ASIA ' /Ctl.R.^iiJ r,rri CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY THE WASON CHINESE COLLECTION ^„ Cornell University Library DS 740.4.M14 Dr- •Jacgowan's Remarks on Chinese foreii 3 1924 023 135 993 Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924023135993 n\ MACGOWAN'S REMARKS ON GHIIESE FOEEI&N EEIATIOKS. From the North-China Hebald, December 1857. EEMAEKS ON CHINESE POEEIGN EELATIONS. IN FOUR PARTS. Part I. Grievances of China : evils of the concession of exira-territoriality : outrages of Portuguese and others : convoying piracy ; massacre. It will be admitted by all who have any ac- quaintance with the state of China, tliat we are far from possessing that knowledge of its people and polity, which the exigencies of the time re- qnire, and that even the position in which we stand to this empire is imperfectly understood. For these reasons it will not be considered intru- sive or superfluous in one who has spent the period of half a generation in the land, laying tiefore the public some thoughts, suggested by the relations now subsisting between China and the states of Christendom. As the existing treaties with England, the United States and France are on the eve of being re- modeled under circumstances which cannot fail to obtain the consent of the Ta Tsing dynasty to every demand likely to be presented : — as all claims of redress for the past, and guarantees for the future, including the entire opening of the country, must be conceded, tiiere remains for discussion only one question; it is a question, however, of incal- culable importance, and one which is in danger of being overlooked by a diplomacy flanked by victorious arms. That question is the claims of Chinese on men from afar; — claims which if dis- regarded will not be less prejudicial to the sons ofJaphet than calamitous to the sons of Shem. The subject before us then, is one of general interest: for its elucidation a brief review is necessary, f While the Chinese have rendered nugatory / some minor points in the treaties, they have nor only observed the essentials, but have manifested a disposition to comply with propositions for offending inhabitants, where foreign Consuls were not stationed, which for heinousness are only exceded by those which are now being practised by the Sepoys of Bengal. The three Treaty Powers have not much individually to answer for, in this matter. Until very recently there have been few French- men in China capable of abusing the privilege which exempts foreign residents from amenability to local jurisdiction. Deserters from American vessels and unsuc- cessful miners from California for a short period troubled the land with impunity. This was partly due to the imperfections of our consular system, which shall be again adverted to in the sequel, and partly to the non-enforcement of the statute limiting the use of the American flag to American built vessels. In explanation of this, it is neces- sary to state that, it is common for foreigners to purchase or hire Chinese coasting boats, and after having procured a consular register, or jiermit, to hoist their flag, go wherever they can float; en- gage in the coasting trade honorably, or in smug- gling, or in piracies, as interest or inclination may dictate. When the American flag was used in this manner, our countrymen showed that they were capable of perpetrating the same outrages which render the name of the Portuguese so odious. 'From the other treaty power — England, mis- ^ess of a colony of mongrel subjects adjacent to the chief mart of the empire, China had most to fear from that concession of extra-territoriality ; yet British steamers and brigs of war co-operating with a large and efleciive consular staff) have, to a great extent, averted from the coast, evils which in default of such a police, would have be^n rampant. This much was incumbent on England ,. fronji'^er peculiar position at Hongkong. VlL» modifying commercial regulations, and have been s*^^ no very baneful consequence ha?^ulted directly from the concession successively to En- J liberal towards foreign travelers in the interior. \And while we have some causes of complaint ■against them, they justly charge us with many grave shoij^mings and not a few flagrant trans- gressiansjl^The|Lmay say truly, that since the Treaty of NanSmg; the results of foreignj^ter- / course have been disastrous in the extreme, ^jjlost ' of the evils thev have experienced are attributable to the extension of extra-territoriality throughout the maritime region to foreigners. When trade was restricted tc a single port little inconvenience resulted from this abdication of sovereignty on the parf of the Chinese. But when the Coast was "rtlrowQ open, the impolicy of the conces.sion soon became palpable, particularly besond the imme- diate precincts of the five ports ;j^for the attempt to restrict intercourse to those ^arts was utterly futile.^U'he entire coast from the Pearl to the Yangtlte' gradually became infested by lawless adven/urers who perpetrated cruelties on the un- gland, the United States, and France, of the privi- lege of exercising exclusive jurisdiction over their own people in China, the renunciation of that right by the imperial government has proved to be an indirect suicidal act, as all parties embrace the opportunities it affords of defying the authori- ties ofthe land. It has led to a system of ag- gression and spoliation which brings portions of the country virtually under the control of the worst class of foreigners ; presenting a provoking instance of imperium in imperio. V The chief offenders are Portuguese and the Christianized Manila men in their service. In again calling attention to the outrages which they have perpetrated I repeat ray disclaimer of enter- taining ill will against the countrymen of Gama and Camoens ; there are among them not a few, who earnestly deprecate the atrocities perpetrated under their flag. Being personally cognizant of the severe and protracted sufieriugs of tlie people iimoug whom I dwell, necessity is laid upon me of exposing the cruelties inflicted on them, and of appealing for svjnpathy in their behalf. yOue disastrous result of the late war with En- gland was the discovery by the Chinese of the impotence of their rulers. Multitudes were con- sequently soon arrayed against the government, particularly on the seaboard, where weakness and Incapacity were most palpable. Piratical fleets became so numerous as almost to destroy the coasting trade; poor fishermen even, were not exempt from spoliation.