Narrative of the Voyages and Services of the Nemesis from 1840 to 1843

It is known that the Empress received this recommendation with particular favour, but the Emperor referred it for the consideration of the crafty old Tang, the Governor of Canton, who was at the very time deriving a large revenue from winking at the clandestine sale of the drug. The answer of Tang and his colleagues was decidedly favourable to the project. They declared that "the circumstances of the times rendered a change in the regulations necessary." They openly admitted that the payment of distinct duties would be far less onerous than the payment of bribes; that the laws could then be administered, and would be respected; and that the precious metals which were now oozing out of the empire would then be retained in it. They even went so far as to say that the dignity of the government would by no means be lowered by it; and they farther declared that the prohibition of the luxury made it more eagerly sought for.

Here, then, was clearly another triumph on the Empress's side; and those who were opposed to her principles feared it as such, and redoubled their efforts to produce her fall. But the recommendation did not even stop at that point; for it went so far as even to encourage the cultivation and preparation of the poppy within the empire, in order to exclude a portion of the foreign article from the market.

One might have supposed that the influences which were now at work to produce a better state of foreign trade, backed by the countenance of the Empress, and supported by the apparent neutrality of the Emperor, would have sufficed to occasion some modification in the existing laws.

Keshen himself, who had what is called a long head, though in good favour with the Empress, and influential in the country, seems to have remained at that time neutral upon the question in agitation. Others, however, shewed a bitter hostility to every change, but bitterest of all to the whole race of foreigners. When they could no longer argue with success against the principles of what might be called the free-trade party, they raked up all the smouldering ashes of deadly hostility to foreigners, because they were not Chinese, (however estimable they might otherwise be,) and they appealed to an old saying of the Emperor Kanghe, the grandfather of his present Majesty – namely, "that there is cause for apprehension, lest, in centuries to come, China may be endangered by collision with the various nations of the West, who come hither from beyond the seas." Indeed, it is well known that there prevailed in China a tradition to that effect; and also another, "that China would be conquered by a woman, in time to come." And so generally were these two predictions or traditions remembered during the war, that the impression came to prevail among many of the people that it would be useless to resist us, because we were a people from the far west, and were ruled by a queen.

The two principal memorials on the opposite side of the question have been pretty generally circulated; one being by Choo Tsun, a member of council and of the Board of Rites, the other by Heu Kew, a censor of the military department. They argued for the dignity of the empire, and the danger "of instability in maintaining the laws." They called for increased severity of the law itself, not only to prevent the exportation of silver, but to arrest the enervation and destruction of the people, and they openly declared their belief that the purpose of the English was to weaken the people and to ruin the central land; and they further appealed to all the "luminous admonitions" of the emperors and others of olden days against the influence of foreigners. Memorials also came in from many of the provinces, particularly those along the coast, shewing that even the army had become contaminated by opium, and that soldiers sent against the rebels in recent seditions were found to have very little strength left, though their numbers were large. In short, the whole of the memorialists on the anti-importation side argued to the effect that increased severity could stop the use of opium, and therefore that it ought to be stopped, because it tended to enervate the people, and make them an easy prey to the foreigner, while the quantity of silver exported enriched the latter in proportion as it impoverished the former. Thus the hatred of opium and detestation of the foreigner became very nearly synonymous.

At length, when the Emperor's beloved son died from the effects of opium in the imperial palace, then the grief of the Emperor, and the conviction of the misery produced by the drug, worked upon his feelings fully as much as upon his judgment. An attempt was made to place the question upon moral grounds; and the Emperor affected on a sudden to weep for the misfortunes of the nation, and to lament the depravity of his "dear children;" and his paternal heart, in the exuberance of its benignity, determined to cut off all their heads, if they would not mend their ways. Thus, by degrees, the reformation of morals became the subject of agitation quite as much as the principles of trade had been before. By this time, the influence of the Empress had quite declined. She forgot that in making many friends she had made many influential enemies. Neither her beauty nor her talents could save her, and she fell rapidly from her pinnacle of power. She only lived to share the Emperor's throne for about five or six years; a very short but remarkable reign. She could not survive the loss of her power; and when her opponents so completely recovered theirs, her proud spirit sunk under the weight which pressed upon her.

Nothing could be more touching than the expressions of the Emperor, published in the Pekin Gazette. He calls her a perfect pattern of "filial piety;" and therefore bestows upon her the posthumous title of the "perfectibility of filial obedience." It should be here remarked, that what they call "filial piety" is the highest moral attribute in the Chinese system of ethics.

The Empress died in the beginning of 1840, and was buried with great pomp; the whole nation was ordered to go into mourning for a month, and the public officers were not to shave their heads for one hundred days, as a mark of their sorrow. Her death left the Emperor Taou-kwang surrounded by troubles and dangers in his old age, with few about him whom he could trust, and none to comfort him in his difficulties. She left two or three young children. But he had six children by his former wife, of whom nearly all, or, it is believed, more than half have died.

