Letters and Journals of James, Eighth Earl of Elgin Part 26

_December 12th.--Eleven A.M._--We are on our way back to Shanghae. I am very glad of it, because we have accomplished all the good we could possibly expect to effect at Hankow, and I am becoming very tired of the length of time which our expedition has lasted. It is a feat to have reached this point with these big ships at this season of the year, and I think the effect of our visit will be considerable. The people evidently have no objection to us, and the resistance opposed by the authorities can always be overcome by tact and firmness.

_December 13th.--Nine A.M._--At about eight we heaved anchor, having carefully buoyed this very awkward pa.s.sage. The current ran about four miles an hour, and at some points where the leadsmen were calling out sixteen and seventeen feet, the channel was not much greater than the width of the ship, and we draw about fifteen and a half feet of water, so it was a nervous matter to get through. To make the vessel answer the helm it was necessary to go faster than the current, and difficult to do this without proceeding at such a rapid rate as would, if we had chanced to take the ground, have stuck us upon it immovably. We skirted our several buoys in a most masterly manner, and are now anch.o.r.ed till they have been picked up.... _Six P.M._--'Where we had eighteen feet as we came up, we cannot find fourteen now,' are the ominous words which Captain Osborn has just addressed to me as he reached the deck from a surveying expedition.... It looks a little serious, for I fear there is a worse place beyond.

[Sidenote: Peasantry.]

_December 14th.--Six P.M._--I went on sh.o.r.e this morning when there was no prospect of moving.... We took a long walk, conversing with the peasants who live in a row of cottages with their well-cultivated lands in front and rear of their dwellings; the lands are generally their own, and of not more than three or four acres in extent I should think, but it is difficult to get accurate information from them on such points. We found one rather superior sort of man, who said he was a tenant, and that he paid four out of ten parts of the produce of his farm to the landlord. They gave me the impression of being a well-to- do peasantry. Afterwards I walked through the country town of Paho, which is built of stone, and seemingly prosperous. The Rebels had destroyed all the temples.

_December 15th.--Four P.M._--At about one we had pa.s.sed the village of Hw.a.n.g-shih-kiang, and were entering that part of the river I described as a fine site for a Highland deer forest, when the 'Lee' hoisted the 'negative' (the signal to stop). She had got on a rock, where, on our way up, we had found no bottom at ten fathoms. I landed immediately, and found the people engaged in quarrying and manufacturing lime from the hills on the right bank. We had a pleasant walk; the day being beautiful, and the scenery very fine. They sell their lime at about 17$. per ton (200 cash a picul), and buy the small coal which they employ in their kilns at about 25$. (300 cash a picul). I wish I could do as well at Broomhall!

[Sidenote: Hunting for a channel.]

[Sidenote: Literary degrees.]

_December 17th.--Ten A.M._--The gunboats are hunting for a channel....

I am going ash.o.r.e. On this day last year I embarked on board this ship for the first time. What an eventful time I have spent since then!

_Four P.M._--I have returned from my walk, but, alas! no good news to greet me. Only eleven feet of water, where we found seventeen on the way up.... Our walk was pleasant enough, though it rained part of the time. Some of the gentlemen shot, for the whole of China is a preserve, the game hardly being molested by the natives. We went into the house of a small landowner of some three or four acres; over the door was a tablet to the honour of a brother who had gained the highest literary degree, and was therefore eligible for the highest offices in the State. The owner himself was not so literary, and had bought the degree of _bachelor_ for 108 taels (about 35_l_.). If he tried to purchase the degree of _master_ he would have, he said, 1,000 taels to pay, besides pa.s.sing through some kind of examination. We asked him about the Rebels. He said that when they visited the rural districts, they took whatever they pleased, saying that it belonged to their Heavenly Father. Before meat they make a prayer to the Heavenly Father, ending with a vow to destroy the 'demons' (Imperialists).

'But,' added my informant, 'they are poor creatures, and their Heavenly Father does not seem to do much for them.' We also visited a manufactory where they were extracting oil from cotton-seed.

