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NARRATIVE OF THE VOYAGES AND SERVICES OF THE NEMESIS FROM 1840 TO 1843,
NARRATIVE OF THE VOYAGES AND SERVICES OF THE NEMESIS FROM 1840 TO 1843,
AND OF THE COMBINED NAVAL AND MILITARY OPERATIONS IN CHINA: COMPRISING A COMPLETE ACCOUNT OF THE Colony of Hong-Kong AND REMARKS ON THE CHARACTER & HABITS OF THE CHINESE. FROM THE NOTES OF COMMANDER W. H. HALL, R.N. WITH PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS, BY W. D. BERNARD, ESQ. A.M. OXON. SECOND EDITION. LONDON: HENRY COLBURN, PUBLISHER, GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET. 1845....
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PREFACE
PREFACE
The design originally proposed, when the following work was undertaken, has been somewhat departed from during its progress towards completion. Not only did the interest awakened by the various subjects treated of greatly increase, as the Author proceeded in his attempt to describe the scenes in which the Nemesis bore so distinguished a part, but the introduction of much collateral matter seemed to be called for, in order to enable him fully to illustrate the current of passing events. Hence the
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PREFACE
PREFACE
The rapid sale of the first edition, and the unexpected favour which the work has met with, have induced the Author to put forth a second edition, in a somewhat condensed and cheaper form. While no passages have been omitted which appeared essential to the completeness of the narrative, and none curtailed which seemed calculated to keep alive the general interest in the current of events, it is hoped, that the condensation of the whole into one volume, will be considered advantageous to a numero
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CHAPTER I.
CHAPTER I.
The year 1839 will long be remembered by all those who have taken any interest in Eastern affairs. The harsh and unwarrantable measures of Commissioner Lin, the imprisonment of Her Majesty's Plenipotentiary and all other English subjects, and the wild but brief career of uncontrolled violence which marked his reign, called imperatively on our part for stronger measures than had yet been resorted to; and such measures were at once adopted by the Court of Directors of the East India Company, as we
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CHAPTER II.
CHAPTER II.
On the evening of the 8th April, the steamer was again standing out of the Bay of Funchal, after being detained there only three days. It has been already stated that the vessel was not under the articles of war; this was well known to all the crew, although the majority of her officers belonged to Her Majesty's navy. Even in this early part of her career the difficulty had been seriously felt; and none but those who have been placed in similar circumstances, as commanding officers, can form any
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CHAPTER III.
CHAPTER III.
During the winter season, few vessels, and those only of light burden, venture into Table Bay, exposed as it is to the full fury of the north-west gales. But the Nemesis had little cause for fear; her light draught of water enabling her to anchor in a well-sheltered cove, near the stone jetty which has recently been constructed. On the second day after her arrival, the governor of the colony paid a visit on board, and, as he appeared to take the greatest interest in all that related to her const
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CHAPTER IV.
CHAPTER IV.
The anchorage which the Nemesis had now so providentially reached was situated close to Cape Inyache, at the entrance of Delagoa Bay. This settlement, which still belongs to the Portuguese, was once famous in the annals of slavery, as one of the principal marts in which that revolting traffic was carried on. It is still far from being undeserving of the stigma which attaches to its name, although it has greatly fallen from its once thriving condition. It is situated on the eastern coast of Afric
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CHAPTER V.
CHAPTER V.
No time was now lost in commencing the repairs of which the steamer stood so much in need. It will be remembered, that the structure of the ship's side has been elsewhere described, and that the angle-irons are, in fact, the ship's ribs. The split amidships had taken place in the middle of the iron plate, between the two angle-irons immediately before the after sponson-beam. It extended downwards full seven feet from the deck on either side the vessel; and, as the distance from the deck to the w
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CHAPTER VI.
CHAPTER VI.
