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

Thus ended the whole business of this famous conference. It should also be mentioned that, before they parted, Keshen made a few presents to Captain Elliot, but not of any very great value, and others to Captain Herbert, which were divided among some of the officers. Soon after three o'clock the steam was once more got up, and giving and receiving a parting salute of three guns, the Nemesis turned her head again down the river, having the Louisa cutter in tow. The forts at the Bogue again saluted her as she passed; and, late in the evening, she came to anchor in the Tong Koo Roads, until daylight enabled her to proceed to join the commodore, who was then in Hong-Kong harbour.

As yet the treaty, in virtue of which we took possession of Hong-Kong, had not received the emperor's assent; and our own precipitate restoration of Chusan, which had been ordered by Captain Elliot, was likely rather to impede than to promote the object it was intended to effect. The mere word of Keshen was the only authority which we had to rely upon, the ratification of which was at least doubtful. However, both the commodore and Captain Elliot seemed already to regard the island of Hong-Kong as a positive acquisition, and took the present opportunity of steaming all round it on board the Nemesis.

Little good appears to have resulted from this first interview. Indeed, shortly after his report of it to the emperor, Keshen received a severe reprimand from the emperor for what he had already even pretended to promise. He was told that "a mere glance at his memorials had filled the emperor with indignation."

Yih-shan, a Tartar general of great repute, and who will be found to figure afterwards on several occasions, was now sent down to Canton, invested with the office of "general pacificator of the rebellious;" and two assistant functionaries, called Lung-Wan and Yang-Fang, were also ordered to repair thither, "to co-operate in the work of extermination." Additional troops were also despatched.

These orders of the emperor were issued on the 30th of January, but did not reach Keshen until the 10th or 11th of February. On our side nothing important took place for several days; arrangements connected with the establishment of Hong-Kong were continued; and there was a constant passing to and fro of officers between that place and Macao, for which purpose the Nemesis was always employed.

The 2nd of February was the day on which it had been agreed with Keshen that the trade of the port of Canton should be opened – namely, ten days after the Chinese new year. No proclamation to that effect, however, was issued by the commissioner. Various rumours were already afloat concerning the measures in progress up the river for obstructing its navigation; and, at length, finding that the "satisfactory manner" in which it had been proclaimed on the 30th of January, that the negotiations which were proceeding had already, in the following week, assumed an "unsatisfactory tone," and that, in fact, everything appeared very delusive, Captain Elliot determined to go up to the Bocca Tigris in person, and demand a distinct explanation from Keshen of what were really his intentions. It was known that Keshen had reached the Bogue; and Captain Herbert had even sent an officer to compliment him upon his arrival on the 29th of January, and a salute of three guns was fired in honour of the occasion. On the 10th of February, Captain Elliot embarked on board the Nemesis, accompanied by Captain Smith and Captain Knowles, of the artillery, together with Major Pratt, of the Cameronians, and Mr. Morrison as interpreter, and was conveyed up the river, anchoring for the night in Anson's Bay.

On the following morning they once more passed through the Bogue, the battlements of which were manned by the Chinese, as the steamer passed; and a salute of three guns was fired from each of the batteries, which was of course returned by the Nemesis. So far everything looked pacific and complimentary enough. Having passed completely through the Bogue, she came to anchor, about ten o'clock, above the forts, a little to the north of Anunghoy, and close to the boats of the imperial commissioner, who was already there. This was on the 11th of February; and it is a curious coincidence, that it was on this day that Keshen received the imperial commands to resume vigorous measures against Captain Elliot and all the foreigners.

The interview on this occasion was comparatively one of little ceremony; indeed, Keshen had made no preparation for it on shore, and received Captain Elliot in his own covered barge, unattended by any mandarins of rank, and without any display or attempt at effect.