_December 18th.--Six P.M._--We are to try a channel, such as it is, to-morrow morning. I landed for a walk. Wade took a gun with him. We saw quant.i.ties of waterfowl of all kinds. The plain on the left bank of the river is bounded on the other side by a pretty lake. The plain is subject to inundations, and seems to be covered by a bed of sand of about five feet in thickness. The people cultivate it by trenching for the clay beneath, and mixing it with the sand.

_December 19th.--10.30 A.M._--The 'Cruiser' went through this bad pa.s.sage safely. We followed, and are now aground. Anchors are being laid out in hopes of dragging the ship over.

[Sidenote: Pressing through the mud.]

_December 20th.--Eleven A.M._--Our difficulty yesterday was not unexpected,... but we were compelled to make the attempt. The mud was very soft, and as we pressed against it, kept breaking away; but the difficulty was, that as we moved the shoal, the tide was forcing us towards it, and preventing our getting clear of it. At night we fixed the ship securely by three anchors, and left it to make its own way, which it did so effectually, that at 4 A.M. we slipped into deep water. We did not get off till 10 A.M., and the first thing we had to do was to turn in a channel which was exactly the length of the ship, and not a foot more. This very clever feat we performed with the help of an anchor dropped from the stern, and are now in the main river....

_Two P.M._--We have anch.o.r.ed below Kew-kiang, at the spot where we anch.o.r.ed on November 30th. The 'Dove' met us an hour ago with the ominous signal, 'Afraid there is no pa.s.sage.' _Six P.M._--Captain Osborn has returned from an exploration, which will be continued to- morrow. It would be very sad if the 'Furious' had to be left behind.

Meanwhile I landed and took a walk. It is a pretty country, on the right bank, consisting of wooded hillocks with patches of cultivated valley, and sometimes lakes of considerable size. Cosy little hamlets nestle in most of the valleys; the houses built of sun-dried bricks, and much more substantial than those we saw yesterday, &c., where the walls generally were made of matting, probably because of the inundations.

[Sidenote: Taking to the gunboats.]

_December 23rd.--Noon._--At about six Captain Osborn returned from an exploration of the north channel, which he found rocky, and twelve feet of water the utmost that could be found. Captain Bythesea was disposed to try and lighten the 'Cruiser;' but I determined that I would run no risk of the kind. As yet no harm has happened to any of our ships, and the delay at this point of some of the squadron for three months, is more an inconvenience to me than a disadvantage in any other way. On public grounds it will even be attended with benefit, as it will insure the Yangtze being kept open; for supplies will be sent up to them from Shanghae, and they will have an opportunity of examining the Poyang Lake besides. If any of the vessels were lost or seriously injured, it would be a very different matter. I have therefore resolved that we shall all pack into the 'Lee' (the 'Dove' being crammed already), and with the aid of two junks for servants and baggage, make our way to the 'Retribution.' We shall have to pa.s.s Nganching, but it is to be hoped that the Rebels will not repeat the experiment they made when we were on our way up.

_Au reste, Dieu dispose._

_December 24th.--Noon._--On board the 'Lee.'_--We have just pa.s.sed the shallow behind which we were anch.o.r.ed for three days; but we have pa.s.sed it only by leaving our big ships behind us. At 10 A.M. I had all the ship's company of the 'Furious' on deck, and made a short farewell speech to them, which was well received by a sympathetic audience. The whole Mission is on board this gunboat, pretty closely packed as you may suppose: the servants in a Chinese boat astern, and the effects in another, astern of the 'Dove.' The 'Dove' leads, and we follow. It is raining and blowing unpleasantly. I am very sorry to have left the 'Furious.'... If the Rebels let us pa.s.s them unattacked, it will be well; if they do not, we shall be obliged in self-defence to force a pa.s.sage through their lines, in order to carry supplies to our ships. Either way, the object of opening the Yangtze will be attained. Yesterday the Prefect of Kew-kiang came on board the 'Furious.' He was very civil, and undertook to supply Captain Osborn with all he wanted.... In the little cabin where I am now writing, five of us are to sleep!

_Christmas Day._--Many happy returns of it to you and the children!...

It is the second since we parted.... We are now (3 P.M.) approaching Nganching. I have resolved to communicate with the authorities to express my indignation at what happened when we pa.s.sed up the river, and tell them that if it is repeated I shall be obliged reluctantly to take the town. This may seem rather audacious language, considering that my whole force now consists of two gunboats. However, I think it is the proper tone to take with the Chinese.

