1835.] Tea Province of Fuh- kin, in China. 563 



that if in two days I got no answer to my petition for redress, the con- 

 sequences would not he imputable to me, but to their government. 

 Thev at first denied that any thing had been sent ; but finding this 

 would not do, they alleged, that the pork and fish were intended for 

 the boatmen, and the sugar-cane for the little lad that steered the 

 boat. No indication of such appropriation was made. when the things 

 were put into the boat, so that the excuse was evidently an after- 

 thought. Finding that another admiral, who had arrived in the fore- 

 noon, was of the party, Mr. Gutzlaff again expatiated on the atroci- 

 ty with which we had been treated. No attempt at defending it was 

 offered. The messenger of the Viceroy said, that the petition had 

 been sent, but he was unable to say, how soon we might expect an 

 answer. At this second meeting, Mr. Gutzlaff pointed out the 

 freedom with which Chinese subjects were allowed to follow any 

 honest avocation they chose at our settlements, and claimed, on the 

 principles of reciprocity, the accordance of similar privileges in 

 return. 



On the 16th, Mr. Gutzlaff, having found some passages of Chinese 

 law particularly applicable to our assailants, went in the evening to 

 point them out to the mandarins, and for their further consideration, 

 copied them out in their presence, and left the extracts with them. 

 Applications for provisions, and promises to supply them, were renew- 

 ed. On the 17th, a boat arrived from Fuh-chow, at 8 a. m., and was 

 received by the junks with a salute. A little after, a boat came along- 

 side, and made off again with all expedition, after leaving an open 

 note, stating that the orders of the Viceroy had arrived, and that we 

 ought to go on board the admiral to receive them. Mr. Gutzlaff 

 wrote in reply, that the person who was charged with the communi- 

 cation of the order was in duty bound to deliver it, and that we ex- 

 pected he would bring it accordingly. This was sent by the ship's 

 boat, which soon after returned with a note, stating that since we 

 were afraid to go on board the admiral's junk, they had made out a 

 copy of the order, not choosing to send the original by the young 

 man whom we had sent in charge of the boat. The half hour that 

 our boat was detained was entirely occupied in framing and copying 

 this note. The paper which they pretended to have copied in that 

 time was a roll nearly six feet in length, which could not have been 

 written in the fair style which it exhibited by the most expert pen- 

 man in less than a couple of hours. We afterwards compared it with 

 the original, and found that it was written in the same hand, and was 

 in every respect, except in the sealing, a fac-simile of the original. 

 Our second petition accompanied this copy. The intention was no 