Captain Elliot, on his part, having merely introduced the officers who came up with him from Macao, in order that they might make their bow of respect to the emperor's representative, immediately proceeded to business without loss of time, in the most private manner possible. During the few minutes that his suite were present, however, it did not escape their notice that some mighty change had already come over the spirit of the great commissioner. There was an appearance of constraint about him, as if his mind was downcast, and his heart burdened and heavily laden. He never indeed for a moment lost his self-possession, or that dignified courtesy of manner which no people can better assume than the Chinese of rank; but there was still something undefinable in his bearing, which impressed upon all present the conviction that something untoward had happened. Some of the party even guessed that he had been degraded from his high rank, which was, in fact, the case. Enough, at all events, was visible upon the surface, to awaken Captain Elliot to the necessity of extreme tact and caution, before he placed any reliance upon Keshen's power, whatever may have been his will, to act up to his promises.

What may have passed at this second interview between these two high representatives it is not the place here to discuss; suffice it to say, that the conference on this day lasted no less than six hours, and was renewed on the following morning for about three hours more. This will be enough to shew that many points of great importance and some minuteness must have been closely debated.

Keshen, meantime, was doubtless fully aware, that not one single iota of what he might promise would ever be acceded to by his haughty master; and, therefore, his only object in protracting the discussion and entering into the "troublesome minutiæ of commerce" must have been to leave something still open to discussion, and some points remaining to investigate "upon principles of the purest reason."

How great must have been his rejoicing when he at length succeeded in winning from Captain Elliot a further delay of ten days, for the fair preparation of a definitive treaty for his signature! What a heavy weight must have been removed from his oppressed spirit, when he at length beheld the dreaded steamer depart peaceably from the Bogue! The certain reprieve of ten days, in which he might, perhaps, complete the preparations already commenced, and even far advanced for the defence of his strongest positions, was indeed a piece of unlooked-for good fortune.

The formal drawing out of the definitive treaty was hastened on, in order that every excuse for further delay on the part of Keshen might be removed. Indeed, ten days had only been fixed as the longest period, within which, if the treaty were not executed, hostilities would be renewed.

Perhaps, after all, it redounded to our credit that extreme measures were only at length adopted, when every other means of effecting a settlement had been tried in vain. Forbearance towards a feeble enemy, as long as there was the faintest hope of bringing him to reason by simpler means, will redound more to our honour in the pages of future history, than a precipitate display of our energy and our power. At all events the treaty which was ultimately concluded was much more advantageous to commerce and civilization in general than it would probably have been had an earlier settlement taken place. The Chinese were brought to yield by degrees, and, therefore, the compact is much more likely to be durable than if it had been wrung from them by an earlier and more sudden emergency.

Nevertheless, before even the draught of the proposed treaty had been fully drawn up at Macao, rumours were continually brought concerning the extensive preparations for defence which were still going on up the river. Some naval and military officers were accordingly sent up to the Bogue, to ascertain how far these rumours might be well founded; and it was now discovered "that military works upon a great scale were in progress, that troops were collected upon the heights, that entrenched camps were being formed on both sides of the river, and that the island of North Wantung was bristling with cannon."

These preparations certainly looked very unlike the preliminaries to the signature of a treaty of peace; "and from this moment," says Sir Gordon Bremer, "I must confess that my faith in the sincerity of the Chinese commissioner was completely destroyed." It was in fact to be no longer doubted that hostilities would be speedily resumed. And although the orders of the emperor to Keshen to cancel the treaty agreed on, and to provide means for the immediate extermination of the foreigners had not then been made public, enough was already known to make it evident that the intentions of the government were very far from being of a peaceful nature.

On his side, Captain Elliot had done his utmost to impress the Chinese with a confidence in his "good faith;" and so anxious was he to hasten the evacuation of Chusan, that he had not only sent up a vessel of war to convey the necessary orders, but had also forwarded an overland despatch, by the hands of a Chinese special messenger, to the same purport.

