The war in China was undertaken to punish the Government for the
numerous injuries and insults they had offered to the English, and, by
teaching them to respect our power, to induce them to trade with us on
fair and equal terms, and to treat us in future as one civilised people
should treat another; also to demand reparation of grievances, and
payment for the property of British subjects destroyed at Canton; to
obtain a guarantee against similar occurrences in future; and, what was
of the greatest importance, to open up the trade at the different ports
along the coast.
With these objects to be accomplished, a large squadron and a number of
transports, containing a considerable body of troops, were despatched in
1840 by the Governor-General of India to the Chinese seas.
Soon after this a large fleet arrived from England, under the command of
Admiral the Honourable G. Elliot, while Sir Gordon Bremer had his broad
pennant flying on board the _Wellesley_. Captain Elliot, RN, it must be
understood, was acting on shore as Chief-Superintendent of Trade.
The Chinese are a very clever people, but though their civilisation is
very ancient it has been stationary for ages, and all change and advance
of Western ideas has been violently opposed both by the governing
classes and the people. In the matter, however, of armament they have
in recent years made great advance, but at this time this advance had
hardly yet commenced, and they had nothing to oppose to the British
fleet.
Not having the real thing, with great ingenuity they proceeded to
extemporise an imitation, the appearance of which they hoped would be
sufficient to frighten off the foreigner. They purchased an English
trading vessel, the _Cambridge_, intending to turn her into, at least in
appearance, a man-of-war, and built some strange-looking little
schooners upon a European model, for the purpose of employing them
against the English. Commissioner Lin also got up some sham fights at
the Bogue, dressing those who were to act as assailants in red coats, in
order to accustom the defenders to the sight of the red uniform,--the
redcoats, of course, being always driven back with tremendous slaughter.
They also ran up formidable-looking forts along the banks of many of
their rivers, which on examination, however, turned out to be merely
thin planks painted. The object of these was to alarm the barbarians,
and to prevent them from entering their harbours. But the crowning and
most ingenious device was the construction of some vessels, with large
paddle-wheels like those of steamers, which were worked inside by men;
though, that they might appear to be real steamers, they had, it is
said, funnels and fires under them to create a smoke.
Although from these accounts it would appear that the Chinese were not
very formidable enemies, it must be understood that they also possessed
some forts which were really very strong; and that though the true
Chinese are not very fond of fighting, and, from their peculiar
temperament, (looking upon discretion as the better part of valour),
prefer running away to stopping with the certainty of being shot or
bayoneted, yet that, as they fully understand division of labour, they
employ a large number of Tartars to do their fighting for them. These
Tartars are very brave fellows, and so are their officers; and in
numberless instances they preferred death to defeat. They invariably
fought to the last; and often, when they could fight no longer, cut the
throats of their wives and children, and then their own, rather than
yield. This horrible practice arose undoubtedly from ignorance, they
believing that their conquerors would ill-treat and enslave them if they
captured them alive. Besides these Tartar troops, who were far from
contemptible enemies, our gallant redcoats and bluejackets had to
contend with the pernicious climate of the south of China, by which,
more than by the jingall-balls of the enemy, numbers were cut off. The
Tartars we have been speaking of are powerful men, armed with long
spears, and often they crossed them with the British bayonet, for which
the long spear was sometimes more than a match. Hand-to-hand encounters
with the Tartar troops were not uncommon, and our men learned to their
cost that they had held the Chinese too cheap. Instances occurred in
which the powerful Tartar soldier rushed within the bayonet guard of his
opponent, and grappled with him for life or death.
A full description of the numerous actions which took place from the
commencement to the termination of the war, extending over so many
months, would at the present day be far from interesting. We shall,
therefore, but briefly allude to some of them.