C H 
fend yards above the furface of the Yellow Sea. At a 
fmall diftance from the towering rock above defcribed, 
through a recefs of mountains, the valley of Zhe-hol, the 
fumme'r retreat of his imperial majefty, opened to view. 
The embafly proceeded in due order to Zlie-hol, was re¬ 
ceived there with military honours, and conducted to a 
lliite of edifices, connedled to each other by iteps of gra¬ 
nite. They were fpacious and convenient, commanding 
a view of the town, and part of the emperor’s park. The 
imperial garden, the palaces, and the temples, lituated 
immediately beyond the town, exhibited at once a pleat¬ 
ing fcene of grandeur and magnificence. 
Soon after the ambatfador’s arrival, he was vifited by 
two mandarins of rank, with polite greetings from his 
imperial majefty; and by another mandarin on the part 
of the great colao or prime minifter, Ho-choong-taung. 
The legate called the lame day, and, without offering the 
fmallell: apology, delivered back to his excellency, open, 
the memorial refpedting the ceremony of reception, which 
had been entrufted to him lealed, under the promife of 
tranfmitting it to Ho-choong-taung. The legate infi- 
nuated that he had kept the memorial in his own pof- 
feflion, though it was a known fadl it had been forwarded 
to Zhe-hol, and its coutents approved. This change of 
fentiment was fuppofed to have been effected at the infti- 
gation of the viceroy of Canton, recently arrived at Zhe- 
hol from Thibet, where he had commanded the Chinefe 
troops. He was a declared enemy to the Englilh, and 
reprelented them as a reftlels, enterprifing, and danger¬ 
ous, people. The colao was induced to believe it defina¬ 
ble, that the homage of vaflals to the emperor fhould be 
performed by the ambaflador, without any return of the 
independence of his own fovereign. Upon this ground, 
his excellency’s memorial to the court was not to be 
avowed, and, of courfe, no anfwer returned; and a firm 
opinion was entertained, that when the ambaflador fhould 
be introduced into the prefence of the emperor, he could 
not avoid making the accuftomed profternations without 
annexing any condition. Before his excellency, then, 
fhould make his appearance at the palace, it became in- 
dilpenfably neceflary to have an eclaircifiement of the 
bulinels. The colao, indeed, had requefted an imme¬ 
diate conference with the ambaflador, to learn the pur¬ 
port of his majefty’s letter to the emperor. But, inde¬ 
pendent of indilpofition, other motives would have in¬ 
duced him to decline the vifit ; and it was determined 
that fir George Staunton, fecretary to the embafly, fhould 
be lent in his Head, with a copy of the king’s letter, and 
the memorial returned by the legate. As by the etiquette 
of the Chinefe court, no fecretary can hold converfe with 
the prime minifter, nor even fit down in his prefence, re- 
courfe was had to the commiflion of minifter plenipo¬ 
tentiary, granted to the fecretary, in cafe of abfence or 
indilpofition of the ambaflador; and in this charafler he 
waited on the colao. This vizier of China had been 
raifed, about twenty years before, from an obfcure birth, 
and from the humble ftation of one of the guards of the 
palace gates, to the dignified ftation which, under the 
emperor, delegated to him the whole power of the em¬ 
pire. On entering the audience-room, the colao was 
found fitting upon a platform covered with filk, between 
two Tartar and two Chinefe mandarins of ftate. A. chair 
was brought for the Englifh minifter, but the legate, and 
feveral other mandarins, and the interpreter, flood the 
whole time. The colao having formally demanded the 
objedl of the Britifh embafly to China, he was referred to 
his majefty’s letter to the emperor, a Chinefe copy of 
which was handed to him, and read. It commenced 
with complimenting the emperor of China, by ftating, 
that “ the natural diipofition of a great and benevolent 
ibvereign, fuch as his imperial majefty, whom Providence 
had feated upon the throne for the good of mankind, 
was to watch over the peace and fecurity of his domi¬ 
nions; and to take pains for difierninating happinefs, 
virtue, and knowledge, among his lubjefis, extending 
Vol. IV. No. 213. 