Scarcely a month, however, had elapsed when Captain Elliot began to doubt whether the Chinese really meant to act up to their promises with equal good faith. On the 20th of January, he had declared, in a public proclamation, that he had no reason to call in question the "scrupulous sincerity and enlarged opinions of the very eminent person with whom negotiations had been pending;" and it was just a month afterwards, on the 20th of February, that he declared that the "imperial minister and high commissioner had failed to conclude the treaty which had been sent up to the Bogue ready prepared for signature." This document was carried up by the Nemesis. But, as the commissioner had already left the Bogue and gone to Canton, it was transmitted to him by the hands of a confidential person in the employment of Keshen, who had been distinctly named to Captain Elliot for the purpose. Four days were allowed for the return of the messenger, and the Nemesis was directed to wait at the Bogue for the answer, until the expiration of that period, when she was to return to Macao, either with or without the treaty.

As the time agreed on approached its expiration, reports became more numerous than ever, concerning the hostile preparations in progress. The edict of the emperor addressed to Keshen, before spoken of, was now made public, and a proclamation was pasted on the walls of Canton, (but whether by the orders of the viceroy or not does not appear certain,) by which a reward of 50,000 dollars each was offered for the heads of Captain Elliot and Sir Gordon Bremer!

The four days of the stay of the Nemesis at the Bogue were not spent unprofitably. Advantage was taken of this opportunity by Captain Hall to examine the new works of the Chinese, many of which were still in progress, (during a truce and while a treaty of peace had been agreed on!) Numerous sand-bag batteries had been erected, and others were in course of completion, halfway up the hill of Anunghoy. Troops were crowding upon the hills on the opposite side, while upon the Island of North Wantung equal activity was displayed.

But the observations were not limited entirely to the works at the Bogue. Captain Hall set out with a single boat's crew upon an adventurous and interesting excursion up Anson's Bay, to the mouth of the river in which the junks had been destroyed on the day of the Chuenpee. Just within the entrance, several large mandarin boats were now observed collected together, and surrounded by a vast number of labouring men. This excited some surprise, as there wore no works visible upon which they could be employed; but the object of this bustle was unexpectedly discovered afterwards. The mandarin boats and a great part of the people, thinking probably that the single boat of the Nemesis was only the advanced one of many others similar to those which had destroyed their war-junks, made off as fast as they could, leaving her to pursue her course unmolested.

Having, in the former ascent of the river in the Nemesis, observed that a branch of it turned off to the right towards Chuenpee, Captain Hall, determined to explore it now. It branched off about one and a half to two miles from the entrance, and soon led to a very considerable village on the right or Chuenpee side, (in ascending,) while, nearly opposite to it, a large sand-battery, recently erected, was discovered, mounting eight guns, and further on, was a strong stone battery. Neither of these fired at the boat, although the gunners ran down to their guns, as if apprehensive of an attack.

To the astonishment of all in the boat, it was now found that this branch of the river, or creek, or whatever it might be called, instead of leading further up the country, inland, gradually turned round and encircled the whole of Chuenpee, communicating with the "outer waters" to the southward of that promontory. Thus it was evident that Chuenpee was an island.

Having passed quite through the passage, so as to reach the point of junction with the "outer waters," Captain Hall landed on Chuenpee in company with Mr. Turner, the surgeon of the vessel, and Mr. Gray, a midshipman of H.M.S. Herald, and, sending the boat round the promontory to the opposite side, walked across without any molestation. Nothing particular worth noticing was observed in this excursion, except the large farm-houses, which were passed, together with several extensive sugar-works, in full operation.

A visit made to the Tycocktow side of the river was less promising, although equally successful. It was thought desirable, on the following day, to reconnoitre the defences in that direction; and accordingly Captain Hall, accompanied by Mr. Compton, proceeded in the ship's cutter across the river for that purpose. A large number of troops were collected upon the heights, upon which were numerous tents; and several large transport junks, not less than twenty sail, were hastily landing troops, guns, and ammunition. It was also noticed that boats were passing round at the back of the hill and works, through a large canal or creek; so that, although it was not possible to explore the lines of communication from one part to the other, it became very evident that the neighbourhood of the river, although apparently mountainous and rugged, was accessible to boats on all sides, and was in fact composed of distinct islands.

