CHINA.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume IX, Issue 861, 2 November 1853, Page 4

CHINA.

i Though we have dates to Hongkong to the 6fli , August, the only additional intelligence of miii porttnce ii contained in a summary in the Friend • of China of the 7tb Jaly> » s follows ;—; — i The arrival yesterday morning of two vessels from Shanghae, with news from that port to the : 23rd ultimo, is a fortunate occurrence, for withi out what they bring we should have had but littleto tell of the progress of the civil war. By the- : opportunity mentioned, besides private letters, we , J have copies of the North China Herald, Nos. 149 150, and 151, «nd cannot do better for our readers than furnish them with a summary of their contents, In tbe paper of the 4tb of June, welearn that at that date intelligence from Chin-keang-foo had been brought up to the 24th of May. Chin-keang-foo, it may not be out of place here to remind our readers, it about half a mile from the south bank of the Yang-tse river, and: according to published descriptions of it, is surrounded by high and solid walls four miles in circuit, with hills in the rear of considerable height. It is here that the Grand Canal, coming from the foutb, and running close under the city walls, forms a junction with the river. From its peculiar position, Chin-keang-foo is the key to the whole of China — provisions and specie supplies for the capital being always conveyed by tbe canal route. It was very reasonable then, on the part of the Tartars, that they should do their best to recover possession of such a stronghold, and with this view the Sbanghae Taoutae directed the Imperial fleet to make a determined attack. This fleet, consisting of the -Agnes, 28 guns, com* manded by an Englishman of tbe name of Ebsworthy — tbe Antelope, 12 guns, Captain Ayer (an American) — the Dewan, 12 guns, Captain Robinson, and twenty-five Lorchas (Portuguese) were, according to the report mentioned, on the 24th of May, at anchor just outside the entrance of Cbin-keang-foo, the Chinese Admiral intending to make the attack in a day or two. The insurgents, on their side, had not been remiss in the work of strengthening their defences, burning down all tbe suburbs, aud mounting heavier cannon on tbe walls. It was added that the fleet had been eighteen days getting from Woosung to their then position. On the-28th May the attack was made, and an account of it is thus given in the Herald of the 11th June :—: — " The whole (Chinese imperial) fleet ran up abreast of Chin-keang and opened a very heavy fire upon the stockades and junks along tbe banks of the river — this was returned with spirit. Tbe poaitinn of thg inanrgenia however is so admirable that nothiiig but a land force (and a very effective one too) will ever be able to dislodge them. They have fortified the heights overlooking the river with some very heavy guns, and as soon as we were fully abreast of them, they favoured us with a specimen of their gunnery that was anything but pleasant. I was of course anxious to go in and win, and volunteered to steer the Agnes into action, but tbe first shot struck just under tbe stern of the ship, throwing tbe spray over the wheel ; the second went between tbe main and mizen and just over my head, and had we not got out of range as soon as we did, the probability is that the third would have left me without a bead. On tacking and standing back past tbe heights, we were again favoured, one shot going into the cabin, mnd knocked thesecond officer's chest into * bundle of firewood, and another going into the forecastle like a ball into a China shop. All this time we were -not idle I can assure you, but every vessel was firing as fast as possible. At last, the powder being nearly expended, we withdrew, and are now lying about \\ miles from the town. The casualties on our side are three killed and two wounded. Tbe loss to the insurgents cannot be ascertained. "During the engagement 6000 imperialists were lying within three miles of Chin-keang-foo, who coolly looked on without attempting to aid tbe attacking force, or the result might have been different. The writer is of opinion that a thousand determined men would soon make themselves masters of Cbin-keang ; but does not think a hundred thousand of such tioops as are about them would effect anything. Many red buttoned mandarins are in the imperial fleet, whose occupation is divided between sleeping end smoking. In the above named action the -Antelope was much cut up in her rigging and sails, and the Dewan had her flying jib-boom shot away, besides other damage. Tbe lorchas were quite useless, their firing being rather promiscuous, several of their shot striking friends as well as enemies." So much for the battle, which, had it had another result, might have lent a different hue to the fortunes of the Tartars. From private letters we learn that " the mercenary fleet " had all returned to Shanghae. The editor of the Herald, without a remark on the importance of this fact, thus quietly announces it in a supplement to his paper of the 18th ult. : — " It will be observed that the Dewan, Antelope, and Agnes are returned from Chin-keang. The reason for this, we hear, is to effect some provision for widows and orphans of Europeans killed in action, fighting on the side of the imperialists. Such a proceeding, we suppose, is a novel idea to tbe Chintse authorities." In addition to the report by the parties engaged, we have also some information regarding tbe battle as furnished by a Dr. Charles Taylor, an American missionary, who had made his way into the patriot camp. Dr. Taylor's report appears to be as follows : — " The Imperial fleet came up and attacked the city during his visit, and he witnessed the engage, ment from the top of tbe ramparts. At the commencement of the attack he heard a cannon ball whistling through the air, some distance above his head, and strike in the earth beyond him. He could not ascertain that the insurgents sofTired the least injury from the cannonade of the Imperialists, nor could ho discover what amount of execution *vas done to the assailant .

