The London Gazette of Tuesday contained further official despatches of
Admiral Elliot and Commodore Sir J. J. Gordon Bremer, relative to the taking of •Chusan and the destruction' of Amoy forts. The sub- stance of these communications was previously known : the only par- ticulars which are more fully given refer to the attack on Amoy. It appears that Captain Bourchier, of the Blonde, attempted in vain to communicate to the authorities Lord Palmerston's letter. The flag of truce he sent was not respected. Preparations were made along the shore to oppose the landing, and batteries constructed. On the 3d of July, Captain Bourchier prepared for battle, and ran his ship within four hundred yards of the battery. He then made another attempt to com- municate with the authorities, by sending Mr. Thorn, the interpreter, in the jolly-boat, unarmed, with a flag of truce. The Chinese fired on the boat, and at the same time opened their fire on the Blonde- " I instantly," says Captain Bourchier, " hauled the flag of truce down, and. returned the tire. Our first broadside dismounted the greater part of the guns in the Eastern battery ; and the second silenced both, putting to flight the troops formed in the neighbourhood. I then confined the fire of this ship ea- tirely to the fort and armed junks, and continued until the former was iu ruins, and the latter had disappeared, excepting one, whose crew having abandoned. her, I sent an officer to throw her armament into the sea, amid set her on tire. During this affair, the neighbouring hills were crowded with spectators, and the inner harbour with trading-vessels; both of which might with equal facility have been destroyed ; but I considered that in confining the chastisement to those who luul insulted her Majesty's flag, anti outraged a law acknowledged by all civilized nations, I should best follow out your views.
"I am happy to say this service was performed without the loss of a man on board her Majesty's ship; but that of the enemy must have been severe, as the
dead were strewed upon the beach in numbers where encamped. Conceiving that any other attempt at amicable communication would be fruitless, I weighed with the evening tide, in the further prosecution of your orders."
These despatches make no mention of the excesses of the soldiers when they entered Chusan. A passage from the declaration sent by Commodore Bremer to the Chinese Vice-Admiral before the attack on the island is worth extracting—
"have the honour to iuforin his Excellency the Vice-Admiral, that they
have come here by commands of the Sovereign of Great Britain, having under Boghos Bey replies definitively, on the 26th, that the Pasha was
their orders powerful naval and land forces, for the purpose of landing and willing to rearm and victual the Turkish fleet, ready to be restored on occupying the island of Tinghae and its dependencies. the official notification from. the Four Powers which should insure to "It the inhabitants of the said islands do not oppose and resist our forces, it the Pasha the hereditary government of Egypt ; and he consented to is not the intention of the British Government to do injury to their persons send a messenger to recal Ibrahim Pasha, in the manner proposed by and property. " This measure of taking possession has become necessary from the insulting the Commodore. and unwarrantable conduct of the Canton high officers. Lin and Tang, last The following is the convention which was signed on the 21111—
year, towards her Majesty's specially-appointed Chief Superintendent Elliot, " Copy of the Convention between Commodore Aapicr, commanding the Nord
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