Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Keying in the Truthful Record of Qing Dynasty

Updated February 20, 2015

This is my endeavor to list all the entries in the The Truthful Record of Qing Dynasty 清實錄 (Qing Shilu) concerning Keying. I will start with the Tao-kuang and Hsien-feng eras and afterward work backward. The result may be excessively volumeful for a single post and I would need to break it down to more than one post, will see when we get there.


道光 Tao-kuang

TK-29/3/24, 壬辰 (4/16/1849) 欽差大學士耆英等覆奏、現抵清江。面晤河臣楊以增、令其裁汰冗員。據稱黃運兩河二十三廳內。惟常鎮道屬揚運通判。工程較簡。應歸并江防廳。改為江運衕知。又丹陽縣丞、靈壁主簿、呂梁巡檢三缺。均可一并裁撤。得旨、所奏均悉。


TK-29/4/8, 丙午 (4/30/1849) 前據李星沅陸建瀛先后具奏、南漕改折。流弊易滋。諸多窒礙各等語。當交原議王大臣等會部議奏。玆據悉心核議具奏。應如該督撫所請。毋庸議折。本日適據耆英奏到。南漕暫緩改折一摺。朕詳加披閱。折漕之議。原因外省州縣折色過重。徒充私橐。轉絀正供。因力求變通。令各就往年徵糧實數。酌減徵收。期於興利除弊。既據該督等以種種格礙難行。分晰陳奏。惟恐不肖州縣。借折色之名。抑勒倍取。是便民之舉。轉致病民。亦不可不防其漸。所有各省漕糧。著准其仍照舊章辦理。毋庸分成議折。但變通既恐滋弊。守舊宜復成規。漕糧為天庾正供。不容顆粒短絀。封疆大吏。尤當激發天良。隨時整頓。嗣后務須實力徵收。全漕兌運。儻各屬有捏災注荒。及官吏私徵中飽。州縣浮收勒折等弊。必應嚴加釐剔。其不肖州縣。肆無忌憚。如敢浮收勒折。病民肥已。一經查出。即著指名嚴參治罪。毋稍姑容。該管上司儻有意存徇庇者。著一并從嚴參辦。經此次申諭之后。如該督撫等仍漫不經心。諉之於弊難周察。相率因循。或不竭力思辦全漕。任聽屬員捏報災歉。朕惟有執法從事。恐該督撫等不能當此重咎也。懍之慎之。將此通諭知之。    
又諭、耆英現在患病。所有浙江營伍。著改派劉韻珂、於本年秋冬前往認真簡閱。季芝昌、著仍遵前旨。前赴浙江會衕吳文鎔、將浙江省鹽務。及清查倉庫各事宜。悉心酌核辦理。均毋庸閱伍。  
大學士耆英因病乞假。允之。并賞人薓八兩。命俟病痊緩程來京。


TK-29/9/18, 壬子 (11/2/1849) 諭軍機大臣等、本日據徐廣縉、葉名琛、密陳英夷追溯進城約期一事。懇乞代奏。并將照覆稿底呈覽一摺。覽奏均悉。進城一事。本年春間。已據該酋照會。以后不復辯論。乃現在復以該國王函詢耆英定約。各國皆知。何以屆期又經阻止。懇將此意速為代奏。自緣進城未能如約。懷慚尋釁。加以德酋回國。必藉居功。歸怨呅翰。以致呅酋再三諄懇。其情已可概見。業經該督等酌理准情。剴切照覆。該酋自亦無可置辯。惟將來或再有所請。仍須照覆。該督等可作為已意。諭以天朝撫馭外藩。向以誠實相待。入城之舉。揆諸事勢。百姓既不相容。夷人必受重創。豈肯不以實告。況罷議進城后。貿易漸旺。已有明徵。若復申前說。則商人之裹足不前。民人之衕心共憤。又將如今春故事。該酋亦何苦自取困累耶。至前與定期。不過從俗從宜一時行權之語。日久相安。仍當以時為大。該國最重貿易。現在貨物流通。又何必仍詢前約。致令商民疑慮。諸多窒礙。天朝惟知上順天心。下從民願。以懷柔為本。斷不任民人稍事欺淩。該國亦當體會此意。安心貿易。勿生枝節。上而督撫提鎮。下而軍民人等。旁及諸國。斷無以不進城為羞辱之事。否則春間暫停貿易。各國何以將積貯貨物。全交公使。責令賠償。即此一節。可知諸國之心。亦不以進城為然也。經此剴諭之后。該夷自必就范。而闔城文武軍民。戮力衕心。屹然有不搖之勢。朕何憂乎。現在情形若何。即由驛奏來。至新領事咆靈。為人是否曉事。一切能否循理。并著該督等隨時察看。遇便具奏。將此各諭令知之。


