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.

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She subsequently, also, carried five long brass 6-pounders, two on each side, and one upon the bridge; and had also ten small iron swivels along the top of her bulwarks, besides boat guns and small arms.

Nominal list of Officers who served on board the Nemesis during the period referred to in this work: —

William H. Hall, R.N., Commander – Promoted to Commander, 10th June, 1843;

Lieutenant William Pedder, R.N., First Officer – Made Harbour Master and Marine-magistrate at Hong-Kong, July, 1841;

Mr. Ed. L. Strangways, Mate, R.N., Second Officer – Left sick, 29th March, 1841; Lieutenant, 23rd Dec. 1842;

Mr. John Laird Galbraith, Third Officer – Made Second Officer, 29th March, 1841; and First Officer, 1st July, 1842; and paid off at Calcutta, March, 1843;

Mr. F. W. Whitehurst, Fourth Officer – Made Third Officer, 29th March, 1841; and Second Officer, 1st July, 1842; and paid off at Calcutta, March, 1843;

Mr. Peter Young, M.R.C.S., Surgeon – Left the vessel, 15th January, 1841, at Macao;

Mr. John Gaunt, Purser – Served during the whole period. N.B. – The above joined the Nemesis in England.

The following officers joined the Nemesis at different periods in China: —

Mr. John Turner, Surgeon – Joined 15th Jan. 1841, at Macao; made Assistant-Surgeon, Bombay Establishment, Oct. 1843;

Mr. A. T. Freese, Mate, R.N., First Officer – Joined 1st August, 1841, at Hong-Kong; left the vessel 30th June, 1842; Lieutenant, 23rd Dec. 1842;

Mr. Alfred Fryer, Fourth Officer – Joined 1st February, 1842, at Chusan; paid off and rejoined at Calcutta, 1843;

Mr. B. G. Dryden, Second Officer – Joined 1st July, 1842, at Woosung; ditto

Mr. Arthur Baker, Volunteer – Joined 24th August, 1842; Yangtze river; ditto

Engineers – Mr. Colin M'Lougal (killed), Mr. John Kinross, Mr. Henry L. Harley, Mr. William Lang, Mr. David Wilson, Robert Kelly.

N.B. – Mr. Crouch, Mate, R.N., served on board as gunnery-mate, from the Wellesley, by permission of Commodore Sir Gordon Bremer, at Chuenpee, at First Bar Action, and Inner Passage, &c. Promoted Lieutenant, 8th June, 1841; Commander, 25th October, 1843. Wounded at Chin-keang-foo.

A native African from the so-called Kroo country.

About one thousand logs make up twenty-two tons and a half of fire-wood.

Another remark, perhaps worthy of being attended to, suggested itself on this occasion, and it has been frequently confirmed since – namely, that no steamer constructed according to the model of the Nemesis should be sent to sea upon a long and uncertain voyage, without having a fixed keel running the whole way fore and aft, and bolted strongly through her bottom. This would be found of the greatest possible utility at sea, and it could easily be taken off, and the moveable keels put on, whenever the vessel were employed on a coast, or in river navigation.

It may further be questionable, in the event of a smaller steamer being intended to be sent out, whether it would not be both safer and less expensive to send it in pieces, and have it put together, by the mechanics and engineers belonging to it, at the place where it might be destined for use, than to send it ready equipped, to make its own way to its destination by steam and canvas, with all the necessary risk.

The mode in which the permanent repairs were afterwards effected will be explained in the fifth chapter, together with the method by which the recurrence of a similar accident has been provided against in vessels more recently constructed.

It will be remembered that the plagues were frogs; dust turned to lice; swarms of flies; the murrain of beasts; the plague of boils and blanes; the plague of hail, of locusts, and of darkness.

In the account given of the Egyptian plague, it is stated "that the locusts were brought by an east wind," and were carried away "by a mighty strong west wind." I was curious to ascertain whether there was anything worth noting in relation to the state of the wind at Delagoa Bay when the locusts appeared, and when they were carried away again. On referring to the ship's log, I find that the day preceding the appearance of the locusts was one of perfect calm; but the morning of the day on which they came was ushered in by a north-east wind, which lasted until the evening, when it changed round to precisely the opposite quarter – namely, to the south-west, and increased on the following day to a strong gale from the same quarter, which carried away all the locusts. Subsequently, it again veered round to the north-east, and continued so for several days, but brought no more locusts.

With respect to the effects of lightning upon an iron ship, and the danger which was to be apprehended from the attraction, both of the vessel as a body, and of its particular parts as points for the electrical fluid to touch upon in its passage between the clouds and the earth, no inconvenience whatever seems to have been felt. Much had been said about it in England before her departure for a tropical region. The timid, and those less acquainted with the subject, openly expressed their apprehensions; the learned smiled with more of curiosity than fear; but the officers of the vessel itself were too busy about other matters to give themselves time to think much about the question. During their voyage to the southward, when many dangers were encountered, certainly that from lightning was amongst the least thought of; and now, as they were passing through the Mozambique Channel, a part of the world particularly famous for its heavy storms of thunder and lightning, not the slightest effect from it was observed upon the iron vessel. The funnel has a perfectly smooth top, without any ornamental points, such as are sometimes seen; and the main rigging and funnel stays were made of chain at the top, and rope throughout the rest.

