Punch: Punch (32.1857)

32

PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.

[January 24, 1857.

OUT THE ENGLISH OF IT.

E are enabled to pub-
lish the real English
of the Chinese Des-
patches relative to
the bombardment of
Canton, of which
flowery translations
have lately appeared
in the Newspapers,
as well as the private
communications of
our Consul, Admiral,
and Plenipotentiary,
of which their pub-
lished letters are an
expansion by the
diplomatic theorem:

" To Commissioner
Yeh.

" British Consulate.

" Sir, — One of
your war-boats has
boarded an English
lorcha, the Arrow,
lying near the Dutch
Eolly, has carried off
twelve of her Chinese crew, and hauled down the English flag.

* I went to the war-boat, and explained to the Officer in command that I
wouldn't stand it, and that he must send the men up to the British Consulate^
The Officer refused, and told me to be hanged, and said if I didn't get out of
that, he would make me.

" Not wishing to be ducked, 1 left the boat, and now write to request that you
will at once give orders to Captain Leang-qwo-ting, to send the men back to the
Arrow. I may as well mention that I have written to our Plenipotentiary and our
Commodore. You know neither will stand any nonsense, and if you don't send the
men back at once, and with a proper apology, I won't be answerable for the
consequences. So look out for squalls.

" Yours, indignantly, H. S. Par.kes."

(A True Translation. Punch.)

(Mr. Consul Parkes to Commodore Elliot, H.M.S. Sibylle.)

(Private.)

" My dear Elliot, " British Consulate, Oct. 8.

" Here's a chance for you. These fellows have seized some men aboard
a lorcha flying English colours. I have written to desire Yeh to send them back.
I haven't got his answer, but of course he won't.

" You know what a pig-headed brute it is, and besides, there is no doubt the
lorcha's colonial registry was not renewed when it last expired. This will give
him a legal ground for refusal, but of course I shall not condescend to discuss
the point of law with him. I fully anticipate your thirty-two pounders will be
required to reduce him to reason; so bring up Sibylle without delay, there's a good
fellow.

" Ever yours, H. S. Parkes."

(Mr. Parkes to Sir John Bowring, enclosing Yeh's answer.)
" To His Excellency Sir John Bowring, &c. &c. &c.

(Private.)

" My dear Sir, " British Consulate, Oct. 10.

" I enclose Yeh's answer to my letter. As I expected, he offers no
apology, but takes advantage of the legal quibble, as to the Arrow's right to fly
our colours ; but he luckily misses the strong point that her registry was not
renewed on the 27th of September last, as it ought to have been. The story of the
pirate on board is new to me. It may or may not be true, but at all events we may
fairly contend there is no reliance on the evidence of natives given under duresse.
1 hope you will not see any objection to my having written to Elliot to bring up
Sibylle. I think the sooner we come to great guns the better. These Quihis will
discuss law points with us for an eternity.

" Yours, sincerely, H. S. Parkes.

" P.S. I forgot to mention that Yeh sent back nine of the men. Of course, I
refused to receive them. His pretext for keeping back the others, that they are
under legal examination, is ridiculous. What business has he to set up Chinese
law against the demands of a British Consul ? "

(Yeh's answer enclosed in the above.)

" Yeh, Imperial High Commissioner, 8fc. Sfc. Sfc--, addresses this declaration to
Mr. Parkes, the British Consul at Canton.

" I have received your letter of yesterday, and have well weighed the contents.
The men of the Arrow were seized on the information of Hwang-Leen-Kae,

a merchant of Lin-Hin, whose vessel was plundered in
September last by pirates, among whom he swears was
Le-Ming-Tae, one of the crew of the Arrow. This man,
Hwang-Leen-Kae recognised on board the lorcha as he
sailed past her yesterday on his arrival in the river. I
send back nine of the men against whom there seems no
legal cause of complaint. I keep back the alleged pirate,
Leang-Keen-Eoo, another of the crew who was engaged
by the helmsman at the same time with him (and who is
also stated on the evidence of Woo-Ajin, to have been
concerned in the piratical attack on the ship of Hwang-
Leen-Kae) and "Woo-Ajin, who has given evidence both
as to the ownership and registration of the Arrow,—showing
that the Arrow is a Chinese and not a British vessel—and
as to a confession of the alleged piracy by Le-Ming-Tae,
and the other man whom I have detained.

"I trust that this answer will satisfy you that the
taking of the men is not intended as an insult to the British
flag, but that they were seized on legal grounds, for a
serious offence, in due form of Chinese law, and on board
a Chinese vessel I hope that the promptness with which
I have given this explanation, and sent back all the men
not under actual examination, will satisfy you that 1 have
done nothing for which any apology is required, and still
less for which I and this City need fear any of the con-
sequences to which you refer in your letter.

" Hieng-Fung, &h year, 9th month, 12th day."

(A True Translation. Punch.)

(With Sir John Bowring's Despatch to Mr. Parkes
in answer to his letter of the 9th.)

(Private.)

"Dear Parkes, _ "Hong Kong, Oct. 11.

" I'm afraid you have been in rather too great a
hurry to punch Yeh's head; but as you have got me into
the mess, I suppose I must see you through it. Why the
mischief didn't you satisfy yourself before making any row
in the case, that the Arrow had a right to fly the British
flag ? Then we should have been all right. But, as it is,
it is as clear as that two and two make four, that she had
no such right whatever; her registry, by virtue of which
alone she hoists our colours, having expired on the 27th ult.

" Luckily—as you say—Yeh doesn't take this point, so
that we have a loophole left to creep out of. Be non exist-
entibus et non apparentibus eadem est ratio, as Nov puts it
in his maxims,—a work which I dare say you never read.
By the bye, it would be just as well if you would read a
little international law. You see the Chinese are a remark-
able people. Their system of competitive examinations
secures great administrative ability. Yeh is a highly
educated, and very superior man, somewhat obdurate, espe-
cially when he is in the right, but quite able to chop logic,
or hold a diplomatic argument with you, or, indeed, with
myself. I am daily more and more sensible how lucky it is
for England that I am in my present position. As one of
the few men of letters who have attained eminent success,
and high official position in the British service, I am fitted,
perhaps, better than most of my diplomatic brethren, to
cope with the literary ability of Chinese officialism.

But, really, if you get us into many rows of this kind, I
cannot answer for bringing either you or myself creditably
out of the scrape. The plain English of it is, that we haven't
a legal leg to stand upon, so I have ordered up Seymoue
and the big guns. You will see I have only given Yeh
forty-eight hours to make his apology in. Literary men
as a class are not easily led to abandon their view of a case,
especially when they stand on such really strong ground as
Yeh does. And as to consequences, I am afraid I must
own to a little sympathy with him in his disregard of them.

" Ever yours, John Bowring."

(H.BM. Consul to H.B.M. Plenipotentiary.)
(Private.)
"H.B.M. Consulate, Canton, Oct. 15.

"My dear Sir John,

" 1 feel the full force of your letter. We are m a
hobble. It is a great comfort Yeh does not take the
point of the expiration of registry. He still refuses all
apology, but reiterates his assertion of this lorcha being a
Chinese and not a British vessel. Though this is quite
true, he does not put it on a legal ground, and I have
therefore directed Elliot to seize an imperial junk.

"Yours faithfully, H. S. Parkes."