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and thus he became very useful by supers'eding the necessity of em- 

 ploying native interpreters, in whom (principally from the fear which 

 they had of the local authorities) much confidence could not be 

 placed. While residing in China, he made several translations from 

 the Chinese ; the principal, and that a work of great importance, 

 being the ' Ta Tsingleu-lee,' or Chinese penal code. This last was 

 published in the year 1810. Other translations of much interest, 

 though of inferior importance to this, have been published since. 



In the year 1816 a second embassy was sent to China, the late 

 Lord Amherst, Sir Henry Ellis, and Sir George Staunton being ap- 

 pointed joint Commissioners of Embassy. An account of the pro- 

 ceedings of this Embassy has been published by Sir Henry Ellis. 

 Sir George Staunton, however, printed his private journal, and dis- 

 tributed copies of it among his friends. 



After his return to England, Sir George Staunton purchased a 

 house and landed property in Hampshire, where he afterwards re- 

 sided during a part of every* year. For some time he had the honour 

 of representing South Hants in Parliament. He afterwards repre- 

 sented Portsmouth, and continued to do so until he resigned the 

 charge a very few years before he died. 



After his being finally re-established in England, he occupied him- 

 self but little with the pursuits of his early life ; though it may have 

 been partly his knowledge of botany that led him to lay out an ex- 

 tensive garden, with numerous hothouses and conservatories, full of 

 the rarest trees and plants. 



Although his life was prolonged until he had entered on his 79th 

 year, he was always of a delicate frame, and not capable of great 

 physical exertion. Others observed in him a certain shyness and 

 awkwardness of manner, of which his peculiar education affords an 

 adequate explanation. But with this he on various occasions dis- 

 played great moral courage and determination. Many instances of 

 this might be quoted, but one will be sufficient. On the occasion of 

 the second embassy, the Chinese Court refused to receive it unless the 

 ambassadors performed the ceremony of the Kotou before the 

 Emperor. Lord Amherst and Sir H. Ellis wished that they should 

 do so, but Sir George was so satisfied that it would be regarded by 

 the Chinese as an act of humiliation, and something like the homage 

 paid to a feudal lord, that he positively refused his consent. The 



