SECOND MISSION TO CHINA. PEKIN.
THE LANDING--CHINESE OVERTURES--TAKING OF THE FORTS--THE PEN TIENTSIN--
NEGOTIATIONS BROKEN OFF--NEW PLENIPOTENTIARIES--AGREEMENT MADE--AGREEMENT
BROKEN--TREACHEROUS SEIZURE OF MR. PARKES AND OTHERS--ADVANCE ON PEKIN-
-RETURN OF SOME OF THE CAPTIVES--FATE OF THE REST--BURNING OF THE SUMMER
PALACE--CONVENTION SIGNED--FUNERAL OF THE MURDERED CAPTIVES--IMPERIAL
PALACE--PRINCE KUNG--ARRIVAL OF MR. BRUCE--RESULTS OF THE MISSION.
[Sidenote: The landing.]
On the 1st of August the landing of the allied troops was effected in
perfect order, without the slightest opposition 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 described in the following letter:--
_August 2nd._--There have been a few days' interval since I wrote, and
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 that 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 about a mile and a half below them. This
was to have taken place on the 30th, and those of my 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 not 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 horsemen 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 witnessed 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)[1] arrived
with the announcement 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
fort, 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 promised 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.
We 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 mischief; 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 officer in command (rightly or wrongly, I know not
which) 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 he 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 found 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 it. The military are, therefore, glad to find sound footing
at no great distance.
[Sidenote: Chinese overtures.]
Up to this time no communication 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 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 announcement 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 purpose 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 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 saying 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 overtures; 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 propositions which it may be impossible to accede to without
compromising 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 morning, 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.
[Sidenote: Taking of the forts.]
The 'serious 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 21st 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 inactivity 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:--
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
afternoon 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 pleasure. All these details were given at full length in my
annihilated letter, but already they seem out of date.
_Tangkow.--August 23rd._--Grant has been marvellously favoured by the
weather, for the rain, which arrests all movements 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 proceedings. 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 enclosed 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 describe the action for you, as you will no
doubt see elsewhere a detailed account of it. My own personal history
will not be 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 perhaps 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 Commanders-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 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 provisions, 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 confident.
[Sidenote: The Peiho.]
_August 25th.--Noon._--High and dry at about fifteen miles 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 corner, 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 occupying
Tientsin well.... He has great qualities.
[Sidenote: Tientsin.]
_Tientsin.--Sunday, August 26th._--We reached this place 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 _saisissement_ 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 stern, 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 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 signature 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, Gros, and I are
all to lodge in it together.
[Sidenote: Chinese yamun.]
_Tientsin.--August 27th._--I had a very bad headache after I had sent
off the mail 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, containing rooms
with carved woodwork and other Chinese neatnesses. 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.
[Sidenote: Negotiations.]
_August 29th._--I intended to have told you that I was sending 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 afternoon 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
_orné_, 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 the establishment of a Chinese gentleman is very
large indeed. If Kweiliang and Co. come into our terms, my present
intention 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 1st._--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 was 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 observed, and that all the demands hitherto made
should be conceded in full. A draft of convention was accordingly 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 calculated
to convey the opposite impression.
[Sidenote: Broken off.]
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, with
the concurrence of Baron Gros, he intimated to 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 8th._--I am at war again! 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
concerned. We have behaved well to the people, except at Peytang 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_.--I 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 10th.--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 inhabitants to sell us a good many sheep and oxen. Our tents were
not pitched till near noon; so I 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 supplies, 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.
[Sidenote: New Plenipotentiaries.]
_September 11th.-Six A.M._--Parkes and Wade have just been in my tent
with a letter from two new Plenipotentiaries--really some of the
highest personages in the empire--stating that they are under orders
to come to Tientsin to settle everything, and deprecating a forward
movement.[2] I shall of course stick by my programme, and decline to
have anything to say 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.M.--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.
[Sidenote: Chinese gentleman-farmer.]
_Nan-tsai-tsun.--September 12th._--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 yesterday. 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 seems, 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.
[Sidenote: Ho-see-woo.]
[Sidenote: Monastery.]