The circumstances relating to the distressed seamen on the coast, alluded to in the foregoing chapter, were first stated by one of the unfortunate sufferers himself, who accosted, in very good English, some of the officers of the Nemesis, as they were returning to their ship, and soon proved himself to have belonged to an American vessel, but stated that he was a native of Hanover. His name was Samuel Reid, or something very much like it. His right eye and lower jaw appeared to have been dreadfu
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CHAPTER VII.
CHAPTER VII.
All preparations being at length completed, on the morning of the 17th of August, just twenty days after having so providentially succeeded in reaching her port of refuge, the Nemesis was once more ready to continue her voyage. On the 22nd August, she passed near the group of Rocky Islands, called Bassa da India, which are situated nearly in the middle of the channel, and pursued her voyage under sail. Of course, her progress was slow against an adverse wind, and no little anxiety was felt by he
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CHAPTER VIII.
CHAPTER VIII.
The present ruler, or sultan, of the Comoro Islands, by name Alloué, is the son of the late sultan Abdallah, before alluded to as having been particularly kind to distressed Englishmen. He is a young man under thirty, of moderate height, agreeable countenance, and easy, pleasant manners. But his character is not distinguished for energy, and the difficulties with which he has had to contend appear to have been rather beyond his powers. His father, Abdallah, had made a treaty with Colonel Farquha
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CHAPTER IX.
CHAPTER IX.
The next place towards which the Nemesis was destined to shape her course was the island of Ceylon, where at length was to be made known to her the ultimate service upon which she was to be employed. It was not until the 10th that she lost sight of Comoro island, the northernmost of the group of that name, and, if measured in a direct line, considerably less than one hundred miles from Johanna. Horsburgh particularly notices the light, baffling winds, and the strong, south-west and southerly cur
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CHAPTER X.
CHAPTER X.
The abolition of the privileges of the East India Company in China, and the difficulties which soon resulted therefrom, concerning the mode of conducting our negotiations with the Chinese, will be remembered by most readers; and, whatever part the questions arising out of the trade in opium, may have afterwards borne in the complication of difficulties, there is little doubt that the first germ of them all was developed at the moment when the general trade with China became free. This freedom of
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CHAPTER XI.
CHAPTER XI.
It is worthy of notice that, just previous to the arrival of Commissioner Lin at Canton, the opium-trade had received such a check, that it might be said to have been for the time almost entirely suspended. We have seen the strong measures taken by Captain Elliot against it, which proved that he looked upon it with no favouring eye; and, in short, at that time the opium vessels had left the river altogether. But Lin was not a man to do things by halves. He had formerly, when governor of a provin
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CHAPTER XII.
CHAPTER XII.
It will be generally admitted by all who have seen the Canton river, or, as the Chinese call it, Choo-keang, that, in point of size, depth, and picturesque character, it is one of the finest navigable rivers in the world. Merchant ships of the largest size, perhaps the proudest which float, have navigated it for nearly two hundred years, to within a distance of nine or ten miles from Canton, with little difficulty, and very inconsiderable danger. No foreign commerce with any one port has been so
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CHAPTER XIII.
CHAPTER XIII.
The Imperial Commissioner Keshen now wisely resolved to gain as much time as he could by negotiation; and seemed in the first instance to have almost equalled his predecessor Lin, in his desire "to control the foreigners, and to reduce them to submission." His conferences with that functionary, who now remained at Canton as viceroy, were numerous and confidential; but, instead of precipitating the crisis by mad violence, he professed to trust rather to the "employment of truth and the utmost rea
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CHAPTER XIV.
CHAPTER XIV.
The total destruction of the Chinese squadron of war-junks, on the day of the action of Chuenpee, (7th January,) under the orders of Admiral Kwan, completed the discomfiture of the Chinese by sea and by land. The engagement took place in Anson's Bay, which has already been described as lying between Chuenpee and Anunghoy. The Nemesis here took a most distinguished part; and some of the boats of the Calliope, Hyacinth, Larne, Sulphur, and Starling, co-operated with her in the action, in which Lie
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CHAPTER XV.
