The
Capture Of Chusan Presented No Difficulties To A Well-Equipped Force, Yet
The Fidelity Of Its Garrison And Inhabitants Calls For Notice As A
Striking Instance Of Patriotism.
The officials at Tinghai, the capital of
Chusan, refused to surrender, as their duty to their emperor would not
admit of their giving up one of his possessions.
It was their duty to
fight, and although they admitted resistance to be useless, they refused
to yield, save to force. The English commander reluctantly ordered a
bombardment, and after a few hours the Chinese defenses were demolished,
and Tinghai was occupied. Chusan remained in our possession as a base of
operations during the greater part of the war, but its insalubrity rather
dissipated the reputation it had acquired as an advantageous and well-
placed station for operations on the coast of China. Almost at the same
time as the attack on Chusan, hostilities were recommenced against the
Chinese on the Canton River, in consequence of the carrying off of a
British subject, Mr. Vincent Stanton, from Macao. The barrier forts were
attacked by two English men-of-war and two smaller vessels. After a heavy
bombardment, a force of marines and blue-jackets was landed, and the
Chinese positions carried. The forts and barracks were destroyed, and Mr.
Stanton released. Then it was said that "China must either bend or break,"
for the hour of English forbearance had passed away, and unless China
could vindicate her policy by force of arms there was no longer any doubt
that she would have to give way.
While these preliminary military events were occurring, the diplomatic
side of the question was also in evidence. Lord Palmerston had written a
letter stating in categorical language what he expected at the hands of
the Chinese government, and he had directed that it should be delivered
into nobody else's hands but the responsible ministers of the Emperor
Taoukwang. The primary task of the English expedition was to give this
dispatch to some high Chinese official who seemed competent to convey it
to Pekin. This task proved one of unexpected difficulty, for the
mandarins, basing their refusal on the strict letter of their duty, which
forbade them to hold any intercourse with foreigners, returned the
document, and declared that they could not receive it. This happened at
Amoy and again at Ningpo, and the occupation of Chusan did not bring our
authorities any nearer to realizing their mission. Baffled in these
attempts, the fleet sailed north for the mouth of the Peiho, when at last
Lord Palmerston's letter was accepted by Keshen, the viceroy of the
province, and duly forwarded by him to Pekin. The arrival of the English
fleet awoke the Chinese court for the time being from its indifference,
and Taoukwang not merely ordered that the fleet should be provided with
all the supplies it needed, but appointed Keshen High Commissioner for the
conclusion of an amicable arrangement. The difficulty thus seemed in a
fair way toward settlement, but as a matter of fact it was only at its
commencement, for the wiles of Chinese diplomacy are infinite and were
then only partially understood.
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