"JUSTICE AND POLICY OF THE CHINA QUESTION."

" This China question involves such important interests and prin- ciples, that it must necessarily occupy Parliament at the very beginning of the session. The Foreign Office and the Treasury will not be al- lowed to decide without consulting Parliament what course the State of Firdand shall pursue with regard either to the present dispute between Ejgland and China, or to the losses incurred by British subjects in, ielding up their property "for the service of her Majesty's Govern- y Mott," or to the future commercial relations between the two empires, which last must deeply affect for good or evil some of the most power- ful constituencies represented in the House of Commons. Parliament will require information on this subject, and will assuredly express its own opinion thereon in one form or another. Lord Palmerston may pT epare for early debate. If Huskisson or the Brougham of yore were in the house of Commons, he would make the subject his own. 'Where be gone the class of men fit to lead?

"The subject, to which we return, consists of three distinct parts,—

first, the present international question ; secondly, the question of compensation for losses; and lastly, the question of future intercourse between the nations. The rules of justice and policy are applicable to the whole of them, and to each separately. " 1. The Government of China has employed a sort of violence in order to put a stop to the introduction of opium ; and the rumour is industriously spread abroad that the Government of England intends to strike blow for blow—to insist on retribution for the insult, perhaps on compensation for the injury—to blockade the ports of China until these conditions of peace be granted.

" In that case, England would really go to war in support of opium- smuggling! We are far from falling into the weakly sentimentalism which holds opium in greater abomination than gin ; but the love of justice is a manly sentiment which would be outraged by an act of coercion towards the Government of China in this instance. That Government, according to all our ideas of national rights, exercised a plain and universally-acknowledged national privilege in forbidding the introduction of opium. The British traders utterly disregarded its injunctions, and set at naught its oft-repeated threats. They furnished it with an ample cause of war. Instead of going to war for this cause, it hit upon a method of effecting its most rightful object, which should gain for it the sympathy of all the friends of peace: slowly and cau- tiously, not till warning after warning had been neglected, it contrived by a gentle violence to secure the destruction, not of any fimeipsn smuggler's life, but of the whole of the prohibited goods then within its bounds in defiance of the law. It mininti:ed, as Bentham would have said, the degree of its violence, when it would have been justified to the civilized world in employing the maximum of hostile means for accomplishing its object. When comparieg its patience, its forbearance, its obvious preference of gentle means, with the aggressive proceedings of Europeans in the East, one is almost led to agree with that Govern- ment in describing Europeans as "barbarians."

" But this is not all. The opium-smuggling into China has not been of that sort of smuggling, common in Europe, in which no state autho- rities take any part. The opium was really produced by British autho- rities for the express and notorious,purpose of being smuggled into China; and this traffic, in defiance of the laws of China, was superin- tended by a British authority,' which a British act of Parliament, in defiance of the clearest law of nations, had established within the dominions of the Emperor of China.' For reasons of its own, the British Government prohibits the growth of tobacco in these islands : now suppose that the Government of France had by manifest and scarcely indirect means encouraged its subjects to grow tobacco in Kent, and by a legislative act created a French authority within the dominions of the Queen of England,' following up that measure by the appointment of a French officer to reside at Dover and superin- tend ' the said in of British law—how should we have replied to the gross national wrong and insult? Should we have been content with merely putting the French Superintendent into Dover Castle until the tobacco-plants then in the ground had been destroyed ? What we should have done it is needless to recite. The cases are alike. It' we coerce the Chinese for what has recently passed between theta and us, we shall only add immensely to the wrongs of which they have to com- plain against us.