\fC[t was seldom however^ that great cruelties were practised, instead of acting on the maxim of western pirates, that " dead men tell no tales," they seemed to hold, that " dead men can furnish no more spoil," and accordingly, captured seamen and vessels were always redeemable by money. A deputation of the captors repaired to port, negociated for the highest obtainable sum and then returned with the ransom to release their prizes. As a corrective of this growing evil merchants and traders paid liberally for foreign convoy, an arrangement which for a time was mutually advantageous. As the junlts sailed in fleets a moderate contribution from each vessel secured it exemption from a heavy black-mail, while the foreigner was merely delayed a few days on his voyage. Even, the imperial navy profited by it ; — admirals put to sea — in fair weather, going out with the ebb, and returning by the flood performing a cruize in safety. Tliose were halcyon days; but unhappily they were biief in so much that they are now well nigh foj'gouen. Convoying became an object of competitioji. The proximity of the Macao Portuguese with their simple'lorchas or sloops, manned tea great extent by Mauilamen or Cantonese, enabled them to underbid those who sailed square-rigged vessels, and soon the Lusitanian colors displaced all others from this line of -business. Abuses quickly sprung up causing mariners, fishermen, and coastlanders to sigh lor the times when native pirates pursued their coniparatively harmless vocations; the poor people were formerly chastised with wliips, now with scorpions. Sm^uggling, also, tli€ never ceas- ing .vice of foreigners, assumed a systematic form at the non-consular-pqits. " Lorcliamen often dictated to Custom-house o£S- cers the amount of duty to be paid for the whole fleet, reserving to themselves the sum abated. While intimidating mandarins ashore they practi- sed extortions on their piotegSs; It became no longer optional with the native craft to employ : convoys, they were not at liberty to decline' protection, nor were they consulted as to the amount they were to pay. From this, the traosi- ; tion to piracy was easy j and robbery and murder at sea, were followed by like crimes on lanii Whole villages were reduced to ashes, the men butchered, and the women violated, some be- ing carried off to the lorchas, and retained in purchased exemption from such treatment by paying large sums of money. No sum however was suflicient to redeem a mother or daughter whom the fiends determined to take to their ves- sels. ~ Chinese oflicers who attempted to thwart these buccaneers were killed on the spot or cap- tured and held to ransom. The number of un- oflTending natives who have been put to death — some of them tortured in a most diabolical man- ner, would not be Credited if told. Much of my surgical practice in China has been due to thoso piracies and forays. Of course the loss of the Chinese in property has been proportionably great. No device that could be employed for raising money or supplies was left untried. The store of yams, dried fish and fuel laid up for winter's use in the hut of the solitary peasant; the only goat, and last fowl of the farmer, weTe^^( and still are — for the evils yet exist) carried off by the foreign marauder. The fisheries were subjected to heavy charges for this coercive protection. Adventurers who CQuld not command a lorcha, fitted up native boats carrying on depredations in estuaries and livers; others opened offices in the small towns for the sale of passes, which boats, crossing from headland to headland were com- pelled to possess in oide} to escape greater exactions when under weiglvv Not a small part of the wrongs perpetrated) Hy tSg^b^jjf^s were by natives under thy cover and protection of foreign habili- ments^SQn such great fear are foreigners held that f^ possess the courage to withstand even theii\iffigies. A bold and unscrupulous man may do almost anything with impunnity. In illustra- tion of this I shall be excused in briefly adverting to an incident the particulars of which I made public at the time of the occurrence. At the mouth of the Ningpo river is a small village of saltmakers, at which the salt commissioner sta- tions a de|)Uty. This officer after being beaten and compelled to swallow excrement was driveii away by Portuguese, who came and collected the salt gabel in the name of his Consul. A copy of the i>roclaiiiation issued by the miscreant I myself copied and sent to that Consul at Ningpo. About nine tenths of these sanguinary harpies were Portuguese, the balance consisted of vaga- bonds from every maritime state under heaven, representing almost every class in society. I have known a Cossack from the Lena, rub a Chusan fisherman of the leavings of oneof my piratical townsmen ; a former member of the New York bar, at that time in the Portuguese service! ^ It is proper to remark that the transition from the protective ito the piratical character of the lorcjias, was owing an some measure to the fatuous procedure of. the mandarins towards a body of formidable native pirates, whose submission they purchased by conferring rank and emoluments on !the chiefs, and' by giving employment to the whole fleet, making them guardians of the coast. In transforming the wolves into shepherds, a change of occupation was not attended with a change of character. In their new capacity as legalized fleecers they came into collision with those of Macao. Convoying ceasing to be' profit- able; it is not strange that needy irresponsible foreigners, well armed and far removed from the restraints of law should yield to the temptation which defencelssness invited. What course, it will be asked, did the local authorities pursue towards the invaders? They simply remonstrated. When for a brief period the duties of U. S. Consul at this port, were im- posed on me, I was frequently apjilied to*- by H. E. the Tautai for information as to the na- tionality of the parties who in boats and lorohas were oppressing the people. Chinese Officials on the coast, are in constant dread of provoking the ire of any foreign power; they believe that we are all linked together, and that any one, would resent tlie least resistance which another might ex- perience. The very designation which the Por- tuguese claim and have accorded to them, in official documents — Western Ocean Kingdom, or People, serves to awe the Chinese. Again, the mandarins are strangers to the region subject to their rule, arid possessing little interest in it, they are only anxious to move on to the next post with the least possible trouble. The people, on the other hand, live too near the period when the Japanese laid waste the coast; and have been too long oppressed in other ways, to regard their pre- sent visitation as a novelty. With the exception of the intimation furnished by the case of a score of Japanese pirates who were publicly boiled to death in the streets of Ningpo (1406 A.D.) by order of the envoy of that country at Peking, the natives have been led to suppose, that foreigners are amenable to no law, and they submit to this havockas to the pestilence, typhoon, or earthquake — the irresistible powers of nature. For the past few weeks the coastlanders have enjoyed comparative peace, owing to foreign in- tervention; — an intervention made, be it observed, under circumstances which absolve the Chinese from any obligation of gratitude. The circum- stances were briefly these. Cantonese pirates regarding their christian rivals with envy have long been endeavoring to supplant them in con- voying and levying black-mail. Many were the conflicts and varying the success of these in^ teresting belligerents, and great was the loss of life and property : — in almost every instance how- ever, such respect had one party for the ability of the other to inflict harm, that these losses were on the part of the unfortunate clients. More formidable rivals to the Portuguese were some Frenchmen who opened an office at Chinhai for transacting business in the protecting line and became successful competitors for guarding — that is, plundering the Chusan fisheries. Being few in number, they were soon put hors de combat by the jealous Portuguese who demolished the dwel- ling, destroyed