  Summona 
the  affair  over  to  the  naval  and  military  conmianders,  and  ^  ^  * 
Gros's  to  the  same  effect,  were  sent  to  him  to-day ;  also  a  joint 
letter  from  the  commanders,  giving  him  forty-eight  hours  to 
deliver  over  the  city,  at  the  expiry  of  which  time,  if  he  does 
not  do  so,  it  will  be  attacked.  I  postponed  the  delivery  of 
these  letters  till  to-day,  that  the  expiry  of  the  forty-eight 
hours  might  not  fall  on  Christmas  Day.  Now  I  hear  that  the 
commanders  will  not  be  ready  till  Monday,  which  the  Calendar 
tells  me  is  ^  the  Massacre  of  the  Innocents ! '  If  we  can  take 
the  city  without  much  massacre,  I  shall  think  the  job  a  good 
one,  because  no  doubt  the  relations  of  the  Cantonese  with  the 
foreign  population  were  very  unsatisfactory,  and  a  settlement 
was  sooner  or  later  inevitable.  But  nothing  could  be  more 
contemptible  than  the  origin  of  our  existing  quarrel. 

We  moved  this  evening  to  the  Barrier  Forts,  within  about 
two  miles  of  Canton,  and  very  near  the  place  where  the  troops 
are  io  land  for  the  attack  on  the  city.  I  have  been  taking 
walks  on  shore  the  last  two  or  three  days  on  a  little  island 
called  Dane's  Island,  formed  of  barren  hills,  with  little  patches 
of  soil  between  them  and  on  their  flanks,  cultivated  in  terraces 
by  the  industrious  Chinese.  The  people  seemed  very  poor  and 
miserable,  suffering,  I  fear,  from  this  horrid  war.  The  French 
Admiral  sent  on  shore  to  Whampoa  some  casks  of  damaged 
biscuit  the  other  day,  and  there  was  such  a  rush  for  it,  that 
some  people  were,  I  believe,  drowned.  The  head  man  came 
afterwards  to  the  officer,  expressed  much  gratitude  for  the  gift, 
but  said  that  if  it  was  repeated,  he  begged  notice  might  be  given 
to  him,  that  he  might  make  arrangements  to  prevent  such  dis- 
order. The  ships  are  surrounded  by  boats  filled  chiefly  by 
women,  who  pick  up  orange-peel  and  offal,  and  everything  that 
is  thrown  overboard.  One  of  the  gunboats  got  ashore  yester- 
day, within  a  stone's-throw  of  the  town  of  Canton,  and  the 
officer  had  the  coolness  to  call  on  a  crowd  of  Chinese,  who  were 
on  the  quays,  to  pull  her  off,  which  they  at  once  did !  Fancy 
having  to  fight  such  people  I 

Christmas  Day, — Who  would  have  thought,  when  we 
were  spending  that  cold  snowy  Christmas  Day  last  year  at 
Howick,  that  this  day  would  find  us  separated  by  almost  as  great 


214  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  CH.Vm. 

a  distance  as  is  possible  on  the  surface  of  our  globe  !  and  that 
.  I  should  be  anchored^  as  I  now  am,  within  two  miles  of  a  great 
city,  doomed;  I  fear,  to  destruction,  from  the  folly  of  its  own 
rulers  and  the  vanity  and  levity  of  ours.  We  have  moved  a 
nttle  farther  up  the  river  this  morning,  and  as  we  are,  like 
St.  Paul,  dropping  an  anchor  from  the  stem,  I  have  had  over 
my  head  for  several  hours  the  incessant  dancing  about  and 
clanking  of  a  ponderous  chain-cable,  till  my  brains  are  nearly 
all  shaken  out  of  their  place. 

December  26rt.— I  have  a  second  letter  from  Yeh,  which  is 
even  more  twaddling  than  the  first.  They  say  that  he  is  all 
day  engaged  in  sacrificing  to  an  idol,  which  represents  the  God 
of  Physic,  and  which  is  so  constructed  that  a  stick  in  its  hand 
traces  figures  on  sand.  In  the  figures  so  traced  he  is  supposed 
to  read  his  fate. 

Early  on  Monday  the  28th  the  attack  began ;  and 
Lord  Elgin  was  reluctantly  compelled  to  witness  what 
he  had  been  reluctantly  compelled  to  order — the  bom- 
bardment of  an  unresisting  town.  Happily  the  damage 
both  to  life  and  property  proved  to  be  very  much  less 
serious  than  at  the  time  he  supposed  it  to  be. 

Bombaid-  December  28/A,  Noon. — We  have  been  throwing  shells,  etc., 
into  Canton  since  6  a.m.,  without  almost  any  reply  from  the 
towti.  I  hate  the  whole  thing  so  much,  that  I  cannot  trust 
myself  to  write  about  it. 

December  2^th. — The  mail  was  put  off,  and  I  add  a  line  to 
say  that  I  hope  the  Canton  affair  is  over,  and  well  over.  .  .  . 
When  I  say  this  affair  is  over,  perhaps  I  say  too  much.  But 
the  horrid  bombardment  has  ceased,  and  we  are  in  occupation 
of  Magazine  Hill,  at  the  upper  part  of  the  city,  within  the 
walls. 

H.M.S.  ^Fnriousy  Canton  River. —  JantLory  2ndy  1858. — 
The  last  week  has  been  a  very  eventful  one :  not  one  of  unmixed 
satisfaction  to  me,  because  of  course  there  is  a  great  deal  that  is 
painful  about  this  war,  but  on  the  whole  the  results  have  been 
successful.  On  Monday  last  (the  28th)  I  was  awakened  at  6 
A.M.  by  a  cannon-shot,  which  was  the  commencement  of  a  bom- 
bardment of  the  city,  which  lasted  for  27  hours.  As  the  fire 
of  the  shipping  was  either  not  returned  at  all,  or  returned  only 


ment. 


J 


1868.  TAKING  OF  CANTON.  215 

by  a  very  few  shotSy  I  confess  that  this  proceeding  gave  me 
great^pain  at  the  time.  But  I  find  that  much  less  damage  has 
been  done  to  the  town  than  I  expected,  as  the  fire  was  confined 
to  certain  spots.  I  am  on  the  whole,  therefore,  disposed  to  think 
that  the  measure  proved  to  be  a  good  one,  as  the  terror  which 
it  has  excited  in  the  minds  of  the  Cantonese  is  more  than  in 
proportion  to  the  injury  inflicted,  and  therefore  it  will  have  the 
effect,  I  trust,  of  preventing  any  attempts  on  their  part  to  dis- 
lodge or  attack  us,  which  would  entail  very  great  calamities  on 
themselves.  At  10  a.m.  on  Monday  the  troops  landed  at  a 
point  about  two  miles  east  of  the  city,  and  marched  up  with 
yery  trifling  resistance  to  Lin  Fort,  which  they  took,  the  French 
entering  first,  to  the  great  disgust  of  our  people.  Next  morning 
at  9  A.1L  they  advanced  to  the  escalade  of  the  city  walls,  and 
proceeded,  with  i^ain  yery  slight  opposition,  to  the  Magazine 
Hill,  on  which  they  hoisted  the  British  and  French  flags.  They  ^^J^  <"' 
then  took  Gough  Fort  with  little  trouble,  and  there  they  were 
by  3  P.M.  established  in  Canton.  The  poor  stupid  Chinese 
had  placed  some  guns  in  position  to  resist  an  attack  from  the 
opposite  quarter — the  quarter,  viz.  from  which  Gough  attacked 
the  city ;  and  some  people  suppose  that  if  we  had  advanced 
from  that  side  we  should  have  met  with  some  resistance.  My 
own  opinion  is,  that  the  resistance  would  have  been  no  great 
matter  in  any  case,  althouffh,  no  doubt,  if  we  had  made  the 
attempt  in  summer;  u>d  4th  «ulo»  only,  »i  some  proposed 
when  I  came  here  in  July,  we  should  probably  have  met  with 
disaster.  As  it  is,  my  difficulty  has  been  to  enforce  the  adop- 
tion of  measures  to  keep  our  own  people  in  order,  and  to  prevent 
the  wretched  Cantonese  from  being  plundered  and  bullied.  This 
task  is  the  more  difficult  from  the  very  motley  force  with  which 
we  have  to  work,  composed,  firstly,  of  French  and  English ; 
secondly,  of  sailors  to  a  great  extent — they  being  very  imper- 
fectly manageable  on  shore ;  all,  moreover,  having,  I  fear,  a 
very  low  standard  of  morality  in  regard  to  stealing  from  the 
Chinese.  There  is  a  word  called  *  loot,*  which  gives,  unfor-  Looting. 
tunately,  a  venial  character  to  what  would,  in  common  English, 
be  styled  robbery. .  •  •  Add  to  this,  that  there  is  no  flogging  in 
tlie  French  army,  so  that  it  is  impossible  to  punish  men  com- 
mitting this  class  of  oflences.  .  .  .  On  the  other  hand,  these 
incomprehensible  Chinese,  although  they  make  no  defence,  do 
not  come  forward  to  capitulate ;  and  I  am  in  mortal  terror  lest 


216  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  VIII. 

the  French  Admiral,  who  is  in  the  way  of  looking  at  these  matters 
in  a  purely  professional  light,  should  succeed  in  inducing  our 
chiefs  to  engage  again  in  offensive  operations,  which  would  lead 
to  an  unnecessary  destruction  of  life  and  property.  I  proposed  to 
Gros  that  we  should  land  on  the  first  day  of  the  year,  and  march 
up  to  Magazine  Hill.  He  consented,  and  the  chiefs  agreed,  so 
we  landed  about  1  p.m.  at  a  point  on  the  riyer  bank  imme- 
diately below  the  south-east  angle  of  the  city  wall,  which  is  now 
our  line  of  communication  between  the  river  and  Magazine  HilL 
As  we  landed,  all  the  vessels  in  the  river  hoisted  English  and 
French  flags,  and  fired  salutes.  We  walked  up  to  the  hill  along 
the  top  of  the  wall,  which  is  a  good  wide  road,  and  which  was 
all  lined  with  troops  and  sailors,  who  presented  arms  and  cheered 
as  we  passed.  We  reached  the  summit  at  about  three.  The 
British  quarter,  which  is  a  sort  of  temple,  stands  on  the  highest 
point,  the  hill  falling  pretty  precipitously  from  it  on  all  sides. 
The  view  is  one  of  the  most  extensive  I  ever  saw.  Towards  the 
east  and  north  barren  hills  of  considerable  height,  and  much  of 
the  character  of  those  we  see  from  Hong-kong.  On  the  west, 
level  lands  cultivated  in  rice  and  otherwise.  Towards  the  south, 
the  town  lying  still  as  a  city  of  the  dead.  The  silence  was  quite 
painful,  especially  when  we  returned  about  nightfall :  but  it  is 
partly  owing  to  the  narrowness  of  the  streets,  which  prevents 
one  from  seeing  the  circulation  of  population  which  may  be 
going  on  within.  We  remained  at  the  top  of  the  hill  till  about 
half-past  five,  during  which  time  we  blew  up  the  Blue  Jacket 
Fort  and  Gough  Fort,  and  got  back  to  our  ships  about  8  p.m., 
having  spent  a  very  memorable  first  of  January,  and  made  a 
very  interesting  expedition  ;  although  I  could  not  help  feeling 
melancholy  when  I  thought  that  we  were  so  ruthlessly  destroy- 
ing the  prestige  of  a  place  which  had  been,  for  so  many  cen- 
turies, intact  and  undefiled  by  the  stranger,  and  exercising  our 
valour  against  so  contemptible  a  foe. 

January  \th* — I  have  not  given  you  as  full  a  description  as 
I  ought  to  have  done  of  the  views  and  ceremony  of  Friday, 
because  I  saw  ^  Our  own  Correspondent '  there,  and  I  think 
I  can  count  on  that  being  well  done  in  the  Times,  •  .  •  This 
day  is  a  pour  of  rain,  rather  unusual  for  the  season.  .  .  .  Some 
of  the  Chinese  authorities  are  beginning  to  show  a  desire  to 
treat,  and  some  of  the  inhabitants  are  presenting  petitions  to 
us  to  protect  them  against  robbers,  native  and  foreign. 


1868.  CAPTUEE  OF  YEIL  217 

January  6th. — Yesterday  was  a  great  day.  The  chiefs  made  Capture 
a  move  which  was  very  judicious,  I  think,  and  which  answered  ^  ^  ' 
remarkably  well.  They  sent  bodies  of  men  at  an  early  hour  into 
the  city  from  different  points,  and  succeeded  in  capturing  Yeh, 
the  Lieutenant-Governor  of  the  city,  and  the  Tartar  General, 
&c.  This  was  done  without  a  shot  being  fired,  and  I  believe  the 
troops  behaved  very  well,  abstaining  from  loot^  &c.  Altogether 
the  thing  was  a  complete  success,  and  I  give  them  great  credit 
for  it.  Yeh  has  been  carried  on  board  the  *  Inflexible'  steamer 
as  a  prisoner  of  war.  He  is  an  enormous  man.  I  can  hardly 
speak  to  his  appearance,  as  I  only  saw  him  for  a  moment  as  he 
passed  me  in  a  chair  on  his  way  to  his  vessel.  Morrison,  who 
has  taken  a  sketch  of  him,  speaks  favourably  of  him ;  but  it  is 
the  fashion  to  abuse  even  his  looks.  The  Lieutenant-General 
has  been  allowed  to  depart,  but  the  Lieutenant-Governor  and 
Tartar  General  are  still  in  custody  at  head-quarters.  At  my 
suggestion  a  proposal  was  made  to  the  Lieutenant-Governor  to- 
day to  continue  to  govern  the  city  under  us ;  but  the  stolidity 
of  the  Chinese  is  so  great  that  there  is  no  saying  what  he  may 
do.  We  have  given  him  till  to-morrow  to  determine  whether 
he  will  accept.  My  whole  efforts  have  been  directed  to  pr^ 
serve  the  Cantonese  from  the  evils  of  a  military  occupation ; 
but  their  stupid  apathetic  arrogance  makes  it  almost  impossible 
to  effect  this  object.  Yeh's  tone  when  he  was  taken  was  to  be 
rather  bumptious.  The  Admiral  asked  him  about  an  old  man 
of  the  name  of  Cooper,  who  was  kidnapped.  At  first  he  pre- 
tended that  he  knew  nothing  about  him.  When  pressed  he 
said,  *  Oh  I  he  was  a  prisoner  of  war.  1  took  him  when  I  drove 
'  you  away  from  the  city  last  winter.  I  took  a  great  deal  of 
*  trouble  with  him  and  the  other  European  prisoners,  but  I  could 
'  not  keep  them  alive.  They  all  died,  and  if  you  like  1*11  show 
'  you  where  I  had  them  buried.'  Morrison  says  that  when  he 
saw  him  on  board  the  *  Inflexible,'  he  was  very  civil  and  piano. 
He  takes  it  easy,  eats  and  drinks  well,  &c.  He  said  to  his 
captain,  that  if  it  was  not  an  indiscreet  question,  he  would 
be  glad  to  know  whether  it  was  likely  that  we  should  kill 
him.  The  captain  had  no  difficulty  in  re-assuring  him  on  that 
point. 

January  %th. — We  had  rather  an  important  day's  work  yes- 
terday. The  Lieutenant-Governor  showed  some  symptoms  of 
a  willingness  to  govern  on  our  conditions.     This  gives  some 


218 


FERST  MISSION  TO  CHINA. 


CH.Vin. 


EfltabliBh- 
ment  of 
anoint 
tnbimaL 


cbance  of  our  getting  out  of  the  difficulties  of  our  situation. 
You  may  imagine  what  it  is  to  undertake  to  govern  some  mil- 
lions of  people  (the  province  contains  upwards  of  20^000,000), 
when  we  have  in  all  two  or  three  people  who  understand  the 
Iwguage  I  I  never  had  so  difficult  a  matter  to  arrange.  .  •  . 
Each  man  has  his  own  way  of  seeing  things,  and  the  real  diffi- 
culties of  the  question  being  enormous,  and  the  mysteries  of  the 
Chinese  character  almost  unfathomable,  .  .  .  the  problem  is 
well  nigh  insoluble.  However  yesterday  we  seemed  to  make 
some  progress  towards  an  understanding.  We  walked  up  to  the 
front  along  the  wall  as  usual,  and  very  hot  it  was ;  but  we 
returned  through  the  town  itself  with  the  General  and  Admiral 
and  a  lai^  escort.  I  rode  on  a  pony.  It  was  a  strange  and 
sad  sight.  The  wretched-looking  single-storied  houses  on 
either  side  of  the  narrow  streets  almost  all  shut  up,  only  a  few 
people  making  their  appearance,  and  these  for  the  most  part 
wan  and  haggard,  and  here  and  there  places  which  the  fire 
from  our  ships  had  destroyed,  all  presented  a  very  melancholy 
spectacle ;  and  one  could  hardly  help  asking  one's  self,  with 
some  disgust,  whether  it  was  worth  while  to  make  all  the  row 
which  we  have  been  making,  for  the  sake  of  getting  into  this 
miserable  place.  However,  I  presume  that  the  better  part  of 
the  population  have  either  fled  or  hid  themselves.  I  daresay 
if  they  had  returned,  and  the  shops  had  been  opened,  the  aspect 
of  the  town  would  have  been  different. 

January  dth. — Yesterday  I  went  up  again  to  the  front  with- 
out Gtos,  and  pressed  matters  forward  towards  a  solution.  The 
result  was,  that  my  plan  of  getting  the  Governor  of  the  province 
to  consent  to  return  to  his  Yamun  and  resume  his  functions,  a 
board  of  our  officers,  supported  by  a  large  body  of  troops,  being 
appointed  to  inhabit  his  Yamun  with  him,  and  to  aid  him  in 
the  maintenance  of  order,  prevailed.  .  •  .  To-day  we  went, 
Gros  and  I,  in  great  procession  to  the  Governor's  Yamun,  to 
reinstate  him  in  his  office  on  the  above  conditions.  We  were 
carried  in  chairs  through  the  town,  attended  by  a  large  escort 
The  city  seemed  fuller  of  people  than  on  the  occasion  of  my 
former  visit,  and  they  looked  more  cheerfuL 

January  lOth. — By  a  ludicrous  mistake,  no  orders  had  been 
given  to  release  the  Governor  and  Tartar  General,  so  that,  after 
waiting  for  them  for  an  hour,  we  heard  that  the  sentry  would 
not  let  them  leave  the  room  in  which  they  were  confined.     The 


1868.  JOINT  TRIBUNAL.  219 

consequence  was  that  it  was  getting  late,  and  as  I  wished  to 
get  mj  escort  oat  of  the  streets  before  it  was  dark,  we  were 
oblig^  to  hurry  through  the  ceremony  a  little.  We  began  with 
a  kind  of  squabble  about  seats ;  .but  after  that  was  over,  I 
addressed  the  Governor  in  a  pretty  arrogant  tone.  I  did  so  out 
of  kindness,  as  I  now  know  what  fools  they  are,  and  what 
calamities  they  bring  upon  themselves,  or  rather  on  the  wretched 
people,  by  their  pride  and  trickery.  Gros  followed,  in  a  few 
words  endorsing  what  I  had  said.  The  Governor  answered  very 
satisfactorily.  I  then  rose,  saying  that  we  must  depart,  and 
that  we  wished  him  and  the  Tartar  General  all  sorts  of  felicity. 
They  were  good-natured-looking  men,  the  General  being  of 
great  size.  They  conducted  us  to  the  front  door,  where  we 
ought  to  have  found  our  chairs ;  but  they  had  disappeared,  to 
the  infinite  wrath  of  Mr.  Parkes.  •  •  .  I  say  the  front  door ;  but 
in  fact  the  house  consisted  of  a  series  of  one-storied  pavilions, 
placed  one  behind  the  other,  and  connected  by  a  covered  way 
with  trellis-work  panels  running  through  a  sort  of  garden. 
We  got  at  last  into  the  chairs,  and  hastened  off  to  the  city  wall, 
which  we  reached  just  as  it  was  getting  dark,  having  thus  ter- 
minated about  the  strangest  day  which  has  yet  occurred  in 
Chinese  history, — the  Governor  of  this  arrogant  city  of  Canton 
accepting  office  at  the  hand  of  two  barbarian  chiefii ! 

Wednesday 9  January  I3M. — You  get  the  least  agreeable  pic- 
ture of  the  concerns  in  which  I  am  engaged ;  because,  as  I  write 
this  record  from  day  to  day,  all  my  anxieties  and  their  causes 
are  narrated.  On  the  whole  I  think  the  last  fortnight  has 
been  a  very  successful  one.  I  walked  through  the  city  to-day 
with  the  Admiral  and  an  escort,  and  saw  evident  signs  of 
improvement  in  the  streets.  The  people  seemed  to  be  resuming 
their  avocations,  and  the  shops  to  be  re-opening.  My  ^  Tribunal ' 
is  working  well.  In  short,  I  hope  that  the  evils  incident  to  the 
capture  of  a  city,  and  especially  of  a  Chinese  city,  have  been  in 
this  instance  very  much  mitigated.  The  season  is  very 
changing.  Three  nights  ago  the  thermometer  did  not  fall  below 
72%  and  last  n?ght  it  fell  to  40\  There  is  a  cold  wind ;  and  it 
was  necessary  to  walk  briskly  to-day  to  keep  one's-self  warm. 

January  16th. — Though  I  was  able  to  send  off  the  last 
despatches  with  something  of  a  satisfactory  report,  we  are  by 
no  means,  I  fear,  yet  out  of  the  wood.  I  took  a  long  walk  in 
the  city  of  Canton  yesterday.    I  visited  the  West  Gate,  where  Esodm. 


220  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  VIII. 

I  found  a  stream  of  people  moving  outwards,  and  was  told  by 
the  officer  that  this  goes  on  from  morning  to  night.  They  say, 
when  asked,  that  they  are  going  out  of  town  to  celebrate  the 
New  Year,  but  my  belief  is  that  they  are  flying  from  us.  Tlie 
streets  were  full,  and  the  people  civil.  Quantities  of  eating 
stalls,  but  a  large  proportion  of  the  shops  still  shut.  As  we 
got  near  the  wall  in  our  own  occupation,  some  people  ran  up  to 
us  complaining  that  they  had  been  robbed.  We  went  into  the 
houses  and  saw  clearly  enough  the  signs  of  devastation.  I  have 
no  doubt,  from  the  description,  that  the  culprits  were  French 
sailors.  If  this  goes  on  one  fortnight  after  we  have  captured 
the  town,  when  is  it  to  stop  ?  ...  It  is  very  difficult  to  remedy. 
.  .  .  Nothing  could,  I  believe,  be  worse  than  our  own  sailors, 
but  they  are  now  nearly  all  on  board  ship,  and  we  have  the 
resource  of  the  Cat.  .  .  .  All  this  is  very  sad,  but  I  am 
not  yet  quite  at  the  end  of  my  tether.  If  things  do  not  mend 
within  a  few  days  I  shall  startle  my  colleagues  by  proposing  to 
abandon  the  town  altogether,  giving  reasons  for  it  which  will 
enable  me  to  state  on  paper  all  these  points.  No  human 
power  shall  induce  me  to  accept  the  office  of  oppressor  of  the 
feeble. 

January  20th. — I  hinted  at  my  ideas  as  to  the  evacuation  of 
the  city,  and  it  has  had  an  excellent  effect.  ...  There  is  a 
notable  progress  towards  quiet  in  the  city.  Still,  I  fear  the  tide 
of  emigration  is  going  on.  Parkes  is  exerting  himself  with 
considerable  effect,  and  he  is  really  very  clever.  There  were 
a  great  many  more  shops  open  in  the  streets  yesterday  than  I 
had  seen  before.  .  •  .  What  a  thing  it  is  to  have  to  deal  with 
A  sober  ^  sober  population  I  I  have  wandered  about  the  streets  of 
population.  Canton  for  some  seven  or  eight  days  since  the  capture,  and  I 
have  not  seen  one  drunken  man.  In  any  Christian  town  we 
should  have  had  numbers  of  rows  by  this  time  arising  out  of 
drunkenness,  however  cowed  the  population  might  have  been. 
The  Tribunal  convicted  a  Chinaman  the  other  day  for  selling 
'samshoo'  to  the  soldiers.  I  requested  Parkes  to  hand  him 
over  to  the  Governor  Pehkwei  for  punishment.  This  was  done, 
and  the  arrangement  answered  admirably.  The  Governor  was 
pleased,  he  presented  himself  before  the  Chinese  as  the  executor 
of  our  judgments,  and  at  the  same  time  we,  to  a  certain  extent, 
seemed  to  be  conceding  to  the  Chinese  the  principle  of  ex- 
territoriality which  we  assert  as  against  them.  ...  I  have  no 


1858.  MAINTENANCE  OF  ORDER.  221 

'  responsible  ministers '  here,  though  the  presence  of  a  colleague, 
and,  since  military  operations  began,  the  position  of  the  naval 
and  military  Commanders-in-Chi^,  have  required  me  to  act  with 
some  caution,  in  order  to  make  the  wheels  of  the  machine  work 
smoothly  and  keep  on  the  rails.  For  this  reason  it  was  that  I 
suggested  a  few  days  ago  the  plan  of  evacuation.  The  mainten-  Mainten- 
ance of  order  in  a  city  under  martial  law  was,  1  felt,  an  affair  ^^^ 
rather  for  the  Commander-in-Chief  than  for  me,  therefore  I  was 
in  a  false  position  when  I  meddled  with  it  directly.  But  the 
question  of  remaining  in  the  city  or  not  was  a  political  one. 
By  letting  it  be  known  that  I  had  there  my  lines  of  Torres 
Yedras,  upon  which  I  should  fall  back  if  necessary,  I  obtained 
the  influence  I  required  for  insuring,  as  far  as  possible,  the 
adoption  of  satisfactory  arrangements  within  the  city.  I  must 
add  that  this  evacuation  plan  was  not  intended  by  me  to  be  a 
mere  threat  I  have  it  clearly  matured  in  my  mind  as  a  thing 
feasible,  and  which  would  be  under  certain  circumstances  an 
advisable  plan  to  adopt  In  taking  Canton  we  had,  as  I  under- 
stand it,  two  objects  in  view :  the  one  to  prove  that  we  could 
take  it ;  the  other  to  have  in  our  hands  something  to  give  up 
when  we  come  to  terms  with  the  Emperor, — '  a  material  guaran- 
tee.' I  believe  that  the  capture  of  the  city,  followed  by  the 
capture  of  Yeh,  has  settled  the  former  point  Indeed,  from  all 
that  I  hear,  I  infer  that  the  capture  of  Yeh  has  had  more  effect 
on  the  Chinese  mind  than  the  capture  of  the  city.  I  believe^ 
therefore,  that  we  might  abandon  the  city  without  losing  much 
if  anything  on  this  head.  No  doubt  we  should  lose  on  the 
second  head ;  we  should  not  have  Canton  to  give  up  when  a 
treaty  was  concluded,  if  we  had  given  it  up  already.  Even  then 
however  we  might,  by  retaining  the  island  of  Honan,  the  forts, 
&c.,do  a  good  deal  towards  providing  a  substitute ;  so  that  you 
see  my  threat  was  made  bond  Jide.  I  certainly  should  have 
preferred  the  loss  to  which  I  have  referred,  to  the  continuance 
of  a  state  of  things  in  which  the  Allied  troops  were  plundering 
the  inhabitants. 

January  2Ath, — Baron  Gros  and  I  were  conversing  together 
yesterday  on  affairs  in  this  quarter,  and  among  other  things  he 
told  me  that  we  were  both  much  reproached  for  our  laxity,  and 
that  I  was  more  blamed  on  that  account  than  he.  I  said  to 
him :  *  I  can  praise  you  on  many  accounts,  my  dear  Baron,  but 
*  I  cannot  compliment  you  on  being  a  greater  brute  than  I  am.' 


222  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  Vm. 

Whatever  was  the  feeling  of  the  British  residents, 
and  whatever  excuses  may  be  made  for  it,  the  consistent 
humanity  shown  both  in  the  taking  and  in  the  occupa- 
tion of  the  city  did  not  fail  to  strike  Mr.  Reed,  the 
Plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States,  who  wrote  to 
Lord  Elgin :  '  I  cannot  omit  this  opportunity  of  most 
'  sincerely  congratulating  you  on  the  success  at  Canton, 
'  the  great  success  of  a  bloodless  victory,  the  merit  of 

*  which,  I  am  sure,  is  mainly  due  to  your  Lordshipi's 

*  gentle  and  discreet  counsels.  My  countrymen  will,  I 
'am  sure,  appreciate  it.'  '  This,'  observes  Lord  Elgin, 
'  from  the  representative  of  the  United  States,  is  grati- 

*  fying  both  personally  and  politically.' 

January  2%th. — I  am  glad  to  say  that  this  mail  conyeys, 
on  the  whole,  a  satisfactory  report  of  the  progress  of  affairs, 
though  this  letter  puts  you  in  possession  of  all  the  ebbs  and 
flows  which  have  taken  place  during  the  fortnight.  I  send 
a  leaf  of  geranium,  which  I  culled  in  the  garden  of  the  Tartar 
general. 
SS™  January  3 1  st — I  visited  yesterday  two  of  the  Canton  prisons, 

and  witnessed  there  some  sights  of  horror  beyond  what  I  could 
have  pictured  to  myself.  Many  of  the  inmates  were  so  re- 
duced by  disease  and  starvation,  that  their  limbs  were  not  as 
thick  as  my  wrist.  One  man  who  was  in  this  condition  was  in 
the  receptacle  for  untried  prisoners,  and  said  he  had  been  there 
seven  years.  In  one  of  the  courts  which  we  entered,  there  was 
a  cell  closed  in  by  a  double  row  of  upright  posts,  which  is  the 
common  style  of  gate  at  Canton,  and  I  was  attracted  to  it  by 
the  groans  of  its  inmates.  I  desired  it  to  be  opened,  and  such 
a  spectacle  as  it  presented  I  The  prisoners  were  covered  with 
sores,  produced  by  severe  beatings ;  one  was  already  dead,  and 
the  rats, — but  I  cannot  go  further  in  description.  The  others 
could  hardly  crawl,  they  were  so  emaciated,  and  my  conviction 
is  that  they  were  shut  in  there  to  die.  The  prison  authorities 
stated  that  they  had  escaped  at  the  time  of  the  bombardment 
for  which  they  had  been  punished  as  we  saw.  If  the  statement 
was  true,  they  must  have  been  systematically  starved  since 
their  recapture.  Our  pretext  for  visiting  the  prisons  was  to 
discover  whether  any  Europeans,  or  persons  who  had  been  in 


pnsons. 


1868.  MOVE  NOBTHWARBS.  223 

the  service  of,  or  had  had  relations  with  Europeans,  were  con- 
fined in  them.  We  took  out  some  who  professed  to  belong  to 
the  latter  classes.  I  went  a  step  further,  by  taking  out  a  poor 
boy  of  fifteen,  whom  we  found  in  chains,  but  so  weak  that 
when  we  took  them  off  he  was  unable  to  stand.  I  told  Mr. 
Parkes  to  take  him  to  Pehkwei  from  me,  as  a  sample  of  the 
manner  in  which  his  prisons  are  managed. 

February  2nd. — Pehkwei  was  very  indignant  at  our  visit 
to  his  prisons,  and  hinted  that  he  would  make  away  with  him- 
self, in  a  letter  which  he  wrote  to  me  on  the  subject.  How- 
ever, he  was  obliged  to  admit  that  some  of  the  things  we  found 
were  very  bad,  and  quite  against  the  Chinese  law.  On  re- 
viewing the  whole  I  must  admit,  that,  except  in  the  case  of  the 
one  cell  that  I  have  described,  it  was  rather  neglect,  want  of 
food,  medical  care,  cleanliness,  &c.,  than  positive  cruelty,  of 
which  one  found  evidence  in  the  prisons. 


Canton  the  impregnable  had  been  taken,  and  was  in 
the  military  occupation  of  the  allied  forces ;  Yeh,  the 
Terror  of  Barbarians,  was  a  captive  beyond  the  seas ; 
BO  completely  was  all  resistance  crushed,  that  it  was 
found  possible  to  raise  the  blockade  of  the  Canton 
River,  and  to  let  trade  return  to  its  usual  channels. 
Still  nothing  was  achieved  so  long  as  the  Emperor 
remained  aloof,  and  could  represent  the  affair  as  a  local 
disturbance  not  affecting  the  imperial  power.  To  any 
permanent  settlement  it  was  essential  that  he  should  be 
a  party ;  the  next  step,  therefore,  was  to  move  north-  J|^^«^ 
vmrds  to  Shanghae,  and  there  open  direct  negotiations  wards. 
with  the  Court  of  Pekin  ;  and,  for  the  success  of  these 
negotiations,  it  was  obviously  of  great  importance  that 
the  envoys  of  England  and  France  should  have  the 
co-operation  of  the  representatives  of  Russia  and  the 
United  States. 

February  4tfu — Still  no  letters.  To-morrow,  Frederick  is  to 
go  to  Macao,  to  take  to  Messrs.  Reed  and  Putiatine  copies  of 
all  my  diplomatic  correspondence  with  Yeh,  &c,  and  an  invita- 


224  FmST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  VHI. 

tion  to  each  tliat  he  will  join  us  in  an  attempt  to  settle  matters 
by  negotiation  at  Shanghae.  It  is  the  commencement  of  the 
third  act  in  this  Chinese  affair. 

February  6th. — I  have  a  letter  from  Mr.  Reed,  saying  that 
he  is  going  to  the  North  this  day,  so  that  perhaps  Frederick 
will  not  find  him.     This  would  be  a  great  disappointment. 

Sunday,  February  7  th. — A  month  without  news  is  very  long 
to  wait.  Perhaps  time  passes  a  little  more  quickly  than  when 
one  was  dawdling  and  doing  nothing  at  Hong-kong ;  but  still 
this  life  is  tiresome  enough.  I  do  not  suppose  that  there  ever 
was  a  town  of  the  same  extent,  or  a  population  of  the  same 
number,  more  utterly  uninteresting  than  the  town  and  popula- 
tion of  Canton — ^low  houses,  narrow  streets,  temples  contain- 
ing some  hideous  idols,  which  are  not  apparently  in  the  least 
venerated  by  their  own  worshippers.  The  only  other  resource 
is  the  curiosity  shops,  and,  as  you  know,  I  have  not  the  genius 
for  making  collections. 

February  9th. — Things  have  taken  a  better  turn.  F.  by 
steaming  at  night  from  Macao  to  Hong-kong  caught  Reed 
about  an  hour  before  that  fixed  for  his  departure  for  the  North. 
He  was  delighted  with  my  communication,  and  has  written 
undertaking  to  co-operate  cordially  with  us.  This  is,  I  thint, 
a  very  great  diplomatic  triumph,  because  it  not  only  smooths 
the  way  for  future  proceedings,  but  it  greatly  relieves  our 
anxiety  about  Canton,  as  the  Americans  are  the  only  people 
who  would  be  likely  to  give  us  trouble  during  the  military 
occupation. 

February  lOth. — We  have  got  Putiatine^s  letter  for  Pekin. 
It  is  very  good ;  perhaps  better  than  any  of  the  lot.  .  .  .  How- 
ever, the  entente  is  now  established.  My  mind,  too,  is  a  good 
deal  relieved  to-day  by  seeing  the  wretched  junks,  which  have 
been  shut  up  so  long  by  the  blockade,  with  their  sails  set, 
gliding  down  the  river.  I  sent  Mr.  Wade  to  visit  Yeh  yester- 
day, to  see  how  he  took  the  notion  of  being  sent  out  of  the 
country  to  Calcutta  or  elsewhere.  He  adhered  to  his  policy  of 
indifference,  real  or  affected,  I  cannot  tell  which.  I  suppose  it 
is  a  point  of  pride  with  him  never  to  complain. 
^^l^  II.  M.  S.  'Furious:— February  20M.— I  am  now  off  from 

Canton,  never  I  hope  to  see  it  again.  Two  months  I  have 
been  there — engaged  in  this  painful  service — checking,  as  I 
have  best  been  able  to  do^  the  disposition  to  maltreat  this  un- 


1868.  MOVE  NORTHWARDS.  225 

fortunate  people.  .  .  .  On  the  whole  I  think  I  have  been  suc- 
cessful. There  never  was  a  Chinese  town  which  suffered  so 
little  by  the  occupation  of  a  hostile  force  ;  and  considering  the 
difficulties  which  our  alliance  with  the  French  (though  I  have 
had  all  support  from  Gros^  in  so  far  as  he  can  give  it)  has  oc- 
casioned,  it  is  a  very  signal  success.  The  good  people  at 
Hong-kong,  &c.,  do  not  know  whether  to  be  incredulous  or 
disgusted  at  this  policy.  ...  I  am  told  a  parcel  of  ridiculous 
stories  about  arming  of  Braves,  &c.  I  heard  that  in  the 
western  suburb  the  people  *  looked  ill-natured/  so  I  have  been 
the  greater  part  of  my  two  last  days  in  that  suburb,  looking  in 
vain  into  faces  to  discover  these  menacing  indications.  Yester- 
day I  walked  through  very  out-of-the-way  streets  and  crowded 
thoroughfares  with  Wade  and  two  sailors,  through  thousands 
and  thousands,  without  a  symptom  of  disrespects  ...  I  know 
that  our  people  for  a  long  time  used  to  insist  on  every  China- 
man they  met  taking  his  hat  off.  Of  course  it  rather  astonished 
a  respectable  Chinese  shopkeeper  to  be  poked  in  the  ribs  by  a 
sturdy  sailor  or  soldier,  and  told,  in  bad  Chinese  or  in  panto- 
roime,'to  take  off  his  hat,  which  is  a  thing  they  never  do,  and 
which  is  not  with  them  even  a  mark  of  respect.  I  only  men- 
tion this  as  an  instance  of  the  follies  which  people  commit  when 
they  know  nothing  of  the  manners  of  those  with  whom  they 
have  to  deal.  .  .  .  We  are  steaming  down  to  Hong-kong  on  a 
beautiful  fresh  morning.  I  feel  as  if  I  was  a  step  on  my  way 
home. 

At  Hong-kong  he  remained  nearly  a  fortnight,  that 
his  ship  might  be  fitted  to  go  to  the  North :  his  letter 
for  Pekin  being  sent  on,  in  the  meantime,  to  Shanghae, 
by  the  hands  of  his  secretary,  Mr.  Oliphant.^ 

February  26th. — To-morrow  this  letter  goes,  and  still  no 
mail  from  England.  I  think  of  starting  in  a  few  days,  and  call- 
ing at  the  other  ports — Foochow,  Amoy,  and  Ningpo.  I  have 
a  line  from  Oiiphant,  who  took  up  my  letter  to  Shanghae,  and 
made  a  quick  though  rough  passage.  We  shall  be  a  good  deal 
longer  on  the  way,  and  my  captain  advises  me  to  be  off,  to 
anticipate  the  equinox.  I  have  just  written  a  despatch  to 
Lord  Clarendon,  to  tell  him  that  perhaps  I  may  go  direct 

*  Mr.  01iphant*B  '  Narrative '  con-      places  which  he  viflited  in  the  eze- 
taiDS  ftn  iDterestiDg  account  of  the      cution  of  this  mission. 


226  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Cn.  ^*m. 

from  Shanghae  to  Japan,  and  so  home.     It  is  almost  too  good 
a  prospect  to  be  realised. 

February  27th. — I  had  Reed  to  dine  with  me  yesterday.  He 
is  off  this  morning  to  Manila,  en  route  for  Shanghae.  The 
Russian  returns  on  Monday,  and  we  are  going  to  Shanghae  by 
Home  ^^^  same  route  most  fraternally.  .  .  .  Your  accounts  of  the 
news.  boys  make  me  feel  as  if  I  had  been  an  age  away  from  home. 
God  grant  that  I  may  get  through  this  business  soon,  and 
return  to  find  you  all  flourishing ! 

March  1st. — I  received  your  letters  yesterday.  .  .  .  How  I 
wish  that  I  had  joined  that  merry  dance  on  Christmas  Day  at 
Dunmore,  and  seen  B.  and  R.  performing  their  reel  steps,  and 
F.'  snapping  his  fingers  1  You  know  now  how  differently  my 
New  Year  was  passed — ^traversing  that  vast  city  of  the  dead 
— meditating  over  that  28th  December  which  Herod  had 
already  hallowed.  .  .  .  These  letters  are  my  conscience  and 
memory,  the  only  record  I  keep  of  passing  emotions  and 
events.  .  .  .  Depend  upon  it  the  true  doctrine  is  one  I  have 
before  propounded  to  you  :  Do  nothing  with  which  your  own 
conscience  can  reproach  you ;  nothing  in  its  largest  sense ; 
nothing  J  including  omission  as  well  as  commission ;  not  nothing 
only  in  the  meaning  of  having  done  no  ill,  but  nothing  also  in 
the  meaning  of  having  omitted  no  opportunity  of  doing  good. 
You  are  then  well  with  yourself.  If  it  is  worth  while  to  be 
well  with  others — succeed. 
Bwatow.  ILM,S.  *  Furious,^  Swatoto. — March  5th, — I  am  again  on  the 

wide  ocean,  though  for  the  moment  at  anchor.  .  .  .  The  settle- 
ment here  is  against  treaty.  It  consists  mainly  of  agents  of 
the  two  great  opium-houses.  Dent  and  Jardine,  with  their 
hancrers-on.  This,  with  a  considerable  business  in  the  coolie 
trade — which  consists  in  kidnapping  wretched  coolies,  putting 
them  on  board  ships  where  all  the  horrors  of  the  slave-trade 
are  reproduced,  and  sending  them  on  specious  promises  to  such 
places  as  Cuba — is  the  chief  business  of  the  *  foreign '  mer- 
chants at  Swatow.  Swatow  itself  is  a  small  town  some  miles 
up  the  river.  I  can  only  distinguish  it  by  the  great  fleet  of 
*  junks  lying  off  it.  The  place  where  the  foreigners  live  is  a 
little  island,  barren,  but  nicely  situated  at  the  mouth  of  the 
river.     A  number  of  Chinese  are  resorting  to  it,  and  putting 

^  Bruce,  Hubert,  and  Frederick,  his  three  sons. 


1868.  MR.   BURNS.  227 

up  rather  good  houses  for  Chinese.  The  population  ha^  a 
better  appearance  than  the  Cantonese.  The  men  powerful  and 
frank-looking,  and  some  of  the  women  not  quite  hideous.  Our 
people  get  on  very  well  with  the  natives  here.  They  have  no 
consuls  or  special  protection ;  so  they  act,  I  presume,  with  mode- 
ration, and  matters  go  on  quite  smoothly.  I  went  into  the  house 
of  one  of  the  *  Shroffs '  (bankers  or  money-dealers)  connected 
with  Jardine^s  house,  and  I  found  the  gentleman  indulging 
in  his  opium-pipe.  He  gave  us  some  delicious  tea.  .  .  .  The 
Shroffs  here  are  three  brothers.  They  came  from  Canton,  their 
father  remained  behind.  The  mandarins  wanting  money  to 
carry  on  the  war  with  us,  called  upon  him  to  pay  12,000  taels 
about  4,000/.  They  used  him  as  the  screw  to  get  this  sum 
from  his  sons  who  were  in  foreign  employ.  Though  the  old 
man  had  resolved  to  leave  his  home  and  his  patch  of  ground 
rather  than  pay,  his  sons  provided  the  money  and  sent  him 
back.  Such  cases  are  constantly  occurring  here,  and  they  show 
how  strong  the  family  affections  are  in  China. 

Another  case  was  mentioned  to  me  yesterday,  which  illustrates  Rough 
the  very  roundabout  way  in  which  justice  is  arrived  at  among  J*"^*^ 
us  all  here.  The  coolies  in  a  French  coolie  ship  rose.  The 
master  and  mate  jumped  overboard,  and  the  coolies  ran  the 
ship  on  shore,  where  the  crew  had  their  clothes,  &c.,  taken 
from  them,  but  were  otherwise  well  treated.  On  this  a  French 
man-of-war  comes,  proceeds  to  Swatow,  which  is  fifty  miles 
from  the  scene  of  the  occurrence,  and  informs  the  people  that 
they  will  bombard  the  place  immediately  unless  6,000  dollars 
are  paid.  They  got  the  money,  but  the  mandarins  at  once 
squeezed  it  out  of  these  same  Shroffs,  saying,  that  as  they 
brought  the  barbarians  to  the  spot,  they  must  pay  for  the 
damages  they  inflicted.  Meanwhile,  the  ^  foreigners '  have  it, 
I  apprehend,  much  their  own  way.  They  are  masters  of  the 
situation,  pay  no  duties  except  tonnage  dues,  which  are  paid 
by  them  at  about  one-third  of  the  amount  paid  by  native  vessels 
of  the  same  burthen ! 

Hearing  that  Mr.  Burns,  a  missionary,  whose  case  is  Mr.  Barns. 
narrated  in  the  series  of  *  insults  by  the  Chinese  authorities ' 
submitted  to  Parliament  (he  having  been  in  fact  very  kindly 
treated,  as  he  himself  acknowledges),  was  at  the  island,  I 
invited  him  to  breakfast.  I  found  him  a  very  interesting 
person^  really  an  enthusiastic  missionary,  and  kindly  in  his 

q2 


228  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  ^TH. 

feelings  towards  the*  Chinese.  He  wears  the  Chinese  attire, 
not  as  a  disguise,  but  to  prevent  crowds  being  attracted  by  his 
appearance.  He  does  not  boast  of  much  success  in  converting, 
but  the  Chinese  are  very  willing  to  listen  to  him  and  to  take 
books.  They  approve  of  all  books  that  inculcate  virtue,  morality, 
&c.,  but  they  have  no  taste  for  the  distinctive  doctrines  of 
Christianity.  As  Yeh  said,  when  a  Bible  was  presented  to 
him  from  the  Bishop : — *  I  know  that  book  quite  well,  a  very 

*  good  book.    It  teaches  men  to  be  virtuous,  like  the  Budd- 
'  histic  books  ;'  and  then  turning  very  politely  to  his  captain, 

*  Will  you  be  good  enough  to  take  care  of  this  book  till  I 

*  want  it.' 

The  country  in  this  neighbourhood  is  very  lawless.  Burns,  a 
few  days  before  he  was  arrested,  slept  with  his  two  companions, 
two  native  Christians,  in  a  large  village.  During  the  night 
the  house  he  was  in  was  broken  into,  and  all  they  had  stolen. 
Nothing  remained  but  a  few  of  their  books,  which  they  carried 
tied  to  sticks  over  their  shoulders.  A  peasant  came  up  to  him 
and  said,  *  I  see  you  are  not  accustomed  to  carry  loads,'  and 
took  his  burden  and  carried  it  for  him  six  miles,  asking  for 
nothing  in  return.  Other  natives  bought  the  books  (they  had 
previously  given  them  gratuitously),  and  thus  they  got  money 
enough  to  go  on  with.  When  they  got  into  this  principal 
town,  and  were  arrested  by  the  police,  the  authorities  seemed 
rather  to  regret  it.  They  underwent  some  interrogatories 
which  Bums  seems  to  have  turned  into  a  sort  of  sermon,  for 
he  went  at  length  into  Christian  teaching,  and  the  judges 
listened  most  complacently.  They  confined  them  in  prison, 
but  did  everything  they  could  to  make  Bums  himself  comfort- 
able. His  companions  were  not  so  well  treated.  He  joined 
them  at  one  time  at  his  own  request,  under  circumstances 
curiously  illustrative  of  Chinese  manners.  A  subordinate  of 
the  gaoler  with  whom  he  was  lodged  died  from  swallowing 
opium.  The  gaoler  was  at  once  held  responsible,  and  his 
house  was  mobbed.  On  which  Mr.  Bums,  not  knowing  the 
cause  of  the  disturbance,  asked  to  rejoin  his  companions.  He 
found  them  shut  up  in  a  very  loathsome  cell,  with  several 
other  prisoners ;  a  place  something  like  my  Canton  prisons ; 
but  he  said  they  did  very  well  while  there,  for  they  were  able 
to  preach  to  the  other  prisoners.     At  one  of  the  interrogatories. 


1858.  FOOCHOW.  229 

one  of  his  companionSy  the  more  zealous  of  the  two.  on  being 
asked  why  he  had  brought  a  foreigner  to  the  place^  answered 
that  it  was  because  he  was  a  Christian,  and  that  their  books 
said, '  It  is  better  to  die  with  the  wise  than  to  live  with  fools.' 
This  sentiment  was  not  considered  complimentary  by  the  man- 
darins, who  immediately  ordered  him  to  be  beaten,  upon  which 
he  got  ten  blows  on  each  side  of  his  face  with  an  instrument 
like  the  sole  of  a  shoe.  Mr.  B.  told  this  story,  but  added  that 
he  believed  the  beating  had  been  determined  on  before,  for  his 
other  companion,  who  was  the  more  worldly  of  the  two,  and 
who  had  probably  found  his  way  to  the  heart  of  the  gaoler, 
was  told  that  he  too  would  be  beaten  that  day,  but  that  the 
blows  would  be  laid  on  by  a  friendly  hand,  and  that  if  he  kept 
his  cheek  loose,  he  would  not  feel  them  much. 

March  8th. — We  are  entering  Foochow ;  a  most  beautiful  Amoy. 
day  ;  the  sea  smooth  as  glass.  We  left  Amoy  last  night  I 
went  to  church  in  the  forenoon  at  the  Consulate.  An  American 
missionary  preached.  There  are  several  missionaries  at  Amoy. 
They  have,  as  they  say,  about  300  converts.  The  foreigners 
and  natives  get  on  very  well  there.  The  town  is  a  poor 
enough  place,  and  the  island  seems  rocky  and  barren.  How  it 
can  sustain  the  great  population  which  inhabits  the  villages 
that  cover  it  is  a  mystery. 

March  I4th. — A  vessel  from  Shanghae  brought  me  this 
morning  a  letter  from  Oliphant,  which  shows  that  he  has  got 
well  through  the  business  which  I  entrusted  to  him.^  He  went 
with  my  letter  for  the  Prime  Minister  of  the  Emperor  to  a 
city  named  Soochow,  which  is  not  open  to  foreigners,  and 
which  is  moreover  the  seat  of  beauty  and  fashion  in  the  empire, 
and  he  seems  to  have  been  well  received.  This  is  a  good  sign. 
An  edict  has  moreover  been  issued  by  the  Emperor  degrading 
Yeh,  and  moderate  in  its  tone  as  regards  foreigners.  All  this 
looks  as  if  there  would  be  at  Pekin  a  disposition  to  settle 
matters.  God  grant  that  it  may  be  so,  that  I  may  get  home, 
and  not  be  required  to  do  farther  violence  to  these  poor  people. 

The   scenery  of   Foochow    and   its   neighbourhood  Foochow. 
struck  him  as  singularly  beautiful.     Even  in  an  official 
despatch  we  find  him  writing  of  it  as  follows : — 

^  See  his  '  NarratiTe/  vol.  i.  c.  xi 


230  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  Vm. 

With  the  exception  perhaps  of  Chusan,  I  have  as  yet  seen 
no  place  in  China  which,  in  point  of  beauty  of  scenery,  rivals 
Foochow.     The   Min   river  passes  to  the  sea   between   two 
mountain  ranges,  which,  wherever  the  torrents  have  not  washed 
away  every  particle  of  earth  from  the  surface,  are  cultivated  by 
the  industrious  Chinese   in   terraces  to  their  very  summits. 
These  mountain  ranges  close  in  upon  its  banks  during  the  last 
part  of  its  course :  at  one  time  confining  it  to  a  comparatively 
narrow  channel,  and  at  another  suffering  it  to  expand  into  a 
lake ;  but  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Pagoda  Island  they  separate, 
leaving  between  them  the  plain  on  which  Foochow  stands.    This 
plain  is  diversified  by  hill  and  dale,  and  comprises  the  Island  of 
Nantai,  which  is  the  site  of  the  foreign  settlement.     At  the 
season  of  my  visit,  both  hills  and  plain  were  chiefly  covered 
with  wheat ;  but  I  was  informed  that  the  soil  is  induced,  by 
irrigation  and  manure  applied  liberally,  to  yield  in  many  cases, 
besides  the  wheat  crop,  two  rice  crops  during  the  year.     We 
walked  with  perfect  freedom,  both  about  the  town  and  into  the 
surrounding  country.     Nothing  could  be  more  courteous  than 
the  people  of  the  villages,  or  more  quaint  than  the  landscape, 
consisting   mainly  of  hillocks  dotted  with   horseshoe  graves, 
and  monuments  to  the  honour  of  virtuous  maidens  and  faith- 
fill  widows,  surrounded  by  patches  of  wheat  and  vegetables. 
Kensal  Green  or  PSre  la  Chaise,  cultivated  as  kitchen  gardens, 
would  not  inaptly  represent  the  general  character  of  the  rural 
districts  of  China  which  I  have  visited. 

In  some  respects,  however,  the  impression  was  not 
BO  satisfactory.     In  his  journal  he  says : — 

The  people  whom  we  met  in  our  peregrinations  were  per- 
fectly civil.  The  Consul,  too,  and  Europeans  were  civil  like- 
wise. They  were  willing  to  give  me  information.  I  do  not 
know  that  I  carried  much  away  with  me,  except  the  general 
impression,  that  our  trade  is  carried  on  on  principles  which 
are  dishonest  as  regards  the  Chinese,  and  demoralising  to  our 
own  people. 

American  At  Foochow,  I  saw  ouc  of  the  American  missionaries,  a  very 
worthy  man  I  should  think,  but  not  of  the  stamp  of  Mr.  Bums. 
He  had  been  about  eight  years  at  Foochow,  and  he  computed 
the  converts  made  by  himself  and  his  brother  missionaries  at 
fifteen.     He  said  that  they  were  particular  as  to  the  conduct 


mission 
aries. 


186a  CinNHAE.      NINGPO,  231 

of  their  convertfi ;  but  I  cannot  affirm  that  he  satisfied  me  that 
they  accepted  in  any  very  earnest  way  the  peculiar  doctrines 
of  Christianity.  However,  I  daresay  that  these  missionaries 
do  goody  for  the  Chinese  are  not  fanatics,  and  it  must  do  them 
a  benefit  to  see  among  them  some  foreigners  who  are  not  en- 
gaged exchisively  in  money- making. 

March  I6th. — We  are  at  anchor  off  Chinhae  at  the  mouth  of  Chinhae. 
the  river  which  leads  to  Ningpo.  We  have  just  returned  from 
a  walk  on  shore.  We  passed  through  a  small  walled  town,  and 
climbed  up  a  hill  to  a  temple  on  the  sunmiit,  from  which  we 
had  a  magnificent  prospect  On  the  east  and  north,  the  sea 
studded  with  the  islands  of  the  Chusan  group ;  on  the  west,  a 
rich  plain,  through  which  the  river  meanders  on  its  way  from 
Ningpo  ;  on  the  north,  a  succession  of  mountain  ranges.  We 
were  accompanied  by  some  curious  but  good-natured  Chinamen, 
who  seemed  anxious  to  give  us  information.  A  very  dirty  lad, 
without  a  tail,  proved  to  be  the  priest.  After  looking  about  us 
for  some  time,  we  entered  the  building ;  which  contained  a  sort 
of  central  shrine,  in  which  were  some  gilt  figures  of  large  size, 
besides  rows  of  smaller  gilt  figures  round  the  walls.  I  observed 
a  number  of  slips  of  paper  with  Chinese  characters  upon  them  ; 
and  being  told  that  they  were  used  for  divination  purposes,  I 
asked  how  it  was  done :  upon  which  one  of  the  Chinamen  took 
from  before  the  shrine  a  thing  like  a  match-holder,  full  of  bits 
of  stick  like  matches,  and  kneeling  down  on  a  hassock,  began 
to  shake  this  case  till  one  of  the  bits  of  stick  fell  out.  He 
picked  it  up,  and  finding  a  single  notch  upon  it,  selected  from 
the  slips  of  paper  which  I  had  noticed  the  one  which  had  a 
corresponding  mark.  We  carried  it  away,  and  I  intend  to  get 
Mr.  Wade  to  translate  it  that  I  may  send  it  to  you.  The  other 
Chinamen  present  seemed  very  much  amused  at  what  was  going 
on.  They  do  not  appear  to  have  a  particle  of  reverence  for 
their  religion,  and  yet  they  spend  a  good  deal  of  money  on  their 
templet. 

Wade's  teacher  (so  the  Chinaman  who  aids  him  in  the  work 
of  interpretation  is  styled)  has  told  him  that  the  lot  which  fell  to 
me  at  the  Buddhist  temple  is  the  No.  1  lot,  the  most  fortunate 
of  all.  Their  system  of  divination  is  rather  complicated,  but, 
as  I  understand  it,  it  appears  to  be  that  Noah,  or  some  one  who 
lived  about  his  time,  discovered  eight  symbols  on  the  back  of 
a  tortoise.    These,  multiplied  into  themselves,  make  sixty-four. 


232  FIRST  MISSION  TO  C5HINA.  Ch.  Vm. 

which  constituted  the  Book  of  Fate.    It  appears  that  my  lot  is 
the  first  of  the  eight,  and  therefore  the  best  that  can  be  got ! 
Ningpo.  Ningpo. — Mai^ch  18M. — We  arrived  here  yesterday,  and  I 

have  been  walking  both  days  about  the  town  with  Mr.  Meadows, 
the  author,  who  is  vice-consul  here.  I  am  disappointed  with 
the  city,  of  which  I  had  heard  a  great  deal.  But  the  people 
are  even  more  amiable  than  at  any  other  place  I  have  visited. 
Oliphant  has  rejoined  us  in  high  spirits,  after  his  visit  to  Soo- 
chow.  I  cross-examined  a  Church  of  England  clergyman  about 
his  converts.  When  pressed,  he  could  only  name  one  who 
seemed  to  be  conscious  of  the  want  which  we  believe  to  be 
supplied  by  the  Atonement.  About  100,  however,  including 
children,  attend  churches  in  Ningpo,  of  whom  thirty  have  been 
baptized. 

Ningpo  was  one  of  the  places  which  had  been  treated 
with  more  than  ordinary  severity  in  the  last  war.  It 
was  also  one  of  the  places  in  which  the  natives  showed 
the  most  friendly  disposition  towards  foreigners.  To 
the  resident  traders  the  inference  was  obvious:  the 
severity  was  the  cause  of  the  friendly  disposition,  and  it 
had  only  to  be  applied  elsewhere  to  produce  the  like 
results.  With  evident  satisfaction  Lord  Elgin  sets  him- 
self, in  an  official  despatch,  to  refute  this  reasoning. 
After  observing  that  the  natives  showed  rather  an  ex- 
aggeration than  a  defect  of  the  desire  to  live  peaceably 
mth  foreigners,  he  proceeds : — 

The  state  of  Ningpo  in  this  respect  furnishes  their  favourite 
and,  perhaps,  most  plausible  argument,  to  that  class  of  persons 
who  advocate  what  is  styled  a  vigorous  policy  in  China ;  in 
other  words,  a  policy  which  consists  in  resorting  to  the  most 
violent  measures  of  coercion  and  repression  on  the  slenderest 
provocations.    They  say,  *  Remember  what  happened  at  Ningpo 

•  during  the  last  war,  and  observe  the  consideration  and  respect 

*  which  is  evinced  towards  you  there.  Treat  other  towns  in 
'  China  likewise,  and  the  result  will  be  the  same.'  I  question 
the  soundness  of  this  inference.  Ningpo  is  situated  on  the 
south-eastern  verge  of  the  mighty  valley  of  the  Yang-tze-kiang, 
which  is  inhabited  by  a  population  the  most  inoffensive,  per- 
haps, both  by  disposition  and  habit,  of  any  on  the  surface  of 


1868.  NINGPO.      CHUSAN.  233 

the  earth.  Their  amenity  towards  the  foreigner  is  due,  I  appre- 
hendy  to  temperament,  as  much,  at  least,  as  to  the  recollection 
of  the  violence  which  they  may  have  sustained  at  his  hands. 

I  have  made  it  a  point,  whenever  I  have  met  missionaries  or 
others  who  have  penetrated  into  the  interior  from  Ningpo  and 
Shanghae,  to  ask  them  what  treatment  they  experienced  on 
those  expeditions,  and  the  answer  has  almost  invariably  been 
that,  at  points  remote  from  those  to  which  foreigners  have 
access,  there  was  no  diminution,  but  on  the  contrary  rather  an 
enhancement,  of  the  courtesy  exhibited  towards  them  by  the 
natives. 

H.RL8,  ^  Furious.^ — March  20th. — Yesterday,  I  called  on  Mission- 
a  clergyman  to  see  Miss  Aldersey, — a  remarkable  lady,  who  ^^^^ 
came  out  here  immediately  after  the  last  war,  and  has  been  de- 
voting herself  and  her  fortune  to  the  education  and  Christian- 
isation  of  the  Chinese  at  Ningpo.  She  seems  a  nice  person,  but 
I  could  not  get  as  much  conversation  with  her  as  I  wished, 
because  the  Bishop,  &c.,  were  present  all  the  time.  She  has 
to  pay  the  girls  a  trifle,  as  an  equivalent  for  what  their  labour 
is  worth,  for  coming  to  her  school,  or  to  board  them  and  keep 
them,  as  it  is  not  at  all  in  the  ideas  of  the  Chinese  that  women 
should  be  educated.  She  does  not  seem  to  have  got  the  entree 
into  Chinese  houses  of  the  richer  class.  Mrs.  Russell  (wife  of 
the  English  clergyman),  who  speaks  the  language,  has  obtained 
it  a  little.  I  cannot  make  out  that,  when  she  visits  them,  they 
ever  talk  of  anything  except  where  she  got  her  dress,  &c. ;  but 
on  great  occasions,  when  they  assemble  for  ceremonies  in  the 
temples,  they  seem  very  devout.  In  private  they  treat  these 
matters  with  great  indifference.  I  had  some  of  the  missionaries 
to  dinner.  They  put  the  converts  at  a  larger  number  than  I 
understood  Mr.  Russell  to  do,  but  otherwise  their  report  did 
not  differ  materially  from  his. 

Chusan, — March  2\st. — This  is  a  most  charming  island.  ChuMn. 
How  any  people,  in  their  senses,  could  have  preferred  Hong- 
kong to  it,  seems  incredible.  The  people  too,  that  is  to  say, 
the  lower  orders,  seem  really  to  like  us.  We  walked  through 
the  town  of  Tinghae,  and  asked  at  the  shop  of  a  seller  of  per- 
fumed sticks  for  the  '  Mosquito  tobacco,'  but  in  vain.  We 
then  passed  through  the  further  gate  of  the  city  into  the  coun- 
try beyond,  and  seeing  something  like  a  cl:apel,  made  towards 


234  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  Vm. 

it.  A  man^  dressed  as  a  Chinaman,  came  out  to  meet  us.  He 
French  addressed  us  in  French,  and  proved  to  be  a  Roman  Catholic 
azy.  priest.     He  was  very  civil,  and  asked  us  into  his  house,  where 

he  gave  us  some  tea,  grown  on  his  own  farm.  He  has  been 
here  two  years  quite  alone,  and  he  was  ten  years  before  in  the 
province  of  Kiangsii.  He  says  that  he  has  some  200  converts. 
Some  twenty  boys,  deserted  children,  he  brings  up,  and  works 
on  his  farm.  I  saw  them,  and  I  must  say  I  never  beheld  a 
more  happy  and  well-conditioned  set  of  boys.  In  the  town 
was  an  establishment  for  younger  children,  chiefly  girls,  under 
the  charge  of  a  Chinese  female  convert.  After  he  had  given  us 
tea,  the  missionary  accompanied  us  in  our  walk.  He  first  took 
us  to  a  sort  of  cottage-villa,  belonging  to  one  of  the  rich  in- 
habitants, consisting  of  about  a  couple  of  acres  of  ground, 
covered  by  kiosks  and  grottos  and  dwarf-trees,  and  ups  and 
downs  and  zigzags, — all  in  the  most  approved  Chinese  fashion. 
From  thence  we  clambered  up  a  mountain  of,  I  should  think, 
some  1 ,200  feet  in  height,  from  which  we  had  a  very  extensive 
view,  and  beheld  ranges  of  hills,  separated  by  cosy  valleys, 
on  one  side ;  on  the  other,  the  walled  city  of  Tinghae,  sur- 
rounded by  rice-fields ;  beyond,  the  sea  studded  with  islands  of 
the  Chusan  group.  It  was  a  beautiful  view,  and  we  returned 
to  the  ship  very  much  pleased  with  our  scramble. 
Scenery.  March  22nd. — I  have  just  returned  from  a  walk  to  the  top 

of  a  hill,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  flat  on  which  the  town  is 
situated  from  that  which  we  mounted  yesterday.  The  day  is 
charming,  clear,  with  a  fanning,  bracing  air.  We  had  a  finer 
view  almost  than  yesterday.  The  same  character  of  scenery 
all  round  the  island.  Spacious  flats  on  the  sea-board  under 
irrigation ;  about  one-half  of  the  fields  covered  (now)  with 
water,  and  the  other  half  in  crop,  chiefly  beans,  wheat,  and 
rape,  which,  with  its  yellow  flower,  gives  warmth  to  the  colour- 
ing of  the  landscape ;  these  flats,  fringed  by  hills  of  a  goodly 
height — say  from  600  to  1,200  feet, — which  cluster  together  as 
they  recede  from  the  sea-board,  compressing  the  flats  into 
narrow  valleys,  and  finally  extinguishing  them  altogether.  The 
hills  themselves  barren,  with  patches  here  and  there  of  Chinese 
cultivation  and  fir  plantations,  the  first  I  have  seen  in  China. 
Turn  your  eyes  to  the  sea,  and  you  have  before  you  innume- 
rable islands  dotting  its  surface,  the  same  in  character,  though 
smaller  in  size,  than  that  on  which  you  are  standing.     I  have 


1868.  POTOU.  235 

seldom  seen  a  more  delightful  spot.  In  going  on  our  walk,  we 
passed  by  the  burying-ground  of  the  British  who  died  while 
we  occupied  the  island,  and  we  did  something  to  put  order 
among  their  neglected  graves.  On  our  return,  we  passed  by  a 
cottage  where  an  old  lady  was  seated  at  her  spinning-wheel. 
I  entered.  She  received  us  most  courteously,  placed  chairs 
for  us,  and  immediately  set  to  work  to  prepare  tea.  When 
she  found  that  one  of  the  party  was  a  doctor,  a  son  (grown  up) 
was  produced  who  was  suffering  from  ague.  We  brought  him 
on  board,  and  gave  him  some  quinine.  He  showed  us  the 
medicine  he  was  taking.  It  appeared  to  be  a  sort  of  mash  of 
bits  of  bamboo  and  all  sorts  of  vegetable  ingredients.  The 
doctor  who  tried  it  said  it  had  no  taste.  I  should  mention  that 
at  the  landing-place  we  met  some  of  the  French  missionary's 
boys,  who  brought  me  a  present  of  eggs  and  fowls  and  salad 
from  the  farm,  in  return  for  a  dollar  which  I  gave  them  yes- 
terday to  buy  cakes  withal. 

March  2Zrd. — We  set  off  this  morning  to  visit  Potou.'  After  Poton. 
landing  on  the  beach,  we  proceeded  along  a  spacious  paved  path 
to  a  monastery,  in  a  very  picturesque  spot  under  the  grey  granite 
hills.  We  entered  the  buildings,  which  were  like  all  other 
Buddhistic  temples — the  same  images,  &c. — and  were  soon  sur- 
rounded by  crowds  of  the  most  filthy  and  miserable-looking 
bonzes,  some  clad  in  grey  and  some  in  yellow.  All  were  very  Bomas. 
civil,  however,  and  on  the  invitation  of  the  superior — who  had 
a  much  more  intelligent  look  than  the  rest — we  went  into  an 
apartment  at  the  side  of  the  temple  and  had  some  tea.  After  a 
short  rest  we  proceeded  on  our  way,  and  mounted  a  hill  about 
1 ,500  feet  in  height,  passing  by  some  more  temples  on  the  way. 
I  never  saw  human  beings  apparently  in  a  lower  condition  than 
these  bonzes,  though  some  of  the  temples  were  under  repair,  and 
on  the  whole  tolerably  cared  for.  The  view  from  the  top  of  the 
hill  was  magnificent,  and  there  was  glorious  music  here  and 
there,  irom  the  sea  rolling  in  upon  the  sandy  beach.  We  met 
some  women  (not  young  ones)  going  up  the  hill  in  chairs  to 
worship  at  the  temples,  and  found,  in  some,  individuals  at  their 
devotions.  In  one  there  was  a  monk,  hidden  behind  a  great 
drum,  repeating  in  a  plaintive  tone,  over  and  over  again,  the 
xuime  of  Buddha,  *  ameta  fo,'  or  something  like  that  sound.  I 
observed  some  with  lumps  on  the  forehead,  evidently  produced 

*  A  sacred  isUnd,  in  the  'sea  of  water- lilioft/ 


236  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA-  Ch.  Vm. 

by  knocking  it  against  the  ground.  The  utter  want  of  respect 
of  these  people  for  their  temples^  coupled  with  this  asceticism 
and  apparent  self-sacrifice  in  their  religion,  is  a  combination 
which  I  cannot  at  present  understand.  It  has  one  bad  effect, 
that  in  the  plundering  expeditions  which  we  Christians  dignify 
with  the  name  of  war  in  these  countries,  idols  are  ripped  up  in 
the  hope  of  finding  treasure  in  them,  temple  ornaments  seized, 
and  in  short  no  sort  of  consideration  is  shown  for  the  religious 
feelings  of  the  natives. 

The  following  notice  of  the  same  sacred  island  occurs 
in  one  of  his  despatches : — 

I  trust  that  I  may  be  permitted  to  offer  one  remark  in  re- 
ference to  Potou,  an  islet  adjoining  Chusan,  which  I  touched 
at  on  my  way  from  the  latter  place  to  Chapoo.  Little  inform- 
ation, of  course,  was  to  be  gathered  there  on  questions  di- 
rectly affecting  trade  or  politics,  for  it  is  a  holy  spot,  exclusively 
appropriated  to  temples  in  tinsel  and  bonzes  in  rags ;  but  it 
was  impossible  to  wander  over  it  as  I  did,  visiting  with  entire 
impunity  its  most  sacred  recesses,  without  being  forcibly  re- 
minded of  the  fact  that  one,  at  least,  of  the  obstacles  to  inter- 
course between  nations,  which  operates  most  powerfully  in 
many  parts,  especially  of  the  East,  can  hardly  be  said  to  exist 
in  China.  The  Buddhistic  faith  does  not  seem  to  excite  in  the 
popular  mind  any  bigoted  antipathy  to  the  professors  of  other 
creeds.  The  owner  of  the  humblest  dwelling  almost  invariably 
offers  to  the  foreigner  who  enters  it  the  hospitable  tea-cup, 
without  any  apparent  apprehension  that  his  guest,  by  using,  will 
defile  it ;  and  priests  and  worshippers  attach  no  idea  of  pro- 
fanation to  the  presence  of  the  stranger  in  the  joss-house. 
This  IB  a  fact,  as  I  humbly  conceive,  not  without  its  signifi- 
cance, when  we  come  to  consider  what  prospect  there  may  be 
of  our  being  able  to  extend  and  multiply  relations  of  commerce 
and  amity  with  this  industrious  portion  of  the  human  race. 

The  private  journal  proceeds : — 

March  24th. — We  are  gliding  through  a  perfectly  smooth 
sea,  with  islands  on  both  sides  of  us,  on  a  beautifully  calm  and 
clear  day,  warmer  than  of  late,  but  still  tart  enough  to  feel 
healthy.  We  passed  a  fleet  of  some  hundreds  of  junks,  pro- 
ceeding northward  under  convoy  of  some  lorchas  of  the  'Arrow* 


1868.  CIIAPOO.      SHANGIIAE.  237 

clasSy  carrying  flags  which  they  probably  have  no  right  to. 
These  lorchas  exact  a  sort  of  black  mail  from  the  junks,  and 
plunder  them  whenever  it  is  more  profitable  to  do  so  than  to 
protect  them.  They  oflen  have  Europeans  on  board.  Poor 
Yeh  has  suffered  severely  for  our  sins  in  respect  to  this  descrip-  * 
tion  of  craft.  We  are  on  our  way  to  Chapoo  now,  a  port  not 
opened  to  trade,  but  one  which  I  am  ordered  by  the  Govern- 
ment to  induce  the  Chinese  to  open.  As  it  is  very  little  out  of 
the  way  to  Shanghae,  I  wish  to  look  at  it  in  passing. 

March  25M. — We  reached  Chapoo  at  about  5  p.m.  I  did  Chapoo. 
not  land,  but  some  of  the  party  did,  and  mounted  a  hill  from 
whence  they  looked  down  upon  a  walled  town  of  no  great  size, 
and  a  plain,  perfectly  flat,  stretching  for  any  number  of  miles 
beyond  it.  The  people,  as  usual,  were  civil,  and  made  no 
difficulties,  although  we  have  no  right  to  land  there.  The  bay 
in  which  we  anchored  is  open,  and  not  in  any  particular  way 
interesting.  At  about  three  this  morning  we  started,  and  have 
been  favoured  with  as  good  a  day  as  yesterday.  We  have  had 
nothing  of  the  bold  coasts  of  previous  days,  and  passed  occa- 
sionally islands  flatter  than  those  seen  before.  We  are  now  in 
the  mouth  of  the  Yang-tze-kiang,  with  a  perfectly  flat  and  low 
shore  on  one  side,  and  an  equally  flat  one  just  discoverable 
with  the  aid  of  the  telescope  on  the  other.  A  good  many 
junks  are  sailing  about  us,  their  dark  sails  filled  with  a  lively 
breeze.  Before  us  is  a  large  man-of-war,  which  I  am  just  told 
is  the  American  *  Minnesota.'  So  our  cruise  is  coming  to  an 
end,  which  I  regret,  as  it  has  been  a  very  pleasant  break,  and 
at  least  for  the  time  has  kept  me  out  of  reach  of  the  bothers  of 
my  mission.  We  have  reason  too  to  be  most  thankful  for  the 
weather  with  which  we  have  been  favoured,  and  if  Mr.  Reed 
18  before  me  he  cannot  complain,  as  I  am  here  on  the  very  day 
on  which  I  said  J  should  reach  Shanghae.  This  is  a  very 
strange  coast.  The  sea  seems  to  be  filling  up  with  the  de- 
posits of  the  rivers.  We  have  an  island  (inhabited)  beside  us, 
which  did  not  exist  a  few  years  ago.  We  have  not  during 
all  yesterday  and  to-day  had  ever  more  than  eight  fathoms  of 
water. 

Shanghae  had  been  named  as  the  rendezvous  for  the  Sh«iighM. 
Allied  Powers.     There,  as  he  had  written  to  the  Em- 
peror's Prime  Minister,  *  the  Plenipotentiaries  of  Eng- 


238 


FmST  MISSION  TO  CHINA. 


Cn.  vni. 


Meesftge 

from 

Pekin. 


*land  and  France  would  be   prepared   to   enter  into 

*  negotiations  for  the  settlement  of  all  differences  ex- 
'  isting  between  their  respective  Governments  and  that 
'  of  China  with  any  Plenipotentiary,  duly  accredited  by 

*  the  Emperor,  who  might  present  himself  at  that  port 

*  before  the  end  of  the  month  of  March/  There  he  still 
fondly  hoped  to  find  his  Hercules*  Pillar.     *  If  I  can 

*  only  conclude  a  treaty  at  Shanghae,'  so  he  wrote  when 
starting  from  Canton,  *  and  hasten  home  afterwards ! ' 

The  place  was  well  chosen  for  the  purpose ;  not  only 
as  the  most  northerly  of  the  Treaty  ports,  and  therefore 
nearest  to  the  capital,  but  also  as  the  most  flourishing 
stronghold  of  European  influence  and  civilisation  then 
existing  in  China.  '  I  was  struck,'  wi-ote  Lord  Elgin  in 
one  of  his  despatches,  '  by  the  thoroughly  European  ap- 
pearance of  the  place ;  the  foreign  settlement,  with  its 
goodly  array  of  foreign  vessels,  occupying  the  fore- 
ground of  the  picture;  the  junks  and  native  town  lying 
up  the  river,  and  dimly  perceptible  among  the  shadows 
of  the  background  ;  spacious  houses,  always  well,  and 
often  sumptuously,  ftirnished ;  Europeans,  ladies  and 
gentlemen,  strolling  along  the  quays ;  English  police- 
men habited  as  the  London  police ;  and  a  climate  very 
much  resembling  that  which  I  had  experienced  in 
London  exactly  twelve  months  before,  created  illusions 
which  were  of  course  very  promptly  dissipated.' 
Dissipated  too  was  the  hope  in  which  he  had  in- 
dulged, of  a  speedy  termination  to  his  labours ;  for  he 
was  met  by  a  message  from  the  Prime  Minister,  that 

*  no  Imperial  Commissioner  ever  conducted  business  at 

*  Shanghae ;  that  a  new  Commissioner  had  been  sent  to 
'  Canton  to  replace  Yeh ;  and  that  it  behoved  the  English 

*  Minister  to  wait  in  Canton,  and  there  make  his  arrange- 

*  ments.'  This,  of  course,  was  not  to  be  thought  of ;  and 
nothing  remained  but  to  move  onwards  towards  Pekin^ 
and  apply  some  more  direct  pressure  to  the  Emperor 
and  his  capital. 


1858.  SHANGHAE.  239 

March  29M. — Shanghae, — Here  I  am  in  the  Consul's  bouse, 
a  very  spacious  mansion^  The  climate,  character  of  the  rooms, 
&c.,  all  make  me  feel  in  Europe  again.  I  reached  this  har- 
bour on  the  26th9  but  only  landed  to-day.  Mr.  Reed  and 
Count  Putiatine  arrived  before  me,  but  Baron  Gros  has  not 
yet  made  his  appearance.  The  Prime  Minister  of  the  Em- 
]>eror  says  that  he  cannot  write  to  me  himself,  but  sends  me  a 
message  through  the  Governor-General  of  the  province  to  say 
that  a  Commissioner  has  been  sent  to  Caatctt  by  the  Emperor 
to  replace  Yeh,  and  that  I  must  go  there  and  settle  msttezB 
with  him.  This  will  never  do,  so  I  must  move  on  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Peiho.  I  am  only  waiting  for  Gros  and  the 
Admiral  before  I  ^tart.  The  Shanghae  merchants  presented 
an  address  to  me  to-day,  and  as  I  was  obliged  to  say  some- 
thing in  reply,  I  thought  that  I  might  as  well  take  advantage 
of  the  opportunity  to  let  the  Chinese  (who  are  sure  to  get  a 
translation  of  my  answer)  know,  that  there  is  no  chance  of  my 
going  back  to  Canton.  I  also  endeavoured  to  give  the  British 
manufacturers  a  hint  that  they  must  exert  themselves  and  not 
trust  to  cannon  if  they  intend  to  get  a  market  in  China. 

The  views  to  which  he  here  refers  were  expressed  in 
his  reply  in  the  following  forcible  language : — 

In  my  communication  with  the  functionaries  of  the  Chinese  B^ pW  to 
Government,  I  have  been  guided  by  two  simple  rules  of  action  :  ^^^^^^ 
I  have  never  preferred  a  demand  which  I  did  not  believe  to 
be  both  moderate  and  just,  and  from  a  demand  so  preferred  I 
have  never  receded.  These  principles  dictated  the  policy 
which  resulted  in  the  capture  and  occupation  of  Canton.  The 
same  principles  will  be  followed  by  me,  with  the  same  deter- 
mination, to  their  results,  if  it  should  be  necessary  to  repeat 
the  experiment  in  the  vicinity  of  the  capital  of  the  Emperor  of 
China. 

The  expectations  held  out  to  British  manufacturers  at  the 
close  of  the  last  war  between  Great  Britain  and  China,  when 
they  were  told  *  that  a  new  world  was  opened  to  their  trade  so 

*  vast  that  all  the  mills  in  Lancashire  could  not  make  stocking- 

*  stuff  sufficient  for  one  of  its  provinces,'  have  not  been  realised ; 
and  I  am  of  opinion  that  when  force  and  diplomacy  shall  have 
done  all  that  they  can  legitimately  effect,  the  work  which  has 
to  be  accomplished  in  China  will  be  but  at  its  commencement. 


240 


FIRST  MISSION  TO   CHINA. 


CH-Vni. 


Baths  for 
the  mil- 
lion. 


Malero- 
lence  to- 
wards 
Chinese, 


When  the  barriers  which  prevent  free  access  to  the  interior 
of  the  country  shall  have  been  removed,  the  Christian  civilisa- 
tion of  the  West  will  find  itself  face  to  face,  not  with  bar- 
barism,  but  with  an  ancient  civilisation  in  many  respects  effete 
and  imperfect,  but  in  others  not  without  claims  on  our  sym- 
pathy and  respect.  In  the  rivalry  which  will  then  ensue, 
Christian  civilisation  will  have  to  win  its  way  among  a  sceptical 
and  ingenious  people,  by  making  it  manifest  that  a  faith  which 
reaches  to  Heaven  furnishes  better  guarantees  for  public  and 
private  morality  than  one  which  does  not  rise  above  the  earth. 

At  the  same  time  the  machina-facturing  West  will  be  in 
presence  of  a  population  the  most  universally  and  laboriously 
manufacturing  of  any  on  the  earth.  It  can  achieve  victories 
in  the  contest  in  which  it  will  have  to  engage  only  by  proving 
that  physical  knowledge  and  mechanical  skill,  applied  to  the 
arts  of  production,  are  more  than  a  match  for  the  most  perse- 
vering efforts  of  unscientific  industry. 

The  journal  proceeds  as  follows,  under  date  of  the 
29th  of  March:— 

I  shall  be  a  little  curious  to  see  my  next  letters.  The 
truth  is,  that  the  whole  world  just  now  are  raving  mad  with  a 
passion  for  killing  and  slaying,  and  it  is  difficult  for  a  person 
in  his  sober  senses  like  myself  to  keep  his  own  among  them. 
However  I  shall  be  glad  to  see  what  Parliament  says  about 
Canton. 

March  30rt. — Baron  Gros  arrived  to-day.  I  forgot  to  men- 
tion that  I  visited  the  town  of  Slianghae  yesterday,  and  among 
other  things  went  into  a  bathing  establishment,  where  coolies 
were  getting  steamed  rather  than  bathed  at  rather  less  than  a 
penny  a  head,  which  penny  includes,«  moreover,  a  cup  of  tea. 
So  that  these  despised  Chinamen  have  bathing-houses  for  the 
million.  With  us  they  are  a  recent  invention :  they  have  had 
them,  I  believe,  for  centuries.  I  am  told  that  they  are  much 
used  by  the  labouring  class.  I  was  struck  by  an  instance  of 
the  malevolence  towards  the  Chinese,  which  I  met  with  to-day. 
Baron  Gros  told  me  that  a  boat  with  some  unarmed  French 
officers  and  seamen  got  adrift  at  a  place  called  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  as  he  was  coming  up  from  Hong-kong.  They 
found  themselves  off  an  island,  on  the  shore  of  which  a  crowd 
of  armed  Chinese  collected.     Their  situation  was  disagreeable 


1858.  SIIANGHAE.      MISSIONARIES.  241 

enough.  Next  day,  however,  the  body  of  the  Chinese  dis- 
persed, and  a  few  who  remained  came  forward  in  the  kindest 
manner  offering  them  food,  &c.  They  stated  that  they  came 
down  in  arms  to  defend  themselves,  fearing  that  they  were 
pirates,  but  that  as  they  were  peaceful  people  they  were  glad 
to  serve  them.  I  have  heard  the  first  part  of  this  story  from 
two  other  quarters,  but  the  latter  part  was  in  both  cases 
omitted, 

April  3rd. — I  took  another  walk  yesterday  into  the  country.  Burial 
and  saw  a  kind  of  tower  where  dead  children,  whom  the  parents  P'^^**^"* 
are  too  poor  to  bury,  are  deposited.  It  is  a  kind  of  pigeon- 
house  about  twenty  feet  high,  and  the  babies  are  dropped 
through  the  pigeon-holes.  After  that  I  walked  into  a  spacious 
building  where  coffins  containing  dead  bodies  are  stored, 
awaiting  a  lucky  day  for  the  burial,  or  for  some  other  reason. 
The  Coffins  are  so  substantial  and  the  place  so  well  ventilated 
that  there  was  nothing  at  all  disagreeable  in  it*  There  is  some- 
thing touching  in  the  familiarity  with  which  the  Chinese  treat 
the  dead. 

Shanghae. — Easter  Sunday, — I  have  been  at  church.  .  .  .  Koman 
In  the  afternoon  I  walked  to  the  Roman  Catholic  cathedral,  mUiibn 
which  is  about  three  miles  from  the  Consulate.     I  found  a 
really  handsome,  or  at  any  rate  spacious,  building,  well  de- 
corated.     The  priests  were  very  civil.     They  count  80,000 
converts  (a  considerable  portion,  I  take  it,  descendants  of  the 
Christian  converts  made  by  the  missionaries  ages  ago)  in  this 
province.     It  is  impossible  to  help  contrasting  their  proceed- 
ings with   those  of  the  Protestants.     They  come  out  here  to 
pass  the  whole  of  their  lives  in  evangelising  the  heathen,  never 
think   of  home,  live  on  the  same  fare  and  dress  in  the  same 
attire    as    the  natives.      The  Protestants    (generally)    hardly 
leave  the    ports,  where   they   have  excellent   houses,   wives, 
fanailiesj   go  home   whenever  self  or  wife   is   unwell,  &c.     I 
passed  an  American  missionary's  house  yesterday.     It  was  a 
great  square  building,  situated  in  a  garden,  and  at  the  en- 
trance gate  there  was  a  modest  barn-like  edifice,  large  enough 
to  hold  about  twenty  sitters,  which  on  inquiry  I  found  to  be 
the  church.     These   people   have   excellent  situations,   good 
salaries,    so   much   for   every  child,  allowances  for  sickness, 
&c.      They  make  hardly  any  converts,  but  then  they  console 
themselves  by  saying,  that  the  Roman  Catholics  who  make  all 


242  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  VHL 

these  Bacrifices  do  it  from  a  bad  motive,  teach  idolatry,  &c. 

I  cannot  say,  but  I  must  admit  that  the  priests  whom  I  met 

to-daj  talked  like  very  sensible  men,  and  that  the  appearance 

of  the  young  Chinamen  {seminaristes)  whom  I  saw  was  most 

satisfactory.     They  had  an  intelligent,  cheerful  look,  greatly 

superior  to  that  of  the  Roman  Catholic  seminarists  generally 

in  Europe.     The  priests  bear  testimony  to  their  aptitude  in 

learning,  their  docility  and  good   conduct.      They  have  an 

organ  in  the  cathedral,  the  pipes  of  which  are  all  made  of 

bamboo.     It  seems  to  have  an  excellent  tone. 

and  April  7  th, — I  went  on  Monday  to  visit  a  college  which  the 

eoUege.       prfests  have  about  six  miles  off,  with  about  seventy  scholars. 

It  appeared  to  be  in  good  order.     I  walked  back  with  a  priest 

who  had  been  in  Canada  in  our  time.     He  was  talkative,  and 

gave  me  a  good  deal  of  information  about  the  Jesuits.    It  came 

on  to  rain  very  hard  as  we  returned,  but  we  found  our  letters 

from  home  to  reward  us  on  our  arrival.  .  .  .  No  doubt,  as  you 

say,  one  cannot  help  sometimes  regretting  that  one  is  mixed  up 

with  so  bad  a  business  as  this  in  China,  but  then   in  some 

respects  it  is  a  great  opportunity  for  doing  good,  or  at  least  for 

mitigating  evil. 

Ammcan         I  had  a  visit  to-day  from   Dr.  B.,  who  is,  I  believe,  the 

mission-      most   eminent  of  the  American  missionaries  in   China.     He 
aiT, 

btBgan  by  expressing  his  gratitude  to  me  for  the  merciful  way 
in  which  matters  had  been  conducted  at  Canton,  adding  that 
they  were  bad  people,  that  they  insulted  foreigners.  He  had 
lived  among  them  fifteen  years,  and  had  never  been  insulted 
when  alone.  He  always  went  about  without  even  a  stick, 
and  they  knew  that  he  did  not  wish  to  injure  them,  &c  I 
then  asked  him  whether  there  was  not  some  inconsistency  in 
what  he  had  said  about  their  treatment  of  himself  and  the 
epithet  'bad*  which  he  had  applied  to  them.  He  said  that 
perhaps  the  word  was  too  strong,  that  he  was  much  attached 
to  the  Chinese,  but  that  certain  classes  at  Canton  were  no 
doubt  very  hostile  to  foreigners,  and  that  the  chastisement  they 
had  received  was  quite  necessary.  I  really  believe  that  what 
Dr.  B.  said  is  pretty  nearly  the  truth  of  the  case,  and  it  is 
satisfactory  to  me  that  the  fact  that  I  laboured  to  spare  the 
people  should  be  known,  known  not  only  by  those  who  ap- 
prove, but  by  those  who  abhor  clemency. 


1868.  MISSIONARIES.  243 

From  the  foregoing  and  similar  extracts,  it  will  be 
seen  how  much  interest  he  took  in  the  labours  of  the 
missionaries,  and  at  the  same  time  with  what  breadth 
and  calmness  of  view  he  handled  a  subject  peculiarly 
liable  to  exaggeration  on  one  side  or  the  other.  During 
his  stay  at  Shanghae,  it  was  brought  before  him  offi- 
cially in  the  shape  of  an  address  from  the  Protestant 
missionaries  of  the  port,  praying  him,  in  the  first  place, 
to  obtain  a  separate  decree  of  toleration  in  favour  of 
Protestantism,  distinct  from  that  which  the  French  had 
already  obtained  for  the  'Religion  of  the  Lord  of  Heaven ; ' 
and,  in  the  second  place,  to  procure  for  them  greater 
liberty  of  travelling  and  preaching  in  all  parts  of  China. 
His  reply  contained  words  of  grave  warning,  which 
have  a  special  interest  when  read  by  the  light  of  recent 
events.  After  saying  that  'it  certainly  appeared  to 
'  him  to  be  reasonable  and  proper  that  the  professors  of 
'  different  Christian  denominations  should  be  placed  in 
'  China  on  a  footing  of  equality,'  he  proceeded  as  fol- 
lows : — 

I  should  be  wanting  in  candour,  however,  if  I  were  not  to  Beply  to 
state  that,  in  my  opinion,  the  demands  which  you  prefer  in-  ]^^[^J^' 
volve,  in  some  of  their  details  and  consequences,  questions  of  mission- 
considerable  nicety. 

Christian  nations  claim  for  their  subjects  or  citizens,  who  so- 
journ in  the  East  under  heathen  Governments,  privileges  of 
exterritoriality.  They  are  bound,  therefore,  when  they  seek 
to  extend  their  rights  of  residence  and  occupation,  to  take  care 
that  those  exceptional  privileges  be  not  abused,  to  the  prcju* 
dice  of  the  countries  conceding  them. 

I  cannot  say  that  I  think  that  the  Christian  nations  who  have 
established  a  footing  in  China,  under  the  sanction  of  treaty 
stipulations  obtained  by  others,  or  in  virtue  of  agreements 
made  directly  by  the  Chinese  Governments  with  themselves, 
have  in  all  cases  duly  recognised  this  obligation. 

Unless  I  am  greatly  misinformed,  many  vile  and  reckless 
men,  protected  by  the  privileges  to  which  I  have  referred,  and 
still  more  by  the  terror  which  British  prowess  has  inspired,  are 

R  2 


244  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  VIIL 

now  infesting  the  coasts  of  China.  It  may  be  that  for  the 
moment  they  are  able,  in  too  many  cases,  to  perpetrate  the 
worst  crimes  with  impunity ;  but  they  bring  discredit  on  the 
Christian  name ;  inspire  hatred  of  the  foreigner  where  no  such 
hatred  exists ;  and,  as  some  recent  instances  prove,  teach  occa- 
sionally to  the  natives  a  lesson  of  vengeance,  which,  when  once 
learnt,  may  not  always  be  applied  with  discrimination. 

But  if  the  extension  of  the  privileges  of  foreigners  in  China 
involves  considerations  of  nicety,  still  more  delicate  are  the 
questions  which  arise  when  it  is  proposed  to  confer  by  treaty 
on  foreign  Powers  the  right  to  interfere  on  behalf  of  natives 
who  embrace  their  religion.  It  is  most  right  and  fitting  that 
Chinamen  espousing  Christianity  should  not  be  persecuted.  It 
is  most  wrong  and  most  prejudicial  to  the  real  interests  of  the 
Faith  that  they  should  be  tempted  to  put  on  a  hypocritical 
profession  in  order  to  secure  thereby  the  advantages  of  ab- 
normal protection. 


1858.  ADVANCE  TO  TIIE  PEIHO.  245 


CHAPTER  IX. 

FIRST  MISSION  TO   CHINA.      TIENTSIN. 

ADVANCE    TO    THE    PEIHO — TAKING     OF    THE    FORTS — THE   PEIHO   RIVER 

TIENTSIN — NEGOTIATIONS — THE     TREATY — THE     RIGHT     OP    SENDING     A 
MINISTER   TO   PEKIN — ^RETURN   SOUTHWARD — SAILS   FOR   JAPAN. 

The  establishment  of  the  principle  of  direct  commu- 
nication with  the  Imperial  Government  at  the  capital 
had  always  been  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  important 
objects  of  Lord  Elgin's  mission.  When,  therefore,  in 
reply  to  his  letter  addressed  to  the  Prime  Minister, 
there  came  an  answer  from  a  provincial  officer,  he  re- 
turned it  at  once,  and  wrote  again  to  the  Prime  Minister, 
pointing  out  that,  by  refusing  to  correspond  with  him 
directly,  the  Minister  had  broken  the  existing  treaty,  by 
which   it  was  agreed  that  '  Her   Britannic   Majesty's 

*  Chief  High  Officer  shall  correspond  with  the  Chinese 

*  High  Officers,  both  at  the  capital  and  in  the  provinces, 
'  under  the  term  "  conununication ; '"  and  announcing 
that  he  should  proceed  at  once  to  the  North,  in  order 
that  he  might  place  himself  in  more  immediate  commu- 
nication with  the  High  Officers  of  the  Imperial  Govern- 
ment at  the  capital.  Accordingly,  he  arranged  with 
Baron  Gros  that  they  should  meet  in  the  Gulf  of  Pecheli, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Peiho,  backed  by  their  respective 
fleets,  and  with  the  moral  support  of  the  presence  of  the 
Russian  and  American  Plenipotentiaries. 

In  carrying  out  these  j^ans  everything  depended,  in 
his  judgment,  on  acting  promptly  ;  and  he  was  there- 
fore most  desirous  that  the  supporting  force   should 


246 


FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA. 


Ch.  IX. 


Adrance 
to  the 
Peiho. 


collect  at  once  at  the  appointed  spot,  and  that  it  should 
include  a  considerable  number  of  gunboats  of  light 
draught,  capable  of  passing  over  the  mud-banks  which 
form  a  bar  at  the  mouth  of  the  Peiho  river.  In  this, 
however,  he  was  disappointed,  and  many  weeks  elapsed 
before  any  vigorous  measures  could  be  taken.  The 
delay,  as  may  be  supposed,  caused  him  much  annoyance 
and  anxiety  at  the  time  ;  and  he  especially  regretted  it 
afterwards,  because  it  prevented  him  from  personally 
visiting  Pekin,  as  he  might  have  done  at  this  time  under 
circumstances  peculiarly  favourable ;  and  thus  left  the 
delicate  question  of  access  to  the  capital  to  be  settled 
by  his  successor,  with  no  such  advantage.^ 

H.M.8.  ^Furious,''  at  sea. — April  lltk. — Here  we  are,  gliding 
through  the  smoothest  possible  sea,  with  a  gentle  wind,  and 
this  time  favourable,  which  relieves  us  of  all  the  smoke  and 
ashes  of  the  funnel, — an  advantage  for  our  eyes  as  well  as  con- 
ducive to  our  comfort  We  are  in  the  midst  of  the  Yellow 
Sea,  going  about  eight  knots,  dragging  a  gunboat  astern  to 
save  her  coal.  This  is  the  only  gunboat  I  have  got.  I  trust, 
both  on  private  and  public  grounds,  that  we  may  succeed, 
because  otherwise  the  consummation  might  be  put  off  for  a 
year,  or  at  least  till  the  autumn,  and  God  knows  what  might 
happen  in  the  interval.  The  Kussian  Plenipotentiary,  with 
his  own  small  vessel — dragging  behind  him,  however,  a  junk 
well  laden  with  coals  and  provisions — sailed  the  day  before 
me.  I  followed  on  the  10th  (yesterday).  The  French  and 
American  are  to  follow.  It  is  amusing  to  see  how  we  play 
our  parts.  Putiatine  and  I  are  always  together,  visiting 
every  port,  looking  into  everything  with  our  own  eyes.  Our 
colleagues,  with  their  big  ships,  arrive  sooner  or  later  at  the 
great  places  of  rendezvous. 


^  Tho'to  who  remember  the  some- 
what luiffTj  discussion  which  arose 
afterwaras  about  this  delay,  its 
causes  and  its  consequences,  may  be 
struck  with  the  fact  that  the  subject 
is  scarcely  alluded  to  in  any  of  the 
extracts  here  given.  The  omission 
is  intentional :  Lord  Elgin's  friends 


having  no  desire  to  rake  np  an  ex- 
tinct controversy  which  he  would 
have  been  the  last  to  wish  to  see 
revived,  and  respecting  which  they 
have  nothing  to  add  to — as  they 
have  nothing  to  withdraw  from — 
what  he  himself  stated  in  the  House 
of  Lords  on  February  21,  1660. 