CHAPTER XV.
The famous conference which took place between Keshen and Captain Elliot, some miles above the Bogue, close to a pagoda on the banks of the river, at what is called its Second Bar, has attracted very great and deserved attention. Although its results were, in a political point of view, really of little moment, there is reason to think that Keshen, as well as Elliot, was anxious to adjust the pending difficulties without further resort to arms. The advantage, however, which delay of any kind woul
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CHAPTER XVI.
CHAPTER XVI.
Keshen, who had spent all his life either in large provincial capitals or in the imperial city itself, could have had little opportunity of learning anything either relating to foreign trade or foreign ships, still less was he acquainted with the "outer waters" along the coast of the empire. After describing them to his imperial master, he boldly ventures his opinion, that the reputation of the fortifications of the Bocca Tigris, as a place of defence, have been much overrated, and he goes on to
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CHAPTER XVII.
CHAPTER XVII.
The great event which has now been described, the capture of the Bogue forts, though purchased at a very small sacrifice on the part of the victors, derived an immense importance from the greatness of the sacrifice in reference to the Chinese. Although the cautious discernment of a few men like Keshen might have appreciated the strength of their enemy, and the comparative weakness of their own defences, the fact of the fall of the Bogue forts, which were considered by the Chinese throughout the
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CHAPTER XVIII.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Captain Elliot now addressed a request to the naval and military commanders-in-chief, that they would make no further movements towards the city until the disposition of the provincial officers could be put to the test. All the private information which could be gathered, however, tended to shew that further delay was likely to be useless, and even prejudicial. As soon, therefore, as the day for the expiration of the truce had arrived, the Nemesis was ordered to convey Captain Elliot, with the c
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CHAPTER XIX.
CHAPTER XIX.
During the time the Nemesis, with the boats and marines of the Samarang, and the boat of the Atalanta, were occupied in destroying the works of the Chinese in the Broadway River, a division of the light squadron, under the command of Captain Herbert, had captured another fort in the upper part of the same river, at the distance of only about two miles from Canton. The vessels employed upon this occasion were the Modeste and Starling, with the Madagascar steamer, and boats from most of the ships
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CHAPTER XX.
CHAPTER XX.
The agreement for the suspension of hostilities, made at Canton by Captain Elliot, on the 20th March, 1841, was only entered into with one of the three newly-appointed imperial commissioners, Yang-Fang being, in fact, the only one who had then arrived. Lung-Wan, the principal joint-commissioner, and Yih-Shan, the Tartar-general associated with him, did not arrive until about three weeks afterwards, when they brought with them a large body of troops, imperfectly armed and little organized. The ne
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CHAPTER XXI.
CHAPTER XXI.
The intense anxiety which took possession of every one's mind at Canton, on the evening of the expected attack upon our vessels by the Chinese, as described at the close of the last chapter, has not by any means been exaggerated. The very uncertainty of the plans of the Chinese served to increase the interest felt, and the extreme darkness of the night gave the greatest cause for apprehension of treachery. During the early part of the evening complete stillness prevailed; nothing whatever betoke
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CHAPTER XXII.
CHAPTER XXII.
A few remarks upon the city and neighbourhood of Canton, before which our troops are now for the first time about to appear, (the previous operations of the 18th March having been entirely limited to the naval forces,) will contribute to the interest of the subsequent narrative. The city of Canton, or Kwantung, is situated upon the northern bank of the river usually known by the same name, though sometimes called by Europeans the Pearl river, from its Chinese name, Choo-keang. Its distance from
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CHAPTER XXIII.
CHAPTER XXIII.
It will be remembered that the twenty-sixth regiment, together with a few of the Madras artillery, and sappers and miners were posted at the Factories, and, therefore, took no part in the engagements on the heights on the 25th, although they joined the head-quarters afterwards. The whole force actually engaged on that day, under Sir Hugh Gough, including the marines and the naval brigade, amounted to very nearly two thousand four hundred men. But the actual number of bayonets in the field was on
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CHAPTER XXIV.
