Chapter XIV (2)

"4. That a large and valuable British trade having sprung up at
Kiu-kiang and Hankow, the Commander-in-Chief is under the
necessity of requiring a promise from you that your forces will
not approach these places within 100 _li_; also that you are
distinctly to understand that Silver Island, the residence of
the British Consul at Chin-kiang-foo, is not to be molested.

(Signed) "HENRY M. BINGHAM.
"_Renard_, Nanking, December 27, 1861."

"REPLY OF THE TAEPING AUTHORITIES AT NANKING TO COMMANDER BINGHAM.

"Mung, the young Prince of Tsan, Jin, Prince of Chang, and Se,
Prince of Shun, Defenders of the Court, Pillars of Heaven, in
the Divine Kingdom of Universal Peace, being the Kingdom of the
Heavenly Father, the Heavenly Elder Brother, and the Heavenly
King, make this joint reply to Captain Bingham, British Senior
Naval Officer at Nanking.

"On the 18th day (December 28) of the 11th month of the 11th or
Sin-yew year of the Divine Kingdom of the Heavenly Father,
Heavenly Elder Brother, and Heavenly King, we received your
letter setting forth four points, which you state you had been
directed to communicate to us by the Naval Commander-in-Chief of
your country.

"We have acquainted ourselves with the contents of your
communication, which has occasioned us the greatest surprise; we
bear in mind that while your country pays adoration to Jesus,
our Divine Kingdom respectfully worships Shang-te.

"The worship of Jesus is the fount and origin of our religions,
and thus from age to age we have been as one family; therefore
when your country came to discuss matters with us in the spring,
our Lord the Heavenly King issued to us his sacred commands
ordering us to receive you with courtesy, and to deal with you
in perfect sincerity, in order to mark our high regard for those
who are allied with and are of the same origin as ourselves.
Being thus united by our religion, which is the worship of
Heaven, and also by our friendly (political) relations, it is
above all things necessary that we should respectively adhere to
our Heavenly principles both in mind and action, and that we
should compare our wants with those of others, instead of
seeking only our own profit at the expense of the interests of
our fellow-men. It is thus that you prove your friendship to be
indeed sincere.

"On considering the four proposals set forth in your
communication, we find that our Divine Kingdom cannot assent to
them, and we shall proceed to state in detail the grounds of our
refusal.

"The first point is a demand for compensation for 7,360 taels
and odd silver, 200 taels' worth of copper cash, 4,800 dollars,
20 bales of raw silk, and 2 muskets, all said to have been taken
by people of our Divine Kingdom in the 5th, 6th, and 7th months
of the present year at Soo-heu, Suh-kea-kiang, Lew-hoo,
Kaou-ching (Laou-ching), and other places.

"There is an absence of right in this demand. Everything
deserving of credit admits of proof. Although the places named
are not 1,000 _li_ distant from our capital, they are situated
several hundreds of _li_ from it, and nearly half a year has
elapsed since the alleged occurrences took place.

"It is unreasonable to demand compensation for claims, when no
proofs can be produced, and the assertion of such claims is in
itself a very unfriendly act. Were we, of the Divine Kingdom, to
put forward such unfounded claims, what course, may we ask,
would your country pursue? If our nation have indeed established
a custom-house at San-le-keaou, and exacted a double levy of
duty in the manner stated, how is it, as your merchant-boats are
constantly passing that spot, that a single instance only of
such conduct should have occurred? We will not, however, take
upon ourselves to deny that your boat had to submit to the
exaction; but, granting that it occurred, it should be
remembered that at this juncture, when a movement is going on
throughout the Empire, local marauders and wandering people
naturally take advantage of the opportunity afforded them to
commit depredations. How, therefore, do you know that these
robberies were not the work of parties of these vagabonds,
simulating the appearance and profiting by the fear inspired by
the troops of the Divine dynasty? Or how do you know that some
of the Tartar imps have not personated the officers and troops
of the Divine Kingdom, and in that feigned character plundered
your merchant-boats, with a view, by these nefarious means, of
causing ill-will between our two families? Moreover, if the
places named have indeed been brought under the rule of our
Celestial dynasty, our lieutenants must be there in garrison;
and if these irregularities were committed by their troops, how
is it that your country did not immediately bring them to the
notice of those officers, in order that they may at once take
steps for the punishment of the offenders? Instead of doing
this, however, you allow a long time to elapse, and then you
suddenly come to our capital to raise discussions with us on the
subject at this distance!