1868.  ADVANCE  TO  TIIE  PEDIO.  247 

April  \Zthy  Nine  p.m. — We  had  an  adventure  this  after-  Aground. 
noon.  I  was  on  the  paddle-box  bridge  watching,  ae  we  passed 
between  the  town  of  Tung-Chow  Foo  (a  long  wall,  as  it  seemed, 
stretching  for  about  four  miles,  with  a  temple  at  the  nearest 
end)  and  the  island  of  Meantau,  when  I  felt  a  shock, — and,  be- 
hold I  we  were  aground.  Our  gunboat,  which  we  towed,  not 
being  able  to  check  its  speed  at  a  moment's  notice,  ran  foul  of 
us,  and  we  both  suffered  a  little  in  the  scuflSe.  We  got  off  in 
about  two  hours.  On  the  whole,  I  am  rather  glad  that  we  have 
a  gunboat  with  us,  for  if  anything  serious  did  happen,  it  would 
be  rather  awkward,  under  existing  circumstances,  to  be  cast 
on  the  coast  of  China.  It  is  as  well  to  have  two  strings  to 
one's  bow. 

April  14M. — This  morning  it  was  thick  and  pretty  rough. 
It  is  now  (4  P.M.)  very  bright  and  comparatively  smooth. 
We  have  seen  no  land  to-day,  nor,  indeed,  anything  but  sea 
and  a  few  junks.  Shall  we  meet  any  vessels  at  the  rendez- 
vous ?     A  few  hours  will  tell. 

April  I5th, — We  saw,  at  about  6  p.m.  yesterday,  the  Theren- 
Bussian  at  anchor,  and  went  towards  her,  but  were  after-  ^®^<*'^ 
wards  obliged  to  remove  to  some  distance,  as  we  had  not  water 
enough  where  she  is.  While  we  were  going  to  our  berth,  the 
*  Pique '  came  in  sight.  So  here  we  are — *  Pique'  *  Furious '  and 
'  Slaney '  (gunboat),  in  an  open  sea,  land  not  even  visible.  Cap- 
tain Osbom  started  off  this  morning,  in  the  gunboat,  to  sound 
and  find  out  what  chance  we  have  of  getting  over  the  bar  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Peiho.  Putiatine  came  on  board  this  morn- 
ing. He  has  sent  to  the  shore  a  note  announcing  his  arrival. 
I  am  not  disposed  to  do  anything  of  the  kind.  The  best  plan, 
as  it  appears  to  me,  is  to  move  steadily  up  the  river  as  soon  as 
we  can  get  over  the  bar,  and  let  the  Chinese  stop  us  if  they 
dare.  Putiatine  says  that  he  will  follow  me,  if  I  pass  without 
any  resistance  being  offered,  but  that  he  must  not  go  first, 
as  his  Government  forbids  him  to  provoke  hostilities.  This 
division  of  labour  suits  me  very  well. 

April  19/A, — I  have  nothing  to  write  about.  You  may 
imagine  what  it  is  to  be  at  anchor  in  this  gulf  with  nothing  to 
do.  ...  If  I  had  had  my  gunboats,  I  might  have  been  up  the 
Peiho  ere  this.  I  might  perhaps  have  brought  the  Emperor 
to  his  senses.  .  .  .  Meanwhile  Reed  is  arrived.  Gros  is  last^ 
but  he  is  bringing  his  Admiral  and  force  with  him. 


the  forU. 


248  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  K. 

April  21  sL — Gros  arrived  last  evening.  He  is  very  well 
disposed,  and  ready  to  act  with  me.  The  French  Admiral 
may  be  expected  any  day.  We  are  going  to  make  a  com- 
munication to  Pekin  to  invite  a  Plenipotentiary  to  meet  us 
here,  as  we  cannot  go  up  to  Tientain. 

About  a  week  afterwards  the  bar  was  crossed ;  but 
it  was  not  until  three  more  weeks  had  passed  that  the 
forts  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  were  taken,  in  order  to 
secure  the  passage  of  the  Envoys  up  to  Tientsin. 

Taking  of  May  2lst — I  havc  spent  during  the  last  three  weeks  the 
worst  time  I  have  passed  since  1849,  and  really  I  have  not 
been  capable  of  writing.  The  forts  were  taken  yesterday. 
The  Chinese  had  had  several  weeks  to  prepare,  and  their 
moral  was  greatly  raised  by  our  hesitations  and  delays.  The 
poor  fellows  even  stood  at  their  guns  and  fired  away  pretty 
steadily.  But  as  they  hardly  ever  hit,  it  is  of  very  little  con- 
sequence how  much  they  fire.  As  soon  as  our  men  landed 
they  abandoned  the  forts  and  ran  off  in  all  directions.  We 
have  hardly  had  any  loss,  I  believe ;  but  the  French,  who 
blundered  a  good  deal  with  their  gunboats,  and  then  contrived 
to  get  blown  up  by  setting  fire  to  a  powder  magazine,  have  suf- 
fered pretty  severely.  I  fancy  that  we  have  got  almost  all  the 
artillery  which  the  Chinese  Empire  possesses  in  this  quarter. 
.  .  ,  This  affair  of  yesterday,  in  a  strategical  point  of  view, 
was  a  much  more  creditable  affair  than  the  taking  of  Canton. 
Our  gunboats  and  men  appear  to  have  done  well,  and  though 
they  were  opposed  to  poor  troops,  still  they  were  troops,  and 
not  crowds  of  women  and  children,  who  were  the  victims  of  the 
bombardment  at  Canton. 

May  22nd. — Would  that  you  had  been  a  true  prophet  I 
Yet  there  is  something  of  inspiration  in  your  writing  on  the 
1st  of  March :  *  I  was  fancying  you  even  now,  perhaps,  ascend- 
ing the  Peiho  with  a  train  of  gunboats ! ' 

May  23rd. — These  wretched  Chinese  are  for  the  most  part 
unarmed.  When  they  are  armed,  they  have  no  notion  of 
directing  their  firearms.  They  are  timorous,  and  without  either 
tactics  or  discipline.  I  will  venture  to  say  that  twenty- four 
determined  men,  with  revolvers  and  a  suflficient  number  of 
cartridges,  might  walk  through  China  from  one  end  to  another. 

May  25th. — No  news  since  I  began  this  letter,  except  a 


1858.  TAKING  OF  THE  FORTS.  249 

vague  report  that  the  Admirals  are  moving  up  the  river  slowly, 
meeting  with  no  resistance,  rather  a  friendly  reception,  from  the 
people.  I  am  surprised  that  we  have  not  yet  heard  anything 
from  Pekin.  I  hope  the  Emperor  will  not  fly  to  Tartary, 
because  that  would  be  a  new  perplexity.  I  am  not  quite  in 
such  bad  spirits  as  last  week,  because  at  least  now  there  is 
some  chance  of  our  getting  this  miserable  war  finished,  and 
thus  of  my  obtaining  my  liberty  again.  .  .  .  We  ought  to  have 
a  mail  from  England  any  day.  .  .  .  Clianges  of  Government 
have  this  inconvenience,  that  of  course  the  new-comers  cannot 
possibly  take  time  to  read  over  previous  correspondence,  so 
that  they  must  be  but  partially  informed  on  many  points,  .  .  • 
but  no  doubt  at  this  distance  it  is  practically  impossible  for 
Government  to  give  instructions,  and  all  the  responsibility 
must  rest  on  the  agent  on  the  spot.  At  this  moment,  when  I 
am  moving  up  to  Pekin,  I  am  receiving  the  despatches  of  the 
Government  commenting  upon  the  Canton  proceedings,  and 
asking  me :  What  do  you  intend  to  do  next  ? 

May  21th, — I  have  been  pacing  the  deck  looking  at  the 
dancing  waves  sparkling  under  a  bright  full  moon.  It  is  the 
third  time,  I  think,  that  I  have  seen  it  since  I  have  been  in 
this  gulf.  I  had  a  message  last  night  late  from  the  Admiral, 
stating  that  he  is  within  two  miles  of  Tientsin  I  I  sent 
Frederick  up  that  he  might  see  what  is  going  on,  and  let  me 
know  when  I  ought  to  advance.  I  had  also  a  communication 
from  the  Chinese  Plenipotentiaries,  but  it  was  not  of  much 
importance.  I  do  not  think  that  these  poor,  timorous  people 
have  any  notion  of  resisting.  I  only  trust  that  they  may  make 
up  their  minds  to  concede  what  is  requisite  at  once,  and  enable 
us  all  to  have  d(me  with  it 

May  2Stk. — The  last  news  from  Canton  shows  that  the  kind 
of  panic  which  had  been,  in  my  opinion  most  needlessly,  got 
up,  is  subsiding,  and  the  General  has  sent  up  a  few  men— for 
which  I  ought  to  thank  him,  as  he  had  only  been  asked 
whether  he  could  supply  any  if  wanted. 

May  29th.— I  have  a  short  despatch  from  the  new  Govern- 
ment, giving  me  latitude  to  do  anything  I  choose  if  I  will  only 
finish  the  affair.  Meanwhile  Frederick  writes  from  Tientsin 
to  recommend  me  to  proceed  thither,  and  I  intend  to  be  off  this 
afternoon.  There  appears  to  be  on  the  part  of  the  Chmese  no 
attempt  at  resistance,  but  on  the  other  hand  no  movement  to 


230  FffiST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  IX.* 

treat.  This  passivity  is^  of  course,  our  danger,  and  it  is  one 
which  slowness  on  our  part  tends  to  increase.  However,  we 
must  hope  for  the  best. 

YamuTiy  Tientsin, — May  ZiHiu — Only  look  at  my  date,  does 
it  not  astonish  you  ?  I  hardly  yet  realise  to  myself  where  I 
am.  I  started  at  about  4.30  p.m.  yesterday  from  the  ^  Furious,* 
crossed  the  bar,  at  the  forts  at  the  entrance  of  the  river,  picked 
up  Gros  and  the  French  mission,  whose  vessel  could  not  get 

On  the  on,  and  moved  on  to  this  place.  The  night  was  lovely — a 
moon  nearly  full.  The  banks,  perfectly  flat  and  treeless  at 
first,  became  fringed  with  mud  villages,  silent  as  the  grave, 
and  trees  standing  like  spectres  over  the  stream.  There  we 
went  ceaselessly  on  through  this  silvery  silence,  panting  and 
breathing  flame.  Through  the  night-watches,  when  no  China- 
man moves,  when  the  junks  cast  anchor,  we  laboured  on, 
cutting  ruthlessly  and  recklessly  through  the  waters  of  that 
glancing  and  startled  river,  which,  until  within  the  last  few 
weeks,  no  stranger  keel  had  ever  furrowed  I  Whose  work  are 
we  engaged  in,  when  we  burst  thus  with  hideous  violence  and 
brutal  energy  into  these  darkest  and  most  mysterious  recesses 
of  the  traditions  of  the  past?  I  wish  I  could  answer  that 
question  in  a  manner  satisfactory  to  myself.  At  the  same 
time,  there  is  certainly  not  much  to  regret  in  the  old  civilisa- 
tion which  we  are  thus  scattering  to  the  winds.  A  dense 
population,  timorous  aud  pauperised,  such  would  seem  to  be 
its  chief  product  I  passed  most  of  the  night  on  deck,  and 
at  about  4  a.m.  we  reached  a  point  in   the   centre   of  the 

Tientsin,  suburb  of  Tientsin,  at  which  the  Great  Canal  joins  the  Tien- 
tsin or  Peiho  river.  There  I  found  the  Admirals,  Frederick, 
&c.  Frederick  had  got  this  yamun  for  us,  half  of  which  I 
have  had  to  give  to  my  French  colleague.  It  consists  of  a 
number  of  detached  rooms,  scattered  about  a  garden.  I  have 
instaUed  myself  in  the  joss-house,  my  bedroom  being  on  one 
side,  and  my  sitting-room  on  the  other,  of  the  idol's  altar.  We 
have  a  letter  informing  us  that  the  Emperor  has  named  two 
great  Officers  of  State  to  come  here  and  treat,  and  our  Admirals 
are  in  very  good  humour,  so  that  matters  look  well  for  the 
present. 

June  \8t — I  found  my  joss-house  so  gloomy  and  low,  that  I 
have  returned  to  my  first  quarter  in  the  garden,  on  a  mound 
overlooking  the  river.     It  consists  of  a  single  room,  part  of 


1868.  TIENTSIN.  251 

which  is  screened  oiF  hj  a  curtain  for  a  bedroom.  It  is  hot 
during  the  day,  but  nothing  much  to  complain  of.  I  took  a 
walk  yesterday.  The  country  is  quite  flat,  cultivated  in  wheat, 
millet,  &c.  Instead  of  the  footpaths  of  the  southern  parts  of 
China,  there  are  roads  for  carriages,  and  wheeled  carts  dragged 
by  mules'  in  tandem  going  along  them.  I  have  not  been  in  the 
town,  but  some  of  the  party  were  there  this  morning,  and  one 
had  his  pocket  picked,  which  is  a  proof  of  oivilisation.  They 
say  it  is  a  poor  place,  the  people  stupid-looking  and  curious, 
but  not  as  yet  unfriendly. 

June  4tk. —  I  am  to  have  an  interview  with  the  Chinese 
Plenipotentiaries  to-day.  I  devoutly  hope  it  may  lead  to  a 
speedy  and  satisfactory  pacific  settlement ;  but  I  am  sending 
to  Hong-kong  for  troops,  in  order  to  be  prepared  for  all 
eventualities.  In  sum,  my  policy  has  resulted  in  this: — I 
have  complete  military  command  of  the  capital  of  China, 
without  having  broken  off  relations  with  the  neutral  Powers, 
and  without  having  interrupted,  for  a  single  day,  our  trade  at 
the  different  ports  of  the  empire, 

Tientsin, — June  5th. — After  sending  off  your  letter  yester-  N^gotU. 
day,  I  went  to  have  my  first  official  interview  with  the  Chinese  ^^^' 
Plenipotentiaries.  I  made  up  my  mind,  disgusting  as  the  part 
is  to  me,  to  act  the  rdle  of  the  ^  uncontrollably  fierce  barbarian,' 
as  we  are  designated  in  some  of  the  confidential  reports  to  the 
Chinese  Government  which  have  oome  into  our  hands.  These 
stupid  people,  though  they  cannot  resist,  and  hardly  even 
make  a  serious  attempt  to  do  so,  never  yield  anything  except 
under  the  influence  of  fear ;  and  it  is  necessary  therefore  to 
make  them  feel  that  one  is  in  earnest,  and  that  they  have 
nothing  for  it  but  to  give  way.  Accordingly  I  got  a  guard  of 
150  marines  and  the  band  of  the  '  Calcutta,'  and  set  off  with  all 
my  suite  in  chairs,  tambour  bcUtant,  for  the  place  of  rendezvous. 
It  was  about  two-and-a-half  miles  off,  and  the  heat  of  the  sun 
very  great.  The  road  carried  us  through  several  narrow  streets 
of  the  suburb,  then  across  a  plain,  till  we  reached  a  temple  at 
which  the  Plenipotentiaries  were  awaiting  us.  A  dense  crowd 
of  Chinese  men — I  saw  not  one  woman — lined  the  route. 
Curiosity  chiefly  was  depicted  on  their  countenances ;  some 
looked  frightened ;  but  I  observed  no  symptoms  of  ill-will. 
At  the  entrance  of  the  temple  were  two  blind  musicians,  play- 
ing something  like  squeaking  bagpipes.     This  was  the  Chinese 


252  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  IX, 

band.  We  marched  in  with  all  our  force,  which  drew  up  in  a 
sort  of  court  before  an  open  verandah,  where  refreshments  were 
set  out,  and  the  dignitaries  awaited  us.  I  was  received  by  the 
Imperial  Commissioner,  and  conducted  to  a  seat  at  a  small 
table  covered  with  little  plates  of  sweetmeats,  &c.  One  of  the 
Chinese  Plenipotentiaries  sat  on  either  side  of  me.  It  was  a 
very  pretty  scene,  and  the  place  was  decorated  in  very  good 
taste  with  flowers,  &c.  As  my  neighbours  showed  no  disposi- 
tion to  talk,  I  began  by  asking  after  their  health  and  that  of 
the  Emperor.  They  then  said  that  they  had  received  the  Em- 
peror's orders  to  come  down  to  treat  of  our  affairs.  I  answered, 
that  although  I  was  much  grieved  by  the  neglect  of  the  Prime 
Minister  to  answer  the  letters  I  had  addressed  to  him,  yet  as 
they  had  on  their  cards  stated  that  they  had  *  full  powers,'  I 
had  consented  to  have  this  interview  in  order  that  we  might 
compare  our  powers,  and  see  whether  we  could  treat  together. 
I  told  them  that  I  had  brought  mine,  and  I  at  once  exhibited 
them,  giving  them  a  translation  of  the  documents.  They  said 
they  had  not  powers  of  the  same  kind,  but  a  decree  of  the 
Emperor  appointing  them,  and  they  brought  out  a  letter  which 
was  wrapped  up  in  a  sheet  of  yellow  paper.  The  chief  Pleni- 
potentiary rose  and  raised  the  paper  reverentially  over  his  head 
before  unfolding  it.  I  thought  the  terms  of  this  document 
rather  ambiguous,  besides  which  I  was  desirous  to  produce  a 
certain  effect ;  so  when  it  had  been  translated  to  me,  I  said  that 
I  was  not  sufficiently  satisfied  with  it  to  be  able  to  say  on  the 
spot  whether  I  could  treat  with  them  or  not ;  that  I  would,  if 
they  pleased,  take  a  copy  of  it  and  consider  the  matter ;  but 
that  I  would  not  enter  upon  business  with  them  at  present. 
So  saying  I  rose,  moved  to  the  front  of  the  stage,  and  ordered 
the  escort  to  move  and  the  chairs  to  be  brought.  This  put  the 
poor  people  into  a  terrible  fluster.  They  made  great  efforts  to 
induce  me  to  sit  down  again,  but  I  acted  the  part  of  the  *  un- 
*  controUably  fierce '  to  perfection,  and  set  off  for  my  abode.  I 
had  hardly  reached  it  when  I  received  two  cards  from  my  poor 
mandarins,  thanking  me  for  having  gone  so  far  to  meet  them,  &c. 
June  \2th, — I  have  gone  through  a  good  deal  since  we 
parted.  Certainly  I  have  seen  more  to  disgust  me  with  my 
fellow-countrymen  than  I  saw  during  the  whole  course  of  my 
previous  life,  since  I  have  found  them  in  the  East  among 
populations  too  timid  to  resist  and  too  ignorant  to  complain. 


1858.  NEGOTLVTIONS.  253 

I  have  an  instinct  in  me  which  loves  righteousness  and  hates 
iniquity,  and  all  this  keeps  me  in  a  perpetual  boil. 

June  29M. — I  have  not  written  for  some  days,  but  they 
have  been  busy  ones.  .  .  .  We  went  on  fighting  and  bullying, 
and  getting  the  poor  Commissioners  to  concede  one  point  after 
another,  till  Friday  the  25th,  when  we  had  reason  to  believe 
all  was  settled,  and  that  the  signature  was  to  take  place  on  the 
following  day.    .  .  •    On  Friday  afternoon,  however,  Baron 
Gros  came  to  me  with  a  message  &om  the  Russian  and  Ame- 
rican Ministers,  to  induce   me   to   recede   from   two  of  my 
demands  —  1.  A  resident  minister  at  Pekin;  and,  2.  Permis- 
sion to  our  people  to  tr%de  in  the  interior  of  China ;  because, 
as  they  said,  the  Chinese  Plenipotentiaries  had  told  them  that 
they  had  received  a  decree  from  the  Emperor,  stating  that  they 
should  infallibly  lose  their  heads  if  they  gave  way  on  these 
points.  .  .  .  The  resident  minister  at  Pekin  I  consider  far  the 
most  important  matter  gained  by  the  Treaty ;    the  power  to 
trade  in  the  interior  hardly  less  so.    ...    I  had  at  stake  not 
only  these  important  points  in  my  treaty,  for  which  I  had 
fought  so  hard,  but  I  know  not  what  behind.    For  the  Chinese 
are  such  fools,  that  it  was  impossible  to  tell,  if  we  gave  way  on 
one  point,  whether  they  would  not  raise  difficulties  on  every 
other.     I  sent  for  the  Admiral ;  gave  him  a  hint  that  there 
was  a  great  opportunity  for  England ;  that  all  the  Powers  were 
deserting  me  on  a  point  which  they  had  a//,  in  their  original 
applications  to  Pekin,  demanded,  and  which  they  all  intended 
to  claim  if  I  got  it ;  that  therefore  we  had  it  in  our  power  to 
claim  our  place  of  priority  in  the  East,  by  obtaining  this  when 
others  would  not  insist  on  it  ?    Would  he  back  me  ?  .  •  .  This 
was  the  forenoon  of  Saturday,  26th.     The  Treaty  was  to  be 
signed  in  the  evening.     I  may  mention,  as  a  proof  of  the  state 
of  people's  minds,  that  Admiral  Seymour  told  me  that  the 
French  Admiral  had  urged  him  to  dine  with  him,  assuring 
him  that  no  Treaty  would  be  signed  that  day  I     Well,  I  sent 
Frederick  to  the  Imperial  Commissioners,  to  tell  them  that  I  was 
indignant  beyond  all  expression  at  their  having  attempted  to 
communicate  with  me  through  third  parties ;  that  I  was  ready  to 
sign  at  once  the  Treaty  as  it  stood ;  but  that,  if  they  delayed  or 
retracted,  I  should  consider  negotiations  at  an  end,  go  to  Pekin, 
and  demand  a  great  deal  more,  &c.  .  .  .  Frederick  executed  this  Treaty 
most  difficult  task  admirably,  and  at  6  p.m.  I  signed  the  Treaty  ^^^s^ 


254  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  IX. 

of  Tientsin.  ...  I  am  now  anxiously  waiting  some  communi- 
cation from  Pekin.  Till  the  Emperor  accepts  the  Treaty,  I 
shall  hardly  feel  safe.  Please  God  he  may  ratify  without 
delay  I  I  am  sure  that  I  express  the  wish  just  as  much  in  the 
interest  of  China  as  in  ours.  Though  I  hare  been  forced  to 
act  almost  brutally,  I  am  China's  friend  in  all  this. 

Articiee  of  It  may  be  well  here  to  recapitulate  the  chief  articles 
^'  of  the  Treaty  thus  concluded,  which  may  be  briefly 
summed  up  as  follows  : — 

The  Queen  of  Great  Britain  to  be  at  liberty,  if  she 
see  fit,  to  appoint  an  Ambassador,  who  may  reside  per- 
manently at  Pekin,  or  may  visit  it  occasionally,  at  the 
option  of  the  British  Government; 

Protestants  and  Roman  Catholics  to  be  alike  entitled 
to  the  protection  of  the  Chinese  authorities ; 

British  subjects  to  be  at  liberty  to  travel  to  all  parts 
of  the  interior,  under  passports  issued  by  their  Consuls ; 

British  ships  to  be  at  liberty  to  trade  upon  the  Great 
River  (Yangtze) ; 

Five  additional  ports  to  be  opened  to  trade ; 

The  Tariff  fixed  by  the  Treaty  of  Nankin  to  be 
revised ; 

British  subjects  to  have  the  option  of  clearing  their 
goods  of  all  transit  duties  by  payment  of  a  single 
charge,  to  be  calculated  as  nearly  as  possible  at  the  rate 
of  24  per  cent,  ad  valorem  ; 

The  character  *I'  (Barbarian)  to  be  no  longer 
applied  in  official  documents  to  British  subjects ; 

The  Chinese  to  pay  2,000,000  taels  (about  650,000/.) 
for  losses  at  Canton,  and  an  equal  simi  for  the  expenses 
of  the  war. 
EeasoM  In  bringing  this  Treaty  to  a  conclusion  Lord  Elgin 

ration.  might  havc  said  of  himself  as  truly  as  of  the  brother 
who  had  so  ably  helped  him  in  arranging  its  terms,  that 
he  '  felt  very  sensibly  the  painfulness  of  the  position  of 

*  a  negotiator,  who  has  to  treat  with  persons  who  yield 

*  nothing  to  reason  and  everything  to  fear,  and  who  are 


A 


1868.  THE  TREA.TY.  255 

^  at  the  same  time  profoundly  ignorant  both  of  the  sub- 
Ejects  under  discussion  and  of  their  own  real  interests.' 
Moreover  he  had  constantly  to  recollect  that,  under  the 
'  most  favoured  nation '  clause,  every  concession  made 
to  British  subjects  would  be  claimed  by  the  subjects,  or 
persons  calling  themselves  the  subjects,  of  other  Powers, 
by  whom  they  were  only  too  likely  to  be  employed  for 
the  promotion  of  rebellion   and   disorder  within  the 
empire,  or  for  the  estabUshment  of  privileged  smug- 
gling  and  piracy  along  its  coasts  and  up  its  rivers.     In 
all  these  circumstances  he  saw  grounds  for  exercising 
forbearance  and  moderation ;  and  his  forbearance  and 
moderation  were  rewarded  by  the  readiness  with  which 
the  Emperor  sanctioned  the  Treaty,  and  the  amicable 
manner  in  which  its  details  were  subsequently  settled. 
One  exception  there  was  to  this  moderation  on  his  part,  Right  of 
and   to   this  readiness   on   theirs  ;    viz.  his   insisting,  ^"amUs- 
against  the  earnest  remonstrances  of  the  Imperial  Com-  •^^'» 
missioners,  backed  by  the  intercession  of  the  Russian 
and  American  envoys,  on  the  right  of  sending  an  am- 
bassador to  Pekin.     But  it  was  an  exception  of  that 
kind  which  is  said  to  prove  the  rule ;  for  the  stipulation 
was  one  which  could  not  lead  to   abuses,  and  which 
would   be   conducive,  as  he  believed,  in   the  highest 
den^ee  to  the  true  interests  of  both  the  contractino^ 
parties.     He  was  convinced  that  so  long  as  the  system 
of  entrusting  the  conduct  of  foreign  affairs  to  a  Pro- 
vincial Government  endured,  there  could  be  no  security 
for  the   maintenance  of  pacific  relations.     On  the  one 
hand  the  Provincial  Governors  were  entirely  without 
any  sentiment  of  nationality,  caring  for  nothing  but  the 
interests  of  their  own  provinces :   nor  were  they  in  a 
position  to   exercise   any   independence   of  judgment, 
their  lives  and  fortunes  being  absolutely  at  the  disposal 
of  a   jealous    Government,   so   that   it   was  generally 
their  most  prudent  course  to  allow  any  abuses  to  pass 
unnoticed   rather  than  risk  their   heads   by  reporting 


256 


FIRST  MISSIOX  TO  CHINA. 


Ch.  IX. 


to  be 
kept  in 
reserre. 


unwelcome  truths.  On  the  other  hand  the  central 
Govemment,  in  which  alone  a  national  feeling  and  an 
independent  judgment  were  to  be  looked  for,  was  pro- 
foundly ignorant  on  all  questions  of  foreign  policy, 
and  must  continue  to  be  so  as  long  as  the  Department 
for  Foreign  Affairs  was  established  in  the  provinces. 
For  these  reasons  he  regarded  the  principle  that  a 
British  minister  might  henceforth  reside  at  Pekin,  and 
hold  direct  intercourse  with  imperial  ministers  at  the 
capital,  as  being,  of  all  the  concessions  in  the  Treaty, 
the  one  pregnant  with  the  most  important  conse- 
quences.* 

But,  the  right  once  secured,  he  was  very  desirous 
that  it  should  be  exercised  with  all  possible  consider- 
ation for  the  long-cherished  prejudices  of  the  Chinese 
on  the  subject,  who  looked  forward  with  the  utmost 
horror  to  the  invasion  of  their  capital  by  foreign 
ministers,  with  their  wives  and  establishments ;  these 
latter  being,  as  it  appeared,  in  their  eyes  more  formid- 
able than  the  ministers  themselves.  Accordingly,  when 
the  Imperial  Commissioners  addressed  to  him  a  very 
temperate  and  respectful  communication,  urging  that 


*  AooUier  wticle  of  the  Treaty, 
thoaffh  of  less  importaoce  in  itself, 
has  been  brou<rht  by  ivcent  eventR 
into  so  much  proraineDce  that  it  maj 
be  desirable  to  give  in  full  the  views 
of  its  author  respecting  it.  In  his 
despatch  of  July  12,  having  men- 
tinned,  as  one  of  the  principal  com- 
mercial advantages  obtained  by  Bri- 
tl«h  subjects,  the  settlement  of  the 
vexed  question  of  the  transit  duti»>s, 
he  proceeds: — 'This  subject  pre- 
^  rented  con;<iderablA  difficulty.     As 

*  duties  of  octroi  are  levied  univer- 
'  sally  in  China^  on  native  as  well  as 
'  foreign  products,  and  as  canals  and 

*  roads  are  kept  up  at  the  expense  of 
'the  Government,  it  seemed  to  be 
'  unreasonable  to  require  that  articles, 

*  whether  of  foreign  or  native  pro- 
'duction,  by  the  simple  process  of 

*  passing  into  the  hands  of  foreignen, 
'  should  become  entitled  to  the  use 


of  roads  and  canals  toll-free,  and 
should,  moreover,  be  relieved  alto- 
gether from  charges  to  which  they 
would  be  liable  if  the  property  of 
natives.  On  the  other  hand,  ex- 
perience had  taught  us  the  incon- 
venience of  leaving  the  amount  of 
duties  payable  imder  the  head  of 
transit-duties  altogether  nndeter- 
niined.  By  requiring  the  rates  of 
transit-duty  to  be  published  st  each 
port ;  and  by  acquiring  for  the  Bri- 
tish subject  the  right  to  commute 
the  said  duties  for  a  payment  of  2| 
per  cent,  on  the  value  of  his  gooda 
(or  rather,  to  speak  more  correctly, 
for  the  payment  of  a  specific  duty 
calculated  at  that  rate),  I  hope  that 
I  have  provided  for  the  latter  as  ef- 
fectual a  guarantee  against  nndoe 
exactions  on  this  bead  as  can  be  ob- 
tained without  an  entire  subversion 
of  the  financial  system  of  China.* 


1868.  A  RESIDENT  MINISTER.  257 

the  exercise  of  the  Treaty-right  in  question  would  be 
of  serious  prejudice  to  China,  mainly  because,  in  the 
present  crisis  of  her  domestic  troubles  it  would  tend  to 
cause  a  loss  of  respect  for  their  Government  in  the 
minds  of  her  subjects,  he  gladly  forwarded  their  me- 
morial to  the  Government  in  England,  supporting  it 
with  the  strong  expression  of  his  own  opinion,  that  *  if 

*  Her  Majesty's  Ambassador  should  be  properly  received 
'  at  Pekin  when  the  ratifications  were  exchanged  next 

*  year,  it  would  be  expedient  that  Her  Majesty's  Repre- 
^  sentative  in  China  should  be  instructed  to  choose  a 

*  place  of  residence  elsewhere  than  at  Pekin,  and  to  make 

*  his  visits  either  periodical,  or  only  as  frequent  as  the 

*  exigencies  of  the  public  service  might  require.'  With 
much  shrewdness  he  pointed  out  that  the  actual  presence 
of  a  minister  in  a  place  so  uncongenial,  especially  dur- 
ing the  winter  months,  when  the  thermometer  falls  to 
40**  below  zero,  might  possibly  be  to  the  Mandarin  mind 
less  awe-inspiring  than  the  knowledge  of  the  fact  that 
he  had  the  power  to  take  up  his  abode  there  whenever 
the  conduct  of  the  Chinese  Government  gave  occasion; 
and  that  thus  the  policy  which  he  recommended  would 
'  leave  in  the  hands  of  Her  Majesty's  Government,  to 

*  be  wielded  at  its  will,  a  moral  lever  of  the  most  power* 
^  ful  description  to  secure  the  faithful  observance  of  the 

*  Treaty  in  all  time  to  come.' 

At  Seoy  Gulf  of  Peehett. — July  8th. — At  last  I  am  actually  Bctnra 
off— on  my  way  borne  ?  May  I  hope  that  it  is  so?  I  got  on  «>«^^*^* 
Sunday  the  Emperor's  assent  to  the  Treaty,  in  the  form  in  which 
I  required  it ;  sent  immediately  down  to  stop  the  troops,  and 
set  off  myself  on  Tuesday  at  noon  for  the  Oulf.  We  sailed 
yesterday  afternoon,  with  the  intention,  if  possible,  of  seeing 
the  great  Wall  of  China  on  our  way  to  Shanghae,  but  we  have 
not  been  very  successful,  and  have  now  put  about,  and  are 
moving  southwards.  .  •  .  Frederick  is  going  home  with  the 
Treaty,  and  I  proceed  vid  Japan.  •  •  • 

July  14M.— Frederick  embarks  to-night,  and  sails  to-morrow 

S 


258  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  IX. 

morning  at  four.     I  shall  not  know  all  that  I  losie^  publicly 
and  privately,  by  his  departure,  till  he  is  gone.  .  .  . 

Shanghaey  Sunday^  July  18^A. — I  have  just  returned  from 
church.  Such  an  ordeal  I  never  went  through.  If  a  benevo- 
lent lady,  sitting  behind  me,  had  not  taken  compassion  on  me, 
and  handed  me  a  fan,  I  think  I  should  have  fainted.  .  .  .  Every 
one  says  that  the  heat  here  surpasses  that  felt  anywhere  else. 
They  also  affirm  that  this  is  an  exceptional  season. 

July  \9th. — Writing  has  been  an  almost  impossible  task 
during  these  few  last  days.  The  only  thing  I  have  been  able  to 
do  has  been  to  find  a  doorway,  or  some  other  place,  through 
which  a  draught  was  making  its  way,  and  to  sit  there  reading. 
...  In  sending  Frederick  away,  I  have  cut  off  my  right  arm, 
but  1  think,  on  the  whole,  it  was'  better  that  he  should  take  the 
Treaty  home,  .  .  .  and  of  course  he  is  better  able  than  anyone 
else  to  explain  what  has  been  the  real  state  of  affairs  here.  .  .  . 
It  is  impossible  to  acknowledge  too  strongly  the  obligation  I 
am  under  to  him  for  the  way  in  which  he  has  helped  me  in  my 
difficulties. 
Yeh.  jy^iy  2\8t. — As  for  Yeh,  I  cannot  say  very  much  for  him ;  but 

the  account  given  of  him  by  the  Captain  of  the  '  Inflexible,' 
who  took  him  to  Calcutta,  differs  as  widely  as  possible  from 
that  of  the  Times^  Correspondent.  He  was  very  courteous 
and  considerate,  civil  to  everybody,  and  giving  no  trouble.  I 
suppose  that  there  is  no  doubt  of  the  fact  that  he  executed  a 
vast  number  of  rebels,  and  I,  certainly,  who  disapprove  of  all 
that  sort  of  thing,  am  not  going  to  defend  that  proceeding. 
But  it  is  fair  to  say  that  rebels  are  parricides  by  Chinese  law, 
and  that,  in  so  far  as  we  can  judge,  nothing  could  have  been 
more  brutal  or  more  objectless  than  this  Chinese  rebellion. 
They  systematically  murdered  all — men,  women,  and  children 
— of  the  dominant  race,  and  their  supporters,  on  whom  they 
could  lay  their  hands.  Certain  Americans  and  Europeans  took 
them  up  at  first  because  they  introduced  a  parody  of  some 
Christian  doctrines  into  their  manifestoes.  But  these  gentle- 
men are  now,  I  think,  heartily  ashamed  of  the  sympathy  which 
they  gave  them. 

July  26M. — I  heard  yesterday  a  good  piece  of  news.  The 
Emperor  has  named  my  friends,  the  Imperial  Commissioners,  to 
come  down  here  to  settle  the  tariff,  &c.  This,  I  think,  proves 
that  the  Emperor  has  made  up  his  mind  to  accept  the  Treaty 


1868.  SAILS  TO  JAPAN.  259 

and  cany  it  out.     I  hope  also  that  it  will  enable  me  to  settle 
the  Canton  affair. 

A  few  days  later,  finding  that  some  weeks  must 
elapse  before  the  Imperial  Conmiissioners  could  arrive, 
he  sailed  for  Nagasaki,  in  order  to  turn  the  interval  to 
account  by  endeavouring  to  negotiate  a  treaty  with  the 
Japanese  Government  in  accordance  with  the  instruc- 
tions which  he  had  deceived  when  leaving  England. 


63 


260  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  X* 


CHAPTER  X. 

FIRST  MISSION  TO   CHINA.     JAPAN. 

EMBARK   FOR    JAPAN COAST   VIEWS — SIMODA OFF   TEDDO — ^TEDDO — CON- 
FERENCES  A    COUNTRY   RIDE — ^PEACE   AND    PLENTY — FEUDAL   SYSTEM 

A     TEMPLE ^A    JUOOLER — SIGNING     THE    TREATY ITS     TERMS — RETRO- 
SPECT. 

^Yj^n        '  ^^  ^^^  ^^*  ^^y  ^^  "^^^y^  ^^^^''  writes  Mr.  Oliphant, 

*  we   embarked   on    board   the   "  Furious,"   delighted, 

'  under  any  circumstances,  to  escape  from  the  summer 

*  heats  of  Shanghae,  were  it  only  for  a  few  weeks  ;  but 
'  our  gratification  increased  by  the  anticipation  of 
'  visiting  scenes  which  had   ever  been   veiled  in   the 

*  mystery  of  a  jealous  and  rigid  seclusion.'  .  .  .  There 
was  a  charm  also  in  the  very  indefiniteness  and  un- 
certainty of  the  objects  of  the  expedition.     '  I  do  not 

*  exactly  know,'  wrote  Lord  Elgin,  'what  I  shall  do 
'  when  I  get  to  Nagasaki ;  but,  at  any  rate,  I  shall 
'  ascertain  what  my  chances  are  of  making  a  satis£Ebc- 

*  tory  treaty  with  Japan.' 

The  '  Furious '  was  accompanied  by  the  '  Retribution  * 
and  by  the  '  Lee '  gunboat ;  and  it  was  arranged  that 
the  Admiral  should  join  them  at  Nagasaki. 

Nagasaki. — Auguxt  Srd, — We  have  had  beautiful  weather,  and 
have  reached  this  point, — a  quiet,  small-lookiDg  town,  fringing 
the  bottom  of  a  bay,  which  is  itself  the  close  of  a  channel  pass- 
ing between  ranges  of  high  volcanic  hills,  nigged  and  bold,  but 
luxuriant  with  vegetation  and  trees,  and  cultivated  in  terraces 
up  to  their  summits.  I  have  seen  nothing  so  beautiful  in  point 
of  scenery  for  many  a  long  day.  No  sort  of  dii&culty  has  been 
made  to  our  progress  up  to  the  town.     The  only  symptom  of 


4 


1868.  ARRIVES  AT  NAGASAKI.  26X 

objection  I  observed  was  an  official  in  a  boat^  who  waved  a  fan, 
and  when  he  saw  we  took  no  notice,  sat  down  again  and  went 
on  with  a  book  which  he  seemed  to  be  reading.  On  both  sides 
of  the  channel,  however,  there  is  a  very  formidable  display  of 
cannons  and  works  of  defence,  which  I  apprehend  would  not 
be  very  formidable  in  action*  I  have  heard  little  in  the  way  of 
news  yet,  but  I  am  disposed  to  believe  that  nothing  can  be 
accomplished  here,  and  that  if  anything  is  to  be  done  we  must 
go  on  to  Yeddo.  It  is  still  hot,  but  the  air,  which  comes  down 
from  these  lofty  hills,  is,  I  think,  fresher  than  that  which  passes 
over  the  boundless  level  in  the  vicinity  of  Shanghae. 

August  Ath. — I  have  just  had  a  visit  from  the  Vice-Governor 
of  Nagasaki.  One  of  his  own  suite  did  the  interpretation.  These 
are  the  nicest  people  possible.  None  of  the  stiffiiess  and  bigotry 
of  the  Chinese.  I  gave  them  luncheon,  and  it  was  wonderful 
how  nicely  they  managed  with  knives  and  forks  and  all  other 
strange  implements.  The  Admiral  arrived  this  forenoon.  He 
now  finds  that  his  instructions  direct  him  to  send  the  '  Emperor' 
yacht  (which  is  to  be  a  present)  to  Yeddo.  I  shall  take 
advantage  of  this  and  go  to  Yeddo  myself  at  once.  I  may  do 
something,  or  find  out  what  I  can  do. 

August  5th, —  Four  r,u. — The  heat  yesterday,  and  for  the 
two  nights  at  Nagasaki,  was  very  great.  It  must  be  a  charm- 
ing ]>lace  when  the  temperature  is  low  enough  to  admit  of 
walks  into  the  country.  As  it  is,  we  have  just  passed  into  the 
sea,  through  what  Captain  Osbom  calls  a  succession  of  Mount 
Edgecumbes.  I  went  ashore  yesterday  and  this  morning, 
chiefly  to  make  purchases.  Things  here  are  really  beautiful 
and  cheap.  The  town  is  wonderfully  clean  after  China.  Not 
a  beggar  to  be  seen.  The  people  clean  too ;  for  one  of  the 
commonest  sights  is  to  see  a  lady  in  the  front  of  her  house,  or 
in  the  front-room,  wide  open  to  the  street,  sitting  in  a  tub 
washing  herself.  I  never  saw  a  place  where  the  cleanliness  of 
the  fair  sex  was  established  on  such  unimpeachable  ocular 
evidence. 

August  6th, — Four  p.m. — At  anchor  off  the  southernmost  Oales. 
point  of  Japan.  It  has  been  blowing  hard  all  day,  and  our 
captain  proposed,  that  instead  of  rounding  this  point  and 
facing  the  sea  and  wind,  against  which  we  should  not  be  able 
to  make  any  way,  we  should  creep  in  under  it  and  anchor. 
We  intend  to  remain  till  the  gale  abates.     Nothing  can  be 


262  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  X. 

finer  than  the  coast.  We  have  passed  to-day  some  very  high 
hills,  one  especially  on  an  island  to  the  right,  and  a  conical- 
shaped  one  on  the  left,  on  the  Japan  mainland.  I  see  little 
sign  of  population  on  this  coast*  off  which  we  are  anchored : 
only  one  little  fishing  village.  There  were  a  good  many 
junks  yesterday.  It  is  very  hot  though,  and  I  find  it  difficult 
to  sit  at  my  table  and  write. 

August  1th. —  TTiree  P.M. — Still  at  anchor  in  the  same  spot. 
The  storm  has  not  abated,  and  the  wind  is  dead  against  us. 
My  time  is  so  short  that  I  cannot  well  afford  to  lose  any. 

August  \Oth. — Ten  a.m. — I  wonder  if  I  shall  be  able  to  write 
a  few  lines  l^bly.  There  is  still  a  good  deal  of  motion,  but 
a  cool  breeze,  which  va  such  a  relief  after  the  sweltering  six 
weeks  we  have  spent.  Ahead  of  us  is  a  great  conical-shaped 
mountain,  the  sacred  mountain  of  Fusiama  (etymologically  *  the 
matchless  mountain '),  and  somewhere  nearer  on  the  long  range 
of  bold  coast  which  we  are  approaching,  we  expect  to  find 
Simoda.  But  I  must  tell  you  of  our  two  past  days — days  of 
suffering.  At  about  twelve  during  the  night  of  the  7th,  the 
wind  shifted  and  began  to  blow  into  our  anchorage,  so  as  to 
make  it  unsafe  to  stay  there,  and  to  promise  us  a  fair  wind  if 
we  proceeded  on  our  way ;  so  off  we  started.  We  have  had  our 
fair  wind,  but  a  great  deal  of  it ;  and  as  the  '  Furious '  is  both 
a  bad  sailer  and  a  good  roller,  we  have  passed  a  very  wretched 
time, — every  hole  through  which  air  could  come  closed.  How- 
ever, we  have  made  good  progress  and  burnt  little  coal,  which 
is  good  for  the  public  interest.  We  see  now  in  the  distance 
two  sails,  which  we  suppose  may  be  our  consorts,  the  '  Em* 
peror '  and  *  Retribution.'  We  have  travelled  some  1000  miles 
since  we  left  Shanghae,  besides  spending  two  days  at  Nagasaki* 
C(MKt  Same   day, — Noon. — It  is   a   magnificent    prospect  which 

we  have  from  the  paddle-box.  Immediately  before  us  a 
bold  junk,  its  single  large  sail  set,  and  scudding  before  the 
breeze.  Beyond,  a  white  cloud,  slight  at  the  base,  and 
swelling  into  the  shai)e  of  a  balloon  as  it  rises.  We  have  dis- 
covered that  it  rests  on  a  mountain  dimly  visible  in  the  distance, 
and  which  we  recognise  as  the  volcanic  island  of  Oosima.  To- 
wards the  right  the  wide  sea  dotted  with  two  or  three  rocky 
islets.  On  the  left  of  the  volcano  island  a  point  of  land  rising 
into  a  bold  and  rocky  coast,  along  which  the  eye  is  carried  till 
it  encounters  a  mighty  bank  of  white  clouds  piled  up  one  upon 


▼lew. 


1868.  smoDA.  263 

another,  out  of  which  rises  clear  and  blue,  with  a  white  streak 
upon  the  side  which  seems  to  tell  of  perpetual  snow,  the  cone- 
shaped  top  of  Fusiama.  Passing  on  the  eye  from  this  magnifi- 
cent object  to  the  left  still  farther,  the  rocky  coast  is  followed 
till  it  loses  itself  in  the  distance.  What  is  almost  more  charm- 
ing than  the  scene  is  the  fresh  breeze  which  is  carrying  off  the 
accumulated  fever  of  weeks. 

August  \2th, — At  sea  again.  (Grouse  day.  I  am  following  Simoda. 
different  game.)  We  dropped  anchor  in  the  harbour  of  Simoda 
on  the  10th  at  about  3  p.biL  I  went  off  immediately  to  see 
the  American  Consul-General,  Mr.  Harris,  the  only  foreigner 
resident  at  Simoda.  I  found  him  living  in  what  had  been  a 
temple,  but  what  in  point  of  fact  makes  a  very  nice  cottage, 
overlooking  the  bay.  As  soon  as  we  anchored  we  began  to  feel 
the  heat,  though  not  so  great  as  at  Shanghae.  I  found  that  the 
Consul  had  contrived  to  make  a  pretty  good  treaty  with  Japan, 
evidently  under  the  influence  of  the  contrecoup  of  our  proceed- 
ings in  China.  He  had  had  an  interview  with  the  Emperor, 
but  it  transpired  that  he  had  a  letter  of  credence,  which  I  have 
not,  and  that  Putiatine,  not  having  one,  is  not  permitted  to  go 
to  Yeddo.  I  also  learnt  that  there  is  no  way  of  communicating 
with  the  Japanese  officials  except  through  the  Dutch  language. 
Being  without  a  Dutch  interpreter,  and  without  letters  of  cre- 
dence, my  case  looked  bad  enough.  However,  I  made  great 
friends  with  the  American,  and  the  result  is  that  he  has  lent 
me  his  own  interpreter,  who  is  now  beside  me  translating  into 
Dutch  a  letter  from  me  to  the  Foreign  Minister  of  the  Japanese 
Emperor.  You  see  how  I  was  situated.  The  problem  I  had  to 
solve  was : — How  to  make  a  treaty  without  time  (for  I  cannot 
stay  here  above  a  few  days),  interpreter y  or  credentiab  1 1  When 
I  say  credentials,  I  do  not  mean  full  powers.  These  I  have, 
but  prestige  is  everything  in  the  East,  and  I  should  not  like  to 
be  prevented  from  seeing  the  Emperor,  now  that  the  American 
has  been  received.  We  shall  see  how  we  can  get  out  of  all  this. 

The  lack  of  credentials  was  practically  supplied  by 
the  steam-yacht  '  Emperor/  which  he  had  to  present  to 
the  Tycoon  as  a  gift  from  her  Majesty;  and  the  duties 
of  interpreter  were  discharged  for  him  throughout  in 
the  most  eflScient  manner  by  the  gentleman  above  re- 
ferred to,  Mr.  Heusken,  the  American  Secretary,  whom 


264  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHIXA.  Ch.  X. 

he  found  ^  not  only  competent  for  his  special  work,  but 
^  also  in  the  highest  degree  intelligent  and  obliging/ 

Same  date. — Simoda  is  a  pretty  place^  Ijring  on  flat  ground 
at  the    head    of  a  short  bay,  with  rocky  volcanic-looking 
hiUs,  covered  widi  fine  trees  and  intersected  by  valleys  all 
jbnia-         around.     The  people  seem  the  most  amiable  on  earth.     Crime 
bility.         nQ  j  pauperism  seem  Uttle  known.  All  anxious  to  do  kindnesses 
to  strangers,  and  steadily  refusing  pay.     There  are  innumer- 
able officials  with  their  double-swords,  but  they  appear  to  be 
on  the  most  easy  terms  with  the  people.     To  judge  from  the 
amount  of  clothing  worn  by  both  sexes,  it  does  not  seem  likely 
that  there  will  be  any  great  demand  for  Manchester  cotton 
goods.     I  cannot  say  what  it  may  be  in  winter,  but  in  summer 
dfluili*       they  seem  to  place  a  very  filial  reliance  on  nature.     They  are 
^^^'^  the  cleanest  people  too.    The  floors  of  their  houses  are  covered 

with  mats  which  are  stuffed  beneath,  and  which  serve  for  beds, 
floors,  tables,  &c.  It  is  proper  to  take  off  the  shoes  or  sandals 
on  entering  the  houses  or  temples.  I  looked  into  one  or  two 
bathing-houses,  which  are  most  unlike  those  I  saw  at  Shang- 
hae ; — an  inner  room  which  is  a  kind  of  steam-bath,  and  an 
outer  room  where  the  process  of  drying  goes  on.  The  differ- 
ence in  China  is,  that  it  is  only  the  men  that  clean  themselves 
there,  whereas  the  rights  of  the  fair  sex  on  this  point  are  fully 
recognised  in  Japan,  and  in  order  that  there  may  be  no  in- 
equality in  the  way  they  are  exercised,  all  bathe  together.  I 
Templet,  visited  some  temples.  Though  Buddhistic,  they  had  not  the 
hideous  figures  which  are  seen  in  the  Chinese  temples.  They 
were  generally  prettily  situated  near  the  foot  of  the  rocky  and 
wood-covered  cliffii,  with  flights  of  steps  running  up  to  shrines 
among  the  rocks.  They  were  surrounded  by  numerous  monu- 
ments to  the  departed,  consisting  generally  of  little  pilasters, 
squared  on  the  sides,  and  bearing  inscriptions,  surrounded  by 
a  coping  or  ball.  On  the  pedestal,  &c.,  in  front  of  the  pilaster, 
generally,  were  one  or  two  branches  of  what  looked  like  myrtle 
stuck  into  pieces  of  bamboo  which  serve  for  flower-pots.  These 
monuments,  crowded  together  around  the  temples  and  over- 
shadowed by  the  lofty  trees,  had  a  very  graceful  effect. 

We  have  just  committed  an  act  of  vigour.  In  place  of  going 
into  the  harbour  of  Kanagawa  where  Count  Putiatine  is  at 
anchor,  I  have  determined  to  proceed  to  a  point  several  miles 
higher  up  nearer  to  Yeddo.  We  completely  foil  by  our  audacity 


1858.  OFF  YEDDO.  265 

all  the  poor  Japanese  officials.  I  have  said  nothing  of  the  bazaar 
of  Simoda,  where  there  were  a  great  many  pretty  things,  of 
which  I  bought  some,  nor  of  a  visit  which  the  Governor  paid 
to  me.  He  was  a  very  jolly  fellow,  liked  his  luncheon  and  a 
joke.  He  made  the  conventional  protests  against  my  going 
on,  &c.,  but  when  he  saw  it  was  of  no  use»  he  dropped  the 
subject.  The  Japanese  are  a  most  curious  contrast  to  the 
Chinese,  so  anxious  to  learn,  and  so  prSoenants.  God  grant 
that  in  opening  their  country  to  the  West,  we  may  not  be 
bringing  upon  them  misery  and  ruin. 

Off  Yeddo. — August  14M. — We  moved  yesterday  to  within  Off  Yeddo. 
about  one  mile  of  the  shore  off  the  suburb  of  Yeddo.  The  shore 
is  flat,  and  the  buildings  of  the  town,  interspersed  with  trees 
and  enclosures,  seem  to  stretch  to  a  great  distance  along  the 
crescent-shaped  bay.  Immediately  in  front  of  the  town  and 
opposite  to  us  are  five  large  batteries.  Four  Japanese  men-of- 
war  built  on  European  models  are  anchored  beside  us.  Three 
princes  came  off  to  see  me  yesterday.  They  were  exceedingly 
civil,  but  very  anxious  to  get  me  to  go  back  to  Kanagawa,  a 
port  about  ten  miles  down  the  bay,  from  which  they  said  they 
would  convey  me  by  land  to  Yeddo.  Of  course  I  would  not 
agree  to  this.  They  were  very  much  puzzled  (and  no  wonder) 
by  my  two  names.  I  complimented  the  prince  on  the  beauti- 
ful Fusiama,  calling  it  a  high  mountain.  *  Oh ! '  he  said  at 
once, '  I  have  seen  a  scale  of  mountains,  and  I  know  that  there 
'  are  many  much  higher  than  Fusiama.'  There  were  persons  in 
the  suite  taking  down  in  shorthand  every  word  that  passed  in 
conversation,  and  I  thought  I  saw  in  one  of  their  note-books 
a  sketch  of  my  face.  No  doubt  these  were  spies  also,  to  watch 
and  report  on  the  proceedings  of  the  officials,  for  that  seems  to 
be  the  great  means  of  government  in  Japan.  Still  there  is  no 
appearance  of  oppression  or  fear  anywhere.  It  seems  to  be  a 
matter  of  course  that  every  man  should  fill  the  place  and  per- 
form the  function  which  custom  and  law  prescribe,  and  that  he  Sanctity  of 
should  be  denounced  if  he  fail  to  do  so.  The  Emperor  is  never 
allowed  to  leave  the  precincts  of  his  palace,  and  everybody, 
high  and  low,  is  under  a  rigid  rule  of  convenances,  which  does 
not  seem  to  be  felt  to  be  burdensome.  I  am  afraid  they  are 
not  much  disposed  to  do  things  in  a  hurry,  and  that  I  must 
discover  some  means  of  hastening  them,  if  I  am  to  get  my 
treaty  before  returning  to  Shanghae. 

August  16rt. — Princes,  five  in  number,  arrived  on  board 


266  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  X. 

yesterday  at  about  3  p.m.  Among  them  was  the  Lord  High 
Admiral,  a  very  intelligent  well-bred  man.  It  was  agreed  that 
I  was  to  land  to-day,  and  some  discussion  took  place  as  to  the 
house  I  was  to  inhabit  They  said  that  they  could  give  me 
the  choice  of  two,  but  that  they  recommended  the  one  farthest 
from  the  palace  as  being  in  best  repair.  I  chose  the  one  nearest 
the  palace,  because  one  is  always  obliged  to  be  on  one's  guard 
against  slights,  but  it  has  rained  so  much  to-day  that  I  have 
sent  to  say  that  I  will  not  land  till  to-morrow,  and  to  inquire 
where  I  can  really  be  best  lodged.  I  have  handed  to  the  au- 
thorities a  draft  of  my  treaty.  The  chief  interpreter,  by  name 
Moriama  (the  '  wooded  mountain  '),  a  very  acute  and  smooth- 
spoken gentleman,  who  told  one  of  my  party  yesterday  that  the 
princes  who  have  come  off  to  me  are  Free  Traders,  and  that 
this  is  the  spirit  of  the  Government,  but  that  some  of  the 
Hereditary  hereditary  princes  are  very  much  opposed  to  intercourse  with 
^^^  foreigners,  and  that  some  little  time  ago  it  was  apprehended 

that  they  would  raise  a  rebellion  against  the  Government,  in 
consequence  of  the  concessions  it  is  making.  The  official 
princes  are  named  by  the  Emperor  for  life,  but  the  hereditary 
ones  are  great  feudal  chiefs  owing  rather  a  qualified  allegiance 
to  the  Emperor.  Moriama  pretended  that  he  and  his  friends 
had  seen  the  arrival  of  our  ship  with  pleasure,  but  of  course 
one  never  knows  whether  to  believe  a  word  they  say. 
Teddo.  Yeddo. — August  I8M,  Seven  A.M. — Here  I  am  installed  in  a 

building  which  forms  the  dependence  of  a  temple.  It  consists 
of  some  small  rooms  forming  two  sides  of  a  square,  with  a  ve- 
randah running  in  front  of  them.  From  the  verandah  you  step 
into  a  garden  not  very  well  kept,  with  a  pond  and  trees,  and 
some  appearance  of  care  in  laying  it  out  In  the  centre  is  the 
temple,  with  a  back-door  opening  into  the  garden.  I  entered 
it  yesterday,  and  found  a  ^  buddha '  coming  out  of  the  lotus, 
looking  very  freshly  gilt  and  well  cared  for.  There  were  in  the 
temple  two  or  three  priests,  who  seem  to  live  there ;  at  any 
rate,  one  was  asleep  on  the  matting,  which,  as  I  told  you,  is  in 
Japanese  houses  laid  on  the  top  of  a  bed  of  straw.  They  are 
charmingly  soft  and  clean,  as  all  shoes  are  put  off  on  entering. 
The  natives  use  neither  tables,  chairs,  nor  beds.  They  lie,  sit, 
and  feed  on  this  matting.  They  have  made  considerable  exer- 
tions, however,  to  fit  up  our  houses  on  European  principles.  We 
landed  yesterday  at  noon.  The  day  was  fine,  and  the  procession 


1 


1858.  YEDDO^  267 

of  boatB  imposing.  An  immenBe  crowd  of  good-natured,  curious 
people  lined  both  sides  of  the  streets  along  which  we  passed. 
The  streets  are  wide  and  handsome.  We  were  preceded  and 
accompanied  by  oflScers  to  keep  off  the  crowd,  but  a  blow  with 
a  fan  was  the  heaviest  penalty  that  I  saw  inflicted  on  anyone 
breaking  the  line.  At  every  fifty  yards,  or  so,  the  street  was 
crossed  by  large  gates,  which  were  closed  as  soon  as  our  pro- 
cession passed  through,  which  prevented  a  rush  after  us.  On 
arriving,  as  I  had  nothing  else  to  do,  I  proposed  a  ride  through 
the  town,  to  the  considerable  consternation  of  our  attendants. 
We  set  off  on  saddles  made  of  hard  and  rather  sharp  bits  of 
wood,  stirrups  which  I  can't  undertake  to  describe,  and  our 
knees  in  our  mouths.  However,  we  made  our  way  to  the 
quarter  of  the  Palace  or  Castle.  As  we  approached  it,  we 
passed  through  streets  inhabited  by  princes.  I  did  not  enter 
any  of  their  houses,  but  they  seem  to  be  constructed  somewhat 
on  the  principle  of  the  entre  cour  et  jardin  houses  in  parts  of 
Paris.  On  the  street  front  the  offices,  substantially  built,  and 
often  with  very  handsome  gateways.  The  '  Castle '  is  sur-  The 
rounded  by  three  concentric  enclosures,  consisting  of  walls  and  '  (^^•' 
moata.  They  are  at  a  considerable  distance  firom  each  other,  . 
and  the  Emperor  resides  in  the  innermost  enclosure,  from  which 
he  never  goes  out.  The  intervals  between  the  enclosures  are 
filled  up  with  handsome  houses,  &c.  We  passed  over  the  first 
moat,  and  rode  up  to  the  second.  When  we  came  up  to  the 
second  we  discovered  a  spectacle  which  was  really  very  grand. 
The  moat  was  some  forty  or  fifty  yards  wide ;  beyond  it  a  high 
bank  of  grass  nicely  kept,  with  trees  rather  like  yews  every 
here  and  there  dropped  upon  it  The  crest  of  the  bank  seemed 
to  be  crowned  by  a  temple,  surrounded  by  trees.  The  stone 
wall  was  on  a  grand  scale,  and  well  fini^ed.  In  short,  the 
whole  thing  would  have  been  considered  magnificent  anywhere. 
After  China,  where  everything  is  mesquin,  and  apparently 
en  dicadence,  it  produces  a  great  effect.    I  did  not  see  a  single  ^ 

beggar  in  the  streets ;  and  as  in  this  ride  of  yesterday  we  took 
our  own  way,  without  giving  any  notice,  we  must  have  seen 
the  streets  in  their  usual  guise. 

My  poor,  dear  friends,  the  Japanese,  object  to  everything 
and  always  give  way.»     It  is  a  bad  plan,  because  it  forces 

»  Not  80,  however,  in  the  actual      of   later  date   he   writes :    '  I  waa 
work  of  negotiating.    In  a  despatch      '  much  struck  by  the  buamesa-iuie 


268 


FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA. 


Ch.  X, 


Confer- 
ence, 


Aeonntxy 
side* 


one  to  be  very  peremptory  and  overbearing.  Nothing  can  be 
milder  than  their  objections,  but  they  lose  time.  I  have  told 
them  that  I  must  see  the  Foreign  Minister  to-day,  and  that 
I  must  have  another  house,  as  the  situation  of  this  one  is  not 
sufficiently  aristocratic.  I  do  not  know,  however,  whether  I 
shall  press  the  latter  point,  as  it  will  put  myself  ta  much  in- 
convenience. 

August  19fA. —  In  the  evening,  I  visited  the  Foreign  Minister^ 
or  rather,  the  two  Foreign  Ministers  (I  believe  there  are  three, 
but  one  is  unwell).  I  took  my  whole  staff,  but  only  my  secre- 
tary and  interpreter  remained  in  the  room  when  we  came  to 
talk  of  business.  There  has  been  a  change  of  Government, 
and  the  present  Foreign  Secretaries  seem  stupid  enough.  The 
Government  seems  to  be  a  sort  of  oligarchy  in  the  hands  of  the 
hereditary  princes.  Count  Putiatine,  who  has  just  been  with 
me,  tells  me  that  he  does  not  consider  the  officers,  with  whom 
we  are  negotiating,  princes  at  all.  They  have  the  title  of  Kami, 
but  it  is  not  hereditary,  and  they  are  altogether  inferior  to  the 
others.  Both  have  the  title  of  Kami,  but  the  hereditary 
princes  are  also  called  Daimios, 

August  2  \st — On  the  1 9th,  the  Plenipotentiaries  appointed  to 
treat  with  me  came.  They  are  six  in  number.  We  exchanged 
our  full  powers,  and  I  made  some  difficulty  about  theirs,  but 
was  satisfied  by  their  explanations.  After  the  seance,  I  went 
out  riding  through  the  streets.  I  had  not  given  notice,  and 
we  went  through  a  densely  peopled  quarter,  which  gave  me  an 
opportunity  of  seeing  something  of  the  popular  feeling.  We 
were  followed  by  immense  crowds,  among  whom  some  boys 
took  to  hooting,  and  by  degrees  to  throwing  stones.  This  got 
rather  disagreeable,  so  at  length  we  took  to  stopping  at  the 
gates,  turning  right  about,  and  facing  the  mob  with  our  horses, 
until  the  gates  were  shut.  It  proves  to  me,  however,  that  it 
is  not  prudent  to  go  about  without  a  good  Japanese  escort. 
Yesterday  we  had  a  most  charming  expedition  into  tlie  country. 


'manner  in  which  they  did  their 
'  work;  making  very  shrewd  obeerva- 
'tiona,  and  putting  veiy  pertinent 
'questions,  but  by  no  means  in  a 
'captious  or  cavilling  spirit.  Of 
'course  their  criticisms  were  some- 
'  times  the  result  of  imperfect  ac- 
'  quaintance  with  foreign  affairs,  and 
'  it  was  occasionally  necessary  to  re- 


'  move  their  scruples  by  alterations  in 
'  the  text  which  were  not  improve- 
'ments;  but  on  the  whole,  I  am 
'  bound  to  say  that  I  never  treated 
'with  persons  who  seemed  to  me, 
'within  the  limits  of  their  know- 
'  ledge,  to  be  more  reasonable.' — See 
also  tn/ro,  p.  270. 


1868.  PEACE  AND  PLENTY.  269 

We  started  at  about  1 1  a.m.,  rode  first  to  the  road  I  have 
already  described,  and  which  runs  along  the  moat  of  the  second 
enclosure  of  the  Emperor's  domain.  We  passed  alongside  of 
this  enclosure.  The  effect  of  the  domain  within,  with  its 
dropping  trees  (not  yews,  I  see,  but  pines  of  some  sort,  many 
of  them  with  spreading  branches  like  cedars),  being  somewhat 
that  of  a  magnificent  English  park.  This,  mind  you,  in  the 
centre  of  a  citv  of  two  or  three  millions  of  inhabitants. 

Sunday y  August  22nd. — We  then  passed  through  the  gate  of 
the  outermost  enclosure  on  the  opposite  side,  and  entered  some 
crowded  streets  beyond,  through  which  we  made  our  way, 
passing  on  our  right  the  palace  of  the  greatest  of  the  hereditary 
princes,  really  an  imposing  mass  of  building.  Beyond,  we  got 
into  the  country,  consisting  at  first  of  a  sort  of  long  street  of 
quaint  cottages  with  thatched  or  tiled  roofs,  embosomed  in 
gardens,  and  interspersed  with  ayenues  conducting  to  temples. 
Further  on  were  cultivated  fields,  with  luxuriant  crops  of  great 
variety :  rice,  sweet  potato,  egg-plant,  peas,  millet,  yams,  taro, 
melons,  &c.  &c.  At  last,  we  reached  a  place  of  refreshment, 
consisting  of  a  number  of  kiosques,  on  the  bank  of  a  stream, 
with  a  waterfall  hard  by,  and  gardens  with  rock-work  (not 
m^sguin,  as  in  China,  but  really  pretty  and  in  good  taste) 
opposite.  Here  we  had  luncheon.  Fruit«,  and  a  kind  of 
Julienne  soup ;  not  bad,  but  rather  maigrey  served  to  us  by 
charming  young  ladies,  who  presented  on  their  knees  the  trays 
with  the  little  dishes  upon  them.  The  repast  finished,  we  set 
out  on  our  return  (for  we  had  overshot  our  mark),  and  visited 
the  gardens,  which  were  the  object  of  our  expedition.  They 
had  the  appearance  of  nursery  gardens,  with  rows  of  pots 
containing  dwarf-trees  and  all  manner  of  quaint  products ; 
all  this,  moreover,  in  a  prettily  aceidente  country,  abounding  in 
forest  trees  and  luxuriant  undergrowth.  We  got  back  at 
about  7  P.M.,  having  met  with  no  mishap. 

On  the  whole,  I  consider  it  the  most  interesting  expedition  Peare  mod 
I  ever  made.  The  total  absence  of  anything  like  want  among  ^  *°*^* 
the  people;  their  joyous,  though  polite  and  respectful  de- 
meanour ;  the  combination  of  that  sort  of  neatness  and  finish 
which  we  attain  in  England  by  the  expenditure  of  great 
wealth,  with  tropical  luxuriance,  made  me  feel  that  at  last  I 
had  found  something  which  entirely  surpassed  all  the  expecta- 
tions I  had  formed.     And  I  am  bound  to  say,  that  the  social 


270  FEEEST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  X. 

and  moral  condition  of  Japan  has  astonished  me  quite  as  mnch 
as  its  material  beauty.  Every  man,  from  the  Emperor  (who 
never  leaves  his  palace)  to  the  humblest  labourer,  lives  under 
a  rigid  rule,  prescribed  by  law  and  custom  combined ;  and  the 
Government,  through  its  numerous  agents,  among  whom  are 
hosts  of  spies,  or  more  properly  inspectors  (for  there  is  no 
secresy  or  concealment  about  this  proceeding),  exercises  a  close 
surveillance  over  the  acts  of  each  individual ;  but,  in  so  far  as 
one  can  judge,  this  system  is  not  felt  to  be  burdensome  by  any. 
All  seem  to  think  it  the  most  natural  thing  in  the  world  that 
they  should  move  in  the  orbit  in  which  they  are  placed.  The 
agents  of  authority  wear  their  two  swords ;  but,  as  they  never 
use  them  except  for  the  purpose  of  ripping  themselves  up,  the 
privilege  does  not  seem  to  be  felt  to  be  invidious.  &f y  inter- 
Good  preter,  a  Dutchman,  lent  to  me  by  the  United  States  Consul- 
General,  has  been  two  years  in  the  country,  and  he  assures  me 
that  he  never  saw  a  Japanese  in  a  passion,  and  never  saw  a 
parent  beat  a  child.  An  inexhaustible  fund  of  good  temper 
seems  to  prevail  in  the  community.  Whenever  in  our  discus- 
sions on  business  we  get  on  rough  ground,  I  always  find  that 
a  joke  brings  us  at  once  upon  the  level  again.  Yesterday,  at  a 
formal  audience  with  the  Foreign  Ministers  (to  settle  about  the 
lianding  over  of  the  yacht),  they  began  to  propose  that,  in 
addition  to  the  Commissioners,  I  should  allow  some  other 
officers  (probably  spies  or  inspectors)  to  be  present  at  our 
discussions  on  the  clauses  of  the  Treaty.  After  treating  this 
seriously  for  some  moments,  without  settling  it  to  their  satis- 
faction, I  at  once  carried  the  day,  by  saying  laughingly,  that 
as  they  were  six  to  one  already,  they  ought  not  to  desire  to 
have  more  chances  in  their  favour.  This  provoked  a  counter- 
laugh  and  a  compliment,  and  no  more  was  said  about  the  spies. 
When  the  Commissioners  came  yesterday  afternoon  to  go 
through  the  clauses  of  the  Treaty  with  me,  I  was  much  pleased 
with  the  manner  in  which  they  took  to  their  work,  raising 
questions  and  objections  in  a  most  business-like  manner,  but 
without  the  slightest  appearance  of  captiousness  or  a  desire  to 
make  difficulties.  Their  interpreter,  Moriama,  is  a  very  good 
Dutch  scholar,  and,  of  course,  being  a  remarkably  shrewd 
gentleman  withal,  has  a  leading  part  in  the  proceedings ;  but 
all  seem  to  take  an  intelligent  share. 
Temples.         I  went  into  the  temple  of  which  this  building  forms  a  part. 


1868.  FEUDAL  SYSTEIL  271 

this  morning.  Two  priests  came  np  to  me,  knelt  down,  and 
laid  before  me  two  pages  of  paper,  holding  out  to  me  at  the 
some  time  the  painting-brush  and  Indian  inkstand,  which  is 
the  inseparable  companion  of  every  Japanese,  and  making 
signs  which  I  interpreted  into  a  request  that  I  would  write 
down  my  name.  I  sat  down  on  the  floor,  and  complied  with 
their  request,  which  seemed  to  please  them.  The  priests 
appear  by  no  means  so  wretched  here  as  in  China,  and  the 
temples  are  in  much  better  case.  I  have  not,  however,  seen 
many  of  them. 

It  is  difficult,  of  course,  to  speak  positively  of  the  political  Political 
condition  of  a  country  of  which  one  knows  so  little ;  but  ^"*^^<""» 
there  seems  to  be  a  kind  of  feudal  system  in  vigour  here. 
The  hereditary  princes  (Daimios),  some  360  in  number  (I 
doubt  much  their  being  all  equally  powerful),  exercise  exten- 
sive jurisdiction  in  their  respective  domains.  A  Dutch  officer, 
who  visited  one  of  these  domains  in  a  Japanese  man-of-war, 
found  that  the  chieftain  would  not  allow  even  the  officers  of 
the  Japanese  Emperor  to  land  on  his  territory.  The  only 
control  which  the  Emperor  exerts  over  them  is  derived  from 
his  requiring  all  their  wives  and  families  to  live  at  Yeddo  per- 
manently. The  Daimios  themselves  spend  half  the  year  in 
Yeddo,  and  the  other  half  at  their  country  places.  The  Su- 
preme Council  of  State  appears  to  be  in  a  great  measure 
named  by  the  Daimios,  and  the  recent  change  of  Grovemment 
is  supposed  to  have  been  a  triumph  of  the  protectionist  or 
anti-foreign  party.  There  is  no  luxury  or  extravagance  in  any 
class.  No  jewels  or  gold  ornaments  even  at  Court ;  but  the 
nobles  have  handsome  palaces,  and  large  bodies  of  retainers. 
A  perfectly  paternal  government ;  a  perfectly  filial  people  ;  a 
community  entirely  self-supporting ;  peace  within  and  without ; 
no  want ;  no  ill-will  between  classes.  This  is  what  I  find  in 
Japan  in  the  year  1858,  afler  one  hundred  years'  exclusion  of 
foreign  trade  and  foreigners.  Twenty  years  hence,  what  will 
be  the  contrast  ? 

August  27th. — Here  I  am  at  sea  again.  It  is  9  p.m.  I 
have  just  been  on  deck.  A  lovely  moon,  nearly  full,  gliding 
through  cloudless  blue,  spangled  here  and  there  with  bright 
twinkling  stars.  I  begin  to  feel  as  if  at  last  I  was  really  on 
my  way  home.  Both  my  treaties  are  made,  and  I  am  steering 
westwards  !  -  Is  it  so  or  am  I  to  meet  some  great  disappoint* 


272  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  X. 

ment  when  I  reach  China?  I  feel  a  sort  of  terror  when  I 
contemplate  my  return  to  that  place.  My  trip  to  Japan  has 
been  a  green  spot  in  the  desert  of  my  mission  to  the  East. 

But  I  must  tell  you  how  I  have  been  spending  my  days  since 
the  22nd5  when  I  last  added  a  word  to  this  letter.  On  the 
afternoon  of  that  day,  I  had  a  long  sitting  with  the  Japanese 
Plenipotentiaries,  and  we  went  over  the  clauses  of  the  Treaty 
which  we  had  not  reached  on  the  previous  day.  On  the  23rd 
they  returned,  and  we  agreed  finally  on  all  the  articles.  It 
was  also  settled  that  the  signature  should  take  place  on  the 
26th  (the  very  day  two  months  after  the  signature  of  the 
Treaty  of  Tientsin),  and  that  the  delivery  of  the  yacht  should 
take  place  on  the  same  day  ;  the  Japanese  agreeing  to  salute 
the  British  flag  with  twenty-one  guns  from  their  batteries— a 
proceeding  unheard  of  in  Japan.  On  the  24th,  we  took  a  ride 
into  the  country,  in  the  opposite  direction  to  our  former  ride. 
We  passed  through  a  long  suburb  on  the  shore  of  the  sea,  and 
eventually  emerged  into  a  rural  district,  rich  and  neat  as  that 
we  had  formerly  visited ;   but  as  the  country  was  flat,  it  was 

A  temple,  hardly  SO  interesting.  The  object  of  our  visit  was  a  temple, 
far  the  finest  I  have  seen  either  in  China  or  Japan.  We 
had  some  luncheon  in  a  tea-house,  and  got  back  at  about  7 
P.M.  On  the  25th,  we  went  to  another  temple,  through  the 
most  crowded  part  of  the  city  (where  we  were  stoned  before). 
We  were  followed  by  large  multitudes,  but  nothing  disagree- 
able took  place.  At  the  temple  we  found  a  scene  somewhat 
resembling  Greenwich  Fair.  Immense  numbers  of  people 
amusing  themselves  in  all  sorts  of  ways.  Stalls  covered  with 
toys  and  other  wares ;  kiosques  for  tea ;  show  places,  &c.  &c. 
Life  seems  an  afiair  of  enjoyment  in  Japan.  We  made  some 
purchases,  and  got  home  by  about  5  p.m.,  in  order  to  receive 
a  party.     I  had  invited  the  Imperial  Commissioners  to  dine 

A  juggler,  with  me,  and  requested  that  they  would  send  a  juggler  to 
perform  before  dinner.  They  tried  to  fight  shy  after  having 
accepted,  I  suppose  because  they  considered  it  infra  dig.  to 
attend  at  the  performance  of  the  juggler ;  but  they  came  at  last, 
and  enjoyed  the  dinner  part  of  the  affair  thoroughly.  The 
juggler  was  good,  but  one  particular  feat  was  beyond  praise* 
He  twisted  a  bit  of  paper  into  the  shape  of  a  butterfly,  and 
kept  it  hovering  and  fluttering,  lighting  here  or  there,  on  a 
fan  which  he  held  in  his  other  hand,  on  a  bunch  of  flowers^ 


1858.  JAPANESE  TREATY.  273 

&C.9 — all  by  the  action  on  the  air,  produced  by  a  fan  which  he 
held  in  the  right  hand.  At  one  time  he  started  two  butterflies, 
and  kept  them  both  on  the  wing.  It  was  the  most  graceful 
trick  I  ever  saw,  and  entirely  an  affair  of  skilly  not  trick.  The 
juggler  was  succeeded  by  the  dinner,  which  I  wound  up  by 
giving  sundry  toasts,  with  all  the  honours,  to  the  great  amuse- 
ment of  my  Commissioners.  Thursday  morning  was  occupied 
in  paying  bills,  which  was  a  most  diflScult  matter,  as  the  Go- 
Tcmment  will  not  allow  the  people  to  take  money  in  the  shops, 
and  the  complication  of  accounts  was  very  great.  The  accuracy 
of  the  Japanese  in  these  matters  is,  however,  very  great. 

At  1  P.M.  the  Commissioners  came  to  sign  the  Treaty.  Signing^ 
We  have  agreed  to  make  the  Dutch  copy  the  original,  as  it  ^*^'^^*^*^y 
is  the  language  both  parties  understand.  The  Dutch  copy, 
written  by  their  man  Moriama,  was  so  beautifully  written, 
that  I  have  kept  it  to  send  to  England.  After  the  signature, 
I  lunched  on  a  dinner  sent  me  by  the  Emperor  ;  not  so  bad, 
after  all.  About  3  p.m.  I  set  off  to  go  on  board  the 
^  Emperor '  yacht,  which  I  reached  at  about  5 ;  immediately 
after  which  the  Japanese  fort  saluted  the  British  flag  with 
twenty-one  guns  (ten-inch  guns) ;  as  good  a  salute  as  I  ever 
heard,  an  exact  interval  of  ten  seconds  between  each  gun. 
The  Japanese  flag  was  then  hoisted  on  the  *  Emperor,'  and 
saluted  by  the  *  Retribution '  and '  Furious '  with  twenty-one  guns 
each.  We  ended  the  day  with  a  collation  on  board  the  *  Retri- 
bution,* and  trip  in  the  *  Emperor ;  *  and  as  I  was  pacing  the 
deck  of  the  '  Furious,'  before  retiring  to  rest,  after  my  labours 
were  over,  to  my  great  surprise  I  observed  that  the  forts  were 
illuminated  !  Imagine  our  daring  exploit  of  breaking  through 
every  consigne,  and  coming  up  to  Yeddo,  having  ended  in  an 
illumination  of  the  forts  in  our  honour  I  At  4  A.M.  this 
morning  we  weighed  anchor,  and  are  now  some  140  miles  on 
our  way  to  Shanghae. 

The  principal  advantages  secured  to  England  by  this  Articles 
Treaty,  so  amicably  and  rapidly  settled,  were  the  follow-  Treaty. 
ing  :— 

Power  to  appoint  a  Diplomatic  Agent  to  reside  at 
Yeddo,  and  Consuls  at  the  open  ports ; 

Ample  recognition  of  Consular  jurisdiction  and  of 
the  immunities  of  exterritoriality ; 

T 


274  FIBST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  •    Ch,  X. 

The  opening  to  British  subjects,  at  specified  periods, 
of  several  of  the  most  important  ports  and  cities  of 
Japan  ; 

Power  to  land  and  store  supplies  for  the  use  of  the 
British  navy  at  Kanagawa,  Hakodadi,  and  Nagasaki, 
without  payment  of  duty ; 

Power  to  British  subjects  to  buy  from  and  sell  to 
Japanese  subjects  directly,  without  the  intervention  of 
the  Japanese  authorities ; 

Foreign  coin  to  pass  for  corresponding  weights  of 
Japanese  coin  of  the  same  description ; 

Abolition  of  tonnage  and  transit  dues ; 

Reduction  of  duties  on  exports  from  35  per  cent,  to 
a  general  rate  of  5  per  cent,  ad  valorem. 

The  concessions  obtained  from  the  Japanese  by  the 
Treaty  of  Yeddo  were  not,  in  some  important  parti- 
culars, so  considerable  as  those  which  had  been  made  by 
China  in  the  Treaty  of  Tientsin.  It  was,  however,  a 
material  advance  on  all  previous  treaties  with  Japan, 
and  it  opened  the  door  to  the  gradual  establishment  of 
relations  of  commerce  and  amity  between  the  people  of 
the  West  and  that  of  Japan,  which  might  become,  as 
Lord  Elgin  hoped  and  believed,  of  the  most  cordial 
and  intimate  character,  '  if  the  former  did  not,  by  inju- 
'  dicious  and  aggressive  acts,  rouse  against  themselves 
*  the  fears  and  hostility  of  the  natives.* 

Betrospect.  August  ZOth. — Eleven  A.M. — We  are  again  plunging  into 
the  China  Sea,  and  quitting  the  only  place  which  I  ^ave  left 
with  any  feeling  of  regret  since  I  reached  this  abominable 
East, — abominable,  not  so  much  in  itself,  as  because  it  is 
strewed  all  over  with  the  records  of  our  violence  and  fraud, 
and  disregard  of  right.  The  exceeding  beauty  external  of 
Japan,  and  its  singular  moral  and  social  picturesqueness, 
cannot  but  leave  a  pleasing  impression  on  the  mind.  One 
feels  as  if  the  position  of  a  Daimio  in  Japan  might  not  be  a  bad 
one,  with  two  or  three  millions  of  vassals  ;  submissive,  but  not 
servile,  because  there  is  no  contradiction  between  their  sense 
of  fitness  and  their  position. 


1858.  DELAYS.  275 


CHAPTER  XL 

FIRST  MISSION  TO   CHINA.     THE  YANGTZE  KIANG. 

DELAYS — SUBTERFUGES  DEFEATED  BT  FIRMNESS — REVISED  TARIFF — OPIUM 
TRADE — UP  THE  YANGTZE  KIANG — SILVER  ISLAND — ^NANKIN — REBEL 
WARFARE — THE  HEN- BARRIER — UNKNOWN  WATERS — DIFFICULT  NAVIGA- 
TION  HANKOW — THE     GOVERNOR-GENERAL — RETURN — ^TAKING    TO     THE 

GUNBOATS NGANCUING NANKIN RETROSPECT MORE      DELAYS 

TROUBLES   AT  CANTON — RETURN   TO   HONG-KONG.      MISSION   COMPLETED 

HOMEWARD   VOYAGE. 

Arriving  at  Shanghae  on  the  2nd  of  September,  Lord  Deky^ 
Elgin  found  that  the  Imperial  Commissioners  whom  he 
came  to  meet  had  not  yet  appeared,  and  were  not  ex- 
pected for  four  or  five  weeks.  All  this  time,  therefore, 
he  was  obliged  to  remain  idle  at  Shanghae,  hearing  from 
time  to  time  news  from  Canton  which  made  his  presence 
there  desirable,  but  unable  to  proceed  thither  till  the 
arrangements  respecting  the  Treaty  were  completed, 

Shanghae. — Sunday y  September  5th. — I  wish  to  be  off  for 
England :  but  I  dread  leaving  my  mission  unfinished.  ...  I 
feel,  therefore,  that  I  am  doomed  to  a  month  or  six  weeks 
more  of  China. 

September  6th. — It  is  very  weary  work  staying  here  really 
doing  for  the  moment  Uttle.  But  what  is  to  be  done  ?  It  will 
not  do  to  swallow  the  cow  and  worry  at  the  tail.  I  have  been 
looking  over  the  files  of  newspapers,  and  those  of  Hong-kong 
teem  with  abuse ; — this,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  I  have 
made  a  Treaty  which  exceeds  everything  the  most  imaginative 
ever  hoped  for.  The  truth  is,  they  do  not  really  ^^^^f  ™ 
opening  of  China.  They  fear  that  their  monopoly  wiU  be 
interfered  with. 

September  II th.— I  am  amused  with  the  confident  way  m 

T  2 


Commis- 
•iooen. 


276  FIRST  MISSION  TO  C?HIXA.  Ch.  XI. 

which  the  ladies  here  talk  of  going  home  after  Etc  years  with 
fortunes  made.  They  live  in  the  greatest  luxury, — in  a  tole- 
rable climate,  and  think  it  very  hard  if  they  are  not  rich  enough 
to  retire  in  five  years.  ...  I  do  not  know  of  any  business  in 
any  part  of  the  world  that  yields  returns  like  this.  No  wonder 
Aey  dislike  the  opening  of  China,  which  may  interfere  with 
them. 

ArriTniof       It  was  Hot  till  the  4th  of  October  that  the  arrival 
was  announced  of  the  Imperial  Commissioners,  includ- 
ing among  their  number  his  old  friends  Kweiliang  and 
Hwashana.   While  they  were  on  the  road,  circumstances 
had  come  to  Lord  Elgin's  knowledge  which  gave  him 
reason  to  fear  that  they  might  be  disposed  to  call  in 
question  some  of  the  privileges  conceded  under   the 
Treaty,  and  that   they  might  found  on  the  still  un- 
settled state  of  affairs  in  the  South  a  hope  of  succeed- 
ing in  this  attempt.     He  thought  it  better  to  dispel  all 
such  illusions  at  once,  by  taking  a  high  and  peremptory 
tone  upon  the  latter  subject.     Accordingly,  when  his 
formal  complaint  against  Hwang,  the  Governor-General 
of  the  Two  Kiang,  for  keeping  up  hostilities  in  spite  of 
the  Treaty,  was  met  by  a  promise  to  stop  this  for  the 
future  by  proclamation,   he    refused    to    accept     this 
promise,  and  demanded  the  removal  of  Hwang  and  the 
suppression  of  a  Committee   which   had   been   formed 
for    the   enrolment   of    volunteers;    intimating   at  the 
same  time,  through  a  private  channel,  that  unless  he 
obtained  full  satisfaction  on  the  Canton  question,  it  was 
by  no  means  improbable  that  he  might  return  to  Tien- 
tsin, and  from  that  point,  or  at  Pekin  itself,  require  the 
Emperor  to  keep  his  engagements.     This  had  the  de- 
sired effect.      The  Commissioners  at  once  undertook, 
not  only  to  issue  a  pacific  proclamation  couched  in  be- 
coming terms,  but  also  to  memorialise  the  Emperor  for 
the  recall  of  the  Governor-General,  and  the  withdrawal 
of  all  powers  from  the  Committee  of  Braves.    It  may  be 
added,  that  the  immediate  success  which  attended  the 


I 


1868.  SUBTERFUGES  DEFEATED  BY  FIRMNESS.  277 

proclamation  aflforded  striking  confirmation  of  what 
Lord  Elgin  had  always  said,  that  the  best  way  of  sup- 
pressing  provincial  disturbances  was  by  bringing  pres- 
sure to  bear  on  the  Imperial  power. 

Shanghae. — Sunday y    October   lOM. — We    have    not   done 
much  yet,  which  is  the  cause  of  my  having  written  less  than 
usual  during  the  last  few  days.      I  have  reason   to  suspect  8abt«xw 
that  the  Commissioners  came  here  with  some  hope  that  they  ^^' 
might  make  difficulties  about  some  of  the  concessions  obtained 
in  the  Treaty,  with  a  kind  of  notion  perhaps  that  they  might 
continue  to  bully  us  at  Canton.     If  I  had  departed,  I  think  it 
probable  enough  that  everything  would  have  been  thrown  into 
confusion,  and  the  grand  result  of  proving  that  my  Treaty 
was  waste  paper  might  have  been  attained.     I  have  thought  it 
necessary  to  take  steps  to  stop  this  sort  of  thing  at  once,  so  I 
have  sent  some  very  peremptory  letters  to  the  Commissioners 
about  Canton,  refusing  to  have  anything  to  say  to  them  till  I 
am  satisfied  on  this  point,  &c.     I  have  also,  through  a  secret  defeated 
channel,  had  the  hint  conveyed  to  them,  that  if  they  do  not  give  ^Jjj^* 
me  ful  Isatisfaction  at  once  I  am  capable  of  going  off  to  Tien* 
tsin  again, — a  move  which  would  no  doubt  cost  their  heads  to 
both  Kweiliang  and  Hwashana.     I  have  already  extorted  from 
them  a  proclamation  announcing  the  Treaty,  and  I  have  now 
demanded  that  they  shall  remove  the  Governor-General  of  the 
Canton  provinces  from  office,  and  suppress  the  War  Committee 
of  the  gentry. 

October  16M.— Yes,  the  report  of  the  conclusion  of  a  Treaty 
which  was  conveyed  so  rapidly  overland  to  St.  Petersburg 
was  true,  and  yet  I  am  not  on  my  way  home  1  ...  Do  not 
think  that  I  am  indifferent  to  this  delay.     It  is  however,  for 
the  moment,  inevitable.     Everything  would  have  been  lost  if 
I  had  left  China.     The  violence  and  ill-will  which  exist  in 
Ilong-kong  are  something  ludicrous.   ...  As  it  is,  matters 
are  going  on  very  fairly  with  the  Imperial  Commissioners,  and 
I  expect  an  official  visit  from  them  this  day  at  noon.      Ihe 
English  maU  arrived  yesterday.  ...   The  visit  of  the  Com- 
missioners  went  off  very  well.     I  think  that  they  have  acceptea 
the  situation,  and  intend  to  make  the  best  of  it. 

October  19M. -Yesterday  I  returned  the  visit  of  the  L^om- 
missioners,  going  in  state,  with   a   guard,  &c.,  mto  the  city. 


278 


FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA. 


Ch.  XI. 


The 


The 

opium 

trade. 


We  had  a  Chinese  repast — birds'-nest  soup,  sharks'  fins,  &c. 
I  tried  to  put  them  at  their  ease,  after  our  disagreeable  en- 
counters at  Tientsin.  Thej  seemed  disposed  to  be  conversable 
and  friendly.  The  Governor-General  of  this  province,  who  is 
one  of  them,  is  considered  a  verv  clever  man,  and  he  appears 
to  have  rather  a  notion  of  taking  a  go-ahead  policy  with 
foreigners. 

The  chief  matter  that  remained  to  be  arranged  was 
the  settlement  of  certain  trade-regulations,  supplemental 
to  the  Treaty,  involving  a  complete  revision  of  the 
tariff. 

A  tariff  is  not  usually  a  matter  of  general  interest ; 
but  this  tariff  is  of  more  than  mere  commercial  import- 
ance, as  having  for  the  first  time  regulated,  and  there- 
fore legalised,  the  trade  in  opium.^  Hitherto  this  article 
had  been  mentioned  in  no  treaty,  but  had  been  left  to 
the  operation  of  the  Chinese  municipal  law,  which  pro- 
hibited it  altogether.  But  the  Chinese  would  have  it ; 
there  was  no  lack  of  foreign  traders,  chiefly  British  and 
American,  ready  to  run  the  risk  of  smuggling  it  for  the 
sake  of  the  large  profits  to  be  made  upon  it;  and  the 
custom-house  officials,  both  natives  and  foreign  in- 
spectors, hardly  even  kept  up  the  farce  of  pretending 
to  ignore  the  fact.  At  one  port,  indeed,  the  authorities 
exacted  from  the  opium  traders  a  sort  of  hush-money, 
equivalent  to  a  tax  about  6  per  cent,  ad  valorem.  It 
might  well  be  said  that '  the  evils  of  this  illegal,  connived 
'  at,  and  corrupting  traffic  could  hardly  be  overstated*; 
*  that  it  was  degrading  alike  to  the  producer,  the  im- 


*  The  text  of  the  Article  respect- 
ing opium  is  as  follows: — 'Opium 
*will  henceforth  pay  thirty  taels 
'per  picul  import  duty.  The  im- 
<  porter  will  sell  it  only  at  the 
'port.  It  will  be  carried  into  the 
'  interior  by  Chinese  only,  and  only 
'as  Chinese  property;  the  Foreign 
'  trader  will  not  be  allowed  to  accom- 
'  pany  it  The  provisions  of  Article 
'IX.  of  the  Treaty  of  Tientsin,  by 


'  which  British  subjects  are  authorised 
*to  proceed  into  the  interior  with 

*  passports  to  trade,  will  not  extend  to 

*  it,  nor  will  thope  of  Article  XXVIIL 

*  of  the  same  Treaty,  by  which  the 
'  transit-dues  are  regulated ;  the  tran- 
'  sit-dues  on  it  will  be  arranged  as  the 
'  Chinese  Government  see  fit ;  nor,  in 
'  future  revisions  of  the  Tariff,  is  the 
'rule  of  revision  to  be  applied  to 
'  opium  as.  to  other  goods.' 


i 


1868.  REVISED  TARIFF.  279 

^  porter,  the  official,  whether  foreign  or  Chinese,  and  the 
*  purchaser.' 

To  remedy  these  evils  two  courses  were  open.  One 
was  effective  prohibition,  Avith  the  assistance  of  the 
Foreign  Powers;  but  this,  the  Chinese  Commissioners 
admitted,  was  practically  hopeless,  mainly  owing  to  the 
inveterate  appetite  of  their  people  for  the  drug.  The 
other  remained  :  regulation  and  restriction,  by  the  impo- 
sition of  as  high  a  duty  as  could  be  maintained  without 
giving  a  stimulus  to  smuggling.  It  was  not  without 
much  consideration  that  Lord  Elgin  adopted  the  latter 
alternative ;  and  it  was  a  great  satisfaction  to  him  that 
his  views  on  this  subject  were  ultimately  shared  by  Mr. 
Reed,  the  Envoy  of  the  United  States,  who  had  come 
to  the  country  with  the  intention  of  supporting  the 
opposite  opinion. 

In  the  course  of  the  conferences  on  these  points, 
which  were  carried  on  in  the  most  friendly  spirit.  Lord 
Elgin  induced  the  Commissioners  to  make  a  separate 
agreement  that  he  should  be  permitted,  irrespectively 
of  the  conditions  imposed  by  the  Treaty,  to  make  an 
expedition  up  the  great  river  Yangtze  Kiang;  a  permis- 
sion of  which  he  gladly  availed  himself,  not  only  for  the 
sake  of  exploring  a  new  and  most  interesting  country, 
but  even  more  with  the  view  of  marking  how  entirely 
and  cordially  his  Treaty  was  accepted. 

Shanghae. — November  2nd. — You  will,  I  am  sure,  see  how 
necessary  it  has  been  for  me  to  protract  my  stay  to  this 
time.  The  systematic  endeavour  to  make  it  appear  that  my 
work  was  a  failure  could  be  counteracted  only  by  my  own 
presence.  The  papers,  &c.,  from  England  are  complimentary 
enough  about  the  Treaty,  but  some  of  the  accounts  which  have 
gone  home  are  somewhat  exaggerated,  and  perhaps  there  will 
be  a  reaction.  .  .  •  ^lore  particularly,  I  find  a  hope  expressed 
that  we  have  plundered  the  wretched  Chinese  to  a  greater  ex- 
tent than  is  the  case.  .  .  .  Meanwhile,  I  have  achieved  one 
object,  which  will  be,  I  think,  the  crowning  act  of  my  mission, 
I  have  arranged  with  the  Imperial  Commissioners  that  I  am  to 


280  rmsT  mission  to  china.  Ch.  xi. 

jiroceed  up  the  river  Yangtze.  The  Treaty  only  provides  that 
it  shall  be  open  when  the  Rebels  have  left  it.  I  daresay  this 
will  give  rise  to  comments.  If  so^  I  shall  have  anticipated 
them,  by  going  up  the  river  myself.  I  shall  take  with  me  my 
own  squadron  (what  I  had  in  Japan).  The  weather  is  beauti- 
ful ;  quite  cool  enough  for  comfort.  We  shall  visit  a  region 
which  has  never  been  seen,  except  by  a  stray  missionary.  I 
shall  lose  by  this  move  some  three  weeks,  but  I  do  not  think 
they  will  be  really  lost,  because  it  will  give  so  very  complete  a 
demonstration  of  the  acceptance  of  the  Treaty  by  the  Chinese 
authorities,  that  even  Uong-kong  will  be  silenced. 

November  6th. — I   hoped  to   have  started  to-day,  but  am 
obliged  to  put  off  till  Monday,  as  the  tariff  is  not  yet  ready  for 
signature.     I  grieve  over  every  day  lost,  which  protracts  our 
separation.     I  see  that  in  the  very  flattering  article  of  the  Times 
of  September  7th,  which  you  quote,  it  is  implied  that  when  I 
signed  the  Treaty,  I  had  done  my  work,  and  that  the  responsi- 
bility of  seeing  that  it  was  carried  out  rests  with  others.     If 
this  be  true  —  and  you  will  no  doubt  think  so — I  might  have 
returned  at  once,  at  least  after  Japan.     But  is  it  true  ?     Could 
I,  in  fairness  to  my  country,  or,  in  what  I  trust  you  believe 
comes  second  in  the  rank  of  motives  with  me,  to  my  own  repu- 
tation, leave  the  work  which  I   had  undertaken   unfinished  ? 
•  •  •  Besides,  I  own  that  I  have  a  conscientious  feeling  on  the 
subject.     I  am  sure  that  in  our  relations  with  these  Chinese  we 
have  acted  scandalously,  and  I  would  not  have  been  a  party  to 
the  measures  of  violence  which  have  taken  place,  if  I  had  not 
believed  that  I  could  work  out  of  them  some  good  for  them. 
Could  I  leave  this,  the  really  noblest  part  of  my  task,  to  be 
worked  out  by   others  ?     Anyone    could   have   obtained   the 
Treaty  of  Tientsin.     What  was  really  meritorious  was,  that  it 
should  have  been  obtained  at  so  small  a  cost  of  human  suffer- 
ing.^   But  this  is  also  what  discredits  it  in  the  eyes  of  manyy  of 
almost  all  here.     If  we  had  carried  on  war  for  some  years ;  if 
we  had  carried  misery  and  desolation  all  over  the  Empire ;  it 
would  have  been  thought  quite  natural  that  the  Emperor  should 
have  been  reduced  to  accept  the  terms  imposed  upon  him  at 
Tientsin.     But  to  do  all  this  by  means  of  a  demonstration  at 
Tientsin  I  The  announcement  was  received  with  a  yell  of  derision 
by  connoisseurs  and  baffled  speculators  in  tea.     And  indeed 
there  was  some  ground  for  scepticism.     It  would  have  been 


1858.  THE  YANGTZE  KIANG.  281 

very  easy  to  manage  matters  here,  so  as  to  bring  into  question 
all  the  privileges  which  we  had  acquired  by  that  Treaty.  Even 
then  we  should  have  gained  a  great  deal  by  it ;  because  when 
we  came  to  assert  those  rights  by  force,  we  should  have  had  a 
good,  instead  of  a  bad  casus  belli.  But  I  was  desirous,  if  pos- 
sible, to  avoid  the  necessity  for  further  recurrence  to  force ; 
and  it  required  some  skill  to  do  this.  This  has  been  my 
motive  for  protracting  my  stay. 

