THE CHINESE WAR-EXPEDITION TO PEKIN. 59 bodies were brought up in slings passed under the armpits. As each came to earth it was unslung, wrapped in a winding-sheet, and placed in a coffin which stood by on a truck. As each was identified his name was chalked on the coffin, and it was wheeled away from the platform and delivered over to the friends who stood waiting outside the barrier. The bodies of those men who lived in the village hard by were carried there at once, and for others who came from a distance there were hearses and carts in waiting. Still, this process was slow, and in leaving the colliery to get to the railway station the path lay through long lines of piled-up coffins, some of which had already received their ghastly burden and others were standing ready for it. The coffins were made in a peculiar fashion, the head part opening out on a hinge, so that it might be readily turned back for the relatives to cast a last look on the features of the dead. Almost every cottage had a coffin, some two, one five, and one poor woman had lost a husband, five sons, and a boy whom they had brought up and educated. Most of the funerals took place on Sunday at Earsdon Church, in a piece of ground given by the Duke of Northumberland. The scene was solemn and deeply touching as the relations followed the coffins to the graves, singing the hymn commencing, "Oh God, our help in ages past." Deep sympathy was everywhere manifested on behalf of the bereaved sufferers, and by no one more than by the bereaved queen at Osborne, who directed that intelligence should be constantly conveyed to her, and whose first message said she was "most anxious to hear that there are hopes of saving the poor people in the colliery for whom her heart bleeds." On the sad Sunday of the funerals a letter, addressed to Mr. Carr, the head viewer of the colliery, by command of her majesty, was read by the incumbent of Earsdon at a large religious meeting held on the pit-head. "Osborne, Jan. 23, 1862. "The queen, in the midst of her own overwhelming grief, has taken the deepest interest in the mournful accident at Hartley, and up to the last had hoped that at least a considerable number of the poor people might have been recovered alive. The appalling news since received has afflicted the queen very much. Her majesty commands me to say that her tenderest sympathy is with the poor widows and mothers, and that her own misery only makes her feel the more for them. Her majesty hopes that everything will be done as far as possible to alleviate their distress, and her majesty will have a sad satisfaction in assisting in such a measure." There were 103 widows and 257 children left destitute, while the number of sisters, parents, and other relatives who had relied for support on those who had perished made the total 407. Her majesty had readily sent £200 towards their relief, and other subscriptions quickly followed. The large sum of £81,000 was ultimately subscribed, a fourth part of which was contributed to a fund opened by the lord-mayor at the Mansion-house. course the large coal-owners, many of the mining engineers, the Earl of Durham, the Duke of Northumberland, and others contributed largely; and the London Stockexchange subscribed nearly £1000 in a single day. Of It is necessary for a complete survey of the position occupied by England, and by the government at the period we are now considering, that we should look back for a moment to the early part of the year 1860. Public attention at that time was fixed chiefly on Italy, but we had taken a prominent part in some more distant operations, where the combined action of the French and English forces continued to support an alliance between the two nations. Our difficulties in China had not terminated with the draft of that treaty of Tien-tsin, which, as we have seen, was arranged by Lord Elgin and Baron Gros. The treaty itself was to be ratified at Pekin, within a year of the date of its signature, in June, 1858, and Lord Elgin returned to England, and his brother, Mr. Frederick Bruce, went out in March, 1859, as envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, with orders to proceed by way of Peiho to Tien-tsin and thence to Pekin. It was in fact suspected that the Chinese, who had an insurmountable objection to any foreign envoy entering Pekin, would use any excuse for delay or for the actual fulfilment of the treaty in the manner determined on. For this reason Mr. Bruce was authorized to go to the mouth of the Peiho with a naval force, and on board a manof-war, to Tien-tsin, which itself stands on the Peiho, near the confluence of several streams which flow into it, Pekin being about a hundred miles inland from the mouth of the Peiho, but connected with the river by a canal. The expedition was so ordered that Admiral Hope, who was in command of the British naval force, had sent word to Taku, at the entrance to the Peiho, to say that the English and French envoys were coming. When they reached there with the admiral and a fleet of nineteen vessels, it was found that the suspicions communicated to Mr. Bruce by Lord Malmesbury as the reason for his taking effectual means of reaching Pekin were justified. The river was closed by stakes and obstructions, the Taku forts commanding its entrance were defended by a crowd of armed men, who, in reply to the demand to let the envoys and the