the boats, and mangled the bodies of the new firm. The French and Cantonese then united against the common enemy, but suffered a bloody defeat in the first encounter. To avenge themselves, on the triumphant Macao-men, the Cantonese portion of the coalition raised a power- ful fleet, and engaged a number of Frenchmen, a few Englishmen, and Italians and d couple of Americans to lead on the assault. Meanwhile complaints from the discomfltted French were received by the Macao authorities who forthwith authorized H. I. M. ships-of-war to apprehend the oflrenders. When in pursuance of her com- mission the Ca/pricieuse came up the river, the mas- sacre of the unfortunate Portuguese had already been in part accomplished by their foreign and native enemies. On that, and the following days between forty and fifty poor wretches, some of them innocent of any offence, were barbarously murdered ; and under circumstances it must be confessed little creditable to some of the foreign residents. It is owing to the hurricane thus briefly describ- ed that the present calm exists ; and it is probable that in consequence of the attention whicli the case has excited, a considerable period of repose will now be enjoyed, yet similar transactions to those recited, must recur frequently so long as Chinese and foreign relations remain on the p;:esent basis. Part II. Objections to the further opening of China — Neces- sity of a Passport system — Desirableness of restricting intercourse to Treaty powers — Open- of Peking. . have already expressed my conviction, that the vils which afflict this land from without are mainly owing to the concession of extra-territoriality to Europeans and Americans. This abdication of authority is render^ more incompatible with the well-being of the^tnpire by the presence of for- eign colonies in one of her most important pro- vinces. Hongkong' and Macao, can appear to Chinese statesmen in no better light than plague- spots, and to no inconsiderable extent, such, it must be admitted, they have proved. Thence sail the lorchas which defy and lay waste the country ; there collisions are to be expected and provided against, and towards them must be exercised^ eternal vigilance to thwart the aggressive barbariati*©' The abuses to which those possessions on the/ coast of this now only Semi-independent empire give birth are, as regards the English colony, restrained to no small degree by wholesome correctives. The local press is eagle-eyed in detecting official remissness, and fearless in ani- madverting on all acts of public or private op- pression. The coolie traffic though ca)]able of being made a source of profit to the port is con- stantly reprobated by the colonial press. More- over the Hongkong executive has on various occasions adapted active measures for redressing wrongs inflicted on the Chinese. But above all, and more to be relied on, is that public opinion in England y^li sympathizes with suffering in every clime, ^o show that something may be done by a strong government towards mitigating the evils of a foreign possession in China, the history of Chusan may be well adduced. That island when in possession of the English was under military law, and so little did the people suffer, { that they are now willing, for the mere addition of a little trade to transfer their allegiance to the stranger, and what is more worthy of remark, the inhabitants of Chusan, like those of Kulongsu in Amoy harbor, also long under military rule, are found more favorable to Christianity than are the people who have seen only the trading, and the unlicensed features of the foreign character, v^ While a powerful government overawed by an unshackled press and an enlightened public opi- nion affords only partial guarantees of not making its colony an affliction to the land, what may be expected of a puny state, — from a priest-ridden and newspaperless people? The answer is found in the foregoing recital of wrongs perpetrated on the Chinese. Both Hongkong and Macao, ceaselessly menace this middle kingdom, and as regards the latter, menace is action, and will continue to be so until tlie court of Lisbon is constrained to reveise its policy in China. And until the Portuguese are comp illed to relinquish bucanniering the interests of every mercantile state will be in perpetual jeopardy. It was my intention originally to restrict myself to the capacity of an informer, and periiaps I should be content to remain in the witness-box. But I feel impelled to go further; to plead for the Chinese in some points, and to vindicate them in others ; to make comments, and to proffer sug- gestions apposite to the present aspect of affairs. Indeed, I have already committed myself to some extent as their councellor in the character of publicist through the columns of my tiny Chinese and Foreign Gazette. It requires only a modi- cum of additional temerity to proclaim ones views to tile great world without. With one accord Christian nations demand the entire opening of China, and aLextension of com- mercial advantages regardless of Chinese rights in the matter. I believe that these rights cannot be infringed with impunity. China, it is true, must succumb before a requisite force, but the real difficulties of the aggressors will only then commence. Let us consider the consequence of an uncon- ditional compliance with the demands of foreigners. You shall see the horrid barbarities which have devastated the coast,- re-enacted in the interior. You shall see adventurers who shoot down China- men with no :nore malice or compunction than they shoot a pheasant, go further and travel faster than consul, merchant or missionary. Rape, robbery, murder and the like will be common wherever the arm of authority is unfelt. Up her far reaching rivers, along her interminable net- work of canals, on the surface of her broad lakes — thrjugh her every navigable watercourse China will be infested by desperados from all lands, scattering misery in every valley and throughout the Great Plain. Then will follow the assassina- tion of the peaceful traveller, massacres, foreign intervention, blockades and wars, and the lasting impediments to commerce and civilization which those disorders engender. If happily such evils are averted or mitigated there are yet other sources of annoyance less tangible and less hurtful, but which render the presence of foreigners obnoxious to natives gene- rally. It is not easy to convey to one unacquaint- ed with China an adequate idea of the exaggerated notions, the Chinese entertain of our ability and willingness to oppress. They are ignorant and timid to an astonishing degree. Every foreigner is taken for a mandarin of some grade, and a bold individual may strike terror into a whole village, unprincipled natives often take advantage of this and borrow the name and authority of some foreigner for purposes of extortion or op- pression. At other times the unsuspecting bar- barian is employed as a decoy. He is perhaps invited to a feast, to impart instruction or to heal the sick ; meanwhile the host, inquirer or patient who is involved in litigatioiv, or a feud, gives out that the red-bristled mandarin has come purposely to assist in proceedings against an antagonistic neighbor. In this way a refractory and wicked man is sometimes frightened into good behavior, but oftener the reverse obtains; a simple harmless fellow is duped at