ILM.  S.  'FuriousJ* — November  Sth. — I  write  a  line  to  tell  The  tariff 
you  that   I  got  over   the  signature  of  my  tariff,   &c.,  very  "8»«^ 
satisfactorily  this  morning,  and  set  oif  in  peace  with  all  men, 
including  Chinese  Plenii)otentiaries,  and  colleagues  European    ' 
and  American,  on  my  way  up  the  Yangtze  Kiang.     We  are 
penetrating  into  unknown  regions,  but  I  trust  shortly  to  be 
able  to  report  to  you  my  return,  and  all  the  novelties  I  shall 
have  seen. 

This  morning  at  ten,  I  went  to  a  temple  which  lies  exactly 
between  the  foreign  settlement  and  the  Chinese  town  of  Shans:- 
hae,  to  meet  there  the  Imperial  Commissioners,  and  to  sign 
the  tariff.  We  took  with  us  the  photographs  which  Jocelyn 
had  done  for  them,  and  which  we  had  framed.  They  were 
greatly  delighted,  and  altogether  my  poor  friends  seemed  in 
better  spirits  than  I  had  before  seen  them  in.  We  passed 
from  photogi*aphy  to  the  electric  telegraph,  and  I  represented 
to  them  the  great  advantage  which  the  Emperor  would  derive 
from  it  in  so  extensive  an  empire  as  China ;  how  it  would  make 
him  present  in  all  the  provinces,  &c.  They  seemed  to  enter 
into  the  subject.  The  conference  lasted  rather  more  than  an 
hour.  After  it,  I  returned  to  the  consulate,  taking  a  tender 
adieu  of  Gros  by  the  way.  I  embarked  at  1,  and  got  undes 
weigh  at  2  p.m.  .  .  .  The  tide  was  very  strong  against  us, 
BO  we  have  not  made  much  way,  but  we  are  really  in  the 
Y'angtze  river.  We  have  moored  between  two  flats  with  trees  ^^^ 
upon  them;  the  mainland  on  the  left,  and  an  island  (Bush  YangtM 
Island),  recently  formed  from  the  mud  of  the  river,  on  the  ^**Nf- 
right.  Though  the  earth  has  been  uninteresting,  it  has  not 
been  so  with  the  sky,  for  the  dark  shades  of  night,  which  have 
been  gathering  and  thickening  on  the  right,  have  been  con* 
fronted  on  the  left  by  the  brightest  imaginable  star,  and  the 
thinnest  possible  crescent  moon,  both  resting  on  a  couch  of  deep 
and  gradually  deepening  crimson.     I  have  been  pacing  the 


282  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  XI. 

bridge  between  the  paddle-boxes,  contemplating  this  scene, 
until  we  dropped  our  anchor,  and  I  came  down  to  tell  you  of 
this  my  first  experience  of  the  Yangtze.  And  what  will  the 
sum  of  those  experiences  be  ?  We  are  going  into  an  unknown 
region,  along  a  river  which,  beyond  Nankin,  has  not  been  navi- 
gated by  Europeans.  We  are  to  make  our  way  through  the 
lines  of  those  strange  beings  the  Chinese  Rebels.  We  are  to 
penetrate  beyond  them  to  cities,  of  the  magnitude  and  popula- 
tion of  which  fabulous  stories  are  told ;  among  people  who  have 
never  seen  Western  men ;  who  have  probably  heard  the  wildest 
reports  of  us ;  to  whom  we  shall  assuredly  be  stranger  than 
they  can  possibly  be  to  us.  What  will  the  result  be  ?  Will  it 
be  a  great  disappointment,  or  will  its  interest  equal  the  expec- 
tations it  raises  ?  Probably  before  this  letter  is  despatched  to 
you,  it  will  contain  an  answer  more  or  less  explicit  to  these 
questions. 

Sunday,  November  14M. — Six  P.M. — We  have  just  dropped 
anchor,  some  eighty  miles  from  Woosung.  I  wish  that  you 
had  been  with  me  on  this  evening's  trip.  You  would  have 
enjoyed  it.  During  the  earlier  part  of  the  afternoon  we  were 
going  on  merrily  together.  The  two  gunboats  ahead,  the 
*  Furious '  and  *  Betribution  *  abreast,  sometimes  one,  sometimes 
the  other,  taking  the  lead.  After  awhile  we  (the  *  Furious ')  put 
out  our  strength,  and  left  gunboats  and  all  behind.  When  the 
sun  had  passed  the  meridian,  the  masts  and  sails  were  a  pro- 
tection from  his  rays,  and  as  he  continued  to  drop  towards  the 
water  right  ahead  of  us,  he  strewed  our  path,  first  with  glitter- 
ing silver  spangles,  then  with  roses,  then  with  violets,  through 
all  of  which  we  sped  ruthlessly.  The  banks  still  flat,  until  the 
last  part  of  the  trip,  when  we  approached  some  hills  on  the  left, 
not  very  lofty,  but  clearly  defined,  and  with  a  kind  of  dreamy 
softness  about  them,  which  reminded  one  of  Egypt.  Alto- 
gether, it  was  impossible  to  have  had  anything  more  charming 
in  the  way  of  yachting ;  the  waters  a  perfect  calm,  or  hardly 
crisped  by  the  breeze  that  played  on  their  surface.  We  rather 
wish  for  more  wind,  as  the  *  Cruiser '  cannot  keep  up  without  a 
little  help  of  that  kind. 
Aground,  November  I6tk, — Noon, — A  bad  business.  We  were  running 
through  a  narrow  channel  which  separates  Silver  Island  from 
the  mainland,  in  very  deep  water,  when  all  of  a  sudden  we 
were  brought  up  short,  and  the  ship  rolled  two  or  three  times 


1868.  SILVER  ISLAND.  283 

right  and  left.  In  a  way  which  reminded  me  of  a  roll  which  we 
had  in  the  *  Ava'  immediately  after  starting  from  Calcutta.  On 
that  occasion  we  saw  beside  us  the  tops  of  the  ipasts  of  a  ship, 
and  were  told  it  had  struck  on  the  same  sand-bank,  and  gone 
down  about  an  hour  before.  Our  obstacle  on  this  occasion  is 
a  rock ;  a  very  small  one,  for  we  have  deep  water  all  around 
us.  However,  here  we  are.  I  hope  our  ship  will  not  suffer 
from  the  strain.  It  is  curious  that  in  this  narrow  pass,  where 
fifty  ships  went  through  and  returned  in  1842,  this  rock  should 
exist  and  never  have  been  discovered.  Six  p.m. — The  sun 
has  just  set  among  a  crowd  of  mountains  which  bound  the 
horizon  ahead  of  us,  and  in  such  a  blaze  of  fiery  light  that 
earth  and  sky  in  his  neighbourhood  have  been  all  too  glorious 
to  look  upon.  Standing  out  in  advance  on  the  edge  of  this  sea 
of  molten  gold,  is  a  solitary  rock,  about  a  quarter  of  the  size  of 
the  Bass,  which  goes  by  the  name  of  Golden  Island,  and  serves 
as  the  pedestal  of  a  tall  pagoda.  I  never  saw  a  more  beautiful 
scene,  or  a  more  magnificent  sunset ;  but  alas  I  we  see  it  under 
rather  melancholy  circumstances,  for  after  six  hours  of  trying 
in  all  sorts  of  ways  to  get  off,  we  are  as  fast  aground  as  ever. 
We  are  now  lightening  the  ship.  Silver  Island  is  a  kind  of  Silrer 
sacred  island  like  Potou,  but  very  much  smaller.'  I  went  ^*^"* 
ashore,  and  walked  over  it  with  a  bonze,  who  conversed  with 
Lay.  He  told  us  that  the  people  in  the  neighbourhood  are 
very  poor,  and  will  be  glad  that  foreigners  should  come  and 
trade  with  them.  The  bonzes  here  are  much  like  their  brethren 
of  Potou,  the  most  wretched-looking  of  human  beings.  Our 
friend  told  us  that  they  have  no  books  or  occupation  of  any 
kind.  Four  times  a  day  they  go  through  their  prayers.  He 
had  twelve  bald  spots  on  his  head,  which  were  the  record 
of  so  many  vows  he  had  taken  to  abstain  from  so  many  vices, 
which  he  enumerated.  I  gave  them  five  dollars  when  I  lefb 
the  island,  which  seemed  to  astonish  them  greatly.  I  asked 
him  what  would  happen  if  he  broke  his  vows.  He  said  that  he 
would  be  beaten  and  sent  away.  If  he  kept  them  he  hoped  to 
become  in  time  a  Buddha. 

1  In  an  official  despatch  he  de-  '  groupfl  of  honzes,  in  their  ^y  and 

Bcribes  it  as  '  a  solitary  rock  of  about  *  yellow  robins,  devoutlv  lounging,  and 

*300  feet  in   height,   picturesquely  'conscientiouslv  devoting  themselves 

'  clothed   with  natural  timber  and  ^  to  the  duty  of  doing  absolutely  no* 

'  ruined  temples,  around  which  are  '  thing.' 
*  to  be  seen,  at  all  hours  of  the  day, 


284  FERST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  XI. 

November  \lth. — 8ix¥.u. — After  taking  150  tons  out  of  the 
ship,  we  have  just  made  an  attempt  to  get  her  off— in  vain. 
The  glorioud  sun  has  again  set,  holding  out  to  us  the  same 
attractions  in  the  west  as  yesterday,  in  vain !  Here  we  remain, 
as  motionless  as  the  rock  on  which  we  are  perched.  I  have  not 
been  quite  idle,  however.  I  landed  about  noon  on  the  shore 
opposite  Silver  Island,  and  walked  about  three  miles  to  the  town 
of  Chin-kiang.  It  was  taken  by  us  in  the  last  war,  and  sadly 
maltreated,  but  since  then  it  has  been  captured  by  the  Rebels 
and  re-captured  by  the  Imperialists.  I  could  hardly  have 
imagined  such  a  scene  of  desolation.  I  do  not  think  there  is  a 
house  that  is  not  a  ruin.  I  believe  the  population  used  to  be 
about  300,000,  but  now  I  suppose  it  cannot  exceed  a  few  hun- 
dreds. The  people  are  really,  I  believe,  glad  to  see  us.  They 
hope  we  may  give  them  free  trade  and  protection  from  the 
Kebels.  A  commodore  and  post-captain  in  the  Chinese  navy 
came  off  to  us  this  afternoon.  They  were  very  civil,  offering 
to  do  anything  for  us  they  could.  They  tell  us  we  can  go  in 
this  ship  to  Hankow  and  the  Poyang  Lake.  We  have  found 
another  rock  beside  us,  and  only  think  that  this  should  not 
have  been  known  by  our  Navy  1 
Afloat  November  ISth. — Eight  P.M. — At  about  6  P.M.  1  was  cross- 

•^"'*'  ing  on  a  plank  over  a  gully,  on  my  return  from  an  expedition 
to  Golden  Island,  when  three  rounds  of  cheers  from  the 
*  Furious,'  about  a  mile  off,  struck  my  ear.  Three  rounds  of 
cheers,  followed  by  as  many  from  the  other  ships.  She  was 
off  the  rock  1  Some  250  tons  were  taken  out,  and  when  the  tide 
rose  she  came  off — nothing  the  worse !  and  our  time  has  not 
been  quite  lost,  for  this  is  an  interesting  place,  if  only  because 
of  the  insight  which  it  gives  into  the  proceedings  of  the  Rebels. 
Golden  Island  is  about  five  miles  from  here.  It  was  a  famous 
Buddhist  sanctuary,  and  contained  their  most  valuable  library. 
Its  temples  are  now  a  ruin. 

November  20th. — Noon. — Yesterday  I  took  a  long  walk,  not 
marked  by  any  noteworthy  incidents.  We  went  into  some  of 
the  cottages  of  the  small  farmers.  In  one  we  found  some  men 
smoking  opium.  They  said  that  they  smoked  about  80  cash 
(fourpence)  worth  a  day  :  that  their  wages  when  they  worked 
for  hire  were  120  cash  (sixpence).  The  opium  was  foreign 
(Indian) :  the  native  was  not  good.  I  asked  how  they  could 
provide  for  their  wives  and  families  if  they  spent  so  much  on 


i 


1868.  NANKIN.      REBEL  WARFARE.  285 

opium.  They  said  they  had  land,  generally  from  two  to  three 
acres  apiece.  They  paid  about  a  tenth  of  the  produce  as  a 
tax.  They  were  very  good-humoured,  and  delighted  to  talk 
to  Wade  and  Lay.  They  appear  to  welcome  us  more  here 
than  in  other  places  I  have  visited  in  China. 

Eight  P.M. — We  have  been  under  fire.  The  orders  given  Y\nA 
on  our  approach  to  Nankin  were,  that  the  *  Lee '  should  go  in  j^JI^™ 
advance ;  that  if  fired  on,  she  should  hoist  a  flag  of  truce ;  if 
the  flag  of  truce  was  fired  on,  she  was  not  to  return  the  fire 
until  ordered  to  do  so.  It  was  a  lovely  evening,  and  the  sun 
was  sinking  rapidly  as  we  approached  Nankin,  the  ^  Lee '  about 
a  mile  in  advance.  I  was  watching  her,  and  saw  her  pass  the 
greater  part  of  t^e  batteries  in  front  of  the  town.  I  was  just 
making  up  my  mind  that  all  was  to  go  off*  quietly,  when  a 
puff  of  smoke  appeared  from  a  fort,  followed  by  the  booming 
of  a  cannon.  The  '  Lee '  on  this  hoisted  her  white  flag  in  vain  ; 
seven  more  shots  were  fired  from  the  forts  at  her  before  she 
returned  them.  Then,  to  be  sure,  we  began  all  along  the  line, 
all  the  forts  firing  at  us  as  we  came  within  their  range.  I  was 
on  the  paddlebox-bridge  till  a  shot  passed  very  nearly  over  our 
heads,  and  Captain  Osborn  advised  me  to  go  down.  We  were 
struck  seven  times ;  one  of  the  balls  making  its  way  into  my 
cabin.  In  our  ship  nobody  was  hit ;  but  there  was  one  killed 
and  two  badly  wounded  in  the  *  Retribution.'  We  have  passed 
the  town ;  but  I  quite  agree  with  the  naval  authorities,  that 
we  cannot  leave  the  matter  as  it  now  stands.  If  we  were  to 
do  so,  the  Chinese  would  certainly  say  they  had  had  the  best 
of  it,  and  on  our  return  we  might  be  still  more  seriously 
attacked.  It  is  determined,  therefore,  that  to-morrow  we  shall 
set  to  work  and  demolish  some  of  the  forts  that  have  insulted 
us.  I  hope  the  Rebels  will  make  some  communication,  and 
enable  us  to  explain  that  we  mean  them  no  harm ;  but  it  is 
impossible  to  anticipate  what  these  stupid  Chinamen  will  do. 

November  2\st. — Eleven  A.M. —  We  had  about  an  hour  and  a  Rctribn* 
half  of  it  this  morning.  We  began  at  6  a.m.  at  the  nearest  **°'*' 
fort,  and  went  on  to  two  or  three  others.  We  pounded  them 
pretty  severely,  and  very  few  shots  were  fired  in  return.  They 
seemed  to  have  exhausted  themselves  in  last  night's  attack. 
As  soon  as  my  naval  chiefs  thought  that  we  had  done  enough 
for  our  honour,  I  begged  them  to  go  on,  as  I  did  not  want 
to  have  to  hand  over  the  town  to  the  Imperialists,  who  are 


286 


FIRST  mSSlON  TO   CHINA. 


Ch.  XI. 


hemming  it  round  on  every  side.  I  am  sorry  that  we  should 
have  been  forced  to  do  what  we  have  done ;  but  I  do  not  think 
we  could  have  acted  with  greater  circumspection.  ...  A  set 
of  Imperialist  junks  set  to  work  to  fire  at  the  town  as  we 
were  leaving  off,  throwing  their  shot  from  a  most  wonderfully 
safe  distance. 
Apologies.  November  22nd. — Last  night  a  letter  came  off  from  our 
'humble  younger  brother'  (the  Rebel  chief),  praying  us  to 
join  them  in  annihilating  the  *  demons  '  (Imperialists).  I  sent 
them  in  reply  a  sort  of  proclamation  which  I  had  prepared  in 
the  morning,  intimating  that  we  had  come  up  the  river  pa- 
cifically; had  punished  the  Nankin  forts  for  having  insulted 
us,  from  which  persons  repeating  the  experiment  would  learn 
what  they  had  to  expect.  Later  at  night  a  present  of  twelve 
fowls  and  two  pieces  of  red  bunting  came  to  the  river  bank, 
from  some  villagers,  I  believe.  When  Captain  Ward  was  on 
shore  surveying,  two  Chinamen  came  to  him,  stating  that  an 
express  had  come  from  Nankin  to  say  that  the  attack  on  us 
was  a  mistake,  and  we  were  taken  for  Imperialists,  &c.  &c.  I 
hope,  therefore,  that  we  shall  have  no  more  trouble  of  this 
description. 

November  2Srd. — Six  P.M. — Arrived  off  Woohoo  at  about 
3  P.M.  We  passed  the  town,  and  anchored  just  above  it. 
It  is  in  the  hands  of  the  Rebels,  but  no  hostility  was  shown  to 
ua.  Wade  has  been  on  shore  to  communicate  with  the  chiefs, 
who  are  very  civil,  but  apparently  a  low  set  of  Cantonese. 
The  place  where  he  landed  is  a  kind  of  entrenched  camp ;  the 
town  about  three  miles  distant.  An  Imperialist  fieet  is  moored 
a  few  miles  up  the  river.  I  sent  Lay  to  communicate  with 
the  commanding  oflicer,  and  he  recommends  the  *  Retribution ' 
to  go  a  little  farther  on  to  a  place  in  the  possession  of  the 
Imperialists. 

November  24th. —  Ten  A.M. — We  set  off  this  morning  at  about 
6  A.M.  In  passing  the  fleet  we  begged  from  the  commander 
the  loan  of  a  pilot.  He  proves  to  be  a  Cantonese,  so  that  the 
active  spirits  on  both  sides  seem  to  come  from  that  quarter. 
We  asked  him  why  the  Imperialists  do  not  take  Woohoo.  He 
says  they  have  no  guns  of  a  suflSicient  size  to  do  anything  against 
the  forts,  but  that  about  twice  a  month  they  have  a  fight  on 
shore.  They  cut  off  the  heads  of  Rebels,  and  vice  versa,  when 
they  catch  each  other,  wliich  does  n^t  seem  to  happen  very 


Woohoo. 


Kebel 
warfare. 


I 


1858.  THE  IMPERIAL  FLEET.  287 

often.  The  war,  in  short,  seems  to  be  carried  on  in  a  very  soft 
manner,  but  it  must  do  a  great  deal  of  misshief  to  the  country. 
While  I  was  dressing  I  was  called  out  of  my  cabin  to  see  a 
fight  going  on,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river.  The  Rebels 
occupied  some  hills,  where  they  were  waving  flags  gallantly, 
and  the  Imperialists  were  below  them  in  a  plain.  We  saw 
only  two  or  three  cannon  shots  fired  while  we  passed.  As 
things  are  carried  on,  one  does  not  see  why  this  war  should  not 
last  for  ever.  My  friends,  the  Commissioners,  seem  to  have 
acted  in  good  faith  towards  me,  for  the  Chinese  naval  author- 
ities all  inform  me  that  they  had  been  forewarned  of  our  coming, 
and  ordered  to  treat  us  with  every  courtesy. 

November  2oth. —  Ten  A.M. — We  have  just  passed  a  bit  of 
scenery  on  our  left,  which  reminds  me  of  Ardgowan, — a  range 
of  lofty  hills  in  the  background,  broken  up  by  deep  valleys 
and  hillocks  covered  with  trees ;  dark-green  fir,  and  hard  wood 
tinted  with  Canadian  autumn  colours,  running  up  towards  it 
from  the  river.  With  two  or  three  thousand  acres— what  a 
niagnificent  situation  for  a  park  !  There  are  so  many  islets  in 
this  river  that  it  is  not  ea^y  to  speak  of  its  breadth,  but  its 
channel  still  continues  deep,  and,  with  occasional  exceptions, 
navigable  without  difficulty.  Six  p.m. — A  very  pretty  spec- 
tacle closed  this  day.  The  sun  was  dropping  into  the  western 
waters  before  us  as  we  approached  a  place  called  Tsong-yang, 
on  the  left  bank.  We  knew  it  was  the  station  of  an  Imperial  The 
fleet,  and  as  we  neared  it  we  found  about  thirty  or  forty  war-  n^^" 
junks,  crowded  with  men  and  dressed  in  their  gaudiest  colours. 
Flags  of  every  variety  and  shape.  On  one.  junk  we  counted 
twenty-one.  You  cannot  imagine  a  prettier  sight.  We  anchored, 
supposing  that  the  authorities  might  come  off  to  us.  As  yet,  how- 
ever, they  have  shown  no  disposition  to  do  so.  I  presume,  how- 
ever, that  the  display  is  a  compliment.  Figure  to  yourself  the 
gala  I  have  described  at  the  mouth  of  a  broad  stream  running  at 
right  angles  to  the  river  Yangtze,  and  up  which  the  town  lies, 
about  two  miles  off — the  river,  plains,  town  and  all,  surrounded 
by  an  amphitheatre  of  lofty  hills — and  you  will  have  an  idea  of 
the  scene  in  the  midst  of  which  we  are  anchored,  and  from 
which  the  golden  tints  of  sunset  are  now  gradually  fading  away* 

November  26th, — Noon. — We  have  just  had  another  sample 
of  this  very  unedifying  Chinese  warfare.     About  an  hour  ago  Under 
we  came  off  the  city  of  Nganching,  the  capital  of  the  province     "*  *3""* 


288  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Cn.  XI. 

of  Aganlioci — the  last  station  (so  we  are  assured)  in  the  hands 
of  the  Rebels.  As  we  neared  a  pagoda,  surrounded  by  a  crene- 
lated wall,  we  were  fired  upon  two  or  three  times.  We  thought 
it  necessary  to  resent  this  affront  by  peppering  the  place  for 
about  ten  minutes.  We  then  moved  slowly  past  the  town, 
unassaulted  till  we  reached  the  farther  corner,  when  the  idiots 
had  the  temerity  to  fire  agjiin.  This  brought  us  a  second  time 
into  action.  It  is  a  sorry  business  this  fighting  with  the  people 
who  are  so  little  a  match ;  but  I  do  not  suppose  we  did  them 
much  harm,  and  it  was,  I  presume,  necessary  to  teach  them  that 
they  had  better  leave  us  alone.  Osborn,  who  was  aloft,  saw 
from  that  point  a  curious  scene.  The  Imperialists  (probably 
taking  advantage  of  our  vicinity)  were  advancing  on  the  town 
from  the  land  side  in  skirmishing  order,  waving  their  flags  and 
gambolling  as  usual.  The  Pagoda  Kebels  ran  out  of  it  as  soon 
as  we  began  to  fire,  and  found  themselves  tumbling  into  the 
arms  of  the  Imperialists.  We  passed  this  morning  a  narrow 
rocky  passage,  otherwise  the  navigation  has  been  easy. 
A  pilot.  Six  P.M. — Anchored  off  Tunglow,  a  walled  town,  nicely  situ- 

ated on  the  river.  Tlie  sun  is  sinking  to  his  repose  through  a 
mist,  red  and  round,  like  a  great  ball  of  fire.  The  pilot  is  the 
most  vivacious  Chinaman  I  have  seen, — inquiring  about  every- 
thing, proposing  to  go  to  England,  like  a  Japanese.  It  was 
from  the  naval  commander  at  Kiewhein  that  we  got  him.  Lay 
was  present  when  the  commodore  sent  for  him.  He  fell  on  his 
knees.  The  chief  informed  him  that  he  must  go  up  the  river 
with  us,  and  pilot  us.  *  That  is  a  public  service,'  says  the 
man,  *  and  if  your  Excellency  desires  it   I   must  go ;  but  I 

*  would  humbly  submit  that  I  have  a  mother  and  sibter  who 

*  must  be  provided  for  in  my  absence.'  *  Certainly,'  said  the 
chief.  *  Then,'  answered  our  man,  *  I  am  ready  ;'  and  without 
further  a-do  he  got  into  the  boat  with  Lay  and  came  off  to  us. 

November  27th, — Eight  A.M. — We  started  well,  but  there  is 
such  a  fog  that  we  are  obliged  to  stop  till  it  clears.  Our  pilot 
went  ashore  last  night  at  Tunglow,  and  has  returned  with  the 
front  part  of  his  head  cleanly  shaved.  I  asked  him  what  the 
people  had  thought  of  our  appearance.  He  answered  that 
they  were  greatly  afraid  lest  we  should  fire  upon  them,  and 
their  hearts  at  first  went  pit-a-pat;  but  when  they  heard  from 
him  how  well  we  treated  him,  and  that  we  were  no  friends  to 
the  Rebels,  they  said  '  Poussa '  (^  that's  Buddha's  doing '  or 
<  thank  God '). 


1868.  THE   'HEN  BARRIER/  289 

November  28M. — Eleven  A.M. —  The  mornlDg  began  as  usual :  Sand 
calm,  fair,  and  hazy.  At  about  nine  it  began  to  blow,  and  gra~  "^ 
dually  rose  to  a  gale,  causing  our  river  ripple  to  mimic  ocean 
waves,  and  the  dust  and  sand  to  fly  before  us  in  clouds,  obscur- 
ing earth  and  sky.  About  ten  we  approached  a  mountain  range, 
which  had  been  for  some  time  looming  on  the  horizon.  We 
found  we  had  to  pass  through  a  channel  of  about  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  wide ;  on  our  left,  a  series  of  barren  hills,  bold  and  majestic- 
looking  in  the  mist ;  on  the  right,  a  solitary  rock,  steep,  conical- 
shaped,  and  about  300  feet  high.  On  the  side  of  it  a  Buddhist 
temple,  perched  like  a  nest.  The  hills  on  the  left  were  crowned 
by  walls  and  fortifications  built  some  time  ago  by  the  Rebels, 
and  running  over  them  in  all  manner  of  zigzag  and  fantastic 
directions.  I  have  seldom  seen  a  more  striking  bit  of  scenery* 
When  we  had  passed  through  we  found  more  hills,  with  inter- 
vals of  plains,  in  one  of  which  lay  the  district  city  of  Tongtze, 
enclosed  by  walls  which  run  along  the  top  of  the  hills  surround- 
ing it  The  inhabitants  crowded  to  the  shore  to  witness  the 
strange  apparition  of  foreign  vessels. 

I  mentioned  a  rocky  passage  through  which  we  passed  on  The  *  Hen 
the  morning  of  the  26th.  Ellis,  in  his  account  of  Lord  ^*"^®'* 
Amherst's  Embassy,  speaks  of  it  as  a  place  of  great  difficulty. 
A  series  of  rocks  like  stepping-stones  run  over  a  great  part, 
and  the  passage  is  obtained  by  sticking  close  to  the  left  bank. 
Our  pilot  tells  us  that  it  is  named  the  *  Hen  Barrier,'  and  for 
the  following  reason :  Once  on  a  time,  there  dwelt  on  the 
right  bank  an  evil  spirit,  in  the  guise  of  a  rock,  shaped  like  a 
hen.  This  evil  spirit  coveted  some  of  the  good  land  on  the 
opposite  side,  and  proceeded  to  cross,  blocking  up  the  stream 
on  her  way.  The  good  spirits,  in  consternation,  applied  to  a 
bonze,  who,  after  some  reflection,  bethought  himself  of  a  plan 
for  arresting  the  mischief.  He  set  to  work  to  crow  like  a 
cock.  The  hen  rock,  supposing  that  it  was  the  voice  of  her 
mate,  turned  round  to  look.  The  spell  was  instantly  broken. 
She  dropped  into  the  stream,  and  the  natives,  indignant  at  her 
misdeeds,  proceeded  into  it  and  cut  ofi*  her  head  I 

I  have  been  skinmiing  over  a  Chinese  book,  translated  by 
Stanislas  Julien :  the  travels  of  a  Buddhist  It  is  full  of  legends 
of  the  character  of  that  which  I  have  now  narrated. 

November  29tk. — 12.30  P.M. — We  have  been  very  near  the 
bank  this  morning.     I  see  more  cattle  on  the  farms  than  in 

U 


290 


FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA. 


Ch.  XL 


Unknown 


other  parts  of  China.  They  are  generally  bufikloes,  used  for 
agricultural  purposes  ;  and  when  out  at  pasture^  a  little  boy  is 
usually  perched  on  the  back  of  each  to  keep  it  from  straying. 
Feasants.  Six  P.M. — I  went  ashore  to  pass  the  time,  and  got  into  conversa- 
tion with  some  of  the  peasants.  One  man  told  us  that  he  had 
about  three  acres  of  land,  which  yielded  him  about  twenty  piculs 
(1^  ton)  of  pulse  or  grain  annually,  worth  about  forty  dollars. 
His  tax  amounted  to  about  three-fourths  of  a  dollar.  There  was 
a  school  in  the  hamlet.  Children  attending  it  paid  about  two 
dollars  a  year.  But  many  were  too  poor  to  send  their  children 
to  school.  We  went  into  another  cottage.  It  was  built  of 
reeds  on  the  bare  ground.  In  a  recess  screened  off  were  two 
young  men  lying  on  the  ground,  with  their  lamp  between 
them,  smoking  opium. 

November  30th, — We  are  now  in  waters  which  no  English- 
man, as  far  as  is  known,  has  ever  seen.     Lord  Amherst  passed 
into  the  Poyang  Lake  through  the  channel  I  described  yester- 
day, and  so  on  to  Canton.     We  are  proceeding  up  the  river 
Yangtze.     Hue  came  down  this  route,  but  by  land.     I  men- 
tioned the  sand-drifts  two  days  ago.     Some  of  the  hills  here 
look  like  the  sand-hills  of  Egypt,  from  the  layers  of  sand  with 
which  they  are  covered.     What  with  inundations  in  summer 
and  sand-drifts  in  winter,  this  locality  must  have  some  draw- 
backs as  a  residence.      Noon. — Anchored  again.      We  have 
before  us  in  sight  the  pagoda  of  Kew-kiang ;  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal points  which  we  proposed  to  reach  when  we  embarked  09 
this  expedition.  .  .  .  We  have  not  much  to  hope  for  from  our 
Chinese  pilot.     Our  several  mishaps  have  disheartened  him. 
He  said  to-day  with  a  sigh,  when  reminded  that  we  had  found 
no  passage  in  the  channel  he  had  specially  recommended: 
*  The  ways  of  waters  are  like  those  of  men,  one  day  here, 
another  there,  who  can  tell!' — a  promising  frame  of  mind  for 
one's  guide  in  this  intricate  navigation  1    Five  p.m. — We  found 
a  channel  in  about  an  hour,  and  came  on  swimmingly  to  Kew- 
kiang.      From  the  water  it  looked    imposing  enough.      An 
enclosing  wall  of  about  five  miles  in  circuit,  and  in  tolerable 
condition.      I  landed   at    3  p.m.      What  a  scene  of  desola- 
tion within  the  wall  I     It  seems  to  have  suffered  even  more 
than  Chin-kiang  Foo.      A  single  street  running  through  a 
wilderness  of  weeds  and  ruins.     The  people  whom  we  ques- 
tioned said  the  Rebels  did  it  all.     The  best  houses  we  found 


Kew- 
kiang. 


1868.  UNKNOWN  WATERS.  291 

were  outside  the  city  in  the  suburb.  We  were  of  course  very 
strange  in  a  town  where  the  European  dress  has  never  been 
seen,  but  the  people  were  as  usual  perfectly  good-natured^ 
delighted  to  converse  with  Lay,  and  highly  edified  by  his 
jokes.  We  did  some  commissariat  business.  We  had  with  us 
only  Mexican  dollars,  and  when  we  offered  them  at  the  first 
shop  the  man  said  he  did  not  like  them  as  he  did  not  know 
them.  Lay  said,  *  Come  to  the  ship  and  we  will  give  you 
Sycee  instead.'  '  See  how  just  they  are,'  said  a  man  in  the 
crowd  to  his  neighbour ;  '  they  do  not  force  their  coin  upon 
him.'  This  kind  of  ready  recognition  of  moral  worth  is  quite 
Chinese,  and  nothing  will  convince  me  that  a  people  who  have 
this  quality  so  marked  are  to  be  managed  only  by  brutality 
and  violence. 

December  1st — 1.30  P.M. — We  have  just  anchored.  About  Diffic^t 
an  hour  ago,  we  turned  sharply  to  our  left,  and  found  on  that  tioD. 
hand  a  series  of  red  sand-bluffs  leading  to  a  range  of  consider- 
able blue  hills  which  faced  us  in  the  distance ;  the  river,  as 
has  been  the  case  since  we  left  the  Rebel  country,  was 
covered  with  small  country  junks,  and  here  and  there  a  man- 
darin one,  covered  with  flags,  and  with  its  highly-polished 
brass  gun  in  the  prow.  The  scene  had  become  more  interest- 
ing, but  the  navigation  more  difficult,  for  the  gunboats  began 
hoisting  *  3 '  and  '  4,'  and  all  manner  of  ominous  numbers.  So 
we  had :  '  Hands  to  the  port  anchor,' '  slower,'  and  '  as  slow 
,  as  possible,'  *  a  turn  astern,'  and  after  a  variety  of  fluctuations, 
'drop  the  anchor.'  Six  P.M. — We  had  to  go  a  short  way 
back,  and  to  pass,  moreover,  a  very  shallow  bit  of  the  river ; 
that  done  we  went  on  briskly,  and  bore  down  upon  the  moun- 
tain rangewhich  we  descried  in  the  forenoon.  At  about  four 
we  came  up  to  it  and  turned  to  the  right,  with  the  mountains 
on  our  left  and  the  town  of  Wooseuh  on  our  right,  while  the 
setting  sun,  glowing  as  ever,  was  throwing  his  parting  rays 
over  one  of  the  most  beautiful  scenes  I  ever  witnessed.  The 
whole  population  crowded  to  the  river  bank  to  see  this  won- 
derful apparition  of  the  barbarian  fire-ships.  The  hills  rising  Hie^and 
from  the  water  had  a  kind  of  Loch  Katrine  look.  We  have  ■^•"•'y* 
made  some  thirty-five  miles  to-day,  but  have  still,  I  fear,  about 
100  to  go. 

December  2d. — Eleven  A.M. — A  very  prosperous  forenoon. 
Mountains  soon  rose  to  the  right,  similar  to  those  on  the  left. 

V  2 


292  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Oh.  XI. 

We  cut  our  way  through  deep  calm  water,  amid  these  hills 
of  grey  rock  and  fir  woods,  for  some  three  hours,  and  might 
really  have  imagined  ourselves  in  the  finest  loch  scenery  of  the 
Highlands.  Numbers  of  little  boats  dotted  the  river,  and 
moved  off  respectfully  to  the  right  and  left  as  we  approached. 
At  about  ten  we  passed  out  of  the  mountain  range,  and  soon 
after  neared  Chechow,  from  which  the  population  seemed  to  be 
moving,  as  we  inferred  from  the  numbers  of  small-footed 
women  hobbling  along  the  bank  with  their  household  effects. 
We  were  boarded  by  a  mandarin-boat,  the  oflScer  of  which 
informed  me  that  he  had  been  sent  by  the  Governor-General 
to  pay  his  respects.  He 'said  that  the  Rebels  were  at  no  great 
distance,  and  the  people  were  flying  for  fear  of  their  attacking 
the  town.  He  added,  however,  that  tiiey  (the  Imperialists) 
had  a  large  force  of  cavalry  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  that 
they  would  check  the  exodus  of  the  inhabitants.  Between 
Imperialists  and  Rebels,  the  people  must  have  a  nice  time  of 
it.  His  best  piece  of  news  was  that  we  are  only  about  fifty 
miles  from  Hankow.  I  trust  that  it  may  be  so,  for,  despite 
my  love  of  adventure,  I  shall  be  glad  when  we  are  able  to 
turn  back  and  proceed  homewards. 
Popular  The  reason  which  the  pilot  assigns  for  the  destruction  of 

the  reli-      *^®  temples  by  the  Rebels  is  the  following  :  *  At  present,'  says 
gion  of        he,  *  the  rich  have  a  great  advantage  over  the  poor.     They 
^  can  afford  to  spend  a  great  deal  more  in  joss-sticks  and  other 

*  offerings,  so  that,  of  course,  the  gods  show  them  a  very  undue 

*  allowance  of  favour.     The  Rebels,  who  do  not  approve  of 

*  these  invidious  distinctions,  get  rid  of  them  by  destroying  the 

*  temples  altogether.'  This  is  evidently  a  popular  version  of 
the  religious  character  of  the  Rebel  movement.  A  Buddhist 
priest,  whom  I  saw  at  Kew-kiang,  said  that  the  Rebels  had 
destroyed  some  forty  temples  there.     *  They  do  not  worship 

*  in  temples,'  he  said,  '  but  they  have  a  worship  of  their  own.' 
The  room  in  which  Mr.  Wade  saw  the  Rebel  chief  at  Woo- 
how  was  said  to  be  their  place  of  worship.  It  had  no  altar, 
nor  anything  to  distinguish  it  as  such. 

December  4th, — Six  P.M. — Anchored  again  for  the  night,  not 
half  a  mile  farther  than  yesterday.  An  island  in  process  of 
formation,  covered  at  high  water,  separates  the  two  anchorages. 
We  had  to  go  back,  &c.,  and  ended  the  day's  work  by  getting 
through  a  very  tight  place  in  a  most  masterly  manner ;  leads- 


1868^  HANKOW.  S93 

men  sounding  at  the  bow  and  etem^  as  well  as  at  the  two 
paddles^  and  the  '  Lee'  and  '  Cruiser '  stationed  as  pivots  at  the 
edges  of  the  shoal.  We  had  to  perform  a  sort  of  letter  S  round 
them,  and  we  passed  by  the  latter  so  near,  that  we  might  have 
shaken  hands  with  the  crew.  I  should  be  amused  with  these 
triumphs,  were  it  not  for  the  reflection  that  we  have  to  repeat 
them  all  in  returning,  with  a  favouring  current,  which  will 
make  our  task  more  difficult. 

December  6th, —  Three v.M, — At  Hankow;  four  weeks,  almost  Hankow, 
to  a  minute,  since  we  left  Shanghae.  We  have  brought  this 
ship  to  a  point  about  600  miles  from  the  sea, — a  feat,  I  should 
think,  unprecedented  for  a  vessel  of  this  size.  We  have  reached 
the  heart  of  the  commerce  of  China.  At  first  sight,  I  am 
disappointed  in  the  magnitude  of  the  place.  I  am  anchored 
off  the  mouth  of  the  river  Han,  which  separates  Hankow  and 
Han-yang  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Yangtze.  On  its  right  bank 
is  Ouchang  Foo.  I  do  not  see  room  for  the  eight  millions  of 
people,  at  which  rumour  puts  the  population  of  these  three 
towns.  The  scene  is  very  animated.  We  are  surrounded  by 
hundreds  of  boats,  and  the  banks  are  a  sea  of  heads.  My 
gentlemen  are  gone  ashore.  I  think  I  shall  get  through  the 
streets  more  conveniently  to-morrow  morning. 

December  7th. — Four  r.M. — I  have  just  returned  from  a  walk 
through  Hankow.  Like  all  the  places  we  have  visited  on  this 
trip,  it  seems  -to  have  been  almost  entirely  destroyed  by  the 
Rebels ;  but  it  is  recovering  rapidly,  and  exhibits  a  great  deal 
of  commercial  activity.  The  streets  are  wider  and  shops  larger 
than  one  generally  finds  them  in  China.  When  *  foreign  * 
parties  landed  yesterday,  they  were  a  good  deal  pestered  by 
ofiScious  mandarin  followers,  who,  by  way  of  keeping  order,  kept 
bambooing  all  the  unhappy  natives  who  evinced  a  desire  to  see 
the  foreigners.  In  order  to  defeat  this  plan,  which  was  mani- 
festly adopted  with  the  view  of  preventing  us  from  coming  in 
contact  with  the  people,  I  landed  near  Han-yang,  on  the  side 
of  the  river  Han  opposite  to  Hankow,  and  walked  in  the  first 
instance  to  the  top  of  a  hill  where  there  is  a  kind  of  fortress, 
from  which  we  had  a  good  view  of  Ouchang,  Han-yang,  and 
Hankow.  The  day  was  rather  misty,  but  we  saw  enough  to 
satisfy  us  that  there  must  have  been  great  exaggeration  in  pre- 
vious reports  of  the  magnitude  of  these  places.  Some  of  the 
mandarin  satellites  tried  to  accompany  us  on  our  walk,  but 


294  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  XL 

we  soon  sent  them  about  their  business.  After  seeing  all  we 
wished  of  the  view,  we  descended  and  crossed  the  river  Han  in 
a  sanpan  to  Hankow,  where  we  walked  about  for  some  hours, 
followed  by  a  crowd  of  perfectly  respectable  people.  As  some 
hint  was  conveyed  to  me  implying  that  it  was  hoped  we  would 
not  go  to  Ouchang,  I  have  sent  a  letter  to  the  Governor-General 
of  the  Two  Hoo,  who  resides  there,  informing  him  that  I  intend 
to  call  upon  him  to-morrow.  I  shall  go  with  as  large  an  escort 
as  I  can  muster.  These  Chinamen  are  such  fools  that,  with  all 
my  desire  to  befriend  them,  I  find  it  sometimes  difficult  to  keep 
patience  with  them.  They  are  doing  all  they  can  to  prevent  us 
from  having  any  dealings  with  the  people ;  refusing  our  dollars, 
sending  us  supplies  as  presents,  &c.  I  have  sent  back  the 
presents,  stating  that  I  must  have  supplies,  and  that  I  will  pay 
for  them. 

December  Sth, — Eleven  A.M. — An  officer  has  been  oflT  from 
the  Governor-General,  proposing  that  my  visit  should  take  place 
to-morrow,  in  order  that  there  may  be  sufficient  time  for  the 
preparations.  He  was  very  profuse  in  his  protestations  of 
good-will,  but  as  usual  there  were  a  number  of  little  points  on 
which  it  was  necessary  to  take  a  half-bullying  tone.  *  I  could  not 

*  have  a  chair  with  eight  bearers  ;  such  a  thing  had  never  been 

*  seen  at  Ouchang.     There  were  not  thirty  chairs  (the  number 

*  for  which  we  had  applied)  in  the  whole  place.'     *  Lord  Elgin 

*  won't  land  with  less,  do  as  you  please,'  was  the  answer  given. 
Of  course,  the  difficulties  immediately  vanished.  Considerable 
indignation  was  expressed  at  the  fact  that  some  of  our  officers 
had  been  prevented  from  entering  the  town  of  Ouchang  yester- 
day. A  hope  was  expressed  that  nobody  would  land  on  the 
Ouchang  side  to-day ;  all  would  be  arranged  by  to-morrow  to 
our  satisfaction,  &c.  &c  So,  after  an  interview,  in  which  there 
was  the  necessary  admixture  of  the  bitter  and  the  sweet,  the 
officer  was  sent  back  to  his  master.  Supplies  are  coming  oiF  in 
abundance  to  the  ships.  In  short,  the  people  are  most  desirous 
to  buy  and  sell,  if  the  authorities  will  only  leave  them  alone. 
Six  P.M. — I  have  had  a  long  walk  on  the  same  side  of  the  river 
as  yesterday.  We  first  went  through  the  whole  depth  of  Han- 
kow, on  a  line  parallel  with  the  river  Han.  We  estimated  our 
walk  in  this  direction  at  about  two  miles,  but  a  good  deal  of  it 
was  along  a  single  street  fianked  on  both  sides  by  ruins.     We 


1868.  VISIT  TO  THE  GOVERNOR-GENERAL.  295 

then  embarked  in  a  sanpan  and  came  down  the  Han^  passing 
through  a  multitude  of  junks  of  great  variety  in  shape  and  cargo. 
We  landed  near  its  mouth  on  the  Han-jang  side^  and  walked 
to  that  town^  which  is  a  Foo  or  prefectoral  citj,  and  walled.  It 
contains  the  remains  of  some  buildings  of  pretension,  triumphal 
arches,  &c.,  which  imply  that  it  must  have  been  a  place  of 
some  distinction,  but  it  has  been  sadly  maltreated  by  the 
Rebels. 

December  9th. — Four  p.m. — The  day  is  rainy,  and  the  purser 
complains  of  difficulty  in  making  his  purchases  yesterday,  and 
that  coal  is  not  coming  oif  to  us  as  promised,  &c. ;  so  I  thought 
it  expedient  to  do  a  little  in  the  bullying  line  to  keep  all  straight. 
When  the  Governor-General  therefore  sent  off  this  morning  to 
say  that  he  was  ready  to  receive  me,  I  despatched  Wade  and 
Lay  to  inform  him  in  reply  that  the  day  was  too  bad  for  me  to 
land,  and  that  I  had  to  complain  of 'the  difficulties  put  in  my 
way  about  money,  &c.  He  received  them  in  person,  and  was 
very  gracious;  said  that  he  had  been  at  Clinton;  that  he  under- 
stood all  about  us ;  that  if  he  had  been  there,  Yeh  would  never 
have  behaved  as  he  did ;  that  in  former  days  the  Chinese 
Government  had  bullied  us ;  that  we  had  bullied  them  of  late 
years ;  that  it  was  much  better  that  henceforward  we  should 
settle  matters  reasonably ;  that  he  was  desirous  to  show  me  every 
attention  in  his  power ;  that  when  the  port  should  be  open  he 
would  do  all  he  could  to  promote  commerce  and  good  under- 
standing. In  short,  he  spoke  very  sensibly.  It  is  exceedingly 
probable  that  if  he  had  not  got  a  little  check,  he  might  have 
kept  us  at  as  great  a  distance  as  possible ;  but,  be  that  as  it  may, 
it  is  just  another  proof  of  how  easy  it  is  to  manage  the  Chinese 
by  a  little  tact  and  firmness.  We  are  now  loading  coal,  flour, 
&c.,  as  fast  as  we  can  take  it  on  board. 

December  lOth, — Six  P.M. — This  day  broke  fine  and  clear,  so  VUit  to  ' 
I  sent  off  to  the  Governor-General  to  tell  him  that  if  he  would  ^^•"^f'- 
receive  me  I  would  visit  him  at  2  p.m.  We  went  with  con- 
siderable pomp.  A  salute  going  and  returning.  A  guard  of 
eighty  marines  and  sailors,  and  a  party  of  about  thirty  in  chairs. 
We  passed  through  about  a  mile  of  the  town  of  Ouchang  Foo, 
and  were  received  by  the  Governor-General  and  his  suite,  dressed 
in  their  best.  The  ceremony  was  as  usual ;  conversation  and 
tea  in  the  front  room,  followed  by  a  more  substantial  repast  in 


296  FmsT  MISSION  to  china.  Ch.  XL 

the  second.  I  have  never,  however,  seen  a  reception  in  China 
so  sumptuous,  the  authorities  so  well  got  up,  and  the  feeding 
so  well  arranged.  The  Governor-General  is  a  good-looking  man, 
less  artificial  in  his  manner  than  Chinese  authorities  usuallj 
are.  He  is  a  Mantchoo.  It  is  rather  hard  to  make  conversa- 
tion when  one  is  seated  at  the  top  of  a  room  surrounded  hj 
some  hundred  people,  and  when,  moreover,  one  has  nothing  to 
say,  and  that  nothing  has  to  be  said  through  an  interpreter. 
However,  the  ceremony  went  off  very  well.  After  it,  I  got  rid 
of  my  ribbon  and  star,  and  took  a  stroll  incoff.  through  Han- 
kow, where  we  bought  some  tea.  Ouchang  seems  a  large  town 
with  some  good  houses  and  streets,  but  sadly  knocked  about 
by  the  Rebels.  We  are  getting  all  our  supplies,  &c.,  on  board, 
and  hope  to  start  to-morrow  evening. 
Betum  December  II tk. — Six  P.M. — This  day  the  Governor-General 

^^^^  paid  me  a  return  visit.   .We  received  him  with  all  honour; 

manned  yards  of  all  four  ships,  and  gave  him  a  salute  of  three 
guns  from  each.  It  has  been  a  beautiful  day,  and  the  scene 
was  a  striking  one  when  he  came  off  in  a  huge  junk  like  a 
Roman  trireme,  towed  by  six  boats,  bedizened  by  any  number 
of  triangular  flags  of  all  colours.  A  line  of  troops,  horse  and 
foot,  lined  the  beach  along  which  he  passed  from  the  gate  of 
the  city  to  the  place  of  embarkation  ;  quaint  enough  both  in 
uniform  and  armament,  but  still  with  something  of  a  preten- 
sion to  both  about  them.  I  have  seen  nothing  in  China  with 
so  much  display  and  style  about  it  as  the  turn-out  of  the 
Governor-General  of  the  Two  Hoo,  both  to-day  and  yesterday. 
We  showed  him  the  ship,  feasted  him,  photographed  him,  and 
entertained  him  one  way  or  another  for  upwards  of  three  hours. 
After  he  had  departed,  I  landed  on  the  Ouchang  side,  and 
walked  through  the  walled  city.  Some  objection  was  made 
to  our  entering,  as  we  went  through  a  side  instead  of  the  main 
gate,  but  we  persevered  and  carried  our  point.  The  city  is  a 
fine  one,  about  the  size  of  Canton,  but  much  in  ruins.  To- 
morrow at  six,  please  God,  we  set  forth  on  our  return.  I  may 
mention  as  an  illustration  of  the  state  of  Ouchang,  that  in 
w^alking  over  a  hill  in  the  very  centre  of  the  walled  town,  we 
put  up  two  brace  of  pheasants ! 
getrortum,  December  \2th, — Eleven  a.m. — We  are  on  our  way  back  to 
Shanghae.  I  am  very  glad  of  it,  because  we  have  accomplished 
fdl  the  good  we  could  possibly  expect  to  effect  at  Hankow,  and 


1868.  THE  PEASANTRY.  297 

I  am  becoming  very  tired  of  the  length  of  time  which  our  ex- 
pedition has  lasted.  It  is  a  feat  to  have  reached  this  point  with 
these  big  ships  at  this  season  of  the  year,  and  I  think  the  effect 
of  our  visit  will  be  considerable*  The  people  evidently  have  no 
objection  to  us,  and  the  resistance  opposed  by  the  authorities 
can  always  be  overcome  by  tact  and  firmness. 

December  13M. — Nine  A.M. — At  about  eight  we  heaved 
anchor^  having  carefully  buoyed  this  very  awkward  passage. 
The  current  ran  about  four  miles  an  hour,  and  at  some  points 
where  the  leadsmen  were  calling  out  sixteen  and  seventeen 
feet,  the  channel  was  not  much  greater  than  the  width  of  the 
ship,  and  we  draw  about  fifteen  and  a  half  feet  of  water,  so  it 
was  a  nervous  matter  to  get  through.  To  make  the  vessel 
answer  the  helm  it  was  necessary  to  go  faster  than  the  current, 
and  difficult  to  do  this  without  proceeding  at  such  a  rapid  rate 
as  would,  if  we  had  chanced  to  take  the  ground,  have  stuck  us 
upon  it  inunovably.  We  skirted  our  several  buoys  in  a  most 
masterly  manner,  and  are  now  anchored  till  they  have  been 
picked  up.  .  .  .  Six  P.M. — •  Where  we  had  eighteen  feet 
as  we  came  up,  we  cannot  find  fourteen  now,'  are  the  ominous 
words  which  Captain  Osbom  has  just  addressed  to  me  as  he 
reached  the  deck  from  a  surveying  expedition.  ...  It  looks 
a  little  serious,  for  I  fear  there  is  a  worse  place  beyond. 

December  14rt. —  Six  P.M. — I  went  on  shore  this  morning  Peaiantiy. 
when  there  was  no  prospect  of  moving.  .  .  •  We  took  a  long 
walk,  conversing  with  the  peasants  who  live  in  a  row  of  cottages 
with  their  well-cultivated  lands  in  front  and  rear  of  their  dwelU 
ings ;  the  lands  are  generally  their  own,  and  of  not  more  than 
three  or  four  acres  in  extent  I  should  think,  but  it  is  difficult 
to  get  accurate  information  from  them  on  such  points.  We 
found  one  rather  superior  sort  of  man,  who  said  he  was  a 
tenant,  and  that  he  paid  four  out  of  ten  parts  of  the  produce  of 
his  farm  to  the  landlord.  They  gave  me  the  impression  of 
being  a  well-to-do  peasantry.  Afterwards  I  walked  through 
the  country  town  of  Paho,  which  is  built  of  stone,  and  seem* 
ingly  prosperous.     The  Rebels  had  destroyed  all  the  temples. 

December  15/A. — Four  P.M. — At  about  one  we  had  passed 
the  village  of  Hwang-shih-kiang,  and  were  entering  that  part 
of  the  river  I  described  as  a  fine  site  for  a  Highland  deer 
forest,  when  the  *  Lee '  hoisted  the  '  negative '  (the  signal  to 
stop).     She  bad  got  on  a  rock,  where,  on  our  way  up,  we  ha4 


298 


FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA. 


Ch.  XI. 


Hunting 
for  a 
channeL 


Literary 
degreer. 


found  no  bottom  at  ten  fathoms.  I  landed  immediately,  and 
found  the  people  engaged  in  quarrying  and  manufacturing  lime 
from  the  hills  on  the  right  bank.  We  had  a  pleasant  walk ; 
the  day  being  beautiful,  and  the  scenery  very  fine.  They  sell 
their  lime  at  about  175.  per  ton  (200  cash  a  picul),  and  buy 
the  small  coal  which  they  employ  in  their  kilns  at  about  25s, 
(300  cash  a  picul).     I  wish  I  could  do  as  well  at  Broomhall  I 

December  17 th. —  Ten  A.M. — The  gunboats  are  hunting  for 
a  channel.  ...  I  am  going  ashore.  On  this  day  last  year  I 
embarked  on  board  this  ship  for  the  first  time.  What  sn 
eventful  time  I  have  spent  since  then  I  Four  p.m. — I  have 
returned  from  my  walk,  but,  alas !  no  good  news  to  greet  me. 
Only  eleven  feet  of  water,  where  we  found  seventeen  on  the 
way  up.  .  .  .  Our  walk  was  pleasant  enough,  though  it  rained 
part  of  the  time.  Some  of  the  gentlemen  shot,  for  the  whole 
of  China  is  a  preserve,  the  game  hardly  being  molested  by  the 
natives.  We  went  into  the  house  of  a  small  landowner  of 
some  three  or  four  acres ;  over  the  door  was  a  tablet  to  the 
honour  of  a  brother  who  had  gained  the  highest  literary  degree, 
and  was  therefore  eligible  for  the  highest  offices  in  the  State. 
The  owner  himself  was  not  so  literary,  and  had  bought  the 
degree  of  bachelor  for  108  taels  (about  35/.).  If  he  tried  to 
purchase  the  degree  of  master  he  would  have,  he  said,  1,000 
taels  to  pay,  besides  passing  through  some  kind  of  examination. 
We  asked  him  about  the  Rebels.  He  said  that  when  they 
visited  the  rural  districts,  they  took  whatever  they  pleased, 
saying  that  it  belonged  to  their  Heavenly  Father.  Before 
meat  they  make  a  prayer  to  the  Heavenly  Father,  ending  with 
a  vow  to  destroy  the  *  demons '  (Imperialists).  *  But,'  added 
my  informant,  *  they  are  poor  creatures,  and  their  Heavenly 
*  Father  does  not  seem  to  do  much  for  them.'  We  also  visited  a 
manufactory  where  they  were  extracting  oil  from  cotton-seed. 

December  ISth, — Six  P.M. — We  are  to  try  a  channel,  such 
as  it  is,  to-morrow  morning.  I  landed  for  a  walk.  Wade  took 
a  gun  with  him.  We  saw  quantities  of  waterfowl  of  all  kinds. 
The  plain  on  the  left  bank  of  the  river  is  bounded  on  the  other 
side  by  a  pretty  lake.  The  plain  is  subject  to  inundations, 
and  seems  to  be  covered  by  a  bed  of  sand  of  about  five  feet  in 
thickness.  The  people  cultivate  it  by  trenching  for  the  clay 
beneath,  and  mixing  it  with  the  sand. 

December  19M.— 10.30  A.M. — The  *  Cruiser'  went  through 


1868,  PRESSING  THROUGH  THE  MUD.  299 

tliis  bad  passage  safely.     We  followed,  and  are  now  aground* 
Anchors  are  being  laid  out  in  hopes  of  dragging  the  ship  over. 

December  20th, — Eleven  A.M. — Our  difficulty  yeaterday  was  Prewing 
not  unexpected,  .  .  .  but  we  were  compelled  to  make  tlie  J^^^ 
attempt.  The  mud  was  very  soft,  and  as  we  pressed  against  it, 
kept  breaking  away  ;  but  the  difficulty  was,  that  as  we  moved 
the  shoal,  the  tide  was  forcing  us  towards  it,  and  preventing 
our  getting  clear  of  it.  At  night  we  fixed  the  ship  securely  by 
three  anchors,  and  left  it  to  make  its  own  way,  which  it  did  so 
effectually,  that  at  4  a.m.  we  slipped  into  deep  water.  We 
did  not  get  off  till  10  a.m.,  and  the  first  thing  we  had  to  do 
was  to  turn  in  a  channel  which  was  exactly  the  length  of  the 
ship,  and  not  a  foot  more.  This  very  clever  feat  we  performed 
with  the  help  of  an  anchor  dropped  from  the  stem,  and  are 
now  in  the  main  river.  .  .  .  Two  p.m. — We  have  anchored 
below  Kew-kiang,  at  the  spot  where  we  anchored  on  Novem- 
ber 30th.  The  '  Dove '  met  us  an  hour  ago  with  the  ominous 
signal,  *  Afraid  there  is  no  passage.'  Six  p.m. — Captain  Osbom 
has  returned  from  an  exploration,  which  will  be  continued 
to-morrow.  It  would  be  very  sad  if  the  *  Furious  '  had  to  be 
left  behind.  Meanwhile  I  landed  and  took  a  walk.  It  is  a 
pretty  country,  on  the  right  bank,  consisting  of  wooded  hillocks 
with  patches  of  cultivated  valley,  and  sometimes  lakes  of  consi- 
derable size.  Cosy  little  hamlets  nestle  in  most  of  the  valleys ; 
the  houses  built  of  sun-dried  bricks,  and  much  more  substantial 
than  those  we  saw  yesterday,  &c.,  where  the  walls  generally 
were  made  of  matting,  probably  because  of  the  inundations. 

December  23rd, — Noon, — At  about  six  Captain  Osbom  re- 
turned from  an  exploration  of  the  north  channel,  which  he  found 
rockv,  aud  twelve  feet  of  water  the  utmost  that  could  be  found. 
Captain  By thesea  was  disposed  to  try  and  lighten  the  *  Cruiser ; ' 
but  I  determined  that  I  would  run  no  risk  of  the  kind  As 
yet  no  harm  has  happened  to  any  of  our  ships,  and  the  delay 
at  this  point  of  some  of  the  squadron  for  three  months,  is  more 
an  inconvenience  to  me  than  a  disadvantage  in  any  other  way. 
On  public  grounds  it  will  even  be  attended  with  ben3fit,  as  it 
will  insure  the  Yangtze  being  kept  open ;  for  supplies  will  be 
sent  up  to  them  from  Shanghae,  and  they  will  have  an  oppor- 
tunity of  examining  the  Poyang  Lake  besides.  If  any  of  the 
vessels  were  lost  or  seriously  injured,  it  would  be  a  very  dif- 
ferent matter.     I  have  therefore  resolved  that  we  shall  all  pack 


300  .  FIRST  raSSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  XL 

Taking  into  the  *  Lee  '  (the  '  Dove '  being  crammed  already),  and 
ganboats.  With  the  aid  of  two  junks  for  servants  and  baggage,  make  our 
way  to  the  *  Setribution.'  We  shall  have  to  pass  Nganching, 
but  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  Rebels  will  not  repeat  the  experi- 
ment they  made  when  we  were  on  our  way  up.  Au  reste,  Dieu 
dispose, 

December  24th. — Noon, —  On  board  the  *  Lee.^ — ^We  have  just 
passed  the  shallow  behind  which  we  were  anchored  for  three 
days ;  but  we  have  passed  it  only  by  leaving  our  big  ships 
behind  us.  At  10  a.m.  I  had  all  the  ship's  company  of  the 
'  Furious '  on  deck,  and  made  a  short  farewell  speech  to  them, 
which  was  well  received  by  a  sympathetic  audience.  The 
whole  Mission  is  on  board  this  gunboat,  pretty  closely  packed 
as  you  may  suppose :  the  servants  in  a  Chinese  boat  astern, 
and  the  effects  in  another,  astern  of  the  *  Dove.'  The  '  Dove ' 
leads,  and  we  follow.  It  is  raining  and  blowing  unpleasantly. 
I  am  very  sorry  to  have  left  the  *  Furious.'  ...  If  the  Kebels 
let  us  pass  them  unattacked,  it  will  be  well ;  if  they  do  not, 
we  shall  be  obliged  in  self-defence  to  force  a  passage  through 
their  lines,  in  order  to  carry  supplies  to  our  ships.  Either  way, 
the  object  of  opening  the  Yangtze  will  be  attained.  Yesterday 
the  Prefect  of  Kew-kiang  came  on  board  the  *  Furious.*  He 
was  very  civil,  and  undertook  to  supply  Captain  Osbom  with 
all  he  wanted.  .  .  •  In  the  little  cabin  where  I  am  now  writing, 
five  of  us  are  to  sleep  ! 

Christmas  Day. — Many  happy  returns  of  it  to  you  and  the 
children !  ...  It  is  the  second  since  we  parted.  .  .  •  We  are 
now  (3  P.M.)  approaching  Nganching.  I  have  resolved  to 
communicate  with  the  authorities  to  express  my  indignation  at 
what  happened  when  we  passed  up  the  river,  and  tell  them  that 
if  it  is  repeated  I  shall  be  obliged  reluctantly  to  take  the  town. 
This  may  seem  rather  audacious  language,  considering  that  my 
whole  force  now  consists  of  two  gunboats.  However,  I  think 
it  is  the  proper  tone  to  take  with  the  Chinese. 
NirMi-  December  26th. —  One  P.M. — It  grew  so  dark  before  we  an- 

^"^  chored  near  Nganching  last  night,  that  we  abandoned  the 
idea  of  communicating  till  this  morning,  and  found,  when  day 
broke,  that  we  were  nearer  the  town  than  we  bad  anticipated. 
It  was  raining  heavily,  with  a  slight  admixture  of  sleet,  and 
some  of  the  heights  in  rear  of  the  town  were  covered  with  snow. 
We  heaved  auchpr  at  about  seven,  and  dropped  it  again  at 


1858.  NANKIN*  301 

about  half  a  mile  from  the  wall  of  the  city.  Wade  went  off 
in  a  boat.  He  steered  to  a  point  where  there  was  an  officer 
waving  a  flag  somewhat  ominously,  and  a  crowd  behind  him» 
generally  armed  with  red  umbrellas.  When  he  got  to  the 
shore,  he  was  informed  that  the  officer  was  third  in  command, 
and  a  Canton  man,  as  the  other  chiefs  abo  appeared  to  be. 
He  told  them  that  it  was  our  intention  to  pass  up  and  down 
the  river ;  that  I  had  come  with  a  good  heart  (i.e.  without  hos- 
tile intentions) ;  that  nevertheless  we  had  been  scandalously 
fired  at,  &c.  &c.  They  at  once,  in  the  manner  of  Chinamen, 
confessed  their  error,  and  said  that  the  firing  had  been  a  mis- 
take ;  that  it  was  the  act  of  some  of  the  local  men,  who  did  not 
know  the  ships  of  ^  your  great  nation ; '  that  it  should  not 
happen  again,  &c.  Wade  told  them  that  the  same  thing  had 
occurred  at  Nankin,  and  that  we  had  destroyed  the  peccant 
forts.  They  answered  that  they  were  aware  of  what  had  then 
happened.  He  added,  that  we  did  not  wish  to  interfere  in 
their  internal  disputes,  but  that  they  must  know,  if  we  were 
driven  to  it,  we  should  find  it  an  easy  matter  to  sweep  them 
out  of  the  city.  They  admitted  the  truth  of  all  he  said,  offered 
presents,  begged  him  to  go  into  the  city  and  see  their  chief 
(both  which  proposals  he  declined);  in  short,  they  were  con- 
trite and  humble.  On  his  return  to  the  ^  Lee,'  she  and  her 
consort  lifted  their  anchors,  and  we  steamed  quietly  past  the 
city,  under  the  very  walls,  and  within  easy  gingall  shot,  for  so 
we  were  compelled  to  do  by  the  narrowness  of  the  channel. 

December  29/A. — II  A.M. — We  are  now  approaching  Nan-  Nankim 
kin.  I  have  sent  Oliphant,  Wade,  Lay,  and  a  Mr.  W.  (a  mis- 
sionary) ahead  in  the  *  Dove,'  to  land,  if  possible,  at  the  first 
fort,  with  the  view  of  going  into  the  town  and  calling  on  the 
authorities.  The  '  Dove '  will  then  proceed  past  the  other 
forts  to  an  anchorage  on  the  farther  side  of  the  city,  to  which 
point  the  *  Lee '  and  *  Retribution '  will  follow  her.  My  emis- 
saries will  inform  the  Nankin  authorities  that  I  am  pleased  that 
they  should  have  apologised  for  their  scandalous  conduct 
towards  us  on  our  way  up;  that  we  have  no  intention  of 
meddling  with  them  if  they  leave  us  alone ;  but  that  we  intend 
to  move  ships  up  and  down  the  river,  and  that  they  must  not 
be  molested.  They  have  sent  me  a  letter  written  on  a  roll  of 
yellow  silk,  about  three  fathoms  long.  It  seems  to  be  a  sort  of 
rhapsody,  in  verse,  with  a  vast  infusion  of  their  extraordinary 


802 


FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA. 


Ch.  XL 


Wadfowl. 


Aground 
once  more. 


theology.  It  is  now  snowing  heavily,  so  we  cannot  see  far 
ahead.  It  would,  I  think,  be  awkward  for  me  to  have  any 
intercourse  with  the  Rebel  chiefs,  so  I  do  not,  as  at  present 
advised,  intend  to  land. 

December  ZQth. — About  7  P.M.,  the  *  Dove  '  rejoined  us  with 
the  emissaries.     It  appears  that  they  had  a  long  way  to  go  on 
horseback, — some  seven  or  eight  miles — before  they  reached 
the  Yamun  of  the  chief,  who  received  them.     They  do  not 
seem  to  have  learnt  much  from  him.     He  professed  to  be  third 
in  the  hierarchy  of  the  Kebel  Government  of  Nankin,  but  was 
a  rather  commonplace  person.     He  said  that  our  bombard- 
ment had  killed  three  officers  and  twenty  men,  and  that  they 
had  beheaded  the  soldiers  who  fired  at  us  I      Arrangements 
were  made  for  the  free  passage  of  vessels  communicating  with 
the  '  Furious.'    They  describe  their  ride  through  Nankin  as  if 
it  had  been  one  through  a  great  park, — trees,  and  the  streets 
wider  than  usual  in  China ;  but  no  trade  is  allowed,  and  the 
place  seems  almost  deserted.     There  was  not  quite  so  much 
appearance  of  destruction,  but  more  of  desolation,  than  in  any 
town  previously  visited  by  us.     The  officer  who  guided  them 
to  the  Yamun  asked  Wade  to  take  him  away  with  us,  and  on 
being  told  that  was  impossible,  applied  for  opium,  saying  that 
he  smoked  himself,  and  that  about  one  in  three  of  the  force  in 
Nankin  did   the  same.     Whether  the  original  Taiping  chief, 
'  Hung-Seu-Cheun,'  is  still  alive  or  not,  we  have  not  been 
able  to  discover.     Some  say  he  remains  shut  up  with  about 
300  wives.     At  any  rate  he  is  invisible.  .  .  .  The  only  thing 
remarkable  which  1  have  observed  to-day  is  the  quantity  of 
wildfowl      I  saw  one   flock  this  morning  which  was  several 
miles  long.     It   literally  darkened  the  sky.     I  suppose   the 
cold  weather  is  driving  them  inwards  from  the  sea. 

December  ZXst — Five  P.M. — I  hardly  expected  to  have  to 
record  another  grounding,  but  so  it  is.  We  have  been  going 
on  gallantly  all  day,  leaving  the  other  ships  some  ten  miles 
behind  us.  We  had  passed  the  Lunshan  Hills,  off  which  we 
spent  two  days,  and  from  which  I  sent  you  my  last  letter. 
We  were  abreast  of  Plover  Point,  when  suddenly  the  water 
shoaled  so  much  that  we  had  to  drop  anchor.  Alas!  the 
ebbing  tide  was  too  strong  for  us,  and  drove  us  on  a  bank, 
where  we  are  now  sticking.  If  we  get  off  before  morning  it 
will  not  matter  much ;  but  if  the  *  Retribution  '  comes  down 
and  finds  us  here,  we  shall  look  horribly  small. 


1869.  REACH  SHANGHAE.  303 

January  \sty  1859. — Many,  many  returns  of  the  New  Year  I  Beach 
It  is  a  beautiful  day,  and  we  are  just  anchoring  at  Shanghae,  8***^**^- 
at  3  P.M.     As  soon   as  the  tide  rose  (about  midnight)  it 
lifted  us  off  our  shoal.     We  had  to  go  cautiously  sometimes 
to-day ;   but  we  have  closed  this  eventful  expedition  success- 
fully. 

The  general  results  and  chief  incidents  of  the  interest- 
ing expedition  thus  happily  completed,  vrere  reported  to 
the  Government  in  England  in  a  despatch,  dated  January 
5th,  1859,  from  which  are  taken  the  following  extracts : — 

The  knowledge  of  the  Chinese  language  possessed  by  Messrs.  Difficulty 
Wade  and  Lay  enabled  me  to  enter,  without  difficulty,  into  at  fLta 
communication  with  the  inhabitants  of  the  towns  and  rural 
districts  which  we  visited.  At  various  points  in  our  progress 
we  wandered,  unarmed  and  unattended,  in  parties  of  three  or 
four,  to  a  distance  of  several  miles  from  the  banks  of  the  river, 
and  we  never  experienced  at  the  hands  of  the  natives  anything 
but  courtesy,  mingled  with  a  certain  amount  of  not  very  ob- 
trusive curiosity.  Notwithstanding,  however,  these  favourable 
opportunities,  the  budget  of  statistical  facts  which  I  was  able 
to  collect  was  hardly  as  considerable  as  I  could  have  desired. 
Chinamen  of  the  humbler  clas9  arc  not  much  addicted  to  re- 
flection, and  when  subjected  to  cross-examination  by  persons 
greedy  of  information,  they  are  apt  to  consider  the  proceeding 
a  strange  one,  and  to  suspect  that  it  must  be  prontpted  by 
some  exceedingly  bad  motive.  Moreover,  having  been  civilised 
for  many  generations,  they  carry  politeness  so  far,  that  in 
answering  a  question  it  is  always  their  chief  endeavour  to  say 
what  they  suppose  their  questioner  will  be  best  pleased  to 
hear.  If,  therefore,  the  knowledge  of  a  fact  is  to  be  arrived 
at,  it  is,  above  all  things,  necessary  that  the  inquiry  bear  a  tint 
so  neutral  that  the  person  to  whom  it  is  addressed  shall  find  it 
impossible  to  reflect  its  colour  in  his  reply.  He  will  then 
sometimes,  in  his  confusion,  blunder  into  a  truthful  answer, 
but  he  does  so  generally  with  a  bashful  air,  indicative  of  the 
painful  consciousness  that  he  has  been  reluctantly  violating 
the  rules  of  good  breeding.  A  search  after  accurate  statistics, 
under  such  conditions,  is  not  unattended  with  difficulty. 

I  am  confirmed,  by  what  I  have  witnessed  on  this  expedi- 
tion, in  the  doubts  which  I  have  long  entertained  as  to  the 


304  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  XI. 

Exagge-      accuracy  of  the  popular  estimates  of  the  amount  of  the  town 
rewtBof    population  of  China.     The  cities  which  I  have  visited   are, 
population,  no  doubt^  sufiering  at  present  from  the  effects  of  the  rebel- 
lion; but  I  cannot  bring  mjself  to  believe  that,  at  the  best  of 
times,  they   can  have  contained  the   number  of  inhabitants 
usually  imputed  to  them.     M.  Hue  puts  the  population  of  the 
three  cities  of  Woo-chang-foo,  Han-yang-foo,  and  Hankow,  at 
8,000,000.     I  doubt  much  whether  it  now  amounts,  in  the 
aggregate,  to  1,000,000;  and  even  when  they  were  flourishing, 
I  cannot  conceive  where  3,000,000  of  human  beings  could  have 
been  stowed  away  in  them. 
Sural  What  I  have  seen  leads  me  to  think  that  the  rural  popula- 

pop  on.  ^.^^  ^£  China  is,  generally  speaking,  well-doing  and  contented. 
I  worked  very  hard,  though  with  only  indifferent  success,  to 
obtain  from  them  accurate  information  respecting  the  extent 
of  their  holdings,  the  nature  of  their  tenure,  the  taxation  which 
they  have  to  pay,  and  other  kindred  matters.  I  arrived  at  the 
conclusion  that,  for  the  most  part,  they  hold  their  lands,  which 
are  of  very  limited  extent,  in  full  property  from  the  Crown, 
subject  to  certain  annual  charges  of  no  very  exorbitant 
amount;  and  that  these  advantages,  improved  by  assiduous 
industry,  supply  abundantly  their  simple  wants,  whether  in 
Town  respect  of  food  or  clothing.     In  the  streets  of  cities  in  China 

population,  qq^q  deplorable  objects  are  to  be  met  with,  as  must  always 
be  the  case  where  mendicity  is  a  legalised  institution ;  but  I 
am  inclined  to  think  that  the  rigour  with  which  the  duties 
of  relationship  are  enforced,  operates  as  a  powerful  check  on 
pauperism.  A  few  days  ago  a  lady  here  informed  me  that 
her  nurse  had  bought  a  little  girl  from  a  mother  who  had 
a  surplus  of  this  description  of  commodity  on  hand.  I  asked 
why  she  had  done  so,  and  was  told  that  the  little  girPs  hus- 
band, when  she  married,  would  be  bound  to  support  the 
adopting  mother.  By  the  judicious  investment  of  a  dollar  in 
this  timely  purchase,  the  worthy  woman  thus  secured  for 
herself  a  provision  for  old  age,  and  a  security,  which  she  pro- 
bably appreciates  yet  more  highly,  for  decent  burial  when 
she  dies. 
Mann-  My  general  impression  is,  that  British  manufacturers  will 

factures.  have  to  exert  themselves  to  the  utmost  if  they  intend  to  sup- 
plant, to  any  considerable  extent,  in  the  native  market,  the 
fabrics  produced  in  their  leisure  houi*s,  and  at  intervals  of  rest 


1869.  DEPARTURE  DELAYED.  306 

from  agricultural  labour,  by  this  industrious,  frugal,  and  sober 
population.  It  is  a  pleasing  but  pernicious  fallacy  to  imagine, 
that  the  influence  of  an  intriguing  mandarin  is  to  be  presumed 
whenever  a  buyer  shows  a  preference  for  native  over  foreign 
calico. 

In  returning  to  Shanghae,  Lord  Elgin  had  hoped  to 
find  the  objects  of  his  mission  so  far  secured,  that  there 
would  be  nothing  to  prevent  his  sailing  for  England  at 
once :  but  nearly  two  more  months  elapsed  before  he 
was  able  to  turn  his  back  on  the  Celestial  Empire. 

Shanghae, — January  \7th, — The  *  Furious'  and  *  Cruiser'  ar- 
rived here  safely  on  the  lOth.  ...  I  have  just  accomplished 
the  Herculean  task  of  looking  over  a  two-months'  supply  of 
newspapers,  and  this  occupation,  interlarded  with  a  certain 
number  of  letters  and  visits  to  and  from  the  Imperial  Com- 
missioners, and,  to-day,  an  address  from  the  British  community 
of  Shanghae,  has  pretty  fully  occupied  my  time.^  The  home 
mail  is  due  to-day,  and  1  am  anxiously  waiting  to  learn  from 
it  what  the  Government  intends  to  do  about  relieving  me.  •  .  . 
I  trust  that  your  many  disappointments  as  to  my  return  may 
have  been  somewhat  relieved  by  the  conviction  that  I  am  fol- 
lowing the  right  course.  This  opening  up  of  the  East  is  not 
a  light  matter.  .  .  .  The  comet  was  most  magnificent  here. 
Did  I  ever  mention  it  in  my  letters?  During  the  whole 
period  of  its  visit  in  this  quarter  it  had  night  after  night  a 
clear  blue  cloudless  sky,  spangled  with  stars  innumerable,  to 
disport  itself  in.  .  .  .  Canton  is  coming  round  to  tranquillity 
as  fast  as  we  ever  had  any  right  to  expect ;  but  the  absurd 
thing  is  that  these  funny  people  at  Hong-kong  are  beginning 
to  praise  me  I 


'  Ills  reply  to  the  ^ferchantd'  ad- 
droM  contained  the  following  paMase : 
'  Allow  me  to  express  the  satisfaction 
'  which  it  gives  me  to  find  that  you 
'  specify  the  benefits  that  are  likely  to 
*  accrue  to  the  inhabitants  of  iieae 
'  countries  themseWes,  as  among  the 
'  meet  important  of  the  results  to  be 
<  expected  from  our  recent  treaties 
'with  China  and  Japan.  On  this 
'  head  we  have  no  doubt  incurred  very 
'  weighty  re9ponsibilitie&  Uninviteu, 
'  and  by  metnods  not  always  of  the 
'  gentlest,  wo  have  broken  down  the 


barriers  behind  which  these  ancient 
nations  sought  to  conceal  firom  the 
world  without  the  my  Bteries,  perhaps 
also,  in  the  case  of  China  at  lea>ty 
the  rags  and  rottenness  of  their  wan- 
ing cinlisations.  Neither  our  own 
consciences  nor  the  judgment  of 
mankind  will  ncauit  us  if,  when  we 
are  asked  to  wnat  use  we  have 
turned  our  opportunities,  we  can 
only  say  that  we  have  filled  our 
pocicets  from  among  th^  ruiuA  which 
we  have  found  or  made.' 


X 


3p6 


FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA. 


Cn.  XI. 


TrcnbleB 
at  Canton. 


Town  of 
Shanghae. 


January  20th. — I  had  hardly  written  the  words  ^  Canton  is 
coming  round  to  tranquillity/  when  I  heard  that  there  had 
been  fighting  there  again.  It  is  a  good  thing  in  my  opinion, 
as  it  will  enable  us  to  demonstrate  our  superiority  to  the 
Braves^  if  the  General  and  Admiral  improve  the  opportunity 
])roperly ;  not  by  a  great  deal  of  slaughter^  that  is  quite  un- 
necessary, but  by  promptitude,  and  striking  a  blow  at  the 
right  moment.  The  Chinese  do  not  care  much  about  being 
killed,  but  they  hate  being  frightened,  and  the  knowledge 
of  this  idiosyncrasy  of  theirs  is  the  key  of  the  position.  I 
have  just  written  a  letter  to  my  friends  the  Imperial  Com- 
missioners here,  which  will,  I  think,  shake  their  nerves  con- 
siderably, and  bring  them  to  a  manageable  frame  of  mind. 

In  farct,  when  he  found  that  Governor-General  Hwang 
had  not  been  recalled,  nor  the  Committee  of  Gentry 
suppressed,  and  that  the  Canton  Braves  were  still  making 
war  upon  our  troops,  he  felt  that  the  Chinese  were  try- 
ing to  evade  the  performance  of  their  promises,  and 
that  there  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  *  appeal  again  to 

*  that  ignoble  passion  of  fear  which  was  unhappily  the 

*  one  primum  mobile  of  human  action  in  China. '  ^  Accord- 
ingly he  wrote  to  the  Imperial  Commissioners  that,  aja 
the  Emperor  did  not  carry  out  what  they  undertook,  he 
would  have  nothing  more  to  say  to  them  on  the  sub- 
ject; that  the  EngUsh  soldiers  and  sailors  would  take 
the  Braves  into  their  own  hands ;  and  that  he  or  his 
successor  would  in  a  month  or  two  have  an  opportunity 
of  ascertaining  at  Pekin  itself  whether  or  not  the  Em- 
peror was  abetting  the  persons  who  were  creating  dis- 
turbances in  the  South. 

The  journal  continues,  under  date  of  January  20 : — 

Yesterday  I  took  a  walk  through  the  town  of  Shanghae 
with  a  missionary  who  is  a  very  good  cicerone.  We  went  into 
a  good  many  ateliers  of  silversmiths,  ribbon-makers,  tobacco- 
manufacturers,  carvers  in  wood,  and  the  like.  The  Chinese 
are  skilful  manipulators,  but  they  are  singularly  uninventive. 


'  Despatch  of  Jan.  22,  1860. 


1850.  RETURN  TO  HONG-KONG.  307 

Nothing  can  be  more  rude  than  their  labour-saying  processeB. 
We  visited  also  a  foundling  establishment  There  was  a 
drawer  at  the  entrance  in  which  the  infants  are  deposited,  as 
185 1  believe,  the  case  at  Paris.  The  children  seem  tolerably 
cared  for,  but  there  were  not  many  in  the  house.  The  greater 
portion  are  given  out  to  nurse.  We  went  also  into  a  large 
inn  or  lodging-house,  frequented  by  a  respectable  class  of 
visitors — silk  merchants,  &c.  The  rooms  seemed  comfortable, 
quite  as  good  as  the  accommodation  provided  for  commercial 
travellers  at  an  English  inn.  A  good  many  books  seemed  to 
form  part  of  the  luggage  of  the  occupant  of  each  room  that  we 
entered.  It  is  curious  that  I  should  have  been  engaged  in  so 
many  enterprises  of  rather  an  out-of-the-way  character  since 
I  have  been  out  here.  I  confess  that  in  my  own  opinion  the 
voyage  up  the  Yangtze  is  not  the  least  important  one. 

January  22nd. — Mail  arrived.  Frederick's  appointment'  is 
very  satisfactory,  and  I  am  sure  it  is  the  best  the  Grovemment 
could  have  made  for  the  public  interest.  It  is  a  great  comfort 
to  me  to  know  that  he  will  wind  up  what  I  cannot  finish. 

Shanghae. — Jamiary  26M. — After  full  consideration  I  have  R«^w 
resolved  to  go  at  once  to  Hong-kong,  and  take  the  Canton  kong. 
difficulty  in  hand.  A  variety  of  circumstances  lead  me  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  Court  of  Pekin  is  about  to  play  us  false. 
Ho,  the  Governor-General  of  the  Two  Kiang ;  the  Tautai  of 
this  port ;  and  the  Treasurer  of  the  district,  all  well-disposed 
to  foreigners,  have  been* gradually  removed  from  the  councils 
of  the  Commissioners.  Some  papers  which  we  have  seized  also 
indicate  that  the  Emperor  is  by  no  means  reconciled  to  some 
of  the  most  important  concessions  obtained  in  the  Treaties. 
This  row  at  Canton  is  therefore  very  opportune.  I  have  taken 
a  high  tone,  informed  the  Commissioners  that  I  am  off  to  the 
South  to  punish  disturbers  (^f  the  peace  there,  and  that  when  I 
have  taught  them  to  respect  treaties,  I  (or  my  successor)  will 
return  to  settle  matters  still  pending  here,  pacifically  or  other- 
wise as  the  Emperor  may  prefer.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  this 
language  will  bring  them  to  their  senses,  or  rather  bring  the 
Court  to  its  senses,  for  I  do  not  suppose  that  the  Commis- 
sioners are  so  much  to  blame.  I  had  already  asked  all  the 
society  here  to  a  party  this  evening,  so  it  will  be  a  farewell 
entertainment,  and  I  shall  embark  as  soon  as  it  is  over. 

'  As  Minister  at  the  Court  of  Pekin. 

X  2 


308  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  C^i.  XI. 

Pirate-  At   Sea,  near  Hong-kong. —  Tuesday,  February  \sL — Two 

hunting,  war-steamers  and  a  gunboat  have  just  passed  us  on  some  ex- 
pedition after  pirates.  It  may  be  all  right,  but  I  fear  we  do 
some  horrible  injustices  in  this  pirate-hunting.  The  system  of 
giving  our  sailors  a  direct  interest  in  captures  is  certainly  a 
barbarous  one,  and  the  parent  of  much  evil ;  though  perhaps  it 
may  be  difficult  to  devise  a  remedy.  The  result,  however,  is, 
that  not  only  are  seizures  oflen  made  which  ought  not  to  be 
made  at  all,  but  also  duties  are  neglected  which  do  not  bring 
grist  to  the  mill.  B.  once  said  to  me,  in  talking  of  the  diffi- 
culty of  exercising  a  police  over  even  English  vessels  which 
carry  coolies  to  foreign  ports : — '  Men-of-war  have  orders  to 
*  seize  vessels  breaking  the  law ;  but  as  they  are  not  prizes, 
'  and  the  captain  if  he  seizes  them  wrongfully  is  liable  to  an 
'  action  for  damages,  how  can  you  expect  them  to  act  ? ' 
Hatch  February  Wtlu — I  ought  to  tell  you  that  on  the  8th,  a  body 

into  the  Qf  troops  about  1,000  strong  started  on  an  expedition  into  the 
interior,  which  was  to  take  three  days.  I  accompanied  or 
rather  preceded  them  on  the  first  day's  march,  about  twelve 
miles  from  Canton.  We  rode  through  a  very  pretty  country, 
passing  by  the  village  of  Sheksing,  where  there  was  a  fight  a 
fortnight  ago.  The  people  were  very  respectful,  and  apparently 
not  alarmed  by  our  visit  At  the  place  where  the  troops  were 
to  encamp  for  the  night,  a  cattle  fair  was  in  progress,  and  our 
arrival  did  not  seem  to  interrupt  the  proceedings. 

February  13M. — The  military  expedition  into  the  country 
was  entirely  successful.  The  troops  were  received  everywhere 
as  friends.  Considering  what  has  been  of  yore  the  state  of 
feeling  in  this  province  towards  us,  I  think  this  almost  the 
most  remarkable  thing  which  has  happened  since  I  came  here. 
Would  it  have  happened  if  I  had  given  way  to  those  who 
wished  me  to  carry  fire  and  sword  through  all  the  country 
villages  ?  Or  if  I  had  gone  home,  and  left  the  winding-up  of 
these  affairs  in  the  hands  of  others  ?  .  .  .  I  say  all  this  because 
I  am  anxious  that  you  should  appreciate  the  motives  which 
have  made  me  prolong  my  stay  in  this  quarter. 

On  the  15th  he  started,  intending  to  join  General 
Straubenzee  in  an  expedition  up  the  West  River  ;  but 
fiinding  that  his  presence  would  be  of  no  use,  and  might 
be  an  embarrassment,  he  resolved  instead  to  spend  the 


18G0.  MISSION   COMPLETED.  309 

time  in  visiting  the  port  of  Hainan,  the  southernmost 
port  opened  by  the  new  Treaty.  Unfortunately,  when 
he  arrived  off  Hainan,  a  wind  blowing  on  sh^i^,  and 
very  imperfect  charts,  prevented  his  entering  the  port ; 
but  on  his  way  he  had  an  opportunity  of  revisiting  one 
of  the  few  places  on  the  coast  possessing  any  historical 
interest,  namely  Macao,  the  residence  of  Camoens ;  and 
also  of  touching  at  St.  John,  the  scene  of  the  labours  and 
death  of  Francis  Xavier. 

February  Ylth. — We  reached   Macao  yesterday  morning.  lI«c*o. 
I  visited  the  garden  of  Camoens^  and  wandered  amoog  the 
narrow  up-and-down  streets,  which  with  the  churches  and  oon- 
yentSy  and  air  of  quiet  vituste^  remind  one  of  a  town  on  the 
continent  of  Europe. 

February  20th. — Sunday. — We  have  just  anchored  in  a  8t  John, 
quiet  harbour,  on  the  island  of  St.  John,  or  Sancian,  as  Hue 
calls  it ;  the  Brst  place  in  China  where  the  Portuguese  settled. 
Here,  too,  St.  Francis  Xavier  died.  I  should  land  and  look 
at  his  tomb  if  I  thought  it  was  in  this  part  of  the  island,  but 
it  is  late  (5  p.m.),  and  a  long  way  to  pull. 

On  returning  to  Hong-kong  he  found  that  his  letter 
to  the  Chinese  Government  had  had  the  effect  which  he 
desired  and  anticipated. 

Hong-kong. — February  23rrf. — I  have  good  news  from  the  Mimioii 
North.     As  I  was  walking  on  the  deck  this  morning  at  8  «»»P*«*~- 
A.M.,  Mr.  Lay  suddenly  made  his  appearance.     He  had  come 
by  the  mail-packet  from  Shanghae,  with  a  letter  from  the 
Imperial  Commissioners,  announcing  that  the  seal  of  Imperial 
Commission  had   been  taken   from   Hwang,   the  Oovemor- 
General  of  this  province,  and  given  to  Ho,  the  Governor-Gene- 
ral of  the   provinces  in  which   Shanghae  is  situated.     Lay 
further  states  that  his  friend  the  Tautai  informed  him  that 
they  are  prepared  to  receive  the  new  Ambassador  peacefully  at 
Pekin,  when  he  goes  to  exchange  ratifications.     If  so,  I  think 
that  I  shall  be  able  to  return  with  the  conviction  that  the     * 
objects  of  my  mission  have  been  accomplished. 

The  details  of  his  Treaty  having  been  now  defini- 
tively arranged,  Canton  pacified,  and  its  neighbourhood 


310  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  XL 

overawed  by  the  peaceful  progress  through  it  of  a  inili- 
tary  expedition,  there  remained  nothing  to  detain  him 
in  the  East.^ 

Homewird  Canton  River. — March  3rd. — I  am  really  and  truly  off  on 
bound.  jjjy  ^^y  ^  England,  though  I  can  hardly  believe  that  it  is  bo. 
The  last  mail  brought  me  not  a  word  either  from  Frederick  or 
about  his  plans;  only,  what  was  very  satisfactory,  the  ap- 
proval of  the  Government  of  my  arrangement  respecting  the 
residence  of  the  British  Minister  in  China.  I  have,  however, 
determined  to  start,  and  to  take  my  chance  of  meeting  him 
somewhere  en  route.  Unless  I  were  to  go  back  to  Shanghae, 
I  could  not  do  much  more  here  now ;  and  if  I  put  off,  I  shall 
have  the  monsoon  against  me,  and  great  heat  in  the  Red  Sea. 
Hong-kong  Having  resolved  on  this  course,  I  invited  the  Hong-kong  mer- 
^°'^^"  chants  to  come  up  with  me  to  Canton,  to  look  at  the  several 
factory  sites.  In  their  usual  way  they  have  been  dictating  the 
choice  of  a  site  to  me,  abusing  me  for  not  fixing  upon  it ;  and 
I  found  out  that  very  few  of  them  had  even  taken  the  trouble 
of  looking  at  the  ground.  In  short  I  found  that,  in  my  short 
visits,  I  had  seen  a  great  deal  more  of  the  sites  than  they  had 
done,  who  live  constantly  on  the  spot,  and  are  personally  inte- 
rested in  the  matter.  I  started  irom  Hong-kong  yesterday 
morning,  and  to-day  I  went  over  the  ground  with  them.  The 
rain  poured,  and  I  got  a  good  wetting.  ...  As  I  was  starting 
from  the  town  in  a  gunboat  to  rejoin  my  ship,  I  met  the 
military  and  naval  expedition,  which  has  been  absent  for  more 
than  two  weeks,  returning.  I  had  not  time  to  communicate 
with  the  officers,  but  they  seemed  in  good  spirits.  It  is  a 
curious  wind-up  of  this  most  eventful  mission,  that  as  I  am 
starting  from  China,  I  should  meet  an  Anglo-French  force 
returning  from  a  pacific  invasion  into  the  very  heart  of  the 
province  of  Kwan-tung  1 — the  pepiniere  of  the  Canton  Braves, 
of  whom  we  have  heard  so  much. 

March  Ath. — Eleven  A.M. — I  have  been  calculating  that  if 

Frederick  does  not  leave  England  till  the  mail  of  the  25th  of 

February,  I  may,  by  pushing  on,  catch  him  at  Gralle.     This 

*     would  be  a  great  point.     I  must  push  on  and  take  my  chance. 

^  In  a  partinff  letter  he  pointed  ported  bv  an  imposing  force,   and 

out  to  the  Admu'al  how  desirable  it  suggested    that  with    this  view  a 

was  that  the  ambassador  who  went  somcient  fleet  of  gonboats  should 

to  Pekin  to  exchange  the  ratifica-  be  concentrated  at  once  at  Shanghae^ 
tions  of  the  Treaty  should  be  sup- 


1869.  HOMEWARD  VOYAGE.  311 

March  Sih. — We  are  passing  Pulo  Sapata^  a  bald^  solitary  Poio 
rock,  standing  in  the  midst  of  the  China  Sea,  the  resort  of  sea-  ^P^^** 
fowl,  as  is  indicated  by  its  guano-like  appearance.  There  it 
stands  day  after  day,  and  year  after  year,  afironting  the  scorch- 
ing beams  of  this  tropical  son.  All  ships  pass  by  it  between 
Singapore  and  China.  So  I  am  looking  at  it  for  the  fourth 
time — the  last  time,  we  may  hope.  We  have  made  fully  200 
miles  a  day — a  great  deal  for  this  ship. 

March  lOth. — We  are  now  very  near  the  Line,  and  the 
breeze  has  nearly  failed  us ;  so  you  may  imagine  we  are  not 
very  cool,  but  we  hope  to  reach  Singapore  to-morrow.  These 
Tropics  are  very  charming  when  they  do  not  broil  one ;  and  I 
passed  a  pleasant  hour  last  night  on  the  top  of  the  paddle-box, 
with  a  balmy  air  floating  over  my  face  from  the  one  side,  a 
crescent  moon  playing  hide-and-seek  behind  a  cloud  on  the 
other,  and  right  above  me  a  legion  of  bright  stars,  shining 
through  the  atmosphere  as  if  they  could  pierce  one  with  their 
glance. 

March  II th. — We  have  passed  the  Horsburgh  lighthouse, 
and  entered  the  Straits.  Wooded  banks  on  either  side,  diver- 
sified by  hillocks,  and  a  ship  or  two,  give  some  animation  to  the 
scene.  It  is^  very  hot,  and  I  have  been  on  the  paddle-box 
getting  what  air  I  can,  and  watching  a  black  wall  of  cloud 
covered  with  fleecy  masses,  which  rests  on  the  bank  to  our 
right,  and  seems  half  inclined  to  sweep  over  us  with  one  of 
those  refreshing  pelts  of  which  we  had  a  succession  last  night. 
It  is  this  habit  of  showers  which  renders  the  vicinity  of  the 
Line  more  bearable  than  the  summer  heat  of  other  parts 
vrithin  the  Tropics.  However,  the  cloud  sticks  to  the  shore, 
so  I  have  come  down  to  write  this  line  to  you. 

Singapore. — Sunday,  March  \Sth,  Seven  A.M. — This  place  Singsporo. 
looks  wonderfully  green  and  luxuriant  after  China.  The 
variety  of  costumes  and  colours  too,  Malay,  Indian,  Chinese, 
&C.,  and  the  pretty  villas  perched  on  each  hillock  among 
flowering  trees,  give  it  a  festival  air.  Heavy  showers  of  rain 
also  keep  the  temperature  down. . . .  3.30  p.m. — I  went  to  church 
an4  embarked  immediately  after ;  and  here  we  are,  about  ten 
miles  from  Singapore,  going  well  through  a  calm  sea,  witli  a 
slight  breeze  radier  against  us.  Twenty  months  ago  I  left 
this  place  at  about  the  same  hour  with  poor  Peel  for  Calcutta. 

March  21#f. — Six  A.11. — I   have  been  an  hour  on  deck 


312  FIRST  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  XI. 

watching  the  great  bright  stars  eclipse  themselves^  and  the 
sun  break  through  the  clouds  right  astern  of  us.  It  is  a  lovely 
day,  and  we  are  a  little  bent  over  by  a  breeze  from  the  shore 
of  Ceylon,  along  which  we  are  now  running.  Noon. — Just 
anchored  at  Galle,  after  a  run  of  about  270  miles  in  twenty- 
four  hours.  .  .  .  We  are  surrounded  by  curious  boats  about 
two  feet  wide,  prevented  from  capsizing  by  outriggers — beams 
of  wood  Jloatinff  on  the  water  on  one  side  of  them,  and  attached 
to  them  by  poles  of  about  eight  feet  in  length.  I  believe  these 
boats  are  wonderfully  fast  and  safe. 
Ceylon.  Colombo. — Sunday^  March  27th. — We  came  yesterday  to 

this  place.  A  drive  of  seventy-two  miles  through  an  almost 
uninterrupted  grove  of  cocoar-nut  trees,  interspersed  witii 
bread-fruit,  jack-fruit,  and  other  foliage,  with  occasional  gleams 
of  the  Gloriosa  superba.  The  music  of  the  ocean  waves  hiss- 
ing and  thundering  on  the  shore  accompanied  us  all  our 
journey.  The  road  was  good  and  the  coach  tolerable,  so  it 
was  pleasant  enough.  To-day  the  heat  is  very  great;  hardly 
bearable  at  church.  All  Sir  H.  Ward's  family  are  on  the  hill 
— Newra  Elyia — ^some  6,000  feet  above  the  sea ;  this  being  the 
hottest  season  in  Ceylon.  My  writing  is  not  very  good,  for  I 
cannot  sit  still  for  the  heat.  I  am  walking  about  the  room  in 
very  light  attire,  taking  up  my  pen  from  time  to  time  to  indite 
a  few  words. 

