Gleanings from fifty years in China (1910) (14597073130)

Identifier: gleaningsfromfif00litt (find matches)
Title: Gleanings from fifty years in China
Year: 1910 (1910s)
Authors: Little, Archibald John, 1838-1908 Little, Archibald, Mrs., d. 1926
Subjects: China China -- Description and travel
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. B. Lippincott
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN



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failing theappointment by the Chinese of a plenipotentiary to makepeace ; until, at last, in 1859, the Central Governmentdecided to send a plenipotentiary to treat ; whereuponthe British Government on their side sent an envoy, withan escorting fleet, to Tientsin to meet him. The fleet fellinto a trap. Heavy guns from the Taku forts wereaccurately trained upon the channel (it was asserted atthe time by Russian help) ; Admiral Hope suffered adefeat, with the loss of four hundred men, and no settle-ment was come to. It was on this occasion that theAmerican Commodore Tatnall helped to pick up thewounded British, making use of the since famous saying, Blood is thicker than water. In the following year, the French joined with us insending an expedition to Peking. The Taku forts weredestroyed, the Peiho River was forced, Peking wascaptured, the Emperor Hien-feng fled to Mongolia, thebeautiful Summer Palace was unfortunately burned andits treasures ransacked, as punishment for Chinese treach-
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The Hua-Hua Lo at Wuchang, opposite Hankow ; one of the most beautifulpavilions in China, unfortunately destroyed by fire. To face p. 59. EX ORIENTE LUX ! 59 ery in torturing and murdering the party sent out withSir Harry Parkes under a flag of truce. In the end, afresh treaty of perpetual peace and good-will was signedby Lord Elgin and Baron Gros, on behalf of the Anglo-French, and by Prince Kung, on behalf of the Chinese.This peace has now been happily kept for forty years byGreat Britain, but was broken by the French in 1885. The new treaty stipulated for the opening of three newTreaty Ports on the Great River —Chinkiang, Kiu-kiang, and Hankow—and for three new Coast Ports in thenorth—Chef00, Tientsin, and Newchwang. The BritishGovernment now for the first time stipulated for fixedconcessions, or the setting apart of a plot of land, averagingless than a square mile, on the outskirts of the respectivetowns opened. The owners of the land upon which theseconcessions were situate