The Suspicion
That The Chinese Were Not Absolutely Straightforward In Their Latest
Dealings With Us Was Confirmed By The Discovery At Shektsin Of Secret
Imperial Edicts, Breathing Defiance To The Foreigners And Inciting The
People To Resistance.
These and other facts warned the European
authorities on the spot that there was no certainty that the Treaty
Of
Tientsin would be ratified, or that a British envoy would be admitted into
the capital for even the temporary business of a diplomatic ceremony.
While people in Europe were assuming that the Chinese question might be
dismissed for twenty years, the English consuls and commanders in the
treaty ports were preparing themselves for a fresh and more vigorous
demonstration of Chinese hostility and animosity. The matter that was to
prove the sincerity and good faith of the Chinese government was the
reception at Pekin of the English officer intrusted with the duty of
exchanging the ratified copies of the treaty. If he were allowed to
proceed to Pekin there would be reason for accepting the assurances of the
emperor that a permanent arrangement should be effected later on, when it
would not injure his dignity or authority.
Mr. Frederick Bruce, who had been secretary to his brother, Lord Elgin,
and who had previously served at Hongkong, was appointed her Majesty's
representative for the purpose of exchanging the ratifications of the
treaty. He was instructed to inform the Chinese officials that, while the
British government would not renounce the right of having a permanent
resident minister at Pekin, they were prepared to waive it for a time by
allowing diplomatic intercourse to be carried on at Shanghai. But no
deviation was to be permitted from the arrangement that the ratifications
were to be exchanged at Pekin, and Lord Malmesbury warned the new envoy
that "all the arts at which the Chinese are such adepts will be put in
practice to dissuade you from repairing to the capital." Mr. Bruce
received his instructions on March 1, 1859, and the exchange of
ratifications had to be effected before June 26. Mr. Bruce reached
Hongkong in April, and he found the air full of unsatisfactory rumors; and
when he reached Shanghai the uncertainty was intensified by the presence
of Kweiliang and Hwashana, who seemed to think that everything might be
settled without a journey to Pekin. They endeavored to get up a discussion
on some unsettled details of minor importance, in the hope that the period
for the ratification of the treaty might be allowed to expire. Mr. Bruce
announced his imminent departure for the Peiho to Kweiliang, and expressed
the hope that arrangements would be made for his safe conveyance to and
appropriate accommodation at Pekin. Neither Mr. Bruce's instructions nor
his own opinion justified any delay in proceeding to the north, and the
fleet sent on in advance under the command of Admiral Hope reached the
mouth of the Peiho on June 17, three days before Mr. Bruce. The admiral on
arrival sent a notification to the Chinese officers in command of the
forts that the English envoy was coming. But the reception given to the
officers who conveyed this intimation was distinctly unfavorable and even
hostile. The two boats sent ashore found that the entrance to the river
was effectually barred by a row of iron stakes and by an inner boom, and
that a large and excited crowd forbade them to land. A vague promise was
given that an opening would be made in the obstructions to admit the
passage of the English ships; but on the boats repeating their visit on
the succeeding day they found that the small passages had been more
effectually secured, and that there could no longer be any doubt that the
Chinese did not intend to admit the English envoy. It was therefore
determined to make a demonstration with the fleet, and if necessary to
resort to force, which it was never doubted would be attended with little
risk and crowned With complete success.
On June 25 the attack on the Taku forts began with the removal of the iron
stakes forming the outer barrier by the steamer "Opossum," and this part
of the operations was performed without a shot being fired. When,
however, the eleven ships forming the English fleet reached the inner boom
all the Chinese forts and batteries began to fire with an accuracy which
showed that the guns had been trained to bear on this precise spot. The
result of this unexpectedly vigorous bombardment was soon shown in the
damaged condition of our ships. Two gunboats were sunk, all the vessels
were more or less damaged, and when, after three hours' cannonade, it was
sought to retrieve the doubtful fortune of the day by a land attack, the
result only went to accentuate the ill results of the naval engagement. In
this disastrous affair more than 300 men were killed and wounded, which,
added to the loss of three gunboats, represented a very serious disaster.
But the worst of it was that it convinced the emperor and his advisers
that they could hold their own against Europeans, and that it placed the
extreme party once more in the ascendant at Pekin. Sankolinsin, the Mongol
prince who had checked the advance of the Taepings, became master of the
situation, and declared that there was nothing to fear from an enemy who
had been repulsed by the raw levies of the province while he held the flat
country between the Peiho and Pekin with the flower of the Banner army.
Mr. Bruce returned to Shanghai, the fleet to Hongkong, and the matter
remained suspended until fresh instructions and troops could be received
from Europe.
After some hesitation and delay, a plan of joint action was agreed upon in
November, 1859, between France and England, and it was hoped that the
whole expeditionary force would have reached its destination by April,
1860. Pending its arrival Mr. Bruce was instructed to present an ultimatum
with thirty days' grace demanding an immediate apology, the payment of a
large indemnity amounting to $12,000,000 to both England and France, and
the ratification of the Treaty of Tientsin.
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Page 126 of 188
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