H.  M.  S.  '  Furious:— At  Sea,  April  Qth.—WiM  this  letter 
be  delivered  to  you  by  the  post  or  by  the  writer  in  person  ? 
Chi  saf  .  .  .  You  will  like  to  have  a  complete  record  of  my 
experiences  during  my  long  absence.  I  am  now  again  at  sea, 
and  I  cannot  say  how  this  fact  rejoices  me.  I  was  tired  of 
Ceylon ;  and  my  longing  to  get  home  increases  as  the  prospect 
of  my  doing  so  becomes  more  real.  I  was  ill,  too,  at  Ceylon. 
The  heat  was  very  great ;  and  I  was,  I  fear,  somewhat  im- 
prudent. On  the  day  after  I  despatched  my  last  letter  to  you 
from  Colombo,  I  started  for  Kandy,  a  pretty  little  country 
town  seated  in  the  centre  of  a  circle  of  hills.  I  reached  it 
at  5  P.M.,  time  enough  to  walk  about  the  very  beautiful 
grounds  of  the  *  Pavilion,'  the  Governor's  residence.  N^xt 
day,  ufter  seeing  the  shrine  which  contains  the  famous  tooth  of 
Buddha,  I  set  off  for  the  mountains,  and  reached  a  coffee  estate 
of  Baron  Delmar's  at  about  6  p.m.  We  found  ourselves  in  a 
fine  cool  climate,  at  about  3,000  feet  above  the  sea.     That 


1869.  HOME.  313 

night,  however,  I  felt  a  ehiver  as  I  went  to  bed.  I  had  a  bad 
headache  next  morning,  and  when  I  arrived  at  Newra  Elyia, 
the  famous  sanatarium,  6,000  feet  above  the  sea,  I  was  obliged 
to  go  to  bed,  and  send  for  the  doctor.  I  could  not  remain 
quiet,  however,  as  the  packet  from  England  might  be  at  Galle 
on  the  3rd ;  so  I  had  to  hurry  down  on  Friday  from  the  moun- 
tain to  Kandy  and  Colombo,  where  I  arrived  on  Saturday 
evening  more  dead  than  alive.  Sir  H.  Ward's  doctor  declared 
me  to  be  labouring  under  an  attack  of  jungle  fever.  ...  I 
sent  for  the  '  Furious,'  which  conveyed  me  from  Colombo  to 
Galle  on  Monday  the  4th.  Frederick  did  not  arrive  till  the 
6th ;  so  all  ended  well.  It  was  an  unspeakable  comfort  to  me 
to  meet  Frederick  at  last.  We  had  a  day  to  talk  over  our 
afiairs,  as  he  did  not  proceed  till  the  afternoon  of  the  7th.  •  •  • 
I  am  pleased  with  Ceylon,  notwithstanding  my  mishaps.  For 
a  tropical  climate  it  is  healthy  and  bearable ;  but  we  happened 
to  be  there  at  the  very  hottest  season.  At  Newra  Elyia  it  is 
really  cold,  and,  at  the  height  of  the  coffee  estates,  very  tolerable 
to  vegetate  in. 

The  rapid  homeward  journey  along  a  beaten  route 
offered  little  of  interest  to  write  about,  especially  as  he 
was  likely  to  be  the  bearer  of  his  own  letter.  On 
the  19th  of  May  he  reported  to  the  Foreign  Office  his 
arrival  in  London. 


314  SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  XH. 


CHAPTER  XIT. 

SECOND    MISSION    TO    CHINA.     OUTWARD. 

LORD  ELGIK  IN  ENOLAND — ORIGIN  OF  SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHINA — GLOOMY 
PROSPECTS — EGYPT — ^THE  PYRAMIDS — ^THE  SPHINX — ^PASSENGERS  HOME- 
WARD    BOUND CEYLON — SHI  PWRECK — ^PENANG — ^SINOAPORE SHANGH  AE 

MEETING  WITH   MR.  BRUCE — T ALIEN- WHAN — SIR   HOPE   GRANT — ^PLANS 

FOR   LANDING. 

LordEigin  When  Lord  Elgin  returned,  in  1854,  from  the  Govem- 
iLdL*"  ment  of  Canada,  there  were  comparatively  few  persons 
in  England  who  knew  or  cared  anything  about  the  great 
work  which  he  had  done  in  the  colony.  But  his  bril- 
liant successes  in  the  East  attracted  public  interest, 
and  gave  currency  to  his  reputation ;  and  when  he  re- 
turned from  China  in  the  spring  of  1859  he  was  received 
with  every  honour.  Two  great  parliamentary  chiefs. 
Lord  Derby  and  Lord  Grey,  from  opposite  sides  of  the 
House  of  Lords,  contended  for  the  credit  of  having  first 
introduced  him  into  public  life.  Lord  Palmerston,  who 
was  at  the  time  engaged  in  forming  a  new  Administra- 
tion, again  offered  him  a  place  in  it,  and  he  accepted  the 
office  of  Postmaster-General.  The  students  of  Glasgow 
paid  him  the  compliment  of  electing  him  as  their  Lord 
Rector;  and  the  merchants  of  London  showed  their 
sense  of  what  he  had  done  for  their  commerce,  first  by 
the  enthusiastic  reception  which  they  gave  him  at  a 
dinner  at  the  Mansion  House,  and  aiterwards  by  con- 
ferring upon  him  the  freedom  of  their  city. 

Lord  Elgin  was  not  one  of  those  men,  if  any  such 
there  be,  who  are  indifferent  to  the  appreciation  of  their 
fellows.  He  could,  indeed,  in  a  mock-cynical  humour, 
write  of  what  a  man  must  do  *  if  he  thinks  it  worth 


1860.  ORIGIN  OF  THE  SECOND  MISSION.  315 

*  while  to  Btand  well  with  others : '  *  but  in  himself  there 
was  nothing  of  the  cynic,  and  to  staud  well  with  others 
was  to  his  genial  nature  a  source  of  genuine  and 
undisguised  gratification.  It  was  well  said  of  him 
afterwards  in  reference  to  the  honours  paid  to  him  at 
this  period,  that  while  he  did  not  require  the  stimulus 
of  praise,  or  even  sympathy,  to  keep  him  to  his  work, 
but  would  have  worked  on  for  life,  whether  appre- 
ciated or  overlooked,  still  ^  he  whose  sjmtipathies  were 
^  always  ready  and  warm  enjoyed  himself  being  under- 
^  stood  and  valued ;  and  that  welcome  in  the  City  was 

*  very  cheering  to  him  after  his  long  experience  of 
^  English  indifference  about  Canada  and  what  he  had 

*  done  there.' 

He  was  not  destined,  however,  to  enjoy  for  long 
either  the  tranquil  dignities  of  his  new  position  or 
the  comfortable  sense  of  a  work  accomplished  and  com- 
pleted.  Fresh  troubles  broke  out  in  the  East ;  and,  on 
the  26th  of  April,  1860,  within  less  than  a  year  after  his 
arrival  in  En^and,  he  waB  again  cix>88ing  the  Channel 
on  his  way  back  to  China. 

The   Chinese   Government,  tractable  enough  under  origin 
the  present  influence  of  a  bold  and  determined  spirit,  ^^^ 
had  returned  to  its  old  ways  when  that  pressure  was  ^  China. 
removed.     It  had  been  agreed  that  the  Treaty  of  Tien- 
tsin should  be  formally  ratified  within  the  year,  that  is, 
before  the  26th  of  June,  1859 ;  and,  when  the  time 
approached,  Mr.  Bruce  was  commissioned  to  proceed  to 
Pekin  for  the  purpose  of  exchanging  the  ratifications. 
On  arriving,  however,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Peiho,  he 
found  the  Taku  forts,  which  guard  the  mouth  of  the 
river,  fortified  against  him ;  and  when  the  men-of-war 
which  accompanied  him  went  forward  to  remove  the 
barriers  that  had  been  laid  across  the  river,  they  were 
fired  upon  from  the  forts.     As  no  such  resistance  had 
been  expected,  no  provision  had  been  made  for  over- 

>'  Vide  mtpra,  p.  236. 


316  SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  XH. 

coming  it ;  and  Mr.  Bruce  had  no  choice  but  to  return 
to  Shanghae,  and  report  to  the  Government  at  home 
what  had  occurred. 

For  some  time  it  seems  to  have  been  hoped  that  the 
Emperor  of  China,  when  fully  informed  of  the  miscon- 
duct of  his  officers  in  firing  upon  British  ships  without 
notice,  would  have  been  ready  to  make  the  proper 
amende ;  but  when  this  hope  was  dispelled,  it  became 
clear  that  such  an  outrage  must  be  summarily  dealt 
with.  A  large  force,  both  naval  and  military,  was 
ordered  from  England  and  India  to  the  China  seas, 
to  co-operate  there  with  forces  sent  by  the  French,  who 
felt  themselves  scarcely  less  aggrieved  than  the  English 
by  the  repudiation  of  the  common  Treaty. 

For  the  command  of  this  expedition  there  was  one 
man  whom  all  parties  alike  regarded  as  marked  out  at 
once  by  character  and  ability,  and  by  previous  experi- 
ence. On  the  17th  of  April,  1860,  Lord  Russell,  who 
was  then  Foreign  Secretary,  wrote  officially  to  Lord 
Elgin  that  *  Her  Majesty,  resolved  to  employ  every 
^  means  calculated  to  establish  peace  with  the  Emperor 
^  of  China,  had  determined  to  call  upon  him  again  to 
*give  his  valuable  services  to  promote  this  important 

*  object,  and  had  signified  her  intention  of  appointing 

*  him  to  proceed  to  China  as  her  Ambassador  Extraor- 

*  dinary  to  deal  with  these  matters.'  His  instructions 
were  necessarily  of  the  vaguest.  After  touching  upon 
some  of  the  awkward  contingencies  that  might  arise, 
Lord  Russell  proceeded :  ^  In  these  circumstances  your 

*  Lordship  and  your  enlightened  colleague,  Baron  Gros, 
*will  be  required  to  exercise  those  personal  qualities 

*  of  firmness  and  discretion  which  have  induced  Her 

*  Majesty  and  her  Ally  to  place  their  confidence  in  you 

*  and  the  French  Plenipotentiary.'  The  only  conditions 
named  as  indispensable  were,  (1)  an  apology  for  the 
attack  on  the  Allied  forces  at  the  Peiho;  (2)  the  rati- 
fication and  execution  of  the  Treaty  of  Tientsin  ;  (3) 


1860.  GLOOMY  PROSPECTS.  317 

the  payment  of  an  indemnity  to  the  Allies  for  the  ex- 
penses of  naval  «nd  military  preparations. 

To  be  called  away  from  the  happy  home  which  he 
BO  rarely  enjoyed  and  enlightened,  and  to  be  sent  out 
again  to  the  ends  of  the  world  on  such  a  service,  was 
no  light  sacrifice  even  to  his  patriotic  spirit ;  and  the 
feeling  of  this  was  perhaps  aggravated  by  the  half- 
hope  cherished  during  the  first  few  weeks,  that  any 
day  he  might  be  met  by  tidings  that  the  Chinese  had 
made  the  required  concessions,  and  that  the  affair  was 
settled.  The  following  extracts  from  his  Journal  reflect 
something  of  this. 

Sunday y  April  29th. — Off  Sardinia. — So  much  for  my  chro-  Gloomy 
nicle ;  but  I  write  it  with  a  certain  feeling  of  repugnance  and  P"*^***** 
self-reproach.  It  was  very  well  on  the  occasion  of  my  first 
voyage,  when  I  wished  to  share  with  you  whatever  charm  the 
novelty  of  the  scenes  through  which  I  was  passing  might 
supply  to  mitigate  the  pain  of  our  separation.  But  this  time 
there  is  no  such  pretext  for  the  record  of  our  daily  progress.  I 
am  going  through  scenes  which  I  have  visited  before,  on  an 
errand  of  which  the  issue  is  almost  more  than  doubtful.  When 
I  see  my  friend  Gros  I  feel  myself  doubly  guilty,  in  having 
consented  to  undertake  this  task,  and  thus  compelled  him  to 
make  the  same  sacrifice.  And  Frederick  —  what  will  he 
think  of  my  coming  out  ?  It  is  a  dark  sky  all  around.  There 
is  only  one  bright  side  to  the  picture.  It  is  very  unlikely  that 
my  absence  can  be  of  long  duration.  If  such  ideas  were  to 
prevail  in  England  as  those  which  are  embodied  in  an  article 
on  China,  which  is  to  appear  in  the  forthcoming  Blackwood^  I 
might  be  detained  long  enough  in  that  quarter;  but  these 
are  not  the  views  of  the  public  or  the  statesmen  of  England. 
What  is  desired  is  a  speedy  settlement,  on  reasonable  terms — 
as  good  terms  as  possible ;  but  let  the  settlement  be  speedy. 
This,  I  think,  is  the  fixed  idea  of  all.  Gros  tells  me  that  when 
he  took  leave  the  Emperor  grasped  both  his  hands,  thanked 
him  with  effusion,  and  said  that  not  one  man  in  fifty  would 
make  such  a  sacrifice  as  he  (Gros)  was  doing. 

Monday f  ZOth. — I  do  not  know  whether  I  shall  do  much 
more  to  this  letter  before  I  reach  Malta,  for  we  are  both  rolling 
and  pitching,  which  is  not  favourable  to  writing,  the  climate 


318  SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  XH. 

has  now  changed.  It  is  Tery  near  perfection  in  point  of  tem- 
perature. If  we  could  only  keep  it  so  all  the  way  I  We 
expect  to  reach  Malta  this  evenings  and  remain  about  four 
hours.  Where  are  you  now?  •  .  .  Have  you  returned  to 
your  desolate  home  ?  I  think  I  see  B.  looking  up  to  you  with 
his  thoughtful  eyes^  and  dear  little  L.  putting  pointed  ques- 
tions, and,  in  her  arch  way,  saying  such  kind  and  tender 
words  I  .  .  •  You  must  continue  to  write,  as  you  did  last  time, 
all  you  are  doing  and  thinking,  that  I  may  reproduce,  as  faith- 
fully as  I  can,  the  life  which  you  are  living.  I  do  the  same  by 
you,  though  it  is  with  a  more  leaden  pen  than  formerly.  .  .  . 
Poor  Oros  has  retired  to  his  cabin  in  order  to  take  a  horizontal 
position.     Many  of  my  companions  are  in  the  same  way. 

May  Srd. — Are  you  still  shivering  in  the  cold,  while  I  am 
gliding  through  the  calm  sea  under  an  awning,  and  going 
against  a  breeze  sufficiently  light  to  do  no  more  than  fan  us 
pleasantly  ?  If  it  would  never  go  beyond  this,  there  is  cer- 
tainly something  very  delightful  in  such  a  climate ;  the  clear 
atmosphere,  bright  stars,  light  nights,  and  soil  air ;  and  to  be 
wafted  along  through  all  this,  as  we  now  are,  at  the  rate  of 
some  twelve  miles  an  hour,  with  so  little  motion  that  we  hardly 
know  that  we  are  making  progress.  It  will  be  a  different 
story,  I  fear,  when  we  get  into  the  Red  Sea,  where  we  may 
expect  a  wind  behind  us,  and  around  us  the  hot  air  of  the 
Desert !  .  .  .  I  have  been  employing  myself  for  a  good  part  of 
Old  letters,  to-day  in  a  sad  work.  I  took  with  me  a  number  of  letters  of 
very  old  date,  and  have  been  looking  over  them,  and  tearing 
up  a  great  part  of  them,  and  throwing  them  overboard.  I 
thought  it  would  be  an  occupation  suited  to  this  heavy  tropical 
sear-life.  I  shall  be  sorry  when  it  is  over,  as  it  is  also  soothing, 
and  brings  back  many  pleasing  memories  which  had  nearly 
faded  away.  Some  few  I  keep,  because  they  are  landmarks 
of  my  past  life. 
TliePyra-  Steamer  'Sim/a.' — May  9th. — I  had  only  a  few  moments  to 
^'^*  write  before  we  left  Suez,  and  my  writing,  such  as  it  was,  I 

performed  under  difficulties,  as  the  bustle  of  passengers  finding 
their  cabins,  and  conveying  to  them  their  luggage,  or  such  por- 
tions of  it  as  they  could  rescue  from  its  descent  into  the  hold, 
was  going  on  all  around  me.  I  had,  therefore,  only  time  to  tell 
you  that  our  visit  to  the  Pyramids  has  been  a  success.  It  was 
one  of  the  greatest  which  I  ever  achieved  in  that  line.     It 


1800.  THE  PYRAMIDS.  319 

came  about  in  this  way.  When  Baron  Oros  and  I,  accom- 
panied by  Belts  Bey,  the  chief  director  of  the  railway^  were 
journeying  in  our  pachalic  state-carriage  from  Alexandria  to 
Cairo^  a  question  arose  as  to  how  we  were  to  spend  the  few 
hours  which  we  should  have  to  remain  at  the  latter  place.  I 
expressed  a  desire  to  see  the  Pyramids,  as  I  had  witnessed  all 
the  other  lions  of  Cairo.  But  Betts  Bey  observed,  that  to  go 
there  during  the  day,  at  this  season  of  the  year,  was  a  service 
of  considerable  danger,  the  risk  of  sunstroke  being  more  than 
usually  great.  We  were,  in  fact,  traversing  Egypt  during 
the  period  (of  about  six  weeks*  duration)  when  the  wind  from 
the  south  blows,  and  the  only  air  one  receives  is  like  the  blast 
of  a  furnace  heavily  charged  with  sand.  He  added,  however, 
that  it  was  not  impossible  to  go  to  the  Pyramids  at  night, 
remain  there  tiU  dawn,  see  the  sunrise  from  the  summit,  and 
return  before  the  great  heats  of  the  day.  When  I  found 
myself  at  Cairo,  I  proposed  to  my  entourage  that  we  should 
undertake  this  expedition.  My  proposal  was  eagerly  accepted, 
especially  by  *  Our  own  Correspondent,'  Mr.  Bowlby,  who  is 
a  remarkably  agreeable  person,  and  has  become  very  much 
one  of  our  party.  It  was  arranged  that  we  should  dine 
at  the  table  dChdte  at  7  P.M.,  start  at  9,  in  carriages  to  the 
crossing  of  the  Nile  (about  four  miles),  and  on  donkeys  from 
Gieja  (about  six  miles).  The  Pasha's  state-coach  came  to  the 
door  at  the  appointed  hour;  we  started,  our  own  party,  Mr. 
Bowlby,  Captain  F.,  and  M.  de  B.,  Oros'  secretary.  Gros 
himself,  having  twice  seen  the  Pyramids,  declined  going  with 
us.  The  moon  was  very  nearly  full,  and  but  for  the  honour 
of  the  thing  we  might  have  dispensed  with  the  torch-bearers, 
who  ran  before  the  carriage  and  preceded  the  donkeys,  after 
we  adopted  that  humbler  mode  of  locomotion.  Our  row  across 
the  river  to  the  chant  of  the  boatmen  invoking  the  aid  of  a 
sainted  dervish,  and  our  ride  through  the  fertile  borders  of  the 
Nile,  covered  with  crops  and  palm«trees,  were  very  lovely,  and, 
after  about  an  hour  and  a  half  from  Cairo,  we  emerged  upon 
the  Desert.  The  Pyramids  seemed  then  almost  within  reach 
of  our  outstretched  arms,  but  lo  I  they  wete  in  fact  some  four 
miles  distant.  We  kept  moving  on  at  a  sort  of  ambling  walk ; 
and  the  first  sign  of  our  near  approach  was  the  appearance  of 
a  crowd  of  Arabs  who  poured  out  of  a  village  to  oflfer  us  their 
aid  in  various  ways.    We  had  been  told  before  we  started,  that 


320  SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  XH. 

a  partjr  who  had  visited  the  Pyramids  the  night  before  had 
been  a  good  deal  victimised  by  these  Arabs^  who^  alas  I  in  these 
degenerate  days^  have  no  other  mode  of  indulging  their  pre- 
datory propensities  than  by  exacting  the  greatest  possible 
amount  of  '  backshish  '  from  travellers  who  visit  the  Pyramids. 
We  pushed  on  over  the  heaps  of  sand  and  debris,  or  probably 
covered-up  tombs^  which  surround  the  base  of  the  Pyramids, 
when  we  suddenly  came  in  face  of  the  most  remarkable  object 
The  on  which  my  eye  ever  lighted.     Somehow  or  other  I  had  not 

Sphinx.  thought  of  the  Sphinx  till  I  saw  her  before  me.  There  she 
was  in  all  her  imposing  magnitude,  crouched  on  the  margin  of 
the  Desert,  looking  over  the  fertile  valley  of  the  Nile,  and  her 
gaze  fixed  on  the  East  as  if  in  earnest  expectation  of  the  sun- 
rising.  And  such  a  gaze!  The  mystical  light  and  deep 
shadows  cast  by  the  moon,  gave  to  it  an  intensity  which  I 
cannot  attempt  to  describe.  To  me  it  seemed  a  look,  earnest, 
searching,  but  unsatisfied.  For  a  long  time  I  remained  trans- 
fixed, endeavouring  to  read  the  meaning  conveyed  by  this 
wonderful  eye ;  but  I  was  struck  after  a  while  by  what  seemed 
a  contradiction  in  the  expression  of  the  eye  and  of  the  mouth. 
There  was  a  singular  gentleness  and  hopefulness  in  the  lines  of 
the  mouth,  which  appeared  to  be  in  contrast  with  the  anxious 
eye.  Mr.  Bowlby,  who  was  a  very  sympathique  inquirer  into 
the  significancy  of  this  wonderful  monument,  agreed  with  me 
in  thinking  thdt  the  upper  part  of  the  face  spoke  of  the  in- 
tellect striving,  and  striving  vainly,  to  solve  the  mystery — 
(What  mystery?  the  mystery,  shall  we  say,  of  God's  universe 
or  of  man's  destiny  ?) — while  the  lower  indicated  a  moral  con- 
viction that  all  must  be  well,  and  that  this  truth  would  in  good 
time  be  made  manifest. 

We  could  hardly  tear  ourselves  away  from  this  fascinating 
spectacle  to  draw  nearer  to  the  Great  Pyramid,  which  stood 
beside  us,  its  outline  sharply  traced  in  the  clear  atmosphere. 
We  walked  round  and  round  it,  thinking  of  the  strange  men 
whose  ambition  to  secure  immortality  for  themselves  had  ex- 
pressed itself  in  this  giant  creation.  The  enormous  blocks  of 
granite  brought  from  one  knows  not  where,  built  up  one  knows 
not  how ;  the  form  selected  solely  for  the  purpose  of  defying 
the  assaults  of  time ;  the  contrast  between  the  conception  em- 
bodied in  these  constructions  and  the  talk  of  the  frivolous  race 
by  whom  we  were  surrounded,  and  who  seemed  capable  of  no 


/" 


18G0.  THE  PYRAMIDS.  321 

thought  beyond  a  desire  for  daily  *  backshish/ — all  this  seen 
and  felt  under  the  influence  of  the  dim  moonlight  was  very 
striking  and  impressive.  We  spent  some  time  in  moving  from 
place  to  place  along  the  shadow  cast  by  the  Pyramid  upon  the 
sand,  and  observing  the  effect  produced  by  bringing  the  moon 
sometimes  to  its  apex  and  sometimes  to  otber  points  on  its  out- 
line. I  felt  no  disposition  to  exchange  for  sleep  the  state  of 
dreamy  half-consciousness  in  which  I  was  wandering  about ; 
but  at  length  I  lay  down  on  the  shingly  sand,  with  a  block  of 
granite  for  a  pillow,  and  passed  an  hour  or  two,  sometimes 
dozing,  sometimes  wakeful,  till  one  of  our  attendants  informed 
me  that  the  sun  would  shortly  rise,  and  that  it  was  time  to 
commence  to  ascend  the  Pyramid,  if  we  intended  to  witness 
from  its  summit  his  first  appearance.  We  had  intended  to 
spend  the  night  in  the  tombs,  but  it  was  so  hot  that  we  were 
only  too  glad  to  select  the  spot  in  which  we  could  get  the 
greatest  amount  of  air.  A  very  soft  and  gentle  breeze,  wafted 
across  the  Desert  from  an  unknown  distance,  fanned  me  as  I 
slept.  The  ascent  was,  I  confess,  a  much  more  formidable 
undertaking  than  I  had  anticipated ;  and  our  French  friend 
gave  in  after  attempting  a  few  steps.  The  last  words 
which  had  passed  between  him  and  me  before  we  retired  to 
rest,  were  interchanged  as  we  were  standing  in  front  of  the 
Sphinx,  and  were  characteristic :  Ah  !  que  c^est  drdle  I  was  the 
reassuring  exclamation  which  fell  from  his  lips  while  we  were 
there  transfixed  and  awestruck.  As  far  as  the  ascent  of  the 
Pyramid  was  concerned,  I  am  not  sure  but  that  I  was  some- 
times tempted  to  follow  his  example,  when  I  found  how  great 
WQS  the  effort  required  to  mount  up,  in  the  hot  air,  the  huge 
blocks  of  granite,  and  the  unpleasantness  of  feeling  every  now 
and  then  with  what  facility  one  might  topple  downwards. 
This  sensation  was  most  disagreeably  felt  when,  as  generally 
happened  at  any  very  critical  place,  my  Arab  friends,  who 
were  helping  me  up,  began  to  talk  of  *  backshish,'  and  to  in- 
sinuate that  a  small  amount  given  at  once,  and  before  the 
ascent  was  completed,  would  be  particularly  acceptable.  How- 
ever, after  a  while  the  summit  was  reached.  I  am  not  sure 
that  it  repaid  the  trouble;  at  any  rate;  I  do  not  think  I  should 
ever  wish  to  make  the  ascent  again.  We  had  a  horizon  all 
around  tinted  very  much  like  Turner*s  early  pictures,  and  be- 
conriing  brighter  and  more  variegated  as  the  dawn  advanced, 

T 


322  SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  XH. 

until  it  melted  into  day.  Behind^  and  on  two  sides  of  us,  was 
the  barren  and  treeless  Desert,  stretching  out  as  far  as  the  eye 
could  reach.  Before  us,  the  fertile  valley  of  the  Nile ;  the  river 
meandering  through  it,  and,  in  the  distance,  Cairo,  with  its 
mosques  and  minarets,  the  highest;  the  Citadel  Mosque,  stand- 
ing out  boldly  upon  the  horizon.  It  was  a  fine  view,  and  had 
a  character  of  its  own,  but  still  it  was  not  in  kind  very  differ- 
ent from  other  views  which  I  have  seen  from  elevated  points 
in  a  flat  country.  It  does  not  stand  forth  among  my  recollec- 
tions as  a  spectacle  unique,  and  never  to  be  forgotten,  as  that 
of  the  night  before  does.  Very  soon  after  the  sun  rose  the 
heat  became  painful  on  our  elevated  seat,  and  we  hastened  to 
descend — ^an  operation  somewhat  difficult,  but  not  so  serious  as 
the  ascent  had  been.  We  mounted  our  donkeys,  and  after 
paying  a  farewell  visit  to  the  Sphinx,  we  returned  to  Cairo  as 
we  had  come,  all  agreeing  that  our  expedition  was  one  of  the 
most  agreeable  and  interesting  we  had  ever  made.  I  confess 
that  it  was  with  something  of  fear  and  trembling  that  I  re- 
turned to  the  Sphinx  that  morning.  I  feared  that  the  im- 
pressions which  I  had  received  the  night  before  might  be 
effaced  by  the  light  of  day.  But  it  was  not  so.  The  lines 
were  fainter,  and  less  deeply  marked,  but  I  found,  or  thought 
I  found,  the  same  meaning  in  them  still. 

May  lOth. — We  are  now  passing  some  islands,  nearly  opposite 
to  Mocha :  to  morrow  at  an  early  hour  we  shall  probably  reach 
Aden.  Shall  we  find  any  Chinese  news  there?  And  if  we 
do,  what  will  be  its  character?  We  have  not  yet  heard  a 
syllable  to  induce  us  to  think  that  matters  will  be  settled  with- 
Fassengen  out  a  conflict,  but  then  we  have  seen  nothing  official.  We 
boB^^*^  met,  at  the  station-house  on  the  Nile,  between  Alexandria  and 
Cairo,  the  passengers  by  the  last  Calcutta  mail-steamer.  There 
were  some  from  China  among  them,  but  I  could  gather  from 
them  nothing  of  any  interest.  It  was  a  curious  scene,  by 
the  way,  that  meeting:  2G0  first-class  passengers,  including 
children,  pale  and  languid-looking,  thrown  into  a  great  barn- 
like refectory,  in  which  were  already  assembled  pur  voyage 
companions  (we  ourselves  had  a  separate  room),  jovial-looking, 
and  with  roses  in  their  cheeks,  whiclfthey  are  doubtless  hasten- 
ing to  offer  at  the  shrine  of  the  sun.  These  two  opposin<ir 
currents,  bearing  such  legible  records  of  the  climes  from  which 
they  severally  came,  met  for  a  moment  on  the  banks  of  the 


1860.  .  PERIM.     ADEN.  323 

Nile,  time  enough  to  interchange  a  few  hasty  words,  and  then 
rushed  on  in  opposite  directions.  As  I  am  not  like  the 
.  Englishman  in  ^  Eothen,'  who  passes  his  countryman  in  the 
Desert  without  accosting  him,  I  had  as  much  talk  as  I  could 
with  all  the  persons  coming  from  China  whom  I  could  find, 
though,  as  I  said,  without  obtaining  any  information  of  value. 

May  llfA. — Seven  A.M. — Before  I  retired  last  night,  I  saw.  Paring 
through  the  starlight  (we  have  little  moon  now)  Perim.  On 
the  right  is  an  excellent  safe  channel,  eleven  miles  wide ;  so 
that  it  will  be  impossible  to  command  the  entrance  of  the  Bed 
Sea  from  Perim.  There  is  a  good  anchorage  on  this  side,  so 
says  our  captain ;  but  of  course  we  could  not  see  it.  I  am 
sorry  we  passed  it  so  late,  as  I  should  have  liked  Gros  to  have 
seen  it,  in  order  that  he  might  calm  the  susceptibilities  of  his 
Government  in  respect  to  its  formidable  character.  I  enclose 
a  little  bit  of  a  plant  which  I  gathered  on  my  return  from  the 
Pyramids.  The  botanist  on  board  says  it  is  a  species  of 
camomile.  It  is  a  commonplace  plant,  with  a  little  blue 
flower,  but  I  took  a  fancy  to  it,  because  it  had  the  pluck  to 
venture  farther  into  the  Desert,  and  to  approach  nearer  the 
Pyramids  than  any  other  which  I  saw. 

On  Shore  at  Aden. — Noon, — I  am  at  the  house  of  Captain  Aden. 
Playfair,  who  represents  the  Resident  during  his  absence.  A 
very  pleasant  breeze  is  blowing  through  the  wall  of  reeds  or 
bamboo,  which  encloses  the  verandah  in  which  I  am  writing. 
I  am  most  agreeably  disappointed  by  the  temperature ;  and, 
strange  to  say,  both  Captain  P.  and  his  wife  do  not  complain 
of  Aden  !  So  it  is  with  all  who  live  here.  And .  yet,  when 
one  looks  at  the  place,  dry  as  a  heap  of  ashes,  glared  upon  by 
a  tropical  sun,  without  a  single  blade  of  grass  to  repose  the 
eye,  or  a  drop  of  moisture  from  above  to  cool  the  air,  save 
only  about  once  in  two  years,  when  the  sluices  of  Heaven  are 
opened,  and  the  torrents  come  down  with  a  fury  unexampled 
elsewhere,  one  feels  at  first  inclined  to  doubt  whether  it  can  be 
possible  for  human  beings  to  live  here.  I  suppose  that  it  is 
the  reaction,  produced  by  finding  that  it  is  not  quite  so  bad  as 
it  appears,  that  reconciles  people  to  their  lot,  and  makes  them 
so  contented.  We  have  got  some  scraps  of  China  news ;  and 
what  there  is,  seems  to  be  pacific. 

At  Sea. — May  ]oth. — If  we  go  on  to  China,  if  we  take  the 
matter  in  hand,  then  I  think,  coute  que  coute^  we  must  finish 

T  2 


324  SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  XH. 

it,  and  finish  it  thoroughly.  I  do  not  beKeve  that  it  will  take 
us  long  to  do  so ;  but  the  indispensable  is,  that  it  should  be 
done.  This  is  my  judgment  on  the  matter,  and  I  tell  it  to 
you  as  it  presents  itself  to  my  own  mind ;  but  how  much 
wiser  is  Gros,  who  does  not  peer  into  the  dim  future,  but 
awaits  calmly  the  dispersion  of  the  mists  which  surround  it  I 

Books.  .  .  •  He  has  been  reading  the  book  on  Buddhism  (St.  Hi- 
laire's),  which  I  got  on  your  recommendation,  and  have  lent 
him.  I  have  myself  read  Thiers ;  the  Idylls  over  again ;  some 
other  poems  of  Tennyson's,  &c.  &c.  The  first  of  these  is  very 
interesting.  The  passion  of  the  French  nation  for  the  name  of 
Napoleon  seems  more  and  more  wonderful  when  one  peruses 
the  record  of  the  frightful  sufferings  which  he  brought  upon 
them ;  and  yet,  at  the  time  when  his  reign  was  drawing  to  its 
close,  the  disgust  occasioned  by  his  tyranny  seemed  to  be  the 
ruling  sentiment  with  all  classes.  As  to  the  Idylls,  on  a 
second  perusal  I  like  *  Enid  '  better  than  on  the  first ;  ^Vivien' 
better ;  *  Elaine  '  less  ;  and  *  Guinevere  '  still  best  of  all.  No- 
thing in  the  volume  can  approach  the  last  interview  between 
Arthur  and  the  Queen. 

May  I9th, — We  are  to  reach  Galle  to-morrow  or  next  day. 
...  1  think  of  you  and  the  dear  small  ones,  to  whom  I  feel 
myself  draivn  more  closely  than  ever ;  for,  in  spite  of  my  pre- 
occupations, I  became  better  acquainted  with  them  during  my 
last  eleven  months  at  home,  than  ever  before — dear  B.'s  full 
and  thoughtful  eye  ;  L.'s  engaging  and  loving  ways.  Oh  that 
I  could  be  at  home  and  at  peace  to  enjoy  all  this  I 

Ceylon.  Ceylon,  May  2lst — Last  night  was  black  and  stormy,  and 

when  I  came  on  deck  this  morning,  I  was  told  that  we  did  not 
know  exactly  where  we  were ;  that  we  had  turned  our  ship^s 
head  homewards,  and  were  searching  for  Ceylon.  We  found 
it  after  a  while,  and  landed  in  a  pelt  of  rain  at  about  noon.  •  .  . 
On  landing,  I  asked  eagerly  for  China  news.  Hardly  any  to 
be  obtained;  little  more  than  vague  surmises.  Nothing  to 
justify  an  arrest  of  our  movements,  so  we  must  go  on.  I  do 
not  know  how  it  is,  but  I  feel  sadder  and  more  depressed 
than  I  have  felt  before.  I  cannot  but  contrast  my  position 
when  in  this  house  a  year  ago  with  my  present  position. 
Then  I  was  returning  to  you,  looking  forward  to  your  dear 
welcome,  complete  success  having  crowned  my  mission  to 
China.     I  am  now  going  from  you  on  this  difficult  and  unwel- 


1860.  SHIPWRECK.  325 

come  errand*  ...  I  feel  as  if  I  knew  every  stone  of  the  place 
where  I  passed  so  many  weary  hours^  waiting  for  Frederick, 
with  a  fever  on  me,  or  coming  on.  Gros  is  in  the  next  room 
bargaining  for  rubies  and  sapphires  ;  but  I  do  not  feel  disposed 
to  indulge  in  such  extravagances.  .  .  .  The  steamer  in  which 
we  are  to  proceed  to-morrow  looks  very  small,  with  diminutive 
portholes.  We  shall  be  a  large  party,  and,  I  fear,  very  closely 
packed. 

May  22n£^.— Have  you  read  Russell's  book  on  the  Indian  RumoII  on 
Mutiny  ?  I  have  done  so,  and  I  recommend  it  to  you.  It  has  m*  J" ^^ 
made  me  very  sad ;  but  it  only  confirms  what  I  believed  before 
respecting  the  scandalous  treatment  which  the  natives  receive 
at  our  hands  in  India.  I  am  glad  that  he  has  had  courage  to 
speak  out  as  he  does  on  this  point  Can  I  do  anything  to  prevent 
England  from  calling  down  on  herself  God's  curse  for  brutalities 
committed  on  another  feeble  Oriental  race  ?  Or  are  all  my 
exertions  to  result  only  in  the  extension  of  the  area  over  which 
Englishmen  are  to  exhibit  how  hollow  and  superficial  are  both 
their  civilisation  and  their  Christianity  ?  .  .  .  The  tone  of  the 
two  or  three  men  connected  with  mercantile  houses  in  China 
whom  I  find  on  board  is  all  for  blood  and  massacre  on  a  great 
scale.  I  hope  they  will  be  disappointed ;  but  it  is  not  a  cheer- 
ing or  hopeful  prospect,  look  at  it  from  what  side  one  may. 

Galle,  May  23rd, — Vhomme  proposty  mats . . . . — I  ended  my  Shipwreck, 
letter  yesterday  by  telling  you  that  I  was  about  to  embark  for 
Singapore  amid  torrents  of  rain  and  growlings  of  thunder ;  but 
I  little  thought  what  was  to  follow  on  this  inauspicious  em- 
barkation. We  got  on  board  the  Peninsular  and  Oriental 
steamer  *  Malabar '  with  some  difficulty,  there  was  so  much  sea 
where  the  vessel  was  lying;  and  I  was  rather  disgusted  to 
find,  when  I  mounted  the  deck,  that  some  of  the  cargo  or 
baggage  had  not  yet  arrived,  and  that  we  were  not  ready  for  a 
start.  I  was  already  half  wet  through,  and  there  was  nothing 
for  it  but  to  sit  still  on  a  bench  under  a  dripping  awning. 
About  twenty  minutes  after  I  had  established  myself  in  this 
position,  the  wind  suddenly  shifted,  and  burst  upon  us  with 
great  fury  from  the  north-east.  The  monsoon,  now  due,  comes 
from  the  south-west,  and  therefore  a  gale  from  the  north-east 
was  unexpected,  though  I  must  say  that,  as  we  were  being 
assailed  by  constant  thunderstorms,  we  had  no  right,  in  my 
opinion,  to  consider  ourselves  secure  on  any  side  against  the 


326  SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  XIL 

assaulta  of  the  wind.  Be  this  however  as  it  may,  the  gale  was 
so  violent  that  I  observed  to  some  one  near  me  that  it  reminded 
me  of  a  typhoon.  I  had  hardly  made  this  remark,  when  a 
severe  shock,  accompanied  by  a  grating  sound,  conveyed  to  me 
the  disagreeable  information  that  the  stern  of  the  vessel  was 
on  the  rocks.  Whether  we  had  two  anchors  out  or  one ; 
whether  our  cables  were  hove  taut  or  not ;  whether  we  had 
thirty  fathoms  out  or  only  fifteen,  are  points  still  in  dispute ; 
but  at  any  rate  we  had  no  steam ;  so,  after  we  once  were  on 
the  rock,  we  had  for  some  time  no  means  of  getting  off  it. 
During  this  period  the  thumping  and  grating  continued.  It 
seemed,  moreover,  once  or  twice,  to  be  probable  that  we  should 
run  foul  of  a  ship  moored  near  us.  However,  after  a  while, 
the  engines  began  to  work,  and  then  symptoms  of  a  panic 
manifested  themselves.  The  passengers  came  running  up  to 
me,  saying  that  the  captain  was  evidently  going  to  sea,  that 
there  were  merchant  captains  and  others  on  board  who  declared 
that  the  certain  destruction  of  the  ship  and  all  on  board  would 
be  the  consequence,  and  begging  me  to  interfere  to  save  the 
lives  of  all,  my  own  included.  At  fii*st  I  declined  to  do  any- 
thing,— told  them  that  I  had  no  intention  of  taking  the  com- 
mand of  the  ship,  and  recommended  them  in  that  respect  to 
follow  my  example.  At  last,  however,  as  they  became  im- 
portunate, I  sent  Crealock*  to  the  captain,  with  my  compliments, 
to  ask  him  whether  we  were  going  to  sea.  The  answer  was 
not  encouraging,  and  went  a  small  way  towards  raising  the 
spirits  of  my  nervous  friends  around  me.  *  Going  to  sea,'  said 
the  captain,  *  why,  we  are  going  to  the  bottom.'  The  fact  is 
that  we  were  at  the  time  when  that  reply  was  given  going 
pretty  rapidly  to  the  bottom.  The  water  was  rising  fast  in 
the  after  part  of  the  ship,  and  to  this  providential  circumstance 
I  ascribe  our  safety.  The  captain  started  with  the  hope  that 
he  would  be  able  to  pump  into  his  boilers  all  the  water  made 
by  the  leak.  If  he  had  succeeded,  the  chances  are  that  by 
this  time  the  whole  concern  would  have  been  deposited  some- 
where in  the  bed  of  the  ocean.  The  leak  was,  however,  too 
much  for  him,  and  he  had  nothing  for  it  but  to  run  over  to  the 
opposite  side  of  the  anchorage,  where  there  is  a  sandy  bay,  and 
there  to  beach  his  ship.  We  performed  this  operation  success- 
fully, though  at  times  it  seemed  probable  that  the  water  would 

'  Colonel  Crealocky  military  secpetary  to  the  Embassy. 


1860.  SHIPWRECK  327 

gain  upon  us  so  quickly  as  to  stop  the  working  of  the  engines 
before  we  reached  our  destination.  If  this  had  happened  we 
should  have  drifted  on  some  of  the  rocks  with  which  the  har- 
bour abounds.  When  we  had  got  the  stem  of  the  vessel  into 
the  sand  we  discovered  that  we  had  not  accomplished  much, 
for  the  said  sand  being  very  loose,  almost  of  the  character  of 
quicksand,  and  the  sea  running  high,  the  stem  kept  sinking 
almost  as  rapidly  as  when  it  had  nothing  but  water  below  it. 
The  cabins  were  ab*eady  ftiU  of  water,  and  the  object  was  to 
land  the  passengers.  As  usual,  there  was  the  greatest  diffi- 
culty in  launching  any  of  the  ship's  boats,  and  none  of  the 
vessels  in  the  harbour,  except  one  Frenchman  (and  one  English 
I  have  since  heard,  but  its  boat  was  swamped,  and  therefore  I 
did  not  see  it),  saw  fit  to  send  a  boat  to  our  assistance.  In 
order  to  prevent  too  great  a  rush  to  the  boats,  I  thought  it  ex- 
pedient to  announce  that  the  women  must  go  first,  and  that, 
for  my  own  part,  I  intended  to  leave  the  ship  last,*  This  I . 
was  enabled  to  do  without  unnecessary  parade,  as  the  first  boat 
lowered  was  offered  to  me, — and  no  doubt  the  announcement 
had  some  effect  in  keeping  things  quiet  and  obviating  the  risk 
of  swamping  the  boats,  which  was  the  only  danger  we  had  then 
to  apprehend.  Such  were  our  adventures  of  yesterday  after- 
noon. I  had  a  presentiment  that  something  would  happen  at 
Galle,  though  I  could  hardly  have  anticipated  that  I  should 
be  wrecked,  and  wrecked  within  the  harbour  1  .  .  .  .  Five  p.m. 
— I  have  just  been  on  the  beach  looking  at  our  wreck.  The 
stern,  and  up  to  the  funnel  is  now  all  under  water.  A  jury 
of  ^  experts '  have  sat  on  the  case,  and  their  decision  is,  that 
nothing  can  be  done  to  recover  what  is  in  the  afler  part  of  the 
vessel  (passenger's  luggage  and  specie)  until  the  next  monsoon 
seta  in — some  five  or  six  months  hence  1  A  wardrobe  which 
has  spent  that  period  of  time  under  the  sea  will  be  a  curiosity  ! 

This  untoward  accident  detained  him  for  a  fort- 
night at  Galle,  occupied  in  superintending  and  press- 
ing  on  the   operation   of  fishing  up   what   could    be 

'  *  The  absence  of  any  panic  was  *  conversing  together,  as  if  no  danger 

*  very  creditable  to  the  passengers.  It,  *  impended.' — Penonal  Narrative  of 

*  however,  was  mainly  due  to  the  Occurrences  during  Lord  Mgins  S^ 
'conduct  of  the  two  Ambassadors,  cond  Embassy  to  China,  by  II.  B. 

*  who,  during  the  whole  time,  re-  Loch,  Private  Secretary. 
'  mained  quietly  seated  on  the  poop 


328  SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  XH. 

saved  from  the  wreck.  By  the  aid  of  divers,  his  *  Full 
Powers '  and  his  decorations  were  recovered,  together 
with  most  of  his  wearing  apparel ;  but  his  '  letter  of  ere* 
'dence'  was  gone,  and  he  had  to  telegraph  to  the 
Foreign  Office  for  a  duplicate. 
News  In  the  meantime  the  lingering  hope  which  he  had 

^^P^  cherished  of  an  immediate  return  to  England  was  dis- 
pelled by  accounts  from  China,  which  made  it  clear  that 
he  must  proceed  thither  and  go  through  with  the  ex- 
pedition. 

May  28^A. — Seven  a.m. — This  will  be  a  sad  letter  to  you,  and 
I  write  it  with  a  heavy  heart,  though  we  have  much  to  be 
thankful  for  in  the  issue  of  this  adventure.  ...  I  trust  that 
Providence  reserves  for  us  a  time  of  real  quiet  and  enjoyment. 
I  go  to  China  with  the  determination,  God  willing !  to  bring 
matters  there  to  a  speedy  settlement.  I  think  that  this  is  as 
iddispensable  for  the  public  as  for  my  own  private  interest. 
Gros  is  of  the  same  opinion.  I  still  hope,  therefore,  that  with 
the  change  of  the  monsoon  we  may  be  wending  our  way 
homewards. 
M>»-  June  Srd. — Nothing  has  occurred  to  mark  the  lapse  of  time 

8ta^^  except  a  visit  we  paid  two  days  ago  to  a  place  called  Ballagam, 
some  ten  miles  from  here.  It  is  a  missionary  station,  built  by 
the  money  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  or  by  funds 
raised  through  the  Society.  It  is  situated  on  rising  ground, 
and  consists  of  an  excellent  bungalow  for  the  missionary,  a 
church,  and  a  school.  A  good  part  of  the  building  is  upon  an 
artificial  terrace  supported  by  masonry,  and  must  have  cost 
a  great  deal  of  money.  It  appears  that  at  one  time,  while  the 
work  was  going  on,  and  cash  was  abundant,  the  congregation 
of  so-called  Christians  numbered  some  400.  It  is  now  reduced 
to  thirty  adults  and  about  fifty  children.  The  European  mis- 
sionary has  left  the  place,  and  it  is  in  the  hands  of  a  native 
missionary.  It  gave  me  a  lively  idea  of  the  way  in  which  good 
people  in  England  are  done  out  of  their  money  for  such  schemes. 
June  ith. — This  morning  I  was  awakened  by  the  appearance 
of  Loch  in  my  room,  carrying  a  bag  with  letters  from  England. 
I  jumped  up  and  opened  yours,  ended  on  the  10th  of  May. 
Your  letter  is  a  great  compensation  for  our  shipwreck  and 
delay,  and  it  is  at  once  a  strange  coincidence  and  contrast 


Idea  PEVANQ.  329 

to  what  happened  on  the  last  occasion.  Then  your  first  letters 
to  me  were  shipwrecked,  and  delayed  a  month  in  reaching  me. 
This  time  I  have  been  shipwrecked  myself  almost  in  the  same 
place^  and  I  have  got  your  dear  letter  a  month  sooner  than  I 
had  anticipated.  How  differently  do  events  turn  out  from  our 
expectations  I  ....  I  suppose  we  shall  get  off  to-morrow, 
though  the  steamer  for  China  is  not  yet  arrived.  ...  I  have 
saved  a  considerable  portion  of  my  effects,  some  a  good  deal 
damaged.  But  some  of  my  staff  have  lost  much  more,  as  they 
travel  with  a  greater  quantity  of  clothing,  &o.,  than  I  do. 

At  last,  on  the  5th  of  June,  they  were  able  to  leave 
Ceylon ;  and  they  reached  Penang,  after  a  rough  pas- 
sage, on  the  11th. 

Steamer  *Pekiny  Straits  of  Malacca. — June  12th. — You  may  Penang. 
perhaps  remember  that,  when  I  first  visited  Penang  in  1857, 
the  Chinese  established  there  mustered  in  force  to  do  me 
honour.  There  was  a  sketch  in  the  *  Illustrated  News,'  which 
portrayed  our  landing.  No  similar  demonstration  took  place 
on  this  occasion ;  whether  this  was  the  result  of  accident  or 
design,  I  cannot  tell.  ...  I  have  every  inducement  to  labour 
to  bring  my  work  to  a  close ;  to  reach  sooner  that  peaceful 
home-life  towards  which  I  am  always  aspiring.  .  •  •  I  think 
that  I  have  a  duty  to  perform  out  here ;  but  as  to  any  advan- 
tage which  will  accrue  to  myself  from  its  performance,  I  am,  I 
confess,  very  little  hopeful.  ...  It  is  terrible  to  think  how 
long  I  may  have  to  wait  for  my  next  letters.  If  we  go  on  to 
the  North  at  once,  we  shall  be  always  increasing  the  distance 
that  separates  us.  It  is  wearisome,  too,  passing  over  ground 
which  I  have  travelled  twice  before.  No  interest  of  novelty 
to  relieve  the  mind.  Penang  and  Ceylon  are  very  lovely,  but 
one  cares  little,  I  think,  for  revisiting  scenes  which  owe  all 
their  charm  to  the  beauties  of  external  nature.  It  is  different 
when  such  beauties  are  the  setting,  in  which  are  deposited  his^ 
torical  associations,  and  the  memories  of  great  deeds  or  events. 
I  do  not  feel  the  slightest  desire  to  see  again  any  even  of  the 
most  lovely  of  the  scenes  I  have  witnessed  in  this  part  of  the 
world.  Indeed,  so  tired  am  I  of  this  route,  that  I  sometimes 
feel  tempted  to  try  to  return  by  way  of  the  Pacific,  if  I  could 
do  so  without  much  loss  of  time.  .  .  .  This  is  only  a  passing 
idea,  however,  and  not  likely  to  be  realised. 


330  SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Oh.  XH. 

Singapore.  June  \Zth. — Singapore, — We  arrived  at  about  noon.  I  find 
a  new  governor^  Colonel  Cavanagh.  .  •  •  I  am  to  take  up  my 
abode  at  the  Government  House.  Not  much  news  from  China, 
but  a  letter  from  Hope  Grant,  asking  me  to  order  to  China  a 
Sikh  regiment,  which  has  been  stopped  here  bj  Canning's 
orders,  and  I  think  I  shall  take  the  responsibility  of  reversing 
C.'s  order,  with  which  the  men  were  very  much  disgusted. 

The  next  day  he  was  afloat  again,  on  his  way  to 
Hong-kong. 

June  14M. — When  you  receive  this,  you  will  be  thinking 
of  dear  Bruce's  school  plans.  Would  that  I  could  share  your 
thoughts  and  anxieties  I  ...  I  have  been  reading  a  rather 
curious  book — the  *  Life  of  Perthes,'  a  Hamburg  bookseller. 
It  reveals  something  of  the  working  of  the  inner  life  of  Ger- 
many during  the  time  of  the  first  Napoleonic  Empire.  It 
might  interest  you. 

June  nth. — Another  Sunday.  How  many  since  we  parted? 
I  cannot  count  them.  It  seems  to  me  as  if  a  good  many  years 
had  elapsed  since  that  sad  evening  at  Dover.  Wut  here  I  am 
going  on  farther  and  farther  from  home  !  We  hope  to  reach 
Hong-kong  on  Thursday  next ;  but  that  is  not  the  end  of  my 
Bookfl.  voyage,  though  it  is  the  beginning  of  my  work.  I  am  still 
comparatively  idle,  ransacking  the  captain's  cabin  for  books. 
The  last  I  have  read  is  Kingsley's  *  Two  Years  Ago.'  I  do 
not  wonder  that  you  ladies  like  Kingsley,  for  he  makes  all  his 
women  guardian  angels. 

June  19M. — I  have  read  Trench's  *  Lectures  on  English' 
since  yesterday.  I  think  you  know  them,  but  I  had  not  done 
more  than  glance  at  them  before.  They  open  up  a  curious 
field  of  research  if  one  had  time  enough  to  enter  upon  it  The 
monotony  of  our  life  is  not  broken  by  many  incidents.  Tenny- 
son's poem  of  the  ^  Lotus-Eaters '  suits  us  well,  as  we  move 
noiselessly  through  this  polished  sea,  on  which  the  great  eye  of 
the  sun  is  glaring  down  from  above.  We  passed  a  ship  yester- 
day with  all  sails  set.  This  was  an  event ;  to-day  a  butterfly 
made  its  appearance.  In  two  days  I  may  be  forming  decisions 
on  which  the  well-being  of  thousands  of  our  fellow-creatures 
may  be  contingent. 

June  20th. — Still  it  is  sad,  sometimes  almost  overwhelming, 
to  think  of  the  many  causes  of  anxiety  from  which  you  may 


1860.  SHANGIIAE.  331 

be  BufFering,  of  which  for  months  I  can  have  no  knowledge^ 
and  with  which  these  letters  when  you  receive  them  may 
seem  to  have  no  sympathy.  ...  1  can  only  pray  that  you 
may  have  in  your  troubles  a  protection  and  a  guidance  more 
effectual  than  any  which  I  could  afford  when  I  was  with 
you.  .  .  .  As  to  my  own  particular  interests^  I  mean  those 
connected  with  my  mission,  I  can  hardly  form  any  conjectures. 
....  I  am  glad  that  the  time  for  work  is  arriving,  though  I 
cannot  but  feel  a  little  nervous  anxiety  until  I  know  what 
I  shall  learn  at  Hong-kong  respecting  our  prospects  with  the 
Chinese,  &c.  &c. 

Arrived  at  Hong-kong  on  the  following  day,  he 
found  letters  from  his  brother  Frederick — *  generous 
*  and  magnanimous  as  ever ' — giving  him  some  hope  of 
there  being  an  opening  for  diplomacy,  and  a  chance  of 
settling  matters  speedily.  In  this  hope  he  pressed  on 
to  Shanghae,  whither  the  naval  and  military  authorities 
with  whom  he  was  to  act  had  preceded  him. 

Steamship  ^Ftrooz^ — At  Sea. — June  27th. — We  are  rolling 
a  great  deal  and  very  uncomfortably, — a  more  disagreeable 
passage  than  I  made  last  time  in  the  month  of  March.  So 
much  for  all  the  talk  about  the  monsoon.  .  .  .  Writing  is  no 
easy  matter ;  and  I  shall  probably  also  have  little  time  after 
reaching  Shanghae  to*morrow,  as  the  mail  is  likely  to  leave  on 
Saturday  next,  and  I  may  have  despatches  to  send  which  will 
ocx!upy  my  time.  •  •  .  I  cannot  go  much  farther,  for  already 
I  am  separated  from  you  by  nearly  one-half  of  the  globe.  I 
sometimes  think  of  how  I  am  to  return  for  a  change, — by  the 
Pacific,  by  Siberia,  It  would  be  rather  a  temptation  to  take 
this  overland  route.  Thurlow,'  it  appears,  has  already  written 
to  St.  Petersburg  to  ask  leave  for  himself  and  Crealock  to 
return  through  Russia.  Alas !  these  are  castles  in  the  air, 
very  well  to  indulge  in  before  we  reach  Shanghae  and  the 
stem  realities  of  the  mission. 

At  Shanghae  he  had  the  happiness  of  meeting  his  Shanghae. 
brother,  and  the  benefit  of  hearing  from  his  own  lips  a 
full  account  of  the  past,  and  discussing  with  him  their 

*  The  Ilonoarable  T.  J.  HoreU  Thurlow,  attache  to  the  EmUttj. 


332  SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  XIL 

common  plans  for  the  future.  The  noble  qualities  of 
that  brother,  shining  out  the  more  brightly  in  adverse 
circumstances,  filled  him  \vith  admiration  which  his 
affectionate  nature  delighted  to  express. 

Mr.  Brace.  Shafiffhae. — June  SOth, — Frederick  is  a  noble-hearted  man  ; 
perhaps  the  noblest  I  have  ever  met  with  in  my  experience  of 
my  fellows.  .  .  •  He  has  had  a  most  difEcuIt  task  here  to 
perform,  and  to  the  best  of  my  judgment  has  performed  it  with 
great  ability. 

Shanghae^  July  \st — Frederick,  partly  from  generosity  of 
character,  and  partly  from  sympathy  with  the  Admiral  and 
admiration  of  his  valour,  abstained  from  stating  in  his  own 
justification  all  the  circumstances  of  the  unfortunate  affair  at 
the  Peiho  last  year.  Moreover,  Frederick's  policy  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Peiho  was  one  which  required  success  to  justify 
it  in  the  eyes  of  persons  at  a  distance.  After  the  failure,  no 
matter  by  whose  fault,  he  could  not  have  escaped  invidious 
criticism,  however  clear  might  have  been  his  demonstration 
that  for  that  failure  he  was  not  directly  or  indirectly  respon- 
sible. Therefore  I  think  it  probable  that  the  result  will  prove 
that,  in  following  the  dictates  of  his  own  generous  nature,  he 
adopted  the  course  which  in  the  long-run  will  be  found  to  have 
been  the  wisest.  ...  I  do  not  like  to  speak  too  confidently 
of  the  future.  Of  course  their  victory  of  last  year  has  in- 
creased the  self-confidence  of  the  Chinese  Government,  and 
rendered  it  more  arrogant  in  its  tone*  Nevertheless,  I  am  of 
opinion  that  the  result  will  prove  that  I  estimated  correctly 
their  power  of  resistance ;  that  we  have  spent  in  our  arma- 
ments against  them  three  times  as  much  as  was  necessary ; 
and  that,  if  we  have  difiiculties  to  encounter,  they  are  likely  to 
be  due  not  to  the  strength  of  the  enemy,  but  to  the  cumbrous 
preparations  of  ourselves  and  allies,  and  the  loss  of  time  and 
hazards  of  climate,  and  other  embarrassments  which  we  are 
creating  for  ourselves.  My  last  remark  to  Lord  Palmerston 
was,  that  I  would  rather  march  on  Pekin  with  5,000  men  than 
with  25,000. 

On  board  the  ^Ferooz.^ — July  5th, — Four  1>.M. — We  have 
passed  out  of  the  Shanghae  river  into  the  Yangtze-kiang. 
It  is  delightfully  cool,  and  the  wind  which  is  now  against  us 
will  be  with  us  when  we  get  out  to  sea,  and  direct  our  course 


1800.  TALIEN-WHAN.  333 

to  the  North.  .  .  .  Frederick's  conduct  has  won  for  him,  and 
most  justly,  general  admiration.  A  hint  was  given  to  me 
before  I  started,  that  an  ambassador  would  meet  me  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Peiho  as  soon  as  I  arrived.  If  a  proceeding  of 
this  nature  on  the  part  of  the  Court  of  Pekin  precedes  our 
capture  of  the  forts,  it  will  be  a  great  embarrassment  to  me. 
The  poor  old  ^  Furious '  was  lying  at  anchor  at  Shanghae. 
To  see  her  brought  back  many  feelings  of  '  auld  lang  syne.' 
Shanghae  altogether  excited  in  my  mind  a  good  deal  of  a 
home  feeling.  It  was  the  place  at  which,  during  my  first 
mission,  I  had  enjoyed  most  repose.  •  .  •  Frederick  remains 
there  until  I  have  completed  my  work  in  the  North,  and  I 
think  he  is  right  in  doing  so,  although  I  should  have  been  glad 
of  his  company  and  assistance. 

July  6tk, — It  does  not  do  to  be  sanguine  in  this  world,  still 
I  have  cause  to  hope  that  our  business  in  the  North  will  be 
speedily  settled,  if  we  can  only  get  the  French  to  begin  at 
once.  What  I  have  to  consider  is  how  best  to  prevent  my 
mission  from  impairing  in  any  degree  Frederick's  authority 
and  prestige.  As  regards  his  own  countrymen  there  is  little 
danger  of  this  result ;  he  already  stands  so  high  in  their  esteem. 
With  the  Chinese  there  may  be  more  fear  of  this  result ;  but 
it  is  so  much  in  accordance  with  their  notions  that  an  elder 
brother  should  take  the  part  which  I  am  now  doing,  that  I  do 
not  think  the  risk  is  great,  and  were  it  so,  even,  I  should  find 
some  means  of  counteracting  the  evil. 

The  place  appointed  for  the  assembling  of  the  English  Taiien- 
forces  was  the  bay  of  Talien-Whan,  near  the  southern 
extremity  of  a  promontory  named  Regent's  Sword, 
which,  running  down  from  the  north  into  the  Yellow 
Sea,  cuts  off  on  its  western  side  a  large  gulf,  of  which 
the  northern  part  is  known  by  the  name  of  Leao-Tong, 
the  southern  by  the  name  of  Pecheli.  The  rendezvous 
of  the  French  was  at  Chefoo,  about  eighty  miles  south 
of  TaUen-Whan,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  strait 
which  forms  the  entrance  of  the  large  gulf  already 
mentioned.  Both  places  are  about  200  miles  distant 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Peiho,  which  is  at  the  western 
extremity  of  the  gulf. 


334  SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  XTL 

It  was  on  the  9th  of  July  that  Lord  Elgin  reached 
the  shores  where  lay  already  congregated  the  formidable 
force,  for  the  employment  of  which,  as  the  secular  arm 
of  his  diplomacy,  he  was  henceforth  to  be  responsible. 

July  9th. — JEiffht  a.m. — It  is  a  calm  sea  and  scorching  sun, 
very  hot,  and  it  looks  hotter  still  in  that  bay,  protected  by  bare 
rocky  promontories  and  islets,  and  backed  by  hills,  within 
which  we  discover  a  fleet  at  anchor.  What  will  this  day  bring 
forth  ?    How  much  we  are  in  the  hand  of  Providence,  *  rough- 

*  hew  our  ends  as  we  may  I '  In  little  more  than  an  hour  we 
shall  probably  be  at  our  journey's  close  for  the  time. 

Countiy-         I  have  just  heard  a  story  of  the  poor  country-people  here. 

^^^  ®'  A  few  days  ago,  a  party  of  drunken  sailors  went  to  a  village, 
got  into  a  row,  and  killed  a  man  by  mistake.  On  the  day  fol- 
lowing, three  oflScers  went  to  the  village  armed  with  revolvers. 
The  villagers  surrounded  them^  took  from  them  the  revolvers 
(whether  the  officers  fired  or  not  is  disputed),  and  then  con- 
ducted them,  without  doing  them  any  injury,  to  their  boat. 
An  oflScer,  with  an  interpreter,  was  then  sent  to  the  village 
to  ask  for  the  revolvers.  They  were  at  once  given  up,  the 
villagers  stating  that  they  had  no  wish  to  take  them,  but  that 
as  one  of  their  number  had  been  shot  already,  they  objected  to 

•  people  coming  to  them  with  arras. 

July  10th. — What  will  the  House  of  Commons  say  when 
the  bill  which  has  to  be  paid  for  this  war  is  presented  ?  The 
expense  is  enormous :  in  my  opinion,  utterly  disproportionate 
to  the  objects  to  be  effected.  The  Admiral  is  doing  things 
excellently  well,  if  money  be  no  object. 

July  I2th. — We  are  in  a  delightful  climate.  Troops  and  all 
in  good  health.  I  shall  not,  however,  dilate  on  these  points, 
because  I  am  sure  you  will  read  all  about  it  in  the  Times. 

*  Our  Own  Correspondent'  is  in  the  next  cabin  to  me,  com- 
pleting his  letter.  I  leave  it  to  him  to  tell  all  the  agreeable 
and  amusing  things  that  are  occurring  around  us.  My  letters 
to  you  are  nothing  but  the  record  of  incidents  that  happen  to 
affect  me  at  the  time ;  trifling  things  sometimes ;  sometimes 
things  that  irritate ;  things  that  pass  often  and  leave  no  im- 
pression, as  clouds  reflected  on  a  lake. 

CftTalry  Talien-Whan  Bay. — July   lAth. — Yesterday,  at   an   early 

*^P-         hour,  the  French  Admiral  and  General  arrived.     It  was  agreed 


1800.  SIR  HOPE  GRANT.  335 

that  they  should  go  over  to  the  cavalry  camp  on  the  other  side 
of  the  bay,  some  ten  miles  off,  and  that  I  should  accompany 
them.  No  doubt  you  will  see  in  the  Times  a  full  account  of 
all  that  took  place  on  the  occasion.  Nothing  could  be  more 
perfect  than  the  condition  of  the  force,  both  men  and  horses. 
The  picturesqueness  of  the  scene ;  the  pleasant  bay,  with  its 
sandy  margin  and  background  of  bleak  hills,  seamed  by  the 
lines  of  the  cavalry  tents ;  the  troops  drawn  up  in  the  fore- 
ground in  all  their  variety  of  colour  and  costume,  from  the 
two  squadrons  of  H.M.^s  Dragoon  Guards  on  the  right  to  the 
two  squadrons  of  Fane's  light-blue  Sikh  Irregulars  on  the  left ; 
the  experiments  with  the  Armstrong  guns — from  one  of  which 
a  shell  was  fired  which  went  over  the  hills  and  vanished  into 
space,  no  one  knows  whither — will  all  be  described  by  a  more 
graphic  pen  than  mine.  The  weather  was  excellent.  Enough 
covering  over  the  sky  to  prevent  the  rays  of  the  sun  from 
striking  us  too  fiercely,  and  yet  no  rain.  The  proceedings  of 
the  day  terminated  by  some  tours  deforce  of  the  Sikh  cavalry 
and  their  oflScers  ;  wrenching  tent-pegs  from  the  ground  with 
their  lances,  and  cutting  oranges  with  their  sabres  when  at 
full  gallop.  Everything  went  to  confirm  the  favourable 
opinion  of  the  state  of  the  army  here  which  I  expressed  in  my 
last  letter.  Hope  Grant  seems  very  much  liked.  It  can  hardly  Sir  Hop« 
be  otherwise,  for  there  is  a  quiet  simplicity  and  kindliness  ^'*°** 
about  his  manner  which,  in  a  man  so  highly  placed,  must  be 
most  winning.  I  am  particularly  struck  by  the  grin  of  delight 
with  which  the  men  of  a  regiment  of  Sikhs  (infantry)  who 
were  with  him  at  Lucknow,  greet  him  whenever  they  meet 
him.     I  observed  on  this  to  him,  and  he  said  :    *  Oh,  we  were 

*  always  good  friends.     I  used  to  visit  them  when  they  were 

*  sick,  poor  fellows.  They  are  in  many  ways  different  from  the 
^  Mohammedans.     Their  wives  used  to  come  in  numbers,  and 

*  walk  over  the  house  where  Ladv  Grant  and  I  lived,'  The 
contrast  with  what  I  saw  when  I  was  in  China  before,  in 
regard  to  the  treatment  of  the  natives,  is  most  remarkable. 
There  seems  to  be  really  no  plundering  or  bullying.  In  so 
far  as  I  can  see,  we  have  here  at  present  a  truly  model  army 
and  navy :   not  however,  I  fear,  a  cheap  one. 

The  Admiral  told  me  last  night  he  had  written  to  the  Ad- 
miralty to  say  that,  looking  to  the  future,  he  believed  there 
were  two  distinct  operations  by  which  the  Pekin  Government 


336  SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  Xn. 

could  be  coerced, — either  by  a  military  force  on  a  large  scale 
such  as  this,  or  by  a  blockade  of  the  Gulf  of  Pecheli,  under- 
taken early  in  the  year,  &c.  I  was  glad  to  hear  him  say  this, 
because  I  recommended  the  latter  course  immediately  after 
we  heard  of  the  Peiho  disaster,  with  a  view  to  save  all  this 
expenditure ;  and  I  still  think  that  if  the  measures  which  I 
advised  had  been  adopted,  including  the  sending  up  to  the 
north  of  China  two  or  three  regiments  (enough,  with  the 
assistance  of  the  fleet,  to  take  the  Taku  Forts),  much  of  this 
outlay  might  have  been  spared. 

Sunday y  July  1 5th. — I  have  been  on  board  the  Admiral's 
ship  for  church.  Afterwards  I  had  some  talk  with  him  in 
regard  to  future  proceedings.  .  .  .  The  problem  we  have  to 
solve  here  is  a  very  difficult  one ;  for  while  we  are  up  here  for 
the  purpose  of  bringing  pressure  to  bear  on  the  Emperor,  as  a 
means  of  placing  our  relations  with  China  on  a  proper  footing, 
we  have  news  from  the  South  which  looks  as  if  the  Government 
of  the  Empire  was  about  to  pass  out  of  his  feeble  hands  into 
those  of  the  Rebels,  who  have  upon  us  the  claim  that  they 
profess  a  kind  of  Christianity. 
A  birth-  July   20th,^ — I  know  that  you  will  not  forget  this   day, 

^y-  though  it  can  only  remind  you  of  the  declining  years  and  fre- 

quent wanderings  of  one  who  ought  to  be  your  constant  pro- 
tector, and  always  at  your  side.  It  is  very  sad  that  we  should 
pass  it  apart,  but  I  can  say  something  comforting  upon  it 
The  Admiral  and  General  came  here  yesterday,  and  agreed 
with  the  French  authorities  that  the  two  fleets  are  to  start  for 
the  rendezvous  on  the  26,th.  IgnatieflP,  the  Russian,  who  made 
his  appearance  here  to-day,  said, '  After  your  force  lands,  I 
*  give  you  six  days  to  finish  everything.'  If  he  says  what  he 
thinks,  it  is  a  promising  view  of  things.  Six  days  before  we 
start,  six  days  to  land  the  troops,  and  six  days  to  finish  the 
war  I  Eighteen  days  from  this,  and  we  may  be  talking  of 
peace.  Alas  I  what  resemblance  will  the  facts  bear  to  these 
anticipations  ? 
Chefoo.  Talien-Whan. — July  2\sL — Now  for  a  word  about  Chefoo. 

I  had  agreed  to  dine  with  the  General,  Montauban,  on  the 
night  of  my  arrival,  so,  after  visiting  Gros,  I  went  to  his  head- 
quarters. I  found  him  in  a  very  well-built,  commodious 
Chinese  house.     I  must  tell  you  that,  as  we  were  entering  the 

*  His  birthday. 


1800.  PLANS  FOR  LANDING.  337 

.bay,  we  descried  a  steamer  arhead  of  us,  and  it  turned  out  to 
be  a  vessel  sent  by  the  French  to  examine  the  spot  (south  of 
the  Peiho  Forts),  which  had  been  selected  for  the  place  of 
their  debarkation  when  the  attack  comes  oif.  On  the  evening  Plnns  for 
of  our  dinner,  the  General  did  not  enter  into  particulars,  but  ^•"^^"K- 
gave  me  to  understand  that  the  result  of  the  exploration  had 
been  very  unsatisfactory,  and  that  his  scheme  for  landing  was 
altogether  upset.  I  heard  this  with  considerable  dismay,  as  I 
feared  that  it  might  be  employed  as  a  reason  for  delay.  Before 
we  parted  that  night,  I  agreed  to  land  next  morning,  to  see 
his  artillery,  &c.  He  read  me  the  unfiivourable  report  of  his 
exploring  party,  which  was  headed  by  Colonel  Schmid,  a  great 
friend  of  the  Emperor's,  and  the  best  man  (so  they  say)  they 
have  got  here.  He  contends  that  all  along  the  line  of  coast 
there  is  a  band  of  hard  sand,  at  a  considerable  distance  from 
low-water  mark ;  that  the  water  upon  it  is  very  shallow ;  and 
that,  beyond,  there  is  an  interval  of  soil  mud,  over  which 
cannon,  &c.,  could  not  be  carried.  The  French  are  no  doubt 
very  much  behind  us  in  their  preparations,  but  then  it  is  fair 
to  say  that  they  have  not  spent  a  tenth  part  of  the  money, 
and  with  their  small  resources  they  have  done  a  good  deal.  It 
was  wonderful  how  their  little  wild  Japanese  ponies  had  been 
trained  in  a  few  days  to  draw  their  guns.  After  the  review 
we  took  a  ride  to  the  top  of  a  hill,  from  whence  we  had  a  very 
fine  prospect.  It  is  a  much  more  fertile  district  than  this, 
beautifully  cultivated,  and  the  houses  better  than  I  have  seen 
anywhere  else  in  China.  The  people  seemed  very  comfort- 
able, and  their  relations  with  the  French  are  satisfactory,  as 
we  may  infer  from  the  abundant  supplies  brought  to  market. 
On  the  following  morning  the  English  Admiral  and  General 
arrived.  They  had  their  interview  wth  the  French  author- 
ities, and  settled  that  on  the  26th  the  fleets  should  sail  from 
Talien-Whan  and  Chefoo  respectively  to  the  rendezvous^  some- 
where opposite  Taku.  From  that  point  the  Admirals  and 
Generals  are  to  proceed  on  a  further  exploration,  and  to  effect 
a  disembarkation  on  the  earliest  possible  day.  So  the  matter 
stands  for  the  present.  The  state  of  Europe  is  very  awkward, 
and  an  additional  rea^n  for  finishing  this  affair.'  For  if  Russia 
and  France  unite  against  us,  not  only  will  they  have  a  pretty 

>  The  reference  apparently  is  to  the  uneasineas  produced  in  Europe  by 
the  annexation  of  Savoy  to  France. 

Z 


338  SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  XH, 

large  force  here>  but  they  will  get  news  via  Russia  sooner  than 
we  do,  which  may  be  inconvenient. 

July  22nd,  Sunday. — The  thirteenth  since  we  parted.  It 
seems  like  as  many  months  or  years.  Some  one  said  to-day  at 
breakfast  that  it  is  the  last  quiet  one  we  are  likely  to  have  for 
a  while.  In  one  sense  I  hope  this  may  turn  out  to  be  true. 
.  .  .  To-morrow  our  cavalry  and  artillery  are  to  be  embarked. 
This  takes  place  on  the  other  side  of  this  bay^  and  I  intend  to 
go  over  to  see  the  operation. 

July  26th, — Noon. — I  am  now  starting  (having  witnessed 
the  departure  of  the  fleet)  for  the  scene  of  action  in  tK>  Gulf 
of  PechelL  The  sight  of  this  forenoon  has  been  a  very  striking 
one,  just  enough  breeze  to  enable  the  vessels  to  spread  their 
sails.  We  have  about  180  miles  to  go  to  the  point  of  rendez' 
vous.  .  .  .  Meanwhile,  one  has  as  usual  one's  crop  of  small 
troubles.  The  servants  threatened  to  strike  yesterday,  but 
they  were  soon  brought  to  reason. 
The'  July  27th. —  Ten  A.M. — We  have  reached   our  destination 

'■*'"^''  after  a  most  smooth  passage,  during  which  we  have  followed 
close  in  the  wake  of  the  Admiral.  ...  I  am  reading  the 
Jesuit  <  Lettres  6difiantes  et  curieuses,'  which  are  the  reports  of  the 
®  ™'  Jesuit  missionaries  who  were  established  in  China  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  last  century.  They  are  very  interesting, 
and  the  writers  seem  to  have  been  good  and  zealous  people. 
At  the  same  time  one  cannot  help  being  struck  by  their 
puerility  on  many  points.  The  doctrine  of  baptismal  regenera- 
tion pushed  to  its  extreme  logical  conclusions,  as  it  is  by  them, 
leads  to  rather  strange  practical  consequences.  Starting  from 
the  principle  that  all  unbaptized  children  are  certainly  eternally 
lost,  and  all  baptized  (if  they  die  immediately)  as  certainly 
saved,  they  naturally  infer  that  they  do  more  for  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  by  baptizing  dying  children  than  by  any  other  work 
of  conversion  in  which  they  can  be  engaged.  The  sums  which 
they  expend  in  sending  people  about  the  streets,  to  administer  • 
this  sacrament  to  all  the  moribund  children  they  can  find ;  the 
arts  which  they  employ  to  perform  this  office  secretly  on 
children  in  this  state  whom  they  are  asked  to  treat  medically ; 
and  the  glee  with  which  they  record  the  success  of  their  tricks, 
are  certainly  remarkable.  From  some  passages  I  infer  that,  in 
the  Roman  Catholic  view  of  the  case,  the  rite  of  baptism  may 
be  administered  even  by  an  unbeliever. 


\ 


186a  PLANS  FOR  LANDING.  839 

Two  P.M. — Hope  Grant  has  been  on  board.     He  tells  me  The  Pey- 
that  the  mouth  of  the  Pey-tang  is  not  staked^  and  that  the  ^"^* 

*  Actfeon's  *  boat  went  three  miles  up  the  river.  This  river  is 
seven  or  eight  miles  from  the  Peiho,  and  the  Chinese  have 
had  a  year  to  prepare  to  resist  us.  It  appears  that  there  is 
nothing  to  prevent  the  gunboats  from  going  up  that  river. 

July  2Sth — Eleven  a.m. — The  earlier  part  of  last  night  was 
very  hot,  •  .  •  and  I  got  feverish  and  could  not  sleep.  To- 
wards morning  the  good  luck  of  the  leaders  in  this  expedition 
came  again  into  play ;  a  breeze  sprang  up  from  the  right 
quarter,  so  that  the  whole  of  the  sailing  ships  have  been  helped 
marvellously  on  their  way.  When  I  went  on  deck  the  whole 
line  of  the  French  fleet — ^it  consists  almost  exclusively  of 
steamers — was  coming  gallantly  on,  Gros  at  the  head.  He  is 
quite  cutting  me  out  this  time.  The  farther  distance  was  filled 
by  our  sailing  transports  scudding  before  the  wind.  They 
have  been  filing  past  us  ever  since,  dropping  into  their  places, 
which  are  rather  diificult  to  find,  as  the  Admiral  has  changed 
all  his  dispositions  since  his  arrival  here.     The  captain  of  the 

*  Acts^n '  dined  here  yesterday.  He  told  me  he  had  gone  a 
mile  or  two  up  the  Pey-tang  river,  been  allowed  to  land,  seen 
the  fort,  which  is  quite  open  behind,  and  contains  about  a 
hundred  men.  Thirty  thousand  English  (fleet  and  army)  and 
ten  thousand  French  ought  to  be  a  match  for  so  far-sighted 
an  enemy.  However,  I  suppose  we  must  not  crow  till  we 
see  what  the  Tartar  warriors  are.  Three  p.m. — The  French 
Admiral  has  just  been  here.  He  tells  me  that  we  are  to  move 
from  the  anchorage  to  a  place  nearer  Pey-tang  on  Monday, 
and  that  on  Tuesday  a  reconnaissance  in  force  is  to  be  made  on 
that  place,  with  the  intention,  I  presume,  of  taking  it. 


z2 


840  SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  XDI. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

SECOND    MISSION    TO   CHINA.      PEKIN. 

THE  LANDING — CHINESE  OVERTURES — ^TAKING  OF  THE   FORTS — THE  PEIHO— 

TIENTSIN NEGOTIATIONS    BROKEN    OFF NEW    PLENIPOTENTIARIES 

AGREEMENT  MADE — ^AGREEMENT  BROKEN — ^TREACHEROUS  SEIZURE  OP  MR. 
PARKES  AND  OTHERS — ADVANCE  ON  PEKIN — RETURN  OF  SOME  OF  THE 
CAPTIVES — FATE  OF  THE  REST — BURNING  OF  THE  SUMMER  PALACE — CON- 
VENTION   SIGNED FUNERAL    OF    THE    MURDERED    CAPTIVES — IMPERIAL 

PALACE  —  PRINCE  KUNG — ARRIVAL  OF  MR.  BRUCE — RESULTS  OF  THE 
MISSION. 

The  On  the  Ist  of  August  the  landing  of  the  allied  troops 

was  effected  in  perfect  order,  without  the  slightest  op- 
position on  the  part  of  the  inhabitants,  at  the  point 
already  mentioned,  viz.  near  the  little  town  of  Pey-tang 
which  is  situated  at  the  mouth  of  a  river  of  the  same 
name,  about  eight  miles  north  of  the  mouth  of  the 
Peiho.  What  Lord  Elgin  saw  of  the  operations  is  de- 
scribed in  the  following  letter : — 

August  2nd. — There  have  been  a  few  days'  interval  since  I 
wrote,  aod  I  now  date  from  Pey-tang,  and  from  the  General's 
ship  the  *  Granada/  a  Peninsular  and  Oriental  steamer ;  for  I 
owe  it  to  him  that  I  am  here.  I  need  hardly  tell  you  the  events 
that  have  occurred — public  events  I  mean — since  the  28th,  as 
they  will  all  be  recorded  by '  Our  Own.'  We  moved  on  the  29th 
to  a  different  anchorage,  some  five  miles  nearer  Pey-tang.  .  . 
All  the  evidence  was  to  the  effect  tliat  the  Pey-tang  Forts  were 
undefended,  at  least  that  there  were  no  barricades  in  the  river, 
and  therefore  that  the  best  way  of  taking  them  would  be  to 
pass  them  in  the  gunboats  as  we  did  the  Peiho  Forts  in  1858, 
and  as  we  also  passed  Nankin  that  year  ....  but  it  was 
resolved  that  we  should  land  a  quantity  of  men  in  the  mud 


ISea  THE  LANDING.  341 

about  a  mile  and  a  half  below  them.  This  was  to  have  taken 
place  on  the  30th,  and  those  of  mj  gentlemen  who  intended  to 
leave  me^  as  better  fun  was  to  be  found  elsewhere^  kept  up  a 
tremendous  bustle  and  noise  from  about  4  a.m.  However, 
at  about  6,  they  were  informed  that  the  orders  for  landing 
were  countermanded,  on  the  plea  that  there  was  too  much  sea 
to  admit  of  the  horses  being  transferred  from  the  vessels  to  the 
gunboats.  Next  day,  the  31st,  it  was  raining,  and  the  sea 
seemed  rougher  in  the  morning.  However,  at  about  9,  the 
gunboats  began  to  move.  The  General  had  agreed  that  I 
should  have  his  ship,  and  that  I  should  move  either  over  the 
bar  or  as  near  to  it  as  I  could  manage.  •  •  •  I  anchored 
the  'Granada'  outside  the  bar,  and  as  I  did  net  choose  to 
lose  the  sight  of  the  landing,  I  got  into  my  row-boat  .... 
going  at  last  on  board  the  *  Coromandel,'  the  Admiral's 
ship.  The  landing  went  on  merrily  enough.  It  was  a  lovely, 
rather  calm  evening.  We  were  within  a  long-range  shot  of 
the  Forts  ;  and  if  shot  or  shell  had  dropped  among  the  boats 
and  men  who  were  huddled  up  on  the  edge  of  the  mud-bank, 
it  would  have  been  inconvenient.  Our  enemy,  however,  had 
no  notion  of  doing  anything  so  ungenerous ;  so  the  landing 
went  on  uninterruptedly,  the  French  carrying  almost  all  they 
wanted  on  their  backs,  our  men  employing  coolies,  &c.,  for 
that  purpose.  We  saw  nothing  of  the  enemy  except  the 
movements  of  a  few  Tartar  horeemen  out  of  and  into  the 
town,  galloping  along  the  narrow  causeway  on  which  our 
troops  were  to  march.  At  midnight  eight  gunboats — six 
English  and  two  French — steamed  past  the  Forts.  It  was  a 
moment  of  some  excitement,  because  we  did  not  know  whether 
or  not  they  would  be  fired  at.  However,  nothing  of  the  kind 
took  place ;  and,  about  an  hour  after  they  had  started,  three 
rockets  that  soared  and  burst  over  the  village  intimated  that 
they  had  reached  the  place  appointed  to  them.  Having  wit- 
nessed this  part  of  the  proceedings  I  lay  down  on  the  deck 
with  my  great-coat  over  me ;  but  not  for  long,  for  at  half-past 
two.  Captain  Dew  (my  old  friend)*  arrived  with  the  announce* 
ment  that,  having  been  on  an  errand  to  the  lines  of  the  troops, 
he  had  met  a  party  of  French  soldiers  who  were  obliging  some 
Chinese  to  carry  a  wooden  gun  which  they  had  captured  in  the 

>  Cftptain  Roderick  Dew  had  been      December,  1857,  and  also  in  May, 
engaged  at  the  capture  of  Canton  in      1858,  at  the  taking  of  the  Taku  forti. 


842  SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  Xm. 

forty  declaring  that  they  had  entered  it^  found  it  deserted^  and 
possessed  of  no  defences  but  two  wooden  guns.  It  turned  out 
that  they  had  not  entered  first,  but  that  an  English  party, 
headed  by  Mr.  Parkes,  had  preceded  them.  This  rather  pro- 
mised to  diminish  the  interest  of  the  attack  on  the  forts  which 
had  been  fixed  for  half-past  four  in  the  morning.  But  there 
was  another  fort  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  perhaps 
there  might  be  some  resistance  there.  Alas!  vain  hope. 
Three  shots  were  fired  at  it  from  the  gunboats  which  had  passed 
through  during  the  night,  and  some  twenty  labourers  walked 
out  of  it  to  seek  a  more  secure  field  for  their  industry  in  some 
neighbouring  village.  Afterwards  our  troops  went  in  and 
found  it  empty  as  the  other ;  so  ended  the  capture  of  Pey-tang. 
W^e  came  over  the  bar  in  the  evening,  and  I  went  to  see 
Hope  Grant  at  the  captured  fort,  where  he  has  fixed  his  abode. 
While  there  we  discovered  a  strongish  body  of  Tartar  cavalry, 
at  a  distance  of  about  four  miles  along  the  causeway  which 
leads  from  this  to  Tientsin  and  Taku.  I  urged  the  General  to 
send  out  a  party  to  see  what  these  gentry  were  doing,  lest  they 
should  be  breaking  up  the  causeway,  or  doing  any  other  mis- 
chief; and  I  heard  from  him  this  morning  that  he  had  arranged 
with  General  Montauban  to  do  so,  and  that  a  party  of  2,000 
men  started  on  that  errand  early.  The  Tartars  seem  to  be  in 
greater  force  than  was  supposed.  The  ofiicer  in  command 
(rightly  or  wrongly,  I  know  not  T^hich)  resolved  to  consider 
the  expedition  merely  a  reconnaissance,  and  to  retire  after 
staying  on  the  ground  a  short  time.  Of  course  the  Tartars 
will  consider  this  a  victory,  and  will  be  elated  by  it;  but 
perhaps  this  is  a  good  thing,  as  it  may  induce  them  to  face  us 
on  the  open.  The  ground  on  which  they  were  ibund  is  firm 
and  fit  for  cavalry,  and  is  about  four  miles  from  the  Peiho 
Forts.  This  is  a  very  nasty  place.  The  country  around  is 
all  under  water,  and  it  is  impossible  to  get  through  it  except 
by  moving  along  the  one  or  two  causeways  that  intersect  iu 
The  military  are,  therefore,  glad  to  find  sound  footing  at  no 
great  distance. 

Up  to  this  time  no  coramunication  of  any  kind  had 
passed  between  the  Special  Ambassadors  and  any  Chinese 
officials.  An  ultimatum  had  been  presented  by  Mr. 
Bruce  in  March,  demanding  an  apology  for  the  attack 


1860.  CHINESE  OVERTURES.  343 

on  our  ships  of  war,  the  immediate  ratification  of  the 
Treaty,  and  prompt  payment  of  the  indemnity  of 
4,000,000  taels,  as  therein  stipulated.  As  these  demands 
had  been  formally  refused  by  the  Chinese  Government, 
there  was  no  room  for  diplomacy.  Even  the  bare  an- 
nouncement of  his  arrival  Lord  Elgin  feared  they 
might  interpret  as  an  invitation  to  treat,  and  use  as 
an  excuse  for  dilatory  and  evasive  negotiations.  The 
justice  of  this  view  was  proved  by  what  took  place  on 
the  5th  of  August.  Having  occasion  to  station  one  of 
his  ships  near  the  shore  for  the  pui-pose  of  getting 
water,  the  Admiral  sent  a  flag  of  truce  to  warn  some 
Tartar  troops  posted  near  the  spot,  that  '  his  ship  had 

*  not  gone  there  with  the  view  of  making  an  attack,  but  cwneae 

'  that  it  would  fire  on  the  Tartars  if  they  approached  too  ^^®'*'*'®*' 

*  near  it.'  The  Governor- General  at  once  took  advantage 
of  the  opening  this  gave  him.  Affecting  to  believe  that 
the  flag  of  truce  came  from  Lord  Elgin,  he  addressed 
to  him  a  despatch  full  of  professions  of  amity,  and  say- 
ing that  he  'had  received  instructions  to  discuss  and 

*  dispose  of  all  questions  with  the  British  Minister,'  but 
containing  no  mention  of  the  ultimatum.  To  this  and 
numerous  similar  missives,  which  came  for  a  time  in 
rapid  succession,  Lord  Elgin  had  but  one  reply — that  he 
could  discuss  nothing  until  the  demands  already  made 
had  been  satisfied. 

August  9th. — My  diplomacy  began  yesterday,  for  I  received 
in  the  morning  a  communication  from  the  Governor-General  of 
the  province,  not  frankly  conceding  our  demands,  but  making 
tolerably  plausible  proposals  for  the  sake  of  occasioning  delay. 
I  have  refused  to  stay  the  march  of  the  military  on  such  over- 
tures ;  but  the  great  slowness  of  our  operations  is  likely  to 
lead  me  into  diplomatic  difficulties.  The  Chinese  authorities^ 
if  they  become  frightened,  are  clever  enough  to  advance  pro- 
positions which  it  may  be  impossible  to  accede  to  without  com- 
promising the  main  objects  of  this  costly  expedition,  and  by 
refusing  which  I  shall,  nevertheless,  expose  myself  to  great 
animadversion.     There  was  a  reconnaissance  again  this  morn* 


the  forts. 


344  SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  XIIL 

ingy  and  I  hope  from  the  report  of  Crealock  (who  accompanied 
it,  and  who  is  doing  very  well)  that  the  enemy  will  prove 
quite  as  little  formidable  as  I  have  always  expected.  The 
serious  advance  was  positively  to  have  taken  place  to-morrow, 
but  I  almost  fear  there  will  be  another  delay.  I  am  anxious  to 
conclude  peace  as  soon  as  possible  after  the  capture  of  the 
Peiho  Forts,  because,  from  what  I  have  seen  of  the  conduct  of 
the  French  here,  I  am  sure  that  they  will  commit  all  manner 
of  atrocities,  and  make  foreigners  detested  in  every  town  and 
village  they  enter.  Of  course  their  presence  makes  it  very 
difficult  to  maintain  discipline  among  our  own  people. 

Taking  of  The  *  sBrious  advance'  took  place  on  the  12th,  and 
was  completely  successful.  On  that  day  the  Allies  took 
possession  of  the  little  town  of  Sinho :  two  days  later 
they  occupied  Tangkow.  The  forts,  however,  which 
guarded  the  entrance  of  the  Peiho — the  Taku  Forts, 
from  which  the  British  forces  had  been  so  disastrously 
repulsed  the  year  before — ^remained  untaken.  Opinions 
were  divided  as  to  the  plan  of  operations.  The  French 
were  for  attacking  first  the  great  fortifications  on  the 
right  or  southern  bank  of  the  river;  but  Sir  Robert 
Napier  urged  that  the  real  key  to  the  enemy's  position 
was  the  most  northerly  of  the  forts,  on  the  left  or 
northern  bank.  Happily  his  counsels  prevailed.  On  the 
2l8t  this  fort  was  taken  by  assault,  with  but  little 
loss  of  life;  and  the  soundness  of  the  judgment  which 
selected  the  point  of  attack  was  proved  by  the  immediate 
surrender  of  all  the  remaining  defensible  positions  on 
both  sides  of  the  river. 

During  the  greater  part  of  this  time  Lord  Elgin  was 
on  board  the  '  Granada,'  moored  off  Pey-tang,  suffering 
all  the  anxieties  of  an  active  spirit  condemned  to  in- 
activity in  the  midst  of  action :  responsible  generally  for 
the  fate  of  the  expedition,  yet  without  power  to  control 
any  detail  of  its  operations;  fretting  especially  at  the 
delays  which  are,  perhaps,  necessarily  incident  to  a 
divided  and  subdivided  command.  Writing  after  the 
surrender  of  the  Taku  Forts  he  said : — 


.1800.  TAKING  OF  THE  FORTS.  345 

I  have  torn  up  the  earlier  part  of  this  letter,  because  it  is 
needless  to  place  on  record  the  anxieties  I  felt  at  that  time. 
To  revert  to  the  portion  of  my  history  which  was  included 
in  the  part  of  my  letter  that  I  have  destroyed,  I  must  tell 
you  that  it  was  on  the  12th  that  the  troops  first  moved  out 
of  Pey-tang.  I  saw  them  defile  past,  and  in  the  aflernoon  rode 
out  to  the  camp,  but  was  turned  back  by  a  large  body  of  Tartar 
cavalry,  who  menaced  my  flank,  and  as  some  of  my  people  had 
just  discovered,  in  the  apartment  of  the  Tartar  General  at  Sinho, 
a  letter  stating  that  they  were  determined  to  capture  the  '  big 
barbarian  himself'  this  time,  I  thought  it  better  to  retrace  my 
steps.  The  second  action  took  place  on  the  14th,  and  on  the 
15th  I  rode  out  to  see  the  General,  and  had  a  conference  with 
him.  On  the  17th  I  went  to  the  gulf  to  see  Gros.  I  have 
had  dozens  of  letters  from  the  Chinese  authorities,  and  I  have 
answered  some  of  them,  not  in  a  way  to  give  them  much  plea* 
sure.  All  these  details  were  given  at  full  length  in  my  annihi- 
lated letter,  but  already  they  seem  out  of  date. 

Tangkow. — August  2Srd, — Grant  has  been  marvelloysly 
favoured  by  the  weather,  for  the  rain,  which  arrests  all  move- 
ments here,  stopped  the  day  before  he  moved  out  of  Pey-tang, 
and  began  again  about  an  hour  after  he  had  taken  the  Taku 
Fort,  which  led  to  the  surrender  of  the  whole.  I  must  also 
say  that  the  result  entirely  justified  the  selection  which  he 
made  of  his  point  of  attack,  and,  as  this  was  against  the  written 
opinion  of  the  French  General,  it  is  a  feather  in  Grant's  cap. 
The  Chinese  are  just  the  same  as  they  were  when  I  knew 
them  formerly.  They  fired  the  cannons  with  quite  as  little 
accuracy,  but  there  was  one  point  of  difference  in  their  pro- 
ceedings. On  previous  occasions  we  have  always  found  their 
forts  open  on  one  side ;  so  that,  when  they  were  turned,  the 
troops  left  them  and  escaped.  In  this  instance  they  were  en- 
closed with  ditches,  palisades,  stakes,  &c.,  so  that  the  poor 
fellows  had  nothing  for  it  but  to  remain  in  them  till  they  were 
pushed  out  by  bayonets.  Almost  all  our  casualties  occurred 
during  the  escalade.  I  went  through  the  hospitals  yesterday, 
and  found  very  few  who  had  been  struck  by  round  shot.  A 
very  small  portion  of  the  force  was  engaged,  so  that  my  opinion 
of  its  unnecessary  magnitude  is  not  shaken.  I  need  not  de- 
scribe the  action  for  you,  as  you  will  no  doubt  see  elsewhere 
a  detailed  account  of  it.     My  own  personal  history  will  not  be 


346  SEa)ND  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  XHI. 

indifferent  to  you.  I  left  the  ^  Granada '  at  about  5.30  p.m. 
on  the  20th  (Monday).  Found  some  dinner  and  a  tent  at  the 
camp  at  Sinho.  Started  next  morning  at  about  5.30  a.m.  ; 
rode  into  Tangkow,  where  I  now  am,  and  mounted  to  the  top 
of  the  Head-quarters'  House,  whence  I  had  a  very  good  view 
of  the  operations.  I  was  dislodged  after  a  while,  because  a 
battery  opened  fire  at  about  fifteen  hundred  yards  from  us, 
and  some  of  the  balls  fell  so  near,  that  we  began  to  think  they 
were  perh^s  firing  at  me.  On  being  dislodged  from  my 
Belvidere,  I  took  some  breakfast  to  console  myself;  and  soon 
after,  seeing  the  British  flag  on  the  fort  which  we  had  been 
attacking,  I  rode  over  to  it.  We  met  a  good  many  of  our 
own  wounded,  and  all  round  the  fort  were  numbers  of  the 
poor  Chinamen,  staked  and  massacred  in  all  sorts  of  ways.  I 
found  the  two  Generals  there,  and  soon  after  the  Admiral  came 
up  from  his  ship  under  a  flag  of  truce.  Two  letters  came  to 
me  from  the  Chinese ;  but,  true  to  my  policy  of  letting  the 
fighting  men  have  all  the  prestige  of  taking  the  Forts,  I  would 
not  have  anything  to  say  to  them.  The  messengers  were  told 
that  they  must  give  up  the  forts  to  the  Commanders-in-Chief 
before  I  would  listen  to  them;  and  that,  in  the  meantime, 
the  army  would  proceed  with  its  operations.  They  moved 
on  accordingly,  and  I  returned  to  my  post  of  observation  at 
Tangkow.  I  had  hardly  reached  it  when  the  rain  began,  and 
in  about  an  hour  the  roads  had  become  absolutely  impassable 
for  artillery,  and  nearly  so  for  everything  else.  The  troops 
met  with  no  resistance  at  the  second  fort,  and  the  indefatigable 
Parkes  having  gone  over  to  the  unfortunate  Governor-General, 
extorted  from  him  a  surrender  of  the  whole,  which  he  brought 
to  the  Conmianders-in-Chief  on  the  morning  of  the  22nd,  having, 
I  believe,  dictated  its  terms.  Of  course,  Grant's  triumph  is 
complete,  and  deservedly  so.  .  .  .  The  system  of  our  army 
involves  such  an  enormous  transportation  of  provisions,  &c., 
that  we  make,  however,  but  slow  progress.  I  have,  therefore, 
urged  the  Admiral,  who  has  got  through  the  barriers  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Peiho  (and  who  is  not  unwilling  to  go  ahead),  to 
proceed  up  the  river  with  his  gunboats :  if  he  meets  with  any 
obstructions  which  are  serious,  he  can  stop  his  progress,  and 
await  the  arrival  of  troops.  If  he  meets  none,  he  will  soon 
reach  Tientsin. 