naval escort pass, declared that they belonged to a kind of militia, and that they had no orders from the imperial authorities, but that they would send any message from the troops to Tien-tsin and wait for the answer. On the whole it was pretty evident that Lord Malmesbury's opinions were well founded. The Chinese were repeating their peculiar tactics of hostile demonstrations and foolish prevarication, to be followed by bluster and (after they were defeated) an emphatic denial of intentional provocation. The defences of the river and of the forts at Taku, for the purpose of preventing the passage of the vessels of war and the envoys, were acts of defiance, or were regarded as such, and though it might have been possible to have taken another way to Pekin, there seems little reason to suppose that anything would have been gained by "sheering off" from Taku, either because of these preparations, or of the pre tended irresponsibility of the force which had been stationed there. Probably any such course would have been regarded by the foolishly crafty Chinese government as an evidence of actual fear. The Chinese soldiers were not cowards, they seem to have been possessed of a kind of constitutional courage, and, considering their inferiority in physique, in weapons and warlike ability, they fought bravely. They appeared to have an ineradicable impression either that we, like themselves, threatened without the intention or the ability of proceeding to extremities, or that they would be in some occult way able to prevent the incursion of barbarians beyond a certain external point of the Celestial Empire. In endeavouring to estimate the conduct of the Chinese, it is necessary to take particular account of what appears to be a strange, if only a superficial peculiarity;— that of a certain childish, one scarcely likes to say child-like, temper in relation to troubles or calamities, treating even grave misfortunes as temporary difficulties, and evading them by recurring to some possible immediate occupation rather than making them serious turningpoints of life. The Chinese character would seem to be alike shallow and simple, with a kind of contented cunning in place of wisdom, and a singular want of ability to estimate the value of a principle of truthfulness and loyalty beyond an immediate and personal loyalty tothose who by power or affection can command it. This is not the place to enter into an examination of the superficial but intricate mental characteristics of the Chinaman, which may perhaps be compared to one of those carved ivory balls with which we are familiar, as the result of years of practice in minutely following immediate processes requiring consummate skill of manipulation, but seldom developing much variety in its ingenuity. At all events both the envoys and the admiral had somewhat underrated the courage or the ability of the force at Taku. When Admiral Hope sent again to demand that the passage of the river should be cleared, the reply was that they had sent a messenger to Tien-tsin, and when an official came from Tien-tsin, after the admiral had found that OUTRAGES BY THE CHINESE ON THE ENGLISH COMMISSION. the obstructions and defences had been increased, the only object of this mission seems to have been to obtain further delay. Mr. Bruce and the French envoy concurred in asking the admiral to clear a passage for the vessels, but by that time the forts were well manned. When the gunboats approached the barriers, they were fired upon and four of them were disabled, while the vessels of the fleet got aground. An attempt to storm the forts failed, and of about 1000 English and 100 French assailants, 450 were wounded including the admiral himself and the commander of the French vessel which had joined in the attack. The attempt had to be aban-doned. Affairs had become serious, and it was determined by the governments of France and England that Baron Gros and Lord Elgin should return to carry out the treaty which they had concluded, and with a sufficient force to show that they were not to be trifled with. Sir Hope Grant was in command of the troops sent from England, and General de Montauban, afterwards known as Count Palikao, at the head of the French. There was very little further delay. The Chinese at Taku fought with some obstinacy, but were quickly defeated; the forts were taken,Tien-tsin was occupied, and the allied troops marched on towards Pekin. The Chinese government acted as it usually did, and having been beaten sought for further negotiations for the purpose of keeping the foot of the barbarian out of the capital. As usual, too, no sooner had negotiations been admitted than the Chinese forgot their recent defeat and became insolent. At all events the subordinates did. Lord Elgin had agreed that the Chinese commissioners should meet him and Baron Gros at Tangchow, a town about ten miles from Pekin, and sent thither his secretaries, Mr. Parkes and Mr. Loch, with some of the staff of Baron Gros and several English officers, to make arrangements for the interview. They were also accompanied by a gentleman named Bowlby, the correspondent of the Times newspaper. The commissioners had marked out a large space of ground to be occupied by the French and English force; but the secretaries and 61 their companions on their return from the town found that a large body of Chinese had taken