the same time with the intel- ligent student of Chinese manners, but in a far more serious manner. Within the past few days an incident occurred in this city which may be adduced in illustration of the purposes to which foreigners may be applied. A resident was made to assist at the abduction of a young woman by a party of villains. Terrified by the presence of the "English mandarin," no resistance was offer- ed, — the scheme was perfectly successful. Pro- bably there is no resident in China, whatever may be his calling, on whom some such artifice has not been played. He who repels the imputation is wise only in his own conceit. Annoyances of that description practised in the interior, varied by an occasional outrage, such as occur on the coast, will be sufficient to foment ill-will and to render universal that animosity against us which is now restricted to the regions where we are known ; and as a corollary to the extension of rancor will be collisions and strife. A wall of adamant will thus be raised against missionary enterprize; interminable obstacles will be thrown in the path of commerce ; and embar- rassing questions will be constantly taxing the patience and ability of the politician. This is no overdrawn delineation of the perni- cious consequences wliich must follow an un- qualified compliance with our preposterous de- mands ; preposterous, for they are most humi- liating to a great empire, and wholly incompatible with sovereignty. It is the office of diplomacy, or rather of Wisdom and Humanity to place Chinese and foreign relations on a basis which shall be mutually safe and advantageous. In the high character of the statesmen to whom the work of revising treaties has been entrusted by the states having diplomatic intercourse with China, there is ample guaranty that the approaching negociations will have for their end the establish- ment of such a basis. While aiming to advance the interests of the powerful, there will doubtless be an earnest desire to extend justice to the weak. A desire to accord justice to the Chinese should not only secure a ready assent to any com pensatory stipulations which imperial commissioners may propose, but should beget a willingness on the part of foreign ambassadors themselves to devise and recommend antidotes to the deleterious regi- men, we force upon an unoffending nation. It seems to be incumbent on those who are tamper- ing with the sovereignty of this land, to make its arbitrary government acquainted with the passport system of civilized nations. Such a mode of abridging personal liberty could hardly occur to these unsophisticated despots, nor would the Chi- nese people calmly submit to an infliction of that nature ; yet foreigners ought, and doubtless would, cheerfully submit to the inconvenience it might entail, in return for the privilege of exemption from imperial jurisdiction; and the least that our officers can do is, to propose and facilit.'tte the adoj^ion of a system of passports which shall in- clude un permis de sijour. By favoring expedients of that description it pledge is given that dan- gBfous characters shall not invade and endanger the land under cover of authority which we unscrupulously usurped. Some inconvenience would probably attend the introduction of pass- ports, but if honestly carried into practice^ the advantages of the check would immeasurably ex- ceed the inconveniences, and more than com- pensate in mere personal liberty alone, for all hindrances to locomotion it might occasion. It is assumed that these passports or firmans shall be issued by the highest native authority at any Consular port, and that they shall be required for those parts of the empire which are not readily accessible to Consular officers, and for such parts only; thus e;^empting the centres of commerce from the partial restriction. No benefit would accrue from the inauguration of the proposed system of compensatory checks, unless bonds were required by consuls for the good behavior of their countrymen. And after all; when every precaution has been adopted, every appliance put in requisition, there will arise, either from the impatient and aggr^^ sive character of the dominant race; theapatliy or venality of mandarins, or from that tendency to decay which is inherent in all institutions, many sources of dissension. Little apprehension need exist in regard to an abuse of the system on the part of the Chinese; its defects, and perversions will be to their detriment alone. If English and American diplomatists hesitate to favor a contrivance to which they are not par- tial, those of France can have no scruples. We niay then confidently look to that power for its recommendation to China of what may be called one of the institutions of the continent of Europe. It appears that France earnestly contends for the entire opening of China. An article in the Revue des Deux Wondes, attributed to prince deJoiiiville, demands the privilege for Europeans, "to travel trade, reside and possess property on all points of the empire, with the right also of possessing and teaching their religion." .If the nearest neighbors, or most favored friends of France are not permitted to tread her soil without a passport, can she ask China to admit from every clime men who may safely defy the laws of China? If necessary or useful to every form of government in France, can it be turned to no good account in this country ? It should seem that the initiative might well come from Englands present and America's former ally. While a stringent passport system would afford A degree of protection to China, it is far from what she has a right to demand in lieu of the rights she relinquishes. If, as is iocontestible, the concession of extra- territoriality has been a fruitful source of suffering to the people, and per- manent embarrassment to the government, the remedy suggested will fail where its application is,most required : it is most required to restrain the people of non-treaty powers. Natives of every state in Europe and America, and of colonies in Africa and Asia, claim the privileges accorded to English, French and American, avowing them- ae}ves at the same time amenable only to their own governments, their own governments not being represented in China at all ! That a great empire should have so far abdi- cated sovereignty as to tolerate such a state of affairs is explicable on the ground that its govern- ment is characterised by imbecility, mental and physical. Of this, it is possible to take advantage to our cost. The Treaty of Nanking and its successors were signed from dire necessity. Hitherto no national inconvenience had resulted from exempting for- eigners from local jurisdiction. Intercourse exist- ed at one point only, and, the comparatively courageous people with whom it was restricted, would suffer no wrong to remain unredressed; their valor sufficed for tlieir protection. Could the Chinese have forseen tlie consequence of the concession, they would have resisted to the last. The consequences they keenly feel ; and these consequences are patent to her neighbors. Japan, whose insular position is rendered yet more vulnerable by deeply indented coasts, has beenadmonislied by the course of events on thecon- tinent to contest every inch of ground, to yield as little as possible, and to render l)er concessions valueless to the encroaching races. .