of the Emperor Kâng-hy was taken by the King of the Eluths, the latter insisted on his speaking on his knees; but the Chinese refused, saying he was not his vassal, but his own Emperor's. A Chinese account of Japan expressly states, that an ambassador from Peking to that country refused the prostration, and, rather than compromise the honour of his nation, returned without communicating the orders of his court. But it has been mere ignorance to consider the ko-tow as nothing but a ceremony. The unthinking majority is led by names, and it is important to know that the prostration is the solemn rite by which the King of Cochin-china, and the rulers of the petty kingdoms of Corea and Loo-choo, do homage by their emissaries upon being confirmed by the Chinese Emperor in the succession. The spirit and import of the ko-tow is that of the form by which the feudal tenant in capite did homage to his liege lord; and every country that, like Japan, has professed to be independent, has declined performing it. However oddly it may sound to us, at the distance of more than 12,000 miles, the aspirations, with which the court of Peking aims at universal supremacy, are best expressed in the words of the old secular hymn : "Alme sol, possis nihil urbe Româ -- All countries that send tribute, while their ambassadors go through the forms of allegiance, constitute a part. of the empire, and their respective kings reign under the sanction of the "Son of heaven." This of course signifies little enough at a distance, but the effect is felt in China; for any remonstrance against oppression, on the part of a subject of one of these states, must be stopped by such an unanswerable argument, which proves at once his relative inferiority and worthlessness; and what had been merely the rights of independence in another, become, in his case, rebellion. Mr. Barrow, who has really studied China, and understands it well, observes that " a tame and passive obedience to the degrading demands of this haughty court serve only to feed its pride, and add to the absurd notions of its own vast importance." A Jesuit at Peking, quoted by Du Halde, observed, as long ago as 1687, that the princes of Europe should be cautious how they send letters and presents to China, lest "their kingdoms be registered among the tributaries." As this is rather an important subject, and may become a question of expediency at some future time, it is as well to add Dr. Morrison's observations:-"There is a difference of submission and devotedness expressed by different postures of the body, and some nations feel an almost instinctive reluctance to the As, for instronger expression of submission. stance, standing and bending the head is less than kneeling on one knee; as that is less than kneeling on two knees: and that less, again, than kneeling on two knees, and putting the hands and forehead to the ground; and do ng this once is, in the apprehension of the Chinese, less than doing it three times, or six times, or nine times. Waving the question whether it be proper for one human being to use such strong expressions of submission to another, or not, when any (even the strongest) of these forms are reciprocal they do not interfere with the idea of equality, or of mutual independence. If they are not reciprocally performed, the last of the forms expresses in the strongest manner the submission and homage of one person or state to another and in this light the Tartar family now on the throne of China consider the san-kwei kew-kow, thrice kneeling and nine times beating the head against the ground. Those nations of Europe, who consider themselves tributary and yielding homage to China should perform the Tartar ceremony; those who do not consider themselves so should not perform the ceremony." "The English ambassador, Lord Macartney, appears to have understood correctly the meaning of the ceremony, and proposed the only condition which could enable him to perform it, viz. a Chinese of equal rank performing it to the King of England's picture; or perhaps a promise from the Chinese court that, should an ambassador ever go from thence to England, he would perform it in the King's presence, might have enabled him to do it. These remarks will probably convince the reader that the English Government acts as every civilized Government ought to do, when she endeavours to cultivate a good understanding and liberal intercourse with China. But since, while using these endeavours she never contemplates yielding homage to China, she still wisely refuses to perform by her ambassador that ceremony which is the expression of homage." This argument takes the question up on a higher ground than that sordid one, of a mere commercial profit or loss; but even according to that, we think it has been shown to be a losing speculation to kiss the dust before the Chinese Emperor. The performance of the prostration by its ambassador, places a country on a level with Loo-choo, and those tributary states whose kings reign by the sanction of the court of Peking. The nonperformance of it (which has been the uniform course pursued by every Chinese ambassador sent to a foreign country,) proves the independent sovereignty of a state, and gains for its ambassador a far more respectful treatment than the contrary procedure, as experience has sufficiently proved. In fact, the whole conduct of the persons deputed from Peking to negotiate the point of the ceremonial, joined to the information subsequently obtained, proved that the rejection of Lord Amherst's mission was not entirely on account of the ko-tow; and that even had the embassy been received in the hurried and undignified manner which was very properly resisted, it would have been sent away again within a few days, contrary to the regulation by which forty days are assigned as the limit of stay. The provincial government of Canton well knew that a principal object of the embassy was to complain of the treatment which our commerce had there experienced, and its whole influence had in every way been exerted to frustrate the success of the mission. Lord Macartney, who declined submitting to the prostration, was more honourably received than almost any ambassador that ever entered China; and it was remarked that if there was any difference in the treatment of Lord Amherst's embassy before and after its return towards Canton, it was in favour of the latter. But it was afterwards clearly demonstrated that the emissaries of the provincial government had been busily at work: and even during the progress of the negotiations a rumour was heard that one of the commissioners had purchased his situation, to which he had no proper title; that he had amassed an immense fortune by trade," &c., and other matters of the same kind, which, in conjunction with the treatment of the embassy, clearly proved the agency of the Canton Viceroy and his colleagues. Mean while, these same local authorities lost no opportunity of displaying their ill-will towards the Alceste, the Lyra, and the Hewett Indiaman, which had proceeded to Canton, and reached that place some time before the arrival of the embassy through the interior of China. The Hoppo denied a cargo to the Hewett, on the plea of her being a "tribute ship," looking, no doubt, for a handsome bribe from the Hong merchants for permission to load her. Leave was at the same time refused to the Alceste and Lyra FORTS SILENCED BY H. M. SHIP "ALCESTE." 97 to anchor at Whampoa, by which it was intended to degrade the British ambassador below the tributebearer from Siam, whose junk has free leave to enter the river! The Alceste, however, proceeded very leisurely on her way; and Captain Maxwell, on being fired at by the junks, and the fort at the river's mouth, silenced the jun's with a single shot; while one broadside sufficed to send the garrison of the fort scampering up the side of the hill, down which that defence is somewhat preposterously built. The effect of this decisive conduct was evinced in the short space of one day, by the arrival of all sorts of provisions to the Alceste at Whampoa, by a free consent to load the Hewett, and by the publication of a statement that the firing at the entrance of the river was an affair of saluting. Those who composed the embassy were gratified to find, on their arrival at Canton, on the 1st of January, that Captain Maxwell had not been deterred by any unnecessary apprehensions for their safety from duly maintaining the dignity of the British flag. The Viceroy, it appeared, had a letter from the Emperor for the Prince Regent, which he was bound to deliver in person to Lord Amherst. It was resolved by his Excellency not to consent to any meeting with that functionary, unless the first place was yielded to himself and the commissioners; as Chinese of the rank of the Viceroy were too much accustomed to arrogate to themselves the precedence on such occasions, even with their guests; and it was important at Canton, the seat of our connexions with the country, to take this public opportunity of maintaining his own rights. Accordingly, a yellow tent was erected, in which the Viceroy, reverently lifting above his head with both hands the Emperor's despatch, which was enclosed in a roll of yellow silk, delivered it with much solemnity into the ambassador's hands. The whole party then repaired to an adjoin VOL. I. G |