428 



THE POLICY WHICH OUGHT Chap. XXII. 



the difficulty would just be the same as it was 

 then, but ere that time another officer would have 

 to deal with it, and he himself would get the 

 credit of duping the English out of the city of 

 Canton. 



I must confess that the arrangement we made 

 at that time took me completely by surprise. 

 Having a pretty good knowledge of the Chinese 

 character I knew perfectly well that at the end of 

 two years we would be as far from the city of 

 Canton as ever we had been, and the events 

 which have taken place since that time have 

 proved the correctness of the opinion which I 

 then formed. 



Not only have we allowed ourselves to be out- 

 witted by Chinese commissioners but we have 

 suffered much in the eyes of the people of China 

 by first making these demands and then allowing 

 them to be evaded. It may be all very well to 

 say that we did so from compassion for a weak 

 power, or semi-civilized nation ; the Chinese, full 

 to the brim of self-conceit, put it down to fear. 

 "With a nation like the Chinese our demands 

 should be well considered before they are made, 

 but once we have made them they ought to be 

 enforced. 



Were the city of Canton open to-morrow few 

 persons would ever visit it except for the purpose 

 of calling upon the officers of government. The 

 finest streets and shops are all outside the walls, 

 and the city itself, from all accounts, possesses but 



