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Updated: June 26, 2025
The 'Furious' and 'Cruiser' arrived here safely on the 10th.... I have just accomplished the Herculean task of looking over a two-months' supply of newspapers, and this occupation, interlarded with a certain number of letters and visits to and from the Imperial Commissioners, and, to-day, an address from the British community of Shanghae, has pretty fully occupied my time.
A few years ago some Americans at Shanghae thought it a good speculation to construct a telegraph line between that city and the mouth of the river. The distance was about fifteen miles, and the line when finished operated satisfactorily. The Chinese made no interference, either officially or otherwise, with its construction.
Imagine our daring exploit of breaking through every consigne, and coming up to Yeddo, having ended in an illumination of the forts in our honour! At 4 A.M. this morning we weighed anchor, and are now some 140 miles on our way to Shanghae. The principal advantages secured to England by this Treaty, so amicably and rapidly settled, were the following:
Lord Elgin in England Origin of Second Mission to China Gloomy Prospects Egypt The Pyramids The Sphinx Passengers Homeward bound Ceylon Shipwreck Penang Singapore Shanghae Meeting with Mr. Bruce Talien-Whan Sir Hope Grant Plans for Landing.
Lay suddenly made his appearance. He had come by the mail-packet from Shanghae, with a letter from the Imperial Commissioners, announcing that the seal of Imperial Commission had been taken from Hwang, the Governor-General of this province, and given to Ho, the Governor-General of the provinces in which Shanghae is situated.
Thus we continued until the 14th, when had worked our way into the Woo-Sung or Shanghae river, where, although the breeze was favorable, the water shoaled so suddenly, that we were forced to come to, just above the village of Woo-Sung.
'If I can only conclude a treaty at Shanghae, so he wrote when starting from Canton, 'and hasten home afterwards! The place was well chosen for the purpose; not only as the most northerly of the Treaty ports, and therefore nearest to the capital, but also as the most flourishing stronghold of European influence and civilisation then existing in China.
At Hong-Kong he remained nearly a fortnight, that his ship might be fitted to go to the North: his letter for Pekin being sent on, in the meantime, to Shanghae, by the hands of his secretary, Mr. Oliphant. February 26th. To-morrow this letter goes, and still no mail from England. I think of starting in a few days, and calling at the other ports Foochow, Amoy, and Ningpo.
Dissipated too was the hope in which he had indulged, of a speedy termination to his labours; for he was met by a message from the Prime Minister, that 'no Imperial Commissioner ever conducted business at Shanghae; that a new Commissioner had been sent to Canton to replace Yeh; and that it behoved the English Minister to wait in Canton, and there make his arrangements. This, of course, was not to be thought of; and nothing remained but to move onwards towards Pekin, and apply some more direct pressure to the Emperor and his capital.
The journal continues, under date of January 20: Yesterday I took a walk through the town of Shanghae with a missionary who is a very good cicerone. We went into a good many ateliers of silversmiths, ribbon-makers, tobacco-manufacturers, carvers in wood, and the like. The Chinese are skilful manipulators, but they are singularly uninventive.
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