_Ho-see-woo.--September 14th._--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 starting, but, later, a fresh breeze in our faces
gave the requisite 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 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 from 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 remarkable
men I ever met; for energy, courage, and ability combined, 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.
[Sidenote: Terms agreed to.]
After eight hours' discussion the Chinese Commissioners 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 other a Prince of the Blood Imperial, and in their repeated 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.[3]
On the return of the two secretaries from the conference, 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 17th
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.[4]
_Sunday, September 16th_.--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
1,000 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 17th_.--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.
[Sidenote: Agreement broken.]
_September 18th.--Noon._--There is firing in front of us; and 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 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 Bastard, Gros' secretary, has just returned from
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 consequences. Loch was with the General. I wonder
he is not come to inform me of what has happened.
[Sidenote: Treacherous seizure of Mr. Parkes and others.]
At the time when these words were written, nearly the whole of the party
which had ridden forth the morning 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 off, 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 imprisonment, 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.[5] We can here
touch only upon those points in which their story is mixed up with public
events.
[Sidenote: Cause of the change.]
As to the origin and cause of the renewal of hostilities, 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 it is very possible
that further information 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 colleague; but I apprehend that the General-in-Chief, Sang-ko-
lin-sin, thought that they had compromised his military position 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, Baron
Gros' Secretary 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, however, 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
conclusion that, in the proceedings of the Chinese Plenipotentiaries
and Commander-in-Chief in this instance, there was that mixture 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-sin 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 so sure to be worsted.
[Sidenote: Firm measures.]
Late on the night of the 18th, Lord Elgin received at the same time the
report of a successful engagement, and the intelligence of the capture of
his friends. From this moment he felt that, until the prisoners were given
up, there could be no further negotiation. A notification 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 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.[6]
_September 23rd_.--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 Anderson, nineteen Sikhs, and one
of the Dragoon Guards, are in Pekin, but we have had no communication
with them yet.
[Sidenote: Pali-chiao]
_Pali-chiao.--September 27th_.--I closed my last letter somewhat 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 returned 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 prisoners 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 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.
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 this. So on the 21st we advanced, and attacked a
large body of Tartars, encamped between Tung-chow and Pekin. I
accompanied the infantry and artillery during the day's proceedings.
We encamped 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 overwhelming. We have abundance of grapes,
and some other good fruit.
_September 29th._--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 nay 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 furnished 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 1st._--Yesterday morning came another letter, proposing 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.
[Sidenote: Advance on Pekin.]
_October 5th._--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.
[Sidenote: Suburbs.]
_October 6th.--Five P.M._--We are lodged in a _Lamaserie_ in the
north-west suburb of Pekin. Our move began at seven. We streamed along
narrow 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 corner of
the entrenchment, and found the French General and Staff. The Tartars
had all 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.
[Sidenote: The Summer Palace.]
_Sunday, October 7th._--We hear this morning that the French and our
cavalry have captured the Summer Palace of the 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--numberless buildings with handsome rooms, and filled
with Chinese _curios_, and handsome clocks, bronzes, &c. But, alas!
such a scene of desolation. The French General came up full of
protestations. He had prevented _looting_ in order that all the
plunder might be divided 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 difficult to get
things done by system in such a case, so some officers 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 worse is the waste and breakage. Out of 1,000,000 _l_. worth
of property, I daresay 50,000 _l_. will not be realised. French
soldiers were destroying in every way the most beautiful silks,
breaking the jade ornaments and porcelain, &c. War is a hateful
business. The more one sees of it, the more one detests it.
[Sidenote: Return of some of the captives.]
Pressed thus closely up to the walls of the capital, the Chinese
Regent--for the Emperor had retired to Tartary, 'being obliged by law to
hunt in the autumn'--yielded 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.[7]
_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 their restoration which has
involved the slightest retrograde 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 interest, I was in point of fact best
consulting the welfare of our friends who were in durance. But it was
not to be expected 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 it.[8]
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 Attaché, Mr. de Norman, Mr.
Bowlby, the special correspondent of the _Times_, 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
Irregular Horse. This portion of the party became separated from
Messrs. Parkes and Loch, when the latter, at the commencement 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.
[Sidenote: Fate of the rest.]