possession of this ground, and that it was necessary to pass through them amidst demonstrations which appeared to be menacing. Unfortunately a squabble arose between a French officer and some of the Tartars in the Chinese ranks, and an attack was made upon the European party. Though they carried a flag of truce and it was known that their mission was to arrange a conference at the request of the Chinese themselves, about thirty of them, French and English, including Mr. Loch, Mr. Parkes, Mr. Bowlby, Mr. de Norman, Captain Brabazon, and Lieutenant Anderson, were seized and dragged off as prisoners towards Pekin. The numbers opposed to them made any attempt at resistance useless. Mr. Bowlby, Lieutenant Anderson, and Mr. de Norman were taken to Pekin and put into tents. They were directly afterwards thrown on the ground, bound hand and foot, and placed in an open courtyard, where they remained exposed to the sun and the cold for three days without food. If they spoke they were kicked or beaten, and dirt was thrust into their mouths. Irons were fastened to their necks, wrists, and ankles, and they were then thrown into rough country carts and taken away in different directions along with several of their companions who had also been captured. Some of them were shut in cages or prisons, and loaded with chains; the wrists of others were tightly bound with cords till the torture became unbearable. Lieutenant Anderson's sufferings were dreadful. He became delirious and died. Mr. de Norman and Mr. Bowlby also succumbed to the barbarous treatment they received. Mr. Loch and Mr. Parkes were bound, their arms behind them, and taken before the Chinese commander-in-chief and other officials, on approaching whom they were thrown down on their knees; they were then taken, half dead with pain, heat, thirst, and fatigue, before a Chinese secretary of state. They were deprived of their papers, letters, and watches, and then they were again roughly forced into a cart and driven to Pekin, a journey which lasted seven hours, during which only a small quantity of water was given them. Arriving at nightfall they were taken to a small dimly lighted room in the "hall (or board) of punishment," a room from the walls of which hung chains and implements of torture. Again they were forced on their knees before a mandarin. Mr. Loch, who did not speak Chinese, was cuffed, kicked, and ill treated for not answering questions. Mr. Parkes, who could reply, was served in the same manner on the accusation that he gave lying answers. Both gentlemen were then removed to the common jail, a long barn-like building with grated windows, where the prisoners were half naked, filthy, savage-looking wretches, the worst class of criminals loaded with chains. Here they were chained by their necks to a beam over their heads in such a manner that they could just lie down to rest on a hard board. Provided with only a little coarse food they were kept in this condition for several days. They were eventually restored; but of the twenty-four of their companions who were seized, thirteen died of the horrible usage they had received. Those who survived continued to suffer much from the effects of torture and privation, and it is doubtful whether any would have been released had not Lord Elgin refused to negotiate till the prisoners were returned, and if at the same time the allied armies had not been at the very gate of Pekin and ready to storm the city. Not till the city was surrendered and the French and English flags floated on its walls did the envoys hear of the atrocities by which so many of those who went to prepare pacific negotiations had been killed, and when the truth was discovered, and the suffering survivors brought the evidence of their altered appearance before their countrymen, Lord Elgin could scarcely have allayed the fury of the troops if he had not at once determined as a signal act of punishment to burn and utterly destroy the magnificent Summer Palace of the emperor. Much regret was expressed afterwards by some who regarded the act as an unnecessary piece of vandalism; but it was at any rate better than the vengeance of indiscriminate slaughter would have been, and probably conveyed a more signal lesson of stern retribution to people who had assumed that the place was in a sense sacred, and who knew that it contained the accumulated treasures of the emperors of China. The so-called palace was in fact a series of remarkable buildings, occupying a kind of pleasure-park surrounded by beautiful scenery, and with mountains on one side of the inclosure. An eye-witness afterwards declared it would be impossible to convey any adequate idea of the quaint luxury and magnificence of the place. After having traversed the first palace, occupied chiefly by the throne-room, the visitor entered the park, beautifully planted, and containing watercourses, lakes, kiosks, and pagodas in every variety, while no fewer than thirty buildings at some distance from each other formed the suite of palaces, of which the one painted a red or "lake" colour was the actual residence of the emperor, "the brother of the sun and moon." The exterior walls were of this colour, but ornamented with gold and rich fantastic carving. Here had been collected by the "celestial" emperor his treasures of art, suites of porcelain, flowered vases, jars, and ornaments of jadestone, ivory