TK-29/12/12, 乙亥 (1/24/1850) 諭內閣、朕侍奉皇太后。以天下養。二十九年。仰見壽履康強。齡躋大耋。私心慶慰。方冀延祺益算。克享期頤。昨於初七日自御園奉駕還宮。連日恭詣請安。知慈躬偶爾違和。竊謂頤養數日。即就安痊。詎意高年病勢日臻。遽於十一日申刻。仙馭升遐。銜卹哀號。痛何能極。伏念朕自聖母孝淑睿皇后慈馭上賓以來。深荷大行皇太后隆恩覆庇。私冀承歡奉養。愛日方長。今竟無由再仰懿顏。悲懷難釋。欽奉遺誥。喪服二十七日而除。朕心實所難安。仍當穿孝百日。并素服滿二十七月。稍伸哀悃。至諭以朕年近七旬。勿過悲哀。國事為重。敢不敬遵遺命。強加抑制。本日復據王大臣合詞吁懇。勉節哀思。奏請仰遵皇祖高宗純皇帝成憲。著勉如所請。每日奠醊后。仍居養心殿。所有大喪禮儀。著派惠親王綿愉、定郡王載銓、大學士耆英、尚書文慶、敬謹管理。一切應行事宜。并著詳稽舊典。悉心核議。隨時具奏。將此通諭中外知之。





咸豐 Hsien-feng

HF-5/2/25, 戊午 (4/11/1855) 諭內閣、恭親王奕等奏、訊明職官違例放債、并宗室大員、借貸屬員銀錢各情、分別定擬一摺。此案已革內管領達魁、達謹、身系職官。輒敢舉放利債。指扣兵丁錢糧。復夥衕木商、承買木植。實屬目無法紀。達魁、達謹、均著從重發往新疆、效力贖罪。所有該革員等、查封財產。及玉田縣地畝。著一并查抄入官。已革外委司泳茂、派辦木植變價。輒敢囑令木商、短寫價值。欲行侵用。著從重發往軍台、效力贖罪。已革馬蘭鎮總兵宗室慶錫、於司泳茂、承辦木植。起意詐贓。未能查出。已屬形衕聾聵。復向達魁、借用銀錢。種種乖謬。著從重發往黑龍江、充當苦差。解任工部員外郎宗室耆英、於伊子慶錫在朝陽門外。違例設立馬撥。并不阻止。復令遞送信件。實屬悖謬。著即革職。圈禁半年。仍罰養贍錢糧六個月。解任通政司參議慶賢、於伊兄慶錫、差令官弁來家。伺候劄營。違例容留。并給該弁銀物。殊屬不合。著交部議處。



Friday, February 13, 2015

Imperial Rescript (6/29/1858)

Updated February 14, 2015


Date:June 29, 1858 清文宗咸豐八年 (戊午) 五月十九日 (癸巳) [the nineteenth day of the fifth month in the eighth year of the reign of Hsien-feng]
Pertinence:Decrees Keying to ends his own life by hanging.