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 Fane'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 circumstances 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 considerable 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.'[9]
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 conscientious and
liberal spirit in which he addressed himself to the investigation of the
singularly complicated problems presented by the moral, social, political,
and commercial condition of China, I had conceived the hope that he would
be the means of diffusing sound information on many points on which it is
most important for the national interests that the British public should be
correctly informed.'[10]
The journal, during these anxious and troubled days, is naturally
imperfect. One brief entry sums up his feeling on the main subject.
_Camp near Pekin.--October 14th_.--We have dreadful news respecting
the fate of some of our captured friends. It is an atrocious crime,
and, not for vengeance, but for future security, ought to be severely
dealt with.
[Sidenote: Burning of the Summer Palace.]
The form which the retribution took is well known. The Palace of Yuen-ming-
yuen, the Summer-palace of the Emperor, the glory and boast of the Chinese
Empire, 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
surrender of the individuals guilty of violating the flag of truce: but if
he named no one, some miserable subordinates 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 question 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 feelings. 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 accoutrements 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 treatment 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 wind, hung
like a vast black pall over Pekin;' well calculated to enforce with their
lurid gloom the lesson 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.'
[Sidenote: Convention signed.]
Five days later, on the 24th of October, the Convention, which had been the
subject of so much dispute, was finally signed, and Lord Elgin exchanged
with the Emperor's brother the ratifications of the Treaty of Tientsin.
_Camp near Pekin.--October 26th._--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 giving 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 I.'s Palace.--October 30th._--I have been in bed for
two days with an attack of influenza, but I am better to-day, though
not by way of going out. Here we (the General and I) are occupying a
great enclosure containing a series of one-storied wooden buildings
with covered passages and verandahs. There is a good deal of
aristocratic 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 considerable difficulty in reading in my bed, as
my paper windows, 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 sunshine, 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
goes, I should get a decree from the Emperor sanctioning the
publication of the Treaty all over the empire. ... The French General
will not, however, consent to remain.
[Sidenote: Funeral of the murdered captives.]
_October 31st._--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 advantage of my simplicity; but at any rate
we always seem to agree remarkably. He is wide awake to the Jesuit
intrigues here. By the way, I should mention that the French had a
wonderful funeral on Sunday, in honour of the murdered captives. 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 cathedral,
which they have recovered from the Chinese Government; and the bishop
who preached, in order to make amends for the omission of all
reference to us at the ceremony of the funeral, complimented Queen
Victoria and her _digne représentant_ for having come to China to set
up the Roman Catholic cathedral in Pekin. This reflection will comfort
----[11] when he comes to vote next year the balance of the
£10,000,000 spent. I have no news of Frederick yet; so I am no further
advanced with my own plans than I was when Loch left me.
[Sidenote: Imperial Palace.]
[Sidenote: Visit from Kung.]
_Pekin.--November 2nd._--Yesterday, after the mail had left, 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 with 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 there 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 eminence 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 exercise. 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. After enjoying these views I
went to the Russian Minister's, and found him installed in a house got
up _à l'Européenne_, and looking very comfortable, with his national
stoves. 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 the Jesuits think that 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'
visit, which goes for something in this land of ceremony. I received
the Prince with all honour, and had a good deal of talk with him
through the interpreters, in a style which reminded me of the dialogue
at the commencement of 'Eothen.' I have, I believe, secured the edict
for which we have 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.
[Sidenote: Return visit.]
_November 7th._--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.
[Sidenote: Arrival of Mr. Bruce.]
[Sidenote: Interview with Prince Kung.]
_November 10th._--I had got so far when a note from Frederick 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. on the 8th, with an imposing military escort. After
we had conversed some time together, I told Parkes to explain to the
Prince that in England the individual who represents the 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.
[Sidenote: Leaves Pekin.]
After this we set out for Tung-chow. We had to wait there all night,
as our boats were not ready, and we are now (_10th 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 autumn day, low temperature, and bright sunshine. I think that
this wind-up at Pekin was very promising. It is probable that there
may be some reaction 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 himself 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. Kung 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 Emperor
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 refreshing to see their spirit
and pluck. Wade, Parkes, and Morrison, 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.[12] 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 with 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.