"In the second point of your communication you claim, 'that
junks which carry British colours are no less British vessels
than those which are foreign-built, and must therefore be
allowed to pass up and down the river free from examination or
any other molestation, in conformity with the agreement made in
the early part of this year.'

"On this we have to observe, that an agreement once entered into
should be most faithfully and strictly adhered to, and cannot be
departed from. Now in the agreement concluded with you in the
spring, it is not stated that junks carrying British colours are
no less British vessels than those which are foreign-built, and
are therefore entitled to pass free from examination or
molestation.

"The idea is now suddenly started by your country for the first
time. But in the transaction of business, an open and
straightforward course of action must be pursued, if distrust
and suspicion are to be avoided. Suppose that a Chinese
merchant has goods, the duties on which amount to a considerable
sum, and that your country would not ask him to pay more than
half that sum in return for a flag and papers which should free
him from all charge on passing our custom-houses, is it not
evident that the dishonest trader would gladly turn such an
opportunity to account, and that in that case we should soon
find that our custom-houses had been established to no purpose?

"Moreover, the rules of the custom-houses of our Divine Kingdom
permit the merchants and people of all places, and those who
still shave their heads, to pass to and fro, and trade in salt
and other goods on payment of the duties that are defined by
regulation. This institution has been too long in existence to
make it reasonable that it now should be set aside.

"Again, in the former agreement, no arrangement whatever was
made respecting the employment of Chinese junks by your country,
the stipulation as to the free passage to the river being
confined to vessels of your own country. We agreed to this
arrangement as a friendly act to those who are of the same
family as ourselves. But if native junks should be largely
employed by your nation, we have good cause to fear the
treachery of the Imperial imps, who will employ these junks in
the furtherance of their own dark and evil designs by falsely
passing them off as your trading-craft. If this were the case,
how greatly would our difficulties of defence be increased!

"Furthermore, the customs form the most important source of
revenue on which we depend for the support of the soldiers of
our Divine dynasty; and if, by undue protection granted to
native junks, the payment of duties is avoided, general
indignation would be felt among all our princes, high
functionaries, officers, and soldiers; and they would never
allow such an arrangement to continue in force. In putting
forward this proposal, your country shows that you seek only
your own profit, regardless of the welfare of others; and you
are acting in a manner that is calculated neither to promote
friendly relations, nor to induce reliance on your own
promises.[54]

"The third point states that the promise made in the second
month of the present year, that the Taeping troops should not
approach within 100 _li_ of Shanghae and Woo-sung has not been
faithfully observed, &c.

"It is true that in the spring of this year we did make an
agreement of this nature, but if we discuss it by strict
principles it will be seen that there is no spot under the wide
canopy of heaven that was not created by Shangte, that upon us
rests the obligation of recovering by our arms the whole of
China for Shangte, and that it is difficult for us to make any
exception in the matter of territory, even to the extent of a
foot of soil. It was only in consideration of your nation being
of the same origin as ourselves that we acted as we did.

"Though commerce may be to you the means of livelihood, to us
the possession of territory is all-important. It was only as a
mark of our benevolent and just regard for our fellow-men that
we consented for the space of the present year to avoid making
any attack on Shanghae and Woo-sung, and when we entered into
that agreement we issued our commands requiring it to be
observed at all places in our possession, and have received
reports from our various commanders, assuring us that our orders
have been most scrupulously observed. But as it is obligatory on
our Divine armies to kill the imps wherever they are to be
found, how can our heavenly troops be forbidden to fulfil this
duty? If there were no impish forces at Shanghae and Woo-sung,
the Chung-wang and She-wang would certainly not think of sending
their troops to take those places; and should you be willing to
undertake the expulsion of the impish soldiers, then our Divine
dynasty will send officers to tranquillize those places, and to
protect not only the people but your trade also.

