reserve.

the boat; but this did not seem to make any difference in the friendliness of their demeanour. While we were at breakfast, two boats came up filled with soldiers, who were immediately landed, and one party marched towards our boat, while another was drawn up as a The officer, who commanded the advance, with several of his men, scrambled into the boat. They were desired by Mr. GurzLAFF to retire; but not complying, our people were desired to turn them out, which they did accordingly. I collared their officer, and was on the point of tripping up his heels, when he threw himself down, and Mr. GUTZLAFF begging me to leave him to him, I desisted from further violence, though the loud and insolent manner of the man made forbearance not very agreeable. Mr. GUTZLAFF then commenced rating the fellow in such animated language, that he became apparently thunderstruck, having no apology to offer for the rudeness and violence with which he came to execute his commission, which he said was merely to inquire who we were, and what we wanted, and to desire us to be off. Mr. GUTZLAFF informed him that we came to present a petition to the Viceroy, but not having met with an accredited officer, its delivery had been postponed; that we had taken an excursion on the river, in order to see the tea plant; that we had proceeded openly, and avowed our intention without being told; that so innocent an object could never draw on us treatment such as no civilized government would offer to innocent strangers. He then harangued with great energy and effect, on the base, treacherous, cowardly, and barbarous conduct we had experienced on the preceding day, and on our own forbearance in not returning the fire; showing him, that we had plenty of arms, which we had taken for our defence against robbers, and assuring him, that we were not afraid to risk our lives against numbers: but had not come with the intention of making war on the government of the country, and would therefore wait to see whether that government would afford us redress by punishing those villains who had thus without any provocation attempted to take our lives, before having recourse to other means. If justice should be withheld by the provincial government, the case might go before the Emperor, and if punishment were not then inflicted on the guilty, the affair was not likely to end there. Mr. GUTZLAFF's eloquence, with the display of our fire_arms, left the Kwanfoo without a word to say for himself, or for his country. He acknowledged, that we had been shamefully treated; but that he was not of the party, and could not be implicated in their guilt, and promised that we should experience nothing but civility from himself. He received our petition, which he handed to one of

his people to take to his boat, and ordered off the rest of his men. He agreed to assist us in getting off from the field where we lay, and to tow us on our way as far as Mingan-a tower and fort, a short way below the place, where the western branch rejoins the Fuh-chow river. We asked him if there was no way of going down without passing under the bridge of Fuh-chow. He said, there was; and that he would probably take us by that route. We got afloat about 11 A. M., and two or three hours afterwards, recognised our position to be that which we had abandoned in despair four days before. Had we remained where we lay on the 8th, till the flood had made, it would have carried us into the main river, and we should have had one or two days start of the war-boats, or perhaps entirely escaped their observation. The Kwanfoo continued on board, except when relieved by an inferior officer from the towing boat, intending, as we presume, that we should appear to be his prisoners. In the afternoon, the wind became very strong, and the fleet ran in towards a large village, where they proposed anchoring for the day. Finding, however, that the bottom was stony, and that there was already too little water for our boat, we refused to remain, and were preparing to set sail, when the officer, who had brought us on, earnestly requested to be taken into our boat again. We received him on board, and were again taken in tow, the other war boats accompanying. At dusk, they wished to take us to another large village; but we pointed out a more sheltered spot, and they took us there accordingly. The officers still remaining on board, Mr. GUTZLAFF was requested to desire them to withdraw, which they did; and as they had been uniformly civil since morning, I sent each of them a pair of blue printed cotton handkerchiefs. It was settled that we should again get under-weigh with the morning's ebb, and that after reaching Mingan, we should pursue our way to the ship, without further attendance. At 10 o'clock P. M., I was surprised by a letter from Captain MCKAY, of that day's date; he stated that he had been importuned in the most abject manner, to recal us, as orders had been issued to drive us out; which could not be carried into effect. He concluded that we must by that time have got so far on our way, that before we could be overtaken, we must have accomplished our object. At 1 A. M. of the 13th, we got under-weigh, towed as before; but escorted by a numerous fleet of war junks, one of which carried three lanterns, and the others, one each, on their poops; as all these vessels had to make short tacks in a narrow channel, the sight was rather fine; and when we reached Mingan, a number of rockets were discharged, which had a very grand effect. We had not permitted any Chinese officer to

come on board our boat when we started; but contrary to stipulation, they now again insisted on coming; while we showed a determined resolution to resist : on consulting their commander, they were directed to let us go freely. We lost our way however in the darkness of the night, and were assisted by a war-boat in the morning, in recovering it. As we approached the right channel, we found several war junks stationed as a guard. Three or four of them accompanied us for some time, but gradually dropped off. The towing junk too took occasion to make us over to a large open boat, from which we soon afterwards cast off. On passing the forts at the Bogue, we were honored with a salute of three guns from each, as well as from some war junks above, and others below, the forts. At 2 P. M., we got on board the "Findlay." In pursuance of our declared intention, I prepared a petition to the Viceroy, praying for inquiry into the conduct of our assailants on the 11th, and the infliction of adequate punishment upon them for their unjustifiable attempt on our lives. Mr. GUTZLAFF was good enough to put my petition into Chinese form, and have it ready for delivery next morning, in expectation, that as had been the practice hitherto, some officer of rank might come on board. None having arrived, however, I resolved to go on board the admiral's junk, and deliver my petition there, explaining its object to that officer. Mr. GUTZLAFF and Mr. STEVENS accompanied me; we found in the cabin two messengers from the Viceroy, both of them assistant magistrates, wearing colorless crystal knobs; two vice-admirals, Tsung-ping-knan, one of them, the naval commander-in-chief of this station; one colonel of the army, Yen-keih, and one Pa-tseang, or subaltern. Having handed to them the petition, one of the messengers wanted to open it; but on being requested to deliver it to the Viceroy, began to enquire what were its contents. Before coming to that subject Mr. Gutzlaff adverted generally to our character as foreign merchants, and our wish to import rice. The Chinese assured us that it was from no unwillingness on their parts, that we were not allowed to trade, but that they were obliged to act under the prohibitory orders of the Emperor. As to the importation of rice, the Fú-Tseang at first affected to misunderstand us, as if our application were for permission to export rice to our own country from Fuh-kín. One of the messengers told