[Sidenote: Ngan-ching.]

_December 26th.--One P.M._--It grew so dark before we anch.o.r.ed near Nganching last night, that we abandoned the idea of communicating till this morning, and found, when day broke, that we were nearer the town than we had antic.i.p.ated. It was raining heavily, with a slight admixture of sleet, and some of the heights in rear of the town were covered with snow. We heaved anchor at about seven, and dropped it again at about half a mile from the wall of the city. Wade went off in a boat. He steered to a point where there was an officer waving a flag somewhat ominously, and a crowd behind him, generally armed with red umbrellas. When he got to the sh.o.r.e, he was informed that the officer was third in command, and a Canton man, as the other chiefs also appeared to be. He told them that it was our intention to pa.s.s up and down the river; that I had come with a good heart (i.e. without hostile intentions); that nevertheless we had been scandalously fired at, &c. &c. They at once, in the manner of Chinamen, confessed their error, and said that the firing had been a mistake; that it was the act of some of the local men, who did not know the ships of 'your great nation:' that it should not happen again, &c. Wade told them that the same thing had occurred at Nankin, and that we had destroyed the peccant forts. They answered that they were aware of what had then happened. He added, that we did not wish to interfere in their internal disputes, but that they must know, if we were driven to it, we should find it an easy matter to sweep them out of the city. They admitted the truth of all he said, offered presents, begged him to go into the city and see their chief (both which proposals he declined); in short, they were contrite and humble. On his return to the 'Lee,'

she and her consort lifted their anchors, and we steamed quietly past the city, under the very walls, and within easy gingall shot, for so we were compelled to do by the narrowness of the channel.

[Sidenote: Nankin.]

_December 29th.--11 A.M._--We are now approaching Nankin. I have sent Oliphant, Wade, Lay, and a Mr. W. (a missionary) ahead in the 'Dove,'

to land, if possible, at the first fort, with the view of going into the town and calling on the authorities. The 'Dove' will then proceed past the other forts to an anchorage on the farther side of the city, to which point the 'Lee' and 'Retribution' will follow her. My emissaries will inform the Nankin authorities that I am pleased that they should have apologised for their scandalous conduct towards us on our way up; that we have no intention of meddling with them if they leave us alone; but that we intend to move ships up and down the river, and that they must not be molested. They have sent me a letter written on a roll of yellow silk, about three fathoms long. It seems to be a sort of rhapsody, in verse, with a vast infusion of their extraordinary theology. It is now snowing heavily, so we cannot see far ahead. It would, I think, be awkward for me to have any intercourse with the Rebel chiefs, so I do not, as at present advised, intend to land.

[Sidenote: Wildfowl.]

_December 30th._--About 7 P.M., the 'Dove' rejoined us with the emissaries. It appears that they had a long way to go on horseback,-- some seven or eight miles--before they reached the Yamun of the chief, who received them. They do not seem to have learnt much from him. He professed to be third in the hierarchy of the Rebel Government of Nankin, but was a rather commonplace person. He said that our bombardment had killed three officers and twenty men, and that they had beheaded the soldiers who fired at us! Arrangements were made for the free pa.s.sage of vessels communicating with the 'Furious.' They describe their ride through Nankin as if it had been one through a great park,--trees, and the streets wider than usual in China; but no trade is allowed, and the place seems almost deserted. There was not quite so much appearance of destruction, but more of desolation, than in any town previously visited by us. The officer who guided them to the Yamun asked Wade to take him away with us, and on being told that was impossible, applied for opium, saying that he smoked himself, and that about one in three of the force in Nankin did the same. Whether the original Taiping chief, 'Hung-Seu-Cheun,' is still alive or not, we have not been able to discover. Some say he remains shut up with about 300 wives. At any rate he is invisible.... The only thing remarkable which I have observed to-day is the quant.i.ty of wildfowl. I saw one flock this morning which was several miles long. It literally darkened the sky. I suppose the cold weather is driving them inwards from the sea.

[Sidenote: Aground once more.]