CHAPTER XXIV.
In the first week in June, all our ships of war and transports had left the Canton River, and were again assembled at Hong-Kong. All the forts from Chuenpee upwards had been restored to the Chinese, without any other stipulation except that all those below Whampoa should be suffered to remain in statu quo . The emperor seems to have been much displeased with the latter part of this agreement; and, in reply to the memorial of Yih-shan upon the subject, his majesty directed that " secret means of
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CHAPTER XXV.
CHAPTER XXV.
It is intended that Hong-Kong shall be governed upon the same principles by which other crown colonies are regulated—namely, that there shall be a legislative and an executive council, to aid the governor with their advice and assistance. The importance of Hong-Kong, not only with regard to the commerce of all nations with China, but more especially with reference to our relations with the Chinese government, cannot be estimated too highly. However scrupulous we may be in the first instance to l
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CHAPTER XXVI.
CHAPTER XXVI.
At the end of July, the H.C. steamer Phlegethon, Lieut. M'Cleverty, nearly the exact counterpart of the Nemesis, arrived at Hong-Kong, bringing the intelligence that Captain Elliot's treaty of Chuenpee had been disapproved of by the home government, and that Sir Henry Pottinger had been appointed to succeed him, as sole plenipotentiary. Shortly before this, also, her Majesty's 55th regiment had arrived from Calcutta, and everything indicated that a movement upon Amoy would take place as soon as
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CHAPTER XXVII.
CHAPTER XXVII.
All those persons who have visited Amoy, either out of curiosity or on matters of business, appear to agree with each other in regarding it as a place peculiarly adapted for the extension of European trade. The mercantile spirit and enterprise of its inhabitants, and their anxious desire to trade with foreigners, when not held back by the arbitrary orders of the mandarins, have been long known and recorded by several travellers, before there was any prospect whatever of the trade being opened. M
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CHAPTER XXVIII.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
On leaving the bay of Amoy, on the 5th of September, the appointed places for the rendezvous of the fleet of men-of-war and transports, in case of separation, were successively the so-called Buffalo's Nose, at the entrance of the Chusan group; Keeto Point, a promontory running out from the mainland towards Chusan; and, lastly, the bay or harbour of Tinghai, the capital of Chusan. The progress of the squadron was slow for some days, owing to light winds and a heavy swell; and the Nemesis, being v
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CHAPTER XXIX.
CHAPTER XXIX.
A few days after the occupation of the capital of Chusan, a regular military government was established by Sir Henry Pottinger, protection being promised to the well-behaved inhabitants, who were moreover informed that "several years would probably elapse before the island would be restored to the authority of the Emperor." Thus it was evidently contemplated, even at that time, that the island should not be restored to the Chinese, until long after the conclusion of peace. The principal alterati
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CHAPTER XXX.
CHAPTER XXX.
The scenery at the mouth of the Ningpo river is very striking. High conical-shaped hills stand on either side; and, as the river makes a bend a short distance up, the fine mountains beyond come into full view, and add to the picturesque beauty of the spot. On the 12th of October, (the second day after the capture of Chinhae,) the admiral proceeded up the river in the Nemesis, in order to reconnoitre the city of Ningpo, and to ascertain the practicability of taking the larger steamers and the slo
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CHAPTER XXXI.
CHAPTER XXXI.
The eventful year of 1841 was now drawing fast to a close. The troops at Ningpo had been moved into more convenient quarters for the winter, the close of which was anxiously looked for in the hope that sufficient reinforcements would arrive to be able to commence the next campaign with vigour. The weather set in intensely cold, in the middle of December. On the 14th of that month, the hills were all covered with snow, which soon began to fall heavily in the town as well, and proved that although
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CHAPTER XXXII.
CHAPTER XXXII.