The Emperor was born on the 20th September, 1782, and is therefore upwards of sixty-two years old. He ascended the throne in 1820. The troubles and continual disturbances which have marked his reign, the frequent rebellions and disorders which have long been the constant theme of his animadversions in the Pekin Gazette, may perhaps be considered less as the result of his own measures than as the marking features of the present era in Chinese history. He ascended the throne when disorders were almost at their height, and when a conspiracy had already broken out in his father's palace. Indeed, he was expressly selected by his father to be his successor, (although not the eldest, but the second son,) because he had on a former occasion distinguished himself by his energy and success in crushing a traitorous attempt within the palace.

The Emperor appears to be an amiable but weak man, well intentioned towards his people, sensible of the difficulties of his country, but, at the same time, blinded and misinformed by the favourites about him, and retaining too many early prejudices to be able thoroughly to cope with all the difficulties which have from time to time beset him.

The next most important character who figured at the period which has been already alluded to was Commissioner Lin, of whom so much has been said. The principal features of his character have been already delineated. He is described as having been stout in person, with a vivacious but not unpleasant manner, unless highly excited; with a keen, dark, penetrating eye, which seemed to indicate that he could assume two opposite characters, according as it might suit his interest or his ambition. He had a clear, distinct voice, and is said to have rarely smiled. His countenance indicated a mind habituated to care. In the course of his proceedings at Canton, he seems never to have permitted himself to adopt the character of a "negotiator," but invariably to have assumed that of a "dictator," which was more natural to him. His word was law. He was not dismayed by sudden difficulties, and appears to have been quite sincere in all his wishes to arrest the progress of the evils he complained of, and to reform the morals of the people. With this object, he closed all the gaming-houses at Canton, which were as numerous as the opium-shops, or more so, and were generally maintained in conjunction with the latter; so much do vices court each other's company.

In reality, Lin feared the foreigners as much as he hated them. But the intercourse he now had with them led him to value their knowledge more highly, and probably he knew full well that knowledge is power. He had portions of English works translated for his own use, such as Thelwall's pamphlet against opium, Murray's geography, (parts,) &c.; and he had in his employ three or four young Chinamen, who knew something of English, and of English habits, having visited the straits' settlements, and one of them the United States.

Lin was by no means wanting in energy to meet the great crisis which he had contributed so much to produce. In addition to the enlisting of troops, the preparation of defences, the casting of guns, building of fire-vessels and gun-boats, &c., he directed that many passages of the river should be blocked up with stones, and others staked across with piles.

In short, Lin was a bold, uncompromising, and specious man. He tried to console the Emperor, by assuring him that he was quite certain that, along the northern coast, sickness and cold would carry off all the barbarian forces, even if the want of food, and the exhaustion of their powder and shot, did not reduce them to extremities; but he never once alluded to any probability of being able to beat off the barbarians in fair fight.

With regard to his successor, Keshen, his character will be better developed as we proceed. But it is worth while here to remark, that Keshen appears to have been one of the few about the court who began to apprehend serious consequences from Lin's measures. He had always been cautious in committing himself, and though no friend of the foreigners, he had feared their power, and felt the weakness of his own country, as well as the necessity of trying some other measures than those means hitherto employed, to put a stop to the perpetual disturbances which took place in several parts of the empire, and threatened rebellion even within the capital.

Keshen was an astute courtier, a polished and well-mannered man, and all those who were present at either of his two interviews with Captain Elliot were struck with his courteous and gentlemanlike manner. Although he made every preparation for resistance, he seems to have thought he could gain more by diplomacy, and he resolved to take advantage of the disposition for negotiation rather than dictation on Captain Elliot's part, to play his cards with tact and cunning, in the hope of gaining time. But he saw his weakness, and the impossibility of contending with success against our forces, and, having distinctly reported thereon to the Emperor, he was, of course, set down as a coward, and, consequently, as a traitor. He had the boldness to tell the Emperor the actual weakness of his strongest points of defence; whereas, Lin only stated how much stronger they would have been, had the government made it a rule to have devoted ten per cent. of the whole customs' revenue of Canton to the improvement of their means of defence, the building of ships, and the casting of cannon.