-^^ Even the paltry and servile kingdom of Siam refused again and again to accord tlie favor in question, and at last succumbed to what seemed unavoidabie necessiiy ; moved thereto, among other considerations, that the great empire to which she pays tribute had surrendered the contested point. The philosopher and statesman who nego- ciated the English treaty with Siam makes a significant disclosure on this subject. In his Kingdom and People of Siam (vol. 2, p. 113) Sir J. Bowring states, — "The most difficult part of my negociations was the emancipation of British subjects from subjection to Siamese authority." Most likely. The emancipation of the guests, obviously required a disagreeable complemeut, — the disfranchisement of the host.* This claim of exemption from local jurisdiction in Moslem and Pagan countries by christian re- sidents was originally enforced in consequence of the sanguinary character of Mahomedans, whose rancor against christians ptecluded the possibility of justice being accorded by any cadi to a giaour. The Multeka, or theocratical code of Islamisra would bear so hard upon an unbeliever ihat it was wise to extort extra-territoriality from those whose institutions are so inexorably antagonistic with our own. Mr. Urquhart in his work on Turkey and its Hesources, expresses the opinion that these concessions have not been wise on the part of Mahomedan states. On which, Mr. Cushing re- marks, " It may be so for them j but it will be time enough for them to obtain jurisdiction over Christian foreigners, when these last can visit Mecca, Damascus, or Fey, as safely and freely as they do Rome and Paris, and when submission to local jurisdiction becomes reciprocal." Now, as regards China, the Christian foreigner will be able under the projected treaty, to visit every part of the empire with perfect safety, for it is not * In the new and much improved treaty just nego- cjated v?ith Japan by the Hon. Towrjsend Harris, U. S. Consul-general, "emancipation" has been obtained of American citizens from subjection to Japanese authority. The Japaneses like the Turks are bold and reoentful, visitors to those islands may not presume much on exemption from amenability to native authorities. likely that the latent intolerance which is inherent in Confucianism will again dare to manifest itself; as to Budliism, little is to be dreaded ; it is many ages since its nerveless hand grasped the sword of state; consequently the reasons assigned for demanding exemption from local jurisdiction in this empire have much less force than when ap- plied elsewliere. In all other non-christian states the danger of being treated unjustly is far greater, and in nearly all of them are the restraints more annoying. Yet even in China, so great is the corruption of the tribunals and so strong is the antipathy against foreigners as such, that we may reasonably plead for or demand exemption from their control ; provided we respect barriers which serve as a substitute. The problem to be solved is — How shall our reasonable requirements be secured without detri- ment'to those countries we have come to uninvited. The solution* has been committed to competent minds. Besides the subject of passports which I have proposed for discussion, there is another that de- mands attention. The establishment of a joint tribunal which shall have control of questions affecting those who claim to be subjects of coun- tries not represented, or not adequately represent- ed in China. Mr. Consul Meadows, has, it is stated, urged the consideration of this subject on H. B. M. government, such a court would perhaps be unnecessary if the proposition on which I place most reliance for redressing the wrongs of China were adopted. I would have the Chinese government counsel- led to restrict commercial intercourse to those states which give sufficient guaranty that due restraints shall be imposed on its subjects, by employing an efficient Consular and naval force at the ports and on the coast. This plan may at first sight be regarded as ob- noxious to the charge of instituting a monopoly. It is however merely the monopoly of the publican whose right to restrict the privileges of his esta- blishment to those who comply with the terms he sees fit to impose, is challenged by none. The terms which China has an undoubted right to impose are, securities that those who intrude within her portals shall keep the peace. It has been already shown that the subjects of non-treaty powers have been the chief offenders against the people and rulers of China. Is it not incumbent then on those who assume to control this empire, in a matter of such vital importance, to recommend to the court of Peking the adoption of the modified restrictive policy indicated, and to aid, if need be, in its enforcement? Let it not be argued that this does not concern the Treaty powers. The reverse is palpably the case. It concerns them as prime authors of the mischief; as joint offenders; and as, after the natives, the chief sufferers. It was by the strong arm of one of them, that the way was opened for the piracy, arson, inurder and the like which are the scourge of the coast. It is the supposed in- direct sanction of those atrocities by JSngland, !France and the United States which has em- boldened the buccaniers and intimidated the Chi- nese. As authors and joint offenders, it is meet that those should suffer ; and they do suffer. In reputation— -for the Chinese, with few exceptions, make no distinction between foreigners : — in the enforcement of restraints upon travelling, — which otherwise would be much more relaxed. In ship- wrecks, — for when such disasters befal our mari- ners, wreckers are tempted to retaliate. And then again the unoffending traveller is ever exposed to pay penalties for the misdemeanors of others. In a mercantile and pecuniary point of view, also, they suffer, from the license extended to those whose country has no treaty with China. To understand this, the home reader needs to be told that the non-treaty states are represented by un- salaried consuls, generally English or American merchants. It often happens that vessels bearing the flag of those states enjoy through their mer- cantile consuls facilities which are denied to English and American shipping. They can enter and depart with greater despatch, being unaffected by rules, forms or consul hours. In the lesser ports, when they have on board a Chinese super- cargo they can negociate with the custom-house officers on gainful terms. In consequence of the advantages possessed by the vessels of those petty Irresponsible states they secure an undue share of the coasting trade. An English vessel will not be chartered and can get no freight when any of those free traders are in port. Furthermore those fiags are sometimes granted to Chinamen, by which means they can easily compete with those who are bound by treaty obligations, and thwart and defy the native authorities. If commercial intercourse could be restricted to those who maintain an efficient Consular st^ tlie glaring vice of smuggling could he eradicated. In the treaty of Nanking it was stipulated that English Consuls should apprise the Chinese au- thorities of every attempt at evasion by their countrymen of custom-house regulations, of which they might be cognizant. For a time that salutary provision was complied with, but being obligatory on no other party the check proved nugatory. The