[ N A. • 48s 
the fame beneficence, with all the peaceful arts, as far as 
he was able, to the whole human race.” That his Bri¬ 
tannic majefty, “ imprefl'ed with fuch fentiments, from 
the very beginning of his reign, when he found his 
people engaged in war, had granted to his enemies, after 
obtaining vidlories over them in the four quarters of the 
world, the bleflings of peace, upon the moft equitable 
conditions:” that, “ fince that period, not fatisfied with 
promoting the profperity of his own fubjefits in every 
refpeft, and beyond the example of all former times, he. 
had taken various opportunities of fitting out (hips, and 
fending in them fome of the moft wile and learned of his 
own people, for the difcovery of diftant and unknown 
regions; not for the purpofe of conqueft, or of enlarging 
his dominions, wdiich were already lufficiently extenfive- 
for all his wilhes, nor for the purpofe of acquiring wealth, 
nor even for favouring the commerce of his fubje&s; 
but for the fake of encreafing the knowledge of the ha¬ 
bitable globe, of finding out the various productions of 
the earth ; and for communicating the arts and comforts 
of life to thofe parts, where they had hitherto been little, 
known : and,” that “ he had fince lent vefiels, with ani* 
mals and vegetables moft ufeful to man, to ifLnds and 
places where, it appeared, they had been wanting:” that 
“ he had been ftiil more anxious to enquire into the arts, 
and manners of countries, where civilization had been 
improved by the wife ordinances and virtuous examples 
of their fovereigns, through a long feries of ages; and 
felt, above all, an ardent wilh to become acquainted with 
thofe celebrated inftitutions of his Chinefe majefty’s po¬ 
pulous and extenfive empire, which had carried its prof¬ 
perity to fuch a height, as to be tb.e admiration of all 
furrounding nations.” That “ his Britannic majefty 
being then at peace with all the world, no time could be 
fo propitious for extending the bounds of friendfnip and 
benevolence, and for propofing to communicate and re¬ 
ceive the benefits which mull refult from an unreierved 
and amicable intercourfe between fuch great and civili¬ 
zed nations as China and Great Britain.” With this 
letter the colao leemed highly gratified : upon which fir 
George Staunton laid before him the ambaffador’s me¬ 
morial ; of which, however, he afreCted to be ignorant, 
although he was prepared to make objections to the pro- 
pofal it contained; which objections being anlivered in. 
a manner that had been pointed out by his excellency, 
the conference ended in the wilh, that the colao’s reafons 
might be communicated to the ambaflador, for his fu¬ 
ture conflderation. 
The next day, the legate and two other mandarins 
paid an official vifit to the ambaflador, on the part of the 
colao, and prefled him to give up the point in queftion. 
They reprelented the proltration as a Ample unmeaning 
ceremony, when done towards the emperor, but a fimilar 
one towards his Britannic majefty as of the moft ferious 
import; and as hints of perlbnal inconvenience were 
thrown out, 5 h default of unconditional compliance, his. 
excellency took that opportunity of declaring, how much 
his fenle of duty to his fovereign exceeded his fenfe of 
danger* that there mull either be a reciprocity of cere¬ 
mony, or that fome ftriking charaCterifticlhould be elta- 
blilhed whereby to diftinguilh between a compliment 
paid on the part of a great independent fovereign, and 
the homage performed by tributary princes; elpecially as. 
already it had been endeavoured to confound them by 
giving the name of tribute to the Britilh prefents, as ap¬ 
peared by the infcriptions placed upon the flags by the 
Chinefe. Not being, perhaps, aware that this circum- 
llance was known to the ambaflador, they were forced to 
admit the propriety of the propofal; and they alked, 
how far confident with his duty, and in what manner, 
different from that of the vaflals, he could teflify his per- 
fonal refpeft to his imperial majefty ? His excellency re¬ 
plied, that on approaching his own fovereign, to whom 
he was bound by every bond of allegiance and attach¬ 
ment, he bent upon ohe knee 5 and that he was willing 
6 G ta 