The sultan very recently went up to Calcutta, to apply to the Governor-general, in the hope that the Company might be induced to take possession of the islands, which he felt he could no longer hold without assistance. He merely asked for himself a small annual stipend out of the revenues. What answer he may have received is not known; but probably his application was rejected, upon the ground of our territory in the East being already quite large enough. But, in reality, the Comoro Islands, or at least a part of them, must be viewed in a political light, as they may be said to command the navigation of the straits, and are generally thought to be an object aimed at by the French.

The following letter concerning the fate of the Comoro Islands, and the violent proceedings of the French in that quarter, appeared in The Times of January 30th, 1844. The facts stated in it have every appearance of exaggeration, but the interference of the British government would seem to be called for.

"The French have, within the last month, obtained, by fraud, possession of the islands of Johanna, Mohilla, and Peonaro; they had already, by the same means, obtained the islands of Mayotte and Nos Beh. There are at present out here eleven ships of war – the largest a 60-gun frigate; more are expected out, in preparation for the conquest of all Madagascar; and also, it is said, of the coast of Africa, from latitude 10 S. to 2 S.; this portion includes the dominions of the Imaum of Muscat. At this place (Nos Beh) a system of slavery is carried on that you are not aware of. Persons residing here, send over to places on the mainland of Africa, as Mozambique, Angoza, &c., money for the purchase of the slaves; they are bought there for about ten dollars each, and are sold here again for fifteen dollars; here again they are resold to French merchant vessels from Bourbon and St. Mary's for about twenty-five to thirty dollars each. Captains of vessels purchasing these use the precaution of making two or three of the youngest free, and then have them apprenticed to them for a certain term of years, (those on shore,) fourteen and twenty one years. These papers of freedom will answer for many. It is a known fact, that numbers have been taken to Bourbon, and sold for two hundred and three hundred dollars each. Those who have had their freedom granted at this place, (Nos Beh,) as well as others, are chiefly of the Macaw tribe. The Indian, of Havre, a French bark, took several from this place on the 20th of September last; she was bound for the west coast of Madagascar, St. Mary's, and Bourbon. L'Hesione, a 32-gun frigate, has just arrived from Johanna, having compelled one of the chiefs to sign a paper, giving the island up to the French. On their first application, the king and chiefs of Johanna said, that the island belonged to the English. The French then said, that if it was not given up, they would destroy the place; they, after this, obtained the signature of one of the chiefs to a paper giving up the island to the French.

"I remain, Sir, &c., &c.,

"Henry C. Arc Angelo.

"Supercargo of the late Ghuznee of Bombay.

"Nos Beh, Madagascar,

"Oct. 6th, 1843."

The account given in the above letter is partly borne out by the following announcement, which appeared in the Moniteur, the French official newspaper, in March, 1844; the substance of it is here copied from The Times of the 14th March, and there can be little doubt concerning the object of the French in taking the active step alluded to. We must hope, therefore, that our interests in that quarter will be properly watched, particularly when we remember what serious injury would be inflicted upon the whole of our Eastern trade, in case of war, by the establishment of the French in good harbours to the eastward of the Cape. The announcement is as follows: – "Captain Des Fossés has been appointed Commander of the station at Madagascar, and Bourbon, which was hitherto placed under the orders of the Governor of Bourbon. This station now acquires a greater degree of importance. Captain Des Fossés having under his orders five or six ships of war, will exhibit our flag along the whole coast of Africa, and in the Arabian Seas. He will endeavour to extend our relations with Abyssinia, and our influence in Madagascar."

Captain Hall of the Nemesis was at that time serving as midshipman under Capt. Basil Hall.

See map.

Some of the sailors of the Topaze were attacked and wounded on shore by the Chinese; and, in the scuffle, two Chinamen were killed. Remonstrances followed on both sides; and at length the Chinese demanded that two Englishmen should be delivered up to them for punishment. This was refused, as might be expected; upon which the Chinese authorities stopped the trade, and the fleet of merchant ships withdrew from Whampoa, and came to anchor in Tongkoo roads, henceforth called Urmston's Bay or Harbour.

LIST OF NAVAL FORCES BELONGING TO H. B. MAJESTY IN CHINA, IN JULY AND AUGUST, 1840.

Melville, 74, flag-ship, Rear-Admiral the Hon. George Elliot, C.B.; Captain the Hon. R. S. Dundas.

Wellesley, 74, bearing the broad pendant of Commodore Sir J. J. Gordon Bremer, C.B.; Captain Thomas Maitland.

Blenheim, 74, Sir H. S. Fleming Senhouse, K.C.B.

Druid, 44, Capt. Smith.

Blonde, 44, Capt. F. Bourchier.

Volage, 28, Capt. G. Elliot.

Conway, 28, Capt. C. D. Bethune.

Alligator, 28, Capt. H. Kuper.

Larne, 20, Capt. J. P. Blake.

Hyacinth, 20, Capt. W. Warren.

Modeste, 20, Capt. H. Eyres.

Pylades, 20, Capt. T. V. Anson.

Nimrod, 20, Capt. C. A. Barlow.

Cruiser, 18, Capt. H. W. Giffard.

Columbine, 18, Capt. T. J. Clarke.

Algerine, 10, Capt. T. S. Mason.

Rattlesnake, troop-ship, Brodie.

Hon. Company's armed Steamers.

Queen, Mr. Warden.

Madagascar, Mr. Dicey.

Atalanta, Commander Rogers.

Enterprise, Mr. West.

She was afterwards accidentally destroyed by fire.

See map.

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