In one thing, however, Lin and Keshen were both of a mind – namely, as to the importance of the foreign trade of Canton to the imperial revenue. They ventured to correct the Emperor's notion that the customs' duties of Canton were "unimportant, and not worth a thought," by telling him that they "already" produced upwards of thirty millions of taels, or ten millions sterling, and that, as the revenue of Canton far exceeded that of any other province, a portion of this considerable sum, which was obtained from foreigners, should have been applied to defending themselves against foreigners.18

Much has at various times been said about Keshen's treachery and bad faith. But it will be seen, as we proceed, that he was driven into these acts by the distinct orders of the Emperor, and that keeping faith with us was to be viewed as treachery to his master. Indeed, the severity of Keshen's punishment at the Emperor's hands proves not so much how ill he served his master, as how unfortunate he was in having a much more profound head than Lin, in being able to see farther into futurity, and to catch the shadows of coming events; in short, how much too far in advance of his countrymen he was, in being able to appreciate their position in the face of the foreigner, and how unfortunate in presuming to attempt to ward off the dreaded blow by timely concession.

Without anticipating further the remarkable points in Keshen's career, which will be better developed as we proceed, we may now turn our attention to the interesting events of the year 1841.

We have already seen that there was little probability, at the close of 1840, of any satisfactory arrangement being made between Keshen and Captain Elliot without a resort to arms. Accordingly, all preparations were completed; and, the first week in January having passed without any nearer prospect of a settlement, although repeated opportunities had been given to Keshen to arrange matters amicably, as had been proposed at the conference at Tientsin, orders were at length issued for the immediate resumption of hostilities. The morning of the 7th of January, 1841, was the period fixed on for the attack upon the forts at Chuenpee and Tycocktow, being the lowest, or, in other words, the first, you approach in ascending the river. The object was to reduce the whole of the famous defences of the Bogue one after the other, and, if necessary, to destroy them.

The plan of attack upon Chuenpee, and the forts on the opposite side of the river at Tycocktow, was as follows, under the direction of Commodore Sir Gordon Bremer, who, it will be remembered, had become commander-in-chief upon the retirement of Rear-Admiral the Honourable George Elliot, in consequence of severe illness. The troops, comprising detachments of the 26th and 49th regiments, (the greater part of which were with their head-quarters at Chusan,) under Major Johnstone, of the 26th, together with the whole of the 37th Madras Native Infantry, under Captain Duff, of that regiment, and a detachment of the Bengal Volunteers, under Captain Bolton, were to embark on board the Enterprise and Madagascar steamers by eight o'clock in the morning, to be conveyed to the point of debarkation, which was selected about two miles and a half below Chuenpee, to the southward, where they were to be landed in boats. The Nemesis took on board a large portion of the 37th. A battalion of royal marines, upwards of five hundred strong, under Captain Ellis, were to be landed in the boats of their respective ships; while a body of seamen, under Lieutenant Wilson, of the Blenheim, were also to join the landing force. A small detachment of the royal artillery was to be under the command of Captain Knowles, R.A., having under him the Honourable C. Spencer; and one twenty-four pounder howitzer, with two six-pounder guns, one from the Wellesley, and one from the Melville, were to be landed, together with thirty seamen, to be attached to them for the purpose of placing them in position; also fifteen men from the Blenheim were to be employed in the rocket and ammunition service.

In front of the Chinese entrenchments there was a ridge, by which, in a manner they were commanded, and upon the crest of this the guns were to be placed. While this was being done, strong covering parties were to be pushed in advance, and to act according to circumstances, waiting for the effect of the fire from the guns, as well as from the ships, which were to be placed in the best positions for silencing the batteries.

The whole of the force on shore was under the command of Major Pratt, of the Cameronians, and comprised altogether about one thousand five hundred men.19

As regards the naval force engaged, it was ordered, that the Queen and Nemesis steamers should proceed to take up a position within good shelling distance, according as the depth of water would permit; and at once to commence firing into the fort upon the summit of the hill. Having rendered this post untenable, and having watched the advance of the troops, which might be selected to take possession of it, they were then immediately to attack the lower fort, along the shore near the northern point, if it should not have been already abandoned or carried. Meanwhile, the fire from the fort above, by this time expected to be in possession of a portion of our troops, was also to be turned in the same direction; and, when the enemy should be driven out, they were to be "dealt with" by the remaining part of the troops.

The Madagascar and Enterprise steamers, as soon as they had landed their troops, were to join the division under Captain (now Sir Thomas) Herbert, in the Calliope, having with him, the Larne, Captain Blake, and the Hyacinth, Captain Warren. They were directed to proceed to attack the batteries, towards the northern extremity, as well as in front, and to be prepared to proceed to capture some of the numerous war-junks, which were seen at anchor at the bottom of Anson's Bay. The two steamers above-mentioned, were also to hold themselves in readiness to go alongside any ship that might chance to require their services.

Captain Belcher, of the Sulphur surveying vessel, was to take upon himself the general charge of the steamers, in the first instance, so far as concerned "the placing them in a position already ascertained by him;" which, probably, referred to the position to be taken up for shelling the upper fort, as well as to the point of debarkation for the troops.