August  24th, — This  morning,  at  about  four.  Grant  awoke  me 


1860.  THE  PEmO  AND  TIENTSIN.  347 

with  a  letter  from  the  Admiral,  saying  that  he  had  experienced 
in  going  up  the  river  exactly  what  we  did  in  1858 — the  poor 
people  coming  down  in  crowds  to  offer  submission  and  provi- 
sions,  and  no  opposition  of  any  kind.  He  wrote  from  ten  miles 
below  Tientsin,  which  place  he  was  going  to  occupy  with  his 
small  gunboat  force.  The  General  has  agreed  to  despatch  a 
body  of  infantry  in  gunboats,  and  to  make  his  cavalry  march 
by  land ;  and  I  am  only  awaiting  the  return  of  the  Admiral 
to  move  on.  So  all  is  going  on  well.  Grant  has  also  agreed 
to  send  a  regiment  to  Shanghae  in  case  there  should  be  trouble 
there.  ...  It  really  looks  now  as  if  my  absence  would  not 
be  protracted  much  beyond  the  time  we  used  to  speak  of  before 
I  started.  ...  At  the  same  time,  I  do  not  like  to  be  too  con- 
fident. 

August  25th. — Noon. — High  and  dry  at  about  fifteen  miles  ThePeiho. 
below  Tientsin.  This  must  remind  you  of  some  of  my  letters 
from  the  Yangtze,  two  years  ago.  We  started  this  morning  at 
6.30  in  the  *  Granada : '  the  General  and  I,  with  both  our 
staffs.  We  had  gone  on  famously  to  this  point,  scraping 
through  the  mud  occasionally  with  success.  In  rounding  a 
comer,  however,  at  which  a  French  gunboat  had  already  stuck 
before  us,  we  have  run  upon  a  bank.  It  is  very  strange  to  me 
to  be  going  up  the  Peiho  river  again.  The  fertility  of  the 
plain  through  which  it  runs  strikes  me  more  than  it  did 
formerly.  The  harvest  is  at  hand,  and  the  crops  clothe  it 
luxuriantly.  The  poor  people  in  the  villages  do  not  appear  to 
fear  us  much.  We  treated  them  well  before,  and  they  expect 
similar  treatment  again.  The  Admiral  did  his  work  of  occupy- 
ing Tientsin  well.  •  •  •     He  has  great  qualities. 

Tientsin, — Sunday,  August  26th. — We  reached  this  place  Tienttiii. 
about  midnight  It  was  about  the  most  nervous  operation  at 
which  I  ever  assisted,  going  round  the  sharp  turns  with  this 
long  ship  by  moonlight.  I  had  a  moment  of  painful  saisisse^ 
ment  when  I  felt  almost  certain  that  we  should  run  into  my 
dear  colleague  Gros,  who  had  grounded  in  a  little  gunboat  at 
one  of  the  worst  bends  of  the  river.  We  only  saved  him  by 
dropping  an  anchor  from  the  stem,  and  going  backwards  full 
speed.  The  Yangtze  was  bad  enough,  but  we  never  used  to  go 
on  at  night,  and  there  was  no  danger  of  collisions.  This  ship 
looks  also  as  if  she  would  go  head  over  heels  much  more  easily 
than  the  *  Furious,'    I  am  waiting  for  Parkes  and  the  General 


348  SEC50ND  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  XHI. 

before  I  decide  as  to  landing,  &c.  Is  it  not  strange  to  be  here  ? 
Immediately  ahead  of  us  is  the  yamun  where  Gros  and  I 
spent  the  eventful  weeks  in  1858>  which  preceded  the  signa^ 
ture  of  the  treaties  of  Tientsin !  Two  p.m. —  We  are  to  have 
the  yamun  in  which  Reed  and  Putiatine  were  lodged  in  1858  ; 
a  much  better  quarter  than  our  old  one;  and  the  General, 
GroSy  and  I  are  all  to  lodge  in  it  together. 
Chinefle  Tientsin. — August  27th. — I  had  a  very  bad  headache  after  I 

jamun.       j^^  ^^^  ^g»  ^^  ^^^jj  yesterday.  .  .  .  Our  ship  had,  moreover, 

got  aground,  and  was  lying  over  so  much  on  one  side  that  it 
seemed  possible  that  she  might  topple  over  altogether.  Under 
these  circumstances,  and  having  the  prospect  of  a  very  noisy 
night  on  board,  I  determined  to  land  and  sleep  in  my  yamun. 
The  portion  of  it  dedicated  to  me  consists  of  a  regular  Chinese 
garden,  with  rockwork  and  bridges,  and  ponds  full  of  lotus 
leaves,  and  flowerpots  of  all  dimensions  with  shrubs  and  flowers 
in  them,  surrounded  on  two  sides  by  wooden  buildings,  con- 
taining rooms  with  carved  woodwork  and  other  Chinese  neat- 
nesses. It  is  the  only  house  of  a  Chinese  gentleman  I  have 
ever  inhabited,  for  when  I  was  here  before  I  dwelt  in  a  temple. 
The  mosquitoes  were  a  little  troublesome  at  first,  but  I  got 
my  net  up,  and  slept  tolerably,  better  than  I  should  have  done 
here ;  for  the  iron  ships  get  so  heated  by  the  sun  during  the 
day  that  they  are  never  cool,  however  fresh  the  night  air 
may  be. 
Vegoti-  August  22th. — I  intended  to  have  told  you  that  I  was  send- 

ing a  stiff  letter  to  my  old  friend  Kweiliang;  but,  in  fact,  it 
has  taken  some  time  and  consultation  with  Gros  to  settle  its 
terms,  and  it  is  only  now  being  translated.  Yesterday  after- 
noon the  long-expected  mail  arrived.  .  .  •  Shall  I  really  eat 
my  Christmas  dinner  with  you?  Really  many  things  are 
more  improbable  than  that.  I  hoped  at  one  time  that  this 
letter  might  be  despatched  from  Pekin ;  but  as  we  have  to 
meet  Commissioners  here,  and  to  make  a  kind  of  supplementary 
treaty  before  proceeding  thither,  it  is  doubtful  whether  we 
shall  accomplish  this.  I  am  not  sure  that  I  like  my  present 
domicile  as  well  as  I  did  my  domicile  here  in  1858,  because, 
although  it  is  a  great  deal  more  orniy  it  is  proportionably  hotter, 
being  surrounded  by  walls  which  we  cannot  see  over.  It  is  a 
great  place,  with  an  infinite  number  of  courts  and  rooms  of  all 
sizes.     I  should  think  several  families  must  live  in  it,  unless 


ations. 


1800.  NEGOTIATIONS  BROKEN  OFF.  349 

the  establishment  of  a  Chinese  gentleman  is  very  large  indeed. 
If  Kweiliang  and  Co.  come  into  our  terms,  my  present  inten- 
tion is  to  send  at  once  to  Frederick  officially,  and  request  him 
to  come  on  to  Pekin.  •  .  .  He  has  been  having  some  very 
troublesome  work  at  Shanghae  with  the  Rebels ;  indeed,  there 
is  at  present  work  enough  for  both  of  us  in  China. 

September  Ist — Kweiliang  arrived  last  night,  and  sent  me  a 
hint  that  he  intended  to  call  on  me  to-day.  I  sent  one  in  return, 
to  say  that  I  would  not  see  him  until  he  had  answered  my  letter. 
I  fear  a  little  more  bullying  will  be  necessary  before  we  bring 
this  stupid  Government  up  to  the  mark.  Both  yesterday  and 
to-day  I  took  a  ride  in  the  morning  with  Grant.  I  rode  a  horse 
of  his,  a  very  nice  one.  The  sun  becomes  powerful  very  early, 
but  it  is  a  charming  climate  now.  The  abundance  of  all  things 
wonderful :  beef  and  mutton  at  about  threepence  a  pound ; 
peaches,  grapes,  and  all  sorts  of  vegetables  in  plenty ;  ice  in 
profusion.  I  daresay,  however,  that  in  six  weeks'  time  it  may 
be  very  cold. 

At  one  moment,  on  the  2nd  of  September,  it  really 
seemed  as  if  the  object  of  the  mission  vras  achieved;  for 
the  Imperial  Commissioners  —  one  of  whom  was  the 
same  Kweiliang  who  had  conducted  the  negotiations  in 
1858 — in  a  formal  despatch  gave  a  positive  assurance 
that  the  Treaty  of  Tientsin  should  be  faithfully  ob- 
served, and  that  all  the  demands  hitherto  made  should 
be  conceded  in  full.  A  draft  of  convention  was  accord- 
ingly prepared  on  this  basis ;  but,  when  it  came  to  the 
point,  Kweiliang  and  his  colleagues  declared  that  they 
had  no  authority  to  sign  it  without  referring  to  Pekin; 
and  it  became  obvious  that  he  either  did  not  possess, 
or  did  not  at  that  moment  wish  it  to  be  supposed  that 
he  possessed,  powers  equal  to  those  which  he  held  in 
1858,  although  his  previous  language  had  been  calcu- 
lated to  convey  the  opposite  impression. 

Here  was  clearly  a  deliberate  design  to  create  delay, 
with  the  view  of  dragging  on  negotiations  into  the 
winter.  It  was  indispensable,  Lord  Elgin  thought,  to 
check  this  policy  by  an  act  of  vigour  ;  and  accordingly, 


350  SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  XIEL 

with  the  concurrence  of  Baron  Gros,  he  intimated  to 
Broken  off.  the  Imperial  Commissioners  that,  in  consequence  of  the 
want  of  good  faith  exhibited  by  them  in  assuming  the 
title  of  Plenipotentiaries  when  they  could  not  exercise 
the  authority  which  it  implied,  and  of  the  delays  which 
the  alleged  necessity  of  constant  reference  to  Pekin 
would  occasion,  he  had  determined  to  proceed  at  once 
to  Tung-chow,  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  the 
capital,  and  to  enter  into  no  further  negotiations  with 
them  until  he  should  have  reached  that  place. 

September  Sth. — I  am  at  war  again  I  My  idiotical  Chinamen 
have  taken  to  playing  tricks,  which  give  me  an  excellent  excuse 
for  carrying  the  army  on  to  Pekin.  It  would  be  a  long  affair 
to  tell  you  all  the  ins  and  outs,  but  I  am  sure  from  what  has 
come  to  pass  during  the  last  few  days,  that  we  must  get  nearer 
Pekin  before  the  Government  there  comes  to  its  senses.  The 
blockheads  have  gone  on  negotiating  with  me  just  long  enough 
to  enable  Grant  to  bring  all  his  army  up  to  this  point.  Here 
we  are,  then,  with  our  base  established  in  the  heart  of  the 
country,  in  a  capital  climate,  with  abundance  around  us,  our 
army  in  excellent  health,  and  these  stupid  people  give  me  a 
snub,  which  obliges  me  to  break  with  them.  No  one  knows 
whether  our  progress  is  to  be  a  fight  or  an  ovation,  for  in  this 
country  nothing  can  be  foreseen.  I  think  it  better  that  the 
olive-branch  should  advance  with  the  sword.  I  am  afraid  that 
this  change  in  the  programme — a  hostile  instead  of  a  peaceful 
march  on  Pekin — will  keep  me  longer  here,  because  I  cannot 
send  for  Frederick  till  peace  is  made ;  and  I  cannot,  I  suppose, 
leave  Pekin  till  he  arrives  there. 

Sunday,  September  9th. — Kweiliang  and  Co.  wanted  very 
much  to  call  on  me  yesterday,  but  I  would  not  receive  them. 
The  junior  Commissioner,  who  was  at  Canton  with  Parkes, 
and  knows  him  well,  told  him  that,  in  fact,  the  people  here  had 
been  urging, them  to  make  an  effort  to  prevent  war,  saying: 

*  If  we  were  sure  that  the  foreigners  would  have  the  best  of  it, 

*  we  should  not  care ;    but  if  they  are  worsted  they  will  fall 

*  back  on  us,  and  wreak  their  vengeance  upon  us.'  This  does 
not  seem  a  very  formidable  state  of  mind  as  far  as  we  are  con- 
cerned.    We  have  behaved  well  to  the  people,  except  at  Pey- 


1880.  NEW  PLENIPOTENTIARIES.  351 

tang  and  Sinho,  and  the  consequence  is  that  we  can  move 
through  the  country  with  comparative  ease.  If  the  people 
tried  to  cut  off  our  baggage,  and  refused  us  supplies,  we  should 
find  it  very  difficult  to  get  on.  .  .  .  Noon.^1  have  just 
returned  from  a  service  on  board  the  'Granada,'  where  the 
clergyman  administered  the  sacrament  to  a  small  congregation. 
At  four  we  march  to  the  wars ;  but  as  I  go  to  bear  the  olive,  it 
is  not  so  bad  a  Sunday's  work.  You  may  very  likely  hear 
through  Siberia  of  the  result  of  our  march  before  you  receive 
this  letter  announcing  that  it  is  to  take  place.  I  shall  not, 
therefore,  speculate  upon  it. 

Yang-tsun^  about  twenty  miles  above  Tientsin. — September  Yang- 
10/A. —  Two  P.M. — This  morning  we  started  at  about  five,  and 
reached  this  encampment  soon  after  seven.  A  very  nice  ride, 
cool,  and  through  a  succession  of  crops  of  millet ;  a  stiff,  reedy 
stem,  some  twelve  or  fourteen  feet  high,  with  a  tuft  on  the 
top,  is  the  physiognomy  of  the  millet  stalk.  It  would  puzzle 
the  Tartar  cavalry  to  charge  us  through  this  crop.  As  it  is, 
we  have  seen  no  enemy  ;  and  Mr.  Parkes  has  induced  the  in- 
habitants to  sell  us  a  good  many  sheep  and  oxen.  Our  tents 
were  not  pitched  till  near  noon ;  so  1  sat  during  most  of  the 
forenoon  under  the  shade  of  a  hedge.  There  has  been  thunder 
since,  and  a  considerable  fall  of  rain.  I  hope  it  will  not  make 
the  roads  impassable ;  but  if  it  fills  the  river  a  little  it  will  do 
us  good,  for  we  may  then  use  it  for  the  transport  of  our  sup- 
plies, and  it  is  now  too  low.  We  do  not  know  much  what  is 
ahead  of  us,  but  we  hear  of  Tartar  troops  farther  on  ;  and  at 
Tung-chow  it  is  said  that  a  large  army  is  collected  under  Sang- 
ko-lin-sin  himself  (their  great  general).  I  am  now  enjoying 
the  life  of  a  camp ;  writing  to  you  seated  on  my  portmanteau, 
with  my  desk  on  my  only  chair.  It  is  perhaps  better  than  my 
hothouse  at  Tientsin. 

September    Wth. — Six   A.M. — Parkes  and  Wade  have  just  N^wPle- 
been  in  my  tent  M'ith  a  letter  from  two  new  Plenipotentiaries  JiiSe*?' 
— really  some  of  the  highest  personages  in  the  empire — stating 
that  they  are  under  orders  to  come  to  Tientsin  to  settle  every- 
thing, and  deprecating  a  forward  movement.'     I  shall  of  course 
stick  by  my  programme,  and  decline  to  have  anything  to  say 

'  The  new  Plenipotentiaries  were  the  Board  of  War :  with  whono  was 
Tnai,  Prince  of  I.,  a  cousin  of  the  joined  Hang-ki,  a  member  of  the 
Emperor,  and  Muh-yin,  President  of     previous  oomaiissiou. 


352 


SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHINA. 


ch.  xm. 


Chinese 
gentle- 
man- 
£uniier. 


Ho-8oe- 
woo. 


to  them  till  I  reach  Tung-chow.  Of  course  this  proceeding  on 
their  part  augurs  well  for  peace.  It  poured  all  last  evening, 
and  the  General  determined  not  to  march  this  morning ;  but 
as  it  is  fine  now,  I  think  we  may  start  at  noon,  and  make  out 
our  allotted  march.  It  is  cooler  this  morning,  and  I  think  it 
not  improbable  that  the  thunder  of  yesterday  may  close  the 
hot  season.  However,  the  sun  is  coming  out  in  his  strength, 
so  one  cannot  say  what  the  day  may  bring  forth.  Ten  A.V.. — 
All  our  cart-drivers,  with  their  animals,  disappeared  during 
last  night,  leaving  the  carts  behind  them.  Probably  they  got 
a  hint  from  the  Chinese  authorities.  I  am  sorry  for  it,  for  if 
we  begin  to  resort  to  measures  of  violence  to  supply  ourselves, 
we  may  entirely  alter  the  footing  on  which  we  have  hitherto 
stood  with  the  people.  'We  are  putting  all  our  surplus  goods 
into  junks,  in  order  to  reduce  our  baggage. 

Nan-tsai-tsun. — September  I2th, — Where  will  this  letter  be 
sent  from  ?  It  is  begun  at  a  small  town  on  the  close  of  our 
march  of  to-day,  which  ought  to  have  been  our  march  of  yes- 
terday. It  was  a  very  mild  one — about  eight  miles — through 
a  nice  country,  more  wooded  than  former  marches,  and  with 
bright  sunshine,  and  a  fresh,  almost  frosty  air.  The  sunshine 
we  had  not  at  first,  for  we  started  before  the  sun  had  appeared 
on  the  horizon.  Instead  of  trusting  to  our  tents,  we  have  this 
day  taken  up  our  abode  in  the  house  of  a  Chinese  gentleman- 
farmer,  the  owner  of  about  1,000  acres.  It  is  nearly  as  large 
as  the  house  I  occupied  at  Tientsin ;  at  least  it  has  nearly  as 
many  courts.  The  gentleman  has  a  good  library,  in  which  I 
have  established  myself;  and  he  seem?,  poor  man.  very  anxious 
to  accommodate  us,  though  his  appearance  is  not  that  of  a  man 
entirely  at  his  ease.  As  I  was  starting  this  morning  I  got  a 
second  letter  from  the  new  Plenipotentiaries,  rather  more 
defiant  in  its  tone,  and  saying  that  there  are  troops  at  our 
next  station,  with  whom  we  shall  come  into  collision,  if  we 
advance  with  an  army.'  Parkes  is  gone  on  with  an  escort, 
and  we  shall  soon  know  from  him  what  the  state  of  the  case 
really  is. 

Ho-see-woo. — September  14^A. — We  had  a  charming  march 
to  this  place  yesterday  morning.  The  country  much  more 
beautiful  than  before,  and  hills  in  the  distance.  All  around  us 
the  most  luxuriant  crops,  and  hamlets  embosomed  in  clumps  of 
willows.     The  temperature  was  delicious ;  almost  too  cold  at 


IdJO.  AGREEMENT  liADE.  353 

Btarting,  but,  later,  a  fresh  breeze  in  our  faces  gave  the  requi- 
site coolness  and  no  more.  Our  march  was  about  twelve  miles, 
and  on  reaching  its  close  I  was  conducted  to  a  temple  where  I 
now  am.  It  is  a  monastery,  with  very  nice  apartments,  and  Monas- 
quantities  of  stabling,  grain,  agricultural  implements,  &c.,  all  ^^' 
indicative  of  a  very  prosperous  community.  I  have  seen  no 
bonzerie  on  anything  like  so  comfortable  a  scale.  I  had  a 
second  letter  fi-om  my  Commissioners  in  the  evening  of  the 
last  day  on  which  I  wrote  a  page  of  this  journal,  more  humble 
in  its  tone  then  the  preceding  one,  and  as  my  General  was 
getting  uneasy  about  his  supplies,  &c.,  I  thought  it  necessary 
to  make  a  kind  of  proposition  for  an  arrangement.  •  •  •  Our 
soldiers  do  so  little  for  themselves,  and  their  necessities  are  so 
great,  that  we  move  but  slowly.  Our  present  party  consists  of 
about  1,500  fighting  men ;  but  we  count  about  4,000  mouths, 
and  all  must  have  abundantly  of  the  best.  The  French  (I 
admit  that  they  take  more  out  of  the  country,  and  sometimes 
perhaps  by  rougher  methods)  carry  on  their  backs  several  days' 
provisions.  They  work  in  all  sorts  of  ways  for  the  army. 
The  contrast  is,  I  must  say,  very  striking.  ...  I  therefore 
thought  it  better  to  send  Wade  and  Parkes  to  the  new 
Imperial  Commissioners,  to  see  whether  they  intended  to  resist 
or  not,  and  to  make  a  proposal  to  test  this.  They  set  out  last 
night,  and  I  have  just  heard  from  them,  that,  as  they  did  not 
find  the  Commissioners  at  the  place  they  expected  (Matow), 
they  are  gone  on  to  Tung-chow,  the  place  where  I  intend 
to  sign  the  Convention.  Parkes  is  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able men  I  ever  met ;  for  energy,  courage,  and  ability  com- 
bined, I  do  not  know  where  I  could  find  his  match;  and 
this,  joined  to  a  facility  of  speaking  Chinese,  which  he 
shares  only  with  Lay,  makes  him  at  present  the  man  of  the 
situation. 

After  eight  hours'  diBCUssion  the  Chinese  Conunis-  Termt 
sioners  conceded  every  point ;  agreeing  among  other  **^'***^ 
things  that  the  army  should  advance  to  a  place  called 
Five-li  Point,  within  six  miles  of  Tung-chow,  and  there 
remain  while  the  Ambassador  proceeded  with  an  escort  of 
1,000  men  to  Pekin.  In  the  high  character  and  standing 
of  the  two  Commissioners,  one  the  Minister  of  War,  the 

A  A 


364 


SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHINA. 


Cn.  xin. 


other  a  Prince  of  the  Blood  Imperial,  and  in  their  re- 
peated assurances  that  *  what  they  signed  was  as  though 

*  the  Emperor  signed  it/  and  that  *  no  comparison  could 

*  be  drawn  between  the  authority  vested  in  them  and 

*  that  held  '  by  previous  Commissioners,  there  appeared 
to  be  everything  necessary  to  justify  the  belief  that 
their  word  might  be  trusted.  Unhappily  the  confidence 
which  the  Allies  were  thus  led  to  repose  in  them  was 
destined  to  be  deceived  ;  not  however,  so  far  as  appears, 
owing  to  bad  faith  on  their  part,  but  owing  to  the  fact 
that  their  pacific  influence  at  court  was  overborne  on 
this  occasion  by  that  of  the  war  party,  headed  by  the 
Commander-in-Chief,  Sang-ko-lin-sin.^ 

On  the  return  of  the  two  secretaries  from  the  con- 
ference. Lord  Elgin  at  once  acquainted  Baron  Gros 
and  Sir  Hope  Grant  with  its  results  ;  and  it  was  agreed 
that  the  Commanders-in-Chief  should  move  forward  on 
Monday  the  1 7th  from  Ho-se-woo  to  the  place  already 
mentioned,  Five-li  Point,  which  they  expected  to  reach 
in  two  days'  march;  and  that,  at  the  same  time,  or 
rather  before  the  departure  of  the  army,  Mr.  Parkes 
and  some  members  of  the  Ambassador's  suite  should 
proceed  to  Tung-chow  to  prepare  for  his  reception,  and 
to  procure  means  of  transport,  accompanied  by  an 
officer  of  the  Quarter-master  General's  Department, 
and  another  of  the  Commissariat,  and  escorted  by  a 
small  body  of  troops.^ 


^  '  A  priaoner  taken  on  the  2l8t  of 
'  September,  in  the  course  of  couversa- 
'  tion^volunteered  the  remark  that  the 
*  fighting  was  all  the  doing  of  Sang- 
'  ko-lin-sin,  who  was  as  anxious  for 
'  it  as  Prince  Tsai  was  opposed  to  it 
'This  accords  with  other  reports.' 
— Mr.  V^ade's  Memorandum. 

*  In  view  of  the  tragic  events 
which  followed,  the  reflection  will 
naturally  arise  that,  if  this  party 
had  not  been  thus  sent  forward  in 
advance  of  the  army,  those  events 
would  not  have  occurred.  On 
the  other  hand  it   must  be  borne 


in  mind,  (D  that  it  was  a  matter  of 
necessity  tnat  some  one  should  go 
forward  to  arrange  with  the  Chinese 
authorities  as  to  the  place  where  the 
Allied  armies  were  to  encamp ;  (2) 
that  the  practice  of  sending  one  or 
other  of  tne  Chinese  scholars  within 
the  enemy's  lines  had  lonff  been 
habitusl,  having  been  followed,  with 
the  best  results,  on  many  occasions, 
not  only  in  this  but  in  former  expe- 
ditions ;  and  that  the  Chinese,  what- 
ever might  be  their  faults,  had  never 
shown  any  dispontion  to  disres^ard  a 
flag  of  truce  -,  (3)  that,  accordingly. 


1860. 


AGREEMENT  BROKEN. 


355 


Svnday,  September  16M. — We  have  had  service  in  my 
temple.  The  General  and  Staff  attended.  .  .  .  Wade  and 
Parkes  did  good  work  at  Tung-chow,  It  is  arranged  now  that 
the  General  and  bulk  of  the  force  proceed  to-morrow  on  their 
way  to  the  point  at  which  (if  the  Chinese  Plenipotentiaries 
come  in  to  all  our  terms)  we  are  to  stay  the  progress  of  the 
main  body^  going  on  from  that  point  with  an  escort  of  l^OOO 
men.  This  place  is  about  five  miles  from  Tung-chow^  and 
twenty  from  Pekin ;  and  so  I  hope  to  effect  my  pacific  entry 
into  Pekin.  .  .  .  This  place  has  been,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  much 
maltreated,  for  the  people  ran  away,  and  when  that  takes  place, 
it  is  impossible  to  prevent  plundering.  The  present  plan  is, 
that  I  remain  here  till  the  army  has  taken  up  its  new  position, 
and  all  is  arranged  for  my  reception  at  Pekin  and  Tung-chow, 
when  I  shall  move  on.  Gros  is  here.  He  has  just  been  with 
me,  and  is  in  a  great  state  because  our  soldiers,  in  their  zeal 
to  drive  away  all  Chinese  robbers,  have  driven  away  all  his 
coolies. 

September  17  th. — I  rode  out  very  early  this  morning  to  see 
my  General  before  he  started,  and  to  give  him  a  hint  about 
the  looting,  which  has  been  bad  here.  He  disapproves  of  it  as 
much  as  I  do.  .  .  .  Parkes  went  off  again  this  morning  to 
Tung-chow,  with  another  missive  from  me  to  my  Prince 
(the  new  Plenipotentiary),  rather  stiff  and  plain-spoken ;  and 
Loch  is  gone  with  him  to  get  carts,  &c.,  as  I  have  no  means 
of  conveying  my  goods  and  chattels.  I  shall  probably  hear 
to-morrow  whether  there  is  any  hitch  ;  but  even  if  all  be  right, 
I  hardly  expect  to  get  on  before  Thursday,  for  want  of 
transport. 

September  ISth. — Noon, — There  is  firing  in  front  of  us ;  and  Agnement 
I  have  a  letter  from  Parkes  from  Tung-chow,  stating  that  the  ^*"^"' 
Prince  and  his  colleagues  made  great  difficulties  about  an 
audience  with  the  Emperor.     If  I  was  sure  that  Parkes  and 


DO  one  coDceraed  appenn  to  have 
had  any  idea  that  there  waa  dan^r 
to  be  braved ;  and  that,  putting  aside 
I^rd  Elgin,  Baron  Gros,  and  Sir 
Hope  Grant,  the  readiness  of  Mr. 
ParKes,  not  only  to  go  himself— that 
in  one  who  'knew  not  what  fear 
proves  nothing — but  to  take 


vras 


with  him  several  friends  who  were 
not  called  by  duty,  shows  that,  in  the 
judgment  of  a  man  of  great  shrewd- 


ness and  unrivalled  knowledge  of  the 
Chinese  character,  who  was  more- 
over fully  coffnisant  of  all  the  cir- 
cumstances, there  existed  no  sround 
for  apprehension ;  (4)  lastly,  that  all 
the  evils  that  followed  were  due,  so 
far  as  it  is  possible  now  to  judge,  to 
a  drcumstanoe  which  no  one  could 
have  foreseen  at  the  time,  viz.  to  a 
change  of  policy  and  of  paity  within 
the  Chinese  Government. 


A  A  2 


356  SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  XIH. 

Co.  were  well  out  of  Tung-chow,  and  that  we  should  push  on 
well,  I  should  not  regret  the  firing.  Five  p.m. — M.  de  Bas- 
tard, Gros'  secretary,  has  just  returned  ftom,  Tung-chow.  He 
reports  that  the  Tartars  this  morning  were  in  possession  of  the 
ground  on  which,  according  to  the  understanding  entered  into 
with  the  Prince  and  Co.,  we  were  to  have  encamped.  He  had 
to  ride  through  their  army,  to  his  no  small  alarm ;  but  he  met 
Parkes  (who  knows  not  what  fear  is)  riding  back  to  Tung- 
chow  to  tell  the  Prince,  &c.,  of  the  position  of  the  Tartar 
army,  and  that  they  should  be  held  responsible  for  the  conse- 
quences. Loch  was  with  the  General.  I  wonder  he  is  not 
come  to  inform  me  of  what  has  happened. 

Treftcher-  At  the  time  when  these  words  were  written,  nearly 
oMMizure  ^^  whole  of  the  party  which  had  ridden  forth  the 
Furkesand  moming  before,  *  in  high  spirits  at  the  prospect  of  an 
*  early  and  successful  termination  of  the  war/  had  been 
treacherously  seized  by  the  soldiers  of  Sang-ko-lin-sin, 
and  Mr.  Parkes  and  Mr.  Loch  were  being  violently 
hurried  oflF,  with  their  hands  tied  behind  their  backs,  in 
a  rude  springless  cart,  over  a  badly-paved  road,  to  the 
prisons  of  Pekin.  The  details  of  their  capture  and  im- 
prisonment, together  with  such  particulars  as  could 
afterwards  be  ascertained  of  their  companions'  fate, 
may  be  read  in  the  very  interesting  narrative  of  one 
of  the  victims.*  We  can  here  touch  only  upon  those 
points  in  which  their  story  is  mixed  up  with  public 
events, 
^lue  of  As  to  the  origin  and  cause  of  the  renewal  of  hosti- 
*  **•  lities,  it  is  impossible  to  speak  with  certainty  ;  nor  is  it 
probable  that  we  shall  ever  arrive  at  a  better  opinion  on 
the  subject,  than  that  which  was  formed  by  Lord  Elgin 
on  the  spot.  In  his  report  to  the  Government  he 
wrote : — 

To  hazard  conjectures  as  to  the  motives  by  which  Chinese 
functionaries  are  actuated  is  not  a  very  safe  undertaking ;  and 

*  'Personal  Narrative  of  Occur-      Brougham  Loch,  Private  Secretaiy 
renoes  during  Lord  Elgin's  Second      to  the  Earl  of  Elgin, 
^^mhnssv  to  China,' 1800.   By  Henry 


1800.  TKEACHERY  OF  THE  CHINESE.  357 

it  is  very  possible  that  further  infonnation  may  modify  the. 
views  which  I  now  entertain  on  this  point.  I  am,  however, 
disposed  at  present  to  doubt  there  having  been  a  deliberate 
intention  of  treachery  on  the  part  of  Prince  Tsai  and  his  col- 
league ;  but  I  apprehend  that  the  General-in-Chief,  Sang-ko- 
lin-sin,  thought  that  they  had  compromised  his  military  posi- 
tion by  allowing  our  army  to  establish  itself  so  near  his  lines  at 
Chang-kia-wan.  He  sought  to  counteract  the  evil  effect  of 
this  by  making  a  great  swagger  of  parade  and  preparation  to 
resist  when  the  Allied  armies  approached  the  camping-ground 
allotted  to  them.  Several  of  our  people.  Colonel  Walker,  with 
his  escort,  my  private  Secretary,  Mr.  Loch,  Baroh  Gros'  Sec- 
retary of  Embassy,  Comte  de  Bastard,  and  others,  passed 
through  the  Tartar  army  during  the  course  of  the  morning  on 
their  way  from  Tung-chow  without  encountering  any  rudeness 
or  ill-treatment  whatsoever.  At  about  a  quarter  to  ten,  how- 
ever, a  French  Commissariat  officer  was  assaulted  by  some 
Tartar  soldiers  under  circumstances  which  are  not  very  clearly 
ascertained;  and  this  incident  gave  rise  to  an  engagement, 
which  soon  became  general.  On  the  whole,  I  come  to  the  con- 
clusion that,  in  the  proceedings  of  the  Chinese  Plenipotentiaries 
and  Commander-in-Chief  in  this  instance,  there  was  that  mix- 
ture of  stupidity,  want  of  straightforwardness,  suspicion,  and 
bluster,  which  characterises  so  generally  the  conduct  of  affairs 
in  this  country ;  but  I  cannot  believe  that,  after  the  experience 
which  Sang-ko-lin-ain  had  already  had  of  our  superiority  in 
the  field,  either  he  or  his  civil  colleagues  could  have  intended 
to  bring  on  a  conflict  in  which,  as  the  event  has  proved,  he  was 
BO  sure  to  be  worsted. 

Late  on  the  night  of  the  18  th,  Lord  Elgin  received  ^™»«»- 
at  the  same  time  the  report  of  a  successful  engagement, 
and  the  intelligence  of  the  capture  of  his  firiends.  From 
this  moment  he  felt  that,  until  the  prisoners  were  given 
up,  there  could  be  no  further  negotiation.  A  notifica- 
tion was  at  once  issued,  that  '  all  English  and  French 
^  subjects  were  required  to  return  to  the  head-quarters 

*  of  their  respective  armies ;  and  that  if  any  impediment 

*  was  put  in  the  way  of  their  return,  the  city  of  Pekin 

*  would  forthwith  be  attacked  and  taken.*     Even  when 


■niM. 


i 


358  SECOND  MISSION  TQ  CHINA.  Cn.  XIH. 

offers  came  that  they  should  be  restored  on  condition 
of  his  withdrawing  his  troops,  he  refused  to  listen  to 
such  terms  ;  convinced  that  any  sign  of  yielding  on 
his  part  would  be  as  dangerous  to  their  safety  as  it 
would  be  fatal  to  all  hope  of  success  in  the  objects  of 
his  mission.^ 

September  2Srd. — I  have  had  a  very  busy  time  since  I  last 
wrote  in  this  journaL     I  have,  moreover,  been  separated  from 
it,  and  from  all  my  effects.     On  the  21st  we  had  another 
battle   with  the  Tartars.     I  accompanied  the  army,  and  saw 
it  all.     Considering  that  the  Tartars  are  so  wretchedly  armed 
and  led,  they  did  pretty  well.     We  are  now  about  six  miles 
from  Pekin,  but  I  believe  the  Generals  will  not  move  for  a 
week.     We  learn  that  Parkes  and  his  companions,  viz.  Loch, 
De  Norman,  Bowlby,  Captain  Brabazon,  Lieutenant  Ander- 
son, nineteen  Sikhs,  and  one  of  the  Dragoon  Guards,  are  in 
Pekin,  but  we  have  had  no  communication  with  them  yet. 
Fbli-chiao        Pali-chiao. — September  21th. — I  closed  my  last  letter  some- 
what in  haste,  for  I  had  been  separated  for  three  days  from  it 
and  my  desk,  and  when  we  met  again,  I  was  busy  with  my 
despatches,   &c.     The   arrest  of  Parkes  and  the  others  is  a 
very  disagreeable  incident,  and  we  do  not  yet  know  what  it 
may  lead  to.     I  sent  word  yesterday  to  the  Emperor's  brother, 
who  is  now  named  to  treat  with  me,  that  unless  they  are  re- 
turned to  the  camp  within  three  days'  time,  and  a  pledge  is 
given  that  the  Convention  I  drew  up  at  Tientsin  is  signed, 
Pekin  will  be  assaulted.     We  are  anxious,  until  we  receive  an 
answer  to  this   ultimatum.     It  was  a  reply  to  a  letter  from 
the  Prince  to  me,  in  which  he  coolly  stated  that  the  prisonei*s 
should  be  returned  when  our  army  and  fleet  had  retired  from 
the  country.  .  .  .  Meantime  we  have  an  army  in  excellent 
health,  abundantly  supplied,  and  which,  in  five  actions  with 
the  enemy,  has  lost  some  twenty  killed  I  ...  I  think  I  told 
you  at  the  close  of  my  last  letter,  that  at  midnight  on  the  18th 
I  received  a  note  in  pencil  from  the  General,  telling  me  what 
had  led  to  the  conflict  of  that  day.     At  3.30  a.m.  I  sent  an 
answer  by  Crealock,  and  at  five  set  off"  with  an  escort  of  thirty 
Irregulars,  to  ride  about  twenty  miles  to  the  General's  camp. 

'  "With    generous    cnndour,    Mr.      timony  to    the  correctneas  of  this 
Loch,  in  his  'Narrative/  bears  tes-      view. 


1880.  ADVANCE  ON  PEKIX.  359 

We  then  agreed  that  the  Commanders-in-Chief  should  send  a 
notification  to  the  chief  mandarin  of  Tung-chow,  to  the  effect 
that,  unless  our  countrymen  were  forthwith  restored,  Pekin 
would  be  assaulted.     No  notice  was  taken  of  thif .     So  on  the 
21st  we  advanced,  and  attacked  a  large  body  of  Tartars,  en- 
camped between  Tung-chow  and  Pekin.     I  accompanied  the 
infantry  and  artillery  during  the  day's  proceedings.     We  en- 
camped after  the  battle,  where  we  now  are,  among  some  trees. 
We  sleep  in  tents,  but  we  have  a  house  where  we  mess.      I 
am  living  with  the  General,  as  my  establishment  has  not  yet 
been  brought  up  from  Ho-see-woo.     I  rode  over  yesterday  to 
see  the  Russian  Minister,  who,  with  his  sixteen  Cossacks,  is 
occupying  the  village,  or  rather  town,  of  Chin-kia-wan,  which 
was  taken  after  the  affair  of  the  18th.     It  is  a  sad  scene  of 
desolation.     General  Ignatieff^  was  very  obliging  and  friendly, 
as  I  have  indeed  found  him  to  be  throughout.      He   and  I 
entirely  agree  as  to  how  the  Chinese  should  be  fought.  .  •  . 
I  may  be  very  near  the  close  of  this  China  business,  or  I 
may  be  at  the  commencement  of  a  new  series  of  difficulties. 
All  is  very  uncertain  at  present.  .  .  .  The  climate  is  pleasant 
here,  were  it  not  for  the  quantity  of  dust,  which  is  overwhelm- 
ing.    We  have  abundance  of  grapes,  and  some  other  good 
fruit. 

September  29M. — At  midnight  of  the  27th  I  was  roused 
by  Wade,  who  brought  me  a  letter  from  Prince  Kung  (the 
Emperor's  brother),  a  good  deal  milder  than  the  last,  but  still 
implying  that  Parkes,  &c.,  were  not  to  be  returned  until  the 
treaty,  &c.,  was  signed.  The  comparative  mildness  of  the 
tone  of  this  communication  was  clearly  attributable  to  the 
firmness  of  my  last  letter,  and  I  therefore  induced  those  with 
whom  I  act  to  agree  to  my  adhering  to  it  in  my  reply.  I 
accordingly  wrote  to  say  that  the  army  would  advance  unless 
the  prisoners  should  return  in  the  course  of  to-day ;  but  that 
I  do  not  intend  to  add  to  the  Convention  which  I  have 
already  fumished  to  the  Chinese  Plenipotentiaries,  and  that  I 
will  sign  that  at  once,  and  close  the  war,  if  they  choose.  I 
hardly  expect  to  see  our  friends  to-day.  The  Generals  will 
not  advance  to-morrow,  but  they  say  they  will  on  Monday. 
Meanwhile  it  is  raining ;  a  sort  of  English  rain,  not  tropical ; 
and  if  we  have  not  too  much  of  it,  it  will  do  good. 

October  \st, — Yesterday  morning  came  another  letter,  pro- 


360 


SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHINA. 


Ch.  XITL 


Adviince 
on  Ptfkin. 


Sabnrba. 


posing  that  the  army  should  retire  to  Chin-kia-wan^  and  that 
then  the  treaty  should  be  signed  and  the  prisoners  restored. 
This  was  clearly  inadmissible,  as  the  Chinese  would  infer  from 
it  that  whenever  they  had  a  difficulty  with  us  they  had  only  to 
kidnap  some  of  our  people  to  bring  us  to  terms.  So  we  have 
again  handed  the  matter  over  to  the  Generals^  from  whose 
hands  indeed  it  would  not  now  have  been  taken  if  they  had 
not  urged  me  to  make  this  last  overture  to  Prince  Kung.  I 
do  not  know  when  they  will  advance. 

October  3rd, — We  have  moved  about  two  miles,  and  are  now 
lodged  in  a  mosque — a  nice  building,  a  good  deal  ornamented 
— which  is  for  the  nonce  turned  to  profane  uses.  The  army  was 
to  have  advanced  to  attack  Sang-ko-lin-sin's  force  to-morrow, 
but  now  I  am  told  the  French  are  not  ready.  .  .  •  These 
delays  give  the  Chinese  fresh  heart,  and  they  are  beginning 
to  send  people  to  fire  on  our  convoys,  &c.,  coming  up  from 
Tientsin.  .  .  .  There  was  a  letter  sent  to  me  yesterday  by 
Prince  Kung,  signed  by  Loch  and  Parkes.  Loch  managed  in 
his  signature  to  convey  to  us  in  Hindostanee  that  the  letter 
was  written  under  compulsion.  As  it  was  in  Chinese  the 
information  was  hardly  necessary.  It  said  that  they  two  were 
well  treated,  complimented  Prince  Kung,  and  asked  for  some 
clothes.  We  have  heard  nothing  about  the  others  who  are 
missing. 

October  5  th, — We  left  our  mosque  this  morning  at  about 
seven.  The  whole  army  was  drawn  up  in  contiguous  columns 
of  regiments,  and  had  a  good  appearance.  The  cavalry  on  the 
right,  then  the  artillery,  and  then  the  infantry.  The  French 
were  on  our  left.  In  this  way  we  advanced  about  four  miles, 
when  we  reached  a  place  from  which  we  saw  one  of  the  gates 
of  Pekin  at  about  a  mile  and  a  half  distance.     We  met  with 

■ 

no  enemy,  but  we  heard  of  him  about  three  miles  farther  on. 
However,  the  French  declined  to  go  any  farther ;  so  here  we 
remain  for  the  night,  and  we  have  got  into  a  joss-house,  which 
is  lucky,  for  we  have  no  tents  with  us — only  a  very  light  kit 
and  three  days'  provisions  for  each  person.  We  hear  that  the 
Emperor  has  left  for  Tartary,  which  is  very  probable.  We 
might  have  stopped  him  if  we  had  marched  on  immediately 
after  the  21st  ultimo ;  but  that  was,  in  the  judgment  of  the 
Generals,  impossible. 

October  6th. — FiveF.U, — We  are  lodged  in  VLLamaserie  in  the 


1860.  THE  SUMMER  PALACE.  361 

north-west  suburb  of  Pekin.  Our  move  b^an  at  seven.  We 
streamed  along  nan*ow  roads  in  a  long  line.  I  got  a  scolding 
from  the  General  for  outflanking  the  skirmishers,  which  I  did 
to  get  out  of  the  dust.  At  about  nine  we  reached  a  brick-kiln, 
from  whence  we  had  a  view  of  Pekin,  and  of  a  mound,  behind 
which,  as  we  were  assured,  Sang-ko^lin-sin  and  his  army  were 
encamped.  We  halted  for  some  time  and  then  advanced ;  we 
on  the  right,  the  French  on  the  left,  towards  these  supposed 
camps.  The  French  were  to  attack  in  front,  we  were  to  take 
the  enemy  in  flank.  I  was  with  the  second  division  of  our 
force.  When  we  arrived  abreast  of  the  entrenchment  we  could 
see  nothing  of  an  enemy.  After  a  while  I  rode  to  the  top  of 
the  mound  at  the  comer  of  the  entrenchment,  and  found  the 
French  General  and  Staffs  The  Tartars  had  aU  decamped  the 
night  before.  I  then  rejoined  our  army  and  advanced  with  it 
to  this  point.  With  the  exception  of  a  few  shots  exchanged 
with  a  picket  of  the  enemy,  we  know  of  no  fighting  which  has 
taken  place  to-day ;  but,  strange  to  say,  our  cavalry  which  went 
off  far  to  the  right  in  the  morning  has  not  been  heard  of  yet, 
and  we  cannot  discover  what  has  become  of  the  French.  It  is 
a  nice  country,  covered  with  clumps  of  trees  and  suburban 
villas.  The  temperature  of  the  air  is  cool,  but  the  sun  was 
very  hot  all  day. 

Sunday y  October  Itli. — We  hear  this  morning  that  the  French  The 
and  our  cavalry  have  captured  the  Summer  Palace  of  the  p^i^ 
Emperor.  All  the  big-wigs  have  fled,  nothing  remains  but  a 
portion  of  the  household.  We  are  told  that  the  prisoners  are 
all  in  Pekin.  .  .  .  Five  P.M. — I  have  just  returned  from  the 
Summer  Palace.  It  is  really  a  fine  thing,  like  an  English  park 
— numberles3  buildings  with  handsome  rooms,  and  filled  with 
Chinese  curios^  and  handsome  clocks,  bronzes,  &c.  But,  alas  I 
such  a  scene  of  desolation.  The  French  General  came  up  fu'I 
of  protestations.  He  had  prevented  looting  in  order  that  all 
the  plunder  might  be  dinded  between  the  armies,  &c.  &c. 
There  was  not  a  room  that  I  saw  in  which  half  the  things  had 
not  been  taken  away  or  broken  to  pieces.  I  tried  to  get  a 
regiment  of  ours  sent  to  guard  the  place,  and  then  sell  the  things 
by  auction ;  but  it  is  difiBcult  to  get  things  done  by  system  in 
such  a  case,  so  some  oflBcers  are  left  who  are  to  fill  two  or  three 
carts  with  treasures  which  are  to  be  sold.  .  .  .  Plundering  and 
devastating  a  place  like  this  is  bad  enough,  but  what  is  much 


362  SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Cn.  XHT. 

worse  is  the  waste  and  breakage.  Out  of  1,000,000/.  worth  of 
property,  I  daresay  50,000/.  will  not  be  realised.  French  eoUiers 
were  destroying  in  every  way  the  most  bewitifiil  silks,  break- 
ing the  jade  onuunents  and  porcelain,  &c.  War  is  a  hateful 
business.     The  more  one  sees  of  it,  the  more  one  detests  it. 

Return  of  Pressed  thus  closely  up  to  the  walls  of  the  capital, 
captiree.  the  Chinese  Regent — ^for  the  Emperor  had  retired  to 
Tartary,  *  being  obliged  by  law  to  hunt  in  the  autumn ' 
— ^jielded  at  last  to  save  the  storming  of  the  city.  In 
the  afternoon  of  the  8th  of  October  the  English  and 
French  prisoners  detained  in  Pekin,  numbering  eight  in 
all,  were  sent  into  the  camp.^ 

October  9th. — Yesterday  at  4  p.m.,  Parkes,  Loch,  and  one 
of  Fane's  Irregulars  arrived.  With  them  were  four  French 
soldiers  and  M.  d'Escayrac  (the  head  of  a  scientific  commission). 
The  hands  and  wrists  of  the  latter  were  in  a  sad  condition, 
they  had  been  so  hurt  by  the  cords  tied  round  them.  Bowlby, 
De  Norman,  and  the  rest,  do  not  seem  to  be  in  Pekin  as  we  had 
hoped.  Parkes  and  Loch  were  very  badly  treated  for  the  first 
ten  days ;  since  then,  conciliation  has  been  the  order  of  the 
day,  and,  I  have  no  doubt,  because  I  stood  firm.  If  I  had 
wavered,  they  would  have  been  lost;  because  the  Chinese, 
finding  they  had  a  lever  with  which  they  could  move  us,  would 
have  used  their  advantage  unsparingly.  Parkes  and  Loch 
have  behaved  very  well  under  circumstances  of  great  danger. 
The  narrative  of  their  adventures  is  very  interesting,  but  I 
cannot  attempt  to  give  it  in  this  letter.  They  seem  to  be  in 
good  health  notwithstanding  the  hardships  they  have  gone 
through. 

In  a  public  despatch  of  the  same  date,  announcing 
the  restoration  of  the  captives,  he  wrote : — 

To  no  one  of  their  numerous  friends  is  the  return  of  these 
gentlemen  a  matter  of  more  heartfelt  gratification  than  it  is  to 
me.  Since  the  period  of  their  arrest,  I  have  been  compelled, 
by  a  sense  of  duty,  to  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  every  overture  for 

'  The  BritiBh   aubjects  thas  re-  cayrac  de  Lauture,  who  was  at  the 

stored  were  Mr.  Parkee,  Mr.  Loch,  head  of  a  scientific  mission,  and  four 

and  a  trooper  of  Probjn*s  Horse;  soldiers. 
'*     Vrench  subjects  were  M.  TEs- 


laeo.  RETURN  OF  SOME  OF  THE  CAPHVES.  363 

their  restoration  which  has  involved  the  slightest  retnograde 
movement  of  our  army,  or  the  abandonment  of  any  demands 
previously  preferred  by  me  against  the  Chinese  Government 
I  have  felt  that  any  such  concession  on  my  part  would  have 
established  a  most  fatal  precedent,  because  it  would  have  led 
the  Chinese  to  suppose  that  by  kidnapping  Englishmen  they 
might  effect  objects  which  they  are  unable  to  achieve  by  fair 
fighting  or  diplomacy.  I  confess  that  I  have  been  moreover, 
throughout,  of  opinion,  that  in  adopting  this  uncompromising 
tone,  and  boldly  setting  the  national  above  the  personal  in- 
terest^  I  was  in  point  of  fact  best  consulting  the  welfare  of 
our  firiends  who  were  in  durance.  But  it  was  not  to  be  ex- 
pected that  all  persons  would  view  in  the  same  light  a  question 
of  policy  so  obscure ;  and  apart  from  the  warm  personal 
interest  which  I  feel  in  their  safety,  your  Lordship  can  well 
understand  that  it  relieves  me  from  a  great  load  of  anxiety  to 
learn  from  the  result  that  the  course  which  I  have  followed 
was  not  ill-calculated  to  promote  itJ 

Later  in  the  same  despatch  he  expressed  himself 
anxiously  yet  hopefully  about  the  captives  who  were 
still  missing : —  • 

It  is  a  matter  of  great  concern  to  me,  that  we  know  as  yet 
nothing  certain  respecting  the  fate  of  Mr.  Bruce's  Attach^, 
Mr.  de  Norman,  Mr.  Bowlby,  the  special  correspondent  of 
the  TimeBy  and  the  nineteen  troopers  (consisting  of  eighteen 
Sikhs  and  one  Dragoon)  who  formed  the  escort,  and  were 
under  the  command  of  Lieutenant  Anderson,  of  Fane's  Irre- 
gular Horse.  This  ])ortion  of  the  party  became  separated 
from  Messrs.  Parkes  and  Loch,  when  the  latter,  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  conflict  of  the  18th  ultimo,  were  taken  up 
to  Sang-ko-lin-sin,  for  the  ostensible  object  of  obtaining  a  safe- 
conduct  from  him.  Since  that  time  we  have  heard  nothing 
authentic  about  them,  but  we  are  assured  that,  though  they  are 
not  now  in  Pekin,  they  will  soon  be  restored  to  us. 

*  In  a   subsequent  letter,  Lord  '  and  devotion  to  the  public  inters ; 

Elgin  paid  to  Mr.  Parkca  this  well-  '  and  the  ooune  whicn  be  followed  in 

nieiitea  tribute.    '  Mr.  Parkes*  con-  <  this  respect,  by  leaving  my  hands 

'  sistent  refusal  to  purchase  his  own  '  firee,  enabled  me  to  work  out  the 

'  safety  by  making  any  pledges,  or  '  policy  which  was  best  calculated  to 

'  even  by  addresnng  to  me  any  repre-  '  secure  his  own  release,  as  well  as  the 

'sentations  which  might  have  em-  'attainment  of  the  national  objects 

<  barrassed  me  in  the  dischaige  of  my  <  entrusted  to  my  care.' 
*diity,  is  a  raro  example  of  courage 


364 


SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHINA. 


Ch.  xin. 


teat. 


Unhappily  the  hopes  thus  raised  were  not  destined 
to  be  realised.  On  the  12th  of  October  nine  more 
prisoners  were  returned  to  the  camp — eight  troopers  of 
Fate  of  the  Fanc's  Irregular  Horse  and  one  French  soldier;  but 
the  evidence  given  by  them  left  no  doubt  that  two 
at  least  of  the  remainder,  Lieutenant  Anderson  and 
Mr.  De  Norman  had  perished,  having  sunk  under  cir- 
cumstances of  much  suffering  from  the  consequences  of 
the  maltreatment  to  which  they  were  subjected.     *  I  was 

*  not  personally  acquainted/  wrote  Lord  Elgin,  *  with 

*  Lieutenant  Anderson,  but  he  is  spoken  of  by  all  who 

*  knew  him  as  an  excellent  officer.    Mr.  De  Norman  was 

*  a  young  man  of  remarkable  promise.     With  consider- 

*  able  abilities,  great  assiduity,  singular  steadiness  of 

*  character,  and  courage  of  no  mean  order,  he  had  every 

*  promise  of  achieving  eminence  in  his  profession.    We 

*  all  mourn  most  bitterly  his  untimely  end.'* 
There  were  others  whose  fate  remained  at  that  time 

unknown ;  .among  them  Mr.  Bowlby,  the  correspondent 
of  the  Times^  whose  corpse  was  afterwards  recovered 
and  recognised.  The  warmth  of  regard  which  Lord 
Elgin  had  learnt  to  feel  for  him,  is  shown  in  many 
passages  of  his  journal.  Officially  he  wrote,  '  I  deplore 
^  his  loss,  not  only  because  he  was  a  highly-accomplished 

*  and  well-informed  gentleman,  but  also  because,  from  the 


^  The  language  used  by  Mr. 
Bruce,  in  reporting  to  the  Foreigp 
Office  Mr.  De  Norman*B  death,  is 
Btill  more  striking;  and  it  has  an 
Additional  interest  as  being  emi- 
nently characteristic  of  the  writer : 
'  It  has  not  been  my  fortune/  he 
says,  '  to  meet  with  a  man  whose  life 
'  was  BO  much  in  harmony  with  the 
'Divine  precept,  ^'not  uothful  in 
'  '*  busine^,  serving  the  Lord."  With 
'  a  consistency  unparalleled  in  my  ex- 
'  psrience  he  brought  to  bear  on  the 
'  discharge  of  every  duty,  and  to  the 
*  inTestip^Htion  of  every  subject  how- 
'  ever  minute,  the  complete  and  undi- 
'  vidod  Attention  of  the  sound  abili- 


ties, the  good  sense,  and  the  indefa- 
tigable industry  with  which  God 
had  endowed  him.  A  character  so 
morally  and  intellectually  consci- 
entious, striving  to  do  everything  in 
the  most  perfect  manner,  neglecting 
no  opportunity  of  acquiring  fresh 
and  of  consolidating  previous  know- 
ledge, promised  a  career  honourable 
to  himself,  and,  what  he  valued  far 
more,  advantageous  to  the  public, 
had  it  pleased  God  to  spare  him. 

'Now  there  remains  to  those  who 
knew  him  intimately  only  this  con- 
soling conviction,  that  death,  how- 
ever sudden,  could  not  find  him 
unprepared.' 


ISOO.  BURNING  OF  THE  SmDIER  PAIACE.  365 

*  conscientious  and  liberal  spirit  in  which  he  addressed 

*  himself  to  the  investigation  of  the  singularly  compli* 
^  cated  problems  presented  by  the  moral^  social,  political, 

*  and  commercial  condition  of  China,  I  had  conceived  the 
^  hope  that  lie  would  be  the  means  of  diffusing  sound 

*  information  on  many  points  on  which  it  is  most  impor- 

*  tant  for  the  national  interests  that  the  British  public 

*  should  be  correctly  informed.'  ^ 

The  journal,  during  these  anxious  and  troubled  days, 
is  naturally  imperfect.  One  brief  entry  sums  up  hb  feel- 
ing on  the  main  subject. 

Camp  near  Pekin, —  October  14/A. — We  have  dreadful  news 
respecting  the  fate  of  Bome  of  our  captured  friends.  It  is  an 
atrocious  crime,  and,  not  for  vengeance,  but  for  future  security, 
ought  to  be  severely  dealt  with. 

The  form  which  the  retribution  took  is  well  known.  Baming 
The  Palace  of  Yuen-ming-yuen,  the  Summer-palace  of  suMer 
the  Emperor,  the  glory  and  boast  of  the  Chinese  Empire,  P*^*««- 
was  levelled  with  the  ground. 

The  reasons  which  led  Lord  Elgin  to  decide  upon  this 
act  are  fully  stated  in  a  despatch  dated  the  25th  of 
October.  After  dwelling  on  the  necessity  of  inflicting 
some  punishment  at  once  severe  and  swift,  that  should 
leave  Pekin  untouched  (for  he  had  engaged  not  to  harm 
the  city)  and  should  fall  specially  on  the  Emperor,  who 
was  personally  responsible  for  the  crimes  that  had  been 
committed,  he  goes  on  to  discuss  the  different  courses 
that  were  open  to  him.  He  might  inflict  a  fine ;  but  it 
could  not  be  exacted  except  by  appropriating  a  further 
portion  of  the  Chinese  revenue,  already  seriously  trenched 
upon  by  our  previous  demands.  Or  he  might  require  the 

*  The  only  Eoj^lUh  prisoner  ulti-  conntiy  for  the  military  onerations. 

mately  unaccounted  for  was  Captain  His  bod^  was  never  found ;  bat  it 

Brahaxon,  Deputy- Assistant  Quarter-  was  belioTed  that  he  had  been  be- 

Master-Oeneral  of  Artillery,  an  officer  headed  by  order  of  a  Chinese  Ge- 

whose  finished  talent  and  skiU  in  neral  in  bis  exasperation  at  a  wound 

drawing  had  often  been  of  the  great-  received  in  the  action  of  the  21st  of 

est  service  in  taking  sketches  of  the  October. 


366  SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Cii.  XHI. 

surrender  of  the  individuals  guilty  of  violating  the  flag 
of  truce :  but  if  he  named  no  one,  some  miserable  sub- 
ordinates would  be  given  up ;  if  he  specified  the  real 
culprit,  Sang-ko-lin-sin,  the  demand  would  infallibly  be 
refused  and  could  not  be  enforced.  Dismissing  these 
alternatives  he  proceeds : — 

Having,  to  the  best  of  my  judgment,  examined  the  questiou 
in  all  its  bearings,  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  destruction 
of  Yuen-ming-yuen  was  the  least  objectionable  of  the  several 
courses  open  to  me,  unless  I  could  have  reconciled  it  to  my 
sense  of  duty  to  suffer  the  crime  which  had  been  committed  to 
pass  practically  unavenged.  I  had  reason,  moreover,  to  believe 
that  it  was  an  act  which  was  calculated  to  .produce  a  greater 
effect  in  China,  and  on  the  Emperor,  than  persons  who  look  on 
from  a  distance  may  suppose. 

It  was  the  Emperor's  favourite  residence,  and  its  destruction 
could  not  fail  to  be  a  blow  to  his  pride  as  well  as  to  his  feel* 
ings.     To  this  place  he  brought  our  hapless  countrymen,  in 
order  that  they  might  undergo  their  severest  tortures  within 
its  precincts.     Here  have  been  found  the  horses  and  accoutre- 
ments of  the  troopers  seized,  the  decorations  torn  from  the 
breast  of  a  gallant  French  officer,  and  other  effects  belonging 
to  the  prisoners.     As  almost  all  the  valuables  had  already  been 
taken  from  the  palace,  the  army  would  go  there,  not  to  pillage, 
but  to  mark,  by  a  solemn  act  of  retribution,  the  horror  and 
indignation  with  which  we  were  inspired  by  the  perpetration 
of  a  great  crime.     The  punishment  was  one  which  would  fall, 
not  on  the  people,  who  may  be  comparatively  innocent,  but 
exclusively  on  the  Emperor,  whose  direct  personal  responsibility 
for  the  crime  committed  is  established,  not  only  by  the  treat- 
ment of  the  prisoners  at  Yuen-ming-yuen,  but  also   by  the 
edict,  in  which  he  offered  a  pecuniary  reward  for  the  heads  of 
the  foreigners,  adding,  that  he   was  ready  to  expend  all  his 
treasure  in  these  wages  of  assassination. 

On  Thursday,  the  18th  of  October,  the  extensive 
buildings  of  the  palace  were  given  to  the  flames ;  and 
during  the  whole  of  the  19th  they  were  still  burning. 
*  The  clouds  of  smoke,'  says  Mr.  Loch,  '  driven  by  the 

^iiid,  hung  like  a  vast  black  pall  over  Pekin ;'   well 


1800.  IN  PEKIN.  367 

calculated  to  enforce  with  their  lurid  gloom  the  lesBon 
conveyed  to  the  citizens  in  a  proclamation  which  Lord 
Elgin  had  caused  to  be  affixed  in  Chinese  to  all  the 
buildings  and  walls  in  the  neighbourhood,  to  the  effect 

*  that  no  individual,  however  exalted,  could  escape  from 
^  the  responsibility  and  punishment  which  must  always 

*  follow  the  commission  of  acts  of  treachery  and  deceit ; 
^  and  that  Yuen-ming-yuen  was  burnt  as  a  punishment 
'  inflicted  on  the  Emperor  for  the  violation  of  his  word, 

*  and  the  act  of  treachery  to  a  flag  of  truce.' 

Five  days  later,  on  the  24th  of  October,  the  Conven-  Conren- 
tiou,  which  had  l^een  the  subject  of  so  much  dispute,  signed. 
was  finally  signed,  and  Lord  Elgin  exchanged  >vith  the 
Emperor's  brother  the  ratifications  of  the  Treaty  of 
Tientsin. 

Camp  near  Pekin, —  October  2%th. — This  will  be  one  of  the 
shortest  letters  which  you  have  received  from  me  since  we 
parted,  and  yet  perhaps  it  will  not  be  the  one  which  you  will 
welcome  the  least,  because  it  will  convey  to  you  the  news 
that  I  have  signed  my  treaty,  and  that  the  specific  object 
for  which  I  came  out  is  therefore  accomplished.  I  have  not 
written  my  daily  journal  lately,  because  it  would  have  been 
filled  with  my  difficulties.  .  .  .  However,  I  have  succeeded  at 
last  in  a  sort  of  way.  Loch  is  going  home  with  the  treaty, 
and  will  make  a  point  of  seeing  you,  and  givirg  you  all  our 
news.  ...  I  cannot  decide  as  to  my  own  return  until  I  see 
Frederick.  .  .  .  The  deaths  of  poor  Bowlby  and  the  others 
who  were  with  him  were  very  sad  !  Loch's  escape  was  most 
providential.  With  5,000  men  led  on  without  delay,  as  ought 
to  be  done  in  China,  nothing  of  this  kind  would  have 
occurred.  I  told  Palmerston  so  before  I  started;  but  the 
delays  incident  to  conveying  so  large  an  army  as  ours  without 
risking  anything,  have  nearly  made  the  whole  thing  break 
down. 

October  27th. — Nine  A.M.—  Loch  tells  me  he  must  be  off,  so 
I  must  end  my  brief  epistle.  I  take  up  my  abode  in  Pekin 
to-day,  in  the  palace  of  the  Prince  of  I.,  who  played  me  false 
at  Tung-chow. 

Pekin,  Prince  of  Vt  Palace. —  October  ZOth. — I  have  been 


J 


368  SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  XHI. 

in  bed  for  two  days  with  an  attack  of  influenza,  but  I  nm 
better  to-day,  though  not  by  way  of  going  out.  Here  we 
(the  General  and  I)  are  occupying  a  great  enclosure  con- 
taining a  series  of  oneHBtoried  wooden  buildings  with  covered 
passages  and  verandahs.  There  is  a  good  deal  of  aristo- 
cratic seclusion  about  the  place,  as  it  is  surrounded  by 
walls,  and  entirely  cut  off  from  the  world  without;  but 
there  is  little  appearance  of  luxury  and  comfort  about  it. 
It  rained  yesterday  and  the  day  before,  and  I  had  con- 
siderable difficulty  in  reading  in  my  bed,  as  my  paper  win- 
dows, which  keep  out  the  cold  pretty  well,  keep  out  also  a 
good  deal  of  light.  They  are  not  transparent,  so  the  view 
through  them  is  not  lively.  To-day  there  is  a  beautiful  sun- 
shine, and  I  have  been  walking  about  a  little  in  the  court 
before  my  room  door.  The  present  arrangement  is  that  we 
remain  here  till  the  8th.  I  had  some  difficulty  in  obtaining 
this ;  but  it  is  of  great  importance  that,  before  the  army  goep, 
I  should  get  a  decree  from  the  Emperor  sanctioning  the  pub- 
lication of  the  Treaty  all  over  the  empire.  .  .  .  The  French 
General  will  not,  however,  consent  to  remain. 

October  31«f. — Another  fine  day,  but  I  have  not  left  the 
house,  partly  from  consideration  for  the  remains  of  my  cold, 
and  partly  because  I  have  had  letters  to  finish.  I  have  had 
visits  from  both  my  colleagues,  Gros  and  Ignatieff.  The  latter 
and  I  are  always  very  good  friends.  Perhaps  he  takes  ad- 
vantage of  my  simplicity ;  but  at  any  rate  we  always  seem  to 
agree  remarkably.  He  is  wide  awake  to  the  Jesuit  intrigues 
Fnneral  of  here.  By  the  way,  I  should  mention  that  the  French  had  a 
deri^ciip-  wonderful  funeral  on  Sunday,  in  honour  of  the  murdered  cap- 
tives, tives.  I  could  not  attend,  being  in  bed  at  the  time.  Several 
speeches  in  bad  taste  were  delivered,  and  a  remarkable  series 
of  performances  took  place.  Among  other  things,  each  soldier 
(this  is,  I  believe,  the  French  practice  on  such  occasions)  fired 
his  musket  into  the  grave,  so  that  the  coffins  were  covered 
with  cartridges.  The  Chinese  say  that  it  was  because  they 
were  not  sure  whether  the  occupants  were  really  dead.  On 
the  day  following,  they  inaugurated  the  old  Jesuit  cathe- 
dral, which  they  have  recovered  from  the  Chinese  Govern- 
ment; and  the  bishop  who  preached,  in  order  to  make 
amends  for  the  omission  of  all  reference  to  us  at  the  cere- 
^ny  of  the  fnneral,  complimented  Queen  Victoria  and  her 


1860.  PRINCE  KUNO.  369 

digne  reprSsentant  for  having  come  to  China  to  set  up  the 
Roman  Catholic  cathedral   in   Pekin.      This    reflection   will 

comfort '  when  he  comes  to  vote  next  year  the  balance 

of  the  ^lOyOOOyOOO  spent.  I  have  no  news  of  Frederick  yet ; 
BO  I  am  no  further  advanced  with  my  own  plans  than  I  was 
when  Loch  left  me« 

Pekin, — November  2nd. — Yesterday^  after  the  mail  had  left,  Imperial 
I  mounted  on  horseback,  and  with  an  escort,  and  Parkes  and  ^*^*^* 
Crealock,  proceeded  to  the  Imperial  City,  within  which  is  the 
Imperial  Palace.  We  obtained  access  to  two  enclosures,  forming 
part  of  the  Imperial  Palace  appendages :  both  elevated  places, 
the  one  ascended  by  a  pathway  in  regular  Chinese  rockwork 
on  a  large  scale,  and  really  striking  in  its  way ;  and  the  other 
being  a  well-wooded  park-like  eminence,  crowned  by  temples 
vnth  images  of  Buddha.  The  view  from  both  was  magnificent. 
Pekin  is  so  full  of  trees,  and  the  houses  are  so  low,  that  it 
hardly  had  the  effect  of  looking  down  on  a  great  city.  Here 
and  Acre  temples  or  high  gateways  rose  above  the  trees,  but 
the  general  impression  was  rather  that  of  a  rich  plain  densely 
peopled.  In  the  distance  the  view  was  bounded  by  a  lofty 
chain  of  mountains,  snow-capped.  From  the  park-like  emi- 
nence we  looked  down  upon  the  Imperial  Palace —a  large 
enclosure  crowded  with  yellow-roofed  buildings,  generally  low, 
and  a  few  trees  dotted  among  them.  It  is  difficult  to  imagine 
how  the  unfortunates  shut  up  there  can  ever  have  any  exer- 
cise. I  don*t  wonder  that  the  Emperor  preferred  Yuen- 
ming-yuen.     The  yellow  roofs,   interspersed   here  and  there  « 

with  very  deep  blue  ones,  had,  however,  a  very  brilliant  effect 
in  the  sunshine.  Afler  enjoying  these  views  I  went  to  the 
Kussian  Minister's,  and  found  him  installed  in  a  house  got  up 
a  TEuropeenne^  and  looking  very  comfortable,  witli  his  national 
stove?.  He  showed  me  his  chapel  also*  This  morning  I  got  a 
letter  from  Gros  telling  me  that,  in  opposition  to  my  advice,  he 
had  been  to  see  Prince  Kung.  I  told  him  he  ought  to  let  the 
Prince  come  to  him  first ;  but  tlie  Jesuits  think  tliat  they  can 
curry  favour  with  the  Chinese  by  making  him  condescend. 
They  are  quite  wrong,  as  I  am  sure  the  result  will  prove. 
The  Prince  came  to  see  me  to-day  before  returning  Gros'  Vimtftom 
visit,  which  goes  for  something  in  this  land  of  ceremony.  I  ^"^' 
received  the  Prince  with  all  honour,  and  had  a  good  deal  of 

>  A  well-known  Proteataut  M.l\ 
B  B 


370  SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch,  Xm. 

talk  with  him  through  the  interpreters^  in  a  style  which  re* 
minded  me  of  the  dialogue  at  the  commencement  of  *  Eothen.' 
I  haye>  I  believe,  secured  the  edict  for  whidi  we  haye  been 
waiting ;  so  I  have  done  everything  except  see  the  Emperor, 
which  I  am  not  likely  to  do,  as  he  is  at  Jehol.  We  ended  by 
photographing  the  Prince,  a  proceeding  which  I  do  not  think 
he  much  liked. 
Retnpn  November    7  th. — There    has    not    been    much    to    report 

since  the  2nd.  I  returned  Kung's  visit  the  next  day,  and  we 
had  a  more  coulant  conversation  than  I  have  before  had  with 
any  Chinese  authority.  It  is  something  to  get  at  men  who 
are  so  high  placed  that  they  are  not  afraid — or  at  any  rate  are 
less  afraid—  of  being  denounced  if  they  listen  to  foreigners.  I 
dined  the  night  before  with  the  Russian  Minister,  who  was 
very  hospitable.  On  Sunday  I  went  to  see  two  temples  in  the 
Chinese  city,  the  one  being  that  to  which  the  Emperor  goes 
four  times  a  year  to  offer  sacrifices  to  Heaven,  the  other  the 
Temple  of  Agriculture, 
^^niralof  November  IQth, — I  had  got  so  far  when  a  note  from  Fred- 
Mr.  Bruce,  g^jck  reached  me,  saying  that  he  had  started  at  1  a.m.  on 
the  6th  from  Tientsin  to  ride  to  Pekin,  and  had  been  obliged, 
by  fatigue,  to  rest  at  Ho-see-woo.  We  were  to  have  left 
Pekin  on  the  8th,  so  I  was  obliged  to  send  to  beg  one  day*s 
respite  from  the  General.  It  was  impossible  to  make  Frederick 
start  back  to  Tientsin  on  the  very  day  following  his  arrival. 
At  about  noon  he  reached  Pekin.  It  was  a  great  relief  to  me, 
because  I  had  been  choosing  a  house  for  him,  and  there  were 
other  matters  concerning  which  it  was  most  important  that  he 
should  be  consulted.  I  found  him  very  well  disposed  to  stay 
on  at  Pekin,  but  on  finding  that  both  Gros  and  Ignatieff  were 
opposed  to  leaving  their  legations  there  for  the  moment,  we 
both  agreed  that  it  would  be  better  to  act  as  they  had  resolved 
to  do.  I  therefore  wrote  to  Prince  Kung  acknowledging  the 
good  faith  which  he  had  shown  about  the  Emperor's  edict  and 
the  publication  of  the  treaty  (both  of  which  things  have  been 
done  in  the  most  complete  manner),  and  adding  that  the 
English  army  would,  in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  the 
convention,  retire  at  once  from  Pekin.  I  went  on  to  inform 
him  that  I  proposed  to  call  on  him  to  take  leave,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  introduce  to  him  Mr.  Bruce,  who  had  just  arrived 
at  Pekin.     We  proceeded,  accordingly,  to  his  palace,  at  4  p.m. 


1880.  lea\t:  pekin.  371 

on  tbe  8th,  with  an  imposing  military  escort.     After  we  had  Intemew 

conversed  some  time  together,  I  told  Parkes  to  explain  to  the  ^^ 

Prince  that  in^^ngland  the  individual  who  represents  the  Xung. 

sovereign,  whatever  his  personal  rank,  always  takes  precedence 

of  all  others ;  that,  as  my  task  in  China  was  completed,  Mr. 

Bruce  would  henceforward  occupy  that  position,  and  that, 

therefore,  with  the  Prince's  permission,  I  would  give  up  to  him 

the  seat  of  honour  on  which  I  was  placed  and  take  his  seat 

instead.     I  then  rose  and  changed  seats  with  Frederick.    This 

little  bit  of  acting  answered  very  well.     It  put  Frederick  into 

direct  relations  with   the   Prince,  and   did   away   with   the 

impression  (if  it  existed)  of  my  having  superior  rank  to  him. 

The  Prince  was  civil,  and  said,  rather  neatly,  that  he  hoped 

they  would  conduct  business  satisfactorily,  not  only  because  he 

was  British  Minister,  but  brother  to  Lord  Elgin,  with  whom 

he  had  had  such  pleasant  relations.    On  the  following  day  (the 

9th),  before  we  started,  he  came  to  our  abode  to  return  our 

visit     I  made  Frederick  receive  him,  telling  the  interpreters 

to  say  that  I  had  no  business  to  speak  of,  but  that  I  should 

come  into  the  room  before  he  left  the  house  to  take  leave  of 

him.     The  consequence  was  that  Frederick  had  a  long  and,  to 

all  appearance,  satisfactory  conversation  with  him. 

After  this  we  set  out  for  Tunir-chow.  We  had  to  wait  there  Leare 
all  night,  as  our  boats  were  not  ready,  and  we  are  now  (10/A  *^®*"*' 
November,  noon)  gliding  down  the  river,  each  in  a  chop  boat  (a 
little  boat  with  a  very  convenient  cabin,  in  which  one  can  sleep,  . 
read,  write,  &c.),  on  a  lovely  autunm  day,  low  temperature, 
and  bright  sunshine.  I  diink  that  this  wind-up  at  Pekin  was 
very  promising.  It  is  probable  that  there  may  be  some  re- 
action when  the  Emperor  and  the  bad  advisers  whom  he  has 
about  him  return,  and  even  Ignatieff  did  not  choose  to  remain 
at  Pekin  during  that  moment  of  reaction.  At  the  same  time, 
it  is  evident  that  Kung,  who  is  his  brother,  has  committed  him- 
self to  the  peace  policy,  and  that  his  intercourse  with  us  has  been 
much  more  satisfactory  to  him  than  he  at  one  time  expected. 
It  is  probable  that  the  Emperor  will  for  once  hear  something 
of  the  truth.  Eung  will  claim  credit  for  having  induced  us  to 
remove  from  Pekin  to  Tientsin,  while  the  fact  that  we  are 
still  as  near  as  Tientsin  will  be  an  in  terrorem  argument  in 
support  of  his  policy  of  conciliation.  If  Kung  weathers  the 
difficult  moment  which  he  will  have  to  traverse  when  the  Em- 

B  B  2 


372  SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  XIH. 

poror  returns,  I  have  hopes  that  all  the  benefit  which  I  have 
expected  to  derive  from  our  minister's  residence  at  Pekin  will 
be  achieved.  Our  Sinologues  are  fine  fellows#  It  is  refresh- 
ing to  see  their  spirit  and  pluck.  Wade,  Parkes,  and  Morri- 
son, all  put  their  services  at  our  disposal,  and  offered  to  remain 
alone  at  Pekin.  My  choice,  however,  fell  on  a  younger  man, 
of  whom  I  have  a  very  good  opinion,  and  who  has  been  with 
me  as  assistant-interpreter.'  I  thought  it  better,  for  many 
reasons,  to  leave  a  person  who  had  smaller  pretensions  than 
any  of  those  I  have  named.  The  gossip  is  that  the  Emperor 
is  occupying  his  time  at  Jehol  by  marrying  a  fourth  wife  (a 
rather  expensive  proceeding)  and  getting  tipsy.  I  am  afraid 
he  is  not  much  worth ;  although,  if  the  papers  in  the  vermilion 
pencil,  which  we  found  in  the  Summer  Palace,  are  his  writing, 
he  is  not  such  a  fool  as  people  suppose.  •  .  .  Frederick  brought 
mith  him  your  letters  to  September  10th.  I  pray  that  you 
may  now  be  rejoicing  in  the  belief  that  Bruce  is  getting  on 
well  and  happily  at  school. 

Tientsin.  Tientsin. —  November  14M. — Here  I  am  again  in  the  house 

which  I  occupied  two  and  a  half  months  ago,  and  which  is  by 
far  the  nicest  Chinese  house  I  have  seen,  and  its  exposure  to 
the  sun  is  now  most  agreeable.  The  climate  is  at  present 
charming.  If  nothing  else  had  been  done  by  these  recent  pro- 
ceedings, the  fact  of  placing  our  troops  and  embassy  here, 
instead  of  in  the  south  of  China,  would  have  been  almost 

It8climAt««  worth  the  trouble.  It  is  also  a  much  drier  climate  than  that 
of  Shanghae.  We  have  had  about  seven  days  of  rain  in  all, 
since  I  left  Shanghae  in  July.  Frederick  had  nineteen  days  con- 
secutively just  before  he  left  Shanghae.  He  was  not  well  him- 
self then,  but  he  is  all  right  now.  His  ride  to  Pekin — eighty 
miles  in  thirty  hours — ^set  him  up  again.  I  found  the  Admiral 
very  cordial.  .  .  .  Gros  is  not  yet  come,  and  I  do  not  like  to 
depart  from  here  without  seeing  him. 

He  was  detained  at  Tientsin  for  several  days,  arran- 
ging a  variety  of  matters  of  detail ;  and  it  was  not  till 
the  morning  of  the  26th  of  November  that  he  found 
himself  once  more  afloat  on  the  Gulf  of  Pecheli,  on 
board  the  '  Ferooz/  homeward  bound. 

The  general  results   obtained  by  the   mission   thus 

^  Mr.  Adkius. 


1800.  RESULTS  OF  THE  MISSION.  '  373 

happily  terminated  cannot  be  better  summed  up  than  ResiUts  of 
in  the  words   of  the   despatch  in  which  the  Foreign  ij^onT'*' 
Minister,    Lord   J.    Russell,   conveyed   to  Lord   Elgin 
Her  Majesty's  *  full  approbation  of  his  conduct  in  the 
*  various  particulars '  above  described. 

*  The  convention/  he  wrote,  *  which  you  concluded 
with  the  Prince  of  Kung  on  the  24th  of  October  is 
entirely  satisfactory  to  Her  Majesty's  Government.  It 
records  the  reparation  made  by  the  Emperor  of  China 
for  his  disregard  in  the  previous  year  of  his  Treaty 
engagements ;  it  sets  Her  Majesty's  Government  free 
from  an  implied  engagement  not  to  insist  in  all  parti- 
culars on  the  fulfilment  of  those  engagements ;  it  im- 
poses upon  China  a  fine,  in  the  shape  of  an  augmented 
rate  of  indemnity ;  it  affords  an  additional  opening  for 
British  trade  ;  it  places  on  a  recognised  footing  the 
emigration  of  Chinese  coolies,  whose  services  are  so 
important  to  Her  Majesty's  colonial  possessions ;  it  re- 
lieves Her  Majesty's  colony  of  Hong  Eong  from  a 
source  of  previous  annoyance;  and  it  provides  for 
bringing  generally  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Chinese  the 
engagements  into  which  the  Emperor  has  entered  to- 
wards Great  Britain. 

*•  These  are  all  solid  advantages ;  and,  coupled  with 
the  provisions  of  the  Treaty  of  Tientsin,  they  will,  it 
may  be  hoped,  place  the  relations  between  the  two 
countries  on  a  sound  footing,  and  insure  the  continu- 
ance of  peace  for  a  long  period  to  come.' 


374  '       SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHIXA.  Cd.  XIV. 


CHAPTER  XTV. 

SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHINA.      HOMEWARD. 

LEAVING    THE    GULF — DETENTION    AT    SHANGHAE — KOWLOON — ADIEU    TO 

CHINA — ISLAND  OP  LUZON — CHURCHES — GOVERNMENT — MANUFACTURES 

GENERAL      CONDITION  —  ISLAND    OF    JAVA  —  BUITENZORG — BANTONG 

VOLCANO  —  SOluhsS RETROSPECT — CEYLON  — THE      MEDITERRANEAN 

ENGLAND — WARM  RECEPTION — DUNFERMLINE — ROYAL  ACADEMY  DINNER — 
MANSION  HOUSE  DINNER. 

The  first  part  of  the  homeward  voyage,  along  coasts 
already  so  well  known,  offered  little  to  dwell  upon 
except  the  thankful  recollection  of  what  had  been  ac- 
complished, and  the  joyful  anticipation  of  happy  meetings 
to  come.   The  journal  contains  the  following  entries  : — 

Learing  *  FerooZy    Gulf  of  Pechelu — November   27th. — So  far    on 

the  Gulf,  jjjy  ^^j  home.  I  left  Tientsin  on  the  25th  at  about  7  a.m. 
We  had  to  plough  our  way  through  ice  until  we  reached  the 
Taku  Forts,  at  8.30  p.m.  We  found  the  Admiral  in  the  'Coro- 
mandel.'  He  was  very  civil,  and  would  have  given  me  accom- 
modation for  the  night ;  but  I  had  so  many  people  with  me, 
that  I  thought  it  better  to  push  on ;  so  at  about  midnight  we 
crossed  the  bar  of  the  Peiho' river.  There  was  so  mach  broken 
ice  on  the  inner  side  of  it,  that  it  reminded  one  of  some  of  the 
pictures  of  the  arctic  voyages.  We  forced  our  vessel  through 
— a  little  Indian  river-boat — and  found  on  the  outside  enough 
sea  to  make  us  very  glad  when  we  reached  the  '  Ferooz '  at 
2.30  A.M.  It  was  about  4  a.m.  when  I  was  able  to  lie  down 
to  rest.  Since  then  we  have  been  waiting  for  Parkes,  who 
stayed  at  Tientsin  for  a  letter  from  Pekin  about  the  opening 
of  the  Yangtze  river,  which  I  am-  anxious  to  take  with  me  .to 
Shanghae.  •  .  •  Yesterday  was  a  lovely  day ;  a  bright  sun, 
and  the  air  frosty  enough  to  stimulate  one  to  walk  briskly, 
^his  morning  there  was  a  strong  gale  from  the  north-west,  but 


1800.  ^VHRTVAL  AT  SHANOILAE.  375 

it  subsided  after  midday.  I  had  a  Terj  satisfactory  time  at 
Tientsin.  We  got  through  a  good  deal  of  business ;  and,  what 
is  most  pleasant  to  me,  Frederick  seems  perfectly  satisfied  with 
the  whole  affair,  and  the  part  I  have  taken  in  it  .  •  •  The 
Admiral,  who  is  very  strong  in  support  of  me,  had  given  orders 
that  the  whole  fleet  should  be  illuminated  with  blue  lights,  if 
I  reached  the  *  Ferooz '  at  night.  This  I  did  not  know,  or  I 
should  not  have  chosen  so  unseasonable  an  hour.  The  con- 
sequence was  that  the  illumination  was  not  complete,  but  it 
had  a  fine  effect  so  far  as  it  went.  Scores  of  transports  have 
taken  their  departure,  which  is  a  great  blessing,  for  they  have 
been  costing  fabulous  sums.  Too  many  troops  are  still  left ; 
but  I  hope  soon  to  get  them  reduced. 

November  2Stk. —  Two  T.u, — ^We  are  off.  All  the  vessels 
in  the  English  fleet  here  manned  yards  and  saluted  as  we 
passed  ;  and,  when  we  reached  the  French  fleet,  all  the  yards 
were  manned,  and  the  Admiral  saluteJ.  I  thought  we  could 
not  do  less  than  return  the  latter.  It  was  all  a  very  fine 
sight,  the  day  being  favourable.  Parkes  arrived  last  night 
while  we  were  at  dinner,  but  without  the  letter  which  he  had 
waited  for.  The  latter,  however,  reached  me  this  morning, 
and  is  very  satisfactory ;  so  that  I  shall  have  accomplished  the 
great  object  of  opening  the  Yangtze  to  trade. 

After  a  few  days  of  *  lovely  weather,'  enjoyed  to 
the  full  in  the  ^  Ferooz ' — ^  certainly  a  most  splendid 
*'  yacht — such  a  fine  deck,  and  (mieter  than  a  Royal 
*Navy  vessel' — he  reached  Shangnae  on  the  3rd  of 
December. 

Shanghae. — December  4tk, — We  reached  this  place  at  3  ShanghM. 
P.M.  yesterday.     I  have  received  your  letters  to  October  9th. 
How  I  grieve  for  your  anxiety  about  Bruce's  illness  I    How 

glad  I  am  he  is  near  the  's.     He  could  not  be  watched 

over  by  kinder  friends. 

Eagerly  as  he  desired  to  hurry  homewards  he  found 
it  necessary  to  stay  at  Shanghae  for  some  weeks,  in  order 
to  complete  the  detailed  arrangements  for  opening  the 
river  Yangtze  to  British  traders,  and  also  to  settle  the 
awkward  question  of  the  relations  which  should  subsist 


376  SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  XIV. 

between  the  British  residents,  and  the  Chinese  Rebels 
in  their  neighbourhood. 

Shanghae. — December  \^th. — I  am  a  good  deal  puzzled 
about  my  departure.  The  opening  of  the  Yangtze  and  the 
Kebel  question  are  serious  matters,  and  I  do  not  like  to  leave 
them  unsettled:  on  the  other  hand,  I  can  hardly,  even  if  I 
were  so  inclined,  remain  here  till  they  are  settled.  I  think 
it  will  end  in  my  staying  till  the  next  mail  comes  in  from 
the  North. 

Sunday,  December  I6t/i. — Eight  A.M. — The  mornings  are 
lovely  here  now  ;  a  bright  sun,  rising  about  half-past  six ;  and 
not  exactly  frost,  but  a  mere  hint  of  its  presence  in  the  air.  I 
take  walks,  and  have  just  returned  from  one ;  generally  the 
tour  of  the  race  ground,  which  is  the  only  walk  here.  While 
I  humbly  pace  along,  the  clerks  of  the  Hongs — such  of  them 
at  least  as  are  careful  of  their  healths,  and  moderate  in  their 
supper  arrangements — ^flaunt  past  me  on  their  chargers.  I 
march  on,  thinking  whether  it  would  not  in  a  new  existence  be 
advisable  to  begin  life  as  a  tea-taster. 

December  2\st — The  wind  has  changed  to  the  north,  and 
my  walk  this  morning  was  a  colder  one.  Yesterday  I 
made  a  tour  of  the  town  of  Shanghae,  and  find  that  the 
French,  by  way  of  protecting  it,  burnt  down  about  one-half  of 
the  suburbs  during  the  summer.  They  have  destroyed  it  to 
a  greater  extent  than  we  destroyed  Canton  in  1857  by  our 
bombardment.  '  Save  me  from  my  friends,'  the  poor  Chinaman 
may  well  say.  The  Ftench  have  some  method  in  their  mad- 
ness, for  they  want  the  ground  of  the  burnt  district,  and 
they  insist  on  having  it  now  at  the  cost  of  the  land,  '  as 
there  are  no  houses  upon  it.'  At  Canton,  in  the  same  way, 
they  have  seized  land  in  the  most  unjustifiable  way,  to  build 
churches  on. 

ShanghcLB. — December  Z\st — Yesterday  was  a  torrent  of 
rain,  and  I  never  left  the  house.  As  I  have  a  comfortable 
room,  and  no  great  interruptions,  I  get  through  a  good  deal 
of  my  reading.  .  .  .  There  was  a  fortnight  of  the  *  Times'  to 
begin  with.  The  Reviews.  .  .  .  TroUope's  novel  of  *Dr. 
Thorne  ; '  *  Aurora  Leigh '  (which  I  admire  greatly) ;  then 
Sir  Robert  Wilson's  *  Russian  Campaign,'  which  contains  some 
curious  revelations ;  Darwin's  *  Origin  of  Species,'  which  is 


1861.  KOWLOON.  377 

audacious ;  &c.  &c.    In  short,  you  will  allow  that  I  have  not 
been  quite  idle  during  the  fortnight. 

January  \$ty  1861. — This  is  the  first  time  I  sign  the  new 
year.  May  it  bring  much  happiness  to  you  !  ...  It  was 
introduced  here  by  dancing.  But  I  was  not  in  a  lively 
humour,  and  retired  as  soon  as  I  could.  ...  No  mail  yet,  and 
I  would  start  without  it,  were  it  not  that  I  expect  three  mails 
by  it. 

At  length,  on  the  4th  of  January,  he  writes,  •  Hurrah ! 
*  I  am  off,  with  a  fair  wind.'     On  the  Kth  he  reached 
Hong-kong,  where  he  found  little  to  detain  him ;  the  Hong- 
most  important  matter  being  the    formal  taking  pos-  ^°*' 
session,  in  the  Queen's  name,  of  the  recently  ceded 
peninsula  of  Eowloon. 

Hong-kong. — January  \Oth, — I  presume,  from  the  apologetic 
tone  of  a  speech  (very  civil  in  itself)  made  by  Lord  J.  Russell 
in  the  city,  and  quoted  in  the  *  Home  News,'  that  I  was  being 
well  abused  in  England  when  the  mail  left.  It  is  all  miserable 
enough,  but  I  had  rather  that  it  had  blown  over  before  I  reach 
home,  as  I  might  seem  to  reflect  on  others  if  I  defended  myself, 
and  you  say  truly  that  we  have  had  enough  of  that  kind  of 
thing. 

January  15^A« — I  find  that  the  new  Factory  site  [at  Canton], 
about  which  I  had  such  a  fight  with  the  merchants  last  time, 
is  a  great  success.  ^  Its  merit  is  now  acknowledged  by  the 
blindest. 

In  a  subsequent  letter,  referring  to  the  last  days  of 
his  stay  at  Hong-kong,  he  wrote : — 

We  had  a  sort  of  ceremonial  on  Saturday  the  1 9th.  I  went  Kowlooa. 
to  Kowloon,  and  proclaimed  formally  the  annexation  of  that 
territory  to  the  dominions  of  the  Queen.  This  acquisition,  the 
good  site  at  Canton,  and  the  opening-up  of  the  North  of  China 
and  Japan,  have  added  at  least  twenty  per  cent  to  the  value 
of  European  life  in  China. 

On  the  2l8t  of  January  he  bade  a  final  adieu  to  the  Adieato 
shores  of  China,  and   directed  his  course  to  Manila;  ^****' 
desiring  to  avoid  this  time  the  dreary  line  to  Singa- 

*  Vide  mipra,  ^  310. 


378: 


SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHINA. 


Ch.  XIV 


pore  which  he  had  traversed  so  often,  and  attracted  also 
by  the  new  fields  which  the  Spanish  and  Dutch  colonies 
offered  for  his  observation. 

Manila.  -^^  Sea,  near   Manila. — January   2Ath, — I   wrote   a   very 

shabby  line  to  you  as  I  was  leaving  Hong-kong,  but  it  may 
not  perhaps  be  an  unwelcome  one,  as  it  informed  you  I  had 
started.  We  have  had  rough  weather,  and  I  take  up  my  pen 
to-day  for  the  first  time.  We  are  now  under  the  lee  of  some 
of  the  Philippines,  so  we  get  less  of  the  great  swell  which  has 
been  rolling  down  from  the  north-east,  and  of  the  gale  which 
blows  during  this  monsoon  down  the  channel  that  separates  the 
island  of  Formosa  from  the  Philippines  as  through  a  funnel. 

Manila. — January  26th,  Eight  A.M. — I  sent  off  a  few  lines 
to  you  yesterday,  to  tell  you  of  my  very  inopportune  arrival 
off  this  town,  at  a  moment  when  all  the  world,  functionaries, 
&c.,  are  on  tiptoe  expecting  a  new  Captain-General  to  make 
his  appearance  at  any  hour.  However,  Castilian  hospitality 
is  not  to  be  taken  in  default,  and  at  4  p.m.  we  landed  with 
great  ceremony,  and  after  being  conducted  to  the  palace,  and 
exchanging  a  few  glances  with  the  acting  Governor,  who  can- 
not speak  a  word  of  any  language  known  to  me,  I  was  shown 
a  magnificent  suite  of  apartments  destined  for  me  and  my  fol- 
lowing, and  then  conveyed  for  a  drive  in  one  of  the  carriages- 
and-four.(t;iefe  Sir  J.  Bowring's  book),  escorted  by  a  guard  of 
lancers.  It  is  very  curious  to  see  a  state  of  things  so  different 
from  ours.  Such  a  number  of  troops ;  gens-d'armes  on  horse- 
back; not  a  person  meeting  us  (the  Governor-General  was 
with  me)  who  did  not  take  off  his  hat.  At  dinner  I  sat  next 
the  Admiral,  who  also  speaks  nothing  but  Spanish;  so  we 
passed  our  time  in  looking  at  each  other  unutterable  things. 

Ten  A.M. — I  have  just  got  rid  of  my  uniform,  in  which 
I  thought  it  proper  to  attire  myself  in  order  to  receive  all  the 
ofiScers,  naval  and  military,  who  came  at  nine  o'clock  to  pay 
their  respects.     I  had  strolled  out  much  earlier  incognito,  and 

Cbuiches.  wandered  into  several  churches.  They  abound  here,  as  do 
monks  of  all  orders.  The  decorations  seemed  tinselly  enough, 
but  there  was  the  Catholic  ritual,  with  its  sublime  suggestions 
and  trivial  forms,  repeating  itself  under  the  equator  in  the  ex- 
treme East,  as  it  repeats  itself  at  Paris  or  Madrid,  and  under 
Arctic  or  Antarctic  circles.     And  here,  as  there,  at  these  early 


1861.  ISLAND  OF  LUZON.  379^ 

morning  services^  were  a  few  solitary  women  assisting ;  sbme 
of  them  commonplace-looking  enough,  but  others,  no  doubt, 
with  a  load  of  troubles  to  deposit  at  the  altar,  or  in  the  ear 
of  the  monk  in  the  box,  heavy  enough  to  furnish  the  burden  of 
many  such  romances  as  those  which  thrill  the  public  sensibilities 
in  our  days.  After  all,  when  the  horrors  which  have  brought 
about  the  result  are  past  and  forgotten,  there  is  something 
gained  by  that  truculent  Spanish  system  which  forces  the  faith 
upon  all  who  come  within  its  reach.  FatM-toi  chrStienner,  ou 
je  farrache  Fdme,  as  Charlemagne  (not  a  Spaniard,  by  the  way, 
so  there  my  illustration  halts)  said  to  his  heathen  enemies. 
There  is  something,  I  say,  gained  by  it  when  the  origin 
18  forgotten,  because  the  bond  of  a  common  creed  does  do  a 
little  towards  drawing  these  different  races  together.  They 
are  not  separated  from  each  other  by  that  impassable  barrier 
of  mutual  contempt,  suspicion,  and  antipathy,  which  alienates 
us  from  the  unhappy  natives  in  those  lands  where  we  settle 
ourselves  among  inferior  orders  of  men.  An  administrative  net 
of  a  not  very  flexible  nature  encloses  all,  and  keeps  each  mem- 
ber of  the  body  politic  pretty  closely  to  the  post  allotted  to 
him ;  but  the  belief  in  a  common  humanity,  drawn  perhaps 
rather  from  the  traditions  of  the  early,  than  from  the  practice 
of  the  modem  church,  runs  like  a  silken  thread  through  the 
iron  tissue.  One  feels  a  little  softened  and  sublimated  when 
one  passes  from  Hong-kong,  where  the  devil  is  worshipped  in 
his  naked  deformity,  to  this  place  where  he  displays  at  least 
some  of  the  feathers  which  he  wore  before  he  fell.  So  you 
must  pardon  me,  if  my  letter  reflects  in  some  measure  the 
phase  through  which  my  mind  is  passing. 