English government exonerated its Consuls from the task of assisting the imperial revenue officers. The remedy last devised for that bane of com- mercial life is applicable only where there is an enomous traffic ; a foreign inspectorship could not be supported by the duties levid at the lesser ports. Could a plan be devised for removing this stigma from the foreign name, the chief be- nefit would be ours. It is a self-corrupting evil — the gross wrong it infiicts on the gavernment of China is less to be deplored than the sacrifice of honor on our part. As you open the country then you extend the area, and to no small extent en- courage smuggling unless at the same time you procure the evclusion of those who have hitherto followed in your wake, or devise some reliable corrective as a substitute. The treaty powers, particularly, England main- tain Consular establishments at great expense, one object, perhaps the most important, being to exercise magisterial authority over the people of their respective countries. Those foreigners whose Consuls are their consignees are under no restraint and amenable to no law that can be brought against offenders. Hence the disorders of which complaint is made; thence will arise new and more complicated difficulties. In view of What hns been advanced, may not one reasonably assume that the anticipated ad- vantages of tlie further opening of Cliina are of no great promise? Commerce certainly needs iiniiiediate access to new marts, and for tlie due prosecution of the missionary enterprize, permis- sion to reside in any of the large cities is necessary. Xi is by no means certain however, that mere warlike proceedings will best secure those ends. Since the opening of the additional ports there has been a gradual removal of restriction, and there is a fair prospect that facilities of intercourse will constantly increase. At the same time com- merce has enjoyed a normal growth, and preju- dices have been softening. Uu^er the new order of things are material and moral objects likely to be promoted? Most assuredly not, if the extend- ed relations are to continue on the existing basis. As regards the evangelization of China, the gra- dual opening of the land now taking place is far preferable. Nothing can compensate for the deadly hate that will be engendered, if the barriers which restrict lawless foreigners to the coast are thrown down. Better far, after subduing the Cantonese, to suffer matters to remain as they are, than, disregarding the correctives suggested, to extend the field of strife. It will perhaps be found that a mere compliance with the reasonable demand touching the recep- tion of resident ambassadors at Peking will be attended with unlocked for difficulties — of greater moment than the anticipated advantages. Com- mercial and religious interests may be jeoparded rather than advanced by the intrigues which will soon be set on foot in the diplomatic circles of the Northern Capital. While We have reason to fear the results of a naeasure which will precipitate troops of unbridled adventurers from the West, among the timid masses of this vast empire, we cannot look with sanguine feelings on the pro- bable consequences of transferring to its metropolis, already steeped in;^digenous chicanery, the ma- chiavelism which rival European embassies are 60 prone to promote in Oriental courts. In view of the extreme unwillingness of tbe Chinese government to entertain foreign resident ofGcials at the capital, would it not be politic merely to insist on the right to make periodical and occasional visits, chiefly for conference with the eiwperor when his minister of foreign afiairs — the ^nmissioner is intracticable ? V Than myself no one can be more sensible of the \efectiveness of the preventive and remedial mea- sTires herein proposed for discussion. Their in- adequacy as regards the protection of the natives; as well also, as the objections militating against them, viewed from a foreign standpoint, are suffi- ciently obvious. The object of these Remarks is less to commend the adoption of any particular line of policy, than to invite the attention of clear- headed philanthropic men to the claims of the Chinese: less to assume the office of mentor, than to come as a solicitor appealing to the magnani- mity of Christian statesmeq^-KThere is no reason to believe that any great state in the West is ac- tuated by purely egotistical or mercenary con- siderations in the attitude now assumed towards this hoary empire. If it were designed merely to bully tbe gavernineat of Hienfunginto acquiesence, the task might have been entrusted to a St. Giles vestryman or a Five Points alderman, but in the character and station of those to wliora negociations have been committed, we have a pledge that regard will he had to the greatest good of the greatest number, -and that there shall be no unnecessary abusing and weakening of this large portion of the human family. Part III. Modification of the Tariff— Liberals of China : Is the Missionary enterprize incompatible with Commerce I — Experience of Mahomedans, — of Christians : claim for toleration. The nature and extent of the demands to be made on the Cliinese have not fully transpired, some information is however aiForded by a body best informed on, ;ind most interested in the ques- tion. In " Heads for a New Treaty," issued by the East India and China Association in April last, that corporation which may he regarded as the mouth-piece of the world's commercial metropolis, asks, for all that is secured by existing treaties, the entire opening of the empire, an improved taritf, together with compensation and indemnifica- tion. In short, to advance the matetial interest of the stranger, the children of the soil are to re- nounce to an almost unlimited extent some of their natural rights, — the natives are expected to extend to foreigners greater privileges than they themselves enjoy. Elsewhere it is announced that China must subscribe to the Law of Nations ; an ambiguous phrase in itself, and which in the present instance implies that the Chinese shall concede to us, what we refuse to accord to each other. Have tliose who write on the desirableness of demanding in- ternational comity, the recognition of reciprocal rights, and the fulfilment of reciprocal duties a clear conception of the nature of those demands? In the London programme there is one point that .invites a passing remark. — It is the revision of the Tariff; ,0n that subject one should suppose that no prolonged negociation is called for, the exist- ing tariff being remarkably liberal. It has more- over already undergone important modifications in accordance with our wishes, and tliere appears no insurmouniable obstacle to other reasonable changes. One point is clear, though little known, that an attempt to indoctrinate the Chinese with our discoveries in that branch of political science called free trade would be a work of supereroga- tion. Chinese statesmen must have smiled, when a short time since an official from our mush- room republic read them a flippant homily on that subject. More than a score of centuries before Quesnay taught the economists of France in his Physiocralie, or Smith in his Wealth of Nations propounded his theories to the liberals of England, Chinamen were made familiar with that part of political economy by ^encius, who, in the Shang-raun, is represented