It Was Arranged That The Treaty Should Be Signed On Board A British Man-
Of-War, And The Chinese Commissioners Were Invited To Pay A Visit For The
Purpose To The "Cornwallis," The Flagship Of The Admiral.
The event came
off on the 20th of August, 1842, and the scene was sufficiently
interesting, if not imposing.
The long line of English warships and
transports, drawn up opposite to and within short range of the lofty walls
of Nankin; the land forces so disposed on the raised causeways on shore as
to give them every facility of approach to the city gates, while leaving
it doubtful to the last which gate would be the real object of attack; and
then the six small Chinese boats, gayly decorated with flags, bearing the
imperial commissioners and their attendants, to sign for the first time in
history a treaty of defeat with a foreign power. The commissioners were
dressed in their plainest clothes, as they explained, because imperial
commissioners are supposed to proceed in haste about their business, and
have no time to waste on their persons, but there is reason to believe
that they thought such clothing best consorted with the inauspicious
character for China of the occasion. The ceremony passed off without a
hitch, and four days later Sir Henry Pottinger paid the Chinese officers a
return visit, when he was received by them in a temple outside the city
walls. A third and more formal reception was held on the 26th of August in
the College Hall, in the center of Nankin, when Sir Henry Pottinger,
twenty officers, and an escort of native cavalry rode through the streets
of one of the most famous cities of China. It was noted at the time that
on this date an event of great importance had happened in each of the
three previous years. On the 26th of August, 1839, Lin had expelled the
English from Macao, in 1840 the British fleet anchored off the Peiho, and
in 1841 Amoy was captured. Three days after this reception the treaty
itself was signed on board the "Cornwallis," when Keying and his
colleagues again attended for the purpose. The act of signing was
celebrated by a royal salute of twenty-one guns, and the hoisting of the
standards of England and China at the masthead of the man-of-war. The
Emperor Taoukwang ratified the treaty with commendable dispatch, and the
only incident to mar the cordiality of the last scene in this part of the
story of Anglo-Chinese relations was the barbarous and inexcusable injury
inflicted by a party of English officers and soldiers on the famous
Porcelain Tower, which was one of the finest specimens of Chinese art,
having been built 400 years before at great expense and the labor of
twenty years.
The ports in addition to Canton to be opened to trade were Shanghai,
Ningpo, Amoy and Foochow, but these were not to be opened until a tariff
had been drawn up and consular officers appointed. As the installments of
the indemnity were paid the troops and fleet were withdrawn, but a
garrison was left for some time in Chusan and Kulangsu, the island off
Amoy. The attack and massacre of some shipwrecked crews on the coast of
Formosa gave the Chinese government an occasion of showing how marked a
change had come over its policy. An investigation was at once ordered, the
guilty officials were punished, and the emperor declared, "We will not
allow that, because the representation came from outside foreigners, it
should be carelessly cast aside without investigation. Our own subjects
and foreigners, ministers and people, should all alike understand that it
is our high desire to act with even-handed and perfect justice." Sir Henry
Pottinger's task was only half performed until he had drawn up the tariff
and installed consular officers in the new treaty ports. Elepoo was
appointed to represent China in the tariff negotiations, and Canton was
selected as the most convenient place for discussing the matter. Within
two months of the resumption of negotiations they seemed on the point of a
satisfactory termination, when the death of Elepoo, the most sincere and
straightforward of all the Chinese officials, caused a delay in the
matter. Elepoo was a member of the Manchu imperial family, being descended
from one of the brothers of Yung Ching, who had been banished by that
ruler and reinstated by Keen Lung. That the Pekin government did not wish
to make his death an excuse for backing out of the arrangement was shown
by the prompt appointment of Keying as his successor. At this stage of the
question the opium difficulty again rose up as of the first importance in
reference to the settlement of the commercial tariff. The main point was
whether opium was to appear in the tariff at all or to be relegated to the
category of contraband articles. Sir Henry Pottinger disclaimed all
sympathy with the traffic, and was quite willing that it should be
declared illicit; but at the same time he stated that the responsibility
of putting it down must rest with the Chinese themselves. The Chinese were
not willing to accept this responsibility, and said that "if the
supervision of the English representatives was not perfect, there will be
less or more of smuggling." Keying paid Sir Henry Pottinger a ceremonious
visit at Hongkong on the 2eth of June, 1843, and within one month of that
day the commercial treaty was signed. Sir Henry issued a public
proclamation calling upon British subjects to faithfully conform with its
provisions, and stating that he would adopt the most stringent and decided
measures against any offending persons. On his side Keying published a
notification that "trade at the five treaty ports was open to the men from
afar." The only weak point in the commercial treaty was that it contained
no reference to opium. Sir Henry Pottinger failed to obtain the assent of
the Chinese government to its legalization, and he refused to undertake
the responsibility of a preventive service in China, but at the same time
he publicly stated that the "traffic in opium was illegal and contraband
by the laws and imperial edicts of China." Those who looked further ahead
realized that the treaty of Nankin, by leaving unsettled the main point in
the controversy and the primary cause of difference, could not be
considered a final solution of the problem of foreign intercourse with
China.
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