[Sidenote: Tientsin.]
[Sidenote: Its climate.]
_Tientsin.--November 14th._--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 proceedings, the fact of placing our troops
and embassy here, instead of in the south of China, would have been
almost 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 consecutively just
before he left Shanghae. He was not well himself 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, arranging 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.
[Sidenote: Results of the mission.]
The general results obtained by the mission thus happily terminated cannot
be better summed up than in the words of the despatch in which the Foreign
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 particulars
on the fulfilment of those engagements; it imposes 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 relieves Her Majesty's colony of Hong Kong 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
towards 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 continuance of peace
for a long period to come.'
[1] Captain Roderick Dew had been engaged at the capture of Canton in
December, 1857, and also in May, 1858, at the taking of the Taku
forts.
[2] The new Plenipotentiaries were Tsai, Prince of I., a cousin of the
Emperor, and Muh-yin, President of the Board of War: with whom was
joined Hang-ki, a member of the previous commission.
[3] 'A prisoner taken on the 21st of September, in the course of
conversation, 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. Wade's
Memorandum.
[4] 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, (1) that it was a matter of
necessity that 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 the Chinese scholars
within the enemy's lines had long been habitual, having been followed,
with the best results, on many occasions, not only in this but in
former expeditions; and that the Chinese, whatever might be their
faults, had never shown any disposition to disregard a flag of truce;
(3) that, accordingly, no one concerned appears to have had any idea
that there was danger to be braved; and that, putting aside Lord
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 was'
proves nothing--but to take with him several friends who were not
called by duty, shows that, in the judgment of a man of great
shrewdness and unrivalled knowledge of the Chinese character, who was
moreover fully cognisant of all the circumstances, there existed no
ground for apprehension; (4) lastly, that all the evils that followed
were due, so far as it is possible now to judge, to a circumstance
which no one could have foreseen at the time, viz. to a change of
policy and of party within the Chinese Government.
[5] 'Personal Narrative of Occurrences during Lord Elgin's Second Embassy
to China,' 1860. By Henry Brougham Loch, Private Secretary to the Earl
of Elgin.
[6] With generous candour, Mr. Loch, in his 'Narrative,' bears testimony
to the correctness of this view.
[7] The British subjects thus restored were Mr. Parkes, Mr. Loch, and a
trooper of Probyn's Horse; the French subjects were M. l'Escayrac de
Lauture, who was at the head of a scientific mission, and four
soldiers.
[8] In a subsequent letter, Lord Elgin paid to Mr. Parkes this well-merited
tribute. 'Mr. Parkes' consistent refusal to purchase his own safety by
making any pledges, or even by addressing to me any representations
which might have embarrassed me in the discharge of my duty, is a rare
example of courage and devotion to the public interest; and the course
which he followed in this respect, by leaving my hands free, enabled
me to work out the policy which was best calculated to secure his own
release, as well as the attainment of the national objects entrusted
to my care.'
[9] The language used by Mr. Bruce, in reporting to the Foreign Office Mr.
De Norman's death, is still more striking; and it has an additional
interest as being eminently characteristic of the writer: 'It has not
been my fortune,' he says, 'to meet with a man whose life was so much
in harmony with the Divine precept, "not slothful in business, serving
the Lord." With a consistency unparalleled in my experience he brought
to bear on the discharge of every duty, and to the investigation of
every subject however minute, the complete and undivided attention of
the sound abilities, the good sense, and the indefatigable industry
with which God had endowed him. A character so morally and
intellectually conscientious, striving to do everything in the most
perfect manner, neglecting no opportunity of acquiring fresh and of
consolidating previous knowledge, 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
consoling conviction, that death, however sudden, could not find him
unprepared.'
[10] The only English prisoner ultimately unaccounted for was Captain
Brabazon, Deputy-Assistant Quarter-Master-General of Artillery, an
officer whose finished talent and skill in drawing had often been of
the greatest service in taking sketches of the country for the
military operations. His body was never found; but it was believed
that he had been beheaded by order of a Chinese General in his
exasperation at a wound received in the action of the 21st of October.
[11] A well-known Protestant M.P.
[12] Mr. Adkins.