as saying "Let no duties be exacted at the outports, and all strangers, under heaven will gladly travel your roads." Now it is true, that as in ethical so in political science, there is found among the Chinese as with the rest of mankind a want of accord between theory and practice ; yet Chinese statesmen frame no specious pretexts for ena&ting tariff, those fearriers to civilization : it is under no false pro- texts that thoy establish custom bouses, those never ceasing sources of corruption; they do not tliink of pampering one branch of industry at tlie expense of another branch: their aim is merely to eke out the national iucome. Fur tliese reasons no imposing array of men or argunieiits will be found requisite in negociating a modified tariff! What they most want, is some assur;ince that the Cornucopia of Comn;ierce is not a veritable Pan- dora^s box — minus Hope. Those who are not conversant with Qhineae culture will hear with surprise perhaps, tliat there exists in this most conservative of lands, an earnest, liberal progressive party. It is in ac- oorda,»oe with what that sagacious observer of political communities-— Macaulay, recognizes as from the very constitution of the human mind essentially inherent m every form of societ^y. Two antagonistic forces, one timid clingrngto the existing state of things; the other hopeful and bent on i-nij)rovement, are found liere as elsewhere* Of far more importance to commerce even than the amount of per-centage 1-eviahle on this or that commodity, is the conciliation and encouragement of the parry of progress. It may be long ere the liberals of China are "sent for;" they may seldom come in contact with our officials, but they are nevertlieless a power in the state, and th.ey are our main reliance, protnoting that brotherhood of races iir which legitimate commerce finds its best reward. Let our bearing towards this country then affoj'd to the van of the Chinese mind argu- ments which they may employ bo fortify their position. If it he the object of the approaching struggle to humiliate Chiua and to wrench from her favors without corresponding compensation, commerce sliould now, if at any time, recur to first principles and say again to th« politician who consults her, *' Laisserfaire." It is maintained by many infiuentHal persons that, the material iiUeresfs of the West are the only objects claiming attention of statesmen,* that foreign, relations in China would be on a more advantageous footing, if we were known merely as men in pursuit of pelf. Actuated by such opinions the English government at an early date intei'dictetl its officials from intercourse with Christian missionaries. Under the same erroneous impression it is asserted in a late number of the Edinburgh Review by a writer of extensive ex- perience in China, that the nnissionary work is incompatible with commerce. Those appre- hensions are founded on an inade ing " we bow »©.t to rulers but to God (iMn-t-* lieaven.) only." How diffijrent this from the con- duct of t\)4i Duteh-niheB. — ao not Dmtcbmen — the representatives of th^interesitG of Christeiidonit who were drilled in tlfe Ko-tau, all the way from Canton to Peking; the same class, who to pree a new element introduced into our already too mungrel population is passing strange, it may, or it may not be politic to have a Chinese pro- letary class in the Pacific States, but tliere can be no (jucstion of the impolicy of stocking the country vfith another variety of tlie human family. Let that fair portion of our heritage be kept frue from involuntary SCI viinde ; but s-) far as practicable let it be the home of a bninogenous people." Diplomacy in China can do little to promote or check emigration. If circumstances should lead to a great exoiius of families from this overpeopled land, it sho'ild he the aim of men in power to give such a direction to the stream that it should not spread over lands which are f;ivorable to the adv.'incement of the Xanthous races. The question now agitating Australia touching Chinese emigration can be determined by considering the capabili- ties of the continent, and the aims of the Anglo-Saxon colonists. If it be the development of their race, and if tliey wish to reproduce there their fatherland, they will Hot degrade labor by the introduction of helots. A.siatics should be restricted to the tropical and other regions where they would thrive, and v^here whites would degenerate. vessel ; owing mainly to the huge unwiddly character of our ships. They produce an im- pression by their enormous size it is true but tliat impression is barren of results beinji: restricted to stolid fisherman to which class for the most port our vessels are exhibited. Once in harbor tiiey remain moored until the crew sicken and tlie hull rots for want of motion. A merchantman sliall leave a port, circumnavigate the globe, and return still finding the ship-of-war dozing out the period of her commission; meantime the protec- tion of our vessels afloat and of our citizens ou shore, from attacks of pirates and assassins de- volves on English brig-of-war. By committing to the English navy tlie polic^.of the China sea« our authorities tacitly ackitovvl^dge our rival as mistress of these waters. #^t' Let us have instead of tlie costly leviathan a oj ass of vessels that shall be able to enter every harbor, and ascend every river visited by our Indiamen in quest of freight. Let it be a postal steam fleet capable of keeping up a regular com- munication between San Francisco and Shanghai, as well as to cruize on this station. The ex- pense of a squadron such as is wanted would not be much more than that of the one which is not wanted. This is affirmed on the authority of calculations made by a cotnpetent oflS,cer — Capt. Smith of the U. S. Ship Levant. By a moderate extension of the {ilan it niight combine the aloration of all the great rivers of eastern Asia by steam to the head of navigation. It should be our ambition to make the Pacific subservient to the greatest good of llie countries which it laves, and in this manner, and not for physical supremacy aim to make it an American lake. While tlie defects of the naval system long in vogue is a biir to the efliiciency of that arm of the national service, the viciousness of the con- sular system is positively hurtful to ourselves, to the Chinese and to others. Reference has been already made to the un- redressed wrongs inflicted on Chinese by Ameri- cans and persons calling themselves such. In pursuance with the provisions of the treaty of Wanghiii, Congress enacted stringent regulations for tlie control of Americans in China ; conferring ample authority on the Commissioner and Consuls, for enforcing tlie law against offenders. They have however to a great extent been inoperative in criminsl cases where natives have been com- plainants, from a want of correspondence between the judicial and executive powers of 'he Consul. It seems to be assumed that culprits, will volun- tarily deliver themselves up. In addition to his duties as a diplomatist, Consul and Judge he must act as constable and jailer. When criminals are in custody, it is either in an English Consular lock-up, lent for the occasion, or some place of duress hardly adapted, it may be, for the confine- ment of a school-boy. The facile manner in which Americans evade justice offers inducements for the self naturalization of foreigners