內閣欽奉朱諭。前據惠親王等奏、請將耆英照軍法從事。因命解京嚴訊。嗣訊具供詞。復令恭親王奕等、秉公定擬。玆據奏稱、耆英不候諭旨。糊塗冒昧。酌擬為絞監候。朝審時入於情實。所擬尚無不協。惟其聲敘獲咎之由。殊非誅心之論。不得不明白宣示。耆英以負罪之員。復加擢用。原冀其收效桑榆。於事有濟。況該員陛辭時。面奏力任其難、看奴才造化若何。似非昧良昏憒者。且於四月二十七日抵津后。即有寄諭、令其不必與桂良等附合。稍涉拘泥。俾其自展謨謀。作為第二步辦法。朕用耆英。不可謂不專。保全之恩。不可謂不厚。及桂良等奏、請令該員回京。朕料耆英斷無不知之理。尚恐稍掣其肘。寄諭、仍留津自酌辦法。耆英苟有天良。能無汗流浹背乎。詎該員拜摺后、即擅自回京。藉稱面陳機要。試問果有面陳。曷不單銜密奏。又云難於形諸筆墨。何以接奉留津之旨。又匆匆具摺。試問摺供之外。尚有何機要乎。屢次瑣瀆。不過為一首領計。況該員供摺內、非盡無可釆之語。未深悉底蘊者。尚覺情輕法重。不知所說辦法。朕與諸臣早經議及。況出諸他人則可。出諸耆英之口則不可。何則。蓋耆英乃局中人。既有所見。自可施為。豈有衕辦一事。不能補救於事前。徒有成說於事后。若謂該夷所忌。懲辦正墮詭謀。蓋耆英藉玆自白乃心。不徒盡滌前愆。且欲諉過於人。居心尤不可問。自料擅離差次。議止罷斥。正遂其身謀。優游於家。久蒙知遇。忍出此耶。且跡其心匪特此也。衕桂良、花沙納、商允照會。相對泣於窗下。朝不知夕死。不聞其恪遵前旨。另設良圖。迨去津時。與花沙納云。恐此去人心惶惑。作為因差暫離津郡。抵通接奉寄諭。又不聞趕緊折回。抽身惟恐不速。等朕旨於弁髦。處處巧詐。有意欺罔。即立與駢誅。百喙奚辭。惟惠親王等原參。未免過重。即肅順所奏。仍擬正法。亦未為是。朕之交議。正因其罪重。欲廷臣衡情酌斷。暴白於眾。若仍予正法。何必解京。又何必定擬。且謂其苟延歲月。儻以病亡獲保首領。比擬更屬不倫。此乃盜案內斷語。難妄加諸耆英。朕數日詳酌。欲貸其一死。實不可得。即照奕等所擬。朝審時必予句決。尤覺不忍棄之於市。不得已思盡情法兩全之道。著派左宗正仁壽、在宗人綿勛、刑部尚書麟魁、迅即前往宗人府空室。令耆英看朕朱諭。傳旨令伊自盡。以示朕飭紀加恩之至意。


Source: 清實錄咸豐朝實錄 (Qing Shilu, Xianfengchao Shilu) [The Truthful Record of Qing Dynasty: The Truthful Record of the Reign of Hsien-feng]]



