In exact fulfilment of our prediction on the 13th instant, and in spite of the popular incredulity noted by us on the 18th, a sharp naval engagement line taken place between the French and the Chinese fleets, in which the latter, might have been expected, suffered sore rely. The loss of the Ch'éng-ching and the Yii-yuen will be seriously felt, and will, we should hope, bring forcibly home to the Chinese the conviction how useless it is to attempt to cope with an enemy unless provided with applinnoes the absence of which on this occasion contributed so considerably to the dis" aster, There can be no doubt, we should think, that the Chinese fought bravely, and made a creditable resist. anoa; but they were beaten, and their position today is so much weaker than it was before. Nor is it very difficult to conjecture whint view will be taken of the affair in Peki Unless the Chinese Admiral,.with Unntobarming natueté which di ishes Chinese comma ere, claims a victory, and ncoounta for the loss of the destroyed gunboats in a may that shall represent the disnater as something rather redounding to his own ored.t than otherwisemfor the ingenuity of the Chinese in such matters is uurivalled—the authorities in Poking are, we should say, not unlikely to ask whether their orders respecting the relief of Keelung Lave been carried out; and, if not, why noth That an effort was to be made to ruse the blockade of Formosn is generally under stood to have been the case; intend of which, the Chinese Admiral appears to Lave been doing all be can since the Squadron left Shanghai to evade the French fleet, which had to chevy the enemy worth and south for several
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.