A heavy blow had now been inflicted upon the Chinese, by the severe reverses they had met with at Ningpo and at Chinhae, and by the defeat of all their designs against Chusan. It was, therefore, a favourable opportunity to follow up our successes and turn them to the best advantage, before the effect of the impression already made could have time to diminish. It was ascertained that their troops had with difficulty been kept together after their late defeat; and it was reported that they were ab
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CHAPTER XXXIII.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
At the commencement of the month of May, 1842, it became generally understood, that a movement was very soon to be made upon Chapoo, which was to be followed by the advance of the whole expedition up the great Yangtze river. Ningpo, however, is deserving of one or two further observations, for it is one of the most important trading cities in China; and, from its position, and its vicinity to several large and wealthy cities, such as Hang-chow-foo, Soo-chow-foo, and others which border upon the
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CHAPTER XXXIV.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
The results of the capture of Chapoo, and of the total defeat of the best troops the Chinese had yet brought against us, were very remarkable. On the one hand, the people more than ever dreaded our power, while they also wondered at our forbearance; and, on the other hand, the tone of the government began evidently to change, and overtures were now made (probably with a view to gain time) to induce our military and naval commanders-in-chief to suspend hostilities. Advances of a similar kind had
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CHAPTER XXXV.
CHAPTER XXXV.
All intention of advancing upon the important cities of Hang-chow or Soo-chow-foo was now given up; large reinforcements had already arrived, and more were daily expected at Woosung; and it was resolved to advance immediately upon Nankin, the ancient capital of the empire. The navigation of the Yangtze river was almost entirely unknown, only a small portion of it having been surveyed by Captain Bethune in the Conway. To the Chinese themselves the ascent of large ships or junks, as far as Nankin,
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CHAPTER XXXVI.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
Although the Tartar troops had proved themselves a formidable enemy at Chin-keang-foo, and the loss sustained on our side had been much greater than in any previous encounter, a far more dangerous enemy soon began to show itself. Cholera and low marsh fever now made their appearance, and carried off a great many men, particularly among the new comers. The 98th regiment, recently arrived from England, suffered perhaps more severely than the rest; but, in reality, every ship, whether a man-of-war,
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CHAPTER XXXVII.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
The two most interesting objects which deserve attention outside the walls of Nankin are, the famous porcelain tower, or pagoda, and the tombs of the kings of the ancient Chinese dynasty. Of the former it would be extremely difficult to give such a description as would convey to the reader's mind an accurate idea of its peculiar structure and character. It stands pre-eminent above all other similar buildings in China for its completeness and elegance, the quality of the material of which it is b
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CHAPTER XXXVIII.
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
Before daylight on the morning of the 23rd of December, the Nemesis was destined to take her departure from Macao, and probably to bid adieu to China for ever. It is not too much to say, that she was regretted by all. Before three o'clock she was under way; and the discharge of a few rockets and the report of her guns gave notice of her departure to the still sleeping inhabitants, who were quite unused to the disturbance at that early hour in the morning. It caused some little alarm among the in
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B.
B.
Whenever a British merchantman shall arrive off any of the five ports opened to trade—viz., Canton, Foochowfow, Amoy, Ningpo, or Shanghai, pilots shall be allowed to take her immediately into port; and, in like manner, when such British ship shall have settled all legal duties and charges, and is about to return home, pilots shall be immediately granted to take her out to sea, without any stoppage or delay. Regarding the remuneration to be given these pilots, that will be equitably settled by th
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C.
C.
The following is an abstract of the Supplementary Treaty between the Queen of Great Britain and the Emperor of China:— Art. I. provides for the new tariff being in force at the five ports of Canton, Foo-chow-foo, Amoy, Ningpo, and Shanghai. Art. II. provides for the general regulations of trade being in force at the aforesaid five ports. Art. III. provides that all penalties or confiscations made under the 3rd clause of the general regulations of trade shall belong to the government of China. Ar
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