"There cannot be any doubt that coercion would accomplish its im-

mediate objects. The coast of China is the great high road of the em- pire for the transport of goods necessary to the existence of the people. The tea-growing and manufacturing province of Fokein is almost v. holly supplied with rice, the common food of the people, from the island of Formosa, between which and the main land all intercourse might be cut off by a small force of English men-of-war. Salt, as much

a necessary as rice, is carried coastwise in immense quantities, and could not be otherwise transported but at a ruinous cost. The nume- rous harbours and the whole line of the coast swarm with vessels con- tinually engaged in supplying to the densest population in the world. wants as urgent as those which are supplied to the inhabitants of Lon- don at the Coal Exchange, Smithfield, and Mark Lane. The Celes- tial Government has no means whatever of resisting violence at sea. As a naval power, the Emperor of Austria or King of Sardinia

would be snore than a match for it. It must inevitably surrender at discretion to a blockade of its coast, With the utmost ease, we may obtain front that Government the most humble apologies, ample compensation for the destruction of the opium, " indemnity- without end, and precisely what " security for the future" it may please our power to exact. By blockading the Chinese ports, therefore, we should perpetrate the grossest injustice on the most help-

ess object. [he case would differ from that of the wolf and the lamb, only inasmuch as in this ease the wolf would have injarcd the lamb by which it pretended to have been injured. " An injustice, however, that is at once profitable and facile, never

wants advocates. But now comes fhe question of ultimate profit. That would indeed be a short-sighted national policy which regarded only the immediate consequences of England's success in coercing the Chinese empire. It is of course impossible to specify the remote or not far-distant consequences; but this may he said with confidence— that no nuns who regards his character for discernment and sincerity, will deny that a successful measure of ;oreign coercion would be " the beginning of the end" of the Chinese empire. There is not in the world a government so liable to be overthrown by destroying the prestige of its power. So flsgrant an exposure of its real weakness would soon deprive it of authority over subject,. always prone to re-

bellion. Is it politic in El:stand to fire a train of civil conflicts among three hundred millimrs or people, with whom she desires no other relations than those of pearetful commerce? A shopkeeper who incited his customers to spend their money in litigation with each other, would not be more foolish than England if she should uproar the universal peace among the industrious swar IS of China. Nor woo; I haeroal conflicts be the utile evil result of her meddling this demilliun. It' Eleiland exacted a

treaty of comtnenss with Cts r! ii eesiding awl trading for her people, so would Vranc,,, and liussia, and thr.:. United States.

What would lre th,, law f.r lit -e resident emeigners ? Not that of China, which it to them i7leompreheusible : or, if it wire, then how long would it he it'l TOii •re,1 without giviog ...)ecasion to fresh quarrels with foreigners:- llesert most be had to " fsetorms --the only device by which races sa ifferc:it thit and customs are mutually incomiveliensilde, ITIs C!Le;!11 ..h! • t.•, live peacefully it close contact. But even with .• '';! int,r,..trs,l is of no long duration : these ' ; :t --••1) to aggression and ter-

ritorial aequis'e seas to be au in- • is !I ,.....;•;,.ilts of different

,I, pp I.,/ have decreed contact, the inferior

I tinder its eat-ter of the

it, she will be-

.

a teed I hie.lrr \ reSelit govern-

evitahle copse-,

nations, and ss,' that when twe •• shall give way an,l totes another, till protection •.

country. Is IlesleI p,--] ware of doing' t. I alt v meat of that unwieldy empire. " And here is ;teemed setae., land should eslablish a mercial treaty mid

she attain that ohject . will the jealeusy tti e•..• hour China o ll; esti ' rope, not to neeel on our hands .

in India, the • internal causes of inferior nations 11.' •!1 (brought their con .1--ti• h jealousy of' each ,.- authority in China If not, rather thea endeavour to sustala '- people included, let it

2. 'Ile question ot struction of their prop question of jus' lee British and Chi; -- creation and pose of being

the opium WO, t , • and uppointed es., imendere of Tel 1 • . and sweeping sLi by hint dues,

her Majesie'•. no diodee fte: them by one .•

with it is of na , - of the State ; end es,

discretion. e'ute. •-•

much MS ever re-e, his lawful audio-O.! strict law Om], ' State bail being sullist,-:; grounds ofje..! pensation to:' own law. 11 jiss: loss OCC:1,1011,,,I part of the suffeses

