We have been favoured with the following extract from a private: letter from Foochow (dated 2id June), written by a gentleman who recently left-Shanghai We arrived in duo time on Tuesday morning, to find the Pagoda 'Anchorage Custom-house in a state of siege. 'It apa pears that when the Quantun was hero some woaks ago, one of the Customs officers, Mr. Lo' Brotton, seized: about $1,800 worth of smuggled opium. The smugglers swore vengeance, and whicn t Douglas arrived last Thursday, Mr, Bloc lock was put on board to keep watch, with instructions to. allow no boats to come alongside during the night. "About one in the morning, two or three snake. be went alongside the Douglas, and wore ordered by Mr. Blacklock to keep away. 'They refused to do 0, and he went: to got his revolver. He fired one chamber over the heads of those in the boats, when the fire was instantly returned.' Ho fired three other chambers, killing one man and wounding another. The engineer of the Douglas came out to soo what the firing was about, and was just in time Blac'dock fall stone ud, shot through chi firearms, with which they fired.right in to the crows of the boats, killing some-and ing others. 'The' boats than' wa away, and the men landed to attack 1 Custom-house, but, nobody of nativer lod by Europeans repulsed them. At the p sent inoment, tho Custom-house is guarded by several hundred mon, all in a atate of excitement. The smugglers have offered $600 for Lo Brotton's hond, $400 for that Of a friend of his, and'§5,000 for Captain Bisboe's, the harbour-massier."
Mr. Lo Bretton, who is now in Shanghai, confirma the statements contained in above letter, and says that, on ite being known that Ils, 600 were offered for his life, Mr. Hart Ug; 1) Was "kept onptive until the day after Blacklock was shot, when he was sent back to glers ed him his parents unharmed, He
asked him if he thought if Lo Brotton were taken, he could pay the value of the opium he lind seized, $1800, ae a ransom. The instructions gi the Viceroy to sent to guard @ Custom-house and i ing, the $000 tronpa ish the smugglers, were to destroy i and cot the site into fields. No n having done had, however, been received when the Dragon left,. Before the arrival despatched Mr. Harwood, ithe instructor the troops, the Arenal suthoritie of gunnery, with twenty armed seamen of the Chinese corvette Yanghoo, and nine Mandarin gunboats, to assist in protecting the Custom-house, an attack on which was hourly expected.' On the same night.as fray between the snake boats and the Douglas, ten on twelve other snake boats were seen making for a water-pass, of wide creek, leading up: to the glore' villa d it "was open! to be their intention to muster 1, men, and then return to the attack of the Custom house. They ascertained, however, the precautions taken for. its sect and deferred their intention, the arrival the soldiers afterwards effectually putting a stop to it, That the promptitude wit which the troops were despatched to the scene prevented further bloodshed seems
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.