us, that the Viceroy would give us no answer, when Mr. GUTZLATF quoted some instances of official replies from head quarters, that made him waive this objection.

Having shewn them the impracticability of efficiently excluding foreign trade from so long a line of coast, Mr. GUTZLAFF urged very

strongly the expediency of rendering legitimate what was now conducted with all the defiance of the laws, and other evils attendant on a smuggling trade already so apparent in Canton. Both messengers assented very readily to the soundness of the advice, adding arguments of their own in a very conciliatory strain, and regretting much that it was against the imperial orders. Mr. GUTZLAFF dwelt particularly on the facility which Fuh-chow possessed for the tea trade this they fully admitted; but again the Emperor having confined the trade to Canton, there was really no remedy; and it was quite in vain attempting to open the trade at this port. Mr. GUTZLAFF then adverted to the murderous attack upon us on the 11th; of this they at first alleged total ignorance, and then ascribed the attack to the treachery of the common natives. Mr. GUTZLAFF however told them, that it was their officers and soldiers who acted to the best of their ability the part of treacherous and cowardly murderers; while the poor peasantry had always conducted themselves towards us with the greatest kindness.

That we were now come with a petition, calling for redress by the punishment of those assassins, the granting of which was the only means of preventing retaliation; the lives of peaceful people having been brought into the most imminent danger, which violence justified violence in return, even if we were to take a life for each of our lives that had been so endangered. Here all concurred in reprobating such conduct as we had experienced, and in assuring us, that we should meet with no such molestation from them, trying to put as good a construction as possible on the past. Mr. GUTZLAFF repeatedly requested them to allow the people to bring us provisions; but to this they turned a deaf ear. As we rose up to come away, the messenger of the Viceroy, to whom I had handed the petition, wished to return it; but I refused to receive it back. He said he could report what we had said; but durst not deliver the petition. Mr. GUTZLAFF, however, succeeded in getting him to promise its delivery, by reminding him, that he had been sent hither - on our account, and it would be strange, if after all, we should be obliged to carry our remonstrance ourselves to Fuh-chow. This hint had the desired effect. On the afternoon of the 15th, a polite note was sent to the admiral's junk, requesting a supply of provisions, to be procured for us, as the people were prohibited from bringing any thing to the ship. The boat brought back a remnant of a shoulder of pork, a dried cuttle-fish, and four pieces of sugar-cane; these were immediately returned. Mr. GUTZLAFF was good enough to go on board by another boat, accompanied by Captain MCKAY and Mr. STEVENS, to require an explanation of this piece of rudeness; and to inform them

that if in two days I got no answer to my petition for redress, the consequences would not be imputable to me, but to their government. They at first denied that any thing had been sent; but finding this would not do, they alleged, that the pork and fish were intended for the boatmen, and the sugar-cane for the little lad that steered the boat. No indication of such appropriation was made when the things were put into the boat, so that the excuse was evidently an afterthought. Finding that another admiral, who had arrived in the forenoon, was of the party, Mr. GUTZLAFF again expatiated on the atrocity with which we had been treated. No attempt at defending it was offered. The messenger of the Viceroy said, that the petition had been sent, but he was unable to say, how soon we might expect an answer. At this second meeting, Mr. GUTZLAFF pointed out the freedom with which Chinese subjects were allowed to follow any honest avocation they chose at our settlements, and claimed, on the principles of reciprocity, the accordance of similar privileges in

return.

On the 16th, Mr. GUTZLAFF, having found some passages of Chinese law particularly applicable to our assailants, went in the evening to point them out to the mandarins, and for their further consideration, copied them out in their presence, and left the extracts with them. Applications for provisions, and promises to supply them, were renewed. On the 17th, a boat arrived from Fuh-chow, at 8 A. M., and was received by the junks with a salute. A little after, a boat came alongside, and made off again with all expedition, after leaving an open note, stating that the orders of the Viceroy had arrived, and that we ought to go on board the admiral to receive them. Mr. GUTZLAFF wrote in reply, that the person who was charged with the communication of the order was in duty bound to deliver it, and that we expected he would bring it accordingly. This was sent by the ship's boat, which soon after returned with a note, stating that since we were afraid to go on board the admiral's junk, they had made out a copy of the order, not choosing to send the original by the young man whom we had sent in charge of the boat. The half hour that our boat was detained was entirely occupied in framing and copying this note. The paper which they pretended to have copied in that time was a roll nearly six feet in length, which could not have been written in the fair style which it exhibited by the most expert penman in less than a couple of hours. We afterwards compared it with the original, and found that it was written in the same hand, and was in every respect, except in the sealing, a fac-simile of the original. Our second petition accompanied this copy. The intention was no