" Policy and Je..

that it is alwa i.- vernments which the respect of i il., no remedy, itIs : occasion. (1;1

their case:- •-( lie)' of radrissise

of its subjeets is ale a.s has been done by the .e ,,,•.

strong, as not to be nee' injustice perpetrated 'by Ils• " 3. On the subject ta traders and the Chine-e. was first made hi,. numbers the most coo versant

-'-s flritish which ,....icated by :1 the prin-

ciples were explained te a se t ,isnalst 'lime

neighbourhood ef ths ,,•..s; ..! .,-erfeetl■. tit

to be converted into eons— : os: the juris- diction of the Chin; se l'aus, be easily

visited by Chinese tel It ss. est te. laS, s ..een pirates. or readily pin'i'L:is 1 ts.11, ielse. este, 'Fwo or

three S'ing.apores. iii sin:se:se", i I• 'hllear.thle to ....min.:Tee with China, might he estal‘a,11,- I •,,t I: in the blo,tkade of a single

ses1,1t,, frOln Mr. \V. Curling No:. 54 ;ma 5.i. atiortiai thud!,', Ne. • a of irtternational conflicts. If Bug- tlitnigii by the tiffra of a corn- id semblauce of factories, then, if ef tele species of coescion, so surely

a 1 a.a b iroueel that

••.v Easter.' es • tor Bu-

ll. .• Is: .;,•ss enough dominion . 'seism from

- the i ! -nes: of these

sior •e by the ears,

: vacant, or their ,t1., so weaken riv:r!rv '-Viii her old rivals ? ,i ...ketisi Empire, she will

• ea:5 hat all oatious, her own - affaits it, its own way. sdain for the de- iv'. Ilut as a '•ezween the state,the • !las" India

t• par- British subject§ "-■ ..,2.other creation •• •

In _let I iii Ill at --the British Super- It .1, -a hy means of a general.

' -inure, and was the service of et.. really had :••• from V. Wu he did the name I.-5. tInt at his '.-• State is as

IT !I■• eXCeeded

lid not in

.•\• r.= —still the oppearance of tirit„die, i Oil itsVS COM- ::`.1i11.1i for a

on the say of go- . 12 Irt of • tvide In for the 'hina rest the

po-

lie wrongs t;.e wrong iy is so

vi active

Chinese port. To these stations Chinese dealers would resort, there establish themselves, and convert them into marts, whereat, British and other traders being also established there, the exchanges of the whole foreign trade of China would take place. It would be difficult to over-estimate the extent to which that trade might be carried by this means. This means of an enormous increase of commerce is free from the shadow of aggression or injustice towards the Government of China : it would cut the knot of all difficulties which have hitherto at- tended our relations with the incomprehensible empire: it is equally agreeable to justice and policy.

" We gather up the three parts of the subject, and see that they form one harmonious plan. This plan is provident at once of all the inte- rests concerned, and of those principles which it behoves the State of England to observe in dealing as well with its own subjects as with this harmless and helpless foreign nation. It takes care of the present interests of the British merchants at Canton, and of the future inte- rests of the manufacturers and shipowners of Britain : it saves the public honour at home and abroad : it averts all national rivalries and jealousies, and so tends to preserve the peace of the world : it fits and meets every difficulty of the case: it is the plan most worthy of Eng- land's name, the most creditable, the most profitable, the cheapest, and the most efficient for the great object of extending British intercourse with China. To impress it on the memory of time reader, we describe it in one short sentence : No COERCION or THE Cnixssis—Panma- DIENTARY COMPENSATION TO THE MERCHANTS-.-INSULAlt MARK ET.• PLACES NEAR THE COAST OF CHINA "