carvings, watches, clocks, gems, gold and silver ingots, necklaces of pearls, and other jewels. Prince Kung, the brother of the emperor, who was in communication with Lord Elgin, and had shown considerable sagacity in his efforts to prevent further outrages on the prisoners and to renew reasonable negotiations, was informed that no representations would prevent the destruction of this palace as an act of signal retribution. It was understood that it would first be given over to pillage, and the French troops appear to have had the start of our men in this magnificent opportunity for "looting." The treasures acquired by some of them were afterwards referred to as being almost fabulous. Watches, jewels, rare works of art were, it was said, sold for very small sums. It may be remembered that a Captain Negroni, a year or two afterwards, had an exhibition at the Crystal Palace of jadestone vases and other ornaments and valuables which he had acquired from the soldiers after the looting of the Summer Palace, and stories were afterwards told of a magni SYRIA-DRUSES AND MARONITES. ficent diamond necklace which found its way through the hands of the French commander to the palace of the Tuileries. It may be mentioned that among the curiosities collected in the building were a presentation watch set with diamonds, several pictures and portraits of the time of Louis XIV., and some pieces of Sevres china. The contents of the Pekin treasury were said to be worth £6,000,000, but this was probably a fancy estimate, and indeed the articles, except actual gems and gold and silver, could scarcely be valued; but it is certain that the French soldiers took possession of considerable treasure, and that our men had some booty though they did not obtain an equal share. So far as the objects of art were concerned it was believed that those which were destroyed were nearly equal in value to the whole of the property that had been pillaged, for the day after the place was sacked a party of soldiers armed with clubs went through the building smashing mirrors, gorgeous screens, painted panels, and everything of a fragile kind that remained. This was in revenge for the treatment experienced by the prisoners. The palace was then burned down, and any remaining portions were levelled to the ground, for it was said to have been within its precincts that some of the captives received the grossest indignities. The sentence was sternly executed, and a monument was set up with an inscription in Chinese saying that this destruction of the imperial palace was the reward of perfidy and cruelty. Had Lord Elgin demanded the surrender of those concerned in the outrages on the French and English captives any number of victims would doubtless have been handed over to him, consisting of wretches ignorant of the whole transaction and innocent of having taken any part in it. There was no security that the real culprits would be punished, and the satisfaction of vengeance by mere massacre would have been revolting. This was the reason assigned for the destruction of the Summer Palace at Pekin, and it was well founded. The allied troops had entered the capital through the great gate named "Tranquillity," and the place was at their mercy. 63 It was neither so large nor so magnificent a city as had been believed, and though, by the terms of the convention which was promptly concluded, France and England were to have representatives residing there either permanently or occasionally as they might choose, there was little advantage in that arrangement except to show that China would be open to both countries. Tien-tsin was to be open to foreign trade and foreign residents. In addition to a large indemnity, the Chinese agreed to pay compensation to the prisoners who had been maltreated and to the families of those who had died from their injuries. At the time that the English and French troops were completing the military and diplomatic victory at Pekin, intelligence arrived at London and Paris that some serious outbreaks in Syria demanded immediate intervention. The Druses, a fierce and fanatical sect inhabiting the chain of the Libanus, had for some time previously been harassing the Maronite Christians whose villages occupied the adjacent country, and they had now made a series of attacks ending in the burning of the houses and the massacre of a large number of people accompanied by acts of horrible barbarity. Between these people and the Maronites there had been unceasing disputes, in which the Turkish authorities stationed in the villages or at Beyrout and Damascus seldom interfered and certainly never gave efficient protection to the Christians. It was now declared, and was afterwards pretty well proved, that they encouraged the Druses in their atrocities even if some of the Turkish soldiers did not take part in them. The Druses were, of course, not Christians; but their religion was not accurately known. They were a fierce remorseless tribe under the government of an emir and various chiefs, and occupying a territory as far south as the source of the Jordan, and to the north part of the Libanus and the latitude of Tripoli. They spoke Arabic, and their capital was Deir-el-Kamar in a valley on the west slope of the Libanus. It was supposed that these people were originally followers of Hakem-biamr-Illar, the sixth Fatemite Caliph of Egypt, who, in the eleventh |