which those of them who feel the restraints of law to be irksome gladly embrace. Almost every vagabond who can speak English lays claim when pursued by justice to American citizenship. I have known cares where Englishmen and persons calling them- selves Americans, have been apprehended while jointly perpetrating injuries on the natives, and seen the Englishman sent to Hongkong prison, and the American go free. Will not a continu- ance of this state of things soon place us on the footing of the least respected nation ? Englishmen frequently complain of their Con- -sular system on the grqund that too mucli weight is given to Chinese testimony in Consular courts, and that the decisions of those tribunals often ex- hibit partiality to Chinamen. They forget that unlike Consuls in Christian States, those officers in China are required for the defence of natives ; and they may not be aware that in the estimation of this people, English laws and English officers far excel their own or other nations in what is good and pure. The confidence which is inspired by the prompt and equitable administration of justice in English Consular courts will be found in the end, to be advantageous to the best interests of that country. The defects of the American Consular department in this respect being that of oversight will doubtless soon be remedied. Unfortunately there are evils connected with our political establishment in China which are less easy of correction. Tliey will be better ap- preciated by glancing at the English Consular s\stem which is based on a diametrically op- posite principle, — that of retaining men in office for the longest possible period; thus aiming to secure the greatest amount of experience. No Englisiiman is entrusted with the varied and very responsible dutie-s which pertain to that office, who has not spent many years in the Consulate as clerk, interpreter, or other subordir,fite capacity, and then, powerful incentives are placed before him to spend the greater part of iiis life in the service. Hence that government is well served, and kept well informed on all questions affecting this imperfectly known empire. How different the practice ti)at obtain with tis ; first in the appointing and afterwards in the treat- ment of Consuls? A Massacbuset's dyspeptic requires travel for health ; an Arkansas editor desires to see the world; they get Consulships in China; they remain long enough to learn some of their duties, to commit many mistakes, and then, that others may have a chance they are called home, the one, to be succeeded perhaps by an im- becile sot, the other by a mischievous fop. Let it not be thought that China bears any resemblance to the countries of Europe. A di- plomatic or consular agent in Christian lands does not find himself in another world where his previous knowledge of mankind is unavailable. Though unacquainted with the etiquette of foreign courts a shrewd clodhopper may discharge the functions of the office in an acceptable manner. But in this world of China, it is different. Official craftiness is saj ^CMem; the forms and etiquette oftheYamunsaretohe observed with punctilious- ness. Mere cleverness and common sense will not lead one far with official Chinaman at least not far in the right direction. It would be tedious to show how readily and in how many ways im- provised consuls may jeopard the interests and impair the standing of their countrymen. It would be superfluous too, for it must be obvious to the commonest understanding that the system cannot but be detrimental. Having said that our consular system is in- jurious to others as well as to the Chinese and ourselves. I must add one more paragraph in explanation. — An American who has a complaint against an Englishman can always obtain a hear- ing if not full redress ; he never finds the ma- chinery of the court out of working order; while an Englishman who has a complaint against an American often finds from our slipshod manner of doing things a dead- lock In some stage of the proceedings: — the functionary is only an inex- perienced locum tenens, or there is a screw loose somewhere and nothing is done. The new house- hold word " How not to do " will suggest itself as applicable to the naval and consular administra- tion of the Republic in these longitudes. If I have succeeded in showing the comparative worthlessness of our consular system, perhaps I shall be borne with, if I venture a few amend- ments. We do not require tlie ponderous and ex- pensive establishment of tlie British, but some- thing approximative to that establishment. Let thost. consuls who give satisfaction to their fellow citizens in Ciiina remain during good behavior, with an annual augmentation of salary as an in- ducement to continue in office. A commencement has already been made, in which we were antici- pated by some of the smaller powers, to raise a corps of interpreters; let that class be increased, and encouragement ofifered to students by restrict- ing in due time all the consulships to them; further let it be understood that senior consuls of all citizens are most eligible to the commissioner- ship. Besides this let consuls he supplied with with appliances corresponding to the varied func- tions they have occasion to perform. Provision is needed also for salaried vice-consuls. li're- quent changes from ill health and other causes are unavoidable ; yet for vacancies thus occasioned no suitaTjIe provision exists ; they are likely to be filled by most incompetent persons, or by clergy- men, with questionable advantage either to politics or to religion. Twice within the past few months this has been exemplified in Ningpo alone. On the occasion of the farcical panic from an anticipated massacre of the foreign residents; and when the awful, and more than semi-official, butchery of the Portuguese community took place. One more want remains to be pointed out. An American jurist, one who is exclusively such, and who shall be a fixture in the land ; to be styled — Consul general, or Chief justice. Am- erican authorities in China are invested with so much control over the pro|)erty, liberty and lives of their fellow citizens that proportionate guar- rai]tees are demanded against the encioachments and usurpations of power. The right of appeal from a consular court to the commissioner is an inadequate protection. That officer besides being ambassador to China exercises legislative, ex- ecutive and judicial powers. Is not this an anomaly ; does it accord with the spirit of our iiislitutions? It may frequently happen that neither consul nor commissioner is acquainted with law. Hence the desirableness of transfering the judicial authority with which the commissioner is invested, to a regularly appointed judge, as it is, one may be amerced, incarcerated and gibbeted by a man of all-trades, or by a 'prentice hand and when it comes to that may we not reasonably claim to have it selon les rdgl&s ? The faulty and desultory manner in which these Chinese and Foreign relations hav« been treated demand apology. It will suffice to say that the remarks were penned in brief intervals of more important duties, and amidst interruptions from ill-health. The apology to those who will ques- tion the propriety of the consideration by the writer of such questiops, at all, is — "Homo sum et nil humani a me alienum puto/ ' D. J. MACGOWAN. Ningpo, October 7th, 1857.