"Why, then, should the advance of our Divine soldiers within 100
_li_ occasion you any apprehension? The present year is now
drawing to a close, and with it the time named in our agreement,
and we can never consent that our Divine troops shall not
prepare to attack those places, simply out of consideration for
your trade. It occasions us, therefore, great surprise to
suddenly receive from you such a proposal, at the very time when
the Chung-wang and She-wang, at the head of several millions of
the Divine soldiers, are engaged in recovering from the enemy
Soo-chow, Hang-chow, and the whole province.

"Your fourth point is to the effect that, as a large and
valuable British trade has sprung up at Kiu-kiang and Hankow,
you wish us to promise not to approach these places within 100
_li_, and also not to molest Silver Island, the residence of the
British Consul at Chin-kiang.

"We have well considered this proposal, and consider that in
putting it forward your country has committed a grave error. The
case stands thus:--It is now long since our vast and illustrious
Empire of China became the prey of these Tartars, who know no
respect for Shangte, nor any other worship than that of devils.
All sons and daughters of Heaven should be moved with the
deepest enmity against them, with a hatred too deep to allow of
their living together with them in the same world, and,
therefore, wherever they are to be found, death should await
them at our hands. Strange that just at the very time when we
are about to despatch troops to take Hankow, Kiu-kiang,
Chin-kiang, and Silver Island, your country should seek, under
the guise of maintaining friendly relations with ourselves, to
render secret assistance to the Tartar imps, by occupying
several of their most important positions, and thus completely
fettering our movements.

"How can we possibly consent to such a proposal?

"When we have taken Hankow, Kiu-kiang, Chin-kiang, and Silver
Island, and tranquillized those places, if your country should
then wish to conduct trade there as before, what is there to
prevent your entering into further negotiations with our nation
on these points? That being the case, what object can you have
in requiring us not to take those places? If you entertain fears
as to the conduct of our soldiers, and think that they may
commit wanton slaughter or destruction, you should know that
Heaven guides all our actions, and that while we kill all those
who pay Heaven no respect, we save, on the other hand, all those
who prove themselves, by worshipping Heaven, to be Heaven's
children.

"All our power is derived from Shangte, and from Christ comes
our support; all our acts are done in their sight and receive
their entire approval.

"If you make the anticipated dispersion of the merchants and
people of those ports an argument in favour of your proposal, we
meet it by observing that when your officers conferred with us
in the spring, this very point came under discussion. At first
it was proposed on your side that we should not attack Kiu-kiang
and Hankow, but afterwards, when we made it clear (to your
officers) in the orders we gave them that it was necessary that
we should attack and take the whole of China, as being the
territory of Shangte, they replied, If your troops do not kill
or injure British subjects, or do not burn or plunder British
houses or property, then we shall remain neutral and assist
neither party. To which we replied that you should not only
remain neutral, but should also take no offence at our troops,
if the people in their alarm were to disperse, and thus cause
your trade to be interfered with. Your officers replied, We
shall take no offence, but we shall require you to give us
notice of your intention to attack these places. To this we
answered, We will not refuse to give you notice before we make
our attack, but we are afraid that our communications with you
may be obstructed by the impish camps, and that when we shall
have succeeded in sweeping these away, the time then left will
not be sufficient for the purpose, and the omission may prove a
cause of trouble. We added, however, that your country must not
again act as you did at Shanghae, where you received the letters
of our nation, and yet assisted the Tartar forces to defend that
city. Thus it will be seen that the point has been already fully
considered, and that it is useless to enter into any further
discussion.

"To resume. As friendly relations exist between us, let us
regard each other as people of the same family. Those whom we
are thus hotly engaged in slaughtering are no other than the
Tartar imps and robbers, and the whole empire of China is the
conquest we intend to effect. As the Tartar imps have not yet
been exterminated, and the great work of conquest is still
incomplete, we cannot give our consent to such proposals as
those which your country now makes to us.

"Your only course, therefore, is to wait until the Tartar imps
shall have been annihilated, when we shall be ready to give our
attention to any advantageous measures that your country may
have to propose.

"We trust you will listen to this advice and raise no further
questions; also that you will firmly maintain the present
peaceful relations, and give no occasion for distrust or
ill-will. These are the hopes that should be earnestly
entertained on both sides.