The question of the intentions of the Chinese was soon decided; for the fort on Wantung, as the boat passed between it and the mainland, on that side, fired at it with round shot. There was no mistaking the tone of defiance which this indicated; but Captain Hall was sufficiently acquainted with the Chinese character to be reluctant to turn back at this threat, because the affair would have been reported as a great victory, with their usual exaggeration. The little bow-gun of the boat was therefore instantly fired at the troops who were looking over the battlements of the fort; and no further molestation being attempted by the Chinese, she again pursued her way, content with this token of defiance.

These little reconnoitring excursions sufficed to shew, were anything still wanting to bring conviction to the most unbelieving, that the Chinese were fully aware that no treaty of peace was likely to be signed, and that they looked forward to the resumption of hostilities, not only without much apprehension, but with tolerable confidence in the probability of their own success.

On the evening of the 18th, the four days agreed on for the return of the messenger from Canton having fully expired, the Nemesis was moved up from Chuenpee to the Bogue, where she remained one hour, waiting for an answer from the imperial commissioner. None, however, was brought; and as everything now so plainly indicated that cannon-balls alone were to be expected as a reply, Captain Hall resolved to return to Macao, and report all that had been seen and done to the plenipotentiary and the commander-in-chief. Not a moment was lost in communicating the results of the reconnoitring excursions, the firing of a shot from North Wantung, and the non-appearance of the messenger at the appointed time.

The most incredulous now no longer doubted; the film was raised even from before the eyes of Captain Elliot himself, and orders were given that all the officers should join their respective ships. The light division, which was then in the roads of Macao, or at the mouth of the river, was placed under the orders of Captain Herbert (since made K.C.B.) of the Calliope, and was directed to proceed immediately to the Bogue. It consisted of the Calliope, Samarang, Herald, Alligator, Sulphur, and the Nemesis; and the object was "to prevent, as much as possible, any further defensive preparations on the part of the enemy, but not to run any unnecessary hazard until the main body of the force came up." At the same time, the commodore hastened over to Hong-Kong, in the Madagascar steamer, for the purpose of taking up the ships of the line, consisting of the Wellesley, Blenheim, and Melville, seventy-fours, and the steamers, Queen and Madagascar; leaving the Druid, with the Jupiter troop-ship, and the transports, Sophia, Minerva, Thetis, and Eagle, to follow.

These active measures were briefly announced by Captain Elliot, in a circular issued on the same day to the following effect, simply stating that "circumstances had induced the commander-in-chief to announce to H.M. plenipotentiary his intention to move the forces towards the Bocca Tigris," – from which it would seem that the responsibility of this inevitable measure was rather assumed by Sir Gordon Bremer than by the plenipotentiary; but Captain Elliot had also written to Captain Herbert, stating that he left him at liberty, and moved to prevent the continuance of defensive preparations at the Bogue.

It was on the day following this movement (the 20th) that Keshen's notification of his unwillingness to continue negotiations became known at Macao; and shortly afterwards, the emperor's edict (before alluded to) was also promulgated, in which every proposed measure of conciliation towards the foreigners was recalled, and orders given, on the other hand, that "they should be rooted out entirely."

On the morning of the 21st, a reconnoitring party landed, unperceived, upon the island of Wantung, consisting of Captains Elliot, Herbert, and Belcher, and Lieutenant Stransham, and they were able to count seventeen more guns, newly-mounted, in addition to those which had been observed on the former occasion.