Thursday, February 12, 2015

Imperial Rescripts

Updated February 14, 2015

ReferenceDatePertinence
I/R-12/31/183818/11/15[1]Appoints Lin Tse-hsu Imperial Commissioner to take charge of port and maritime affairs in Kwangtung.
I/R-1/3/183918/11/18Directs Lin Tse-hsu to cutoff opium supplies and eradicate all opiate establishments.
I/R-5/9/183919/3/19Instructs Lin Tse-hsu to destroy the seized opium in public.
I/R-5/25/184222/4/16Commands Keying to proceed to Kwangtung to ascertain the defense readiness of Bocca Tigris and to seek opportunity to recover Hong Kong from the British.
I/R-6/5/184222/4/27Proclaims the Emperor's resolve to suppress opium and to repel foreign invaders.
I/R-8/10/1842 22/7/5Reprimands Keying, etc. for conceding to the British in the matter of excluding Foochow-fu as a treaty port; instructs them to avoid new issues and expedite the conclusion of the treaty.
I/R-8/22/1842 22/7/17Instructs Keying, etc. to accept the heads of agreement dictated by the British save for two modifications: Foochow-fu shall not be included as a treaty port; trading between Ch'ing and the Great Britain shall remain non-governmental affairs.
I/R-9/6/184222/8/2Proclaims the Emperor's assent to the Treaty.

[1] Year/month/day of the reign of Emperor Tao-kuang.



Tuesday, February 3, 2015

The Very Peculiar Imperial Commissioner Keying and His Adopted Son, Blind Freddy

Updated February 18, 2015


Portrait of Keying, ca.1845[1]. Credit: [British] Department for Culture, Media & Sport.
Keying and his two aids Hwang Antung and Hienling arrived at Hong Kong on June 23, 1843, in HCS armed steamer Vixen, to administer the exchange of the ratified treaties on June 26. He was also to engage Pottinger in tariff negotiations which had not been included in the Treaty of Nanking but were essential for its practical implementation. These discussions would then lead to the supplementary Bogue Treaty 虎門條約 signed on October 8, 1843.

Pottinger hosted a feast at his official residence in Hong Kong to honor Keying, who attended with Hienling and Hwang. It was at this evening that the Ch'ing Imperial Commissioner had behaved in such a bizarre manner that had both impressed and bewildered his English host. Pottinger must have thought what transpired as an important piece of intelligence that he described vividly, in great detail, the somewhat eventful evening in an official dispatch he sent to George Hamilton-Gordon (4th Earl of Aberdeen), Foreign Secretary, dated July 5. 1843. Here's the extract of the letter that concerns the dinner.

[1] This portrait of Keying, commissioned by himself, was the work of an unknown Chinese painter who, according to the British Department for Culture, Media & Sport, was active between 1800 and 1899. Keying had this painting sent to Pottinger in ca.1845 as a memento. The painting was, after the passing of Pottinger, in turn kept by his son, Henry, and by Henry's daughter, Ethel Adeline, who married Henry Meysey Meysey-Thompson, 1st and last Baron Kearesborough, and by Ethel's daughter, Violet Ethel Meysey-Thompson, who married Algar Henry Stafford Howard, owner of the Thornbury Castle [whereat King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn had stayed for ten days in August 1535] and a direct descendant of Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, and by Violet's son from her first marriage, Giles Alexander Meysey Giles, Lieutenant-Colonel, British Army. Giles donated the painting to the Ministry of Works in 1960. The painting (gouache and ink on parchment), measured 250x125cm, is kept at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in Whitehall. It is unknown whether it is actually on display.