_December 31st.--Five P.M._--I hardly expected to have to record another grounding, but so it is. We have been going on gallantly all day, leaving the other ships some ten miles behind us. We had pa.s.sed the Lunshan Hills, off which we spent two days, and from which I sent you my last letter. We were abreast of Plover Point, when suddenly the water shoaled so much that we had to drop anchor. Alas! the ebbing tide was too strong for us, and drove us on a bank, where we are now sticking. If we get off before morning it will not matter much; but if the 'Retribution' comes down and finds us here, we shall look horribly small.

[Sidenote: Reach Shanghae.]

_January 1st, 1859._--Many, many returns of the New Year! It is a beautiful day, and we are just anchoring at Shanghae, at 3 P.M. As soon as the tide rose (about midnight) it lifted us off our shoal. We had to go cautiously sometimes to-day; but we have closed this eventful expedition successfully.

The general results and chief incidents of the interesting expedition thus happily completed, were reported to the Government in England in a despatch, dated January 5th, 1859, from which are taken the following extracts:--

[Sidenote: Difficulty of getting at facts.]

The knowledge of the Chinese language possessed by Messrs. Wade and Lay enabled me to enter, without difficulty, into communication with the inhabitants of the towns and rural districts which we visited. At various points in our progress we wandered, unarmed and unattended, in parties of three or four, to a distance of several miles from the banks of the river, and we never experienced at the hands of the natives anything but courtesy, mingled with a certain amount of not very obtrusive curiosity. Notwithstanding, however, these favourable opportunities, the budget of statistical facts which I was able to collect was hardly as considerable as I could have desired. Chinamen of the humbler cla.s.s are not much addicted to reflection, and when subjected to cross-examination by persons greedy of information, they are apt to consider the proceeding a strange one, and to suspect that it must be prompted by some exceedingly bad motive. Moreover, having been civilised for many generations, they carry politeness so far, that in answering a question it is always their chief endeavour to say what they suppose their questioner will be best pleased to hear. If, therefore, the knowledge of a fact is to be arrived at, it is, above all things, necessary that the inquiry bear a tint so neutral that the person to whom it is addressed shall find it impossible to reflect its colour in his reply. He will then sometimes, in his confusion, blunder into a truthful answer, but he does so generally with a bashful air, indicative of the painful consciousness that he has been reluctantly violating the rules of good breeding. A search after accurate statistics, under such conditions, is not unattended with difficulty.

[Sidenote: Exaggerated reports of population.]

I am confirmed, by what I have witnessed on this expedition, in the doubts which I have long entertained as to the accuracy of the popular estimates of the amount of the town population of China. The cities which I have visited are, no doubt, suffering at present from the effects of the rebellion; but I cannot bring myself to believe that, at the best of times, they can have contained the number of inhabitants usually imputed to them. M. Hue puts the population of the three cities of Woo-chang-foo, Han-yang-foo, and Hankow, at 8,000,000. I doubt much whether it now amounts, in the aggregate, to 1,000,000; and even when they were flourishing, I cannot conceive where 3,000,000 of human beings could have been stowed away in them.

[Sidenote: Rural population.]

[Sidenote: Town population.]

What 1 have seen leads me to think that the rural population of China is, generally speaking, well-doing and contented. I worked very hard, though with only indifferent success, to obtain from them accurate information respecting the extent of their holdings, the nature of their tenure, the taxation which they have to pay, and other kindred matters. I arrived at the conclusion that, for the most part, they hold their lands, which are of very limited extent, in full property from the Crown, subject to certain annual charges of no very exorbitant amount; and that these advantages, improved by a.s.siduous industry, supply abundantly their simple wants, whether in respect of food or clothing. In the streets of cities in China some deplorable objects are to be met with, as must always be the case where mendicity is a legalised inst.i.tution; but I am inclined to think that the rigour with which the duties of relationship are enforced, operates as a powerful check on pauperism. A few days ago a lady here informed me that her nurse had bought a little girl from a mother who had a surplus of this description of commodity on hand. I asked why she had done so, and was told that the little girl's husband, when she married, would be bound to support the adopting mother. By the judicious investment of a dollar in this timely purchase, the worthy woman thus secured for herself a provision for old age, and a security, which she probably appreciates yet more highly, for decent burial when she dies.

[Sidenote: Manufactures.]