I  found  next  me  at  breakfast  the  Chief  of  the  SecrAariat,  an  state  of 
intelligent  man,  speaking  French.  lie  confirmed  a  good  many  ^®  »Uim1. 
of  the  impressions  which  my  own  observations  had  led  me  to 
form  respecting  the  state  of  affairs  here.  The  army  is  com- 
posed of  natives ;  officers  and  non-commissioned  officers,  Spanish. 
The  artillery,  or  a  portion  of  it,  also  Spanish.  The  native 
Indians  pay  a  capitation  tax  of  /I  a  head ;  half-castes  double ; 
Chinese  #50,  #30,  or  #12.  As  usual,  my  poor  Chinamen  are 
hated  and  squeezed.  They  are  not  obliged  to  become  Catho- 
lics, but  the  native  Indian  women  •(  •!■  [  not  marry  them 
unless  they  are,  and  they  are  not  allowed  to  make  public  pro- 


380  SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  XIV. 

fession  of  any  other  religion.  •  .  •  Afler  breakfast  came  in  an 
English  merchant,  who  made  the  passage  from  Suez  to  Singa- 
pore with  me  in  1857.  He  says  foreigners  are  very  well 
treated  here,  but  they  have  some  difficulties  about  customs 
duties,  which  I  have  asked  him  to  state  in  writing  to  me,  that 
I  may  say  a  word  about  them  if  occasion  offers.  The  greater 
part  of  the  trade  here  is  in  English  hands. 
Indian  To  pass  from  the  higher  thoughts  which  suggested  them- 

womeiu  selves  when  I  visited  the  churches  this  morning,  I  may  tell 
you  that  I  saw  some  of  the  devout  Indian  women  when  they 
left  the  churches  on  their  return.  They  were  generally  very 
plain,  to  say  the  least  of  it.  Round  their  waists  and  over  their 
under-dress  they  pass  a  piece  of  silk,  which  is  wrapped  tight 
round  the  person.  The  result  is  as  nearly  as  possible  the  oppo- 
site to  the  effect  produced  by  a  crinoline. 

I  have  returned  from  a  very  hot  drive  to  visit'  a  sugar  refin- 
ery and  a  cigar  manufactory.     I  saw  little  to  interest  at  the 
former,  except  the  process  of  making  chocolate  by  mixing 
Cigar  mak-  cocoa,  cinnamon,  and  sugar.     At  the  latter,  some  8,000  girls 
*"**  were   employed,  not  very  pretty,  but  cheerful-looking.     A 

skilful  worker  can  make  200  a  day,  so  that  these  young 
ladies  can  poison  mankind  to  the  tune  of  1,600,000  cigars 
a  day. 

Sunday^  January  21th. —  Ten  A.M. — In  my  early  morning's 
walk  I  again  visited  the  churches,  which  were  in  greater 
Thecft-  activity  than  yesterday.  In  the  cathedral  I  came  in  for  a 
****^'*^  sermon  which  began/ Illustrissimo  Senor,' so  I  suppose  the 
Archbishop  was  present,  and  probably  had  me  in  his  eye.  I 
could  understand  very  little,  so  I  did  not  stay  it  out.  It  was 
delivered  without  notes  (having  evidently  been  learnt  by 
heart),  in  rather  a  monotonous  way ;  with  a  sort  of  little 
action,  all  confined  to  a  slight  movement  of  the  hands  and 
flipping  of  the  fingers.  •  •  •  The  Archbishop  is,  I  am  told, 
very  bigoted.  He  did  not  come  to  dinner  yesterday  (a  grand 
full-dress  dinner  given  in  my  honour),  and  some  say  it  was 
because  of  my  being  a  heretic.  I  take  it  I  was  in  error  yes- 
terday in  speaking  of  the  Spanish  system  of  compelling  con- 
formity of  belief  as  necessarily  beginning  in  harshness.  I  fancy 
the  monks  have  won  over  the  simple  Indians  here  to  a  great 
extent  by  gentle  methods.  They  protect  them,  and  manage 
^heir  affairs,  and  know  all  their  secrets  through  the  confcs- 


1801.  CROSSING  THE  LINE.  381 

sional^  and  amuse  them  with  no  end  of  feast-days^  and  gew- 
gaws^  and  puerile  ceremonies.  The  natives  seem  to  have  a 
great  deal  of  our  dear  old  French  Canadian  hahitans  about 
them^  only  in  a  more  sublime  stage  of  infantine  simplicity. 

January  2%th. — I  drove  this  morning  to  a  village  {pueblo)  ApueMo. 
about  seven  miles  off,  starting  at  5.30.  The  weather  nice  and 
cool.  The  country  very  rich.  The  cottages  of  bamboo  and 
leaves,  and  all  raised  on  bamboo  posts  of  about  ten  feet  in 
height,  seemed  very  comfortable.  I  never  saw  a  more  cheerful- 
looking  rural  population.  All  nicely  and  modestly  dressed. 
The  women  completely  emancipated  from  all  eastern  seclusion. 
I  visited  in  this  pueblo  another  great  cigar  manufactory  ;  8,000 
girls  employed.  I  must  say  that  this  colony  appears  to  be  a 
great  success,  as  far  as  the  natives  are  concerned,  and  I  almost 
regret  that  I  am  not  going  to  see  something  more  of  the  in- 
terior. Crealock  has  been  through  the  barracks,  which  he 
says  are  in  admirable  condition.  The  native  soldiers  appear 
to  be  very  well  treated.  We  dined  yesterday  with  the  Admiral. 
Just  before  we  set  out  for  this  dinner,  a  procession  was  an- 
nounced, and  I  went  to  the  balcony  to  see  it.  The  students 
of  a  college,  some  350  in  number,  were  escorting  about  two 
spangled  and  sparkling  images  of  the  Virgin,  and  a  variety  of 
flags.  Each  carried  a  lighted  torch,  and  they  lined  both  sides 
of  the  road,  the  interval  between  their  rows  being  occupied 
by  the  images,  three  or  four  bands  of  music,  the  flags,  &c. 
As  all  the  bands  played  at  once,  and  as  loud  as  they  possibly 
could,  the  noise  was  tremendous,  and  the  cathedral  bell  helped, 
by  tolling  its  deepest  tone  as  the  procession  passed.  These 
processions  are  the  great  religious  stimulant  here,  and  they 
form  another  point  of  resemblance  with  the  French  part  of 
Canada. 

After  little  more  than  three  days'  stay  among  the 
Spaniards  of  Luzon,  he  embarked  again  on  the  29th  on 
board  the  '  Ferooz/  and  passing  by  Sarawak  and  the 
north-west  coast  of  Borneo,  crossed  the  Line  to  visit  the 
Dutch  settlement  of  Java. 

February  6M. — A  fine  morning,  and  we  are  going  through 
the  Gaspar  Strait  in  about  2^  30^  south,  not  very  far  from 
where  Lord  Amherst  was  wrecked  in  the  *  Alceste.'  We 
anchored  again  last  night,  but  in  a  calm.     Yestqrday  morning 


382  SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Cn.  XTV. 

CfOBsing  Neptune  made  his  appearance,  and  those  of  us  who  had  not 
*  ^^'  passed  the  Line  had  to  pay  the  penalty.  I  compounded  for  his 
claims  on  me,  and  the  crew  had  a  good  lark  in  shaving  with 
tar  and  ducking  some  other  novices.  We  are  now  in  mid- 
summer, having  passed  at  a  bound  from  mid-winter.  There  is 
little  difference,  however,  in  these  latitudes,  between  one  part 
of  the  year  and  another.  The  principal  difference  consists  in 
the  rainy  and  dry  seasons,  and  as  near  the  Line  as  this  there  is, 
I  suppose,  always  more  or  less  rain.  Two  p.m. — I  went  on 
deck  this  moiming  at  eight,  after  writing,  to  discover  why  we 
were  stopping,  and  I  found  that  a  squall  had  closed  in  all 
around  us,  and  hid  the  land.  It  lasted  only  about  an  hour, 
when  we  set  off  again,  passing  through  a  great  many  little 
islets  all  covered  with  trees,  so  different  from  the  barren  Pulo 
Sapata  and  Pulo  Condor,  which  we  pass  on  the  route  between 
Singapore  and  Hong-kong  I  The  weather  is  delicious,  and  I 
am  confirmed  in  my  doctrine,  that  if  you  are  compelled  to  be 
in  or  in  the  \dcinity  of  the  Tropics,  the  nearer  the  Line  the 
better.  You  have  not  the  interminably  long  summer  days 
which  you  have  at  more  remote  points,  and  constant  showers 
veil  the  sun  and  cool  the  air.  This  makes  Singapore  compara- 
tively so  bearable,  and  I  suppose  Sarawak  has  some  of  the 
same  advantages. 

Java.  Java,  —  February   8M.    Ttiree   P.M. — Here   I  am  looking 

out  from  my  window  upon  a  piece  of  park-like  scenery, — a 
sheet  of  water,  drooping  trees,  and  deer  feeding  among  them. 
The  only  drawback  is  that  it  is  raining,  and  this  is  not  an  un- 
qualified evil,  because  the  rain  cools  the  air.  The  place  I  am 
at  is  the  residence  of  the  Governor-General  of  Java  (or  of  the 
Indies,  I  believe  his  title  is),  about  forty  miles  from  Batavia, 
the  chief  town,  at  which  I  landed  yesterday,  at  5  p.m.,  with 
much  honour  in  the  way  of  salutes,  &c.  We  were  conveyed 
in  carriages-and-six,  with  an  escort,  to  the  Governor's  town 
palace,  which  I  was  told  to  consider  placed  at  my  disposal. 
It  consists  chiefly  of  a  very  spacious  room  on  the  ground-floor, 
paved  in  marble,  and  looking  very  brilliant,  lit  up  with  wax 
candles  in  chandeliers.  Some  of  the  high  officials  came  to 
dinner,  and  we  were  waited  on  by  black  servants  in  state 
liveries  and  bare  feet,  who  moved  noiselessly  over  the  marble 
floor.  The  original  town  of  Batavia  is  unhealthy  for  Euro- 
])eans,  so  they  live  in  villas  which  extend  from  the  town  for 


B 


1861.  ISLAND  OF  JAVA.  883 

some  miles,  on  both  sides  of  the  main  road  into  the  interior. 
The  villas  looked  very  nice,  and  white  women  seemed  to 
abound  in  them.  It  was  hinted  to  me  that  the  6ovemor>  Rendrare 
General  would  like  to  see  me  at  his  residence,  so  I  set  out  for  ooTenior- 
this  place  at  about  seven  this  morning,  performing  thirty-six  Oeaaml. 
miles  in  two  hours  and  fifty  minutes,  in  a  comfortable  car- 
riage drawn  by  six  ponies,  changed  every  five  miles.  I  need 
hardly  say  that  we  always  went  at  full  gallop.  The  country 
was  not  very  interesting,  being  chiefly  low  and  rice-bearing, 
nor  did  I  see  the  cheerful  firm-looking  maidens  who  struck  me 
so  much  at  Manila.  This  island  is  exploits  entirely  for  the 
Government  and  dominant  race,  and  with  no  little  success, 
for  I  am  told  that  the  surplus  revenue  last  year  was  £6,000,000, 
^£4,000,000  of  which  were  remitted  to  Holland.  I  shall  end 
by  thinking  that  we  are  the  worst  colonisers  in  the  Eastern 
world,  as  we  neither  make  ourselves  rich,  nor  the  governed 
happy. 

February  9th. — I  took  a  drive  at  six  this  morning,  and  then  ^^*^ 
a  walk  through  the  botanic  garden,  which  is  attached  to  this 
bouse  and  has  a  great  reputation.  I  am  no  judge,  as  you 
know,  but  everything  seems  in  beautiful  order,  and  it  is  of 
great  extent.  After  a  light  repast  I  got  a  carriage  to  take  me 
down  to  a  spacious  swimming-bath,  paved  with  marble  and 
shaded  by  magnificent  trees,  in  which  I  felt  rather  tempted  to 
spend  the  day.  I  should  mention  that,  before  dinner  yesterday, 
when  the  rain  slackened,  I  went  into  the  garden,  and  was 
arrested  as  I  wandered  along  the  paths  musingly,  by  a  monu- 
ment with  an  English  inscription.  It  is  to  the  wife  of  Sir  MonvmeDt 
Stamford  Bafiies,  who  died  here  in  1814,  while  the  colony  was  ^^^ 
in  our  hands ;  died  here,  that  is,  at  Buitenzorg,  for  this  in- 
scription has  taught  me  the  name  of  the  place,  which  I  had 
not  been  able  to  catch  before.  I  see  little  of  my  host.  We 
dined  at  half-past  six ;  nobody  but  his  staff  and  daughter  and 
my  rather  numerous  following,  who  are  not,  I  fear,  all  as  well 
dressed  as  he  approves  of;  a  short  stance  after  dinner,  and 
then  to  our  private  apartments.  To-day  we  met  in  the  same 
stiff  way  at  twelve,  for  breakfast.  I  have  not  seen  a  book  or 
a  paper  in  the  house,  but  that  may  be  because  I  am  not  ad- 
mitted to  the  parts  of  the  mansion  where  they  are  to  be  found. 
An  expedition  has  been  organised  for  me,  and  I  start  to- 
morrow morning.     It  will  occupy  four  days,  but  it  would  be 


384  SECOND  MISSION  ip  CHINA.  Cn.  XTV, 

absurd  to  come  to  such  a  place  as  this,  and  to  leave  it  without 
seeing  anything.  The  Governor- General  has  spent  thirty-one 
years  of  his  life  here,  but  for  a  time  (^ix  years)  he  was  colonial 
minister  in  Holland.  His  daughter's  husband  was  killed  by 
a  native  running  a^muck  (this  is  a  Javanese  expression)  some 
years  ago.  She  seems  a  gentle  person,  and  has  a  daughter 
eight  years  old.  We  all  speak  French,  which  is  an  improve- 
ment on  my  Manila  experiences. 

They  started  at  six  on  the  morning  of  the  10th,  in 
three  carriages-and-six,  and  slept  the  first  nipfht  at  a 
place  called  Chipana,  where  they '  were  to  have  ascended 

*  a  mountain  9,000  feet  high,  but  were  prevented  by  the 

*  rain.'  The  next  day's  journey  brought  them  to  the 
high  table-land  of  Bautong. 

Bantong.  February  Wth. — Bantong. — About  120  miles  from  Batavia, 
on  a  plain  about  3,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  The 
weather  comparatively  cool,  though  this  is  the  hot  season.     I 

Jairane86  have  just  (10  P.M.)  returned  from  a  Javanese  soirie.  The 
Regent  (a  sort  of  native  lord-lieutenant)  invited  me  to  his 
house  to  see  some  dancing.  This  Regent  is  very  rich,  about 
£12,000  a  year,  which  he  receives  from  a  tithe  paid  to  him  by 
all  producers  in  his  regency.  The  dancing  was  performed  by 
four  girls  wearing  strange  helmet-shaped  head-dresses,  and 
garments  of  a  close-fitting  stiff  character  reaching  to  the 
ground.  They  swayed  their  bodies  to  and  fro  in  a  melan- 
choly way  to  a  very  monotonous  plaintive  sort  of  music,  but 
their  chief  art  consisted  in  the  wonderful  success  with  which 
they  twisted  their  arms  and  fingers.  In  a  second  dance  they 
carried  bows  and  arrows,  and  went  through  a  kind  of  panto- 
mimic fight.  After  this  was  over,  as  I  had  expressed  a  wish 
to  see  more  of  his  house,  I  was  taken  across  a  court  to  another 
ground-floor  room,  and  was  startled  by  finding  myself  suddenly 
introduced  to  Madame  la  R^ente,  an  odd  little  woman,  with  a 
wizened  face,  and  mouth  and  teeth  blackened  by  betel  nut.  I 
was  rather  put  into  a  difficulty  in  finding  conversation  for  her, 
for  I  did  not  know  whether  she  would  like  being  complimented 
on  the  ballet  we  had  just  seen.  I  then  went  to  look  at  the 
musicians  and  their  instruments,  the  latter  consisting  chiefly 
of  coffee  canes  struck  by  a  sort  of  gong-sticks.     The  sound 


1861.  VOLCANO.  386 

at  a  distance  was  bellJIke  and  not  unpleasing.  I  was 
informed  that  the  Regent  had  paid  £500  for  his  set  of  in- 
struments. After  this  I  returned  to  my  inn  in  my  carriage* 
How  I  got  to  this  place  I  shall  tell  later.  I  must  now  go  to 
bed,  as  we  start  at  5  a.m.  on  an  expedition  to  see  an  active 
crater. 

February  \2th. — Six  P.M. — We  started  nearly  as  early  as 
was  proposed.  Two  hours  of  carriage  work  along  a  road  made 
heavy  by  rain,  and  about  two  hours  more  of  riding  up  a  steep 
mountain  side,  covered  with  tall  trees  sinking  under  a  load  of 
creepers  and  orchideous  plants,  not  so  wild  and  bold  as  the 
mountain  scenery  of  Jamaica,  but  with  somewhat  of  the  same 
character.  We  ascended  about  4,300  feet  from  our  starting- 
point,  so  that  when  we  reached  our  goal  we  were  6,500 
feet  above  the  sea.  Our  goal  was  a  covered  shed  over-  Aenur. 
looking  a  crater,  not  in  a  very  active  state,  but  puffing  sul- 
phurous smoke  from  numerous  chinks  and  chasms.  Beyond 
this  first  crater  was  a  second  very  similar  to  it ;  and  beyond 
both,  far  below,  the  plain  of  Bantong,  where  we  now  are,  lay 
green  and  smiling.  We  could  not  see  a  great  extent  of  it,  for 
the  heavy  clouds  were  already  mustering  for  the  rain  which 
at  this  season  falls  always  in  the  afternoon.  (It  is  now  pour- 
ing, with  thunder  and  lightning.)  But  the  scene  was  very 
striking,  and  the  clouds  added  to  the  mystery.  We  returned 
through  a  quinine  plantation,  which  is  an  experiment,  and 
promises  to  be  a  successful  one,  and  then  through  a  coffee 
plantation,  different,  and  much  prettier  to  look  at  than  those 
of  Ceylon  and  Jamaica,  for  here  the  bushes  are  allowed  to 
grow  to  their  full  height  (about  twenty  feet),  and  have  a 
graceful  pyramid-like  shape;  whereas  there  they  are  all 
pruned  down  to  about  five  feet  in  height.  There  are  also  here 
some  large  trees  left  to  give  shade  to  the  coffee  bushes.  I  can 
conceive  nothing  more  lovely  than  these  plantations  must  be 
at  the  time  of  flowering.  We  got  back  to  our  hotel  at  2  p.m., 
since  when  I  have  had  breakfast,  bath,  and  reading,  and  am 
now  preparing  for  dinner.  Ten  p.m. — Another  Javanese  a  wcond 
soiree.  No  ladies  this  time.  To  begin  with:  two  kinds  of  *^'^» 
marionettes ;  the  first  behind  a  kind  of  crape  screen, — strange 
figures  cut  very  beautifully  out  of  buffalo  hide,  and  jumping 
about  to  a  very  noisy  vocal  and  instrumental  accompaniment* 
The  second,  something  like  Italian  marionettes,  worked  by  a 

C  C 


386  SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  XIV* 

man's  fingers,  but  without  any  attempt  to'  conceal  the  operator. 
Both  sets,  I  beHeve,  represented  historical  subjects.  When 
we  had  had  enough  of  these,  we  went  into  another  room, 
where  were  assembled  a  priest,  and  a  whole  lot  of  followers 
from  a  mosque.  The  amusement  here  consisted  in  seeing  boys 
from  the  mosque  stick  into  their  cheeks,  &c.,  daggers  and 
pointed  weapons,  which  the  priest  blessed,  and  which  were 
therefore  innocuous ;  a  milder  specimen  of  the  supernatural  I 
certainly  never  witnessed.  All  took  place  at  the  Regent's 
palace,  from  which  I  have  just  returned.  His  son,  a  boy  of  about 
fourteen,  was  present  to-night  and  last  night  A  rather  nice* 
looking  boy.  He  never  came  near  his  father  without  crouch-* 
ing  on  his  heels  or  knees,  and  putting  his  hands  up  to  his  face 
in  an  attitude  of  submission,  if  spoken  to  by  him. 
Chipana.  February  13rt. — Ten  P.M. — Chipana, — (The  place  we  slept 
at  on  the  night  of  the  10th.)  On  this,  as  on  the  former  occa- 
sion, the  population  make  a  sort  of  festival  of  my  visit,  and 
turn  out  to  perform  dances,  &c.  The  performances  are  not  so 
refined  as  at  the  Regent's,  but  they  are  more  picturesque  and 
lively.  The  ladies  move  about  in  the  same  dreamy  way 
about  lamps,  or  rather  torches,  but  here  they  have  partners 
to  dance  with  them.  The  noise  is  tremendous,  and  has  not 
yet  ceased,  although  I  have  retired,  on  the  understanding 
that  the  entertainment  is  to  come  to  an  end,  as  we  again 
start  to-morrow  at  6  a.m.  To-night,  all  the  dancing  has 
been  in  the  open  air.  It  was  a  wild,  barbarous-looking 
scene ;  but  I  do  not  know  that  I  should  much  care  to  see  it 
again.  We  started  this  morning  at  six,  and  travelled,  as  we 
havo  always  done,  at  full  gallop  on  the  level  or  down  hill^ 
and  with  the  aid  of  four  bufialos  in  front  of  our  six  ponies 
when  we  came  to  mount  steep  hills,  of  which  there  are  many. 
The  roads  are  excellent.  They  are  made  by  forced  labour^ 
and,  what  seems  rather  hard,  the  natives  with  their  carts,  &c., 
are  not  allowed  to  use  them.  I  found  here  a  bath  formed  by 
a  hot  iron  or  sulphur  spring,  into  which  I  plunged  before 
dinner.  These  Javanese  seem  the  most  timorous  of  mankind. 
All,  men  and  women,  crouch  on  their  heels  and  knees  when 
our  carriage  approaches ;  and  they  do  this,  I  believe,  to  all 
white  people,  as  well  as  to  their  own  chiefs.  But  it  is  not 
only  this  crouching;  they  have,  moreover  (especially  the 
women),  a  way  of  turning  their  heads  aside,  as  if  they  were 


1861.  RETROSPECT  OF  JAVA.  387 

afraid  to  look  at  one.     The  natives  of  the  eastern  part  of  the 
island  are  said  not  to  be  so  timid. 

Starting  from  Chipana  early  on  the  following  morn- 
ing, they  continued  their  rapid  descent  by  Buitenzorg 
to  Batavia  ;  and  on  the  16th  embarked  again  on  board 
the  *  Ferooz/  for  Ceylon,  where  he  expected  to  find  an 
accumulation  of  four  mails.  *  Two  months  of  news ! ' 
(he  wrote).  *  I  always  feel  nervous  as  to  what  so  long 
*  an  interval  may  bring  forth.' 

*  FtTooz^  at  Sea. — February  16rt. —  One  P.M. — We  are  en-  Strait  of 
tering  the  Strait  of  Sunday  which  separates  Java  and  Suma-  ^^^'^^ 
tra.  When  through  it  we  have  a  clear  sei^way  to  Galle. 
Two  P.M. — We  have  just  passed  the  high  land  which  forms  the 
north-western  point  of  Java,  and  is  called  Cape  St.  Nicholas. 
It  is  beautifully  rich-looking ;  the  bright  green  of  its  grass  and 
crops  embroidered  over  by  the  darker  green  of  the  clumps  of 
trees  which  are  scattered  upon  it.  Farther  down  to  the  south, 
on  the  same  side,  is  the  flat  promontory  known  as  Angen 
Point.  On  the  other  side  we  have  the  coast  of  Sumatra, 
wooded  and  broken,  with  mountains  in  the  background,  and 
green  islets  tossed  out  from  it  upon  the  ocean,  in  the  fore- 
ground; and  a  sailing  ship  moving  along  it  in  the  same 
direction  with  ourselves,  her  sails  flapping  idly  in  the  calm. 

Sunday f  February  24  th. — We  have  just  had  service  on 
deck,  under  a  double  awning.  A  little  fanning  breeze  from 
the  north-east  seemed  to  say  that  we  are  at  last  getting  back 
into  the  region  of  that  monsoon  which  we  left  when  we  went 
to  the  south  of  the  Line.  I  have  been  some  days  without 
writing,  for  there  has  been  nothing  to  tell,  and  we  have  had  a 
good  deal  of  bad  weather,  rain,  and  rolling  and  pitching ;  but 
we  must  not  complain,  as  it  was  more  convenient  to  have  it 
here  in  the  open  sea,  than  if  we  had  encountered  it  in  a  narrow 
passage,  such  as  we  have  passed  through.  We  expect  to  reach 
Oalle  in  three  days,  and  I  cannot  but  feel  a  little  nervous  as  to 
the  news  I  may  find  there.  We  are  in  God*s  hands,  and  this 
sort  of  doubt  makes  us  feel  the  more  that  we  are  so. 

Altogether,  I  was  much  interested  by  Java.  As  I  have  said,  Retrofpeef 
it  is  ruled  entirely  for  the  interest  of  Uie  governing  race.     No  ^  ^•^^ 
attempt  is  made  to  raise  the  natives.     I  believe  that  the  mis- 

c  c  2 


388  SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  XIV. 

Bionaries  are  not  allowed  to  visit  the  interior.  I  asked  about 
schools,  and  ascertained  that  in  the  province  of  which  the 
regency  of  Bantong  forms  a  part,  and  which  contains  some 
600,000  inhabitants,  there  were  five;  not,  I  suspect,  mnch 
attended.  It  was  clear  from  the  tone  of  the  officials  that  there 
was  no  wish  to  educate  the  natives.  There  is  a  kind  of  forced 
labour.  They  pay  a  tithe  of  the  produce  of  their  rice-fields; 
are  obliged  (in  certain  districts)  to  plant  coffee,  and  to  sell  the 
produce  at  a  rate  fixed  by  the  Grovemment ;  in  others,  to  work 
on  sugar  estates,  and,  in  all,  to  make  roads.  Nevertheless,  I 
am  not  satisfied  that  they  are  unhappy,  or  that  the  system  can 
be  called  a  failure.  In  those  districts  which  I  visited  there 
was  no  appearance  of  their  being  overworked ;  and  I  was 
assured  that,  on  the  sugar  estates,  the  proprietors  have  no 
power  of  punishing  those  who  do  not  work ;  that  it  rests  with 
the  officials  exclusively  to  do  so.  The  tone  of  the  officials  on 
the  subject  is,  that  no  punishment  is  necessary,  because, 
although  they  are  so  lazy  that  if  they  had  the  choice  they 
would  never  do  anything,  they  do  not  make  any  difficulty 
about  working  when  they  are  told  to  do  so.  Economically  it 
is  a  success.  The  fertility  of  the  island  is  very  great,  so  that 
the  labour  of  the  natives  leaves  a  large  surplus  after  their  own 
subsistence  is  provided  for.  There  are  twenty  provinces,  in 
each  of  which  the  chief  officer  ia  the  president — a  Dutchman  ; 
but  the  native  chief  (R^ent)  has  the  more  direct  relations 
with  the  people,  arranges  about  their  labour,  &c.  The 
Dutch  officials  look  after  him,  and  see  that  he  does  not  abuse 
his  power. 

Ceylon.  Pressing  eagerly  forward,  he  reached  Ceylon,  the 

scene  of  so  many  anxieties  and  disasters,  on  the  last 
day  of  February. 

Ceylon^  March  2nd. — I  found  here  your  lett-era  to  January 
10th,  and  am  relieved.  .  .  .  Where  is  our  meeting  tobe?  .  .  • 
If  I  can,  I  shall  take  the  route  through  Trieste  and  Paris. 

On  the  20th  lie  writes  from  the  neighbourhood  of 
Mount  Sinai : — 

March  20th. — Noon. — ^We  are  now  in  the  Gulf  of  Suez. 
On  the  right  side  a  row  of  arid  mountains  with  serrated  crests, 
and  a  margin  of  fiat  dry  sand  at  the  base,  and  behind  them 


1861.  RETURN  TO  EUROPE.  389 

what  is  reputed  to  be  Mount  Sinai.  Only  a  glimpse  of  the 
latter  can^  however,  be  caught  at  one  point,  where  there  is  a 
depression  in  the  nearer  range.  On  the  lefl  there  are  moun- 
tains of  a  similar  character,  overtopped  hj  one  10,000  feet 
high.  The  sea  is  deeply  blue  and  the  sun  scorching,  but  the 
air  cool — almost  cold.  We  have  had  a  good  deal  of  wind  and 
sea  against  us  for  the  last  three  days;  but  we  passed  the 
Straits  of  Jubal  early  this  morning,  and  hope  to  be  at  Suez 
during  the  night. 

On  the  24th  he  was  once  more  enjoying  the  fresh 
and  invigorating  breezes  of  Europe : — 

Sunday,  March  24th.— On  board  H.M.S.  *  Terrible.'—  ThcMedi- 
Here  is  a  change  of  scene  I  The  last  words  of  this  journal  ^•""••^ 
were  written  in  the  Gulf  of  Suez,  on  board  the  *  Ferooz.*  J 
now  write  from  the  Mediterranean,  off  the  island  of  Candia, 
whose  snow-capped  mountains  are  looking  down  upon  us ;  very 
different  from  the  parched  ranges  of  hills  wrapped  in  perpetual 
heat  haze,  which  I  described  to  you  four  days  ago. 

March  26th. — Seven  a.m. — I  have  been  about  two  hours  on  Oreeoe. 
deck.  A  beautiful  morning,  and  smooth  sea.  On  our  right 
the  coast  of  Albania,  hilly  and  wooded.  On  our  left  the  land 
is  low,  and  covered  apparently  with  olive  trees.  Before  us 
the  southern  end  of  Corfu,  which  we  are  approaching.  Farther 
on,  the  channel  along  which  we  are  gliding  seems  to  be  closed 
in  as  a  lake,  the  Corfu  mountains  and  those  of  Greece  ove^ 
lapping  each  other.  The  snow-covered  crests  of  some  of  the 
latter  gleam  in  the  sunshine.  It  is  a  lovely  scene.  Yesterday 
we  passed  Cape  Matapan,  Zante,  &c,  all  on  our  right ;  but 
there  was  a  good  deal  of  wind  and  sea,  and  an  unusual  amount 
of  motion  for  the  *  Terrible.'  Navarino,  too,  we  passed  ;  but 
I  did  not  know  it  at  the  time.  We  propose  to  call  in  at  Corfu, 
take  i^  coal,  and  see  what  can  be  seen  during  the  day.  But  I 
hope  to  be  off  for  Trieste  to-morrow  morning. 

March  27th. — We  found  at  Corfu  three  line-of-battle  ships  Corfti. 
and  Admiral  Dacres,  who  came  on  board  to  see  me.  I  landed 
at  11  A.M.,  and  went  to  the  Government  House,  where  I 
found  Sir  H.  Storks.  He  took  me  a  drive  of  about  thirteen 
miles,  to  the  top  of  a  pass  in  the  mountains  called  Pantaleone, 
from  which  there  is  a  very  extensive  view.  It  is  a  beautiful 
island.      The  day  bright  and  sunny.     Nothing  can  be  more 


390 


SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHINA, 


Ch.  XIV, 


Warm  re- 
ception. 


picturesque  than  the  town.  The  people,  too,  seem  to  me 
very  handsome.  I  saw  this  morning  the  captain  of  a  sloop^f- 
war  who  has  been  visiting  various  ports  in  the  Adriatic.  He 
was  received  at  Ancona  with  a  furore  of  enthusiasm,  and  ex- 
ceedingly well  treated  at  Venice,  Trieste,  &c.,  by  the  Aus- 
trians,  who  are  burning  to  revenge  themselves  on  the  French, 
and  anxious  to  ally  themselves  with  us  for  that  purpose.  .  •  • 
We  have  been  steaming  through  a  narrow  channel,  with  the 
8now<«covered  mountains  of  Albania  on  our  right ;  but  we  are 
now  emerging  into  the  open  Adriatic. 

England.  By  Trieste  and  Vienna  he  travelled  rapidly  to  Paris, 
where  he  was  met  by  Lady  Elgin;  and  on  the  11th  of 
April  1861,  within  a  few  days  of  the  anniversary  of 
his  departure,  he  found  himself  once  more  on  British 
soil. 

The  reception  which  awaited  him  at  home  was  even 
warmer  than  that  which  he  had  met  with  two  years 
before.  What  gratified  him,  perhaps,  more  than  any 
of  the  many  similar  expressions  of  good- will  was  the 
cordial  welcome  with  which  he  was  greeted  by  his  old 
friends  and  neighbours  at  Dunfermline  :  fjriends  from 
whom  he  had  been,  as  he  told  them,  so  long  an  unwilling 
absentee.  His  answer  to  their  address  was  the  simple 
and  natural  expression  of  this  feeling. 

It  is  pleasant  (he  said)— perhaps  it  is  one  of  the  sweetest 
flowers  we  cull  on  the  path  of  this  rugged  life — to  find  ourselves 
among  old  friends  after  a  long  absence,  and  to  find  their  hearts 
beat  as  true  and  warm  as  ever.  I  am  deeply  gratified  by  the 
flattering  terms  in  which  my  public  services  have  been  referred 
to  in  this  address,  but  I  am  still  more  gratified  by  the  welcome 
which  you  have  tendered  to  me  to-day.  .  .  .  Gentlemen,  I 
have  been  for  many  years  very  much,  perhaps  too  much  of  a 
wanderer,  and  it  has  been  my  fortune  to  receive  from  our 
countrymen  established  in  different  parts  of  the  world  tokens 
of  their  regard  and  consideration.  The  very  last  address  of 
felicitation  I  received  before  I  landed  at  Dover  the  other  day 
was  from  a  body  of  my  countrymen  established  in  the  Philip- 
pines— a  group  of  Spanish  islands  in  the  far  East,  near  the 


Dunfenn- 
line. 


1881.  RECEPTION  IN  ENGLAND.  391 

equator.  But  allow  me  to  Bay  that  among  all  these  tokens, 
those  most  grateful  and  agreeable  to  me  are  those  which  I 
receive  from  friends  and  neighbours  at  home.  And,  perhaps, 
I  appreciate  these  tokens  the  more  highly,  because  I  am  con- 
scious that  the  very  fact  of  my  having  been  so  much  of  a 
wanderer,  has  prevented  me  from  acquiring  some  of  those 
titles  to  their  personal  regard  which  I  might  have  hoped  to 
establish  if  I  had  been  constantly  resident  among  thenu 

About  the  same  time  he  was  received  with  marked  Boyai 
distinction  at  the  annual  banquet  of  the  Royal  Academy  dinn^^ 
in  London  ;  and  the  words  which  he  spoke  on  that 
occasion  have  more  than  a  mere  passing  interest,  as 
illustrating  the  speaker's  frank  and  straightforward 
manner  of  dealing  with  a  question  of  great  delicacy,  and 
also  as  containing  some  striking  and  suggestive  remarks 
on  certain  mental  and  moral  peculiarities  of  the  Chineso 
people. 

I  am  especially  gratified  (he  said)  by  the  great  and  very  un- 
expected honour  which  you  have  done  to  me  in  drinking  my 
health,  because  I  trust  that  I  may  infer  from  it  that  in  your 
judgment.  Sir,  and  in  that  of  this  company,  I  am  not  so  incor- 
rigibly barbarous  as  to  be  incapable  of  feeling  the  humanising 
influences  which  *fall  upon  us  from  the  noble  works  of  art  by 
which  we  are  surrounded.  And,  as  I  have  ventured  to  approach 
so  nearly  to  the  margin  of  a  burning  question,  I  hope  that  I  may 
be  allowed  to  take  one  step  more  in  the  same  direction,  and  to 
assure  you  that  no  one  regretted  more  sincerely  than  I  did  the 
destruction  of  that  collection  of  summer-houses  and  kiosks, 
already,  and  previously  to  any  act  of  mine,  rifled  of  their  con- 
tents, which  was  dignified  by  the  title  of  Summer  Palace  of 
the  Chinese  Emperor.  But  when  I  had  satisfied  myself  that 
in  no  other  way,  except,  indeed,  by  inflicting  on  this  country 
and  on  China  the  calamity  of  another  year  of  war,  could  I 
mark  the  sense  which  I  entertained,  which  the  British  army 
entertained — and  on  this  point  I  may  appeal  to  my  gallant 
firiend  who  is  present  here  this  evening,  and  who  conducted 
that  anny  triumphantly  to  Pekin  with  so  much  honour  to  him^ 
self  and  to  those  under  his  command — and  which,  moreover,  I 
make  bold  in  the  presence  of  this  company  to  say,  the  people 


392  SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHINA.  Ch.  XIV. 

of  this  country  entertained — of  an  atrocious  crime,  which,  if  it 
had  passed  unpunished,  would  have  placed  in  jeopardy  ihe  life 
of  every  European  in  China,  I  felt  that  the  time  had  come 
when  I  must  choose  between  the  indulgence  of  a  not  unnatural 
sensibility  and  the  performance  of  a  painful  duty.  The  alter- 
native is  not  a  pleasant  one  ;  but  I  trust  that  there  is  no  man 
serving  the  Cruwn  in  a  responsible  position  who  would  hesitate 
when  it  is  presented  to  him  as  to  the  decision  at  which  he 
should  arrive.*  And  now.  Sir,  to  pass  to  another  topic,  I  have 
been  repeatedly  asked  whether,  in  my  opinion,  the  interests  of 
art  in  this  country  are  likely  to  be  in  any  degree  promoted  by 
the  opening  up  of  China.  I  must  say,  in  reply,  that  I  do  not 
think  that  in  matters  of  art  we  have  much  to  learn  from  that 
country,  but  I  am  not  quite  prepared  to  admit  that  even  in  this 
department  we  can  gain  nothing  from  them.  The  distinguish- 
ing characteristic  of  the  Chinese  mind  is  this — that  at  all  points 
of  the  circle  described  by  man's  intelligence,  it  seems  occasion- 
ally to  have  caught  glimpses  of  a  heaven  far  beyond  the  range 
of  its  ordinary  ken  and  vision.  It  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  path 
which  leads  to  military  supremacy  when  it  invented  gunpowder, 
some  centuries  before  the  discovery  was  made  by  any  other 
nation.  It  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  path  which  leads  to  mari- 
time supremacy  when  it  made,  at  a  period  equally  remote,  the 
discovery  of  the  mariner's  compass.  It  caught  a  glimpse  of 
the  path  which  leads  to  literary  supremacy  when,  in  the  tenth 
century,  it  invented  the  printing  press ;  and,  as  my  illustrious 
friend  on  my  right  (Sir  £.  Landseer)  has  reminded  me,  it  has 
caught  from  time  to  time  glimpses  of  the  beautiful  in  colour 
and  design.  But  in  the  hands  of  the  Chinese  themselves  the 
invention  of  gunpowder  has  exploded  in  crackers  and  harmless 
fireworks.  The  mariner's  compass  has  produced  nothing  better 
than  the  coasting  junk.  The  art  of  printing  has  stagnated  in 
stereotyped  editions  of  Confucius,  and  the  most  cynical  repre- 
sentations of  the  grotesque  have  been  the  principal  products  of 
Chinese  conceptions  of  the  sublime  and  beautiful.     Neverthe- 

^  It  may  not  be  out  of  place  here  '  peror  of  Cbian,  I  must  say  that  I 

to  quote  the  words  used  later  in  the  '  do  candidly  think  it  was  a  necessary 

evening  by  Sir  Hope  Grant,  in  re-  '  act  of  retribution  for  an  abominable 

turning  thanks  for  his  own  health  :  '  murder  which  bad  been  committed, 

'"With  regard  (he  said)  to  what  Lord  'and  the  army,  as  well  as  myself, 

'  Elgin  has  said  about  the  destruction  '  entirely  concurred  with  him  in  what 

'.of  the  Summer  Palace  of  the  £m-  '  he  did? 


186L  RECEPTION  IN  ENGLAND,  393 

less,  I  am  disposed  to  believe  that  under  this  mass  of  abortions 
and  rubbish  there  lie  hidden  some  sparks  of  a  diviner  fire» 
which  the  genius  of  mj  countrymen  may  gather  and  nurse  into 
a  flame. 

A  few  days  afterwards,  at  a  dinner  given  at  the  DiniMv 
Mansion  House  in  his  honour,  he  was  again  greeted  Jj^jon 
with  more  than  common  enthusiasm.     In  responding,  Hout*. 
after  giving  an  account  of  the  objects  that  had  been 
sought  and  the  results  that  had  been  achieved  in  the 
East,  he  concluded  his  speech  by  impressing  on  the 
merchants  of  England,  in  words  which  may  be  regarded 
as  his  final  and  farewell  utterance  on  the  subject,  that 
with  them  must  now  chiefly  lie  the  responsibility  of 
aiding  or  retarding  the  development  of  China,  and  thus 
of  determining  the  place  she  shall  hold  in  the  common- 
wealth of  nations. 

My  Lord  Mayor  (he  said),  I  should  be  very  much  to  blame  if, 
having  an  opportunity  of  addressing  an  assembly  in  this  place, 
I  omitted  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  occasional  miscon- 
duct of  our  own  countrymen  and  other  foreigners  in  China  is 
one  of  the  greatest,  perhaps  the  very  greatest,  difficulties  with 
which  the  Queen's  representatives  there  have  to  deal.  We 
send  out  to  that  country  honourable  nierchants  and  devout 
missionaries,  who  scatter  benefits  in  every  part  of  the  land 
they  visit,  elevating  and  raising  the  standard  of  civilisation 
wherever  they*  go.  But  sometimes,  unfortunately,  there  slip 
out  from  among  us  dishonest  traders  and  ruffians  who  dis- 
grace our  name  and  set  the  feelings  of  the  people  against  us. 
The  public  opinion  of  England  can  do  much  to  encourage  the 
one  class  of  persons  and  discourage  the  other.  I  trust  that  the 
moral  influence  of  this  great  city  will  always  be  exerted  in  that 
direction.  In  addressing  the  merchants  of  Shanghai  some  three 
years  ago,  at  the  time  when  I  announced  to  them  that  it  was 
my  intention  to  seek  a  treaty  in  Pekin  itself  if  I  could  not  get 
it  before  I  arrived  there,  I  made  this  observation — that  when 
force  and  diplomacy  should  have  effected  in  China  all  that  they 
could  legitimately  accomplish,  the  work  which  we  had  to  do  in 
that  empire  would  still  be  only  in  its  commencement  I  repeat 
that  statement  now.     My  gallant  friend  who  spoke  just  now 


S94  SECOND  MISSION  TO  CHINA*  Ck.  XIV* 

lias  returned  his  sword  to  the  scabbard.  The  diplomatist,  as 
far  as  treaty-making  is  concerned,  has  placed  his  pen  on  the 
shelf.  But  the  great  task  of  construction — the  task  of  bring- 
ing China,  with  its  extensive  territory,  its  fertile  soil,  and  its 
industrious  population,  as  an  active  and  useful  member,  into 
the  community  of  nations,  and  making  it  a  fellow-labourer 
with  ourselves  in  difiusing  over  the  world  happiness  and  well- 
being — is  one  that  yet  remains  to  be  accomplished.  No  persons 
are  more  entitled  or  more  fitted  to  take  a  part  in  that  work 
than  the  merchants  of  this  great  city.  I  implore  them,  then, 
to  devote  themselves  earnestly  to  its  fulfilment,  and  from  the 
bottom  of  my  heart  I  pray  that  their  endeavours  towards  that 
end  may  be  crowned  with  success. 


\ 


Wh  INDIA.  895 


CHAPTER  XY. 

INDU, 

APPOINTED   VICIBOT    OF    INDIA — FOREBODINOS-^VOTAGl    TO  INDIA — UX* 

8TALLATI0N — DEATHS  OP  MB.  RITCHIE,    LORD  CANNING,  GENERAL    BRUCE  t 

—.THE   HOT  SEASON  —  BUSINESS    RESUMED  —  STATE  OF  THE  EMPIRE  — 

LETTERS :  THB  ABMT ;  cultitatiok  op  oonoir ;  ousMTixa  kot  all  cinT.i>Biif ;  ^  ' 

itiMioMARiss ;  Mvuojma  op  piSAPPBcnoir ;  alabms;   mvbdbe  op  ▲  WATrrB; 

APPOHAvuTAjr ;  roucT  op  lobd  CAinraro ;  oowwwibatiow  fob  xathtm.  * 

From  this  time   forward   the  story  of  Lord  Elgin's 
life  b  no  longer  a  record  of  stirring  incidents,  of  diffi- 
culties triumphantly  overcome,  or  novel  and  entangled  i 
situations  successfully  mastered.     The  career  indeed  is  ! 
still  arduous,  and  the  toil  unremitting,  but  the  course  is 
well-defined.     Ck>mpared  with  the  varied  conflicts  and 
anxieties  of  the  preceding  period,  there  is  something  of 
the  repose  of  declining  day,  after  the  heat  and  dust  of 
a  brilliant  noon  ;  something  even,  young  as  he  was  in 
years,  of  the  gloom  of  approaching  night.     It  seems                            ' 
almost  as  if  a  shadow,  cast  by  the  coming  end,  rested 
upon  his  path. 

He  had  not  been  more  than  a  month  at  home  when  vim* 
the  Vice-royalty  of  India,  about  to  be  vacated  by  Lord  iSSuf 
Canning,  was  ofiTered  to  him,  in  the  Queen's  name,  by 
Lord  Paimerston.  The  splendid  offer  of  the  most 
magnificent  Governorship  in  the  world  was  accepted, 
but  not  without  something  of  a  vague  presentiment 
that  he  should  never  return  from  it.  This  feeling  was 
expressed  with  his  usuid  frankness  and  simplicity,  when 
in  the  course  of  an  address  delivered  at  Dunfermline, 
some  months  before  his  departure,  after  referring  to 
former  partings,  uniformly  followed  by  happy  meetings, 
he  said : — 


896  INDIA.  Ch.  X% 

Fore-  But,  Gentleinen,  I  cannot  conceal  from  myself,  nor  from 

^^^°^*  70U,  the  fact  that  the  parting  which  is  now  about  to  take 
place  is  a  far  more  serious  matter  than  anj  of  those  which 
have  preceded  it ;  and  that  the  vast  amount  of  labour 
devolving  upon  the  Governor-General  of  India,  the  insalubrity 
of  the  climate,  and  the  advance  of  years,  all  tend  to  render 
the  prospect  of  our  again  meeting  more  remote  and  uncertain. 

Independently  of  any  sucli  forebodings,  there  were 
sorrows  on  which  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  dwell, 
but  which  were  felt  keenly  by  one  so  devoted  to  *  that 

*  peaceful  home-life  towards  which  he  was  always 
^ aspiring;'^  the  pain  of  tearing  himself  again  from 
the  children  now  growing  up  to  need  in  an  especial 
manner  a  &ther's  presence,  and  of  leaving  the  mother 
of  these  children,  for  a  time  at  least,  to  contend  alone 
with  cares  and  anxieties  from  which  it  would  have  been 
his  greatest  happiness  to  shield  and  protect  her.  Some- 
thing, too,  there  may  have  been  of  the  depression 
which  breathes  in  the  poet's  complaint,  *the  roll  of 
mighty  poets,  is  made  up ' — a  feeling  that  the  work 
of  pacifying  and  settling  India  had  been  so  thoroughly 
accomplished,  by  Lord  Dalhousie  and  Lord  Canning, 
that  the  field  no  longer  contained  any  laurels  to  be 
reaped  by  their  successor*  *  I  succeed,'  he  used  to  say, 
*'  to  a  great  man  and  a  great  war,  with  a  humble  task  to 

*  be  humbly  discharged.' 

But  these  thoughts  and  feelings,  though  they  may 
have  dimmed  the  brightness  of  his  anticipations,  could 
not  for  long  overcloud  that  *  unfailing  cheerfulness' 
which  contributed  much  to  make  him  throughout  life 
so  successful  himself,  and  so  helpful  to  others :  still 
less  could  they  for  a  moment  check  the  alacrity  with 
which  he  set  hhnself  to  prepare  for  his  new  duties. 
For  some  time  he  remained  in  London;  after  which  he 
spent  several  pleasant  months  in  Scotland,  laying  up  a 
store  of  happy  recollections  to  which  his  thoughts  in 

*  Vide  Mprtt;  p.  329, 


1862.  OUTWARD  VOYAGE.  397 

after  days  often  turned.     Early  in  January  1862,  ac-  visitto 
companied  by  Lady   Elgin,  he  went  to  Osborne  on  a        "** 
visit  to  the  Queen;  who  even  in  those  early  days  of 
widowhood,  roused  herself  to  receive  the  first  Viceroy 
of  India  ever  appointed  by  the  sole  act  of  the  Crown. 
On  the  28th  of  the  same  month  he  quitted  the  shores  of  Saiif  for 
England  ;  and,  aft;er  a  rapid  and  uneventful  journey, 
reached  Calcutta  on  March  12.     As  Lady  Elgin  was 
unable  to  accompany  him,  he  resumed  the  habit  of 
conversing  with  her,  so  to  speak,  through  the  medium 
of  a  journal ;  from  which  some  brief  extracts  are  here 
given,  less  for  the  sake  of  the  few  incidents  which  they 
record,  than  for  the  glimpses  which  they  give  into  the 
mind  and  heart  of  the  writer : — 

H.  M.  S.  '  Banshee.'  —  Marseilles.  —  January  Zlst.  —  Only  ^JV*^^ 
think  of  my  writing  again  from  Marseilles!     I  was  break- 
fasting yesterday^  when  there  was  a  cry  of  '  A  man  over- 

*  board  I '  We  went  on  deck.  After  a  while,  the  man — who 
had  enormous  water-boots  on,  but  who  was  fortunately  a  good 
swimmer — appeared  on  the  surface^  caught  hold  of  a  life- 
preserver  which  had  been  thrown  out  to  him,  was  picked  up  by 
a  boat,  and  hoisted  on  board.  After  a  bumper  of  brandy,  he 
seemed  none  the  worse.  But  in  the  meantime  we  had  sprung 
our  rudder^head  (the  same  sort  of  accident  as  befell  the  *  Great 
'  Eastern ').  It  must  have  been  bad,  or  it  could  not  have  gone 
as  it  did.     The  captain  said  to  me :  '  We  may  go  on  for  a  few 

*  hours,  and  see  what  we  can  do,  and  then  return  if  necessary.' 
I  did  not  see  the  fun  of  this  plan,  and  suggested  that  we  had 
better  at  once  find  out  what  was  the  matter.  We  returned  to 
port,  and,  after  a  long  deliberation,  a  scheme  of  patching  was 
resolved  upon.  ...  It  is  most  vexatious  to  be  doing 
nothing,  when  my  moments  have  been  of  late  so  precious  and 
so  hurried. 

*  Ferooz.' — Gulf  of  Suez.^ February  9th. — When  I  got  on 
board  this  morning  my  heart  smote  me  a  little  for  having  dis- 
couraged your  coming  out  with  me,  for  nothing  can  be  more 
comfortable  than  this  ship  has  been  made,  with  a  view  to  the 
accommodation  of  poor  Lady  Canning  and  you. 


898  INDIA.  Ck.  XV. 

Eight  P.iL — It  18  very  lonely  to  be  spending  Hoa  Sundty 
evening  by  myself,  after  the  many  happy  ones  I  have  enjoyed 
with  you  and  the  children  during  the  past  three  months ;  and 
yet  I  would  not  forego  the  recollection  of  those  happy  days 
though  it  deepens  the  gloom  of  the  present.  Sorely,  wh^ 
ever  may  happen  to  us  all,  it  is  something  gained  to  have  this 
retrospect  in  store. 
01dilB&  February  \2th. — Groing  on  as  smoothly  as  ever.  .  •  •  I 
hare  been  reading  oyer  some  old  manuscript  books,  written 
from  twenty  to  twenty-five  years  ago,  and  containing  a  reoord 
of  my  thoughts  and  doings  at  that  remote  time.  It  is  very 
interesting  and  useful  to  look  back.  I  was  working  very  hard 
during  those  years,  searching  after  truth  and  right,  with  no 
positive  occupation  but  that  of  managing  the  Broomhall 
afiairs,  and  riding  at  a  sort  of  single  anchor  with  politics. 
Would  it  have  been  better  for  me  if  I  had  had  more  en- 
grossing positive  work  ?  There  is  something  to  be  said  on  both 
sides  in  answerii^  that  question.  However,  these  books  will 
not  be  again  read  by  me,  for  I  shall  consign  them  to  the  Red 
Sea. 

February  IZth. — The  breeze  is  freshening  and  dead  ahead. 
•  •  •  •  I  have  been  thinking  of  the  past,  and  remembering 
that  just  twenty  years  ago,  at  this  same  season,  I  set  ont  on  my 
first  visit  to  the  Tropics.  What  a  strange  career  it  has  been  I 
How  grateful  I  should  be  to  Providence  for  the  protection  I 
have  enjoyed  I  How  wild  it  seems,  to  be  about,  at  the  close 
of  twenty  years,  to  begin  again. 
Agsle.  Sunday f  February  16M. — A  bad  time  since  I  last  wrote. 

We  have  had  a  very  strong  gale.  .  .  •  There  is  less 
motion  to-day,  probably  because  we  are  under  the  lee  of  the 
Arabian  coast.  I  could  not  wish  that  you  had  been  with  me 
while  we  were  undergoing  this  misery ;  and  we  have  made 
slow  progress,  but  may  reach  Aden  to-morrow.  It  has  been  a 
sad  time.  ...  I  could  not  read,  and  have  been  lying 
down,  thinking  over  so  many  things  I  .  •  .  But  there 
may,  please  God,  be  a  good  time  beyond.  I  have  been 
thinking  of  the  littie  party  in  your  room  on  this  day,  and 
endeavouring  to  join  with  you  all. 

February  19fA. —  Gulf  of  Aden. — Seven  A.M. — I  have  just 
had  my  first  walk  on  deck  for  this  day.  It  is  fine,  and  the 
head  wind  keeps  up  a  cool  draught  of  air  for  us.    The  night 


1863.  OUTWAIU)  VOYAGE.  399 

was  pleasant  and  cool,  and  I  spent  an  honr  before  I  went  to  A  moon* 
bed|  walking  up  and  down  the  bridge,  between  the  paddle-  ^¥^ 
boxes,  looking  at  a  great  moon,  a  little  past  the  fall,  dimbing 
up  the  heayens  before  us,  and  (as  Coleridge  say^,  I  think  in 
the  notes  to  the  Ancient  Mariner,  of  the  stars)  entering 
unannounced  among  the  groups  of  stars  as  a  guest  certainly 
expected — and  yet  there  is  a  silent  joy  on  her  arrival. 

February  27/A. — Near  Ceylon. — According  to  the  account 
of  our  captain,  who  hails  from  Bombay,  the  Governor  there 
must  be  very  well  off  as  regards  climate.  He  has  the  sea  air 
at  Bombay  itself;  2,000  feet  of  elevation  at  Poonah;  and 
6,000  on  a  mountain  accessible  in  two  days  from  Bombay. 
So  that  his  family  may  always  live  in  a  cool  climate,  and  he 
can  join  them  when  business  permits.  Perhaps  at  some  future 
time  the  convenience  of  the  situation  of  Bombay,  its  greater 
vicinity  to  England,  &c.,  may  place  the  Governor-General 
there ;  but  this  will  not  happen  in  our  time. 

As  I  went  into  my  cabin  yesterday  before  dinner,  I  observed  Whtu 
a  swarm  of  white  flies  with  long  wings,  by  the  side  of  one  of  *° 
my  open  ports.  I  found  out  that  they  were  white  ants  which 
had  burst  through  the  wood-work,  and  which  seem  to  be 
provided  with  wings  under  such  circumstances,  in  order  that 
they  may  migrate.  The  wood-work  inside  near  the  place 
from  which  they  burst  out,  was  completely  destroyed  by  them, 
and  reduced  to  a  pulp.  It  appears  that  there  are  quantities 
of  these  creatures  in  this  ship.  It  is  believed  that  they  are 
only  in  the  scantling  or  upper  wood-work.  It  is  to  be  hoped 
that  this  may  be  so ;  for  they  devour  timber  with  wonderful 
rapidity,  and  ships  have  been  lost  by  their  eating  away 
portions  under  water. 

March  7th. — Madras. — Reached  the  anchorage  at  4*30  P.M.  ICadns. 
We  soon  got  into  one  of  the  country  boats  made  for  landing 
in  the  surf  (without  nails,  and  all  the  planks  sewn  together). 
We  were  hoisted  by  the  waves  upon  the  beach,  and  found 
there  a  considerable  crowd,  with  the  Governor,  Sir  W. 
Denison  ;  Sir  H.  Grant,  etc.,  and  a  guard  of  honour,  to  receive 
us ;  Sir  W.  D,  drove  me  out  to  this  place,  Guindy,  which  is 
about  eight  miles  from  the  town,  and  consists  of  a  charming 
airy  house,  in  a  large  park.  There  was  a  full-dress  dinner 
party  and  reception  last  night.  ...  I  have  decided  to 
proceed  to  Calcutta  to-morrow. 


400  INDIA,  Ch.  XV. 

*  Ftrooz^ — March  9th. — Sunday. — ^It  was  very  hot  daring 
the  service  under  the  awning.  But  you  and  the  little  ones 
were  remembered  on  this  sweltering  Bengal  sea.  .  •  .  My 
yisit  to  Madras  was  pleasant,  and  an  agreeable  change.  .  .  . 
And  I  collected  there  papers  and  of&cial  documents  enough  to 
keep  me  going  till  I  reach  Calcutta. 

Caieatta.  It  was  ou  the  evening  of  March  llth  that  the 
*Ferooz'  anchored  in  'Diamond  Harbour/  the  same 
anchorage  at  which,  in  the  '  Shannon,'  he  had  spent  the 
night  of  August  8,  1857.     The  following  day  he  was 

inftaiu-     formally  installed  as  Viceroy  and  Governor-General; 

^***"'  receiving  every  kindness  from  Lord  Canning,  whom  he 

describes  as  not  looking  so  ill  as  he  expected  to  find 
him,  *  but,'  he  adds,  '  those  about  him  say  he  is  far 
*  from  right  in  health.'  Six  days  later  Lord  Canning 
took  his  departure,  and  Lord  Elgin  was  left  to  enter 
upon  his  new  duties. 

He  had  not  been  a  fortnight  in  office  when  the  un- 
certainty of  life  in  Calcutta  was  brought  home  to  him 

Death  of    in  a  striking  and  ominous  manner  by  the  sudden  death 

Bitchie.  ^^  ^^  esteemed  hiember  of  his  Legislative  Council,  Mr. 
Ritchie.  Writing  on  March  23  to  Sir  Charles  Wood, 
who  was  then  Secretary  of  State  for  India,  he  said : — 

We  are  truly  here  in  the  case  of  the  women  grinding  at  the 
mill.  Who  ^ould  have  supposed  a  few  days  ago  that  poor 
Ritchie  would  have  been  the  first  summoned?  About  two 
days  before  Canning's  departure,  I  asked  him  to  come  and  see 
me ;  he  talked  with  me  for  an  hour.  In  the  evening  a  note 
was  received  from  his  wife  to  say  that  they  could  not  dine  at 
Government  House,  as  he  was  seriously  indisposed.  He  ap- 
pears to  have  felt  the  first  symptom  of  his  malady  while  he 
was  sitting  with  me.  This  afternoon  I  attend  his  funeral. 
He  is  a  great  loss ;  he  seems*  to  have  been  very  much  liked 
and  esteemed. 

The  death  of  Mr.  Ritchie,  followed  by  the  appoint- 
ment of  Sir  B.  Frere  to  the  Government  of  Bombay, 
the  promotion  of  Mr.  Beadon  to  the  Lieutenant- 
Governorship  of  Bengal,   and  the   retirement  of  Mr. 


1862.  SUDDEN  DEATHS.  401 

Laing  owing  to  ill  health,  left  only  Sir  R.  Napier  re- 
maining of  the  five  members  of  Council  whom  Lord 
Elgin  found  in  office ;  and,  though  the  vacant  places 
were  soon  afterwards  most  ably  filled,  the  change  of 
councillors  necessarily  added  to  the  labours  of  a  new 
Governor-General.  He  did  not,  however,  during  the 
first  comparatively  cool  months,  find  the  work  too  much 
for  him.     '  On  the  contrary,'  he  wrote,  *  time  would  be 

*  heavy  on  hand  if  I  had  not  enough  to  fill  it.' 

The  days  (he  wrote  to  Lady  Elgin)  are  very  uniform  in  Mode  of 
their  round  of  occupations,  so  I  have  little  to  record  that  is  * 
interesting.  As  long  as  one  has  health,  it  is  easy  to  do  a  good 
deal  of  work  here,  because  for  twelve  hours  in  the  day  (from 
6  A.M  to  6  P.M.)  there  is  no  inducement  to  leave  the  house. 
I  have  hitherto  had  a  little  exercise  before  and  after  those 
hours.  I  rush  into  the  garden  when  I  awake,  and  return  when 
the  sun  appears,  glowing  and  angry,  above  the  horizon. 

In  another  letter  he  describes  the  plan,  charac- 
teristic of  his  sociable  and  genial  temperament,  which 
he  adopted  in  order  at  once  to  get  through  his  work, 
and  to  obtain  a  competent  knowledge  of  persons  whose 
opinions  were  worth  having. 

I  have  two  or  three  people  to  dine  with  me  on  every  day  on 
which  I  have  not  a  great  dinner.  By  this  means  I  get  ac- 
quainted with  individuals,  and  if  my  bees  have  any  honey  in 
them  I  extract  it  at  the  moment  of  the  day  when  it  is  most 
gushing.^  It  is  very  convenient,  besides,  because  it  enables  me 
to  converse  by  candlelight  with  persons  who  want  to  talk  to 
me  about  their  private  affairs,  instead  of  wasting  daylight  upon 
them.  Unless  I  get  out  of  sorts,  I  hope  to  become  personally 
acquainted  in  this  way  with  everyone,  whose  views  may  be  use- 
ful to  me,  before  I  leave  Calcutta,  even  to  go  to  Barrackpore. 

As  the  season  went  on,  the  heat  became  greater. 

*  For  the  last  few  days,'  he  wrote  on  June  1,  4t  has 

>  It  was  sometimes    complained  preying  bis  own.     But  it  requires 

that  on  these  occaflions  be  was  so  Tery  little  reflection    to    see    that 

little  communicative :  drawing  out  this  compltiint  is  really  a  commen- 

the  opinions  of  others,  without  ex-  dation. 

D  D 


402  INDIA.  Ch.  XV. 

*  been  very  hot ;  quite  as  hot,  they  say,  as  it  ever  is.    I 

*  am  longing  for  the  rains,  which  are  to  cool  us,  I  am 

*  told.'  The  rains  came,  and,  so  long  as  they  continued 
to  fall,  the  temperature  was  lower :  but  *  the  heavy, 
*dull,  damp,  calm  heat  between  the  falls,*  he  found 
most  trjdng. 

Death  of         On  July  6  came  a  fresh  shock  to  his  feelings — a  fresh 
CanniDg.     omcn  of  cvil  to  himsclf — in  a  telegraphic  report  of  the 

death  of  the  friend  whose  place  he  had  so  recently  taken. 

At  first  he  could  hardly  bring  himself  to  credit  the  news. 

Is  it  indeed  true  (he  wrote  to  Lady  Elgin)?  The  last 
rumour  of  the  kind  was  the  report  of  my  deaths  when  I  was 
mistaken  for  Eglinton ;  but  this  time  I  fear  it  is  only  too  true ! 
It  will  add  to  the  alarm  which  India  inspires.  But  poor 
Canning  certainly  never  gave  himself  a  good  chance ;  at  least 
not  during  the  last  year  or  two  of  his  reign  here.  He  took 
no  exercise^  and  not  even  such  relaxation  of  the  mind  as  was 
procurable,  though  that  is  not  much  in  the  situation  of  Gover- 
nor-General. When  I  told  him  that  I  should  ask  two  or  three 
people  to  dine  with  me  daily,  in  order  to  get  acquainted  with 
all  the  persons  I  ought  to  know,  and  to  talk  matters  over  with 
them  by  candlelight,  so  as  to  save  daylight  for  other  work,  he 
said :  *  1  was  always  so  tifed  by  dinner-time  that  I  could  not 

*  speak.'  Perhaps  he  was  only  referring  to  his  later  experience ; 
but  still  it  was  enough  to  break  down  any  constitution,  to  wear 
oneself  out  for  ever  by  the  same  train  of  thought,  and  the 
same  routine  of  business.  I  think  there  was  more  in  all  this 
than  met  the  eye,  for  work  alone  could  not  have  done  it.  We 
shall  have  no  confirmation  of  this  rumour  in  letters  for  a  fort- 
night or  more.  .  .  .  Poor  Canning !  He  leaves  behind  him 
sincere  friends,  but  no  one  who  was  much  dependent  on  him. 

In  another  letter  he  wrote  : — 

So  Canning  and  his  wife,  as  Dalhousie  and  his,  have  fallen 
victims  to  India  I  Both  however  ruled  here  in  stirring  times, 
and  accomplished  great  things,  playing  their  lives  against  a 
not  unworthy  stake.  I  do  not  think  that  their  f%te  is  to  be 
deplored. 

A  few  days  later  he  wrote  from  Barrackpore,  where 


1802.  SUDDEN  DKiTHS.  403 

he  had  gone  to  seek  the  change  of  air  which  his  health 
now  began  imperatively  to  require : — 

This  place  looks  wonderfully  green.  At  the  end  of  the 
broad  walk  on  which  I  am  gazing  from  my  window,  is  Lady 
Canning's  grave ;  it  is  not  yet  properly  finished.  Who  will 
attend  to  it  now  ?  Meanwhile,  it  gives  a  melancholy  character 
to  the  place,  for  the  walk  which  it  closes  is  literally  the  only 
private  walk  in  the  grounds.  The  flower  garden,  park,  &c., 
are  all  open  to  the  public  .  .  .  Although  Canning  did  not  die 
at  his  post,  I  thought  it  right,  as  his  death  took  place  so  soon 
after  his  departure  from  India,  to  recognise  it  officially,  which 
I  did  by  a  public  notification,  and  by  directing  a  salute  of 
minute  guns  to  be  fired* 

While  still  oppressed  with  these  sad  thoughts,  he  re- 
ceived a  blow  which  went  even  deeper  home,  in  the 
intelligence  of  the  death  of  his  brother  Robert,  so  well- 
known  and  so  highly  valued  as  Governor  of  the  Prince 
of  Wales. 

Barraehpore. — July  26rt. — I  went  into  Calcutta  on  the  Death  of 
morning  of  the  23rd,  in  time  to  write  by  the  afternoon  packet ;  Oeno»l 
but  I  did  not  write,  for  I  was  met  on  my  arrival  by  a  tele- 
graphic rumour,  which  quite  overwhelmed  me.  ...  I  should 
hardly  have  allowed  myself  to  believe  that  the  sad  report  could 
be  true,  had  it  not  been  for  the  account  of  Robertas  illness, 
which  your  last  letters  had  conveyed  to  me.  .  .  .  Next  day 
another  telegram  by  the  Bombay  mail  of  the  July  3rd  left  no 
doubt  as  to  the  name.  ...  A  week,  however,  must  elapse 
before  letters  arrive  with  the  intelligence.  .  •  •  I  hurried  over 
my  business,  and  came  back  here  yesterday  evening.  It  is 
more  quiet  than  Calcutta;  and  sad,  with  its  one  walk  terminat- 
ing (as  I  have  told  you)  at  Lady  Canning's  grave.  Poor 
Kobert,  how  little  did  I  think  when  we  parted  that  I  was  never 
to  see  him  again  I  How  little  at  least,  that  he  would  be  the 
defaulter!  He  has  left  few  equals  behind  him:  so  true,  so 
upright,  so  steady  in  his  principles,  and  so  winning  in  his 
manners.  Of  late  years  we  have  been  much  apart,  but  for 
very  many  we  were  closely  together,  and  perhaps  no  two 
brothers  were  ever  more  mutually  helpful.  Strange,  that  with 
Frederick  and  me  in  these  regions,  he  should  have  been  carried 

u  u  2 


404  INDIA.  Cn-  SV. 

off  first,  by  a  malady  wluch  belongs  to  Uieni.'  ...  I  write  a: 
raDdom  and  confusedly,  for  I  have  nothing  to  guide  me  bu: 
that  one  word.  And  yet  how  much  in  that  one  word  I  Ii 
tells  me  that  I  have  lost  a  wise  counsellor  in  difficulties;  a 
stanch  friend  in  prosperity  and  adversity;  one  ou  whom,  it 
anything  had  befallen  myself,  I  could  always  have  relied  {■' 
care  for  those  left  behind  me.  It  tells,  too,  of  the  dropping  of 
a  link  of  that  family  chain  which  has  always  been  so  strong 
and  unbroken. 

In  writing  to  his  second  boy  he  touched  the  same 
chords  in  a  different  tone. 

You  have  lost  (he  said)  a  kind  and  good  uncle,  and  a  kind 
and  good  godfather,  and  you  are  now  the  only  Robert  Bruce 
in  the  family.  It  is  a  good  name,  and  you  must  try  and  bear 
it  nobly  and  bravely,  as  those  who  have  borne  it  before  jou 
have  done.  If  you  look  at  their  lives  you  will  see  that  thev 
always  considered  in  the  first  place  what  they  ought  to  do, 
and  only  in  the  second  what  it  might  be  most  pleasant  and 
agreeable  to  do.  This  is  the  way  to  steer  a  straight  course 
through  life,  and  to  meet  the  close  of  it,  as  your  dear  Uncle 
did,  with  a  smile  on  his  lips. 

From  this  time  his  journal  contains  more  and  more 
frequent  notices  of  the  oppressive  heat  of  the  weather, 
and  its  effects  upon  his  own  health  and  comfort.  He 
remained,  however,  at  hia  post  at  Calcutta,  with  the 
exception  of  a  brief  stay  at  a  bungalow  lent  to  him  by 
Mr.  Beadon  at  Bhagulpore  ;  his  pleasantest  occupation 
being  the  arrangement  of  plans  for  smoothing  the  path 
of  Lady  Elgin,  who  had  settled  to  join  him  in  India. 

August  2nd. — Yesterday,  I  received  your  letter,  with  all  the 
sad  details.  ...  It  was  truly  a  lovely  death,  in  harmony  wiih 
leded  it.  .  .  .  It  is  indeed  a  heavy  blow  to  all. 
sad  letter,  but  my  heart  is  heavy.  It  is  diili- 
ins,  with  such  a  break-down  of  human  hope:- 
all  my  thouglite. 

'tgust  8ih. — It  is  now  dreadfully  hot.  ...  In 
ling  to  stay  my  gasping,  I  mounted  on  to  the 

^uiJoD  from  the  eOVcts  of  a  fever  cmight  in  the  BiisL 


1862.  THE  HOT  SEASON.  405 

roof  of  the  house  this  morning,  to  take  mj  walk  there,  instead 
of  ill  my  close  garden,  where  there  are  low  shrubs  which  give 
no  shade,  but  exclude  the  breeze.  I  made  nothing,  however, 
by  my  motion,  for  no  air  was  stirring  even  there.  I  had  a 
solitary  and  ghastly  stroll  on  the  leads,  surrounded  by  the  ad- 
JutantSy — a  sort  of  hideous  and  filthy  vulture.  They  do  the 
work  of  scavengers  in  Calcutta,  and  are  ready  to  treat  one  as 
a  nuisance,  if  they  had  a  chance.  .  .  .  There  is  much  sickness 
here  now. 

August  9th. —  .  .  .  The  *Ferooz'  will  not  reach  Suez  till 
about  the  middle  of  November,  so  you  had  better  not  arrive 
there  till  after  that  time.  You  will  have  the  best  season  for  the 
voyage,  and  time  to  rest  here  before  we  go  up  the  country. 

Calcutta. — August  \Tth. —  ...  I  told  you  that  I  was  feel- 
ing the  weather.  ...  I  am  going  to-morrow  for  change  of 
air,  to  a  place  about  300  miles  from  Calcutta,  on  the  railway. 
It  is  not  cooler,  but  drier,  and  the  doctor  strongly  recommends 
the  change.  This  is  our  worst  season,  and  I  suppose  we  may 
expect  six  weeks  more  of  it.  If  this  change  is  not  enough,  I 
may  perhaps  try  and  get  a  steamer,  and  go  over  to  Burmah. 
But  there  is  some  difficulty  in  this  at  present. 

Bhagulpore. — August  19M. — We  made  out  our  journey  to  Bhagal- 
this  place  very  well  yesterday.  The  morning  was  cloudy,  with  ^"' 
drizzling  rain,  and  much  cooler  than  usual,  and  we  had  the 
great  advantage  of  little  sun  and  no  dust  all  day.  At  the 
station  of  Burdwan,  the  inhabitants  of  the  station,  some  of 
them  ladies,  met  us,  and  in  a  very  polite  manner  presented 
flowers.  We  kept  our  time  pretty  well  in  our  special  train, 
and  reached  our  abode  at  about  7  p.m.  The  air  here  is  sen- 
sibly fresher  than  at  Calcutta.  .  .  .  The  house  is  a  regular 
bungalow, — a  cottage,  all  on  the  ground-floor.  It  is  situated 
on  a  mound  overlooking  the  Ganges.  There  is  no  garden 
about  it,  but  a  grass  field,  with  a  few  trees  here  and  there. 
Between  the  window  at  which  I  am  writing  and  the  river  is  an 
open  shed,  in  which  two  elephants  are  switching  their  tails,  and 
knocking  about  the  hay  which  has  been  given  them  for  their 
breakfast.  This  is  a  much  more  quiet  and  rural  place  than 
any  which  I  have  visited  since  I  have  been  in  India;  for 
Barrackpore  is  a  great  military  station,  and  the  park,  &c., 
Ihere  are  quite  public.  Here  there  are  not  altogether  above 
Hve  or  six  European  families.  .  .  .  We  have  a  train  twice  a 


406  INDIA.  Ch.  XV. 

day  from  Calcutta,  so  I  can  get  my  boxes  as  regularly  as  I  do 
there. 
MoDghyr.         Bkagulpore. — August  25ih, — On  Saturday,  we  made  an  ex- 
pedition to  a  place  called  Monghyr,  about  forty-five  miles  from 
here,  where  there  is  a  hot  spring,  and  something  like  hills.     (I 
am  told  also,  that  on  a  particularly  clear  day  I  can  see  from 
here  the  highest  mountain  in  the  world.)     We  did  not  leave 
this   till   3   P.M.,   and  were   back   again  by  8    p.m.,   having 
travelled  some  ninety  miles  by  rail,  and  driven  in  carriages 
about  ten  or  twelve  more, — the  fastest  thing,  I  should  think, 
ever  done  in  India.     There  has  been  a  good  deal  of  rain,  and 
I  still  feel  well  here,  but  I  suppose  on  the  29th  I  must  return 
to  the  Calcutta  steam-bath.     This  forenoon  I  paid  a  visit  to  a 
school,  one  of  the  Government  schools.     The  boys  (upwards 
of  200)  are  not  of  the  lowest  class.     They  all  read  English 
very   well,    and    when   asked    the   meaning    of  words,    gave 
synonymes  or  explanatory  phrases  with  remarkable  readiness. 
During  their  early  years,  I  should  certainly  say  that  they  are 
quicker  than  English  children.     They  fall  off  when  they  get 
older. 

August  Slst — Calcutta, — We  returned  to  this  place  on 
Thursday.  It  is  cooler  than  when  I  left,  but  I  fear  we  have 
not  done  with  the  heat  yet  All  agree  that  September  is  about 
the  worst  month  in  the  year  here. 

Calcutta. — September  Stk, — I  do  not  think  that  Dr.  M.  is 
particularly  proud  of  the  way  in  which  I  am  bearing  up  against 
this  oppressive  and  depressing  season.  ...  I  wish  that  we  were 
going  to  the  Ncilgherries  instead  of  to  Simla.  The  climate  is, 
I  believe,  better,  and  the  place  more  agreeable,  but  it  is  entirely 
out  of  the  way  of  business  for  me  now,  whereas  Simla  is  a  na- 
tural stage  to  the  most  important  part  of  my  government. 

'  September  17 th. — .  .  .  .  I  have  given  up  my  morning  walks. 
It  is  now  always  sultry  before  sunrise,  and  the  dulness  of 
pacing  up  and  down  my  garden  at  that  hour  is  intolerable.  So 
I  walk  till  daylight  in  my  verandah.  .  .  . 

September  23rd. — .  .  .  It  seems  strange  to  think  that  this 
is  one  of  the  last  letters  which  you  will  receive  from  me  in 
England,  but  yet  it  is  still  a  long  time  before  I  can  hope  to 
see  you  here.  The  poor  boys!  You  will  be  preparing  to 
part  from  them,  and  all  will  be  sad.  Give  them  my  love  and 
'lessing. 


1862.  STATE  OF  THE  EMPIRE.  40^ 

In  the  month  of  November  the  sittings  of  the  Legis-  Bii«ii«m 
lative  Council,  which  had  been  suspended  during  the  "^* 
hot  weather,  were  resumed,  and  the  monotonous  routine 
of  the  autumn  was  exchanged  for  more  active,  though 
hardly  more  laborious,  work  in  maturing  legislative 
measures.  As  President  of  this  Council  Lord  Elgin 
threw  himself  wth  his  usual  zeal  and  assiduity  into  the 
discussion  of  the  various  administrative  questions  which 
demanded  solution. 

As  the  cold  weather  came  on,  he  suffered  much  from 
the  transition.  Writing  on  the  4th  of  November  to 
Sir  C.  Wood,  he  says :  *  At  the  commencement  of  the 
'  cool  season,  on  which  we  are  now  entering,  we  suffer 
'  from  all  manner  of  minor  ailments ;  so  I  hope  you  will 
'  excuse  a  short  letter.'     And  again  on  the  9th  :  *  I  am 

*  half  blind  and  rather  shaky  from  fever  still,  so  that 

*  again  I  shall  be  brief  in  my  epistle  to  you.'  Soon, 
however,  these  ailments  disappeared,  and  in  the  cooler 
tem))erature  he  regained  to  a  great  extent  his  usual 
health. 

A  few  weeks  later  the  long  dreary  months  of  separa-  ArriTai  of 
tion  from  all  that  he  most  loved  were  happily  ended  Hgm. 
by  the  arrival  of  Lady  Elgin,  who  with  his  youngest 
daughter,  Lady  Louisa  Bruce,  reached  Calcutta  on  the 
8th  of  January  1863. 

In   passing  from   the   personal   narrative    of   these  suteof 
months,  to  their  public  history,  it  is  necessary  to  bear 
in  mind  what  was  the  state  of  the  Indian  Empire  at  the 
moment  when  Lord  Elgin  undertook  its  government. 

*  India,'  to  use  his  own  words,  *  was  at  peace ;  at  peace  Pe«». 
'  in  a  sense  of  the  term  more  emphatic  and  compre- 

*  hensive  than  it  had  ever  before  borne  in  India.     The 

*  occurrences  which  had  taken  place  daring  the  period 
'  of  Lord  Dalhousie's  government  had  established  the 

*  prestige  of  the  British  arms  as  against  external  foes. 
'  Lord  Canning's  Vice-royalty  had   taught    the    same 


] 


408  INDIA  Ch.  XV. 

^  lesson  to  domestic  enemies.     No  military  operation> 
'  of  magnitude  were  in  progress,  to  call  for  prompt  and 

*  vigorous  action  on  the  part  of  the  ruling  authority,  or 

*  to  furnish  matter  for  narrations  of  thrilling  interest. 

*  On  the  contrary,  a  hearty  acquiescence  in  the   belief 

*  that  no  such  opportunities  existed,  and  that  it  was  in- 

*  cumbent  upon  him,  by  all  practicable  means,  to  pre- 

*  vent  their  recurrence,  was  the  first  duty  which  the 

*  situation  of  affairs  prescribed   to  a   new  Governor- 

*  General,* 

Qnestiona        There  wcrc  indeed  grave  questions  awaiting  solution ; 

■oived.  questions  of  great  perplexity  and  embarrassment,  though 
of  a  domestic  and  peaceful  character;  some  of  them 
the  more  perplexing  because  they  bore  upon  '  those 
^  jealousies  of  race  which  are  the  sources  of  almost  all 

*  our  difficulties  in  India.'  But  as  regards  such  ques- 
tions his  habitual  caution,  as  well  as  the  philosophic 
turn  of  his  mind,  led  him  to  study  very  carefully  all 
the  conditions  of  each  problem  before  attempting  to 
propound  any  solution  of  his  own;  and  in  the  mean- 
time he  felt  that  his  duty  was  to  employ  any  personal 
influence  which  he  could  acquire  in  smoothing  the 
course  of  such  measures  as  had  been  set  in  ojjeration  by 
the  authority  of  others.  *  The  first  virtue,'  he  said  to 
one  of  his  colleagues, '  which  you  and  I  have  to  practise 

*  here  at  present  is  Self-denial.    We  must,  for  a  time  at 

*  least,  walk  in  paths  tmccd  out  by  others.' 

But  though,  for  the  reasons  above  stated,  it  would  be 
a  mistake  to  look  in  the  records  of  the  time  for  any 
great  measures,  executive  or  administrative,  on  which 
he  had  set  his  mark,  his  various  speeches  and  letters, 
more  especially  the  full  and  frank  communications  which 
he  addressed  from  time  to  time  to  the  Secretary  of  State 
for  India,  Sir  Charles  Wood,  show  with  what  keenness 
of  interest,  as  well  as  with  what  sagacity,  he  approached 
/  the  study  of  Indian  questions.     A  few  extracts  from 

\is  correspondence  are  here  given  to  illustrate  this ;  and 


1862.  THE  ARMY  409 

as  affording  Bome  indication  of  the  unremitting  industry 
with  which  he  laboured  at  this  period,  searching  into 
and  maturing  his  views  upon  one  difficult  subject  after 
another,  as  well  as  the  whole  plan  of  Indian  govern- 
ment. 

To  Sir  Charles  Wood. 

Calcutta,  April  0th,  1862. 

Now  for  the  Armjr.     I  must  observe,  in  the  first  place,  that  The  Army. 
in  the  reasoning  employed  here  in  favour  of  the  maintenance 
of  a  large  army,  native  and  European,  there  is  a  good  deal 
that  is  circular^  and  puzzling  to  a  beginner. 

When  I  ask  why  so  considerable  a  native  army  is  required, 
I  am  told  that  the  native  must  bear  a  certain  proportion  to  J 

the  European  force ;  that  Europeans  cannot  undertake  canton- 
ment duties,  or,  speaking  generally,  any  of  the  duties  which 
the  military  may  from  time  to  time  be  called  to  render  in 
support  of  the  civil  power,  during  peace ;  that  in  war,  again, 
they  are  admirable  on  the  battle-field,  but  that  they  cannot 
turn  their  victories  to  account  by  following  up  a  discomfited 
foe,  unless  they  have  the  aid  of  native  troops,  nor  pecform 
many  other  services  which  are  not  less  indispensable  than  great 
battles  to  success  against  an  enemy  who  knows  the  ground  and 
is  inured  to  the  climate. 

This  line  of  argument  very  naturally  raises  the  question, 
wherefore  then  is  the  maintenance  of  so  large  a  European 
army  necessary  ?  Rebellion  has  been  crushed,  and  European 
troops  are  not  suited  for  the  repression  of  such  local  disturb- 
ances as  occasionally  occur.  There  is  little  present  prospect 
of  war  from  without,  though  Persia  is  moving  towards  Herat, 
and  apparently  preparing  for  Dost  Mohammed's  death.  The 
answer  which  I  invariably  receive  is  this — *  You  cannot  t«jll 
what  will  happen  in  India.  Heretofore  you  have  held  the 
Siklis  in  subjection  by  tlie  aid  of  the  Sepoys,  and  the  Se|)oy8 
by  means  of  the  Sikhs.  But  see  what  is  happening  now. 
The  Sikh  soldiers  are  quartered  all  over  India.  They  are 
fraternising  with  the  natives  of  the  South — adopting  their 
customs  and  even  their  faith.  Half  the  soldiers  in  a  regiment 
lately  stationed  at  Benares  were  converted  to  Hindooism  be- 
fore they  left  that  holy  place.  Beware,  or  you  will  shortly 
have  to  cope  in  India  with  a  hostile  combination  more  formid- 


410  INDIA.  Ch.  XV. 

able  than  any  of  those  which  you  have  encountered  before.* 
If  you  draw  from  all  this  the  inference  that  what  you  really 
dread  is  your  native  army^  you  get  into  the  vieious  circle 
again. 

Do  not  suppose  that  I  am  tempted  by  these  logical  paradoxes 
to  run  to  hasty  conclusions.     I  am  aware  that  for  many  reasons 
we  must  now  entertain,  and  probably  shall  long  find  it  neces- 
sary to  entertain,  a  large  army,  native  and  European,  in  India. 
Practically,  what  we  have  to  do  is  to  endeavour,  by  a  judicious 
system  of  recruiting,  organisation,  and  distribution,  to  render 
our  army  as  serviceable  and  as  little  a  source  of  peril  as  maj 
be.     But  I  do  think  that  they  go  far  to  prove  that,  notwith- 
standing our  vast  physical  superiority  to  anything  which  can 
be  brought  against  us,  we  should  find  it  a  difficult  task  to 
maintain  our  authority  in  India  by  the  sword  alone ;  and  that 
they  justify  a  very  jealous  scrutiny  of  all  schemes  of  expendi- 
ture for  military  objects  which  render  necessary  the  imposition 
or  maintenance  of  taxes  which  occasion  general  discontent,  or 
deprive  the  Government  of  the  funds  requisite  for  carrying  on 
works  of  improvement   that  have   the   double   advantage  of 
stimulating  the  growth  of  wealth  in  the  country,  and  increasing 
the  efficiency  of  the  means  of  self-defence  which  we  possess. 

To  a  Friend  in  Scotland^  interested  in  the  Cultivation  of  Cotton. 

Calcutta,  May  21st,  1862. 

Cultira-  I  beg  to  assure  you  that  I  do  not  yield  to  yourself  in  my 

'^tto*^  desire  to  promote  the  extension  of  cotton  cultivation  in  India, 
and,  above  all,  improvement  in  the  quality  of  the  staple.  I 
consider  that  the  interests  of  India  are  involved  in  this  improve- 
ment to  a  greater  degree  even  than  those  of  Great  Britain ; 
for,  no  doubt,  if  the  quality  of  the  Indian  product  were  so  far 
raised  as  to  admit  of  its  competing  on  terms  approaching  to 
equality  with  that  of  America,  it  would  obtain  a  permanent 
footing  in  the  great  market  to  which  it  has  access  now  only  at 
moments  of  extraordinary  dearth. 

Moreover,  I  do  not  scruple  to  confess  to  you  that  I  am  not 
so  bigoted  in  my  adhesion  to  the  dogmas  of  political  economy, 
as  to  be  unwilling,  at  a  season  of  crisis  like  the  present,  to 
entertain  proposals  for  accelerating  this  result,  merely  because 
they  contravene  the  principles  of  that  science.     On  the  con- 


1862.  CULTIVATION  OF  COTTON.  411 

trary,  I  receive  thankfully  Buggestions  for  accomplishing  an 
object  which  I  have  so  much  at  heart,  more  especially  when 
they  emanate  from  persons  deeply  interested  and  thoroughly 
conversant  with  the  subject,  like  yourself — even  when  they 
fall  within  the  category  of  what  you  style  'extraordinary 
'  measures.' 

But  you  will  surely  allow  that  the  onus  probandi  lies  very 
heavily  on  a  Government  which  adopts  measures  of  this  class  ; 
and  that  if,  by  abnormal  interference,  it  checks  the  natural  and 
healthy  operation  of  the  laws  of  demand  on  capitalists  and 
cultivators,  it  incurs  a  weighty  responsibility. 

Even  as  regards  the  specific  recommendation  which  you  have 
made,  and  which  has  much  to  justify  it  in  my  eyes — because  I 
would  go  great  lengths  in  the  direction  of  aiding  the  Ryots  to 
improve  their  staple,  if  I  could  see  my  way  to  eifect  this  object 
without  doing  more  harm  than  good — I  must  observe  that  there 
are  questions  which  have  to  be  very  gravely  and  carefully 
examined  before  it  can  be  acted  upon. 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  right  that  I  should  tell  you  that  the 
opinion  which  obtains  here  respecting  the  result  of  recent  ope- 
rations in  Dharwar,  in  so  far  as  the  case  furnishes  a  precedent 
for  the  interference  of  Government  oiBcers  in  such  matters, 
differs  widely  from  that  entertained  by  you. 

But,  setting  this  point  aside,  and  assuming  for  the  sake  of 
argument  that  the  interposition  at  Dharwar  was  attended  by 
unmixed  benefit  to  all  concerned,  does  it  follow  that  corre- 
sponding success  would  accompany  the  mission  of  fifty  military 
officers  to  the  cotton  districts  of  India  for  the  purpose  of  in- 
ducing the  Byots  to  substitute  exotic  for  native  cotton  in  their 
cultivation  ? 

In  order  to  do  this  exotic  cotton  justice,  it  must  be  treated 
with  some  care,  especially  at  the  time  of  its  introduction  into 
districts  where  it  has  been  previously  unknown.     Conditions 
of  climate  as  well  as  of  soil  must  be  taken  into  consideration 
in  determining  the  time  and  method  of  cultivation.     The  cli- 
mate of  Dharwar,  where  the  monsoons  meet,  differs  widely 
from  that  of  many  parts  of  India,  where  the  seasons  are  divided 
between  a  deluge  of  rain  and  a  period  of  baking  heat.     Am  1 
likely  to  find  fifty  young  military  officers  who  would  be  com- 
petent to  advise  the  Ryots  on  points  of  so  much  delicacy  . 
And  if  the  Ryots,  following  their  counsels,  were  disappointed 


\ 


412 


INDIA. 


Cn.  XV 


in  the  expectations  which  they  had  been  led  to  form^  what 
would  be  the  effect  on  the  prospects  of  cotton  cultivation  in 
India  ? 

I  do  not  saj  all  this  in  condemnation  of  your  scheme,  but  in 
order  to  point  out  to  you  how  much  has  to  be  thought  of  be- 
fore it  can  be  acted  upon. 

Meanwhile  there  are  measures  for  promoting  the  interests  of 
cotton  cultivation  in  India,  which  the  Government  can  adopt 
without  abandoning  its  proper  sphere  of  action ;  not  only  with- 
out danger,  but  with  a  high  probability,  perhaps  I  might  say  a 
certainty,  of  benefit  to  the  great  cause  which  we  have  in  hand. 

We  can  facilitate  the  establishment  in  India  of  European 
cultivators  and  landholders,  who  are  the  natural  and  legitimate 
advisers  of  the  native  peasantry  on  such  questions  as  those  to 
which  I  have  been  referring. 

We  can  improve  communication  so  as  to  render  the  transport 
of  the  raw  material  to  the  ports  of  shipment  more  cheap  and 
rapid. 

To  these  and  similar  measures  the  attention  of  the  Govern- 
ment of  India  is  earnestly  directed ;  with  every  disposition  to 
take  such  further  means  of  stimulating  production  as  prudence 
may  justify. 

I  have  written  at  some  length,  but  the  importance  of  the 
subject  and  my  respect  for  your  opinion  are  my  excuse. 


Orienbils 
not  tuitis- 
fled  with 
show  of 


To  Sir  Charles  Wood. 

Calcutta,  May  9th,  1862. 

I  know  that  it  is  customary'  with  certain  people  whose 
opinions  are  entitled  to  respect,  to  act  on  the  assumption  that 
all  Orientals  are  children,  amused  and  gratified  by  external 
trappings  and  ceremonies  and  titles,  and  ready  to  put  up  with 
the  loss  of  real  dignity  and  power  if  they  are  only  permitted 
to  enjoy  the  semblance  of  it.  I  am  disposed  to  question  the 
correctness  of  this  assumption.  I  believe,  on  the  contrary, 
that  the  EasteiTi  imagination  is  singularly  prone  to  invest  out- 
ward things  with  a  symbolic  character ;  and  that  relaxations  on 
points  of  form  are  valued  by  them,  chiefly  because  they  are 

Id  necessarily  to  imply  concessions  on  substantial  matters. 


lSi''2.  RUMOUUS  OF  DISAl^TECTION.  413 

To  Sir  Charles  Wood. 

Calcutta,  June  2 let,  1862. 

You  may  be  interested  by  reading  a  letter  (of  \i'hich  I  en-  Imprn- 
close  a  copy)  written  by  the  officer  commanding  the  cavalry  at  „*^on. 
Delhi  on  the  subject  of  an  alleged  assault  by  a  native  trooper  ar}'- 
on  a  missionary.     I  should  think  that  the  cause  of  Christian 
truth  and  charity  would  be  as  well  served  by  preaching  in  a 
church  or  a  building  of  some  sort,  as  by  holding  forth  in  the 
streets  in  a  city  full  of  fanatical  unbelievers.     If  I  am  told 
that  the  Apostles  pursued  the  latter  course,  I  would  observe 
that  they  had  the  authorities  as  well  as  the  mob  against  them, 
and  took  not  only  the  thrashings  of  the  latter,  but  also  the 
judicial  penalties  inflicted  by  the  former,  like  men.     It  is  a 
very  different  matter  when  you  have  a  powerful  Government 
to  fall  back  upon,  and  to  quell  any  riots  which  you  may  raise. 
However,  these  are  burning  questions,  and  one  must  handle 
them  cautiously. 

To  Mr,  Edmonstone,  Lieut' Governor  of  the  N,  JV,  Provinces, 

Calcutta,  Mrty  27th,  1862. 

I  am  much  obliged  to  you  for  your  letter  of  the  19th  inst,  Rumovn 
and  I  beg  that  you  will  make  a  habit  of  writing  to  me  when-  ^^'^ 
ever  anything  pccurs  respecting  which  you  may  desire  to  com- 
municate with  me  confidentially. 

I  do  not,  I  confess,  attach  any  great  importance  to  such 
incidents  as  the  circulation  of  the  prophecy  which  you  have 
enclosed  to  me.  It  is  quite  as  probable  that  it  may  be  the  act 
of  some  mischievous  person  who  desires  to  keep  alive  excite- 
ment in  the  popular  mind,  as  the  indication  of  an  excitement 
already  existing. 

It  must,  moreover,  be  observed  that  the  English  press 
throughout  India  has  taken  advantage  of  the  advance  of  Sool- 
tan  Jan  on  Furrah  to  descant,  at  great  length  and  with  much 
fervour,  on  all  perils,  present  and  prospective,  to  which  British 
rule  in  India  is,  or  may  be,  exposed.  That  the  Mahommedan 
mind,  thus  stimulated  and  encouraged,  should  altogether  eschew 
such  speculations,  could  hardly  be  expected. 

It  is  impossible,  however,  to  be  too  vigilant  in  watching 
these  manifestations  of  opinion ;  and  I  trust  that  you  will  not 


414  INDIA.  Ch.  XV. 

• 
fail  to  put  me  in  possession  of  all  the  symptoms  of  disquietude 
which  may  reach  you,  however  trivial  they  may  seem  to  be. 

I  need  hardly  point  out  to  you  how  important  it  is  that  your 
inquiries  should  be  so  conducted  as  to  give  no  countenance  to 
the  impression  that  they  are  prompted  by  any  nervous  anxiety, 
or  that  we  should  be  much  discomposed  even  if  the  12th  Imaum 
himself  were  to  make  his  appearance. 

For  my  own  part,  I  am  firmly  resolved  to  put  down  with 
promptitude  and  severity  any  attempt  at  disturbance  which 
may  be  made  in  any  part  of  India,  and  I  do  not  care  how 
generally  my  determination  on  this  point  is  known.  I  shall 
pursue  this  policy,  not  because  I  fear  for  the  stability  of  our 
empire  in  the  East,  but  because  tranquillity  is  essential  to  the 
progress  of  the  country,  and  because  lenity  to  the  guilty  ori- 
ginators of  such  machinations  leads  invariably  to  the  severest 
punishment  and  suffering  of  misguided  followers. 

To  Sir  Charles  Wood. 

Calcutta,  June  17th,  1862. 

Orouodlesi  The  foUies  which  are  committed  by  the  military  panic- 
mongers  in  the  North-west  are  very  vexatious,  and  pregnant 
with  mischief  of  all  kinds.  ...  1  made  up  my  mind  yester- 
ibj  to  set  off  in  person  and  go  straight  to  Delhi,  if  the  thing 
goes  on.  As  a  riniig  of  troops  against  us  in  places  where  the 
Europeans  have  all  the  artillery,  and  at  least  equal  the  native 
forces  in  number,  is  rather  too  strong  a  dose  even  for  the 
weakest  nerves,  the  stock,  in  trade  now  is  the  existence  of 
designs  for  the  assassination  of  Europeans.  ....  These 
topics  are  probably  the  conversation  at  every  mess-table,  in- 
dulged in  before  the  native  servants,  who  would  be  the  agents 
in  such  plots  if  they  were  to  be  carried  out.  It  is  a  remark- 
able fact  that,  although  secret  murder  by  poison  and  other- 
wise is  not  unknown  among  natives  between  themselves,  as 
directed  against  Europeans,  it  is,  I  believe,  almost  entirely 
unexampled.  It  is  not  impossible,  however,  that  constant 
discussions  on  the  subject  may  familiarise  the  native  mind 
with  the  idea. 

But  talking  is  not  all.  The  commanding  oflScer  at  Agra 
has  acted  on  these  suspicions,  and,  in  the  face  of  the  native 
YK)pulation,  taken  extraordinary  precautions  on  the  assumption 


alarms  at 
Delhi. 


