[SMITH-BONNER, D. & LUMBY, E.W. (ed.), (1954), The Second China War, 1856-1860, The Navy record Society.]
Les demandes angleses abans del Tractat de Tianjin
Earl of Elgin to Senior Secretary of State at Pekin
Furious, Canton, February, 14, 1858
The Undersigned, etc., has the honour to inform his Excellency the Senior Secretary of State that the Imperial Commissioner Yeh having, in the exercise of the authority delegated to him by His Master, refused to grant to the subjects of Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain, and to the subjects of His Majesty the Emperor of the French, their Treaty-rights and just compensation for injuries inflicted, the High Officers representing the Governments of Great Britain and France have been compelled to have recourse to arms. The city of Canton, captured after a brief resistance, is now in the possession of the allied forces, and the Imperial Commissioner a prisoner in their hands.
The Undersigned thinks it proper to enclose a copy, of the correspondence between himself and the Imperial Commissioner Yeh. which preceded the occurrences to which he is now referring, lest by any means an incomplete report of it should have reached the Imperial Throne.
His Excellency the Prime Minister will observe from this correspondence that the Undersigned, notwithstanding the many and serious causes of complaint which he had to urge on behalf of his Government and of the subjects of his Sovereign, confined himself, in his communication of December 12, to the Imperial Commissioner Yeh, to the following demands :—The complete execution at Canton of all Treaty engagements, including the free admission of British subjects to the city; compensation to British subjects and persons entitled to British protection for losses incurred in consequence of the late disturbances: informing him, at the same time, that if these moderate demands, and those preferred on behalf of the Emperor of the French by His Imperial Majesty’s High Commissioner and Plenipotentiary, were frankly accepted by the Imperial Commissioner within ten days from the date of that communication, the blockade of the river would be raised, and commerce permitted to resume its course; but that the English forces, in conjunction with the forces of the French, would retain the Island of Honan as a material guarantee, until the terms of a Treaty for regulating these and all other questions pending between the Government of Great Britain and that of China, should have been agreed to between the Undersigned and a Plenipotentiary of equal rank, appointed by the Emperor of China to negotiate with him, and until the Treaty so agreed upon should have been ratified by their respective Sovereigns: but adding that if the Imperial Commissioner met these demands by a refusal, by silence, or by evasive or dilatory pleas, the Undersigned would deem it to be his painful duty to direct the naval and military Commanders to prosecute with renewed vigour operations against Canton, reserving to himself the right to make, in that case, on behalf of the British Government, such additional demands on the Government of China as this altered condition of affairs might seem in his eyes to justify.
The Imperial Commissioner, disregarding the claims of justice and the true interest of his Sovereign, met these very moderate demands by dilatory and evasive pleas, and thus drew down upon himself, and upon the city of which he was the appointed guardian, consequences of which the Undersigned had warned him in the most distinct and emphatic terms.
It is the intention of the Undersigned, in his present communication to the Prime Minister, to observe the same moderation and frankness which characterised his communication to the Imperial Commissioner Yeh.
In pursuance of this intention he has the honour to state that, in concert with his honourable colleague the Plenipotentiary of France, he has resolved that the forces of Great Britain and France shall continue to occupy the city of Canton militarily, but that,for the present, they shall abstain from further measures of hostility against any part of the Chinese Empire, except in so far as such measures may be necessary for the security of their position as masters of Canton.
The Plenipotentiaries of England and France will, meanwhile, proceed in person to Shanghai, where they will be prepared to enter into negotiations for the settlement of all differences existing between their respective Governments and that of China, with any Plenipotentiary duly accredited by the Emperor of China, who may present himself at that port before the end of the month of March.