"In the evening the Imperial High Commissioner Keying came, according to his engagement, to dine with me, and after he and his two companions had made themselves comfortable by laying aside their mandarin caps and upper dresses, which is the custom at such parties in China, we sat for a few minutes in the drawing-room whilst dinner was being served. During this short period, Keying's attention was attracted to the miniatures of my family which happened to be on the table, and he desired Mr. Morrison to explain to me that he had no son himself, and therefore wished to adopt my eldest boy, and to know if I would allow him to come to China. To this I replied, that the lad's education must first be attended to, but that stranger things had happened than his seeing Keying hereafter on which his Excellency rejoined, ' Very well, he is my adopted son from this day. His name (which he had previously ascertained) shall henceforward be Frederick Keying Pottinger, and until you send him to me, after he is educated, you must allow me to keep his likeness. To this proposal I could make no objection, and I accordingly gave him the picture. Immediately after his Excellency expressed a strong wish to have Lady Pottinger's miniature also—but about giving it I made some little demur, and before the matter was either way settled dinner was announced, and we went to table. " I supposed the thing would be forgotten; but when dinner was partly over, Keying again introduced his request—said that he would send me his wife's likeness in return, and that he wanted my whole family to take back with him when he went to Nanking, and eventually to show to his friends at Peking. I felt it was impossible to refuse this flattering request, and I had the miniature brought, and put it into his hands. He immediately rose, and placed it on his head, which, I am told, is the highest token of respect and friendship—filled a glass of wine, held the picture in front of his face, muttered some words in a low voice, drank the wine, again placed the picture on his head, and then sat down. 'The whole of this extraordinary action was per- formed without apparent reference to any one being present, and formed quite a scene. He then delivered the miniature to his principal attendant, who was standing behind him, and directed him to send it home in his state chair, in which his Excellency had come to dinner, with all his official suite. Afterward he expressed his deep obligation to me for the gift I had bestowed on him, and inquired, through Mr. Morrison, what present he could send to Lady Pottinger that would be acceptable. I wished to evade giving an answer to this inquiry, and said I should think of it, and let him know next morning ; on which he asked, 'What ! am I the Governor- General of the Two Kiang, and cannot get my order obeyed !' At last, to satisfy him, I told him some piece of embroidery would be, as his gift, highly prized, and he had a memorandum made of it.

"Soon after he proposed to sing a Tartar song, which, I am told, is customary at their convivial friendly parties—and on my saying that I should be delighted to hear it, he began with a very animated and loud voice. The couplets he sung, I have since been informed, were allusive to the peace that had been concluded between the two countries, and, likewise, to his great personal friendship for me— and, at the close of it, he took a rich golden bracelet, made in the form of a puzzle, with two clasped hands, off his own arm, and put it on mine. He then explained to me that this bracelet, and its fellow, had belonged to his father, who gave them to him when he was eleven years of age—that he had worn this one for upwards of forty years, and had left the other with his wife at Peking, and that it contained his name in the palm of one of the hands in mystic characters, and that he had some friends in every part of China, who would, on my producing it, receive me as his brother. " In the course of the evening, he told me that he expected to go to Peking, in three or four years ; that he would then send for me ; that, in the mean time, I must correspond with him, whether I remained in China or returned to England; that if Taoukevang (the Emperor) saw me, he would give me a two-eyed peacock's feather, the highest honor in China, and that I had gained a great reputation and much distinction, not only in my own country, but in every part of this empire. After we rose from table, and retired to the drawing-room again, I presented his Excellency with a handsome sword and belt, which I had commissioned by Lieutenant Colonel Malcolm from England, for the purpose of sending to him, and with which he was highly pleased. He immediately buckled it on, and though it was a very warm night, and I begged him to lay it aside, he sat with it on whilst he stayed, and went to his chair of state to go home. Just before he went away, he put on my shoulders his own upper dress which, he said, was made of silk that had been given by the Emperor Kielong to his (Keying's) father when he was Prime Minister. "On the evening of the 26th the whole of the troops were out, and after the exchange of the ratifications they fired a feu de joie and marched round, the officers saluting the Imperial Commissioner, who seemed greatly struck with the whole ceremony, and expressed his admiration of the appearance and regularity of the men as to their dresses, movements, &c. We afterward sat down to dinner, a very large party, at which the Chinese high officers entered with great spirit and good feeling into the conviviality. Keying himself asked many officers to drink wine, and was asked by many, and as his Excellency had been complaining of a cutaneous disorder, it was hinted to him, by Mr. Morrison's desire, that he ought to be careful ; to which he answered—'Tomorrow must take care of itself ; I am too happy to-night.' Then, turning to me, he was about to address me in a whisper, when he suddenly seemed to recollect that I could not understand him, on which he expressed his chagrin that he could not tell me his secrets, and desired Mr. Morrison to explain to me that if he got tipsy in the joy of his heart, I must find him a bed for the night.

