It Was Not Merely Something That Had Never
Been Heard Of, But It Would Probably Be Attended With Peril To The Envoy
As Well As To The Chinese Government.
Then the commissioners wanted to
know if he would wear the Chinese dress, if all the powers would have only
one minister, and if he would make the kotow?
Finding such arguments fail
they asked that the visit of an English embassador to Pekin should be
postponed till a more favorable occasion. They made the admission that
"there is properly no objection to the permanent residence at Pekin of a
plenipotentiary minister of her Britannic Majesty," and they even spoke of
sending a return mission to London; but they deprecated the proposal as
novel and as specially risky at this moment in consequence of the
formidable Taeping Rebellion. These representations did not fail to
produce their effect, for it was not to the interest of Europeans
generally that the emperor's authority should be subverted on the morrow
of his signing a treaty with us. In consequence of these feelings, and
with a wish to reciprocate the generally conciliatory attitude of the
Chinese officials, Kweiliang and Hwashana were informed that the right
would be waived for the present, except that it would be necessary for the
English minister to visit Pekin twelve months later, on the occasion of
exchanging the ratifications of the treaty; and so the matter was left
pending the arrival of that occasion. While the Treaty of Tientsin
provided for the conclusion of a peace that promised to be enduring, and
arranged for the future diplomatic relations of the two countries,
commissioners were duly appointed to meet at Shanghai and draw up a
tariff.
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