and prevent such outrages, the British Government will be obliged to take the matter into their own hands.'
On receipt of this dispatch Sir John Davis lost his head completely. He thought he had an opportunity now to steal a march upon the Chinese Authorities, to take them by surprise, to occupy Canton city by a sudden descent upon it with an armed force, and then to dictate his own terms as a triumphant conqueror. He consulted Major-General G. D'Aguilar, who reluctantly yielded to the Quixotic plan. An engineer officer went secretly to reconnoitre the Bogue Forts and reported them to be practically untenanted. So a force of 1,000 men was quietly mobilized, part of Lord Palmerston's dispatch was published on fools' day, and next morning (April 2, 1847) the expedition started with three men-of-war (H.M.S. Vulture, Pluto and Espiègle) and a chartered steamer (Corsair), the latter having on board Sir John, the Major-General with his staff and the Senior Naval Officer, Captain Macdougall. In the course of 36 hours this redoubtable force, waging a private war of Sir John's upon a defenceless and unwarned foe, captured all the principal forts in the Canton River without the loss of a man and, in spite of the fire of several batteries, spiked 879 guns. On April 3, 1847, the expedition dropped anchor at Canton abreast of the factories, and disembarked the troops, to the utter amazement of Kiying and the British community. The British Chamber of Commerce sent a deputation to Sir John to inquire what it all meant, but they were told by Consul Macgregor that Sir John had expressed no wish to see them. Kiying was blandly informed (April 4, 1847) of Sir John's tiemands and next day informed by an ultimatum that, unless these were granted at the interview for which he fixed the 6th April, the city of Canton would be bombarded and taken by assault. After some hesitation, Kiying at last consented to meet Sir John Davis (April 6), and, as usual, satisfied him with empty promises. He offered to let the British community buy or rent 50 acres on Honam island if the individual owners should be willing to sell. He further offered to open Canton city to
