Sir Henry
Pottinger's Reply To This Letter Was To Inquire If He Was Empowered By The
Emperor To Negotiate.
If he had received this authority the English
plenipotentiary would be very happy to discuss any matter with him, but if
not the operations of war must proceed.
At that moment Elepoo had not the
requisite authority to negotiate, and the war went on until the victorious
English troops were beneath the walls of Nankin. At the same time as these
pourparlers were held with Elepoo at Woosung, Sir Henry Pottinger issued a
proclamation to the Chinese stating what the British Government required
to be done. In this document the equality of all nations as members of the
same human family was pointed out, and the right to hold friendly
intercourse insisted on as a matter of duty and common obligation. Sir
Henry said that "England, coming from the utmost west, has held
intercourse with China in this utmost east for more than two centuries
past, and during this time the English have suffered ill-treatment from
the Chinese officials, who, regarding themselves as powerful and us as
weak, have thus dared to commit injustice." Then followed a list of the
many high-handed acts of Commissioner Lin and his successors. The Chinese,
plainly speaking, had sought to maintain their exclusiveness and to live
outside the comity of nations, and they had not the power to attain their
wish. Therefore they were compelled to listen to and to accept the terms
of the English plenipotentiary, which were as follows: - The emperor was
first of all to appoint a high officer with full powers to negotiate and
conclude arrangements on his own responsibility, when hostilities would be
suspended. The three principal points on which these negotiations were to
be based were compensation for losses and expenses, a friendly and
becoming intercourse on terms of equality between officers of the two
countries, and the cession of insular territory for commerce and for the
residence of merchants, and as a security and guarantee against the future
renewal of offensive acts. The first step toward the acceptance of these
terms was taken when an imperial commission was formed of three members,
Keying, Elepoo, and Niu Kien, viceroy of the Two Kiang; and to the last
named, as governor of the provinces most affected, fell the task of
writing the first diplomatic communication of a satisfactory character
from the Chinese government to the English plenipotentiary. This letter
was important for more reasons than its being of a conciliatory nature. It
held out to a certain extent a hand of friendship, and it also sought to
assign an origin to the conflict, and Niu Kien could find nothing more
handy or convenient than opium, which thus came to give its name to the
whole war. With regard to the Chinese reverses, Niu Kien, while admitting
them, explained that "as the central nation had enjoyed peace for a long
time the Chinese were not prepared for attacking and fighting, which had
led to this accumulation of insult and disgrace." In a later communication
Niu Kien admitted that "the English at Canton had been exposed to insults
and extortions for a series of years, and that steps should be taken to
insure in future that the people of your honorable nation might carry on
their commerce to advantage, and not receive injury thereby." These
documents showed that the Chinese were at last willing to abandon the old
and impossible principle of superiority over other nations, for which they
had so long contended; and with the withdrawal of this pretension
negotiations for the conclusion of a stable peace became at once possible
and of hopeful augury.
The first step of the Chinese commissioners was to draw up a memorial for
presentation to the emperor, asking his sanction of the arrangement they
suggested. In this document they covered the whole ground of the dispute,
and stated in clear and unmistakable language what the English demanded,
and they did not shrink from recommending compliance with their terms.
Keying and his colleagues put the only two alternatives with great
cogency. Which will be the heavier calamity, they said, to pay the English
the sum of money they demand (21,000,000 dollars, made up as follows: Six
million for the destroyed opium, 3,000,000 for the debts of the Hong
merchants, and 12,000,000 for the expenses of the war), or that they
should continue those military operations which seemed irresistible, and
from which China had suffered so grievously? Even if the latter
alternative were faced and the war continued, the evil day would only be
put off. The army expenses would be very great, the indemnity would be
increased in amount, and after all there would be only "the name of
fighting without the hope of victory." Similar arguments were used with
regard to the cession of Hongkong, and the right of trading at five of the
principal ports. The English no doubt demanded more than they ought, but
what was the use of arguing with them, as they were masters of the
situation? Moreover, some solace might be gathered in the midst of
affliction from the fact that the English were willing to pay certain
duties on their commerce which would in the end repay the war indemnity,
and contribute to "the expenditure of the imperial family." With regard to
the question of ceremonial intercourse on a footing of equality, they
declared that it might be "unreservedly granted." The reply of Taoukwang
to this memorial was given in an edict of considerable length, and he
therein assented to all the views and suggestions of the commissioners,
while he imposed on Keying alone the responsibility of making all the
arrangements for paying the large indemnity. All the preliminaries for
signing a treaty of peace had therefore been arranged before the English
forces reached Nankin, and as the Chinese commissioners were sincere in
their desire for peace, and as the emperor had sanctioned all the
necessary arrangements, there was no reason to apprehend any delay, and
much less a breakdown of the negotiations.
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Page 105 of 188
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