Such, then, was the plan of attack upon Chuenpee; that of Tycocktow will follow better when the account of the Chuenpee action is completed.

The landing and re-embarkation of the forces was under the direction of Lieutenant Symons, of the Wellesley, and the whole of it was conducted with great regularity. The landing of any considerable body of troops is always an exciting scene; but, now, for the first time in the history of China, if we except the trifling affair at the barrier at Macao, European troops were about to meet in battle the sons of the "flowery nation," upon the very soil of the "Celestial Empire." Nor did the Chinese shrink from the contest in the first instance, for they had yet to learn the irresistible power of European warfare, and the destructive efficacy of European weapons.

The leading troops were the royal marines and the royal artillery, the guns being dragged along by the blue jackets. The road lay through a winding valley for nearly the distance of a couple of miles, until it led to a transverse ridge, from which, the whole of the Chinese works could be viewed, consisting of a strong, entrenched camp, flanked by small field-batteries of recent and hasty construction, and connected with the Hill Fort above, by a high breastwork continued up the hill towards it.

The object of the Chinese was evidently to protect the rear of the fort, which was plainly the key of the position. In the rear of their field-batteries were deep trenches for giving shelter to their men from our shot, and the Chinese could be seen lining the works, and waving their flags in defiance.

The guns of the royal artillery were soon in position upon the ridge, and began firing with great precision into the entrenched camp; while an advanced party of the royal marines, crossing the shoulder of the hill to the right, drove the Chinese speedily from it; and, then, descending into the valley beyond, came upon a second encampment, with a small field-battery, which was soon cleared. A detachment of the 37th M.N. Infantry had also been sent further round to the right of the advance, where they encountered the Chinese in some force.

While all these operations were going on, The Queen and the Nemesis steamers (the latter having first rapidly disembarked her portion of the 37th, with the main body of the force) took up a position within good shelling distance of the Hill Fort. The Nemesis, from her light draught of water, was enabled to take up her station inside The Queen, and both vessels commenced throwing shell with great precision into the fort, much to the astonishment of the Chinese, who were unacquainted with this engine of destruction.

Captain Hall had on this occasion, as on several subsequent ones, the able assistance, as a gunnery officer, of Mr. Crouch, one of the mates of the Wellesley, who was permitted to serve for a time on board the Nemesis.20

The Chinese could not long withstand the fire of the sixty-eight pounder of The Queen, and the two thirty-two pounder pivot-guns of the Nemesis, the shells from which could be seen bursting within the walls of the fort.

At the same time, on the land-side, the principal entrenched camp had by this time, been carried by the main body of the troops, and, twenty-five minutes after the shelling of the fort had commenced, the British flag was seen waving upon its top, and the firing ceased. Major Pratt himself, with only two marines, had been the first to run up the hill and reach the fort; upon which, the Chinese, seeing that they were pressed behind as well as before, abandoned the fort in great confusion, leaving Major Pratt and his followers in possession of this most important position, upon which the British flag was hoisted by a royal marine.

The Nemesis, as soon as this was perceived, hastened on to join the ships of war, (the Calliope, Larne, and Hyacinth,) which had taken up their positions, nearly within musket-shot of the lower batteries, and were doing great execution. The works were however, constructed of strong material, comprising large blocks of the composition called chunam, very much resembling stone but less fragile. The Nemesis came up just in time to pour in several discharges of grape and canister from both the pivot-guns, and had then to witness one of the most dreadful spectacles of war. The Chinese in the battery had already been assailed by our troops from the fort above; and now, a party of the royal marines, and the 37th M.N.I., which had previously cleared the second camp in the valley behind, were seen coming round the hill, ready to pounce upon them as they attempted to escape out of the fort. The unfortunate men were thus hemmed in on all sides; and, being unacquainted with the humane practice of modern warfare, of giving and receiving quarter, they abandoned themselves to the most frantic despair.

Now were to be seen some of those horrors of war which, when the excitement of the moment is over, and the interest as well as danger of strategic manœuvres are at an end, none can remember without regret and pain. The Chinese, not accepting quarter, though attempting to escape, were cut up by the fire of our advancing troops; others, in the faint hope of escaping what to them appeared certain death at the hands of their victors, precipitated themselves recklessly from the top of the battlements; numbers of them were now swimming in the river, and not a few vainly trying to swim, and sinking in the effort; some few, however, perhaps a hundred, surrendered themselves to our troops, and were soon afterwards released. Many of the poor fellows were unavoidably shot by our troops, who were not only warmed with the previous fighting, but exasperated because the Chinese had fired off their matchlocks at them first, and then threw them away, as if to ask for quarter; under these circumstances, it could not be wondered at that they suffered. Some again barricaded themselves within the houses of the fort, a last and desperate effort; and, as several of our soldiers were wounded by their spears, death and destruction were the consequence.