My general impression is, that British manufacturers will have to exert themselves to the utmost if they intend to supplant, to any considerable extent, in the native market, the fabrics produced in their leisure hours, and at intervals of rest from agricultural labour, by this industrious, frugal, and sober population. It is a pleasing but pernicious fallacy to imagine, that the influence of an intriguing mandarin is to be presumed whenever a buyer shows a preference for native over foreign calico.

In returning to Shaughae, Lord Elgin had hoped to find the objects of his mission so far secured, that there would be nothing to prevent, his sailing for England at once: but nearly two more months elapsed before he was able to turn his back on the Celestial Empire.

_Shanghae.--January 17th._--The 'Furious' and 'Cruiser' arrived here safely on the 10th.... I have just accomplished the Herculean task of looking over a two-months' supply of newspapers, and this occupation, interlarded with a certain number of letters and visits to and from the Imperial Commissioners, and, to-day, an address from the British community of Shanghae, has pretty fully occupied my time.[3] The home mail is due to-day, and 1 am anxiously waiting to learn from it what the Government intends to do about relieving me.... I trust that your many disappointments as to my return may have been somewhat relieved by the conviction that I am following the right course. This opening up of the East is not a light matter.... The comet was most magnificent here. Did I ever mention it in my letters? During the whole period of its visit in this quarter it had night after night a clear blue cloudless sky, spangled with stars innumerable, to disport itself in.... Canton is coming round to tranquillity as fast as we ever had any right to expect; but the absurd thing is that these funny people at Hong-Kong are beginning to praise me!

[Sidenote: Troubles at Canton.]

_January 20th._--I had hardly written the words 'Canton is coming round to tranquillity.' when I heard that there had been fighting there again. It is a good thing in my opinion, as it will enable us to demonstrate our superiority to the Braves, if the General and Admiral improve the opportunity properly; not by a great deal of slaughter, that is quite unnecessary, but by prompt.i.tude, and striking a blow at the right moment. The Chinese do not care much about being killed, but they hate being frightened, and the knowledge of this idiosyncrasy of theirs is the key of the position. I have just written a letter to my friends the Imperial Commissioners here, which will, I think, shake their nerves considerably, and bring them to a manageable frame of mind.

In fact, when he found that Governor-General Hw.a.n.g had not been recalled, nor the Committee of Gentry suppressed, and that the Canton Braves were still making war upon our troops, he felt that the Chinese were trying to evade the performance of their promises, and that there was nothing for it but to 'appeal again to 'that ign.o.ble pa.s.sion of fear which was unhappily the one _primum mobile_ of human action in China.'[4] Accordingly he wrote to the Imperial Commissioners that, as the Emperor did not carry out what they undertook, he would have nothing more to say to them on the subject; that the English soldiers and sailors would take the Braves into their own hands; and that he or his successor would in a month or two have an opportunity of ascertaining at Pekin itself whether or not the Emperor was abetting the persons who were creating disturbances in the South.

The journal continues, under date of January 20:--

[Sidenote: Town of Shanghae.]

Yesterday I took a walk through the town of Shanghae with a missionary who is a very good _cicerone_. We went into a good many _ateliers_ of silversmiths, ribbon-makers, tobacco-manufacturers, carvers in wood, and the like. The Chinese are skilful manipulators, but they are singularly uninventive. Nothing can be more rude than their labour- saving processes. We visited also a foundling establishment. There was a drawer at the entrance in which the infants are deposited, as is, I believe, the case at Paris. The children seem tolerably cared for, but there were not many in the house. The greater portion are given out to nurse. We went also into a large inn or lodging-house, frequented by a respectable cla.s.s of visitors--silk merchants, &c. The rooms seemed comfortable, quite as good as the accommodation provided for commercial travellers at an English inn. A good many books seemed to form part of the luggage of the occupant of each room that we entered.

It is curious that I should have been engaged in so many enterprises of rather an out-of-the-way character since I have been out here. I confess that in my own opinion the voyage up the Yangtze is not the least important one.

_January 22nd._--Mail arrived. Frederick's appointment[5] is very satisfactory, and I am sure it is the best the Government could have made for the public interest. It is a great comfort to me to know that he will wind up what I cannot finish.

[Sidenote: Return to Hong-Kong.]