His Patience During The Two Months Of Doubt
And Anxiety While The Emperor Remained At Jehol Was Matched By The Vigor
And Promptitude That He Displayed On The Eventful 2d Of November.
That his
success was beneficial to his country will not be disputed by any one, and
Prince Kung's name must be permanently remembered both for having
commenced, and for having insured the continuance of, diplomatic relations
with England and the other foreign powers.
The increased intercourse with Europeans not merely led to greater
diplomatic confidence and to the extension of trade, but it also induced
many foreigners to offer their services and assistance to the Pekin
government, during the embarrassment arising from internal dissension. At
first these persons were, as has been seen, encouraged and employed more
in consequence of local opinion in the treaty-ports than as a matter of
State policy. But already the suggestion had been brought forward in more
than one form for the employment of foreigners, with the view of
increasing the resources of the government by calling in the assistance of
the very agency which had reduced them. A precedent had been established
for this at an earlier period - before, in fact, the commencement of
hostilities - by the appointment of Mr. Horatio N. Lay to direct and assist
the local authorities in the collection of customs in the Shanghai
district. Mr. Lay's experience had proved most useful in drawing up the
tariff of the Treaty of Tientsin, and his assistance had been suitably
acknowledged. In 1862, when the advantages to be derived from the military
experience of foreigners had been practically recognized by the
appointment of Europeans to command a portion of the army of China, and in
pursuance of a suggestion made by the present Sir Robert Hart in the
previous year, it was thought desirable for many reasons that something
should also be done to increase the naval resources of the empire, and Mr.
Lay was intrusted with a commission for purchasing and collecting in
Europe a fleet of gunboats of small draught, which could be usefully
employed for all the purposes of the Pekin government on the rivers and
shallow estuaries of the country. Mr. Lay, who undertook the commission,
said, "This force was intended for the protection of the treaty-ports, for
the suppression of piracy then rife, and for the relief of this country
from the burden of 'policing' the Chinese waters"; but its first use in
the eyes of Prince Kung was to be employed against the rebels and their
European supporters of whom Burgevine was the most prominent. Captain
Sherard Osborn, a distinguished English naval officer, was associated with
Mr. Lay in the undertaking. An Order of Council was issued on August 30,
1862, empowering both of these officers to act in the matter as delegates
of the Chinese. Captain Osborn and Mr. Lay came to England to collect the
vessels of this fleet, and the former afterward returned with them to
China in the capacity of their commodore.
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