Identifier: chinasopendoorsk00wild (find matches)
Title: China's open door; a sketch of Chinese life and history
Year: 1900 (1900s)
Authors: Wildman, Rounsevelle, 1864-1901
Subjects:
Publisher: Boston, Lothrop Publishing Company
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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y, there being no alter-native, 20,283 chests of opium were handed overto Lin; but every concession made by the Euro-peans for the sake of trade only brought with itfresh humiliation. After obtaining the opiumand partially destroying it, the wily Lin over-reached himself in demanding that sixteen of theleading merchants should be turned over to him forpunishment for having engaged in illegal trade. The English declined, and left Canton in abody for jNlacao. Here, however, they found thatthey were unwelcome guests; and on the 26thAugust, 1839, they, with all they possessed, de-parted for the rocky, inhospitable, pirate-investedisland of Hong Kong. This was, however, goinga step farther than Lin had intended, as he hadno wish to actually lose the lucrative Englishtrade. He promptly entered into negotiationswith Elliot for the return of the obstinate barba-rians to Canton, where it would be easier forhim to squeeze them to his hearts content.The English were foolishly about to consent to
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BATTLE OF CHUNPL 151 return, when Lin again overreached himself byinsisting that the English merchants should signa bond consenting to come under Chinese law,and to be tried and punished by it. On receiptof Elliots refusal, he and his fugitive colony wereordered to leave Chinese soil within three days.Having nowhere to go, they decided to once moreappeal to arms. An engagement took place be-tween Lins fleet of war-junks and fire-ships andH. B. M.s Volage and Hyacinth on Novem-ber 3, 1839, at Chunpi, in which the Chinese werebadly worsted. Lin was in no way shocked atthe result, but immediately placed a price uponElliots head. By this time the English govern-ment at home had discovered that if it ever in-tended to do anything to protect its interests inChina, it must commence at once or give up thestruggle. In 1841 Sir Gordon Bremer blockaded Canton,occupied Tinghai on the island of Chusan, andthen proceeded to the mouth of the Peiho, whereCaptain Elliot was met by Kishen, the imperial

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