11 The imperialist land forces were encamped on the hills in the vicinity of Chin-keang — just without range of cannon shot from the city. As they did not soem at all disposed to second the attack of ihe fleet, we presume they thought it most prudent to keep at that safe distance." To our thinking, this batlie settles the fate of the empire. They, the Tartars, hate now had all the foreign aid they are ever likely to have, and, notwithstanding, have been fairly obliged to give it up. When Taontwang heard that British forces had captured Chin-keang-foo, he lost not a moment in sanctioning an application for terms of peace ; — and when his successor hears that all attempts to retake the same place from his competitors have likewise failed, and when, too, the miseries attendant on the closing of the canal to the transmission of supplies are felt by those in his immediate vicinity — what are we to anticipate ? The Governor of Hong Kong had issued a proclamation against British subjects engaging in the war. We have advices from Amoy to the 3th inst. At that date the place was still, and likely to reraain, in possession of the patriots.

(CommuuicateJ ) The Tartais have at length made their long threatened attack upon Amoy, for the puipose ot retaking the place from the rebels, but, after three days fighting, have made no progress whatever in their attempt, nor has any serious loss happened to either paity. The whole affair was most iatlicrous. On the sih instant the imperialists landed their troops at the back of the island, and on the following morning opened fire npon the rebels (taking care, however, to be quite out of the range of their shot) and which fire was kept up until the sun began to get rather too powerful to bs comfortable : both parties then stopped firing, and quietly commenced their morning's meal, after which nothing further was done until the cool of the evening, when they had another little fight of the same description, and to as much purpose as that in the morning, the diy closing without either parly gaining the slightest advantage. At noon, on the same day, the foreign residents were entertained by a kind of sham fight between the admiral's junks and the rebel fleet, the former numbering about thirty, and the latter consisting of something like ten small junks, chiefly armed with the guns taken from pirates by H. M. steamer Rattler, and sold for the benefit of the Crown. The fight was commenced by tbe admiral, and continued for about an hour, during the whole of which time neither party ventured to come within shot of the other ; on tbe 7tb, after waiting until the tide commenced to ebb, and which they always took care to do for fear of being set into the harbour, the imperialist fleet again opened their fire, and kept it up for an hour and a-half, tbe excitement on sbore being most amusing, crowds of Chinese lining the hills, and appearing about as interested as they would be at one of their own sing-songs, greeting each shot reaching within a hundred yards or so of the mark with great applause, and the unsuccessful ones with groans and hisses, and availing themselves as far as their means allowed, of the refreshments supplied by tbe attendant hucksters. On the Bth similar proceedings were enacted, and the Admiral sent in a lettor, requesting thcEnglish ships to move further up tbe harbour, and stating that he intended coming in to attack the rebels, the likelihood of which, however, from tbe previous proceedings, appears very problematical. The land forces again left the island on the Bth with a loss of some fifteen men, whose heads the rebels have stuck about the citadel. — Friend of China, July 16. The Araoy Triads, elated with their recent successes, have sent, we ltarn, an expedition to Quemoy, and tbere is little doubt, but they will succeed in driving out the Mandarins at present in charge of that Island. — Ibid, July 27,

SUPPLY OF TEA. On this important question the Friend of China, of 23rd July, has the fallowing remarks; — "As regards the production of tea, we believe that so apathetic, generally, are the natires of the tea-growing provinces, that, whilst a battle might be in its fury in a neighbouring field the tea manipulators would progress with their labours as quietly as if they knew of do casus belli. Had the Patriot Chiefs a lesser sense of right and wrong, or bad they not distinctly and repeatedly asserted that they had no desire to incerfcre with the trade ot the foreigner, there might indeed be some fear for regularity iv the inland transit. Interruption in that way, however, is chiefly to be apprehended from the soldiers cf the old dynasty, who, as the correspondent cf ths Times says — ' have no bounds to their rapacty : to the people they are as tigers, to their opponents as rats.' As regards the exports of tea, however, there is more chance of irregularity than there is of production ; for producers are not tbe only parties to the export to England or to any other part of the world. First, in consideration of this matter we have the manufacturers — second, the carriers — Third, the brokers or middlemen — and lastly the foreign merchant. The first and second parties may be deemed, from what we have already said, safe to perform their parts of the business. Difficulty in completion rests with the others. Hitherto, legitimate traJe with China has been conducted principally on the principle of barter — the balance, in favor ol China, being made up by the specie paid for opium imported. Some have attempted to show that, but for this taking advantage of the peculiarities of the illegitimate, tbe legitimate trade could not be carried on. This point we will leave for the present ; certain only that teadrinkers tvi'l gain a lesson or two in political economy from this revolution in Chinr., and amongst other things learn to be satisfied that a large quantity of tea they make use of, if it does not bear the flavor of the poppy head (as did not the denarius Vespasian offered to Titus, the perfume of the subject of an obnoxious impost), that that tea at all events is provided for them by aid of tbe poppy's proceeds. The difficulty commences with tbe middlemen, the Chinese merchants, who, as much from apprehension of Tartar rapacity as insurgent " black mail," are afraid to take European manufactures, and send them to their usual outlets ; consequently the tea we want must be paid for in hard " siller," and if this is not in readiness, the export will fall short. I>ut we are writing early in the season, and there is ample time, and pleuty of treasure in Enghud, to supply what ni.iy be wanted,

to make good oar prediction that the import need in no way fall short."