112 Kenneth S. Latourette, 



cern deeply the imperial government, both because of the drain 

 of specie it was causing and of the disastrous effect of the drug 

 habit upon the Chinese people. Attempts to enforce the law 

 became more frequent and finally resulted in determined action. 

 Early in December, 1836, some opium w^as seized while being 

 landed and trade was suspended. The coolies who were handling 

 the drug declared that it came from the American ship "Thomas 

 Perkins," Talbot, consignee, and that they had been sent by Innes, 

 a British merchant. The governor-general ordered the co-hong 

 to expel Talbot and Innes. Talbot replied that the vessel had 

 brought nothing but rice, and when Innes confirmed this state- 

 ment, the case against the former was dropped, and the latter left 

 the city. In the meantime the authorities determined to make an 

 example of a convicted native opium dealer. They first attempted 

 to execute him at the foot of the American flagstaff, but the 

 foreigners forcibly interfered, and the punishment was carried 

 out in another street. As a result of the incident, the American 

 consul struck his flag,^^ and wrote to the Secretary of State : "I 

 have on deliberation, resolved not to set ... . [it] .... 

 again until the receipt of orders from you to that effect, or 

 circumstances should make it proper to do so."^^ 



More important events were to follow. Late in 1838 the 

 emperor appointed Lin Tse-sii special commissioner with the 

 task of stamping out the entire opium traffic. Lin reached 

 Canton March 10, 1839, and at once took drastic measures to 

 carry out his instructions. His plan was nothing less than to 

 destroy all the opium then in stock, and to induce the foreigners 

 to give bonds to cease to import it. To compel the delivery of 

 the opium, Lin caused all the foreign trade to be stopped (March 

 19), and the foreign merchants in Canton to be held in their 

 factories as hostages, to be deprived of all servants, and to be 

 shut off from all communication with their shipping and the 

 outside world. ^* The imprisonment lasted from March 24th to 



^^ Ch. Repos., 7:437-456 gives a full account of this trouble. 



" Consular Letters, Canton, II. 



"W. C. Hunter. Journal of Occurrences during Cessation of Trade at 

 Canton. Ms. in the Boston Athenaeum. Gideon Nj'e, Peking the Goal, 

 Canton, 1873, p. 14. Letter of S. W. Williams, Apr. 3, 1839, Life and 

 Letters of S. W. Williams, p. 114. 



