William Hall - Narrative of the Voyages and Services of the Nemesis from 1840 to 1843

As soon as the first excitement had passed, Captain Hall waited upon the governor, to assure him that he had come with the most peaceable intentions, and to thank his excellency for the friendly warning he had given, with respect to the safety of the vessel. At the same time, he begged to inform his excellency, that he was already thoroughly acquainted with the harbour and anchorage of Macao, from early recollection of all those localities, as he had served as midshipman on board the Lyra, during Lord Amherst's embassy to China, in 1816.

It was now ascertained that the English admiral, the Hon. George Elliot, was at anchor with his fleet in Tongkoo roads, below the Bogue forts; and, accordingly, the Nemesis proceeded to join the squadron, after the delay of only a few hours. Her arrival was announced by the salute to the admiral's flag, which was immediately returned by the Melville, precisely as if the Nemesis had been a regular man-of-war.

The Nemesis now found herself in company with the three line-of-battle ships, Wellesley, Melville, and Blenheim, together with H.M.S. Druid, Herald, Modeste, Hyacinth, and the Jupiter troop-ship. Thus, then, after all her toil and hardships, the gallant Nemesis had at length reached the proud post towards which she had so long been struggling. Her voyage from England had, indeed, been a long one, very nearly eight months having elapsed since she bade adieu to Portsmouth. But her trials had been many during that period. She had started in the worst season of the year, and had encountered, throughout nearly the whole voyage, unusual weather and unforeseen difficulties. She had happily survived them all, and the efforts which had been already made to enable her to earn for herself a name gave happy promise of her future destiny.

The excitement on board was general, now that she at length found her iron frame swinging, side by side, with the famed "wooden walls" of England's glory; and the prospect of immediate service, in active operations against the enemy, stimulated the exertions of every individual. For some days, however, she was compelled to content herself with the unwelcome operation of "coaling" in Tongkoo Bay. In the meantime, the ships of war had sailed, leaving her to follow them as soon as she could be got ready; and now, while this black and tedious process is going on, we cannot be better employed than in taking a short survey of the events which had immediately preceded her arrival, and of the more important occurrences which led to such momentous consequences.

The abolition of the privileges of the East India Company in China, and the difficulties which soon resulted therefrom, concerning the mode of conducting our negotiations with the Chinese, will be remembered by most readers; and, whatever part the questions arising out of the trade in opium, may have afterwards borne in the complication of difficulties, there is little doubt that the first germ of them all was developed at the moment when the general trade with China became free. This freedom of trade, too, was forced upon the government and the company in a great degree, by the competition of the American interests; and by the fact, that British trade came to be carried on partly under the American flag, and through American agency, because it was prevented from being brought into fair competition in the market, under the free protection of its own flag.

The unhappy death of the lamented Lord Napier, principally occasioned by the ill treatment of the Chinese, and the mental vexation of having been compelled to submit to the daily insults of the Chinese authorities, in his attempts to carry out the orders of his government, will be remembered with deep regret. With the nature of those orders we have here nothing to do. No one can question Lord Napier's talent, energy, and devotedness to the object of his mission.

The attempts of Captain Elliot, when he afterwards took upon himself the duties of chief superintendent, to carry out the same instructions, were scarcely less unfortunate. And finding, as he publicly stated, that "the governor had declined to accede to the conditions involved in the instructions which he had received from her majesty's government, concerning the manner of his intercourse with his Excellency," the British flag was struck at the factories at Canton, on the 2nd of December, 1837, and her majesty's principal superintendent retired to Macao.

During the year 1838, very serious and determined measures began to be adopted by the Chinese authorities, directed generally against the trade in opium; and imperial edicts threatened death as the punishment, for both the dealers in, and the smokers of the drug. Several unfortunate Chinese were executed in consequence. Attempts were now made to execute the criminals in front of the foreign factories along the river side, contrary to all former usage and public right. A remonstrance followed, addressed to the governor, who, in reply, gave them a sort of moral lecture, instead of a political lesson, and, then, condescendingly admitted, that "foreigners, though born and brought up beyond the pale of civilization, must yet have human hearts."

Nevertheless, in the following December, 1838, the insulting attempt was again repeated, close under the American flag-staff, which was not then placed, as it has since been, in an enclosure, surrounded with a brick wall, and high paling. The flag was immediately hauled down by the consul, in consequence of the preparations which were going on, for the erection of the cross upon which the criminal was to be strangled.

At first, a few foreigners interfered, and, without violence, induced the officers to desist from their proceedings. But, gradually, the crowd increased, and, a Chinese mob, when excited, is fully as unruly as an English one; and, thus, each imprudent act, as usual, led to another. No Chinese authorities were at hand to control the disturbance; stones began to fly in all directions; and the foreigners, who, by this time, had come forward, to the aid of their brethren, were at length, through the increasing numbers of the mob, fairly driven to take refuge in the neighbouring factories. Here they were obliged to barricade the doors and windows, many of which, were, nevertheless, destroyed, and the buildings endangered, before a sufficient force of Chinese soldiers had arrived to disperse the mob. In the evening, however, quiet was perfectly restored.

In the meantime, the alarm had spread to Whampoa, whence Captain Elliot set out, accompanied by about one hundred and twenty armed men, for Canton, and arrived at the British factory late in the evening. Both parties were now clearly placed in a false position, yet one which it would have been very difficult to have avoided. During many preceding months, the unfortunate Hong merchants had been in constant collision with their own government on the one hand, and with the foreign merchants, on the other. There was scarcely any species of indignity, to which they were not exposed, and they were even threatened with death itself. The Chinese government had daily become more overbearing towards all foreigners; and its habitual cold and haughty tone had grown into undisguised contempt and unqualified contumely. Their treatment of Lord Napier had been considered on their part as a victory ; and their successful repulse of all Captain Elliot's advances, was viewed by them as an evidence of their own power, and of Great Britain's weakness.

It has been already stated in the first chapter, that Sir Frederick Maitland, who had a short time previously paid a visit to China, in a line of battle ship, had left those seas altogether, just before the collision took place; and, in proportion as the foreigners were left unprotected, so did the Chinese become more overbearing.