"P. S. We observe that the translation of the letter before us,
and the paper communicating the points under discussion (the
English original?) are written on white paper and bear no seal.
It is very difficult for us to know whether documents thus
prepared are spurious or authentic, and we fear that they could
easily be imitated by the Tartar imps, and that the fraud might
be attended with serious consequences.

"We trust, therefore, that in order to establish the
authenticity of your documents your country will in future
observe the practice of affixing your seal to them.

"Dated the 22nd day of the 11th month of the 11th or Sin-yew
year of the Divine Kingdom of Universal Peace, being the Kingdom
of the Heavenly Father, Heavenly Elder Brother, and Heavenly
King (January 1, 1862)."

"COMMANDER BINGHAM TO THE TAEPING AUTHORITIES AT NANKING.
"_Reward_, Nanking, January 1, 1862.

"I am directed by the Commander-in-Chief of the Naval Forces of
the Queen of England in the Chinese Seas to acknowledge the
receipt of your reply to the communication made by me four days
ago, and to acquaint you--

"1. That in bringing the demands for compensation for the
robberies committed on British subjects to the notice of the
authorities at Nanking, instead of exacting redress for them on
the spot where they were committed, he has given you the
strongest proof of his desire to treat you in a friendly manner.

"Your refusal to do justice gives him the right to take his own
measures for procuring adequate redress for these injuries.

"2. That he will take effectual measures to prevent any vessel
carrying the English flag which has not the right to do so, but
that he will not permit vessels, whether of European or Chinese
construction, which are owned by British subjects, to be
interfered with in any way or under any pretext, in their
undoubted right of navigating the Yang-tze-kiang River free from
all molestation, and you will do so at your peril.

"3. The towns of Shanghae and Woo-sung, as you well know, are
occupied by the military forces of England and France, and if
you repeat the absurdity of attacking them, you will incur, not
merely a repulse as on a former occasion, but such further
consequences as your folly will deserve.

"4. Your refusal to enter into an engagement to leave Silver
Island, Kiu-kiang, and Hankow free from molestation, all places
which you have not the slightest chance of attacking with
success, proves to the Commander-in-Chief that your expressions
of friendly feeling are mere words, and the necessity of dealing
with you accordingly.

(Signed) "HENRY M. BINGHAM."

FOOTNOTES:

[43] See page 46, Blue Book.

[44] See page 50, Blue Book.

[45] See page 64, Blue Book.

[46] See page 50, Blue Book.

[47] See page 51, Blue Book.

[48] See Appendix B.

[49]
William Breck, Esq., United States Consul.
M. Leon Obry, His Imperial Majesty's Navy, commanding steamer
_Confucius_.
Lieutenant Henry Huxham, R.N., commanding H.M.'s gunboat _Kestrel_.
Frederick Harvey, Esq., Her Majesty's Consul.

[50] "E" corresponds to the Chinese title "Kung," or Duke.

[51] _i.e._, She-wang (the Assistant Prince).

[52] A quotation from the "Sze Shoo Mencius," tom. i. chap. 2. The King of Tse is inquiring of Mencius whether he ought to take possession of the kingdom of Yeu, lately conquered by him. Mencius, instancing the practice of the ancient kings Wan and Woo under similar circumstances, replies that, unless the voice of the people invites the invader to take possession, he is not justified in so doing. Hence the rebels would have it believed that they have enlisted in their cause the sympathies of the nation, without which, according to received notions, it will be impossible for them to obtain the "Teen-ming" (the Divine Commission), and, by consequence, the Empire.

[53] _i.e._, those of the nation who do not submit.

[54] "On the occasion when they recently stopped some British junks at Woo-hoo, eventually retaining two (subsequently released by the _Bouncer_), in pledge for payment of duty, on the whole their demand amounted to 2,000 taels. Their right to levy moderate duties on all vessels trading in the territories they hold was allowed in the original arrangement entered into with them, but they were, at the same time, distinctly acquainted that I had stationed a vessel of war at Nanking for the express purpose of securing to British vessels entire freedom in the exercise of their right of navigating the Yang-tze. The necessity of preventing any interference whatever with the passing trade by the rebels, arises from the impracticability of recovering any duties they might extort without a serious collision. In the case of Imperialists, redress could always ultimately be obtained by reference through the Minister to the Government at Peking.--J. HOPE."