"When the dinner was over, I proposed a bumper toast, with all the honors, to ' the healths of the Queen of England and the Emperor of China, and that the peace which had that day been ratified between their Majesties, might be eternal,'—on drink which, the Chinese officers most warmly joined. I discovered, in the course of the evening, that Keying was a great proficient, or at least amateur, in music, and whenever the band played any particular tune, he fashioned it to some of his own native airs, and sung to it in a low voice. This led to a proposal to his Excellency to favor the company with a song, which he did immediately, with great good humor; and as Kwang and Hienlien (assistants to the Imperial Commissioner) followed their chief's example, and they all three called on different officers to sing in return, the evening passed away most jovially and agreeably; and we did not separate till a late hour. Just before we did so, the Commissioner and two Chinese officers gratified the company, by playing one of their favorite games at convivial parties, by one party rapidly throwing out his fingers whilst the other guesses at the numbers they are supposed to represent, and whoever loses drinks a glass of wine[1], a forfeit which they scrupulously enforced. On one occasion, when Keying was playing with Hienling, and the latter lost the game, he was about to have a glass, already half full, replenished, on which Keying taunted him with evading his proper forfeit, and called on him to fill a bumper."

[1] They were most probably playing a game of mora 酒令 (zauling).



Without Issue?

In the Pottinger / Aberdeen letter, Keying was quoted to have said that 'he had no son himself' and that being his reason for wanting to adopt Frederick. The fact is Keying had two sons: Qingxi and Qingxian. The elder of the two, Qingxi, was born on August 23, 1810. He was 33 years of age at the time of his father's first visit to Hong Kong. A Mandarin of associate second rank 從二品[1] , Qingxi was a Chancellor of Grand Secretariat 內閣學士 [essentially a cabinet minister] and a vice president of the Ministry of Rites 禮部侍郎. Qingxi attained his highest appointment in 1847 whereupon he was made a Mandarin of associate first rank 從一品, and Commandant of Malan County 馬蘭鎮總兵官; Malan was one of the six garrisons which guarded Peking and Tientsin, and a Minister of the Imperial Household Agency 總管內務府大臣. The second son, Qiungxian, was a lot less accomplished; he was an administrator of the Imperial Clan Court [the court that tried members of the imperial clan] 宗人府理事官 and a Mandarin of full fifth rank 正五品. [tbc]

[1] There were nine ranks 九品 in the Ch'ing bureaucracy. The first rank being top and the ninth lowest. Each rank was further divided into a sub-rank of 'full' 正and 'associate' 從.




A caricature of the procession of Keying at his November 1846 visit to Hong Kong. Unfortunately no image of his 1843 visit was found. Credit: The Illustrated London News, No. 197, Vo. VIII, for the week ending February 7, 1846.
In contrast to Pottinger's length description of the dinner, Keying's recital of his Hong Kong trip was exactly 65 words long. The following is an extract of Keying's memorial giving a brief account of his trip to Hong Kong. The extract was cited in the Imperial Rescript dated July 30, 1843.

五月二十六日。帶衕黃恩彤。咸齡。輕裝減從。即坐火輪船前往香港。接見該酋朴鼎喳、已將通商章程及輸稅事例。粗定大局。該酋極為恭順帖服。即於六月初一日回省。

On the 26th day of the 5th month, [I] went to Hong Kong on a steamer. [I] brought along Hwang Antong and Hienling; [we] traveled light and with a scale down suite. [I] gave an audience to the said chief Pottinger, and have settled on the rough framework of the by-laws for trade and the examples of the tariffs to be levied. The said chief was extremely humble and docile. [We] returned to Canton on the 1st day of the 6th month. (translated by Rudi Butt)