The truce had already fully expired, but hostilities did not commence immediately, as might have been expected. On the 22nd, a Chinese boat happened to be stopped, in which was found a messenger, who was recognised by Lieutenant Watson as an active agent of the Chinese authorities. It was naturally suspected that he was the bearer of orders of some kind or other to the local officers, and such was found to be the case. They were addressed to Admiral Kwan, desiring him to hurry on the stopping-up of the channel which runs at the back of Anunghoy, by which the latter becomes an island. The means employed were stones and stakes, and sunken junks, which had been collected in large quantities at a place called Sanmannkow, which must have been the large town known to lie in the rear of Anunghoy. Thus all our observations respecting the intentions of the authorities were fully confirmed, and it could now no longer be doubted, on our part, that a heavy blow must at once be struck.

CHAPTER XVI

Keshen, who had spent all his life either in large provincial capitals or in the imperial city itself, could have had little opportunity of learning anything either relating to foreign trade or foreign ships, still less was he acquainted with the "outer waters" along the coast of the empire.

After describing them to his imperial master, he boldly ventures his opinion, that the reputation of the fortifications of the Bocca Tigris, as a place of defence, have been much overrated, and he goes on to say – "It is, then, clear that we have no defences worthy to be called such. It is, in truth, the local character of the country, that there is no important point of defence by which the whole may be maintained."

No wonder that such a declaration from a man who was also the third member of the imperial cabinet, taken, as it was, from personal observation, should have sounded unpalatable and even traitorous to the emperor's ear. But this was not all. Indeed, one might almost imagine that some European must have pointed out to him defects which his own unpractised and unaided eye could never have detected.

Lin, on the other hand, had never dared to report to his master the full extent of the information which was given to him, though he was fully prepared to adopt every advice which tended to obstruct the commerce of England, and impede an amicable settlement of the difficulties.

Such truths are always hard to bear, and harder to believe, and were consequently not believed, because they were true. But Keshen did his best to improve his weapons; he sent for a founder of cannon, who gave him a new model, and undertook to make some experimental pieces. Yet it did not escape Keshen that, even if he succeeded in casting good cannon, he could only do so as a preparation for the future. "They could not be ready," says he, "for the business we have now in hand. These are the proofs," he adds, "of the inefficiency of our military armament, which is such that no reliance can be placed upon it."

He proceeded to say that it would be necessary to employ a naval as well as a land force to defend the Bogue, but then threw out a suspicion that the seamen were not to be depended on, for that "he had heard a report that, after the battle of Chuenpee, these men all went to their commander, or Tetuh, and demanded money of him, threatening that they would otherwise disperse; and he had, therefore, personally made inquiry into the matter, and found that the report was perfectly true, and, moreover, that the Tetuh, having no other remedy, (evidently the pay was in arrear,) was obliged to pawn his own clothes and other things, by which means he was enabled to give each of them a bonus of two dollars, and thus only could he get them to remain for a time at their posts."25

Moreover, he added, "our ships of war are not large and strong, and it is difficult to mount heavy guns upon them. Hence it is evident that our force here, (he was writing at the Bogue,) as a guard and defence against the foreigners, is insufficient."

Keshen next remarked upon the character of the people of the province. "Your slave has found them ungrateful and avaricious. Of those who are actual traitors it is unnecessary to say anything. But the rest are accustomed to see the foreigners day by day, and intimacy has grown up between them." And he proceeds to contrast them very unfavourably with the people of Chusan, "who felt at once that the foreigners were of another race."26

Keshen then appealed to the history of the past, and made particular allusion to the difficulty which had formerly been experienced, in overcoming even the pirates upon the coast, who were at length only reduced to submission by a promise of security upon condition of laying down their arms.27 Finally he expressed great fear, that if he gave battle, he would be unable to command a victory, and, in that case, the dignity of the empire would be sullied, and the lives of the people sacrificed.

To understand the full importance of these remarks, it is necessary to bear in mind that they were written before the action of the Bogue took place, and as a ground for asking for the emperor's consent to the terms proposed by Captain Elliot. Others, however, were called to aid in his councils at this time, and, among the high officers of Canton, Lin himself was consulted. They appeared to concur with Keshen; at all events, they knew that upon his head would rest all the responsibility.