"Night And Day I
Have Considered And Examined The State Of Our Relations With The English.
At First Moved By The Benevolence Of His Majesty And The Severity Of The
Laws, They Surrendered The Opium.
Commissioner Lin commanded them to give
bonds that they would never more deal in opium - a most excellent plan for
securing future good conduct.
This the English refused to give, and then
they trifled with the laws, and so obstinate were their dispositions that
they could not be made to submit. Hence it becomes necessary to soothe and
admonish them with sound instruction, so as to cause them to change their
mien and purify their hearts, after which it will not be too late to renew
their commerce. It behooves me to instruct and persuade them so that their
good consciences may be restored, and they reduced to submission." The
language of this document showed that the highest Chinese officers still
believed that the English would accept trade facilities as a favor, that
they would be treated _de haut en bas_, and that China possessed the
power to make good her lofty pretensions. China had learned nothing from
her military mishaps at Canton, Amoy, and Chusan, and from the appearance
of an English fleet in the Gulf of Pechihli. Keshen had gained a breathing
space by procrastination in the north, and he resorted to the same tactics
at Canton. Days expanded into weeks, and at last orders were issued for an
advance up the Canton River, as it had become evident that the Chinese
were not only bent on an obstructive policy, but were making energetic
efforts to assemble a large army.
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Page 369 of 704
Words from 100192 to 100468
of 191255