Blind Freddy

Susanna Maria Cook [or Cooke], Pottinger's wife whom he married in 1820, bore him three children, viz. Henrietta Maria, Frederick William and Henry. Frederick was 12 when the Ch'ing chancellor of the highest rank and of royal blood told his father he was to adopt the English [as far as Ch'ing officials of the time is concerned, anyone from the Great Britain was an English] boy as his son, and the child's name would henceforth be known as Frederick Keying Pottinger. It all sounds adventurous and exotic, but in reality, no ritual of adoption was performed since Frederick had never set foot in China. There was also no reference to Keying's notion to adopt Frederick, the Pottinger - Aberdeen letter aside, in all of the English or Chinese material I've perused. It seems that the only thing that link Keying and Frederick was their relation / association with Pottinger, and the one thing they had in common was the disastrous events which struck them in the year 1858. Keying died that year; he was ordered by his grandnephew, Emperor Hsien-feng, to end his own life by hanging. In that same year, Frederick had done squandering the entirety of the family fortune his father had left him a mere few months ago and resorted to exile himself to Australia under a false name.

A Grenadiers Officer, ca.1850.
Frederick William Pottinger was born on April 27, 1831 in Cutch (Kutch) where his father served as a colonel in the Indian Army, and later Political Resident for the district. Frederick was educated privately and he when he turned 13 years of age he was sent to England to attend Eton. It was during school years (1844-47) that he had acquired a profound interest in horse racing betting. Before long, Frederick had made himself an addictive punter, one who was spectacularly poor at the game. Meanwhile, Pottinger, clearly unhappy about the life his heir apparent was leading, purchased a lieutenant's commission for Frederick in the 2nd Battalion of the Grenadier Guards. He thought military life was the answer for his aimless gambling addict son. He was wrong. The young and dandy Lieutenant Pottinger saw no active service and was in fact stationed in London throughout his service. He was said to have more interest in punting and womanizing than soldiering. Debts amassed as bad betting continued. In 1854, four years after his entry in the British Army, Frederick sold his lieutenancy to raise cash needed to retire some of his more urgent debts. [tbc]





"China Should Legalize Opium", Said The Great Britain

Updated February 6, 2015

Henry Pottinger, on his departure for China on May 31, 1841, was given the following instructions by Henry John Temple (3rd Viscount Palmerston), Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, with regard to opium.


Palmerston's Instructions to Henry Pottinger

"It is of great importance, with a view to the maintenance of a permanent good understanding between the two countries, that the Chinese government should place the opium trade upon some regular and legalized footing. Experience has shown that it is entirely beyond the power of the Chinese Government to prevent the introduction of opium into China; and many reasons render it impossible that the British Government can give the Chinese Government any effectual aid towards the accomplishment of that purpose. But while the opium trade is forbidden by law it must inevitably be carried on by fraud and violence; and hence must arise frequent conflicts and collisions between the Chinese preventive service and the parties who are engaged in carrying on the opium trade. These parties are generally British subjects; and it is impossible to suppose that this private war can be carried on between British opium smugglers and the Chinese authorities, without events happening which must tend to put in jeopardy the good understanding between the Chinese and British Governments. H.M. Government makes no demand in this matter; for they have no right to do so. The Chinese Government is fully entitled to prohibit the importation of opium, if it pleases; and British subjects who engage in a contraband trade must take the consequences of doing so. But it is desirable that you should avail yourself of every favorable opportunity to strongly impress upon the Chinese Plenipotentiary, and through him the Chinese Government, how much it would be for the interest of the Chinese Government itself to alter the law of China on this matter, and to legalize, by a regular duty, a trade which they cannot prevent."
Source: Final Report Royal Commission on Opium, Vol. 6, 1895, p.402.


Memorandum respecting Opium, Communicated by Sir H. Pottinger to Commissioners Keying and Elepoo, and Governor- General Neuikeen.