The Undersigned, however, in making this communication, thinks it proper to apprise the Senior Secretary of State that he is not only authorised by his Government to demand from that of China compensation for the wrongs inflicted on British subjects, and indemnity for the expenses of the war in which his country has been forced to engage by the obstinacy of the Imperial Commissioner Yeh, but that he also holds from his august Sovereign the Queen of England, full-powers, which enable him to conclude on behalf of his Government, with that of China, such Treaties, Conventions, or Agreements, as may obviate future misunderstandings, and tend to develop commercial relations between the two countries, and that he cannot, therefore, consent to treat with any Chinese Ambassador who does not hold from the Emperor of China full-powers equally extensive.
In his present communication to the Prime Minister, the Undersigned restricts himself to a few general observations on’ this important branch of his duties, reserving the discussion of details for the time when he shall have an opportunity of conferring personally with a Plenipotentiary specially commissioned by the Emperor to treat with him.
Notwithstanding the unquestionable benefits which have accrued under the existing Treaties between Great Britain and China, to the latter country more especially, in the increase of the Imperial revenue from the duties of Customs, and in the enhanced value which the competition of foreigners has given to the products of the industry of the Chinese people, experience has shown that in some important particulars they are defective, and require amendment.
It is probable, for example, that if Pekin, the seat of the Imperial Government, had been accessible to foreign Ministers, according to the practice which obtains universally among the great nations of the west, the calamities which have lately taken place at Canton might have been averted.
Again, if foreigners were permitted to circulate in the Empire under regulations which would give sufficient security for their good behaviour, such occurrences as the barbarous murder of the French missionary in Kwang-si, which has led to consequences so serious, would probably be prevented.
The spontaneous growth of an unrecognised trade at ports of ‘the Empire not opened by Treaty, and from which, therefore, the Imperial Treasury derives no benefit, proves how vain is the attempt to confine the foreign trade to the few ports named in the existing Treaties.
Wherefore, indeed, should the industrious and loyal subjects of the Emperor of China who inhabit the great cities on the sea-board or along the course of the great rivers, be prevented from selling the products of their labour to the foreigner who is willing to pay full value for them?
Foreign merchants complain that illegal transit duties are levied on the merchandise which they import and export. For this evil the existing Treaties furnish no adequate remedy.
The duties on imports and exports originally imposed in the Treaties were just and reasonable, but some of them have become, in process of time, unjust and unreasonable, because they remain fixed, while the price of the articles on which they are levied, changes. This is not as it should be. It proves the necessity of a periodical revision of the tariffs.
The prevalence of piracy is an embarrassment to trade, and a frightful evil to the people on the coasts of China. The Government of Her Britannic Majesty is willing to lend its aid to that of China for its suppression.
Christians in some parts of the Empire are subject to treatment which is not only opposed to the interests of civilisation, but also to the precepts of the greatest Chinese sages. But Christians only desire to live at peace, and to do their duty to God and man. Wherefore, then, should they be persecuted?
If, then, a Plenipotentiary duly accredited and empowered by the Emperor of China, not only to grant compensation for the wrongs inflicted on British subjects, and indemnity for the expenses of the war in which Great Britain has been forced to engage, but also to treat with the Undersigned on the above-mentioned subjects, shall present himself at Shanghai before the period above specified, the Undersigned will meet him in a conciliatory spirit, and with a sincere desire to enter into such arrangements with him as may render a further resort to arms unnecessary, re-establish harmony and a good understanding between the great nations of Great Britain and China, and the differences between France and China being in like manner settled, enable the allied forces to retire from the occupation of Canton.
If, on the contrary, no Plenipotentiary so accredited shall present himself at Shanghai before the end of the month of March, or if any Plenipotentiary so presenting himself shall be found to have insufficient powers, or if, having the requisite powers, he shall prove himself unwilling to accede to reasonable terms of accommodation, the Undersigned hereby reserves to himself the right of having recourse, without further announcement, delay, or declaration of hostilities, to such measures, in vindication of the claims of his country on China, as in his judgment it may appear advisable to adopt. ELGIN AND KINcARDINE.