1802.  MURDER   OF  A  NATIVF.  415 

that  the  wcllfl  are  poisoned.  We  have  no  report  as  yet  on 
the  subject  All  we  know  is  from  the  newspapers ;  but  of  the 
fact,  I  fear,  there  can  be  little  doubt.  If  there  be  disaffected 
persons  in  that  locality  (and  no  doubt  there  are  many  such),  it 
will  be  strange  indeed  if  they  do  not  profit  by  soliroad  a  hint. 
Then  again,  this  panic  beginning  with  the  officers  spreads  to 
the  men.  Some  cases  of  terrorism  have  occurred  at  Delhi 
which  are  a  disgrace  to  our  race.  And  of  course  we  know 
what  follows.  Cowardice  and  cruelty  being  twins,  the  man 
who  runs  terror-stricken  into  his  barrack  to-night  because  he 
mistook  the  chirp  of  a  cricket  for  the  click  of  a  pistol,  indemni- 
fies himself  to-morrow  by  beating  his  bearer  to  within  an  inch 
of  his  life. 

All  this  is  very  bad,  and  very  di£5cult  to  control.  After 
the  lesson  of  1857  it  will  not  do  for  me  to  adopt  the  happy-go- 
lucky  tone,  and  to  pooh-pooh  what  professes  to  be  information. 
To  preach  common  sense  from  a  safe  didtance  is  equally  futile. 
It  therefore  occurred  to  me  that  the  only  thing  practically  to 
do,  would  be  to  go  to  the  head-quarters  of  the  panic,  surround 
myself  by  native  troops,  and  put  a  stop  to  the  nonsense  by 
exam])le. 

If  I  had  been  anywhere  else  except  in  India,  I  should  have 
acted  upon  this  determination  at  once ;  but  here  there  are  such 
enormous  physical  diffiealties  in  the  way,  that  one  is  obliged 
to  think  twice  before  setting  out  on  such  an  expedition. 
However,  I  have  not  abandoned  the  intention,  and  shall  cer- 
tainly carry  it  out,  if  this  sort  of  thing  goes  on.  We  cannot 
afford  to  have  the  progress  of  the  country  arrested  by  such 
miures.  The  alarmists  bucceeded  in  bringing  down  the  price 
of  our  stocks  a  few  days  ago. 

By  the  bye,  last  night  was  fixed  upon  by  my  anonymous 
correspondents  for  my  own  assassination. 

To  Sir  Charles  Wood. 

Calcntto,  Jane  22nd,  1862. 

I  have  had,  this  week,  a  very  painful  matter  to  deal  with.  The  nrar- 
A  man  of  the  name  of  Budd,  a  soldier  who  had  obtained  his  ^^P^^ 
discharge  in  order  to  accompany  an  officer  of  the  name  of 

to  Australia,  killed  a  native  in  the  Punjab  some  months 

ago  under  the  following  circumstances.     He  was  desired  by 
to  procure  a  sheep  for  him. '  He  went  to  a  native,  from 


! 


416  INDL4.  Ch.  X\'. 

whom  he  appears  to  have  procured  sheep  before^  and  took  one. 
The  native  protested  against  his  taking  this  particular  sheep^ 
because  it  was  with  Iamb,  but  said  he  might  take  any  other 
from  the  flock.  Budd  paid  no  heed  to  this  remonstrance,  put 
the  sheep  on  the  back  of  another  native,  and  marched  off. 
The  owner  followed,  complaining  and  protesting.  On  this 
Budd  first  fired  two  barrels  over  his  head,  then  threw  stones 
at  him,  and  finally  went  into  the  house,  brought  out  another 
gun,  fired  at  him,  and  killed  him  on  the  spot.  Besides  im- 
ploring that  his  sheep  might  be  restored  to  him,  it  does  not 
appear  that  the  native  did  anything  at  all  to  provoke  this 
proceeding. 

The  perpetrator  of  this  outrage  being  a  European,  the  case 
could  not  be  tried  on  the  spot.  It  was  accordingly  trans- 
ferred to  Calcutta;  witnesses,  &c.,  being  sent  1,000  miles  at 
the  public  expense.  Before  it  came  on,  however,  the  counsel 
for  the  defence  requested  a  postponement  in  order  to  obtain 
further  evidence.  The  request  was  granted,  and  the  trial 
deferred  till  another  term. 

The  trial  came  on  a  few  days  ago,  and  the  jury,  much  to 
their  honour,  found  the  prisoner  guilty.  On  this  an  agitation 
was  got  up  to  obtain  a  commutation  of  the  sentence  of  death 
which  had  been  passed  by  the  judge.  A  petition,  with  a  great 
number  of  signatures,  was  presented  in  the  first  instance  to  the 
Lieutenant-Governor  of  Bengal ;  but  he  was  advised  that,  the 
crime  having  been  committed  in  the  Punjab,  he  had  nothing 
to  do  with  the  case.  It  was  then  transmitted  to  me.  There 
was  quite  enough  doubt  as  to  my  power  of  acting,  to  have 
justiBed  me  in  referring  the  case  to  the  Lieutenant-Governor 
of  the  Punjab.  But  I  felt  that  the  delay,  and,  above  all,  the 
appearance  of  a  desire  to  shrink  from  the  responsibility  of 
passing  a  decision  on  the  case,  which  this  step  would  involve, 
would  be  so  mischievous,  that,  having  obtained  from  the  Ad- 
vocate-General an  opinion  that  I  had  the  requisite  authority, 
I  determined  to  take  the  matter  into  my  own  hands.  The 
Panished  verdict  was  clearly  borne  out  by  the  evidence.  The  sentence 
by  death,  ^^s  in  accordance  with  the  law,  and  the  judge,  to  whom  I 
referred,  saw  no  reason  to  question  it  The  decision  of  the 
Governor-General  in  Council  was,  that  the  law  must  take  its 
aourse. 

"'^  18  true  that  this  murder  was  not  committed  with  previous 


1802.  AFFGHANISTAN.  417 

preparation  and  deliberation.     It  had  not,  therefore,  this  special 
quality  of  aggravation.     But  it  was  marked  by  an  aggravation 
of  its  own,  not  less  culpable,  and  unfortunately  only  too  fre- 
quently characteristic  of  the  homicides  perpetrated  by  Euro- 
peans on  natives  in  this  country.     It  was  conmiitted  in  wanton  Little 
recklessness,  almost  without  provocation,  under  an   impulse  ^n  nature 
which  would  have  been  resisted  if  the  life  of  the  victim  had  life. 
been  estimated  at  the  value  of  that  of  a  dog.     Any  action  on 
my  part  which  would  have  seemed  to  sanction  this  estimate  of 
the  value  of  native  life,  would  have  been  attended  by  the  most 
pernicious  consequences. 

It  is  bad  enough  as  it  is.  The  other  day  a  station-master, 
somewhere  up  country,  kicked  a  native  who  was,  as  he  says, 
milking  a  goat  belonging  to  the  former.  The  native  fell  dead, 
and  the  local  paper,  without  a  word  of  commiseration  for  the 
victim  or  his  family,  complains  of  the  hardship  of  compelling 
the  station-master  to  go  to  Calcutta,  in  this  warm  weather, 
to  have  the  case  inquired  into.  Other  instances  in  which  the 
natives  have  died  from  the  e^ect  of  personal  chastisement 
administered  by  Europeans  have  occurred  since  I  have  been 
here. 

I  have  gone  at  some  length  into  this  case,  both  because  you 
may  hear  of  it,  and  also  because  it  exemplifies  what  is  really 
our  greatest  source  of  embarrassment  in  this  country — the 
extreme  diflSculty  of  administering  equal  justice  between 
natives  and  Europeans. 

To  Sir  C/iarles  Wood. 

July  ISth,  1S62. 

I  am  very  much  averse  to  any  interference  on  our  part  in  Againit 
the  quarrel  which  is  now  on  foot  in  Affghanistan ;  and,  indeed,  eoce  in 
I  do  not  very  well  see  my  way  as  to  how  any  such  inter-  Affghsn- 
ference  can  be  managed  without  entailing  responsibilities  which 
we  may  regret  at  a  later  period.     You  are  doubtless  aware  that 
we  have  no  agent  with  the  Dost     He  particularly  requested 
that  no  one  should  be  sent  to  his  court  in  that  capacity,  and  we 
assented  to  his  views  on  this  point.     All  we  know  of  what  is 
going  on  there  is  derived  from  the  reports  of  a  native  vakeel, 
who  reports  more  or  less  faithfully  what  he  hears  and  sees, 
but  who  is  not,  and  I  apprehend,  could  not  be  employed  to 
8i>eak   on  our  behalf  to  the  Ameer.     In  order,  therefore,  to 

E  E 


418  INDIA.  Ch.  X^. 

communicate  with  him,  we  must  either  send  a  special  agent,  or 
write.  Now  it  must  be  observed  that  in  this  affair  the  Du>t 
has  not  been  the  aggressor.  The  Herat  chief  attacked  him 
without  any  provocation.  We  offered  him  no  assistance,  madt 
no  remonstrance,  and  left  him  to  take  care  of  himself.  He 
has  asked  us  for  nothing,  and  we  have  given  him  nothing.  It 
is  now  proposed  that  we  should  inform  the  Dost  that  if  he  goes 
beyond  a  certain  point,  and  Persia  comes  into  the  field  tn 
support  Herat,  he  must  not  expect  any  assistance  from  us.  If 
we  had  an  agent  there  it  would  be  easy  to  instruct  him  tu 
make  such  an  intimation ;  and  if  the  Dost  were  to  ask  us  for 
any  support,  an  answer  which  would  convey  this  hint  might  be 
given.  But  situated  as  we  are,  we  must  move  cautiously  in 
this  matter.  If  the  Dost  stops  on  our  suggestion,  and  if 
(as  is  frequently  the  case  with  Orientals),  the  enemy,  ascribing 
his  moderation  to  weakness,  presses  him  with  increased  vigour, 
what  are  we  to  do  then  ?  Are  we  to  stand  by  and  laugh  at 
our  dupe,  telling  him  that  though  our  advice  got  him  into  the 
scrape,  he  must  find  his  own  way  out  of  it?  or  are  we  to 
set  to  work  to  check  his  opponents  ?  and  if  we  undertake  the 
latter  task,  how  far  will  it  lead  us  ? 

It  is  quite  impossible  in  these  affairs,  and  with  people  of  this 
description,  to  say  what  an  hour  may  bring  forth.  A  shower 
of  rain  may  convert  a  victorious  army  into  a  baffled  one,  and 
an  advance  into  a  retreat.  The  death  of  a  man  of  eighty 
years  of  age  will  probably  throw  all  Affghanistan  into  confu- 
sion, convert  friends  into  foes  and  vice  versa.  Instructions 
framed  in  Calcutta  to  meet  one  set  of  circumstances  mav 
arrive  in  Affghanistan  when  the  whole  scene  has  changed.  I 
own  that  I  am  strongly  of  opinion  that  our  true  policy  is  to 
leave  these  kinds  of  neighbours  as  much  as  possible  alone ;  to 
mix  ourselves  up  as  little  as  may  be  in  their  miserable  intrigues, 
which  generally  entail  obligations  which  bind  us  and  not  them, 
and  not  unfrcquently  lead  to  most  unexpected  issues.  We 
should  only  speak  when  we  have  a  case  of  self-interest  so 
clear  that  we  can  speak  with  determination,  and  follow  up  our 
talk  if  necessary  with  a  blow. 


1862.  LORD   CANNING'S  POLICY.  419 


To  Sir  aiarles  Wood. 

August  9tli,  1862. 

After  a  good  deal  of  consideration  as  to  how  I  can,  with  With- 
least  risk  of  getting  this  Government  into  trouble,  put  a  spoke  ^^I 
into  the  Dost's  wheel  in  his  progress  towards  Herat,  I  have 
despatched  to  Sir  R.  Montgomery  the  telegram  of  which  I 
enclose  a  copy.  The  order  sent  to  our  vakeel,  desiring  him  to 
leave  the  Ameer^s  camp,  and  return  to  India,  if  the  Dost 
proceeds  to  extremities  against  Herat,  will  sufficiently  show 
that  we  discountenance  any  such  proceeding ;  while  at  the  same 
time  the  measure  commits  us  to  nothing,  gives  the  Dost  no 
such  claim  upon  us  as  he  would  naturally  have  if  we  tendered 
advice  to  him,  and  induced  him  to  abandon  his  own  projects  in 
order  to  follow  it,  and  leaves  us  free  to  shape  our  policy  as  the 
shifting  current  of  events  may  prescribe.  I  pointed  out  to 
you  in  my  letter  of  July  16,  that  we  are  awkwardly  situated 
for  interfering  with  the  Ameer.  He  is  our  friend,  and  we 
said  nothing  when  he  was  attacked.  He  has  set  to  work  to 
redress  his  own  injuries,  asking  us  for  no  aid,  and  paying  his 
own  M^ay.  We  are  quite  entitled  to  say,  *  Your  hostile  advance 
*  on  Herat  has  not  our  approval,  and  we  must  show  that  you 
'  are  making  it  without  our  sanction.'  This  we  do  in  the  most 
emphatic  manner,  by  withdrawing  the  only  British  official  who 
is  with  him.  But  I  do  not  like  to  go  farther  in  the  direction 
of  interference.  It  is  impossible  to  say  how  matters  may  ter- 
minate in  Aifghanistan.  It  is  possible  that  the  Ameer  may 
get  the  whole  country  into  his  hands.  It  is  possible  that  he 
may  come  to  an  understanding  with  Sultan  Jan,  who  is  his 
connection  by  marriage.  It  is  very  desirable  that  we  should 
be  free  to  accept  the  status  in  quo,  whatever  it  may  be. 

To  Sir  Charles  Wood. 

Calcutta,  September  9th,  1862. 

A  doubt  naturally  suggests  itself  as  to  whether  the  received  Lofd 
notion  respecting  the  relations  which  Canning  sought  to  cstab-  ^Wcj, 
lish  between  the  native  chiefs  and  the  British  Government 
in  India  be  altogether  correct,  or,  (as  it  perhaps  would  be  more 
accurate  to  say  )  altogether  complete — whether,  in  short,  that 
portion  of  it  which  was  a  policy  of  circumstance  has  been  duly 
distinguished  from  that  which  was  a  policy  of  principle :  a 

2  B  2 


420  INDIA.  Ch.  rv. 

doubt  by  no  means  unimportant,  now  that  this  policy,  what- 
ever it  be,  is  crowned  by  the  double  aureole  of  success  and 
death ;  so  that  while,  on  the  one  hand,  it  is  naturally  set  up  as 
an  example  for  imitation,  on  the  other,  we  have  not  the  author 
/jx  to  refer  to  when  difficulties  arise  respecting  its  application. 
Clemency.  In  approaching  the  consideration  of  this  very  momentous 
question  we  must,  in  the  first  place,  be  careful  lest  we  suffer 
ourselves  to  draw  erroneous  conclusions  from  the  warm  ex- 
pressions  of  gratitude  and  affection  lavished  upon  Canning  by 
the  natives  generally.  If  I  were  to  venture  to  compare  great 
things  with  small,  I  should  say  that  their  feelings  towards  him 
were  due  to  causes  somewhat  similar  to  those  which  earned  for 
me  the  good  will  and  confidence  of  the  French  Canadians  in 
Canada.  Both  he  and  I  adopted  on  some  important  point^s 
views  more  favourable  to  the  subject  races  than  those  which 
had  been  entertained  by  our  respective  predecessors.  So  far 
we  established  legitimate  and  substantial  claims  on  their  regard. 
But  it  was  not  so  much  the  intrinsic  merit  of  those  views,  still 
less  was  it  the  extent  to  which  we  acted  upon  them,  which  won 
for  us  the  favour  of  those  races ;  we  owed  that  mainly  to  the 
uncompromising  hostility,  the  bitter  denunciations,  and  the 
unmeasured  violence  which  the  promulgation  of  those  views 
provoked  from  those  who  were  regarded  by  them  as  their 
oppressors.  I  used  often  to  say  to  my  Scotch  friends  in  Lower 
Canada,  when  they  were  heaping  every  indignity  upon  me, 
and  even  resorting  to  open  violence  (for  there  they  did  not 
hold  their  hands  off),  *You  are  playing  my  game.     I  want 

*  to  win  the  confidence  of  the  French  Canadians ;  but  I  know 

*  the  nature  of  that  people  :  they  are  touchy  and  suspicious  as 

*  races  who  feel  that  they  are  inferior,  and  believe  that  they  are 

*  oppressed,  invariably  are.    By  measures  of  simple  justice  to- 

*  wards  them  (and  beyond  that  line  I  do  not  intend  to  proceed 

*  an  inch),  I  despair  of  being  able  to  effect  my  object ;  but  if 

*  you  continue  for  a  year  to  act  as  you  are  now  acting,  denoun- 

*  cing  me  as  your  enemy  and  their   friend,  and   proving   the 

*  sincerity  of  your  belief  by  outrage  and  violence,  you  will  end 
«  by  convincing  them  that  I  am  to  be  trusted,  and  I  shall  win 

*  the  day.' — The  result  proved  the  accuracy  of  this  prediction. 

The  feeling  of  the  natives  of  India  towards  Canning  was  in 
some  measure  due  to  a  similar  cause.  The  clamour  for  blood 
•md  indiscriminate  vengeance  which  raged  around  him,  and  the 


^62.  LORD  CANNINGS  POLICY.  421 

I'.buse  poured  upon  him  because  he  would  not  listen  to  it^  im- 

.•arted  in  their  eyes  to  acts  which  carried  justice  to  the  verge 

»f  severity  the  grace  of  clemency. 
I  could  give  you  plenty  of  proofs  of  this  .  .  .  The  following   , 
-/sentences  occur  in  a  letter  written  from  Delhi  during  our  recent 

panic,  by  an  officer  .  .  *  The  native  force  here  is  much  too 
:'  small  to  be  a  source  of  anxiety,  and  unless  they  take  the  initia- 
•^  five  it  is  my  opinion  that  there  can  be  no  important  rising. 

'  The  Mussulmans  of  Delhi  are  a  contemptible  race.     Fanatics 

*  are  very  rare  on  this  side  of  the  Sutlej.  The  terrors  of  that 
/  period  when  every  man  who  had  two  enemies  was  sure  to 

*  swing  are  not  forgotten.  The  people  declare  that  the  work  of 
'  Nadir  Shah  was  as  nothing  to  it.  His  executions  were  com- 
'  pleted  in  twelve  hours.     But  for  months  after  the  last  fall  of 

*  Delhi,  no  one  was  sure  of  his  own  life  or  of  that  of  the  being 
'  dearest  to  him  for  an  hour.'     The  natives  not  unnaturally 
looked  with  gratitude  to  the  man  who  alone  had  the  will  and 
power  to  put  an  arrest  on  this  course  of  proceeding,  and  to 
prevent  its  extension  all  over  the  land.     No  doubt,  as  I  have        (2) 
said.  Canning  earned  a  substantial  claim  to  the  gratitude  of  Consider- 
the  native  chiefs  by  adopting  a  more  liberal  and  considerate  natiye 
policy  towards  them  than  that  pursued  by  his  predecessor.  chie&. 
It  was  perhaps  not  surprising  that  he  should  have  done  so. 
Situated  as  we  are  in  this  country — a  small  minority  ruling 

a  vast  population  that  differs  from  us  in  blood,  civilisation, 
colour  and  religion,  monopolising  in  our  own  territories  all 
positions  of  high  dignity  and  emolument,  and  exercising  even 
over  States  ostensibly  independent  a  paramount  authority — 
it  is  manifest  that  the  question  of  how  we  ought  to  treat  that 
class  of  natives  who  consider  that  they  have  a  natural  right  to 
be  leaders  of  men  and  to  occupy  the  first  places  in  India,  must 
always  be  one  of  special  difficulty.  If  you  attempt  to  crush 
all  superiorities,  you  unite  the  native  populations  in  a  homoge- 
neous mass  against  you.  If  you  foster  pride  of  rank  and 
position,  you  encourage  pretensions  which  you  cannot  gratify, 
partly  because  you  dare  not  abdicate  your  own  functions  as  a 
paramount  power,  and,  partly,  because  you  cannot  control  the 
arrogance  of  your  subjects  of  the  dominant  race.  Scindiah 
and  Holkar  are  faithful  to  us  just  in  proportion  as  they  are 
weak,  and  conscious  that  they  require  our  aid  to  support  them 
against  their  own  subjects  or  neighbours:    and  among  the 


422 


INDIA. 


Ch.  XV. 


(3) 
Assertion 

of  British 

SOTO- 

leignty. 


bitterest  of  our  foes  during  the  Mutiny  were  natives  who  had 
been  courted  in  England.  .  .  .  Canning  saw  the  evils  which 
the  crushing  policy  of  his  predecessor  was  entailing,  and  he 
reversed  it  It  was  a  happily  timed  change  of  policy.  The 
rebellion  broke  out  while  it  was  yet  recent ;  and  no  doubt,  the 
hopes  and  gratification  inspired  by  it  had  their  effect  in  in- 
ducing a  certain  number  of  chiefs  to  pause  and  to  require  more 
conclusive  proof  that  the  British  Raj  was  to  kick  the  beam, 
before  they  cast  their  weight  into  the  opposite  scale  of  the 
balance. 

After  the  rebellion  was  suppressed,  the  inducement  to  per- 
severe in  this  line  of  policy  was  still  more  stringent.  To 
grant  to  native  Potentates  who  were  trembling  in  their  shoes, 
and  ready  to  receive  the  boon  on  any  terms  which  you  might 
prescribe,  the  reversion  of  States  which  had  become  vacant 
because  you  had,  of  your  own  authority  and  mere  motion, 
hanged  their  chiefs,  and  declared  them  to  be  escheated,  was  a 
wise,  a  graceful,  and  under  the  circumstances  a  perfectly  safe 
policy.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  measures  taken  to  put 
the  talookdars  of  Oude  on  their  legs,  and  which  were  preceded 
by  the  confiscation  of  all  their  properties.  I  believe  that  this 
policy,  like  the  policy  of  Clemency,  was  sound  and  right  in 
principle  ;  but  in  forming  a  just  estimate  of  its  success  and  of 
its  applicability  to  all  seasons  and  emergencies,  it  is  necessary 
to  take  into  account  the  specialities  of  the  time  to  which  I  have 
referred. 

What  then  was  the  scope  and  extent  of  application  which 
Canning  in  action  was  prepared  to  give  to  this  policy  ?     Here 
is  the  important  question,  and  it  is  not  altogether  an  easy  one 
to  answer.     For  like  most  wise  administrators.  Canning  dealt 
with  the  concrete  rather  than  the  abstract,  and  it  would  not  be 
difficult  to  cull  from  his  decisions  sentiments  and  sentences 
which  seem   to  clash.     When  you  meet  with  an   individual 
ruling  which  appears  not  to  tally  with  what  you  have  assumed 
to  be  his  general  principles,  you  say  it  is  '  unnatural.'     This  is 
one  way  out  of  the  difficulty.     But  is  it  the  right  way  ?  My 
own  opinion  is,  that  Canning  never  intended  to  let  the  chiefs 
get  the  bit  into  their  mouths,  or  to  lose  his  hold  over  them.    It 
is  true  that  he  rode  them  with  a  loose  rein,  but  the  pace  was 
BO  killing  during  the  whole  of  his  time,  that  it  took  the  kick 
out  of  them,  and  a  light  hand  and  silken  thread  were  all  that 


18C2.  LORD  CANMNQ'S   POLICY.  423 

was  required.  His  policy  of  deference  to  the  authority  of 
native  chiefs  was  a  means  to  an  end^  the  end  being  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  British  Raj  in  India ;  and  when  the  means 
and  the  end  came  into  conflict,  or  seemed  likely  to  do  so,  the 
former  went  to  the  walL  Even  in  the  case  of  the  chief- 
tainship of  Amjherra,  he  looked,  as  the  Yankees  say,  *  ugly,' 
when  Scindiah,  having  got  what  he  wanted,  showed  a  disposi- 
tion to  withhold  the  grants  to  loyal  individuals  which  he  had 
volunteered  to  make  from  the  revenues  of  the  chieftainship. 
It  is  true  that  the  ostensible  ground  of  Canning's  dissatisfaction 
was  the  violation  of  a  promise,  but  what  title  had  he  to  claim 
this  promise,  or  to  exact  its  fulfilment,  if  the  escheat  belonged 
as  of  right  to  Scindiah  ?  Again,  when  I  came  to  this  country, 
I  found  that  he  was  walking  pretty  smartly  into  a  parcel  of 
people  in  Central  India  who  were  getting  up  a  little  rebellion 
on  their  own  account,  a  tempest  in  a  teapot,  not  against  us, 
but  against  their  own  native  rulers.  In  this  instance  he  inter- 
fered, no  duubt,  as  head  policeman  and  conservator  of  the 
peace  of  all  India.  But  observe,  if  we  lay  down  the  rule  that 
we  will  scrupulously  respect  the  right  of  the  chiefs  to  do 
wrong,  and  resolutely  suppress  all  attempts  of  their  subjects  to 
redress  their  wrongs  by  violence,  which,  in  the  absence  of  help 
from  us,  is  the  only  redress  open  to  them,  we  may  find  perhaps 
that  it  may  carry  us  somewhat  far — possibly  to  annexation — 
the  very  bugbear  from  which  we  are  seeking  to  escape. 
Ilolkar,  for  instance,  unless  common  fame  traduces  him,  has 
rather  an  itching  for  what  Mr.  Laing  calls  'hard  rupees.' 
IILs  subjects  and  dependents  have  decided,  and  not  altogether 
unintelligible,  objections  to  certain  methods  which  he  adopts 
for  indulging  this  propensity.  When  they — those  of  them 
more  especially  who  have  Treaty  claims  to  our  protection, 
come  to  us  to  complain,  and  to  ask  our  help^are  we  to  say  to 
them : — *  We  have  too  much  respect  for  Holkar^s  independence 

*  to  interfere.  Right  or  wrong  you  had  better  book  up,  for  we 
'  are  bound  to  keep  the  peace,  and  we  shall  certainly  be  down 

*  upon  you  if  you  kick  up  a  row '  ?  In  the  anomalous  position 
which  we  occupy  in  India,  it  is  surely  necessary  to  propound 
with  caution  doctrines  which,  logically  applied,  land  us  in 
such  dilemmas. 

At  a  future  time,  if  I  live,  and  remain  here,  it  is  possible 
that  I  may  take  the  liberty  of  submitting  to  you  some  views 


424  INDIA.  Ch.  XV 

t 

of  my  own  on  the^e  questions.  It  may  perhaps  turn  out  that 
Problems  a  time  of  peace  is  better  fitted  than  one  of  revolution  for  the 
of'peaoe!^*  discovery  of  the  true  theory  according  to  which  our  relations 
with  native  States  ought  to  be  conducted ;  or,  it  may  be,  for 
the  discovery  that  no  theory  can  be  framed  sufficiendy  elastic 
to  fit  all  those  relations  and  the  complications  which  arise  out 
of  them,  and  that,  after  all,  we  must  in  a  great  measure  rely 
on  the  rule  of  cx)mmon  sense  and  of  the  thumb.  When  the 
circumstances  of  the  time  are  such  that  it  is  deemed  right  and 
proper  to  abrogate  all  law,  and  to  establish  over  tiie  land  a 
reign  of  terror  and  of  the  sword — to  pour  out,  in  deference  to 
tiie  paramount  claims  of  the  safety  of  the  state,  public  money, 
whether  obtained  from  present  taxation  or  the  mortgage  of 
posterity,  with  profusion  absolutely  uncontrolled — to  decree 
confiscation  on  a  scale  of  unprecedented  magnitude;  it  is 
obvious  that  a  reputation  for  clemency,  economy,  and  respect 
for  the  native  rights  of  property,  is  obtainable  under  condi- 
tions that  are  not  strictiy  normal.  If  you  want  to  ascertain 
whether  your  system  will  stand  in  all  weathers,  you  must  test 
it  when  the  rule  of  law  and  order  have  replaced  that  of  arbi- 
trary will — when  men  present  themselves,  not  as  the  scared 
recipients  of  bounty,  but  as  the  assertors  of  admitted  rights. 
We  shall  see  how  far,  in  such  piping  times,  it  may  be  possible 
for  the  Governor-General  to  enforce  on  the  British  local 
authorities  tiie  claims  of  pubUc  economy,  without  resorting  to 
any  interference  which  can  be  supposed  to  militate  against  the 
hypothesis  that  the  said  authorities  understand  a  great  deal 
better  than  he  does  what  their  wants  are,  and  how  they  ought 
to  be  supplied;  or  to  maintain  the  peace  of  India  without 
questioning  the  indefeasible  title  of  the  native  chie&  to  do 
what  they  like  with  their  own. 

Meanwhile  all  I  want  as  regards  this  matter  is,  to  learn  what 
Canning's  policy  really  was,  and  to  follow  it  out  faithfully. 
It  is  neither  fair  to  him  nor  to  the  cause,  that  we  should  mis- 
judge its  character  by  founding  our  estimate  of  it  on  a  partial 
or  incomplete  induction. 

To  Sir  Charles  Wood, 

CalcuUa,  December  23id,  1862. 

Considen-       As  to  consideration  of  the  natives,  I  can  only  say  that 
during  a  public  service  of  twenty  years  I  have  always  sided 


fthe 


1802.  CONSIDERATION  FOR   NATIVES.  425 

with  the  weaker  party,  and  it  is  bo  strongly  my  instinct  to  do 
sOy  that  I  do  not  think  the  most  stringent  injunctions  would 
force  me  into  an  opposite  course  of  action.  But  I  am  quite 
sure  that  it  is  not  true  kindness  to  the  weaker  party,  to  give 
the  stronger  an  excuse  for  using  to  the  utmost  the  powers  of 
coercion  which  they  possess,  by  seeming  to  be  unwilling  to 
listen  to  any  statement  of  grievances  which  they  may  desire 
to  make^  or  to  suspect  their  motives  when  they  suggest  reme- 
dies. •  •  .  It  is  quite  possible  that  such  views  as  you  in- 
stance may  prevail  to  a  considerable  extent  with  our  agitat- 
ing people  ;  but  it  is  equally  certain  that  many  who  join  them 
would  indignantly  repudiate  the  imputation  of  being  actuated 
by  any  motives  of  the  kind.  My  study  always  is,  to  keop 
those  who  profess  moderate  and  reasonable  views  right,  and  to 
prevent  them  from  going  over  arms  and  baggage  to  the  enemy, 
by  taking  for  granted  that  they  mean  what  they  profess,  and, 
when  they  propose  objectionable  remedies,  arguing  against 
them  on  their  own  premises.  Some,  of  course,  would  rather 
abandon  their  sound  premises  than  their  illogical  conclusions, 
when  they  are  driven  in  this  way  to  the  wall ;  but  a  large 
number  come  over  to  the  right  side  when  they  find  that  the 
consideration  of  their  alleged  grievances  is  approached  without 
any  prepossession  against  them.  Of  course,  this  is  all  a  matter 
of  tact,  and  cannot  be  reduced  to  any  definite  formula.  But 
you  speak  of  our  Press  as  hopeless  on  some  of  these  subjects. 
Have  you  observed  the  comparative  mildness  of  its  tone  lately, 
notwiUistanding  the  action  of  Government  in  the  matter  of  the 
Waste  Lands,  and  Contract  Law  ?  Does  not  that  argue  a 
better  state  of  feeling  in  the  European  Community ;  and  do 
not  you  think  that  it  is  for  the  benefit  of  the  Ryots,  that  their 
interloping  landlords  should  not  be  in  a  humour  to  employ 
vindictively  the  vast  powers  which,  whether  you  disallow  Con- 
tract Laws  or  not,  they,  as  proprietors,  possess  over  them  ? 


426  ECDIA.  Ch.  x\l 


T'lMit  tho 
Provinccf. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

INDIA. 

BUTT  OK  A  aOVERNOR-GEKZRAL  TO  VISIT  THE  PROVINCES PROGRESS  TO  THE 

NORTH-WEST — BENARES — SPEECH    ON    THE   OPENING   OF    THE    RAIL  WAT 

CAWNPOUE  —  GRAND  DURBAR  AT  AGRA  —  DELHI  —  HURDWAR — ADDRESS 
TO  THE  SIKH  CHIEFS  AT  UMBALLA  —  KUSSOWLIE — SIMLA  —  LETTEIIS  : 
SUPPLY  OF  LABOUB  ;  SPECIAL  LBOISLATION ;  lOSSIONART  OATHKRINO  ;  FIKAXCE  ; 
SKAT  OF  OOTEBiaCBNT ;   TALUB  OF  TRAINIKO  AT  H£AI>-QCAJITEBS  ;   ARISTOCBAaKs  ; 

AOAIX8T      IICTEBMEDDLINO  — THE    SITANA     FANATICS ^HIMALATAS ROTUNG 

PASS  —  TWIG   BRIDGE ILLNESS —  DEATH  — CHARACTERISTICS BL^IAL 

PLACE. 

Duty  of  a    At  a  very  early   period   of  his   Btay   in   India,  Lord 
OonoraMo  Elgin  formed  the  opinion,  which  was  indeed  strongly 
impressed  upon  him  by  Lord  Canning,  that  it  was  '  of 
the  greatest  importance  to  the  public  interest  that  the 
Governor-General  should  see  as  much  as  possible  of 
men  and  things,  in  all  parts  of  the  vast  empire  under 
his  control ;  and  that  a  constant  residence  in  the  nar- 
row atmosphere  of  Calcutta  had  a  tendency  to  impair 
his  efficiency.'     Writing  to  Sir  C.  Wood  on  the  17th 
of  September,  1862,  he  said  : — 

No  man  can  govern  India  in  ordinary  times^  such  as  those 
in  which  we  are  living,  if  he  is  to  be  tied  by  the  leg  to  Calcutta, 
and  prevented  from  visiting  other  parts  of  the  Empire.  Can- 
ning, although  he  lived  in  times  by  no  means  ordinary,  and 
although  he  was  compelled  by  circumstances  to  be  more 
stationary  than  he  would  otherwise  have  been,  was  as  clear  on 
this  point  as  anyone.  He  urged  me  most  strongly  to  proceed 
northwai*ds  at  the  earliest  moment  at  which  I  could  contrive  to 
do  BO.  When  I  referred  to  the  diflSculty  which  the  assembling 
of  the  Council  for  legislative  purposes  might  occasion,  he 
assured  me  that  he  had  never  intended  to  make  himself  a  slave 
)f  the  Council ;  that  he  had  taken  the  chair  at  the  commence- 


1862.  THE  NORTH-WEST  PROVrXCEJ=J.  427 

ment  of  the  proceedings,  but  that  he  should  certainly  have 
objected  to  the  establishment  of  the  principle  that  his  presence 
was  indispensable  to  its  deliberations.  He  was  especially 
anxious  that  I  should  tour,  in  order  that  I  might  satisfy  myself 
as  to  how  his  arrangements  affecting  natives,  &c.,  worked, 
before  modifying  them  in  any  degree.  And,  apart  from 
Canning's  opinion  altogether,  this  is  a  point  on  which  I  have 
had  some  personal  experience.  I  have  been  now  steadily  in 
Calcutta  for  a  whole  hot  season.  No  man,  I  venture  to  affirm, 
in  the  situation  I  occupy,  has  ever  been  more  accessible  to 
those  who  have  anything  to  say,  whether  they  be  civilians, 
soldiers,  or  interlopers.  But  there  is  a  blot  on  my  escutcheon 
which  can  easily  be  hit  by  anyone  dissatisfied  with  a  judgment 
pronounced  in  my  name.     It  can  always  be  said :  *  What  does 

*  Lord  Elgin   know  of  India  ?     He  has  never  been  out  of 

*  Calcutta.     He  is  acquainted  only  with  Bengal  civilians  and 

*  other  dwellers  in  (what  is  irreverently  styled)  *  the  ditch.' 
Indeed,  I  fear  that  I  am  exposed  to  the  same  reproach  in  your 
circle.  I  see  no  remedy  for  this  evil,  if  I  am  to  remain  con- 
stantly here. 

Starting  from  these  premises  he  came  to  the  conclu-  Project«i 
sion,  that  *  it  was  better  to  organise  a  tour  on  a  compre-  *°"''' 

*  hensive  scale,  even  though  it  involved  a  long  absence 

*  from  Calcutta,  than  to  attempt  to  hurry  to  distant 

*  places  and  back  again  during  successive  winters.' 
Accordingly,  it  was  arranged  that  as  soon  as  the  busi- 
ness of  the  Legislative  Council  was  concluded,  he  should 
start  for  the  north,  and  travel  by  easy  stages  to  Simla, 
visituig  all  the  places  which  he  ought  to  see  on  his  way. 
After  spending  the  hot  weather  at  the  Hills,  he  was  to 
proceed  early  in  the  next  winter  to  the  Punj&b,  inspect- 
ing it  thoroughly,  and  returning  before  the  summer 
heats  either  to  Simla  again,  or  to  Calcutta,  as  public 
business  might  determine.  For  the  Session,  if  so  it 
might  be  called,  of  1863-4,  he  was  to  summon  his 
councillors  to  meet  him  somewhere  in  the  north-we^t, 
at  some  capital  city,  ^  not  a  purely  military  station,  but 
^  where  the  Council  might  obtain  some  knowledge  of 


428  INDIA.  Ch.  xvl 

'  local  and  native  feeling  such  as  did  not  reach  Calcutta/ 
The  spot  ultimately  fixed  upon  was  Lahore,  the  capital 
of  the  large  and  loyal  province  of  that  name.  The 
earlier  part  of  the  tour  was  to  be  made  chiefly  by  rail- 
way, with  a  comparatively  small  retinue  ;  but  for  the 
latter  part  of  it  he  was  to  be  accompanied  by  a  camp, 
furnished  forth  with  all  the  pride,  pomp,  and  circum- 
stance belonging  to  the  progress  of  an  Eastern  Monarch, 
and  necessary  therefore  in  order  to  produce  the  desired 
effect  on  the  minds  of  the  natives. 
Railway  to  It  was  ou  the  5th  of  February,  1863,  that  the  Vice- 
regal  party  left  Calcutta.  They  travelled  by  railway  to 
Benares,  which  they  reached  on  the  evening  of  the  6th. 
The  first  phenomenon  which  struck  them,  as  Lord  Elgin 
afterwards  wrote,  was  the  '  very  sensible  change  of 
'  climate  which  began  to  make  itself  felt  at  some  250 

*  miles  fi"om  Calcutta.' 

The  general  character  (he  said)  of  the  country  continued  to 
be  as  level  as  ever;  but  the  air  became  more  bracing,  the 
surface  of  the  soil  more  arid,  and  the  vegetation  less  rank. 
Hot  mid-days,  and  cold  nights  and  mornings,  are  substituted 
for  the  moist  and  comparatively  uniform  temperature  of  Lower 
Bengal,  to  a  greater  and  greater  degree  with  every  step  that 
the  traveller  takes  towards  the  north. 

The  railway,  with  the  exception  of  a  portion  near  Calcutta, 
is  a  single  line ;  but  it  is  perfectly  constructed,  and  with  no 
great  regard  to  cost.  The  vagaries  of  the  water-floods,  which, 
during  the  rainy  season,  sometimes  pour  down  in  unmanage- 
able force  from  the  Ganges,  and  sometimes  rush  towards  it 
from  the  opposite  side  of  the  railway  line,  have  constituted  the 
great  engineering  difficulty  of  the  work.  Some  very  remark- 
able bridges  and  other  constructions  of  this  class,  to  permit  the 
free  passage  of  water  under  the  line,  have  been  built.  The 
most  critical  point  has  been  to  obtain  a  secure  foundation  in 
the  sandy  soil  for  these  erections ;  and,  strange  to^  say,  the 
principle  adopted  by  our  engineers,  under  the  name  of.  the 

*  Sunken  Well '  system,  is  the  same  as  that  followed  by  the 
great  architects  who  built  the  famous  '  Taj '  of  Agra.     It  will, 

^8  to  be  hoped,  prove  successful ;  and  these  important  works 


DURBAR  AT  BENARES.  429 

remain  an  enduring  monument  of  the  benefits  conferred 

India  during  the  present  reign.     Nothing  that  has  been 

e  by  the  British  in  India  has  affected  the  native  mind  so 

VerfuUj,  and  produced  so  favourable  an  impression^  as  these 

way  undertakings. 

'On  the  day  after  his  arrival  at  Benares  he  held  a  Dur-  Durbar. 

r — ^his  first  truly  Oriental  Durbar — ^which,  though 

>t  comprising  any  independent  chiefs,  was  attended 

r  several  native  gentlemen  of  high  consideration  and 

rge  possessions.     In  addressing  them,  he   took   the 

:>  port  unity  of  dwelling  upon  the  improvement  which 

3cent  measures  had  efi^ected  in  their  position,  and  the 

onsequent  increase  of  their  responsibilities : 

It  is  the  desire  (he  said)  of  Her  Majesty  the  Queen  that  the 
lative  gentlemen  of  India  should  be  represented  in  the  Council 
>f  the  Governor-General,  in  order  that  when  laws  are  made  for 
[ndia  their  opinions,  and  wishes,  and  feelings  may  receive 
flue  consideration.  It  is  my  intention  and  duty  to  do  every- 
thing in  my  power  to  give  effect  to  Her  Majesty's  gracious 
intention  in  this  respect.  Among  the  rajahs  and  gentlemen 
here  to-day  are  many  who  have  large  estates  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood and  along  the  line  of  railway  which  we  travelled 
over  yesterday.  The  value  of  those  estates  will  be  greatly 
enhanced  by  the  completion  of  the  important  work  of  which 
we  are  about  to-day  to  celebrate  the  opening.  I  need  hardly 
remind  them  that  they  will  owe  this  advantage  to  the  intro- 
duction of  British  engineering  skill  and  British  capital  into 
this  country.  I  trust  that  the  consideration  of  this  fact,  and 
of  similar  facts  which  are  of  daily  occurrence,  will  tend  to  pro- 
duce a  kindly  feeling  between  the  races,  by  showing  them  to 
what  an  extent  they  may  be  mutually  useful  to  each  other. 
Meanwhile,  I  hope  that  the  gentlemen  whom  I  am  addressing 
will  turn  these  advantages  to  account  by  doing  their  utmost 
to  improve  their  properties,  and  to  promote  the  happiness  and 
welfare  of  their  ryots  and  dependents.' 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  he  was  present  at  a  Railway 
dinner  given  in  celebration  of  the  opening  of  the  railway  ^"*"**''- 
fi-om  Jumalpore  to  Benares,     In  the  course  of  a  speech 


430  INDIA.  Ch.  XVL 

which  he  made  on  that  occasion,  after  referring  to  the 
fact  that  both  his  predecessors  had  taken  part  in  similar 
celebrations,  he  said : — 

In  looking  over  the  published  report  of  these  proceedings  a 
few  days  ago^  my  attention  was  arrested  by  an  incident  which 
brought  forcibly  home  to  my  mind  one  painful  circumstance  in 
which  my  position  here  to-day  contrasts  sadly  with  that  which 
Lord  Canning  then  occupied.  At  a  stage  in  the  proceedings  of 
the  evening,  corresponding  to  that   at  which  we  have  now 
arrived,  he  departed  from  the  routine  prescribed  by  the  pro- 
gramme, and  invited  the  company  to  join  him  in  drinking  the 
heahh  of  his  noble  predecessor,  the  Marquis   of  Dalhousie, 
who  had,  as  he  justly  observed,  nursed  the  East  Indian  Rail- 
way in  its  infancy,  and  guided  it  through  its  first  difBcuIties. 
It  is  not  in  my  power  to  make  any  similar  proposal  to  you 
now.    A  mysterious  dispensation  of  Providence  has  removed 
from  this  world's  stage,  where  they  seemed  still  destined  to 
play   so   noble   and  useful  a  part,  both  the   proposer  of  this 
toast,   and   its  object.     The   names   of  both   are   written   in 
brilliant  characters  on  some  of  the  most  eventful  pages  of  the 
history  of  India,  and  both  were  removed  at  a  time  when  ex- 
pectation as  to  the  services  which  they  might  still  render  to 
India  was  at  its  height.     I  shall  not  now  dwell  on  the  great 
national  loss   which  we  have  all  sustained  in   this   dispensa- 
tion ;  but,  perhaps,  I  may  be  permitted  to   say  that  to    me 
the  loss  is  not  only  a  public  one,  but  a  private  and  personal 
calamity  likewise.     Both  of  these  distinguished  men  were  my 
contemporaries,  both,  I   believe   I  may  without  presumption 
say,  my  intimate  friends.     It  is   a  singular  coincidence  that 
three  successive  Governors-General  of  India  should  have  stood 
towards  each  other  in  this  relationship  of  age  and  intimacy. 
One  consequence  is,  that  the  burden  of  governing  India  has 
devolved  upon  us  respectively  at  different  periods  of  our  lives. 
Lord  Dalhousie  when  named  to  the  Government  of  India  was, 
I  believe,  the  youngest  man  who  had  ever  been  appointed  to 
a   situation    of    such    high   responsibility   and   trust;    Lord 
Canning  was  in  the  prime  of  life  ;  and  I,  if  I  am  not  already 
on  the  decline,  am  at  least  nearer  to  the  verge  of  it  than 
either  of  my  contemporaries  who  have  preceded  me.     Indeed, 
when  I  was  leaving  England  for  India,  Lord  EUenborough, 


1863.  INDLVN  RAILWAYS.  431 

who  18  now,  alas  I  the  only  surviving  ex-Govemor-General 
of  India,  said  to  me,  *  You  are  not  a  very  old  man,  but  depend 
'  upon  it,  you  will  find  yourself  by  far  the  oldest  man  in 
•  India.' 

Passing  from  these  personal  topics,  after  noticing  the 
good  fortune  which  had  placed  the  formation  of  the  rail- 
way system  of  India  in  the  hands  of  a  man  who  had  in 
a  special  manner  made  that  subject  his  own,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  speak  of  the  future  of  Indian  Railways, 
insisting  especially  on  a  point  about  which  he  felt  very 
strongly,  the  necessity  of  their  ceasing  to  depend  on  a 
Government  guarantee,  and  adding  some  practical  hints 
for  their  development  and  extension : 

But,  Gentlemen,  however  interesting  it  may  be  to  refer  to  Future  of 
the  past  and  to  dwell  upon  the  present,  the  most  important  j^iJ^° 
questions  which  we  have  to  answer  relate  to  the  future,  and 
the  most  important  of  all  in  my  opinion  is  this — ^to  what 
agency  are  we  henceforward  to  look  if  we  would  desire  to 
extend  as  widely  as  possible,  to  all  parts  of  India,  the  benefit 
of  this  potent  instrument  of  modem  civilisation  ?  I  have  no 
hesitation  in  affirming  at  once,  in  answer  to  this  question,  that 
we  must  not  look  to  an  indefinite  extension  of  a  system  of 
Government  guarantees  for  the  accomplishment  of  this  object. 
In  the  first  place,  it  would  be  wholly  unjustifiable  for  any 
one  object,  however  important,  to  place  such  a  strain  upon 
our  finances  as  this  policy  would  involve.  In  the  second 
place,  however  justifiable  and  necessary  a  system  of  Govern- 
ment guarantees  may  be  in  certain  circumstances,  it  is  essen- 
tially an  expensive  one,  because  by  securing  to  shareholders 
a  minimum  rate  of  interest  on  their  capital  it  weakens  in  them 
the  motives  to  economy,  and  because  by  dividing  the  respon- 
sibility for  expenditure  between  Government  and  Railway 
Officials,  it  diminishes  in  the  latter  the  sense  of  responsibility. 
Moreover,  the  indefinite  extension  of  a  system  of  Govern- 
ment guarantees  is  wholly  incompatible  with  the  endeavour 
to  bring  private  enterprise  largely  into  play  for  the  execution 
of  these  works ;  while  there  is  an  unlimited  call  for  capital 
for  works  enjoying  the  protection  of  a  Government  guarantee, 
it  is  not  to  be  expected  that  capital  will  be  forthcoming  to  any 


432  INDIA.  Chc  X\X 

extent  for  similar  works  which  have  not  that  protection.      For 
the  accomplishment,  therefore,  of  the  great  object  to  which  I 
am  referring,  we  must  henceforward,  I  apprehend,  look   to 
private  enterprise ;  not  perhaps  to  private  enterprise  whollj 
unaided  by  the  State,  but  at  anj  rate,  to  private  enterprise 
not  protected  by  Government  guarantee.     But  if  so,  what  are 
the  conditions  which  will  entitle  railway  enterprises    of   this 
class  to  the  countenance  and  encouragement  of  the  Grorem- 
ment?     I  lay  it  down  as  a  fundamental  principle,   that    we 
ought  to  look  to  the  eventual  establishment  of  one  uniform 
railway  gauge  for  the  whole  of  India.     The  experience   of 
England  is  conclusive  as  to  the  inconvenience  of  a  double  or 
conflicting  railway  gauge.     After  the  expenditure  of  an  untold 
amount  of  money  in  Parliamentary  conflicts,  the  broad  gauge 
of  England  has  been  compelled  to  take  the  narrow  gauge  on 
its  back,  and  the  whole  capital  expended  upon  the  former  may 
be  said  to  have  been  thrown  away.     But  what  does  this  resolu- 
tion in  favour  of  an  uniform  gauge  imply  ?     It  will,  I  think, 
be  admitted  that  the  main  object  of  an  uniform  railway  gauge 
is  to  enable  the  several  railway  lines  to  exchange  their  plant  in 
order  to  avoid  transhipment  of  freight.     But  if  the  plant  of 
the  subsidiary  line  is  to  be  transported  along  the  main  lines,  it 
must  be  sufficiently  well  finished  to  be  fitted  to  travel  in  safety 
at  high  speed ;  and  if  the  plant  of  the  main  lines  is  to  travel 
along  the  subsidiary  lines,  the  latter  must  have  rails  suflUciently 
heavy,  and  works  of  construction  sufficiently  substantial,  to 
support  it.     Moreover,  where  streams  or  rivers  are  encoun- 
tered they  must  be  bridged.     In  short,  the  subsidiary  lines 
must  be  built  in  a  manner  which  would  make  them  nearly  as 
expensive  as  the  main  lines ;  in  other  words,  railways  must 
not  be  introduced  into  any  part  of  India  where^  we  cannot 
afford  to  spend  from  10,000/.  to  15,000/.  a  mile  upon  them.     I 
am  not  prepared  to  accept  this  conclusion.    I  have  been  a  good 
deal  in  America,  and  I  know  that  our  practical  cousins  there 
do  not  refuse  to  avail  themselves  of  advantages  within  their 
reach,  by  grasping  at  those  which  are  beyond  it.     In  1854, 1 
travelled  by  railway  from  New  York  to  Washington.     We 
had  several  ferries  to  cross  on  the  way,  but  we  found  that  the 
railway  with  the  ferries  was  much  better  than  no  Railway  at 
all.     In  short,  in  America  where  they  cannot  get  a  pucka 
railway,  they  take  a  kutcha  one  instead.     This,  I  think,  is 


h^OS.  CAWNPOBE.  433 

what  we  mubt  do  in  India.  Ther^  are  many  districts  where 
railways  costing  3^000/.  or  4,000/.  a  mile  might  be  introduced 
with  advantage,  although  they  would  not  justify  an  expendi- 
ture of  from  10,000/.  to  15,000/.  a  mile.  We  have  only  to  be 
careful  that  kutcha  lines  are  not  mistaken  for  pucka  ones — 
that  they  are  not  allowed  to  set  up  a  rival  system  as  against 
the  main  lines,  or  to  occupy  ground  which  should  be  appro- 
priated by  the  latter. 

As  the  railway  from  Benares  to  Allahabad  was  not  Carriage 
yet  complete,  Lord  Elgin  and  his  suite  performed  this  AUahaVad. 
part  of  the  journey  by  carriage  d&k.     They  travelled 
by  night;  *each  individual  of  the  party  occupying  his 
^  own  separate  carriage,  and  being  conveyed  along  at  a 

*  hand  gallop  by  a  succession  of  single  ponies,  relayed 

*  at  stages  of  four  to  five  miles  in  length.*  In  the  letter 
which  describes  this,  he  adds  the  characteristic  re- 
mark: 

These  ponies  do  not  lead  very  happy  lives,  and,  here  as 
elsewhere,  a  diminution  in  the  sufferings  of  the  brute  creation 
will  be  one  of  the  blessings  attending  the  introduction  of  a 
railway  system. 

At  Allahabad  he  inspected,  among  other  things,  the 
works  which  were  in  progress  for  making  a  railway 
bridge  across  the  Jumna. 

This  is  (he  wrote)  in  some  respects  the  most  interesting  of 
that  class  of  engineering  operations  which  has  been  already 
mentioned:  because  whereas  in  other  cases  clay  has  been 
found  beneath  the  sand,  and  the  foundation  wells  have  been 
sunk  into  it,  no  bottom  has  been  discovered  to  the  sand  which 
constitutes  the  bed  of  the  Jumna ;  and  the  wells  in  question 
are  required  to  stand  firm  in  this  most  unstable  of  all  founda- 
tions. 

From  Allahabad  Lord  Elgin  proceeded  by  railway  to  Cawnpow. 
Cawnpore ;  where,  on  the  1 1th  of  February,  he  took  part 
in  the  impressive  ceremony  of  the  consecration  of  the 
Well,  and  other  spots  in  its  \'icinity,  containing  the 

F  r 


434 


INDIA. 


Ch.  x^T 


remains  of  the  victims  of  the  dreadful  massacres  which 
occurred  at  that  place  in  1857.^ 

He  had  intended  from  this  point  to  visit  Lucknow: 
but  finding  that  time  would  allow  of  his  doing  this 
only  in  a  very  hasty  manner,  which  he  thought  objec- 
tionable, he  invited  some  of  the  principal  Talookdar> 
to  come  over  to  see  him  ;  which  they  accordingly  did, 
under  the  guidance  of  Mr.  Wingfield,  the  Chief  Com- 
missioner of  Oude. 
Agra.  From  Cawnpore  Lord  Elgin  journeyed,  again  by  rail, 

to  Agra,  the  *  key  of  Hindostan.'  The  following  de- 
scription of  his  arrival  there  is  borrowed  from  his 
private  secretary,  Mr,  Thurlow :' — 

*  Anived  at  the  railway  station.  Lord  Elgin  met  with  a 

*  reception  worthy  of  the  East.  The  road,  thickly  lined  with 
'  native  troops,  crossed  the  Jumna  by  a  bridge  of  boats,  and 

*  wound  along  the  river's  bank  beneath  those  lofty  sandstone 
'  walls ;  then,  mounting  a  steep  hill  and  leaving  the  main  entry 

*  into  Agra  Fort  upon  the  right,  the  Taj  remaining  to  the  left, 
'  it  led,  through  miles  of  garden  ground,  thickly  studded  with 
'  suburban  villas,  to  the  Viceroy's  camp,   that  occupied  the 

*  centre  of  an  extensive  plain,  where  tents  were  pitched  for  the 


'  One  of  the  Indian  journals  of 
the  day  deacribed  the  ceremonv  aa 
foUowa  : — ^  On  Wednesday  after- 
noon, the  few  Europeans  in  the 
station  coUected  at  five  o'clock  in 
the  Memorial  Garden  and  Monu- 
ment. None,  who  had  seen  the 
spot  after  the  subsidence  of  the 
Mutiny  could  recoffnise  in  the  well- 
planned  and  well-kept  garden,  with 
Its  two  graveyards,  and  the  beautiful 
central  Monument  on  its  mssy 
mound,  the  site  of  the  horrid 
slauffhter-house  which  then  stood  in 
blood-stained  ruin  about  the  weU, 
choked  with  the  victimsof  the  foulest 
treachery  the  world  has  ever  seen. 
.  .  .  The  ceremonial  was  as  simple 
as  it  well  could  be,  and  few  cere- 
monies could  be  more  imnressive. 
.  .  .  The  Viceroy  advancea  to  the 
top  of  the  steps  of  the  Memorial, 
Vkdf  through  the  Commissioners, 
^fmollj  requested  the  Bishop  to 


'  consecrate  that  spot,  and  the  »d- 

*  jacent  bimal-placea.  The  Bishop, 
'  taking  his  place,  then  headed  a 
'  procession  d  the  clergy  and   the 

*  people  present,  and  proceeded  round 

*  the  two  burial-places  and  the  in- 
'  terior  of  the  Memorial  itself^  with 
'  music  playing  and  soldiers  chanting 
<  the  40th,  ]  15th,  ld9th,  and  23rd 
'  Psalms.  After  this,  his  chaplain 
'  read  the  form  of  consecration^  micb 
'  was  signed  by  the  Bishop ;  and, 
'  the  90iQ  Psalm  having  been  sung, 
'  he  shortly  addressed  thoee  present 
'  in  most  feeling,  manly,  and  impres- 
^  sive  terms  befitting  the  occasion ; 
'  and  the  ceremonial  concluded  with 
'  prayers  read  by  the  chaplain  of  the 
^  station,  closing  with  the  benedictioD 

*  by  the  Bishop.'  The  Bishop  whs 
the  lamented  ueorge  Cotton.  See 
his  Life,  p.  286. 

'  TVie  Conwany  and  the  Crotcn. 
By  the  Hon.  T.  J.  HovcU-Thurlow. 


18a3.  DURB.VR  AT  AGRA.  435 

accommodation  of  the  Government  of  India^  and  an  escort  of 
ten  thousand  men.  .  Beyond  these  were  ranked^  according  to 
priority  of  arrival,  the  far-spreading  noisy  camps  of  those 
rajas  the  number  of  whose  followers  was  within  some  bounds ; 
and  beyond  them  again  stretched  miles  and  miles  of  tents 
containing  thousands  upon  thousands  of  ill-conditioned-look- 
ing men  from  Central  India,  and  the  wildest  part  of  Raj- 
pootana,  the  followers  of  such  maharajas  as  Jeypoor,  who 
marched  to  meet  the  Viceroy  with  an  army  of  thirty  thousand 
strong,  found  in  horse  and  foot  and  guns,  ready  for  the  field.' 

The  six  days  spent  at  Agra  Lord  Elgin  was  'dis- 

*  ppsed  to  rank  among  the  most  interesting  of  his  life.' 

Perhaps  (he  wrote)  months  of  the  monotony  of  a  Calcutta 
existence  may  render  the  mind  more  sensitive  to  novelty  and 
beauty ;  at  any  rate,  the  impressions  experienced  on  visiting 
Agra  at  this  time  have  been  singularly  vivid  and  keen.  The 
surpassing  beauty  of  the  buildings,  among  which  the  Taj 
stands  pre-eminent ;  the  vast  concourse  of  chiefs  and  retainers, 
combining  so  many  of  the  attributes  of  feudal  and  chivalrous 
times  with  the  picturesqueness  in  attire  and  gorgeousness 
in  colouring,  which  only  the  East  can  supply;  produced  an 
effect  of  fairyland,  of  which  it  was  difficult  to  divest  oneself 
in  order  to  come  down  to  the  sterner  realities  of  the  present. 
These  realities  consisted  mainly  in  receiving  the  chiefs  at 
private  and  public  Durbars,  exchanging  presents  and  civilities 
with  them,  and  returning  their  visits.  The  great  Durbar  was 
attended  by  a  larger  number  of  chiefs  than  ever  before 
assembled  on  a  similar  occasion.' 

The  Grand  Durbar,  or  *  Royal  Court/  was  held  on  Onnd 
the  morning  of  the  17th  of  February :  a  grander  gather-  " 
ing,  it  was  said,  than  even  the  great  one  held  by  Lord 
Canning  in  1859.  The  scene  was  one  of  remarkable 
splendour — a  splendour  alien  to  the  simple  and  un- 
ostentatious tastes  and  habits  of  the  chief  actor  in  it, 
but  which  he  knew  how  to  use  with  effect  when  taking 
his  place  as  Suzerain  in  an  Assembly  of  Princes.  To 
aid  us  in  conceiving  it,  we  must  have  recourse  to  the 
picture  sketched  at  the  time  in  one  of  the  Indian 
Newspapers. 

r  F  2 


i 


43G  INDIA.  ^  Ch.  xvl 

'  It  is  difficult  to  describe — without  seeing  it  it  is  impoBsible 
to  conceive^ — a  scene  like  that  presented  at  a  grand  Durbar  of 
this  kind.  One  may  imagine  any  amount  of  display  of  jewels, 
gold  and  glitter,  gorgeous  dresses,  splendid  uniforms,  and 
handsome  faces.  You  may  see  far  more  beautiful  sights  in 
the  shape  of  court  grandeur  at  our  European  palaces,  at 
Versailles  and  St  James's ;  but  nothing  that  i^ill  give  you 
an  idea  of  an  Indian  Durbar.  The  exhibition  of  costly  jewek, 
the  display  of  wealth  in  priceless  ornaments  and  splendid 
dresses,  the  strange  mixture  of  wealth  and  poverty,  the 
means  of  accomplishing  magnificence  and  splendour  enjoyed 
to  such  profusion,  yet  rendered  almost  void  to  this  end  from 
want  of  taste  1  "  Barbaric  wealth,"  indeed,  you  behold ; 
barbaric  from  its  extent  and  profusion,  and  barbaric  in  the 
hideous  use  made  of  it.  The  host  of  chiefs,  who  sat  on  the 
right  side  of  the  huge  Durbar  tent,  close  packed  in  a  semi- 
circle, and  who  rose  as  one  man  when  the  band  outside  began 
"  God  save  the  Queen,"  and  the  artillery  thundered  forth  the 
royal  salute,  were  a  blaze  of  jewels.  From  underneath  head- 
dresses of  every  conceivable  form  and  structure — the  golden 
crown  studded  with  rubies  and  emeralds,  the  queer  butterfly- 
spreading  Mahratta  cap,  the  close-fitting  Rajpoot  turban, 
the  common  pagree  of  the  Mohammedan  Chief,  ordinary  in 
shape  but  made  of  the  richest  material — from  under  each  and 
all  there  are  peering  dark  faces,  and  bright  glancing  eyes, 
eager  to  catch  the  first  view  of  the  great  Lord  Paramount 
of  Hindostan.  What  a  multitude  of  different  expressions 
one  notices  while  scanning  that  strange  group  of  princes  of 
royal  descent,  whose  ancestors  held  the  very  thrones  they  now 
hold  far  back  beyond  the  range  of  history.  The  scheming 
politician,  the  low  debauchee,  the  debased  sensualist,  the 
chivalrous  soldier,  the  daring  ambitious  descendant  of  a  line 
of  royal  robbers,  the  crafty  intriguer,  the  religious  enthusiast, 
the  fanatic  and  the  sceptic  side  by  side,  you  can  trace  in  each 
swarthy  face  the  character  written  on  its  features  by  the 
working  of  the  brain  within.' 

'  In  the  midst  of  such  a  scene,  seated  on  a  massive 

*  gold  throne,  with  crimson  velvet  cushion,  two  Uons  of 

*  the  same  precious  metal  forming  the  arms  ;  the  whole 
'  standing  on  a  square  platform  raised  about  ten  inches 


1803.  ADDRESS.  437 

*  from  the  ground,  covered  with  a  carpet  of  gold,'  Lord 
Elgin  addressed  his  princely  audience ;  his  voice  *  clear 
^  and  distinct,  so  that  he  could  be  heard  easily  at  the 
'  further  comer  of  the  tent ;  every  word  seeming  to  be 

*  weighed  and  uttered  as  if  he  meant  what  he  said: ' 

Princes  and  Chiefs. — In  inviting  you  to  meet  me  here,  it  Vie*- 
waB  my  wish  in  the  first  place  to  become  acquainted  with  you  ^^di 
personally,  and  also  to  convey  to  you,  in  obedience  to  the 
gracious  command  which  I  received  from  Her  Majesty  the 
Queen,  upon  my  departure  from  England,  the  assurance  of 
the  deep  interest  which  Her  Majesty  takes  in  the  welfare  of  the 
Chiefs  of  India.  I  have  now  to  thank  you  for  the  alacrity 
with  which,  in  compliance  with  my  request,  you  have,  many 
of  you  from  considerable  distances,  assembled  at  this  place. 

Having  received,  during  the  course  of  the  last  few  days, 
many  of  the  principal  personages  among  you  in  private 
Durbar,  where  I  have  had  the  opportunity  of  communicating 
my  views  on  matters  of  interest  and  importance,  I  need  not 
detain  you  on  this  occasion  by  many  words. 

Before  taking  leave  of  you,  however,  I  desire  to  address  to 
you  collectively  a  few  general  remarks  upon  the  present  state 
of  affairs  in  India,  and  upon  the  duties  which  that  state  of 
affairs  imposes  upon  us  all. 

Peace,  I  need  hardly  remind  you  of  the  fact,  now  happily 
prevails  throughout  the  whole  extent  of  this  vast  empire ; 
domestic  treason  has  been  crushed ;  and  foreign  enemies  have 
been  taught  to  respect  the  power  of  the  arms  of  England. 

The  British  Government  is  desirous  to  take  advantage  of 
this  favourable  opportunity,  not  to  extend  the  bounds  of  its 
dominions,  but  to  develope  the  resources  and  draw  forth  the 
natural  wealth  of  India,  and  thus  to  promote  the  well-being 
and  happiness  both  of  rulers  and  of  the  people. 

With  this  view  many  measures  of  improvement  and  progress 
have  already  been  introduced,  and  among  them,  I  may  name, 
as  most  conspicuous,  the  railway  and  electric  telegraph,  those 
great  discoveries  of  this  age  which  have  so  largely  increased 
the  wealth  and  power  of  the  mightiest  nations  of  the  West. 

By  diffusing  education  among  your  vassals  and  dependents, 
establishing  schools,  promoting  the  construction  of  good  roads, 
and  8uppro8aiug«  with  the  whole  weight  of  your  authority  and 


438  INDIA.  Ch.  XVI. 

influence,  barbarous  usages  and  crimes,  such  as  infanticide, 
suttee,  thuggee,  and  dacoitee,  jou  may.  Princes  and  Chiefs, 
effectually  second  these  endeavours  of  the  British  GoTem- 
ment,  and  secure  for  yourselves  and  your  people  a  full  share 
of  the  benefits  which  the  measures  to  which  I  have  alluded 
are  calculated  to  confer  upon  you.  I  have  obserTed  with 
satisfaction  the  steps  which  many  of  you  have  already  taken 
in  this  direction,  and  more  especially  the  enlightened  policy 
which  has  induced  some  of  you  to  remove  transit  and  other 
duties  which  obstructed  the  free  course  of  commerce  through 
your  States. 

As  representing  the  Paramount  power,  it  is  my  duty  to 
keep  the  peace  in  India.  For  this  purpose  Her  Majesty  the 
Queen  has  placed  at  my  disposal  a  large  and  gallant  army, 
which,  if  the  necessity  should  arise,  I  shall  not  hesitate  to 
employ  for  the  repression  of  disorder  and  the  punishment  of 
any  who  may  be  rash  enough  to  disturb  the  general  tran- 
quillity. But  it  is  also  my  duty  to  extend  the  hand  of 
encouragement  and  friendship  to  all  who  labour  for  the  good 
of  India,  and  to  assure  you  that  the  chiefs  who  make  their 
own  dependents  contented  and  prosperous,  establish  thereby 
the  strongest  claim  on  the  favour  and  protection  of  the  British 
Government. 

I  bid  you  now.  Princes  and  Chiefs,  farewell  for  a  time,  with 
the  expression  of  my  earnest  hope  that,  on  your  return  to 
your  homes,  health  and  happiness  may  attend  you. 

Muttra.  Proceeding  northwiEirds  from  Agra,  up  the  valley  of 

the  Jumna,  they  arrived,  after  three  days'  march,  at 
Muttra. 

The  mornings  (he  wrote)  are  cool,  almost  cold ;  and  were  it 
not  for  clouds  of  dust,  the  marching  would  be  pleasant,  although 
the  country  traversed  is  flat,  and  not  very  interesting.  .  .  . 
Muttra  itself  is  interesting  from  the  sanctity  which  the  Hindoos 
attach  to  it.  Special  blessings  are  earned  by  those  who  bathe 
in  the  river  here  ;  and  the  town  is  consequently  largely 
resorted  to  by  pilgrims.  A  great  many  fairs  are  held  at  Muttra 
during  the  year,  which  enables  the  Hindoos  who  resort  thither 
to  combine  devotion  and  business.  To  ride  through  the  narrow 
streets  of  the  sacred  town  on  an  elephant,  and  find  oneself  on 

'evel  either  with  the  upper  stories  of  the  houses  which  are 


1803.  DELHI— HURDWAR.  439 

frequently  decorated  with  elaborately  carved  oriel  windows,  or 
with  the  roofs  on  which  holy  monkeys  in  great  numbers  are 
disporting  themselves,  is  a  very  curious  spectacle. 

On  the  23rd  of  February  the  camp  left  Muttra ;  on  Doihi. 
the  3rd  of  March  it  was  pitched  under  the  walls  of 
Delhi — *  unquestionably  the  place  of  greatest  interest ' 
visited  in  this  part  of  the  tour. 

The  approach  to  it  through  ten  miles  of  a  desolate-looking 
campagna,  thickly  strewn  with  funereal  monuments  reared  in 
honour  of  the  sovereigns  and  mighty  men  of  former  dynasties, 
reminded  me  of  Rome.  The  city  itself  bears  traces  of  more 
recent  calamities.  The  Palace  has  been  a  good  deal  maltreated, 
and  the  Jumma  Musjid  (Great  Mosque),  a  magnificent  build- 
ing, has  only  just  been  restored  to  the  worshippers.  Beyond 
the  town,  and  over  the  place  where  the  camp  was  pitched,  lay 
the  heights  which  were  occupied  by  the  British  troops,  and 
signalised  by  so  many  deeds  of  valour,  during  the  eventful 
struggles  of  1857. 

After  resting  for  two  days  at  Delhi,  he  pursued  his  Hoidwar. 
course  north- eastward,  through  Meerut  to  Hurdwar,  on 
the  Ganges — 

a  sacred  place,  near  the  point  at  which  the  great  Ganges 
Canal  leaves  the  river ;  resorted  to  by  pilgrims,  in  vast  crowds, 
from  the  Punj&b,  Rajpootana,  and  other  extensive  districts  in 
India.  The  Sikhs,  who  are  a  reformed  Hindoo  sect,  hold 
Hurdwar  in  especial  reverence.  To  this  spot  was  conveyed, 
in  order  that  it  might  here  be  cast  into  the  sacred  water  of  the 
Ganges,  what  remained,  after  its  cremation,  of  the  body  of  the 
great  Sikh  Chief,  the  Maharaja  of  Puttialla,  whom  Lord 
Canning  placed  in  the  Council  of  the  Governor-General. 

In  another  letter,  written  from  the  immediate  neigh- 
bourhood of  this  place,  he  took  a  more  practical  and 
utilitarian  view  of  its  capabilities  and  prospects : 

Hurdwar,  where  I  have  been  spending  two  days,  is  a  most 
interesting  place.  It  is  curious  to  see  the  old  Faith,  washing 
itself  in  the  sacred  waters  of  the  Ganges,  and  the  new  Faith, 
symbolised  in  the  magnificent  works  of  the  Ganges  Canal. 
One   regrets  that  these  canals   should  be  so  little  used  for 


i 


440  INDIA.  Ch.  X\T 

navigation  purposes,  or  as  sources  of  mechanical  power ;  but 
there  is  some  difficulty  in  combining  navigation  with  inig^ 
tion  works.  Moreover,  in  passing  through  districts  which  are 
dependent  on  irrigation,  one  cannot  help  being  deeply  im- 
pressed with  a  sense  of  the  danger  which  will  ensue  if  canals 
are  entrusted  to  private  companies,  unless  they  are  bound  by 
the  most  stringent  conditions  to  keep  their  works  in  g^xxl 
order,  and  to  supply  water  at  reasonable  rates.  In  the  absence 
of  such  precautions,  the  population  of  whole  districts  might 
be,  especially  in  famine  years,  entirely  at  the  mercy  of  those 
companies. 

Umbaik.  Ytoxh  this  point  the  vast  camp  took  a  north-westerly 
direction  towards  the  military  station  of  Umballa,  which 
was  reached  on  the  27th  of  March.  On  the  following 
day  Lord  Elgin  received  in  private  Durbar  a  large 
number  of  influential  Sikh  chiefs,  at  the  head  of  whom 
was  the  young  Maharaja  of  the  neighbouring  state  of 
Puttialla,  the  son  and  heir  of  the  prince  above  men- 
tioned. In  addressing  these  chiefs,  he  showed  his  usual 
tact  in  adapting  his  words  to  the  character  and  dis- 
position of  his  hearers  : — 

The  Sikhs  (he  afterwards  wrote)  are  a  warlike  race,  and  the 
knowledge  of  this  fact  gave  a  coloar  to  the  advice  tendered  to 
them.  It  was  my  wish  to  recognise  with  all  due  honour  their 
martial  qualities,  while  seeking  to  impart  a  more  pacific 
direction  to  their  energies.  The  capture  of  half  the  capital^ 
of  Europe  would  not  have  been,  in  the  eyes  of  the  Sikh,  so 
great  an  event,  or  so  signal  a  proof  of  British  power,  as  the 
capture  of  Pekin.  They  are  proud  of  the  thought  that  some 
of  their  race  took  a  part  in  it ;  and  more  inclined  than  ever — 
which  is  an  important  matter — to  follow  the  British  standard 
into  foreign  lands,  if  they  should  be  invited  to  do  so. 

He  was  careftil  also  to  make  as  much  as  he  could  of 
some  feeble  indications  of  a  disposition  to  educate  their 
sons,  and  even  their  daughters,  which  had  been 
exhibited  by  the  Sirdars  in  some  parts  of  the  Punj&b ; 
thinking  that  *  if  an  impulse  in  this  direction  could  be 
*  imparted  to  the  ruling  classes  among  the  natives,  great 
results  might  be  anticipated.' 


1803.  DURBAR  AT  UMBALLA.  441 

The  text  of  this  address — the  last  address  which  he 
delivered — is  as  follows  : — 

Colonel  Durand, — I  beg  that  you  will  express  to  the  native  AMresa  to 
gentlemen  who  are  assembled  here  my  regret  that  I  am  un-  ^  ?|^ 
able  to  address  them  in  their  own  language,  and  inform  them 
that  I  am  charged  by  Her  Majesty  the  Queen  to  convey  to 
them  the  assurance  of  Her  Majesty's  high  appreciation  of  the 
loyalty  and  devotion  to  Her  Majesty's  person  and  Govern- 
ment which  has  been  exhibited  on  various  occasions  by  the 
Sikh  rulers  and  people.  Not  many  days  ago  it  was  my 
pleasing  duty  to  determine  that  the  medal  granted  to  Her 
Majesty's  troops  who  were  engaged  at  Delhi  in  1857,  should 
be  conferred  on  the  followers  of  the  Sikh  chiefs  who  took 
part  in  the  noble  achievements  of  that  period;  and  I  can 
personally  bear  testimony  to  the  good  services  of  the  officers 
and  men  of  the  Sikh  regiments  who,  in  1860,  co-operated 
with  the  British  troops  in  placing  the  British  flag  on  the 
walls  of  Pekin,  the  capital  of  the  vast  empire  of  China. 

But,  in  order  to  be  truly  great,  it  is  necessary  that  nations 
should  excel  in  the  arts  of  peace  as  well  as  in  those  of  war. 

Look  to  the  history  of  the  Briti<9h  nation  for  an  example. 
jVfost  assuredly  the  British  people  are  powerful  in  war,  but 
their  might  and  renown  are  in  a  great  measure  due  to  their 
proficiency  in  the  works  which  make  a  time  of  peace  fruitful 
and  glorious. 

By  their  skill  in  agriculture,  they  have  converted  their 
country  into  a  garden  ;  by  their  genius  as  traders,  they  have 
attracted  to  it  a  large  share  of  the  wealth  of  other  lands. 

Let  us  take  advantage  of  this  season  of  tranquillity  to 
confer  similar  benefits  on  the  Punj&b. 

The  waters  which  fall  on  your  mountain  heights  and  unite 
at  their  base  to  form  mighty  rivers,  are  a  treasure  which,  duly 
distributed,  will  fertilise  your  plains  and  largely  augment 
their  productive  powers.  With  electric  telegraphs  to  facilitate 
communication,  and  railways  and  canals  to  render  access  to 
the  seaports  easy  and  expeditious,  we  shall  be  able  to  convey 
the  surplus  produce  of  this  great  country  to  others  where  it 
is  required,  and  to  receive  from  them  their  riches  in  return. 

I  rejoice  to  learn  that  some  of  the  chiefs  in  this  part  of 
India  are  taking  an  interest  in  these  matters,  which  are  of 


4A^  xsi^u.  ciL  xv: 


BmA  lii&l  iicpartsDfie  to  l3»e  wcS&Be  of  lUi  gmntijr  «iid  the 

}c\iF:»eriTT  if  ti*f  j^'-v-ju^  It  a&m^  me,  iwcoyer,  sincere 
rrii-f .ajd.n:  *:•  fiid  ilsi.  iniia-  ibc  able  giadbiice  of  tie 
Liti.ituiitz.t-Gi'Xtinivsr,  iLe  Sii.  Sbmrfi  in  certain  districts  .:* 
iLe  Pui-jL:  *re  p^^iix  Tirxf  vf  xLtir  af*prtX3mtSon  of  the  Talue 
<c  e-inctttiiai  It  TntkTrfg  joiDTiaaB  for  tke  edncatioa  of  their 

I>e  &sF:irea  iL&i  is  sc  oicl^:  tou  aie  adoptb^  a  jndicioiis 
{•C'Hrj.  TLe  exjientskoe  of  ajlI  Ttarif^i^  pnires  tint  irhere 
r^trs  art  wtZ.  ii/.^rsxied  and  s&gack«a£y  the  people  mre  ooo- 
teziud  ai>d  wilZir^lr  e;:;lc::ksTC  to  asihoritr.  MoreoTer.  it 
k  grscTftllj  f^^'H^d  that  wLere  mashers  mie  enfiglitened,  sons 
are  TiliAiii  asd  ^mis^ 

I  eametilT  exL:»ri  tc»ii,  licrEfc^re,  to  persevere  in  the 
cc*iiTEe  on  vliich  too  Lave  CEiered;  and  I  promise  yoa  while 
TCin  cc'iiiirue  in  ii  the  STZDjathj  and  5n{^)oit  of  the  Britisfa 
GoTemmenl. 

At  UmhaTa  Lord  £!pn  left  the  camp  with  which  he 
had  been  travelling,  and  struck  np,  nearly  due  north- 
wards, into  the  Hills.  The  1st  of  Ajml  fiMmd  him  at 
Eossowlie,  from  which  point  he  risited  two  places  which 
CTeatlv  interested  him — the  *  Lawrence  Asvlimi '  and 
the  Military  Sanitarium  at  DugshaL 

The  '  Lawrence  Asylum*  '.he  wrote)  is  an  institation  ori- 
VT'"^  ginally  established  and  endowed  by  the  late  Sir  Houy 
Lawrence,  but  now  transferred  to  GoTemment,  and  maintained 
on  an  enlarged  scale.  It  receireB  and  educates  the  children  of 
£tux>pean  soldieis,  both  male  and  female;  and,  oon^ering 
what  they  are  exposed  to  while  they  remani  with  the  regiments, 
or  are  left  as  orphans,  it  is  an  immense  bo<m  to  them,  physically 
and  morally.  I  found  about  €00  children  at  the  institntion : 
and,  so  far  as  I  could  judge  on  a  transient  inspection,  the 
condition  of  things  generaUy  seemed  satisfactory.  LocJdng  to 
the  returns,  however,  it  did  not  appear  that  the  sanitary  state 
of  the  school  was  quite  as  good  as  it  might  be,  considering  tiie 
fineness  of  the  climate;  and  I  desired  that  some  inquiries 
m^bt  be  made  on  this  head.  It  is  probable  that  the  children 
many  cases  bring  bad  constitutions  with  them ;  but  it 
irsd  that  ihe  dormitories  were  somewhat  crowded, 
^^   niivvcti   character  of  the  surface  rendered  it 


1803.  SIMLA.  443 

difficult  to  proTido  playgrounds — both  of  which  circumBtancea 
may  be  unfavourable  to  the  health  of  the  children. 

The  Military  Station  of  Dugshai  is  situated  on  the  pinnacle  Dngshai 
of  a  mountain  about  7,000  feet  high.  It  looks  bare  and  bleak,  sutiou. 
from  the  total  absence  of  trees ;  but  the  42nd  Regiment,  now 
quartered  there,  had  all  the  appearance  of  health,  and  there 
were  few  men  in  the  hospital.  The  bad  cases  were  those  of 
men  who  had  contracted  at  Agra,  when  they  were  stationed 
in  the  plains,  dysentery  and  fever  of  a  serious  type,  which 
were  constantly  recurring.  The  troops  quartered  on  these 
hills  not  only  enjoy  a  congenial  climate,  but  are  also  kept  out 
of  the  way  of  much  mischief  which  they  encounter  on  the  low- 
lands. On  the  other  hand,  it  appears  that  they  suffer  a  little 
from  want  of  occupation.  It  is  curious  to  hear  that  hunting 
for  butterflies  is  a  favourite  pastime  of  the  British  soldier  at 
Dugshai.  The  colonel,  however,  informed  me  that  the  library 
and  reading-room  were  much  frequented  by  the  men;  he 
observed  also  that  many  of  the  patches  of  flat  ground  which 
lie  scattered  among  the  precipitous  crags  on  which  the  station 
is  perched,  had  been  converted  by  them  into  gardens. 

On  the   4th   of   April. — Easter    Eve — he    reached  simU. 
Simla,  which  was  to  be  his  home  for  the  next  five 
months.     His  impressions  of  this  ^  paradise  of  Anglo- 
Indians  '  were  given  shortly  afterwards  in  the  following 
words : — 

The  houses  which  form  the  settlement  are  situated  on  three 
or  four  heights,  which  are  the  crest  of  a  mountain  that  lies 
among  other  mountains  of  about  the  same  elevation,  scattered 
around  it  in  groups  and  rows,  intersected  by  valleys,  and  closed 
in  on  the  north  by  a  range  covered  with  everlasting  snow,  and 
glittering  from  morning  to  evening  in  the  rays  of  a  tropical 
sun.  The  hills  on  which  Simla  stands  are  well  clothed  by 
trees,  not  of  great  stature  generally,  though  of  much  beauty ; 
ilexes  of  a  peculiar  kind,  deodars,  and  rhododendrons  being 
conspicuous  among  them ;  but  there  is  little  wood,  on  the 
surrounding  mountains.  No  doubt  the  special  charms  of 
Simla  are  enhanced  by  this  contrast :  and  perhaps  also  by  the 
character  of  the  scenery  which  the  traveller  meets  on  the 
whole  route  from  Calcutta. 

Nothing  can  be  well  imagined   more   uninteresting.      On 


444  INDIA.  Cn.  XM. 

leaving  Lower  Bengal,  even  the  luxuriant  tropical  vegetation 
which  distinguishes  that  part  of  India  disappears, — and  tifie 
rest  of  the  journey  is  performed  through  a  country  perfectly 
flat,   and  apparently  barren;  for  notwithstanding  occasional 
groups  of  trees,  and  good  crops  here   and  there,  the   wide- 
spreading  dusty  plains  give  but  faint  indications  of  the  fertility 
which  cultivation   and  irrigation  can  no  doubt  evolve   from 
them.     Even  when  the  mountains  are  approached,  and    the 
ascent  commences,  the  same  character  of  barrenness  attaches 
to  the  scene,  for  their  sides  are  almost  bare  of  trees,  and  there 
is  little  to  relieve  them,  except  the  patches  of  vegetation  which 
lie  snugly  in  the  valleys,  or  creep  in  terraces  up  the  slopes. 

No  doubt  the  greater  luxuriance  in  foliage  and  vegetation 
which  adorns  Simla  is  in  some  measure  due  to  the  presence  of 
the  European  visitors  who  prevent  the  trees  from  being  cut, 
and  protect  in  other  ways  the  amenity  of  the  place. 

But  the  climate  and  soil  have  also,  it  may  be  presumed,  a 
good  deal  to  do  with  it.  For  the  trees  at  Simla  are  not  only 
more  abundant,  but  also  different  from  those  which  are  met 
with  on  the  mountains  nearer  to  the  plains.  This  probably 
accounts  for  what  otherwise  seems  strange, — namely,  that 
Europeans,  wishing  to  escape  from  the  heat  of  the  lowlands, 
should  have  fixed  on  a  spot  among  the  Hills  so  distant  from  the 
plains.  It  is  not  as  inaccessible  now  as  it  was  in  former  days, 
because  a  road  has  been  made  which  is  practicable  for  carts. 
But  by  this  road  the  distance  from  the  foot  of  the  Hills  to 
Simla  is  fifty-six  miles,  and  the  journey  for  most  people 
occupies  three  or  four  days ;  whereas  we  ascended  from  the 
foot  of  the  Hills  to  Kussowlie,  which  is  at  an  elevation  nearly 
as  great  as  that  of  Simla,  in  a  little  more  than  two  hours.  It 
used  to  be  supposed  that  mountains  overhanging  the  lowlands 
were  less  healthy  than  those  farther  removed  from  them,  but 
whether  this  be  the  case  or  not  may  be  doubtful.  However, 
whatever  may  have  been  the  reasons  for  the  original  selection 
of  Simla,  it  certainly  has  now  greater  attractions  as  a  residence 
than  any  spot  lying  between  it  and  the  plains. 

In  this  pleasant  retreat,  with  its  '  dry  climate,  and 

*  temperature  from  60**  to  70*^  in  the  shade,'  he  resumed 

with  fresh  vigour  his  ordinary  official  work;  correspond- 

constantly  with  the   Secretary  of  State,  with  the 


liiG3.  SUPPLY  OF  LABOUR.  445 

subordinate  Governments,  and  with  the  members  of  his 
Council,  gathering  ever  fresh  stores  of  information,  and 
forminor  ever  clearer  views  of  the  problems  that  lay 
before  him ;  looking  forward  to  the  great  meeting  to  be 
held  next  spring  at  Lahore,  not  only  as  an  important 
experiment,  but  also  as  in  a  manner  the  real  commence- 
ment of  his  reign.  Some  extracts  from  his  letters  of 
this  period  are  subjoined. 

To  Sir  Charles  Trevelyan. 

Camp,  Jeyt :  February  33, 1803. 

No  doubt  there  is  a  deficiency  of  labour  in  some  parts  of  Supply  of 
India,  and  an  excess  in  others.  MoreoTcr,  there  are  moral  ^^^* 
and  physical  obstacles  which  put  difficulties  in  the  way  of  the 
transfer  of  labour  from  places  where  it  is  redundant  to  those 
where  it  is  wanting.  But  to  affirm  generally  of  a  country 
where  labour-saving  machines  are,  in  consequence  of  the 
cheapness  of  labour,  as  little  used  as  in  India,  that  there  is  a 
'  want  of  labour,'  seems  to  me  to  be  a  paradox. 

I  will  give  an  example : — If,  in  America,  the  climate  made 
it  necessary  that  every  private  white  soldier  should  have  a 
punkah  pulled  over  him  day  and  night,  do  you  think  that  no 
agency  but  that  of  the  human  hand,  in  its  rudest  and  must 
direct  application,  would  be  employed  in  this  task  ?  And  why 
is  it  otherwise  in  India?  Because  labour  is  so  cheap  that 
necessity,  the  mother  of  invention,  does  not  stimulate  the 
ingenuity  of  man  here  as  it  does  there. 

Far  from  deprecating  the  introduction  of  capital,  I  should  be 
delighted  to  hear  that  the  amount  to  be  spent  in  India  this 
year  was  to  be  three  times  what  it  promises  to  be.  I  do  not 
say  to  be  spent  by  Government,  for  to  this  there  are  objections, 
altogether  irrespective  of  the  question  of  the  amount  of  labour 
available. 

The  first  effect  of  this  enlarged  expenditure  would  no  doubt 
be  to  raise  the  wages  of  labour.  This  would  be  in  itself  a 
blessing,  for  which  I  should  thank  God. 

But  its  second  and  more  permanent  effidct  would  be  to 
increase  the  number  of  the  class  of  skilled  labourers,  which  the 
patient,  sober,  and  ingenious  population  of  India  is  fitted  to 
supply  in  so  great  abundance,  if  due  encouragement  be  given ; 


416  INDIA.  Cm  XVl 

and  further,  to  drive  capitalists  to  the  substitution  of  machinery 
for  brute  human  labour  to  a  greater  extent  than  is  tlie  practice 
now. 

The  ultimate  result  would,  therefore,  be  to  render  the 
existing  stock  of  labour  doubly  productive ;  the  fruits  of  this 
increased  productiveness  being  divided  in  proportions  more  or 
less  equitable  between  the  labourers  and  capitalists. 

I  believe  that  the  Railway  expenditure  is  already  exercising 
a  sensible  influence  of  this  salutary  character.  Bodies  of 
navvies  are  becoming  attached  to  the  companies,  who  follow 
them  from  place  to  place,  and  render  them  comparatiYely 
independent  of  the  local  supply  of  labour ;  and  above  all,  by 
calling  forth  native  talent  in  the  form  of  skilled  labour,  they 
are  imparting  that  kind  of  education  which  will,  I  believe,  do 
more  for  the  elevation  of  the  masses  than  any  other  which  we 
can  provide  in  India. 

To  H.  S.  Maine,  Esq. 

Camp,  Hodul :  February  26,  I8a3. 

Special  While  I  entirely  concur  in  the  opinion  that  the  ontis  pro^ 

legislaUoo.  j^y^^,-  regtg^  and  rests  heavily  too,  on  the  proposers  of  excep- 
tional or  particular  legislation,  an  assumption  runs  through 
•^— 's  letter  to  you  which  I  am  by  no  means  prepared  to 
admit.  He  assumes  that  in  such  matters  as  those  widi  which 
we  are  now  dealing,  this  partictdar  legislation  must  be  in  the 
exclusive  interest  of  the  landlord,  and  calculated  to  increase  in 
his  hand  powers  which  may  be  abused,  and  the  abuse  of  which 
is  restrained  by  moral  influences  which  operate  less  strongly 
where  landlords  and  tenants  are  of  different  races  than  where 
they  are  homogeneous.  He  cites,  strangely  enough,  Ireland, 
where  these  moral  influences,  which  are  of  themselves  gene- 
rally sufficient  in  England  and  Scotland,  are  supplemented  by 
wholesale  evictions  on  one  side  and  murders  on  the  other. 
But  the  law  of  landlord  and  tenant  is,  I  believe,  the  same  in 
Ireland  as  in  England,  and  it  is  quite  possible  that  a  little 
particular  legislation,  which  would  have  given  either  of  the 
parties  the  protection  of  positive  law  against  injuries  which  can 
now  be  redressed  only  by  a  rude  process  of  reprisals  (one 
outrage  balancing  another  until  the  account  is  squared),  might 
have  proved  ultimately  a  benefit  even  to  the  pai*ty  against 


1803.  MISSIONARY  GATHERING.  417 

which   this   particular  legislation  seemed  to  be,  in  the  first 
instance,  directed. 

The  planters  say,  we  have  a  grievance  attributable  to  special 
circumstances  arising  out  of  our  relations  with  our  ryots; 
unless  you  give  us  a  special  remedy  to  meet  our  special 
grievance,  we  fall  back  on  our  general  powers  as  landlords. 
Are  we  quite  sure  that  in  reiiising  the  special  remedy,  we  are 
consulting  the  interest  of  the  weaker  party,  viz.  the  ryot  ? 

Of  course,  this  is  all  general.  There  will  remain  the  ques- 
tions: Is  there  a  grievance  at  all?  Is  it  one  which  has  any 
claim  to  a  special  remedy?  I  quite  agree  that  the  onus  of 
answering  these  questions  satisfactorily  rests  on  the  advocate  of 
special  legislation. 

To  Sir  Charles  Wood. 

Roorkee :  March  10, 1863. 

The  religious  question  is,  no  doubt,  a  very  difficult  one ;  and  Dnty  of 
I  am  glad  that  you  approved  of  the  course  which  I  took  with  \^\^ 
reference  to  the  great  missionary  gathering  at  Lahore.     I  sionmry 
spoke  to  Sir  R.  M  on  the  subject  when  I  met  him  at  "*•"•"• 

Delhi.  He  seemed  to  think  that  it  had  done  more  harm  than 
good  to  the  missionary  cause,  as  the  presence  of  high  ofiicials 
was  sure  to  raise  suspicions  in  the  minds  of  the  natives.  I 
told  him  that  as  regarded  the  acts  of  ofiScials  in  such  matters, 
my  opinion  was  this : — If  an  official  says  to  me, '  I  think  that 
'  I  may,  with  perfect  propriety,  in  my  character  of  oflicial,  do  so 
'  and  so,  or  take  such  or  such  a  part  in  furtherance  of  an  object 
'  which  I  believe  to  be  right,*  I  am  quite  ready  to  meet  him  on 
this  ground,  and  to  join  issue  with  him  if  I  differ  from  him  on 
the  particular  point  raised.  But  if  he  says  to  me,  '  I  know 
'  that  it  would  be  wrong  in  me  to  do  this  as  an  official,  but  I 
'  do  it  in  my  private  character,'  I  can  have  no  discussion  with 
him ;  because  I  deny  that  it  is  possible  to  establish  any  such 
distinction  in  the  East,  and  I  am  inclined  to  distrust  either  the 
honesty  or  the  intelligence  of  the  man  who  proposes  to  act 
upon  it. 

To  Sir  Charles  Wood. 

Simk :  March  19, 1803. 

I  am  as  desirous  as  you  can  be,  perhaps  even  more  desirous,  Fimuicial 
to  give  no  excuse  for  the  charge  of  cooking  accounts,  or  making  "^ 


448  INDIA.  Ch.  xvj 

thiogs  look  plcasantcr  than  thej  ought,  because  I  am  quite 
confident,  that  if  we  can  keep  the  peace  and  ehow  an  unim- 
peachable balance-sheet,  we  shall  soon  have  more  capital  sent 
to  India  than  we  know  what  to  do  with.     I  could  not  he]j> 
giving,  a  few  days  ago,  a  hint  concerning  my  Canadian  expe- 
rience on  this  point     When  I  was  appointed  to  Canada^  the 
fii*st  Canadian  official  to  whom   I  was  introduced   was    the 
Finance    Minister,  who  was   walking   about  the    streets   of 
London  with  £60,000  of  Canadian  6  per  cent,  debentures  in  his 
pocket,  which  nobody  would  take.     In  1849,  two  years  later, 
the  Montreal  merchants  drew  up  an  elaborate  address  recom- 
mending annexation  to  the  United  States,  alleging  as  one  of 
their  principal  reasons  that  so  long  as  they  remained  colonists, 
they  could  obtain  no  credit  in  England  for  public  objects,  and 
citing,  in  proof  of  this  allegation,  the  fact  that  in  the  United 
States  several  thousand  miles  of  railway  had  been  constructed, 
in  Canada  only  thirty  miles.    Within  three  years,  from  the  date 
of  this  address,  we  had  2,000  miles  of  railway  in  Canada  in 
course  of  construction,  and  our  Government  debentures  (6  per 
cent)  were  selling  in  London  at  119,  higher  than  those  of  the 
United  States  Government ;  in  fact,  we  had  more  credit  than 
we  could  always  employ  properly.    Now,  how  was  this  change 
effected?  Simply  by  showing  a  good  balance-sheet,  an  improving 
country,  and  a  contented  people,  and  leaving  capitalists  to  draw 
their  own  inferences  from  these  phenomena.     I  do  not  despair 
of  seeing  a  similar  state  of  things  in  India ;  and  it  was  with  the 
view  of  giving  an  impulse  in  this  direction  that  I  stated  pub- 
licly, at  Benares  the  other  day,  that  we  must  look  for  the 
further  development  of  our  railway  system  to  bond  fide  private 
enterprise,  aided,  perhaps,  where  circumstances  required  it,  by 
Government,  but  not  to  the  extension  of  Government  guar- 
antees.     Unguaranteed  companies  cannot  get  money  while 
guaranteed  companies  are  competing  with  them  as  borrowers. 
Therefore,  if  we  intend  to  encourage  the  former,  we  must  let 
capitalists  know  that  a  limit  will  be  put  on  the  operations  of 
the  latter. 
8eat  of  Ar  to  the  Seat  of  Government  question,  I  am  strongly  of 

^^  tT*"  opinion  that  the  proper  thing  to  do  at  present  is  to  give  practical 
effect  to  the  provision  in  the  Indian  Councils  Act,  which  autho-> 
loses  the  Gt)vernor-General  to  call  his  Council  together  in  other 
•*^Tt8  of  India  besides   Calcutta.     This  would  give   to   the 


VALUE  OF  TRAINING  AT  HEAD-QUARTERS.       449 

reme  Government  a  more  catholic  character  .than  it  now 
esses^  and  perhaps  in  some  degree  diminish  the  jealousy  of 
:^utta  influence  which  obtains  so  extensively. 

do   not  see  my  way  towards  recommending  the  entire 

ndonment  of  Calcutta.     It  is  an  important  place,  and  has 

:aiii  traditional  claims  which  it  is  not  quite  easy  to  set  aside. 

reover,  although  the  Calcutta  community  may  have  its 

Its  and  wayward  tendencies,  it  is  an  influential  -element  in 

r  body  corporate  and  politic,  and  a  Government  which  knows 

duty  may  effect  a  great  deal  of  good,  and  derive  no  little 

aefit,  by  coming  into  contact  with  it.    For  the  present,  there- 

*e,  I  think  that  Calcutta  should  continue  to  be  the  head- 

laxters  of  Government;  but  that  we  should  meet  from  time  to 

ne  at  other  places  for  Legislative  purposes,  so  as  to  qualify 

alcutta  local  associations  with  other  local  associations.     This 

an  will  be  attended  of  course  with  some  trouble  and  expense. 

intend  to  make  some  inquiries  to  ascertain  what  the  latter  is 

kely  to  be.    I  do  not  see  why  we  should  not  legislate  in  camp, 

::  there  be  difficulty  in  providing  house  accommodation 

:  should  like,  if  possible,  to  hit  upon  a  plan  which  would  give 
IS  a  sufficient  range  in  choosing  and  varying  our  places  of 
neeting.     More  on  all  this  hereafter. 