It was my intention to have drawn up some lengthened observations on the subject of opium, in the hope that they might be respectfully laid before the the Emperor, but on referring to the instructions which were written under date the 26th of February, 1841, to Her Majesty's joint Plenipotentiaries (Admiral Elliot and Captain Elliot) by Her Majesty's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and also to those from' the same high officer which were furnished to me on the 31st of May, 1841, on my departure for China, I have found the said instructions to be so candid, so explicit, and so clear on the subject of opium, that I think I cannot pursue a better course than to have these instructions translated into Chinese, and to accompany them with such additional observations as occur to me to be likely to further elucidate the matter. I should hope that the instructions from the Principal Secretary of State cannot fail to impress on the Chinese Government the absolute impossibility of the British Government preventing the cultivation of opium in its own territories in India. Admit for a moment that it issued such an order, what would be the consequence ? Why the people who now earn their subsistence by cultivating opium in the territories of the British Government would migrate into native States, and there continue the same labor, by which an equal, or even, possibly, greater, quantity of opium would be produced. Besides this fact, many other countries, in no way subject to the Government or influence of England, produce opium, and, so long as there is a demand for it in China, it is certain to be brought. If China can prevent her subjects from buying and consuming opium, the trade in it would cease at once of itself, because no persons will bring any article for sale to a market where there are no buyers ; but as long experience has shown that the Government of China has not the power of putting down the use of opium, and is equally unable to prevent its being smuggled into the Empire, it follows that there is but one mode of disposing of this troublesome point, and that is, for the Emperor to legalize the sale by barter, and to fix a duty on it. This duty should be considerably higher than what is charged on any other kind of merchandise, but if it is made exorbitant it will be evaded by the native smugglers, in spite of all the efforts of China to the contrary. In this affair of smuggling the Empire of China is not singular. England, and all the other great nations of Europe, have long seen the hopelessness of utterly preventing the importation of various articles, and have bent to circumstances, and permitted them to be brought in on paying duties. I have observed what has been advanced in one of the High Commissioner's letters, that opium is not an esculent root, and therefore not necessary for the support of man. This is very true, but the same may be remarked of many things, and Providence has allotted most countries something that they may exchange with other countries for their produce. Wine is not produced in England, but vast quantities are brought into it from other kingdoms. Tea, and the berry called coffee, from which a decoction is made, were unknown in Europe till within a comparatively late period, and yet they are now in universal use, and of the coffee, in particular, the consumption is so great that the produce cannot keep pace with the demand. The excessive use of ardent spirits ("samshoo") is looked on with great horror and regret by the Government and people of England, and many plans have been proposed to check it. Some of them have been partially successful, but its evils are quite equal to those of opium, and yet it is not felt to be possible to prevent it altogether.

To conclude; it is my solemn and unbiased opinion, from all I have myself seen since I came to China, that to legalize the sale of opium by barter is the only remedy for the trade, unless China can stop it altogether, and that I consider to be utterly impracticable.

(Signed) Henry Pottinger
"Queen," off Nankin, August 27, 1842.
Source: Papers Relating to the Opium Trade in China, 1842-1856, Presented to the House of Common by Command of Her Majesty, London: 1857, pp.1-3.

In response, Keying, etc., sent this muting effect communication, knowing too well such an agenda could never form a part of any treaty negotiation, nor could Pottinger pursue this with his military might, not even with armed steamers and horse-drawn artillery. I was unable to find the Chinese original of the communication. Keying probably did not even report it to Peking.


Reply by the Imperial Commissioners to Memorandum on Opium.

On the withdrawal of the prohibition against opium it is not expedient at this time hastily to make any representations to the Throne. But the officers of China shall certainly be enjoined to confine their jurisdiction in that respect to the soldiery and people of the country, not allowing them to make use of it. Whether the merchant vessels of the various countries bring opium or not, China will not need to inquire or take any proceedings with regard thereto. (translator unknown)
Source: Papers Relating to the Opium Trade in China, 1842-1856, Presented to the House of Common by Command of Her Majesty, London: 1857, p.3.


TBC