i l l
220
Visit'-"to 'the
Emperor’s
; ;.g©%|;tv
.em b a s sy t o ’c h in a .
| The birth-day of M Emperor y onithe^femsjs>n>* Qf
which a great number^-of' etobassacfors and tributary
princts^ wa's'iassembled^,at'Zhe-hoi) was the seventeenth
.bf September. ’ A day^wever" previohs-to
Ueenth of the same month, Was fixed’fbfcthe .particular
reception nfMie British Embassyi •
In - the':* interval,1 strdh|:of the1 presents .as had been
brought to Zhe-hol, we^hncarried todheiipabc^ethnd
*freby civil ^trfessages,- implying- tffiid- satisfaetitnc’thHy
gave TJd his Imperial Majesty, were^btdveye'dfrtd' >fihe
Embassador.’^ :
His Excellenby -likewii^paid ;PpTivU>fefVi^Jw the
Colaoy.who3ibceivfed him with fra n k ^ ^ ^ tid affability,
no longer disturbed'-by a pfendihg-Ubdtest,. ^ftd ^ithfttll
the attbBffi©h due to his rank add cfearaetei^ ^ftelHreyl|
rakexpressions bf‘ civility on both sideb and satiSfedfc'eify
answers to questions-©!; curiosity coitcWifei’gi^E-urope,
and ^particularly England, oh the* parti’bf Ho-cfeo^^'S'-
Taung, ethe- Embassador enteredr into conservation, in
Whiohr he endeavotired ib impress the Gofe© SvitfLa 'fMl
sense of the propriety and fairness’ o f thC-fia s‘t'boUdu§
and tdMK^iircerity and uprightneSs-fbf the futfefe intentions
of his Majesty towards China. He dwelt upoh-the
pacific iand benevolent maxims of hiS ^Vernnienf,' bf
which the great’cfoject was the extension of commerce
for the general benefit of mankind. He took occasion,
also to mention, as an incidental matter of information,
itekofargunteh^that-iupon therdisisplihtipn ,of the Mogul
empi§e|j|f«Hin;d'o^(ian± finhepns^qpienpe) of .internal dis,-
sensions^som&nfithe<maritiime prdvi^eS^n th^neigh-
bpurhoo^ofjtBritish^Settlemeni^fel'a'imed the protection
of their.. a*msj twhjch-was> glinted #i£l)oul 1 emoVing
the *natiiseT fcribufekrtyi pti-ncosA ,^h ntweira, still inyposSsesV
si,on of thfiir^.dagt®^^sn.b,utrthato in Qfehp^respgc.ts,- thy»
English did -notjfmls^rferiej in; the- contes^pfithe .neigfi-
bo^ingeGou'nfpies.i^The Golao gavCiiooUthc least qp,en-
ingstq ibevmore partieuiait in; the.? disa^owalfuf apiyiaid
against^h-e! peo'jplpiof Thibe'tv.t
His E^eellgnbycfoujid
d@rne|S^ and m a by-, qu alifieti. exp’ressfo Tills j in.; ron yapi n g
J» y S ?dpa¥that'a connedsianr'te|^eeb&^!eSti Britain and
Chifaai.GQ.uM^b^Wfy any- importance tostH^idattgi, CeSier
by-’the introduotionyof Euipgpajf eominoditieV$bfLwhicK
taken in barterv tthe >ngcessity..,waspri@,ti|iigl't ;i or? by the
supply^ of. cqtton, or of rice from Indifa, which some' ©f
the-iChaneseiprovinceSj werg-equallydit ta cu 11 iv,atbsp@r f pf
buJlionpof which the increase had gojaaetimesefch e inbon-i
veniehteqafiunequallydflcteasing theipricesiof theuse^1
ful or-nsmssary articles of life; orf- lastly by'&hettassisfiV
unce of' a navaldoicc. to.destroy, fih e T ha te si cub ,t h e ‘ooa's <b'
againstiwho.se: mischief Ttheisure/resbune^eiskted oT ah
internaltrcommunication by sfcf^s.^apd -/iaiaais. “Such
were the.-ayowfed' or. affected 'notionsentertained ibly’the
Chinese government, of the,s.uperiqrity drlipdependenee
^sib.to'the
Emperor?s