In October, Wansiang, In The
Name Of The Foreign Office, Declared That The Chinese Could Not Recognize
Or Ratify The Private Arrangement Between Mr. Lay And His Naval Officer,
And That It Was Essential For Captain Osborn To Submit To Receive His
Instructions From The Provincial Authorities.
In the following month Mr.
Lay was summarily dismissed from the Chinese service, and it was
determined, after some delay and various counter suggestions, to send back
the ships to Europe, there to be disposed of.
The radical fault in the
whole arrangement had been Mr. Lay's wanting to take upon himself the
responsibility not merely of Inspector-General of Customs, but also of
supreme adviser on all matters connected with foreign questions. The
Chinese themselves were to take quite a subordinate part in their
realization, and were to be treated, in short, as if they did not know how
to manage their own affairs. Mr. Lay's dreams were suddenly dispelled, and
his philanthropic schemes fell to the ground. Neither Prince Kung nor his
colleagues had any intention to pave the way for their own effacement.
After Mr. Lay's departure the Maritime Customs were placed under the
control of Mr. Robert Hart, who had acted during Mr. Lay's absence in
Europe. This appointment was accompanied by the transfer of the official
residence from Pekin to Shanghai, which was attended with much practical
advantage. Already the customs revenue had risen to three millions, and
trade was steadily expanding as the rebels were gradually driven back, and
as the Yangtsekiang and the coasts became safer for navigation. Numerous
schemes were suggested for the opening up of China by railways and the
telegraph; but they all very soon ended in nothing, for the simple reason
that the Chinese did not want them. They were more sincere and energetic
in their adoption of military improvements.
The anxieties of Prince Kung on the subject of the dynasty, and with
regard to the undue pretensions and expectations of the foreign officials
who looked on the Chinese merely as the instruments of their self-
aggrandizement, were further increased during this period by the
depredations of the Nienfei rebels in the province of Shantung. During
these operations Sankolinsin died, leaving Tseng Kwofan in undisputed
possession of the first place among Chinese officials. Sankolinsin, when
retreating after a reverse, was treacherously murdered by some villagers
whose hospitality he had claimed.
The events of this introductory period may be appropriately concluded with
the strange stroke of misfortune that befell Prince Kung in the spring of
1865, and which seemed to show that he had indulged some views of personal
ambition. The affair had probably a secret history, but if so the truth is
hardly likely to be ever known. The known facts were as follows: On April
2, 1865, there appeared an edict degrading the prince in the name of the
two regent-empresses. The charge made against him was of having grown
arrogant and assumed privileges to which he had no right.
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