Nothing can be more just or statesmanlike than the principles enunciated in this despatch. It isin thorough accordance with the obligations of International Law. But the intercourse between nations implies a power as well as will to fulfil mutual obligations, Has the Central Government at Pekin that power? We ourselves distrust it by withdrawing British subjects from the control of the judicial courts in China, which we could not do in Europe. But we have painful experience of the inalfility or want of will of the Central Government. to fulfil its engagements. Our Ambassadors—Lord Elgin, Sir Frederick Brace, and Sir Rutherford Alcock—have equally testified to this. According to Sir Rutherford Alcock, references to Pekin to redress grievances would simply be to ' beat the air." On the 5th of June, 1863, Sir Frederick Bruce addressed the following despatch to Prince Kung:—"Tam greatly dissatisfied with the general disregard of treaty provisions manifested at the ports, contrary to the policy and the custom of the British Government. I, on my on responsibility, authorized the interference of Her Majority's forces in tue Taeping rebellion, thereby avertin the destruction of the Imperial authority, and I had hoped tempt would be made to organize a competent ex-but these expectations have not been realized, and at several of the ports the treaty is daily broken; and able (0 enforce a better order of things. The orders went by the Central Government, if not unwilling, shows itself un-the Foreign Board are not carried out, cither because the local authorities do not stand in awe of the Foreign Board, or because they do not belicre that the Board issues them in Have matters improved since June, 18632 On the contrary, Sir Rutherford Alcock, in his letter to Lord Stanley, Sth February, 1869, says—Hitherto the course of affairs has been only too truly described by the memorialists from the ports. When any tseng or injustice ie suffered by a foreigner for which there is no appeal to a public court of justice, and a written code of lsws—if the Chinese local authorities are not moved, as is too often the case, by the Consul's representation, the only resource is " reference to tha Minister at Pekin, and then commences an interminable series of references backwards and forwards, a succession of correspondence on both sides between the ports and the capital, and no final solution is ever arrived at. It may safe ly be affirmed that such is the common experience of all foreign representatives. T am assured there is no one of these who cannot point to
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.