Chap. XXII. 



TO BE PUESUED. 



431 



is now absolutely necessary for ns to carry it 

 through until our relations are placed upon a 

 firm ^lid satisfactory basis. It may seem fair 

 and plausible for persons ignorant of the Chinese 

 character to talk of justice and humanity — fine 

 sounding words no doubt — but totally inapplicable 

 to the present state of things. Suppose we were 

 now to go down on our knees to Commissioner 

 Yeh, acknowledge our fault, crave forgiveness for 

 the past, and promise to behave better for the 

 future, what would be the result ? Is it to be 

 supposed for one moment that this worthy func- 

 tionary would view such conduct in a proper 

 light, or that the thousands of Chinese under 

 his rule would give us credit for the feelings 

 by which we were actuated ? Most assuredly 

 not. The " barbarians," or the " foreign devils," 

 would be again accused of fear, or, what is worse, 

 of cringing to the Cantonese in order that our 

 trade might be allowed to be carried on. By 

 such a proceeding we should place ourselves upon 

 the top of a mine which might be sprung at any 

 time. There would be no security for life or 

 property in Canton, and eventually a war would 

 be forced upon us more disastrous than what may 

 happen at the present time. 



In order, therefore, to be humane in the strictest 

 sense of the term, to prevent future war and 

 bloodshed, to give the Cantonese a true estimate 

 of our character, to render the lives and property 

 of our countrymen secure, and to prevent those 



