Chap. VTI. CHARACTER OF THE REBELS. 



127 



and who suffered the greatest obloquy when " pnL- 

 lic opinion " changed. 



Public opinion, when by this is understood the 

 inteUigence of a people, is generally correct ; and 

 it is difficult to account for the errors of the Shang- 

 hae community, more particularly when it is consi- 

 dered that it consists of men of education and sound 

 common sense. The supposed Christian character 

 of the Kwang-si rebels had no doubt a tendency to 

 interest and captivate, and perhaps the corrupt 

 nature of the present government of the empire 

 might make many wish for a change. But what- 

 ever the main body of the rebels at Nanking 

 might be — and the visits of foreigners to that 

 camp had been too few and brief in duration to 

 enable them to form a correct estimate of their 

 politics and religion — there surely could be no 

 doubt as to the character of those who claimed 

 connexion with them in Shanghae. ^ nd add to 

 this, that there was but one opinion regarding 

 them shared by all respectable Chinese in this 

 part of the country — and that was that they were 

 nothing more than thieves and robbers — and one 

 wonders still the more. 



For more than a year this band held possession 

 of the ancient city of Shanghae. A large force 

 was sent against them by the government, and 

 encamped at various points round the city- walls, 

 and at a safe distance from the ramparts. The 

 object of the Imperialists appeared to be not so 

 much to drive them out by hard fighting as by 