This is the excuse given for depriving the Ti-pings of their revenue.

* * * * *

Transcriber's Notes

Obvious punctuation errors repaired.

The frontpiece and title page contain Chinese characters which are transcribed in the UTF and HTML versions.

Hyphen added: co[-]adjutors (p. 342), E[-]CHING (caption of image facing p. 304), E-ching (p. 379), Kwang[-]si (p. 144), Pei[-]ho (pp. 229, 230), sand[-]bank(s) (pp. 107, 202), semi[-]civilized (p. 228), Shang[-]te (p. 418), Soo[-]chow (pp. 272, 273), Tai[-]ping (p. 306), Tien[-]Kwoh (caption of map facing p. 359), Ti[-]mung (twice on p. 132), water[-]fowl (p. 20), Woo[-]sung (p. 199).

Hyphen removed: banner-men (p. 322), blood[-]thirsty (p. 415), fire[-]arms (pp. 79, 408), good[-]will (pp. 88, 102), main[-]land (p. 21), Ning[-]po (p. 356), Po[-]yang (p. 88), Shen[-]si (p. 157), under[-]mentioned (p. 342), Vice[-]roy (p. 71), Wu[-]hu (p. 267), Ye[-]su (p. 175).

The following words appear in multiple forms and have not been changed: "benefited" / "benefitted", "Budhist" / "Buddhist", "gunboat" / "gun-boat", "Han-kow" / "Hankow", "Honan" / "Hoonan" / "Hoo-nan", "Hoopeh" / "Hoo-peh", "Nan-kin" / "Nan-king" / "Nankin" / "Nanking", "Shang-te" / "Shangte", "Tae-ping" / "Taiping" / "Tai-ping" / "Ti-ping", "Woo-san-kwei" / "Wu-san-kwei".

p. 61: "jingall" changed to "gingall" (a gingall battery).

p. 70: "Atalanta" changed to "Atlanta" (the occupation of Atlanta).

p. 86: "sovereignity" changed to "sovereignty" (his divine commission to earthly sovereignty).

p. 86: "sufficent" changed to "sufficient" (with guns or sufficient powder).

p. 88: "Imperalist" changed to "Imperialist" (Imperialist troops in Hoo-nan).

p. 111: "1838" changed to "1858" (Elgin treaty (June 1858)).

p. 125: duplicate "that" removed (that something was most likely dangerous).

p. 127: [=a] represents the letter "a" with a macron above it (L[=a], l[=a]). The correct character appears in the UTF and HTML versions.

p. 197: "exclaming" changed to "exclaiming" (exclaiming, "hish.").

p. 212: "inconoclasts" changed to "iconoclasts" (iconoclasts of the strictest order).

p. 237: "skook" changed to "shook" (shook hands).

p. 241: "acomplished" changed to "accomplised" (accomplished prince).

Caption of image facing p. 261: "HU-KAN" changed to "HU-KAU".

p. 271: "superintendant" changed to "superintendent" (in his capacity as superintendent).

p. 295: "dissertion" changed to "dissertation" (a lengthy dissertation by one Rev. J. L. Holmes).

p. 329: "ursurpation" changed to "usurpation" (without aggression or usurpation).

p. 331: "gave" changed to "give" (to give his favourable opinion).

p. 331: "bravos" changed to "braves" (becoming the mercenary braves).

p. 342: "Imperialst" changed to "Imperialist" (the Imperialist _braves_).

p. 344: "forgottten" changed to "forgotten" (has evidently forgotten himself).

p. 348: "Impearialist" changed to "Imperialist" (all the Imperialist posts).

p. 349: "prejudical" changed to "prejudicial" (prejudicial presence).

p. 350: "chieftian" changed to "chieftain" (gallant chieftain).

p. 354: "politicans" changed to "politicians" (politicians of the Yang-tze).

p. 356: "compartively" changed to "comparatively" (were comparatively useless).

p. 368: "parient" changed to "parent" (the injured "parent,").

p. 371: "Sze-wang" changed to "Sz-wang" (to call in the Sz-wang).

p. 388: "detoriated" changed to "deteriorated" (has seriously deteriorated).

End of Project Gutenberg's Ti-Ping Tien-Kwoh, by Augustus F. Lindley