To  Sir  Charles  Wood. 

Roorkee :  March  19, 1863. 

I  confess  I  think  it  very  important  that  the  heads  of  the  Value  of 
local  Governments  should  have  had  some  training  at  head-  ^^!^^  * 
quarters.     It  is  much  easier  for  an  intelligent  officer  who  has  quarter*, 
been  so  trained,  to  supply  a  lack  of  local  knowledge,  than  for 
one  who  has  been  constantly  employed  in  a  particular  province 
to  grasp  in  a  sufficiently  comprehensive  spirit  the  general  in- 
terests of  the  Empire,  and  duly  to  appreciate  the  relative  claims 
of  its  component  parts.     Already,  among  the  high  officers  in 
the  Provinces,  there  is  a  considerable  disinclination  to  face  the 
climate  and  labour  of  Calcutta.     Situations  in  the  Provinces, 
where  the  work  is  lighter,  where  the  summers  can  be  spent  on 
the  Hills,  and  where  the  holders  are  in  a  much  greater  degree 
monarchs  of  all  they  survey,  are  naturally  preferred  to  the 
sweltering  metropolis.    This  preference  would  be  strengthened 
if  it  were  supposed  that  this  provincial  career  was  the  road  to 

G  G 


450  INDIA.  Ch.  XVL 

the  Lieutenant-Governorship.  Moreover,  it  is  to  be  remem- 
bered that  the  patronage  exercised  by  these  Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernors is  very  great  indeed.  It  is  important  that  it  should  nut 
fall  too  absolutely  into  the  hands  of  the  same  local  cliques. 
So  much  on  the  abstract  question  of  general  versus  local 
experience. 

To  Sir  Charles  Wood. 

Simla :  May  6,  1863. 

In  a  general  way,  I  must  say  that  I  am  inclined  to  give  a 
preference,  in  disposing  of  these  high  offices,  to  persons  who 
have  served  in  the  offices  of  the  Supreme  Government  or 
in  the  Govemor-Generars  Legislative  Council.  I  would  not, 
of  course,  exclude  men  of  proved  and  eminent  qualities  because 
they  had  been  employed  only  in  the  Provinces  or  minor 
Presidencies ;  but  my  impression  is  that  the  work  is  lighter, 
and  that  reputations  are  more  easily  won,  in  the  service  of  the 
minor  than  in  that  of  the  Supreme  Government.  Moreover, 
I  think  it  desirable  that  the  best  men  should  be  attracted  to 
the  latter  service ;  and  I  observe  a  growing  disinclination  to 
abandon  good  opportunities  under  local  governments  for  those 
which  the  Supreme  Government  has  to  offer.  A  local  Govern- 
ment, with  plenty  of  hill  stations,  &c.,  has  many  attractions 
for  persons  who  can  contrive  to  be  on  good  terms  with  the 
Lieutenant-Governor.  I  think  that  something  is  due  to  those 
who  face  the  climate  and  the  competition  of  Calcutta ;  not  to 
mention  the  fact,  that  they  have  opportunities  of  becoming 
conversant  with  the  general  business  of  the  country,  beyond 
those  which  are  enjoyed  by  persons  whose  service  has  been 
confined  to  any  one  locality. 

I  think  that  the  Legislative  branch  of  the  Govemor-Generars 
Council  should  be  a  channel  through  which  officers  of  the  other 
Presidencies  may  be  introduced  into  the  Secretariat  and  Coun- 
cil at  Calcutta. 

To  Sir  Charles  Wood. 

Simla :  May  21,  1863. 

Aristocm-  I  have  no  objection  prima  facie  to  an  aristocracy,  and  I  am 
quite  ready  to  admit  that  conflicting  claims  of  proprietorship 
in  the  same  lands  are  an  evil ;  but  I  also  know  that,  even  in 
our  old  Christian  Europe,  there  are  not  many  aristocracies 
that  have  had  salt  enough  in  them  to  prevent  them  from  rottin<r. 


cies. 


1808.  DISLIKE  OF  INTERMEDDLING.  451 

And  when  I  consider  what  Oriental  society  is ;  when  I  reflect 

.  on  the  frightful  corruption,  both  of  mind  and  body,  to  which 
the  inheritors  of  wealth  and  station  are  exposed — the  general 

.  absence  of  motives  to  call  forth  good  instincts,  or  of  restraints 
to  keep  bad  in  check — I  own  that  I  do  not  feel  quite  sure  that, 
even  if  we  could  sweep  away  all  rights  of  sub-proprietors  or 
tenants,  and  substitute  for  the  complications  incident  to  the 
present  system  an  uniform  land-tenure  of  great  proprietors 

'  and  tenants  at  will,  we  should  be  much  nearer  the  millennium 

:   than  we  are  now.  •  •  • 

I  am  wholly  opposed  to  that  prurient  intermeddling  policy  Against 
which   finds  so  much  favour  with  certain  classes  of  Indian  meddling 
officials.     It  is  constantly  thrusting  us  into  equivocal  situa*-  in  foreign 
tions,  in  which  our  acts  and  our  professions  of  respect  for  the  ^  *  *"' 
independence  of  other  nations  are  in  contradiction,  and  in  which 
our  proceedings  become  tainted  with  the  double  reproach  of 
inconsistency  and  selfishness.      Nothing,  in  my  opinion,  can 
be  more  fatal  to  our  prestige  and  legitimate  influence.     My 
modest  ambition   for    England  is,   that  she   should  in   this 
Eastern  world  establish  the  reputation  of  being  all-just  and 
all-powerful ;    but,  to  achieve  this  object,  we  must  cease  to 
attempt  to  play  a  great  part  in  small  intrigues,  or  to  dictate  in 
cases  where  we  have  not  positive  interests  which  we  can  avow, 
or  convictions    sufficiently   distinct   to    enable   us   to   speak 
plainly.     We  must  interfere  only  where  we  can  put  forward 
an  unimpeachable  plea  of  right  or  duty ;  and  when  we  announce 
a  resolution,  our  neighbours  must  understand  that  it  is  the 
decree  of  fate. 

To  Sir  Charles  Trevelyan. 

Simla :  June  17, 1803. 

On  the  first  occasion  of  transferring  the  Council  from  Cal-  Conucll 
cutta  to  another  place,  we  ought  to  select  some  considerable  Lahore, 
town — the  capital  of  a  Province  or  local  Government,  if  pos- 
sible. What  we  wish  to  do  is  to  give  effect  to  the  scheme 
embodied  in  the  ninth  clause  of  the  Councils  Act,  and  we 
should  do  so  in  such  a  manner  as  to  carry  public  opinion  with 
us.  If  the  plan  answers,  we  may  exercise  a  greater  liberty  of 
choice  on  future  occasions. 

I  adhere  to  the  opinion  which  I  first  expressed,  that,  on  the 
whole,  Lahore  is  the  place  which  unites  the  greatest  number 

G  o  2 


452  INDIA.  Ch.  x\t. 

of  advantages.  It  Is  the  capital  of  a  province  which  is  loyal, 
ii?hich  is  under  the  Government  of  India,  and  w^hich,  more- 
over, has  a  good  many  special  characteristics  of  its  own,  with 
which  it  may  be  well  that  the  Supreme  Legislature  should 
acquaint  themselves  on  the  spot.  Against  these  recommenda- 
tions is  to  be  set  the  greater  distance  from  Calcutta,  whicb 
does  not  affect  communication  by  telegraph,  and,  for  more 
bulky  communications,  as  compared  with  Delhi,  is  only  a 
question  of  a  few  hours. 

I  have  no  wish  to  legislate  at  a  purely  military  station: 
my  object  is  to  select  a  place  of  meeting  where  we  may  obtain 
some  knowledge  of  local  and  native  feeling,  which  does  not 
reach  Calcutta. 

To  Sir  Charles  Wood. 

Simla :  August  30,  1863. 

After  reaching  this  place,  I  soon  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  reasons  for  meeting  at  Lahore  were  much  more 
forcible  than  those  which  could  be  advanced  in  favour  of  any 
other  place ;  and  circumstances  which  have  occurred  since  then 
have  tended  strongly  to  confirm  me  in  this  opinion.  Inde- 
pendently of  the  prestige  which  attaches  to  the  province  of 
which  it  is  the  capital,  and  to  the  Sikh  population  which 
inhabit  it,  the  state  of  affairs  in  Affghanistan,  and  on  our 
frontier,  would  render  a  demonstration  which  would  at  once 
afford  evidence  of  our  military  strength  and  gratify  the  pride 
and  self-importance  of  the  Sikh  chie&,  at  this  moment  espe- 
cially opportune. 

I  have  arranged  with  the  Commander-in-chief  to  hold  his 
camp  of  exercise  there;  the  Lieutenant-Governor  is  to  have 
a  great  Agricultural  Exhibition,  which  I  am  to  open ;  and  if 
we  can  establish  ourselves  for  a  couple  of  months  there  in  our 
legislative  capacity  while  all  this  is  going  on,  I  think  that  it 
will  have  an  excellent  effect  both  on  our  own  people  and  on 
our  neighbours. 

Sitana  Late  in  the  month  of  September,  during  the  last 

^^  *"'  days  of  Lord  Elgin's  stay  at  Simla,  occurred  the  only 
break  in  the  otherwise  peaceful  tenor  of  his  govern- 
ment, in  the  shape  of  an  outburst  of  certain  Wahabee 
^natics  inhabiting  a  frontier  district  in  the  Upper  Valley 


1868.  TIIE  SITANA  FANATICS.  453 

of  the  Indus.  The  outburst  is  not  without  historical 
interest,  as  connected  with  similar  disturbances  which 
have  assumed  more  serious  proportions ;  but  it  is  noticed 
here  chiefly  as  illustrating  the  view  which  Lord  Elgin 
took  of  the  policy  and  duty  of  the  British  Government 
in  such  cases. 

It  was  not  without  the  greatest  reluctance  that  he 
was  induced  to  take  up  the  quarrel  at  all :  for  he  had 
the  strongest  aversion  for  warlike  operations  in  the 
existing  state  of  India,  and  particularly  on  the  frontiers 
of  Afighanistan ;  and  he  had  no  small  distrust  of  those 
military  tendencies  and  that  thirst  for  opportunities  of 
distinction  which  are  apt  to  characterise  the  ablest 
Governors  of  frontier  provinces  But  he  had  prevented 
a  Sitana  expedition  in  the  previous  year ;  he  was 
assured  that  the  recent  inroads  of  the  fanatics  were  the 
direct  consequence  of  his  last  year's  supineness  ;  and  he 
was  told  that  if  he  again  held  back,  the  disturbances 
would  be  renewed  another  year  with  usury.  Moreover, 
he  was  assured  that  the  projected  expedition  would 
secure  the  peace  of  the  frontier  for  a  long  period  ;  and 
that  the  operation  would  be  little  more  than  a  military 
promenade,  and  would  be  over  before  his  camp  reached 
Peshawur. 

It  was  scarcely  possible  for  a  civil  Governor  to  resist 
such  a  pressure  of  professional  opinion ;  and  he  consented 
to  take  measures  of  repression. 

Writing  to  Sir  Charles  Wood  on  the  -subject,  he 
said: — 

The  overt  acts  charged  oonsist  in  the  return  of  the  fanatics 
to  SUana,  whence  they  were  driven  out  by  us  some  yean  ago ; 
and  the  frontier  tribes  in  qnestion  are  held  to  be  guilty  because 
they  have  allowed  them  to  return  to  this  place^  although 
bound  by  treaty  with  us  to  refuse  to  admit  them.  .  .  •  On  a 
review  of  all  the  circumstances,  and  looking  to  the  well-known 
character  and  designs  of  the  Sitana  fanatics,  I  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  interests  both  of  prudence  and  humanity 


454  INDIA.  Ch.  xvl 

-would  be  best  consulted  by  levelling  a  speedy  and  decisive 
blow  at  this  embryo  conspiracy. 

Accordingly  it  was  arranged  that  the  Punj&b  Govern- 
ment sliould  at  once  take  the  necessary  measures  for 
expelling  the  fanatics  from  Judoon,  where  they  had 
congregated,  and  then,  if  circumstances  permitted,  pro- 
ceed to  destroy  their  place  of  refuge  at  Mulka. 

But  it  is  well  known  that  in  India,  to  use  Lord  Elgin's 
own  expression,  *  rising  officials  are  instinctively  in 
*  favour  of  a  good  row.'  Some  of  those  around  him 
were  urgent  that  the  expedition  should  be  deferred 
until  the  spring,  and  should  then  be  organised  on  a 
larger  scale,  and  with  more  comprehensive  objects. 
Lord  Elgin  set  his  face  decidedly  against  this. 

I  wish  (he  wrote)  by  a  sudden  and  vigorous  blow  to  check 
this  trouble  on  our  frontier  while  it  is  in  a  nascent  condition. 
The  other  plan  would  give  it  several  months  to  fester  and  to 
extend  itself;  and^  if  there  be  among  the  Mohammedan  popu- 
lations in  these  regions  the  disposition  to  combine  against  us 
which  is  alleged,  and  which  is  indeed  the  justification  of  the 
measure  proposed,  how  far  might  not  the  roots  of  the  con- 
spiracy stretch  themselves  in  that  time?  The  Affghans  in 
their  distracted  state  might  furnish  sj^mpathisers;  we  should  be 
invited  to  interfere  in  their  internal  affairs,  in  order  to  oppose 
those  among  them  who  were  abetting  our  Mohammedan  adver- 
saries ;  in  short,  there  is  no  end  to  the  complications  in  which 
this  postponement  of  active  operations  might  involve  us. 
Everything  is  more  or  less  uncertain  in  such  affairs ;  but  in 
the  absence  of  any  very  palpable  blunder,  what  we  actually 
propose  to  do  would  appear  to  be  a  pretty  safe  proceeding. 
The  main  purpose  is  to  expel  the  fanatics  from  Judoon ;  and 
it  is  hardly  possible  that  we  should  fail  in  this,  as  they  are 
within  easy  reach  of  us  there.  The  further  objects — of  punish- 
ing other  tribes,  and  destroying  the  refuge  of  the  fanatics  at 
Mulka — may  be  abandoned  if  it  be  deemed  advisable,  without 
any  loss  of  prestige,  though  of  course  with  some  abatement  of 
the  completeness  of  the  movement.  I  therefore  thought  it 
'Twecsary  to  adhere  to  my  original  resolution. 


^    3.  AMONG  THE  MOUNTAINS.  465 

.   ,On  the  26  th  of  September  Lord  Elgin  left  Simla  en  TheHi- 
.,    ute  for  Sealkote,  where  he  was  to  rejoin  his  camp  and        ^^**' 

•oceed  with  it  to  Peshawur,  the  most  distant  station  on 
"  -  -le  North-West  frontier,  before  making  his  way  to  the 
-  reat  rendezvous  at  Lahore.   On  the  way  to  Sealkote  he 
'as  to  traverse  the  upper  valleys  of  the  Beas,  the  Ravee, 
.--lid  the  Chenab,  and  the  mountains  that  divide  them; 
• ,  lis  main  object  being  to  inspect  the  great  tea  planta- 
. .  ions,  public  and  private,  recently  set  on  foot  in  those 
-.  ;>arts,  and  to  ascertain  for'hknself  what  facilities  or 
^:  possibilities  the  country  afforded  for  commercial  inter- 
course with  Lad&k  and  China. 

For  the  first  week  his  route  lay  nearly  northwards, 

through  scenes  very  similar  to  those  which  he  had  left 

_  at  Simla.     *  We  are  going  through  a  beautiful  countr}^,' 

he  wrote  on  the  4th  of  October,  '  and  the  people  seem 

'  '  cheerful  and  well-to-do.'     Shortly  afterwards,  having 

'  passed  over  the  Sutlej  at  Komharsen,  he  crossed  a  con- 

,"   siderable  range  of  mountains  by  the  Jalouri  Pass,  and 

.    found  himself  in  the  fertile  basin  of  the  Beas.     Direct- 

,    ing  his  course  still  northwards,  he  followed  this  river 

.'    up  to  its  source  among  the  hills ;  and  thence  crossed  by 

the  steep  and  high  Rotung  Pass  from  the  valley  of  the 

Beas  into  that  of  the  Chenab — from  the  rich  and  smilinir 

country  of  Kuloo  into  a  rugged  and  inhospitable  tract 

called  Lahoul.     He  did  not,  however,  remain  long  in 

these  desolate  regions  ;    but,  after  crossing  the  Twig 

Bridge  across  the  Chandra,  an  affluent  of  the  Chenab, 

and  inspecting  a  wooden  bridge  which  had  just  been 

constructed   to   take  its  place,  he   retraced   his   steps 

southwards  to   Sultanpore,  on  the  Beas  river.     From 

thence,  on  the  18th  of  October,  he  wrote  as  follows  to 

Sir  Charles  Wood : — 

Thus  far  our  expedition  through  the  mountains  has  been  Kaloo. 
very  pleasant  and  interesting.     The  scenery  has  been  magni- 
ficent and  the  climate  enjoyable,  though  the  changes  of  tempe- 
rature have  been  considerable.     We  are  now  at  Sultanpore,  in 


45o  r- 

w  Liyr  xc"  ▼^    ^«i  3i*5!i    t  lii**  sartj     9ci^i±t£  taie  B:n"i     j 

;c  till:*  fiTvjT^f-^if**-  rii^T"  ^.ii^iL  ^r-.e*  :a«f  n 

5i*l  jrw  su;  rir^s::.    I  msec*!  ^^is  Ti^iir  \ 


r  in**  X'  lis-  -:!;i^n.Jiv  a  "i  c  A  "•-•▼  ia  ->  ir  x  •fmv'^  smi-fr  S;^-  li-e 
ji^s  jtt  A  '"ir^  imiu!  ^"aiu.  inu  n  x  las*  "-iir  r  -iiiirajit;  hm^  ^^*t 
i«iti'«"  j&  I  ixn:«tii*i.  X  inu.  .c     3*  la  aac*-*?  xmi  £ 


It  :tiii  ^rv  joa  I  x««n  iiutt  amoc 


1863.  ILLNESS.  457 

rcMid  might  be  made  to  it  without  great  difficulty  from  the 
plain.  This  would  greatly  develope  both  its  natural  resources 
and  its  capabilities  as  a  commerciid  route. 

The  state  of  the  forests  which  we  have  encountered  during 
our  route  has  also  engaged  my  attention.  It  is  sad  to  see  how 
they  have  been  neglected,  and  how  much  waste  of  valuable 
timber  has  ensued.  The  natives  have  a  practice  of  girdling 
fine  trees,  at  a  few  feet  from  the  root,  in  order  to  strip  oif  as 
much  of  the  bark  as  they  can  conveniently  reach.  It  is  rather 
a  difficult  practice  to  check ;  but,  if  we  can  manage  to  draw  a 
line  between  the  woods  in  which  the  villagers  have  rights  and 
the  public  forests,  we  may  impose  heavy  penalties  on  the 
perpetrators  of  such  offences.  .  •  •  The  deodar  forests  cease  at 
the  Rotung  Pass.  There  are  no  forests  of  any  value  in 
Lahoul  and  Spitti — scarcely  indeed  any  wood  at  all. 

We  are  now  proceeding  towards  the  Kangra  Valley,  where 
we  expect  to  find  tea  plantations  in  a  more  advanced  con* 
dition. 

In  this  letter,  and  others  of  the  same  date,  there  is  oinaM. 
no  hint  of  suflTering  or  of  ill-health  ;  but  when  they 
were  written  he  had  already  received  the  stroke  which 
was  to  lay  him  in  the  grave.  Before  the  departure 
of  the  next  mail  symptoms  had  appeared  of  serious 
disease  of  the  heart,  probably  long  lurking  in  his  con- 
stitution, and  now  brought  out  into  fatal  activity  by 
f itigue  and  the  keen  mountain  air;  and  on  the  4th  of 
November,  having  with  difficulty  reached  Dhurmsala,  a 
station  in  the  Kangra  Valley,*  he  wrote  to  Sir  Charles 
Wood  in  an  altered  tone,  yet  still  hopeful  and  cheerful; 
and  intent  to  the  last  in  India,  as  at  the  first  in  Jamaica, 
and  afterwards  in  Canada  and  China,  on  mitigating 
so  far  as  lay  in  his  power  the  evils  which  man  brings 
on  man. 

You  will  not  expect  (he  wrote,  in  this  his  last  letter)  to  hear  Last  letter, 
much  from  me  by  this  mail  when  you  hear  how  I  am  situated. 
The  Hill  expedition,  of  which  I  gave  you  some  of  the  details 
in  my  last,  had  an  unexpected  effect  upon  me ;  knocking  me 

*  One  of  the  ride  valleje  wliicb  run  up  northwards  from  the  mun 
Talley  of  the  Beas. 


458  INDIA.  Ch.  xvl 

down  prostrate  to  begin  with,  with  some  symptoms  of  an 
anxious  character  behind,  which  require  looking  into.  The 
nature  and  extent  of  the  mischief  are  not  sufficiently  ascer- 
tained yet  to  enable  me  to  say  positively  whether  my  power  of 
doing  my  duty  is  likely  to  be  in  any  degree  impaired  by  what 
has  happened.  But  Lady  Elgin  has  brought  up  from  Calcutta 
the  medical  man  who  attended  me  there,  and  he  arrived  this 
morning ;  so  that  a  consultation  will  take  place  without  delay. 
Meanwhile  I  have  got  over  the  immediate  effects  sufficiently 
to  enable  me  to  do  such  business  as  comes  before  me  now.  No 
change  has  taken  place  in  our  plans.  We  move  rather  more 
slowly,  and  I  have  given  up  the  idea  of  going  to  Peshawur ; 
but  this  is  rather  occasioned  by  the  desire  to  confer  with  the 
Punj&b  Government,  while  these  affairs  on  the  frontier  are  in 
progress,  than  by  my  mishap. 

I  think  that  the  expedition  (against  the  Sitana  fanatics) 
will  be  a  success ;  and  I  labour  incessantly  to  urge  the  necessity 
of  confining  its  objects  to  the  first  intentions.  Plausible 
reasons  for  enlarging  the  scope  of  such  adventures  are  never 
wanting;  but  I  shall  endeavour  to  keep  this  within  its  limits. 

Lady  Elgin  is  bearing  up  courageously,  under  a  great 
pressure  of  labour  and  anxiety. 

The  sad  story  of  what  follows  cannot  be  told  in  other 
words  than  those  in  which  it  has  already  been  given  to 
the  world,  with  all  the  skill  of  an  artist  combined  with 
the  tenderness  of  a  brother,  and  with  that  fulness  of 
authentic  detail  which  only  one  source  could  suppl3\^ 

*  Although  he  had  suffered  often  from  the  unhealthy 
'  and  depressing  climate  of  Calcutta  during  the  summer 
'  and  autunm  of  1862,  and  thus,  to  the  eyes  that  saw 

*  him  again  in  1863,  he  looked  many  years  older  than 
'  when  he  left  England,  yet  it  was  not  till  he  entered 

*  the  Hills  that  any  symptom  manifested  itself  of  the 
'  fatal  malady  that  was  lurking  under  his  apparently 

*  stout  frame  and  strong  constitution.  The  splendid 
'  scenery  of  those  vast  forests  and  snow-clad  mountains 

*  For  permisBion'to  use  this  nar-  a  small  part  of  the  obligations  to 

rative  the  Editor  has  to  thiink  not  him  connected  with  this  work),  but 

only  its    author,   Arthur    Stanley,  also  the  proprietors  of  the  i^^ortA 

Dean  of  WtisLmiuster  (and  it  is  but  liriiialt  Hecuto,  in  which  it  appeared. 


186S.  ILLNESS.  459 

inspired  him  with  the  liveliest  pleasure;  but  the 
highly  rarefied  atmosphere,  which  to  most  residents 
in  India  is  as  life  from  the  dead,  seemed  in  him  to 
have  the  exactly  reverse  effect. 
^  It  was  on  the  12th  of  October  that  he  ascended  the 
£otung  Pass,  and  on  the  13th  he  crossed  the  famous 
Twig  Bridge  over  the  river  Chandra.  It  is  remark- 
able for  the  rude  texture  of  birch  branches  of  which  it 
is  composed,  and  which,  at  this  late  season,  was  so 
rent  and  shattered  by  the  wear  and  tear  of  the  past 
year  as  to  render  the  passage  of  it  a  matter  of  great 
exertion.  Lord  Elgin  was  completely  prostrated  by 
the  effort,  and  it  may  be  said  that  from  the  exhaustion 
consequent  on  this  adventure  he  never  rallied.  But 
he  returned  to  his  camp,  and  continued  his  march  on 
horseback,  until,  on  the  22nd,  an  alarming  attack 
obliged  him  to  be  carried,  by  slow  stages,  to  Dhurm- 
sala.  There  he  was  joined,  on  the  4th  of  November, 
by  his  friend  and  medical  adviser.  Dr.  Macrae,  who 
had  been  summoned  from  Calcutta,  on  the  first  alarm- 
ing indications  of  his  illness.  By  this  time  the 
disorder  had  declared  itself  in  such  a  form  as  to  cause 
the  most  serious  apprehensions  to  others,  as  well  as 
to  himself  the  most  distressing  sufferings.  There  had 
been  a  momentary  rally,  during  which  the  fact  of  his 
illness  had  been  communicated  to  England.  But  this 
passed  away ;  and  on  the  6th  of  November  Dr.  Macrae 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  illness  was  mortal. 
This  intelligence,  which  he  communicated  at  once  to 
Lord  Elgin,  was  received  with  a  calmness  and  forti- 
tude which  never  deserted  him  through  all  the  scenes 
which  followed.  It  was  impossible  not  to  be  struck 
bj^  the  courage  and  presence  of  mind  with  which,  in 
the  presence  of  a  death  unusually  terrible,  and  accom-- 
panied  by  circumstances  unusually  trying,  he  showed, 
in  equal  degrees  and  with  the  most  unvarying  con- 
stancy, two  of  the  grandest  elements  of  human  cha- 


460  INDIA.  Ch.  XVI. 

racter — unselfish  resignation  of  himself  to  the  ^U  of 
God,  and  thoughtful  consideration,  down  to  the 
smallest  particulars,  for  the  interests  and  feelings  of 
others,  both  public  and  private. 

*  When  once  he  had  satisfied  himself,   by  minute 
inquiries  from  Dr.  Macrae,  of  the  true  state  of  the 
case,  after  one  deep,  earnest,  heartfelt  regret  that  he 
should  thus  suddenly  be  parted  from  those  nearest 
and  dearest,  to  whom  his  life  was  of  such  inestimable 
importance,  and  that  he  should  be  removed  just  as  he 
had  prepared  himself  to  benefit  the  people  committed 
to  his  charge,  he  steadily  set  his  face  heavenward.    He 
was  startled,  he  was  awed ;  he  felt  it  ^'  hard,  hard,  to 
"  believe  that  his  life  was  condemned  ;"  but  there  was 
no  looking  backward.    Of  the  officers  of  his  staff  he 
took  an  affectionate  leave  on  that  day.  ^^  It  is  well,"  he 
said  to  one  of  them,  "that  I  should  die  in  harness.*' 
And  thenceforth  he  saw  no  one  habitually,  except  Dr. 
Macrae,   who  combined  with   his   medical   skill   the 
tenderness  and  devotion  at  once  of  a  Mend  and  of  a 
pastor;  his  attached  secretary,  Mr.  Thurlow,  who  had 
rendered  him  the  most  faithful  services,   not  only 
through  the  period  of  his  Indian  Vice-royalty,  but 
during  his  last  mission  to  China ;  and  Her  who  had 
shared  his  every  thought,  and  whose  courageous  spirit 
now  rose  above  the  weakness  of  the  fragile  fi:ame, 
equal  to  the  greatness  of  the  calamity,  and  worthy 
of  him  to  whom,  by  night  and  day,  she  constantly 
ministered. 

*  On  the  following  day,  the  clergyman  whom  he  had 
ordered  to  be  summoned,  and  for  whose  arrival  he 
waited  with  much  anxiety,  reached  Dhurmsala,  and 
administered  the  Holy  Communion  to  himself  and 
those  with  him.  "  We  are  now  entering  on  a  New 
"  Communion,"  he  had  said  that  morning,  "  the  Living 
"  and  the  Dead,"  and  his  spirit  then  appeared  to  master 
pain  and  weakness,  and  to  sustain  liim  in  a  holy  calm 


Ides.  ILLNESS.  461 

during  the  ceremony,  and  for  a  few  hours  afterwards. 
^^  It  is  a  comfort/'  he  whispered,  ^^  to  have  laid  aside 
^^  all  the  cares  of  this  world,  and  put  myself  in  the  hands 
^^  of  God;"  and  he  was  able  to  listen  at  intervals  to 
favourite  passages  from  the  New  Testament.  That 
evening  closed  in  with  an  aggravation  of  suffering.  It 
was  the  evening  of  the  seventeenth  anniversary  of  his 
wedding-day. 

*  On  the  following  morning,  Lady  Elgin,  with  his 
approval,  rode  up  to  the  cemetery  at  Dhurmsala  to 
select  a  spot  for  his  grave ;  and  he  gently  expressed 
pleasure  when  told  of  the  quiet  and  beautiful  aspect 
of  the  spot  chosen,  with  the  glorious  view  of  the  snowy 
range  towering  above,  and  the  wide  prospect  of  hill 
and  plain  below. 

^  The  days  and  nights  of  the  fortnight  which  followed 
were  a  painful  alternation  of  severe  suffering  and  rare 
intervals  of  comparative  tranquillity.  They  were 
soothed  by  the  never-failing  devotion  of  those  that 
were  always  at  hand  to  read  to  him  or  to  receive 
his  remarks.  He  often  asked  to  hear  chosen  chap- 
ters from  the  Book  of  Isaiah  (as  the  40th  and 
55th),  sometimes  murmuring  over  to  himself  any 
striking  verses  that  they  contained,  and  at  other  times 
repeating  by  heart  favourite  Psalms.  At  times  he 
delighted  to  hear  his  little  girl,  who  had  been  the 
constant  companion  of  his  travels,  repeat  some  of 
Keble^s  hymns,  especially  those  on  the  festivals  of  St. 
John  the  Evangelist  and  of  the  Holy  Innocents. 

^  Until  bis  strength  failed  him,  he  was  carried  at  times 
into  the  verandah,  and  showed  by  words  and  looks  his 
constant  admiration  at  the  grand  evidences  of  God's 
power  and  goodness  in  the  magnificence  of  the  scenery 
before  him;  and  on  one  such  occasion  was  delighted 
with  the  sublime  description  of  the  wonders  of  nature 
in  the  38th  and  39th  chapters  of  the  Book  of  Job. 

*  At  times  he  was  able  to  enter  into  conversat'on  and 


^{'2  recA- 


or  fidifu^  sutoecs^     «^  nesL  mner  tne  pres- 
Bur^  of  ilk  fiuffbrimrtw  Le  ^ira^  one  Togbi  entziemtiiig'  f' 
he  T*iiisu^^ — ^  V  tbxc  Q^jA  'iracid  in  mcfry  eame  fti.  i 
-•tfcktr  nifc  " — ^I»r.  Xjicrse  reninded  Inm  of  tlie  dres*: 
of  piuii  Slid  daikTii  -irLicn  seems  \o  be  expressed  in 
tbe  neccinirr  c«f  tLe  AircicT  cf  Gt  iliufwiiw^  and   he 
a;»peared  to  £iii  lUTJcii  c*airJbrr  in  rhc  tikoagiit,  repcat- 
ir.^  ccjoe  or  Tirjcse  iLiiT  Le  had  iiar  seen  it  in  this  ligbt 
before,  «iid  fiev^ral  tiiDes  saving  with  ferroor,   **  Xot 
^  BQ  V  wil  Lut  TLiiie  be  done-*'     At  odier  times,  he 
couid  even  be  ledL  bv  way  of  sTead\iiig  his  wandering 
tL^^-Lt^  sI^iid^t  iLe  distracii^.^i  of  regtkssiess,  to  fix 
them  on  hi$  €cb^*c<l  sj>d  coH^z^  davs,  to  tell  anecdotes 
of  biis  bard  reading,  or  to  describe  the  visit  to  Oxford 
of  bis  ven«:able  friend  Dr.  Chalmera.     He  dwelt  in 
tbi£  way  on  a  &€TnK>n  of  Dr.  Chafaneis  at  Glasgow, 
which  he  remembered  even  in  detail,  and  fix>m  ^rhich 
he  quoted  eome  eloquent  passages,  bringii^  out  the 
general  scope  of  the  sermoa,  to  the  eflfect  that,  rather 
than  teach  (people  to  hate  this  bad  wcn-ld,  we  should 
teach  them  to  love  and  look  up  to  a  better  one.^ 
^  It  will  naturally  be  understood  that  long  ccxiverse 
was  nearly  impossible.   As  occasions  rose,  a  few  words 
were  breathed,  an  appropriate  verse  quoted,  and  a  few 
minutes  were  all  that  could  be  given  at  any  one  time  to 
discourse  upon  it.     It  is  characteristic  of  his  strong, 
cheerful  £uth,  even  during  those  last  trying  moments, 
that  he  on  one  occasion  asked  to  have  the  more  suppli- 
catory,  penitential   Psalms   exchanged   for  those  of 
praise  and  thanksgiving,  in  which  he  joined,  knowing 
them  already  by  heart ;  and  in  the  same  strain  of  calm 
yet  triumphant  hope,  he  whispered  to  himself  on  the 
night  when  his  alarming  state  was  first  made  known 
to   him,    "  Hallelujah ;    the    Lord  God   Omnipotent 
"  reigneth.     We  shall  all  meet  again." 

*  'The  EzpuLnre  Power  of  a  New  Affection.' — Com97i«rcia/ 


18G8.  DEATH.  463 

*  That  thought  was  raised  to  its  highest  pitch  by  the 
sight  of  a  portrait  of  a  beloved  son,  who  had  died  in 
England  during  his  absence.  Jt  arrived  in  the  close 
of  those  sad  days.  He  recognised  it  with  a  burst 
of  tenderness  and  delight  which  at  once  lifted  his 
mind  above  the  suffering  of  his  mortal  illness.  Again 
and  again  he  desired  to  see  it,  and  to  speak  of  it, 
with  the  fixed  conviction  that  he  and  his^*  angel  boy," 
as  he  called  him,  would  soon  meet  in  a  better  world. 
"Oh,  when  shall  I  be  with  you?"  "You  know 
**  where  he  is ;  we  shall  all  go  to  him;  he  is  happy." 

*  Every  care  had  been  taken  for  the  public  interests, 
and  for  the  interests  of  those  still  nearer  and  dearer  to 
him.  He  had  laid  the  most  solemn  charge  on  his 
faithful  secretary  to  conduct  Lady  Elgin  home  on  her 
mournful  and  solitary  voyage.  He  had  given  to  Dr. 
Macrae,  with  the  tenderest  marks  of  affection,  a 
turquoise  ring :  "  We  have  had  a  long  struggle  to- 
"  gether ;  keep  this  in  memory  of  it."  He  had  dictated 
a  telegram  to  the  Queen  resigning  his  office,  with  a 
request  that  his  successor  might  be  immediately  ap- 
pointed. 

*  With  this  exception,  public  affairs  seem  to  have 
faded  from  his  mind.  "  I  must  resign  myself  to  doing 
"  no  work.  I  have  not  sufficient  control  over  my 
"  thoughts.  I  have  washed  my  hands  of  it  all."  But 
it  was  remarkable  that,  as  the  end  drew  nearer,  the 
keen  sense  of  public  duty  once  more  flashed  up  within 
him.  It  was  on  the  19th  that  he  could  not  help 
expressing  his  wonder  what  was  meant  by  his  long 
lingering  ;  and  once,  half  wandering,  he  whispered, 
**  If  I  did  not  die,  I  might  get  to  Lahore,  and  carry 
"  out  the  original  programme."  Later  on  in  the  day 
he  sent  for  Mr.  Thurlow,  and  desired  that  a  message 
sliould  be  sent,  through  Sir  Charles  Wood,  expressive 
of  his  love  and  devotion  to  the  Queen,  and  of  his 
determination  to  do   his  work   to  the   last  possible 


464  INDIA.  Cf.  xm. 

*  moment.  His  voice,  faint  and  inaudible  at  firsts  gained 
^  strength  with  the  earnestness  of  the  words  which  came 

*  forth  as  if  direct  from  his  heart,  and  which,  as  soon  as 

*  pronounced,  left  him  prostrate  with  the  exertion.  He 
^  begged,  at  the  same  time,  that  his  ^^  best  blessing  " 
^  might  be  sent  to  the  Secretaries  of  the  Indian  Govem- 
^  ment,  and  also  a  private  message  to  Sir  Charles  Wood 
^  in  England. 

^  These  were  his  last  public  acts.  A  few  words  and 
^  looks  of  intense  affection  for  his  wife  and  child  were 
^  all  that  escaped  him  afterwards.     One  more  night  of 

*  agonized  restlessness,  followed  by  an  almost  sudden 

*  close  of  the  long  struggle,  and  a  few  moments  of  per- 
^  feet  calm,  and  his  spirit  was  released. 

*  His  death  was  on  the  20th  of  November,  and  on  the 

*  2l8t  he  was  privately  buried,  at  his  own  request,  on 

*  the  spot  selected  beforehand.' 

He  was  cut  off,  as  those  felt  most  keenly  who  were  most 
capable  of  judging,  'just  at  the  moment  when  his  best 

*  qualities  were  about  to  show  themselves  ;  *  just  when 
the  information  and  experience  which  he  had  accumu- 
lated were  beginning  to  ripen  into  confidence  in  his 
knowledge  of  the  country;  and  to  the  historian  his 
figure  must  remaiu  as  an  unfinished  torso  in  the  gallery 
of  our  Indian  rulers.  But  those  who  have  read  the 
foregoing  pages,  more  especially  the  fragments  which 
they  contain  of  his  own  words  and  writings,  will  have 
derived  from  them  some  impression  of  the  varied  ability, 
the  steady  conscientious  industry,  the  genial  temper, 
the  *  combination  of  fertility  of  resource  with  simplicity 
of  aim,'  of  firmness  with  tact,  of  cautious  sagacity  with 
prompt  resolution,  which  might  have  found  even  larger 
scope  in  the  government  of  India  than  in  the  active  and 
eventful  life  which  has  been  described. 

These  attributes,  however,  do  not  make  up  the  man, 
such  as  he  lives  in  the  memory  of  those  who  saw  him 


1808.  CHAHACTERISTICS.  405 

most  nearly.  Beneath  the  manifold  outward  workmgs 
of  his  strong  and  capable  nature  there  flowed  a  ^  buried 

*  life  '  of  depth  more  than  proportionate. 

After  his  death,  one  who  had  known  him  long  and 
intimately,  on  being  asked  what  he  considered  to  be  the 
most  distinguishing  characteristic  of  his  deceased  friend, 
answered  at  once,  ^  Disinterestedness :  he  seemed  utterly 

*  incapable  of  regarding  any  subject  except  with  a  view 

*  to  the  interests  of  his  country.  And  next  to  that,'  he 
added,  ^  affectionateness ;  I  never  can  forget  the  grief 
^  he  showed  at  the  death  of  his  first  wife ;  I  thought  he 
^  never  would  have  held  up  hid  head  again.'  How  this 
tenderness  deepened  and  mellowed  in  the  husband  and 
father  of  later  years,  some  slight  indications  may  be 
found  in  the  letters  that  precede. 

Disinterested  devotion  to  public  duty;  tender  and 
affectionate  sympathies;  a  passionate  love  of  justice, 
showing  itself  especially  in  a  religious  regard  for  the 
rights  of  the  weak ;  all  resting  on  the  foundation  of  a 
firm  and  loving  trust  in  God ;  these,  far  more  than  his 
ability  or  his  eloquence,  are  the  qualities  that  made  him 
what  he  was :  the  qualities,  by  the  exercise  and  imita- 
tion of  which,  those  who  seek  to  do  him  honour  may 
best  perpetuate  his  memory. 

There  is  one  spot  from  which  that  memory  is  not 
likely  soon  to  pass  away :  the  spot  towards  which,  in 
his  most  distant  wanderings,  his  thoughts  turned  with 
even  more  than  the  ordinary  longing  of  a  Scotsman  for 
the  place  of  his  birth,  and  always  with  the  fond  hope 
that  he  might  be  permitted — 

life's  long  Texfttioii  pas!. 
There  to  xeton,  tod  die  at  home  at  laat 

*  Wherever  else  he  was  honoured '  (to  borrow  again 
from  the  author  already  quoted),  *and  however  few 

*  were  his  visits  to  his  native  land,  yet  Scotland  at  least 
^  always  delighted  to  clium  him  as  her  own.     Always 

H  II 


466  INDIA.  Ch.  XVI 

his  coontiTmen  were  proud  to  feel  that  he  wortiiilj 
bore  .the  name  most  dear  to  Scottish  hearts.     Alwavs 
his  mivarying  integrity  shcme  to  them  with  the  steady 
light    of  an   unchanging  beacon  above   the   stormy 
discords  of  the  Scottish  chorch  and  nation.     When- 
ever he  retm-ned  to  his  home  in  Fifeshire,  he  was  wel- 
comed by  all,  high  and  low,  as  their  friend  and  chief. 
Here  at  any  rate  were  folly  known  the  industry  with 
which  he  devoted  himself  to  the  small  details  of  local, 
often  trying  and  troublesome  business ;  the  affectionate 
confidence  with  which  he  took  oounsel  of  the  fidelity 
and  experience  of  the  aged  friends  and  servants  of 
his  house  ;  the  cheerful  contentment  with  which  he 
was  willing  to  work  for  their  interests  and  for  those 
of  his  family,  with  the  same  fiEumess  and  patience  as 
he  would  have  given  to  the  most  exciting  events  or 
the  most  critical  moments  of  his  public  career.     There 
hb  children,  young  as  they  were,  were  made  fiuniliar 
with  the  union  of  wisdom  and  playfulness  with  which 
he  guided  them,  and  with  the  simple  and  sdf^&iying 
habits  of  which  he  gave  them  so  striking  an  example. 
By  that  ancestral  home,  in  the  vaults  of  the  Abbey 
Church  of  Dunfermline,  would  have  been  his  natural 
resting-place.     Those  vaults  had  but  two  years  ago 
been  opened  to  receive  the  remains  of  another  of  the 
same  house,  his  brother,  General  Bruce,  whose  lamented 
death — also  in  the  service  of  his  Queen  and  country — 
followed  inunediately  on  his  return  from  the  journey 
in  which  he  had  accompanied  the  Prince  rf  Wales  to 
the  East,  and  in  which  he  had  caught  the  fioal  malady 
that  brought    him  to  his  untimely  end.  .  .  •  How 
little  was  it  thought  by  those  who  stood  roood  the 
vault  at  Dunfermline  Abbey,  on  July  2,  1862,  diat  to 
those  &miliar  scenes,  and  to  that  hallowed  s|X)t»  die 
chief  of  the  race  would  never  return.     How  moam* 
fully  did  the  tidings  from  India  reach  a  third  hrodin* 
^  in  the  yet  Af^br  East,  who  felt  that  to  him  was  doe 


1803.  A  FrmNG  BURIAL-PLACE.  467 

^  in  great  part  whatever  success  he  had  experienced  in 

*  life,  even  from  the  time  when,  during  the  elder 
^  brother's  Eton  holidays,  he  had  enjoyed  the  benefit  of 
'  his  tuition,  and  who  was  indulging  in  dreams  how,  on 

*  their  joint  return  f5pom  exile,  with  their  varied  expe- 
^  rience  of  the  East,  they  might  have  worked  together 
*•  for  some  great  and  useful  end.^ 

^  He  sleeps  far  away  from  his  native  land,  on  the 
^  heights  of  Dhurmsala ;  a  fitting  grave,  let  us  rejoice 

*  to  think,  for  the  Viceroy  of  India,  overlooking  from 
^  its  lofty  height  the  vast  expanse  of  the  hill  and  plain 
'  of  these  mighty  provinces — a  fitting  burial  beneath  the 
^  snow-clad  Himalaya  range,  for  one  who  dwelt  with 
^  such  serene  satisfaction  on  all  that  was  grand  and 
^  beautifiil  in  man  and  nature — 

Pondering  God's  mjtteries  untold, 

And,  tranquil  as  the  glacier  snowa^ 
He  bj  thofle  Indian  mountains  old 

Blight  well  repose. 

*  A  last  home,  may  we  not  say,  of  which  the  very 

*  name,  with  its  double  signification,  was  worthy  of  the 

*  spirit  which  there  passed  away — "  the  Hall  of  Justice, 

*  '*  the  Place  of  Rest."     Rest,  indeed,  to  him  after  his 

*  long  "  laborious  days,"  in  that  presence  which  to  him 

*  was  the  only  complete  Rest — ^the  presence  of  Eternal 

*  Justice.* 

>  That  third  brother,  Sir  Frederick  from  Boston,  where  he  was  suddenly 
Bruce,  was  laid  in  that  same  Tault,  cut  off  in  1807  at  his  poet  as  Minister 
when  his  remains  were  brought  home     to  the  United  States. 


lovdost  ritvTn»  bt 

aiMTTUWOOOl    AM»    CO,    |IBW««TUST    MOABB 
4JIB   r4BU*MB«*  BtBBBt 


\ 


Albemable  Street, 
April,  1872. 


MR.  MURRAY'S 

LIST    OF    NEW   WORKS 


ESSAYS  ON  CATHEDEALS. 

Edited,  with  an  Introduction,  by  J.  S.  HOWSOIf,  D.D., 

Dean  of  Chestor. 
CONT£J(TS  : 

EECOLLEOnONS  OF  A  DEAN.     The  Bishop  of  Carliblk. 

CATHEDRAL  CANONS  AND  THEIR  WORK.     J.  P.  Norkis,  M.A.,  Canon  of  Bristol. 

CATHEDRALS  IN  lEELAND,  PAST  AND  FUTURE.     The  Dean  of  Cashbl. 

CATHEDRALS  IN  THEIE  MISSIONARY  ASPECT.     A.  J.  B.  Brrbsford  Hopjb,  M.P. 

CATHEDRAL  FOUNDATIONS   IN   RELATION   TO   RELIGIOUS  THOUGHT.       B.    F. 
Wbstoott,  D.D.,  Regius  Professor  of  Divinity  at  Cauoridob. 

CATHEDRAL  CHURCHES  OF  THE  OLD  FOUNDATION.     Edward  A.  Frbbmak,  D.C.L. 

WELSH  CATHEDRALS.     J.  J.  S.  Pbrownb,  B.D.,  Canon  of  Llandaff. 

EDUCATION  OF  CATHEDRAL  CHORISTERS.  Sir  F.  A.  Gorb  Ousblbt,  Bart.,  M.A., 
Precentor  of  Hereford  Cathedral. 

CATHEDRAL  SCHOOLS.  T.  C.  DaRHAM,  M.A.,  Master  of  the  Cathedral  School,  Carlisle, 
and  Hon.  Canon. 

CATHEDRAL  REFORM.  PAST,  PRESENT,  AND  FUTURE.  F.  C.  Massinobbrd,  M.A., 
Canon  and  Chancellor  of  Liroolb. 

RELATION  OF  THE  BISHOP  TO  THE  CHAPTER.  R  W.  Bbhson,  D.D.,  Master  of 
Wbllinoton  Collbob. 

THE  ARCHITECTURE  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL  CHURCHES  OP  ENGLAND  CON- 
SIDERED HISTORICALLY.  Edmund  Ybhablbs,  M.A.,  Canon  and  Precentor  of 
Ltroolb. 

8vo.     12«. 


A  JOUENEY  TO  HIGH  TAKTARY,  YARKAND, 

AND    KASHGAR. 

By  BOBEBT  B.   SHAW, 

British  Commissioner  iu  Ladak. 

With  Map  and  lUastrations.     8yo.     I65. 

"  It  is  impossihie  to  read  Mr.  Shaw's  narrative  without  seeing  that  he  ran  many  risks  which 
were  only  averted  hy  his  ever  ready  wit,  constant  good  humour,  and  untiring  patience.  But 
risks  belong  chiefly  to  pioneers :  they  laboriously  make  the  roads  which  others  tread  safely  antl 
easily  after  them.  We  cannot  doubt  that  many  will  be  induced  by  Mr.  Shaw's  pleasant  and 
graphic  book  to  try  and  see  someUiing  of  the  novel  and  attractive  country  which  he  describes  so 
well ;  and  we  can  only  hope  that  they  may  follow  in  his  footsteps  without  encountering  his 
critical  situaUoua  or  enduring  the  weariness  of  his  long  detentions." — Guardian, 


ME.  MUEEA.T'S  LIST  OF   NEW  WORKS. 


LOED  BTEON;  A  BIOGRAPHY. 

WITH  A   CRITICAL  ESSAY  ON  HIS  PLACE  IN  LITERATURE. 

By  KABL  ELZE. 

TranAlated  from  the  Germany  and  Edited  with  Kotcs. 

With  an  Original  Portrait  and  Facsimile.    8vo.     16s. 

^^  Earl  EIzo  has  used  wisely  and  judiciously  the  vast  amount  of  materials  illustratiTt  •-.{ 
Byron,  which  were  open  to  him  as  to  all  the  world,  and  the  skilful  and  artistic  use  which  I.  ^ 
has  made  of  them  gives  a  charm  to  the  narratiye  which  is  clear,  compact^  and  well  amoz^^^ 
Not  the  least  interesting  part  of  the  book  to  many  readers  will  be  me  last  two  ch^ter^  ii 
which  the  author  treats  of  Byron's  characteristics  and  his  place  in  literature.    The  book  i<  ».:■ 
which  all  the  admirers  of  Byron  must  read." — Notes  and  Queries, 


LECTUEES  ON  THE  HISTOEY  OF  THE  CHURCH 

OF  SCOTLAND, 

DELIVERED   IN   EDINBURGH  IN  1872. 
By  ABTHITB    PBNBHYW    STAUXBT,    D.D., 

Dean  of  Westminster. 

8vo.     78.  6(1. 

"  Scottish  ecclesiastical  affairs  are  so  generally  eschewed  on  this  side  the  Border  Bsmritaic* 
not  to  be  deciphered  by  the  English  intellect,  that  Dean  Stanley  deserves  to  he  compUment^i 
for  hu  courage  in  undertaking  to  lecture  on  such  a  subject,  and  that,  too,  before  an  Edinbur-l 
audience  more  likely  to  be  critical  than  sympathetic.  It  was  impossible  that  a  wriUr 
possessed  of  such  varied  information  and  high  literary  skill  as  Dean  Stanley  ^ould  fail  in  an-i 
enterprise,  however  bold ;  and  he  has  accordingly  produced  a  work  which,  if  not  profoimdlv 
learned,  is  eminently  readable,— one  which  the  reader  will  not  readily  lay  aside  after  a  sinrie 
peru8al."-~u4M<r«rt»Mi«.  * 

A  HISTORY  OF  GEEECE. 

FROM  THE  EARLIEST    PERIOD  TO  THE  CLOSE  OP  THE  GENERATION 
CONTEMPORARY  WITH  ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT. 

By    GEOBGE     GBOTE,    P.E.S.,    D.C.L.    &    LI^D. 

Lftto  Vicc-ChftnceUor  of  the  University  of  London,  President  of  Univenrity  OoUare  Londmi 

and  Foreign  Member  of  the  Institute  of  France.  ^^^K«»  ixaidon, 

FourOi  EdUion,    With  Portrait,  Maps,  and  Plans,  10  vols.,  8vo. 

The  Text  of  these  Volumes  has  been  carefully  revised,  and  the  Edition  is  printed 
m  Large  Type,  and  on  Fine  Papeh,  suitable  for  the  shelves  of  the  Library. 


A  SECOND  SERIES  OF  EPHEMERA. 

By  LOBD  LYTTBLTOBT. 

Cro^vn  8ro.   fi*. 


ME.   MUEEAY'S   LIST   OF   NEW   WOEKS. 


THE  HISTORY  OF  BRITISH  COMMERCE; 

AND  OF  THE  PROGRESS  OF  THE  BRITISH  NATION,  1763-1870. 
By  Professor  LEOITE  LEVI,  F.8.A., 

BaxTister«at-Law,  Professor  of  the  Pi-inciples  and  Practice  of  Commerce  and  CommerciAl  Law, 

King's  OoUoge,  London. 

"With  aii  Index.     870.     16«. 

"  Prof.  Lc7i  haa  added  to  his  sereral  contributions  to  economic  science  a  book  that  was 
wanted.  Histories  of  commerce  have  often  consisted  of  little  more  than  outlines  of  treaties 
and  of  financial  crises,  with  some  notices  of  the  removal  of  trade  from  one  port  to  another. 
A  good  commercial  history  should  give,  at  least  in  outlines,  a  representation  of  the  whole 
industrial  and  economic  life  of  a  people.  This  larger  definition  nas  been  accepted  by  Prof. 
Levi,  and  it  has  increased  both  tne  difficulty  and  the  value  of  his  work.  He  oegins  at  the 
time  when  free  trade  was  an  abstract  theory  and  ends  when  he  finds  it  recognized,  in  Great 
Britain,  not  only  as  an  established  fact,  but  also  as  a  law  for  the  future.  His  Look  serves  as  an 
important  historical  argument  in  favour  of  commercial  freedom,  and  as  an  epitome  of  faeU  for 
students  of  national  economy.  The  value  of  Prof.  Levi's  book  is  increased  by  a  good  index,  and 
by  8ome  extensive  statistical  appendices." — Athenaum. 


RUDE  STONE  MONUMENTS  IN  AIL  COUNTRIES ; 

THEIR  AGE  AND  USES. 
By  JAMES  i^BGITSSON,  D.O.L.9   F.B.8., 

Author  of  "The  History  of  Architecture.'* 
With  230  Illustrations.     Medinm  8yo.    245. 

^'  Hitherto,  antiquaries  have  looked  upon  untooled  monuments  as  mainly  pre-architectural 
and  possibly  pre-hlstoric.  But  Mr.  Fergusson  has  now  elaborated  an  idea  slightly  outlined  by 
him  about  ten  yearp  ago,  and  in  this  copiously  illustrated  work  endeavours  to  draw  these 
wonderful  relics  within  the  confines  of  architecture  and  history,  and  arrange  them  in  a  sequence. 
His  creed  is  that  all  groups  of  untooled  stone  are  comi>arativeiy  modem,  and  that  those  of  tiie 

Etist  especially  are  very  late  attempts  to  imitate  ancient  magnificence Of  those 

Yiho  have  investigated  the  subject  for  themselves,  some  will  receive,  and  some  will  resent  his 
interpretations,  but  all  who  look  into  his  book  and  examine  his  illustrations  will  be  gratified." 
—BuiUier. 


LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF  ST.  CHRYSOSTOM. 

A  SKETCH   OF  THE   CHURCH  and  the  EMPIRE   in  the   IVth   CENTURY. 

By  Bev.  W.  B.  W.  STEPHENS,  M.A., 

BalUol  Coll.,  Oxon,  Vicar  of  Mid-Lavant,  Sussex. 

Portrait.     8vo.     15s. 

**  Mr.  Stephens  has  considerable  powers  of  description,  and  has  given  us  a  life-like  pictiune  of 
the  celebrated  Archbishop  of  Constantinople.  He  has  fairly  accomplished  the  design  which  he 
laid  before  himself  at  commencing  his  work,  of  writing  a  supplementary  chapter  on 
ecclesiastical  history.  He  has  even  done  more,  for  he  has  made  his  biography  quite 
intelligible  to  readers  who  may  be  taking  up  the  subject  for  the  first  time ;  and  we  even  think 
that  one  who  had  never  even  heard  of  St.  Chr}'8ostom — and  how  many  there  may  be  in  that 
predicament  we  will  not  attempt  to  determine— might  read  this  volume  with  interest  and 
advantage.  Upon  the  whole  we  think  the  author  may  fairly  be  congratulated  in  having 
achieved  a  success." — Literary  Churchman, 


ME.   MUEEAY'S   LIST   OF   NEW  WOBKS. 


A  SECOND  SERIES  OF  MISCELLANIES, 

COLLECTED    AND    EDITED 
ByEABL  STANHOPE. 

CONTENTS : 


Italian  Memoiu  bv  Lady  Maby  Wort- 
ley  Montagu.    1767. 

Case  of  Majoa  Andr^    1780. 

Mr.  Pitt  and  Eakl  Temple.    1783. 

The  English  Friends  of  the  French 
Kevolxttion.     1792. 

Mr.  Pitt  and  Ma.  Canning.    1792. 

Mr.  Pitt  at  Walmer  Castle.    1801-6. 

Mr.  Fox  and  Mr.  Canning.    1827. 

Short  Essays  in  Archisology.     1830-6. 

A  Visit  at  Derby.     1839. 

M.  DE  Stsmondi  on  History  and  Poli- 
tics.   1835-42. 


Mr.    Hallam    on   English    Poutics. 
1841-5. 

Superstitions  in  India.     18-45-6. 

Prince  Louis  Kapoleon  to  Sir  Robect 
Peel.     1846. 

Inscription  by  Lord  Mac  aula  y.   1847. 

P.  M.  A.  C.  F.     1849. 

Prince  Metternich  on  German  Pou- 

Tics.     1850-1. 

Ababic     Philosophy      in     Medieval 
Europe.    1866. 

Legends  of  Charlemagne.     1866. 


Post  8vo.     7*.  6d, 

CHEISTIANITY 

IN   RELATION   TO   THE    PRESENT   STATE   OF   SOCIETY  AND   OPINION. 

By   M.  GTJIZOT. 

Post  8vo.     9*. 


LIPE  AND  TIMES  OF  THE  EEV.  DB.  COOXE, 

OF  BELFAST. 

By  Hev.  J.  L.  PORTEB,  D.D., 

Author  of  *•  Five  Years  In  Damaacua,"  "  The  Handbook  for  Syria  and  PWeatine." 

Second  Edition,    With  Portraits.     8vo.     lis, 

"  Tluit  Dr.  Cooke  was  a  very  remarkable  man  is  sufflcientiy  proved  by  what  he  did.  He  rose 
bv  perfectly  legitimate  means  from  a  low  raiik  in  lif e  to  a  position  of  national  importance,  in 
which  his  opinions  and  acUons  were  worth  the  consideration  of  stotesmen.  He  undertook 
mat  enterenses  and  accomplished  them  with  astonishing  success.  Dr.  Porter  has  performed 
the  part  of  bfegrapher  in  a  very  creditable  manner.  As  his  volume  covere  eighty  eventful 
yeax^hyMHUlMOcused  of  dealing  at  too  great  len^h  with  the  life  and  times  of  his  hero. 
-  '  -*-*^^""™^««  great  Protestant  leader  of  Belfast  has  been  happy  in  hU  biographer. 

Hi.  as  in  life,  a  great  de%l  of  high-flown  praise,  but  his  history  has  been 

rward  manner  suitable  to  a  character  that  did  not  need  magnifying 

'Saturday  Mevitic,  ^     j    6 


MR.  MURRAY'S  LIST   OF  NEW  WORKS. 


r-. 

.     V 


THE 

SPEAKERS  COMMENTAEY  ON  THE  BIBLE. 

EXPLANATORY  and  CRITICAIi,  WITH  A  REVISION  of  the  TRANSLATION, 
BY  BISHOPS  AND  OTHER  CLERGY  OF  THE  ANGLICAN  CHURCH. 

Edited  by  F.  C.  GOOE,  M.A.,  Canon  of  Exeter. 

Vol.  I.  :  THE  PENTATEUCH. 

GENESIS— Bishop  of  Ely.  j  NUMBERS— Rev.  T.  E.  Espin  &  Rey. 

EXODUS  —  Canon     Cook    and    Rev.   '  J-  F.  Thrupp. 


Samuel  Clark. 
LEVITICUS— Rev.  Samuel  Clark. 


DEUTERONOMY-Rev.  T.  E.  Espin. 


Fifth  Thousand.    Medium  8vo.     8O5. 

'*  This  Commentary  is  intended  for  the  tens  of  thousands  of  thoughtful,  educated,  reverent 
Englishmen,  who,  making  no  pretension  to  be  Hebrew  or  theological  scholars,  yet  sincerely  love 
their  bibles,  are  interested  in  all  that  concerns  them,  and  ask  anxiously  for  some  plain  and 
honest  reply  to  the  difficulties  and  objections  by  which,  of  late  years,  they  hare  been  so 
unceasingly  |>ained  and  disturbed.  And  such  persons  we  venture  to  assert  will  not  turn  to  this 
Commentary  in  vain.'* — John  BuU, 


AT  HOME  WITH  THE  PATAGONIANS 

A  YEAR'S  WANDERINGS   OVER  UNTRODDEN  GROUND, 

from  the  straits  07  MAGELLAN  TO  THE  RIO  NEGRO. 

By   QEOBGE   CHAWOBTH  MITSTEBS,  B.K. 

With  Map  and  Illustrations.    8vo.    16«. 

"  Mr.  Musters'  journey  may  be  ranked  among  the  most  adventurous  and  successful  of  tliose 
which  have  been  recently  undertaken  by  our  enterprising  fellow-oountrymen." — Sir  R.  Mur* 
ehison*8  Address, 


ASTEONOMY  &  GEOLOGT-MR  DARWIN  &  MR. 
BUCKLE -PKOGRESS  &  CIVILIZATION. 

THREE   ESSAYS. 

By  LOBD  OBMATHWAITE. 

Crown  8vo.    6s, 

**  These  Essays  are  the  meditations  of  a  matured  and  active  mind,  led  by  a  physical  depriva- 
tion to  seek  relaxation  in  reviewing  the  bearings  of  some  of  its  former  studies.  Lord 
Ormathwaite  piefaces  his  psges  with  tie  explanation  that  the  decay  of  his  eyesight  has  within 
the  last  year  incopacitated  him  from  reaaing  or  writing.  There  is  nothing,  either  in  the 
form  or  substance  of  the  book  from  beginning  to  end,  which  would  betray  the  heavy  dis- 
advantage under  which  it  was  composed.  Some  of  the  arguments,  of  course,  may  be  open  to 
dispute ;  but  the  Essays  are  throi^hout  marked  by  a  clearness  of  expression  and  a  grace  of 
style  which  alone  would  render  their  perusal  a  pleasure."— JVmcs. 


6  ME.  MURRAY'S  LIST  OF  NEW  WORKS. 


THE  BOOK  OF  MAECO  POLO, 

rONCKKNlNG   THE   KINGDOMS  AND  MAKVEIi;  OF   THE    KAST. 

A  New  Ekglisu  Vkrsiox. 
1  Illustrated  by  the  Li^ht  of  Oriental  Writers  and  Modem  Travels. 

By  COLONEL  HENBY  YULE,  C.B., 

Late  of  the  Royal  Engineera  (Bengal). 

With  20  Maps  and  Plates,  and  80  Illiwtrations.    2  Vols.     Medium  8vo.     42s. 

"The  publication  of  Colonel  Tule's  *  Marco  Polo*  is  an  epoch  in  gcogniphiral  lit<>Ri:nr«-. 
Never  before,  perhaps,  did  a  book  of  travels  appear  under  such  exceptionally  farcura^' 
auspices :  an  editor  oi  a  fine  taste  and  ripe  experience  and  possessed  with  a  paraion  for  cnri-^u^ 
meaioDval  research,  having  found  a  publisher  willing  to  gratify  that  passion  without  stint  <■•( 
expenditure) ;  and  the  result  being  the  production  of  a  work  which,  in  so  iar  as  it  combiiit.'' 


perhaps,  has  there  been  a  more  difficult  book  of  the  class  to  expound  than  Karoo  Polo*«  tnYtI^ 
since  ms  great  prototype  Herodotus  recited  his  history  at  Athens.  Bvery  page  is  a  jnizjk  ; 
every  chapter  contains  strange  names  which  it  is  hard  to  reoognixe ;  strange  storiea  which  it  15 
harder  still  either  to  believe  or  to  explain.*' — Edinbttrgh  Bcriew, 


SELF-HELP  AND  CHAEACTEB. 

COMPANION   VOLUMES. 
By  SAMUEL    SMILES.     Author  of  "Life  of  Stephenson." 

Post  8to.     6«.  each. 
%•  Of  these  Popular  Works  upicards  <?/ 100,000  copies  have  been  sold. 


A  BOrS  VOYAGE  BOUND  THE  WOBLD; 

INCLUDIKO 

A   RESIDENCE    IN    VICTORIA,    AND    A   JOURNEY    BY    BAIL   ACROSS 

NORTH  AMERICA. 

Edited  by  SAMUEL  SMILES. 

5th  Thousand,    With  lUastrations.     Post  8vo.     69. 

'*  A  volume  of  tho  healthiest  and  moat  agreeable  kind.  It  is  a  capital  narrative,  unaffected, 
vivacious,  and  rich  in  incident.  It  contains,  moreover,  a  large  amount  of  information  not 
readily  to  be  found  in  more  ambitious  works,  and  in  writing  of  well-known  places,  such  as 
Kelboume  and  Honolulu,  it  is  evident  that  the  author  sees  with  his  own  eyes  and  not  through 
<  the  spectaoles  of  books,'  '^^PaU  Mall  Gazette. 


ME.   MURRAY'S   LIST   OF   NEW   WORKS.  7 

TRAVELS  OF  A  PIONEER  OF  COMMERCE 

ON  AN  OVEBLAND  JOUllNEY  FllOM  CUINA  TOWARDS    INDIA. 

By  T.  T.  COOFEB, 

Late  Agont  for  the  CImmbor  of  Commorco  at  Calcutta. 

With  Map  and  lUastrations."    Svo.     I6s. 
'^  Mr  Cooper  made  an  attempt  to  trayerso  the  unknown  region  between  the  Chinese  province 


ira practicable.    His  narrative  is  one  of  those  racy  descriptions  of  exciting  adventure  which  we 
oan  only  look  for  from  men  of  high  pluck,  and  not  too  often  from  them.    His  narrative   . 
illiistratos  Marco  Polo's  story  "-^Quarterlif  Jieview. 


PRIMITIVE  CULTURE; 

llESEAKCHES  INTO  THE  DEYELOPMENT  OF 

MYTHOLOGY,   PHILOSOPHY,  RELIGION,  ART,  AND  CUSTOM. 

By  EDWABD   B.   TYLOB,   F.B.S., 

Author  of  the  *'  Early  History  of  Mankind." 
2  Vols.     Svo.     2is. 


VILLAGE  COMMUNITIES  IN  THE  EAST  AND  WEST. 

By  SIB  HENBY  SUMNEB  MAINE,  K.C.S.I.,  LL.D., 

Member  of  the  Indian  Cooncil,  Author  of  "  Ancient  Law ; "  and  Corpus  Frufessor  of  Jurisprudence 

in  the  University  of  Oxford. 

Second  Edition.    Svo.     95. 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  SPECIES,  BY  MEANS  OF 

NATURAL  SELECTION: 

Ob,  The  Preservation  of  Favoured  Races  in  the  Struggle  for  Life. 

By  CHABLES   DABWIK,  F.B.S. 

6^  Edition^  and  Thoroughly  Revised.    (11^  Thousand,)    With  a  Glossary  of  Scientific 

Terms. 
Post  Svo.      Is,   6rf. 


MB.   MUERAT'S   LIST   OF   NEW   "WOBKS. 


A  SMALLEE  MANUAL  OF  ANCIENT  GEOGEAPHY. 

By  Rev.  W.  Ii.  BEVAT^.  M.A., 

Author  (»f  the  "Student's  Manuals  of  Auclent  and  Modem  Geography.** 
"With  Illustrations.     16ino.     85.  6d, 


THE  PEINCIPLES  OF  GEOLOGY, 

OR,    THE    MODERN    CHANGES    OF    THE    EARTH    AND    ITS  INHABITANTS,    CONSIDERED   AS 

ILLUSTRATIVE  OF  GEOLOGY. 

By    SIB    CHABLES    LYELL,   Bart.,    F.B.S. 

ll^A  Edition,    With  Illustrations.     Vol.  1.     8vo.     16«. 


THE  DESCENT  OF  MAN, 

AND  SELECTION  IN  RELATION  TO  SEX. 
By  CHABLES   DABWIN,    F.B.8., 

Author  of  "  The  Variations  of  Animals  and  Plants,"  tc  ,  Ac 
Eighth  Thousand.    With  Illustrations.    2  Vols,     Crown  8vo.    24s. 


HISTOEY  OF  THE  EEIGN  OF  QUEEN  ANNE 
UNTIL  THE  PEACE  OF  UTEECHT. 

1701—1718. 
By  EABL  STANHOPE. 

Second  Edition,    8vo.     16s, 

This  work  is  designed  as  a  connecting  link  between  the  conclusion  of  Lord  MACArLAY*8 
History  of  England  and  the  coniniencexnent  of  Lord  Mahon's  History. 


MES.  MAEKHAM'S  HISTOEY  OF  ENGTAND, 

CONTINUED   DOWN    TO    THE    PRESENT   TIME. 
Yeii^,  Revised,  and  Cheaper  Edition,     With  Woodcuts.     12ino.     8#.  td. 


MB.  MURRAY'S  LIST   OF  NEW  WORKS. 


THE  WOEKS  OF  ALEXANDER  POPE. 

A  NEW  EDITION.    EDITED  WITH  INTRODUCTIONS  AND  NOTE& 

By  BEV.  WUITWELL  BLWIN. 

With  PortraiU.    8to.    10«.  ed.  each. 

Thii  Edition  will  consist  of  10  Yolumet.  The  FGETIGAL  WOEKS  will  oeevpr  Fovm 
VoLUMBe.    The  PBOSS  WORKS  OxB  VoLuio.    The  CORRESPONDENCE  Fxtb  Yolvmbs. 

Each  Volume  will  hare  a  double  number — ^that  of  Ite  place  in  the  complete  edition  and  of 
ite  place  in  iti  own  particular  eeotion.  Thus  VoU.  I.  and  U.  of  the  WORKS  form  Vole.  I. 
and  11.  of  the  POBTRT,  and  Voli.  VI.,  VII.  and  VIIL,  form  Voli.  I.,  U.  and  IXL  ef  the 
CORRESPONDENCE. 


A  MANUAL  OF  SCIENTIFIC  INQUIRY, 

FOR  THE  USE  OF  OFFICERS  AND  TRAVELLERS. 
Edited  by  Bev.  BOBBBT  MAIN,  HJL.,  VJt.CL, 

Radoliire  Obeerror. 
PauHh  BdUUm.     Poet  Svo.     8«.  td. 

PVBUSBKD    BT    AUTHOBTTY    OF   TOB   AdMIBALTT. 


HALLAlfS  HISTORICAL  WORKS. 

WITH   THE   AUTHOR^S   LATEST   CORRECTIONS   AND   ADDITIONa 

CONTAINING  : 

I.  HlffTORY  OF  ENGLAND,  FROM  HENET  VU.  TO  0B0B6B  XL  3  Toh. 
U.  HISTORY  OF  EUROPE  DURING  THE  MIDDLE  AGESL    8  toIa. 
III.  LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  EUROPE.    4  Tola. 

CBBAPKR  EDITION.     10  VoU.    Pott  8to.    4e.  eaoh. 

%^  The  pmhUe  are  eautiotud  a^aimt  imperfti  0diti4ms  that  have  appeared  ef  theee 
jrvrks,  as  thep  are  merely  reprints  ef  the  first  editiona,  which  wee  foU  of  enon^  and 
do  not  eontain  ike  author's  additionai  nates  and  Utest  eorreetiene. 


LIHLE  ARTHUR'S  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

FOR  CHILDREN.    CONTINUED  DOWN  TO  THE  PRESENT  TIME. 

BY  liABY   OAIiLCOTT. 

A  New  and  Jtevised  BdUien.    With  additional  Woodcuti.     16mo.     2s.  (id. 


10  MR.   MURRAY'S   LIST    OF   NEW  WORKS. 

THE  WELLINGTON  SUPPLEMENTAEY 

DESPATCHES. 

Bdited  by  the  FBESSNT  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTOIT. 

Vol.  XIV.    ooKTnrts. 

InstnictioiiB  isBned  by  the  Duke  in  Spam,  the  South  of  France,  and  during  the  Waterloo 
Campaign,  reepecting  the  organization  and  discipline,  and  upon  the  moyementa  and  orden 
of  hatUe,  of  the  AUiod  Armies.  Intercepted  Letters  and  Reports  from  French  Qenenals  ; 
Kapoleon'a  Instructions  to  his  ManihalB,  &c.,  &c 

8vo.    20j. 


ACCOUNT  OF  THE  MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS 
OF  THE  MODEM  EGYPTIANS. 

By   EDWABD   WM.   LANE. 

Fifth  EdiHon,    Edited  by  E.  STANLEY   POOLE. 

With  Woodcuts.    2  vols.    PostSvo.    12<. 


A  RIDE  THROUGH  THE  DISTURBED  DISTRICTS 

OF  NEW  ZEALAND. 

WITH   NOTES   OF   A   CRUISE   AMONG   THE   SOUTH    SEA   ISLANDS. 

By  the  Hon.  HEBBEBT  MEADE,   Lt.  B.K. 

Second  JSdiHon,    With  Maps  and  Illustrations.    Medium  8ro.    12s. 


SCRAMBLES  ON  THE  ALPa 


JKOLUDIKQ 


THE   FIRST   ASCENT   OF   THE   MATTERHORN,    AND   THE   ATTEMPTS 

WHICH  PRECEDED   IT, 

Ain>  0B8BRVATI0N8  ON  GLA.CIAL  PHEKOMKNA  ON  THE  ALF8  AND  IN  GBEKNI.ANI>. 

By  EDWABD  WHYMPEB. 

Second  SdUum,    With  Maps  and  120  Illustrations.     Medium  8to.    21«. 

«*  We  do  not  know  of  any  engrarings  which  so  thoroughly  bring  back,  not  merely  the  form 
and  rahof  of  the  mountains,  but  their  very  spirit."— ^SMurvfay  JRevtew, 

«4«w^y^neof  the  boot  considered  mmply  from  an  artistic  point  of  view,  is  inoonteatible. 
IgJH^TsUer  wiU  have  memones  stirred  within  him,  and  wiU  be  ready  at  onoe  to 


MS.   ICUBfiATS  LIST   OF  NEW  WOBES.  11 


THE  STUDENTS  ELEMENTS  OF  GEOLOGY. 

By  SIB   OHABLXS  LYBLL,  Bart.,  PJt.8.9 

Author  of  "  Frtadplet  of  QvAogy,**  "  TIm  Antiqui^  of  Man,"  Ae. 
Sixth  Thaumnd,    With  600  Woodcata.     Fost  8to.    9$. 


THE    HANDWRITING    OF    JUNIUS 
PROFESSIONALLY  CONSDERED. 

By  MB.  GHABLES  CHABOT,  Expert. 

With  Prafaoe  uid  CoUAtenJ  EWdoice, 
By  the  HON.  EDWABD   TWISLBTON. 

With  Facsimiles  sad  Woodcats.     4to.     03f: 

"We  eoDgntulate  Hr.  Twitleton  upon  hsnng  eettled,  as  we  think,  onoe  for  all  the  long* 
disputed  oootroTenj  respeoting  tfae  autnoiahip  of  the  Junian  Letten."— QiMn«r^  Stpi0w, 

**  We  agree  with  the  ^Quarterly.'  We  must  accept  Vr.  Twiileton's  work  as  final.  If  Sir 
Philip  Francis  and  Junius  were  not  identical,  then  it  is  poanble  for  two  persons  not  only  to 
hsTS  preciaely  the  lame  tricka  of  handwriting  and  the  same  indiridualities  of  punetuation,  and 
to  preserre  tiiem  through  reams  of  msnuseript,  but  to  be  able  without  knowing  it  in  all  moments 
of  forgetAilness  to  write  different  hsnds,  eaeh  of  which  shall  be  the  hand  of  the  other."— 


LOCAL  TAXATION  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN 

AND  IRELAND. 

By  B.  H.  INQLIS  PALQBAVB. 

8Ta    St. 


HISTORY  OF  PAINTING  IN  ITALY. 

IKCLUDIKO  THE  LITTLE  KNOWN  SCHOOLS  OF  NORTH  ITALY. 
FROM  THE  2nd  TO  THE  18th  CENTURY. 

DRAWN  TJP  raOM  FHKSH  MATXEIALB  AND  RBCIHT  &I8«ABCBn  IN  THE  ABCHITIS 

or  ITALT^  AS  WILL  AS  FROM  FRRMNAL  INBFmCTION  OF  THR  WORXR 

or  ART  SCATTRRRD  THROUGHOUT  RUROPR. 

By  J.  A.  CBOWB  and  C.  B.  CAVALCA8BUJI, 

With  ninstrationa.    ff  Vols.    8to.    ils.  each. 

*<  As  eontribntions  to  a  special  department  of  history,  this  work  it  strietly  new  in  the  sense 
of  owing  less  to  prerious  wntera  thsn  snv  yet  undertaken,  and  thorough  to  a  degree  only  to  be 
appreciated  by  rery  thorough  perussl.  ao  work  hss  yet  attempted  in  the  asms  degree  to  un- 
fold the  history  of  sll  the  ItsUsn  Schools,  their  intricate  relations  and  affinities,  the  stock 
whence  they  deecended,  the  families  into  which  they  intermsrried^  the  impube  traceable  to 
the  passing  visit  of  one  great  painter,  the  mannerism  accounted  for  by  the  vicinity  of  one  par- 
ticular picture.  None  also  hss  done  such  justice  to  the  great  men  who  stand  oentrally  as 
fonnen  end  uniten  of  others Our  authon  have  done  what  none  before  have  at- 


tempted—they hare  rectified  the  erron,  and  filled  up  the  omissions  of  Yaiari,  and  hs  will  bs 
a  bold  man  woo  undertakss  to  do  the  «me  by  ihiem,*^^£dim^urfh  Mm$w. 


Albbicabt<b  Stbebt. 
Aprilf  187S. 


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FORTHCOMING    BOOKS 


THE 

National  Memorial  to  the  Prince  Consort. 

ILLU8TRATKD 

67  accurate  engntTinga  of  the  Moirament  in  Hyde  Pkrk,  iti  Architeetara,  Deoon- 
tiona;  Sculptured  Groups,  Statues,  Mosaics,  Metalwork,  Ac.,  designed  and  executed 
by  the  most  eminent  British  artists. 

24  LiKox  PLATE8.    Enobavxd  undeb  dibsotion  of  lewis  GRUNER. 

The  descriptive  text  is  accompanied  by  numerous  Woodcuta. 

Folio  (50  Copies  only  on  Imperial  Paper). 


The  Speaker's  Commentary  on  the  Bible. 

Explanatory  akd  Gbitioal,  with  a  Revision  or  the  Tbanslation. 
Bt  bishops   and    other   clergy    of   the   ANGLICAN   CHURCH. 

Edited  by  Canon  COOK,  M.A. 
Medium  8to. 

SJothua,  Eev.  T.  E.  Espin,  B.D. 
Judges,  JMh,  Samuel,  Bishop  of  Bath  and  Wblia 
/.  Xinf^i,  Rev.  Gxobqk  Rawlinsok. 

■\Mw  \  //•  Sings,  Ckronieles,  Mra,  Kekemiah^  Esther ^ 
^^  (  Bar.  Geobob  Rawlxnbon,  ILK 


MR.   MURRATS  FORTHCOMING   BOOKS.  13 

Pekin,  Jeddo,  and  San  Francisco. 

THE  THIRD  AND  CONCLUDING  VOLUME  OF  THE  JOURNAL  OF  A 

VOYAGE  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

By  the  marquis  DE  BEAUVOIR. 
Translated  from  thk  French  by  AGNES  and  HELKN  STEPHENSON. 

With  Illustrations.    Poet  8vo. 


The  Bise  and  Development  of  Mediaeval 

Architecture. 

LECTURES  DELIVERED  AT  THE  ROYAL  ACADEMY. 
By  GEORGE  GILBERT  SCOTT,  R.A-,  F.S.A. 

8ya 


A  History  of  the  Church  of  France, 

FROM  THE  CONCORDAT  OF  BOLOGNA,  151«,  TO  THE  BEVOLUTION. 

WiTB  AK  InTKODUCTIOK. 

By  W.  HENLEY  JERVIS>  M.A^ 

FrebendMy  of  HcTtMbay. 
Portraits.    2  Vols.    8to. 


The  Longevity  of  Man; 

ITS  FACTS  AND  ITS  HCTION. 

Including  Obserrations  on  the  more  Remarkable  Instances,  and  Hints  fur  Testing 

Reputed  Cases. 

By  WILLIAM  J.  THOMS,  F.S.A. 

Post  8to. 

Amons  the  chief  points  discosMd  in  this  work,  and  iUnstnted  by  maay  carious  ezampW 
will  be  found :  The  Social  Condition  of  Centenarians ;  Longerity  in  the  Middle  Am ;  on  tlio 
▼ariouB  species  of  Evidence— Baptismal  RegisUrs,  Monumental  Inseriptions.  Reoollectiona  of 
MBt  Erents,  Number  of  Descendants,  Lirin*  Witnesses  &c. ;  a  Critical  Inquiry  into  th« 
VmatM  of  Henry  Jenkins,  Old  Parr,  and  the  Old  Countess  of  Desmond ;  Cases  of  CentenaiijuiiaQ. 
wWh  hare  lien  clearly  csUblished;  Cases  which  hare  been  disprored;  DoubtftU  Ci 
ProbablT Cases;  Longerity  as  riewed  by  Medical  Men ;  Physiology  of  the  Question ;  ^ 
for  the  Inrf^gation  of  Cases,  &c. 


11  MK   MURRAY'S  FORTHCOMING   BOOKS. 


Notes  of  Thought  and  Conversation. 

By  the  late  CHARLES  BUXTON,  M.P. 


Crown  8vo. 


Tegner's  Frithiofs  Saga;  or  the  Tale   of 

Frithiof. 

TRANSLATED   FROM  THE  SWEDISH 

Bt   captain   SPALDING,    104th   FusiLEEns. 

Post  8ra 


A  Journey  to  the  Source  of  the  River  Oxus, 
by  the  Indus,  Kabul,  and  Badakhshan. 

By  the  late  Capt.  JOHN  WOOD,  (Indian  Navt). 

New  Edition.    Edited  by  His  Son. 

WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION   ON  THE  GEOGRAPHY  OP  THE  COUNTRY 

BORDERING  THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  OXUS. 
BY  COLONEL  HENRY  YULE,  C.B. 

With  Map.     8vo. 

**  Having  already  more  than  once  had  oocasion  to  refer  to  Lieutenant  Wood,  we  will  briefly 
8tate  that  he  accompanied  Alexander  Bumes  in  his  mission  to  Cabool,  and  afterwards  perfonne^ 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  joumevs  ever  undertakm  in  Central  Asia.  He  made  a  survey  of 
the  Indus,  from  its  mouth  to  Attock.  At  Kalabagh,  the  point  where  the  Indus  escapes  from 
the  Salt  Range  he  found  it  impossible  to  stem  the  current.  Undaunted  by  the  difficulty,  ho 
landed  and  went  by  forced  marches  to  Attock  ;  thence,  descending  the  river,  he  completed  his 
surrey  amidst  the  falls  and  rapids.  After  reaching  Cabool,  he  crossed  the  mountains  to 
Khunduz,  and  was  eventually  the  first  European,  after  Marco  Polo  and  Benedict  Goes,  who 
ever  reached  the  Bam-i-dunya,  or  £oof  of  the  WVW.  Thus  in  1838  Wood  discovered  the 
source  of  the  Oxiis,  on  the  margin  of  the  Pamir  Steppe,  and  for  this  splendid  achievement  he 
was  rewarded  with  the  Patron's  gold  medal  of  tne  Royal  Geographical  Society.  Captain 
Wood's  narrative  presents  the  ma<<t  brilliant  confirmation  in  detail  of  Marco  Polo's  descrip- 
tions."— Qmarterly  Rerietr. 


Metallurgy  of  Gold  and  Silver,   Mercury, 

Plataniimt  Tm,  Nickel,  Cobalt,  Antiinony,  Biamuth,  Arsenic, 

AND  OTHER  METALS. 
By  JOHN  PERCY,  M.D.,  F.R.S., 

•otursr  on  Metallai);y  at  the  Royal  School  of  Mines,  Londou. 
With  numerous  Illustrations.     8vo. 


MR    MURRAY'S  FORTHCOMING   BOOKS.  15 

The   Church  and  the  Age. 

A  SKCOND  SERIES  OF  KSSAYS  ON  THE  PRINCITLES  AND  PRESENT 

POSITION  OF  THE  ANGLICAN  CHURCH. 

Edited  by  ARCHIBALD  WEIR,  D.C.L.,  &  W.  D.  MACLAGAN,  M.A. 

COHTXVtS: 

THE  CnUECn   AND    PAUPERISM.    Baal  Nbmojt. 

CUA&AGTB£13TICS  OP  THE  A!iIERICAN  CHURCH.      The  Bisliop  of  Wkstuji  Nkw 

York. 

THE    CHURCH    AND  SCIENCE.     W.  R.  Claek,  M.A.,  Prebcmlary  of  Wklus. 
SYSTEMS  OP  ECCLESIASTICAL   LAW.     Isambabd  Brukkl,  D.C.L 

PRESENT  AND  FUTURE  RELATIONS  OP  THE  CHURCH  TO  NATIONAL  EDUCA- 
TION.    J.  P.  NoRKiSy  M.A.,  Cauon  of  Bristol. 

THE  CHURCH    AND  THE   UNIVERSITIES.     Johh  O.  Talbot,  M.P. 

TOLERATION.      B.  Moroan  Cowix,  B.D.,  One  of  H.M.  Inspwton  of  Schoobi. 

PRESENT  ASPECT  OP  THE  ORTHODOX  EASTERN  CHURCH  TOWARDS  THE 
CHURCHES  OP  THE  ANGLICAN  COMMUNION.  Gbo.  Williams,  B.D.,  Vicar 
of  RnrowooD. 

DIFFICULTIES  OP  A  DISESTABLISHED  CHURCH*  J.  C.  MacDorbll,  D.D.,  Dean 
of  Cabhbl. 

THE    CHRISTIAN    TRADPTION.     W.  J.  Irons,  D.D.,  Prebendary  of  Si.  Pacl's. 

DOGMA,  CONSIDERED  IN  SOME  OF  ITS  RELATIONS.  Abchibald  Wbib,  D.C.L, 
Vicar  of  Forty  Hill. 

PAROCHIAL    COUNCILS.     F.  R.  CuArxAy,  M.A.,  Archacacon  of  Sudbiry. 

8vo.  [JUadtj. 


Historical  Memorials  of  the  Royal  Palace 

and  Chapel  of  the  Savoy- 

By  the  late  J.  G.  LOCKHART, 

Homeftlme  Auditor  of  iho  Duchy  of  lAocMtcr. 

Edited  by  Ret.  HENRY  WHITE, 

Ch^liUiti  of  tho  Chapel  Royal,  Savoy,  and  to  the  Speaker ;  Honorary  Chaplain  to  th«  Qu«en, 

With  Hlnstrations.     Crown  8vo. 


16  MR  MURRAY'S  FORTHCOMING   BOOKS. 


Julian  Fane.    A  Memoir. 

By  ROBERT  BULWER  LYTTON. 

Second  and  Cheaper  Editi'  n.     With  Portrait,  Post  8to. 


Patterns  for  Turning; 

COMPRISING 

ELLIPTICAL  AND  OTHER  FIGURES  CUT  ON  THE  LATHE  WITHOUT  THE 

USE  OF  ANY  ORNAMENTAL  CHUCK. 

By  H.  W.  ELPHINSTONE. 

With  70  Hlnstrations.     Small  4to. 


Memorials  of  the  Dead. 

BEING  A  SELECTION  OF  EPITAPHS  FOR  GENERAL  USE  AND  STUDY. 

By  F.  and  M.  a.  PALLTSER. 
ninstrated,  Crown  8ro. 


History  of  the  Christian  Church. 

Bt  JAMES  C.  ROBERTSON,  M.A., 

Canon  of  Canterbury,  and  Profeasor  of  Wccleiriaatieal  History  in  Bling'a  CoIIoge,  London. 

Vol.  IV.— From  the  death  of  Boniface  VIII.  to  the  End  of  the  Fifth  Council  of  the 

Lateran.     1303—1517. 
8vo. 


The  Works  of  Alexander  Pope. 

Editisd,  with  Introductions  and  Notes, 

By  Rkv.  WHITWELL  ELWIN. 
Vol.  VI II.     Forming  the  Third  Vohane  of  T?te  Correspandenee. 

This  Volume  contains  850  unpublished  Letters,  including  70  written  by  Pope  and 
Lord  Orrery,  dlsdoelng  the  secret  histonr  of  the  publication  of  the  Pope  and  Swifl  Cor- 
reapr  V  discovered  by  the  Editor. 

With  Portrait.    8vo. 


MR.   MURRAY'S   FORTHCOMING   BOOKS.  17 


An  Historical  Atlas  of  Ancient  Geography, 

BIBLICAL   AND   CLASSICAL 

OUXPILKD  DMDKA  TUB  SOPS&UITSNDBHCK  Of 

WILLIAM  SMITH,  D.C.L,  and  Mr.  GEORGE  GROVK 

This  Atks  will  contain  a  series  of  Maps  of  the  same  size  and  form  as  Keith  JohK8TOn*s 
Royal  Atlas  of  Modbun  Gbographt.  The  Classical  Maps  have  been  prepared  by  Dr. 
Karl  MI^llbr.  The  Biblical  Maps  will  include  the  recent  observations  and  positions 
obtained  by  the  Officers  of  Royal  Engineers.  Descriptive  letterpress  and  the  Index 
will  be  given  in  the  last  part. 

CONTENTS   OF  PABT   I. 

THE  HOLY  LAND.     (Northern  Division.) 
HISTORICAL  MAPS  OF  THE  HOLY  LAND. 
GREEK  AND  PHOENICIAN  COLONIES. 
GALLIA.  . 
ITALIA  SUPERIOR. 
ITALIA    INFERIOR. 

GREECE  AFTER  THE  DORIC  MIGRATION. 
GREECE  AT  THE  TIME  OF  THE  PERSIAN  WARS. 

To  be  published  Quarterly,  in  Folio.    21«.  each  Part. 


The  Student's  History  of  Europe  During 

the  Middle  Ages. 

The   Student's   Constitutional  History  of 

England. 

By    HENRY     HALLAM,    LLD. 

New  and  Revised  Editiotis.     Incorporating  the  Author's  Latest  Notes  and 

Corrections. 

Edited  by  WM.    SMITH,  D.C.L.   asd  LLD. 

2  Yob.     Post  8vo,  7s.  6d.  each. 

These  Editions  have  been  undertaken  with  the  concurrence  of  the  Author's  repreientatives, 
and  inoorporate  his  latest  additions  and  corrections.  They  have  been  brought  into  one  volume 
each  by  leaving  out  most  of  the  notes  at  the  foot  of  the  pages,  and  by  abbreviating  tome  of  the 
less  important  remarks;  but  the  books  remain  essentially  unchanged,  and  nothing  of  importance 
has  been  omitted.  It  has  been  the  aim  of  the  Editor  to  prewnt  the  works  ss  nearlv  as  possible 
in  the  form  in  which  he  conceives  the  Author  would  have  wished  them  to  appear  if  he  had  him- 
self prepared  Editions  for  the  special  use  of  Students.  Several  important  documents,  such  as 
the  Statutes  of  William  the  Conqueror,  the  Charter  of  Liberties  of  Henry  I.,  the  Constitutions 
of  Clarendon,  the  Assise  of  Clarendon,  the  Magna  CfaarU,  the  Petition  of  Bight  and  the  Bill  of 
Bights,  have  been  added  to  these  Bditions. 


18  MR    MUBBArS   FOETHCOMING   BOOKS. 

A  Dictionary  of  Christian  Antiquities 
and  Biography, 

FROM  THE  TIMES  OF  THE  APOSTLES  TO  THE  AGE  OP  CHARLEMAGNE. 

By  Vabiocs  Adthors. 

'  Edited  by  WM.  SMITH,  D.C.L.,  LLD., 

With  Illnstmtions.     2  Vols.     Mediom  8vo. 


Littie  ArUiur's   History  of    Rome. 

With  nioBtration!),  ISnio. 
ITniporjh  with  "LITTLE  ARTHrB'S  ENOLAHD." 


A  Mediseval  Latin-English  Dictionary. 

Babu)  on  tbb  G&sat  Wokk  op  Ducavob.    Traksutcd  ahd  Edited, 

WITH   HiJIY  ADDITIONH  IND  CoBBaCTIOHK, 

Br  E.  A.  DAYMAN,  B.D., 

Prabnduy  of  Banm,  Farmgriy  FtUov  ud  Tutor  of  Exeter  Onlltgv,  Oxford. 

SmitU  4ta. 
*,'  A  Proupcetus  atut  Specimen  maj/  bt  obtaiiud/niai  any  Bookxlltr. 


Lives  of  the  Early  Flemish  Painters. 


MR.    MURRATS  FORTHCOMING  BOOKS.  19 


Handbook  for  Egypt. 

THE  NILE,  ALEXANDRIA,  CAIRO,  THEBES,  AND  THE  OVERLAND 

ROUTE  TO  INDIA. 

New  Editiim,  Thorouffhly  JUvised.    Map.    Post  8vo.         [Nearly  ready. 


Handbook  for  Greece. 

The  Ionian  Isiakds,  Continektal  Greece,  Athens,  the  Peloponnesus, 
THE  Islands  of  the  JEoxks  Sea,  Albania,  Tuessaly,  and  Macedonia. 

New  Edition,     Maps.     Post  8vo.  [Ready. 


Handbook  for  Constantinople^   Turkey 

in  Asia^ 

The  Bomfhorus,  Plain  of  Tbot,  the  Islands  of  the  ^oaan,  Crete, 
Cyprus,  Smyrna,  Ephesus,  the  Seven  Churches,  Coasts 
OF  THE  Black  Sea,  Armenia,  Mesopotamia,  kc. 

Maps  and  Plans.     Post  8vo.     15*.  [Ready, 


A  First  English  Grammar. 

By  WM.  smith,   D.C.L.,  and  THEOPHILUS  D.  HALL,  M.A. 

Post  8vo. 


A  Primary  History  of  Britain. 

Edited  by  WILLIAM  SMITH,  D.C.L.,   LL.D. 

In  Three  Parts.    Post  8vo. 

This  work  has  been  written  with  the  express  purpose  of  supplying  the  new  requirements  of 
a  History  of  the  British  nation  for  primary  schools.  It  is  an  honest  attempt  to  exhibit  the 
leading  facts  and  events  of  our  history,  free  from  political  and  sectarian  bias,  and  therefore 
suitabto  for  schools  in  which  children  of  yarious  denominations  are  taught.  The  whole  is 
divided  into  three  parts,  printed  in  a  legible  t^  suited  for  young  eves.  Each  part,  which  will 
be  issued  separately,  contains  a  distinct  section  of  the  history,  which  has  a  completeness  in 
itself. 

I.  The  Early  and  Middle  Age,  from  the  landing  of  dcsar  to  the  end  of  the  Plantagenet 
Line  with  Richard  III. 

II.    The  Tudor  and  Stuart  Period  to  the  Rerolution  of  1688. 

III.    The  modem  age  of  Constitutional  Government,  from  the  Revolution  to  the  present  time. 


20  •     MR.    MUBEAY'S   FORTHCOMING   BOOKS. 

The   Choice  of  a  Dwelling; 

A  PRACTICAL  HANDBOOK  OF   USEFUL  INFORMATION  ON  ALL  POINTS 
CONNECTED  WITH  HIRING,  BUYING,  OR  BUILDING  A  HOUSE. 

By  GERVASE    WHEELER, 

Arohitoct,  Author  of  "  Rural  Homoa,"  **  Homea  for  the  Feopto,**  fte. 

Second  and  Revised  Edition,    With  Woodcuts  and  Flans.     Post  Svo.    7s.  6d, 

**  Few  compilationB  could  be  plainer,  clearer,  or  more  concise  than  Mr.  Wheeler's  directions. 
Much  of  what  can  be  said  upon  the  subject  has  alreadjr  been  said ;  but  to  this  he  has  added  more, 
and  so  dirided  and  docketed  his  adrice  and  informauon,  that  the  issue  is  a  verr  compact  -and 
BUfncestive  manual.  It  is  intended  for  the  general  public,  rather  than  for  tne  professional 
student  \  but  the  office-shelves  of  arcliitccts  would  be  all  the  more  complete  for  its  presence." — 
£HHdti\ 


Aristotle. 

Br  GEORGE  GROTE,  F.R.S.,  D.C.L.,  LLD., 

Lato  Vice-Chancellor  of  the  University  of  London,  President  of  University  College, 
London,  and  Foreign  Member  of  the  Institute  of  France. 

Edited  by  ALEXANDER  BAIN,  LL.D., 

Professor  of  Logic  in  the  University  of  Aberdeen ;  and 

G.  GROOM    ROBERTSON,   M.A., 

Professor  of  Philosophy  of  Mind  and  Logic  In  University  College,  London. 

2  Vols.     8vo. 
Ukifobm  with  GROTE'S  "PLATO." 


The  Letters  and  Journals  of  the  late 

Earl  of  Elgin, 

GOVEKNOR   OF   JAMAICA,    GOVERNOR-GENERAL   OF  CANADA,    ENVOV 

TO    CHINA,    AND    VICEROY    OF   INDIA. 

Edited    by    THEODORE    WALROND,    C.B. 
With  Pbepace  by  ARTHUR  PENRHYN  STANLEY,  D.D., 

Dean  of  Westminster. 

8vo.  [Ready. 


I 


•imT,  B^'AKs,  AKu  CO.,  PBUiTCRS,  warrsnuASS.