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native district towards the end of last year, for the purpose of organizing its population against us.
Chan-tsze-tin, who was specially invested with the charge of stopping our supplies, distributed his pickets, as far as I can gather, along the communications between Cowloon and the district city of San-on, on the left bank of the Canton river near its mouth. His success, as director of the blockade, has not been very brilliant, and his braves, in three instances at least, have been recently involved in collision with the coast population, so serious as abundantly to occupy the force at the disposal of the district authorities. It is remarkable that on two of these occasions the recusants threatened the braves that they would surrender them to the British Government.
A rough map, which will be completed to-morrow, will show your Excellency the position of the different localities referred to in my Memorandum.
The correspondence establishes, beyond doubt, that the San-on Committee, under authority, and in some cases at the dictation of the Canton Central Committee, have been parties to almost every atrocity with which we have been menaced by report, or of endeavour to perpetrate which we have been apprised.
The great junk attack which was expected, belonged to the forces of the Heung-shan and Shun-tak districts; and we find no allusion to undertakings on so grand a scale. Minor expeditions, most likely with incendiary intent, are projected. There are two allusions to the great poisoning case, but not as an event in which the San-on people took any immediate part. The accused, Cheung-alum, is a native of Heung-shan; and supposing him guilty, the San-on Committee would by no means, as a matter of course, have been advised of his design. There is no great evidence of its concert, in any measure, with jurisdiction beyond the limits of San-on.
It is clearly made out, however, that incendiary plots and assassinations were devised by this San-on Committee; attempted, and, as they believe, effected by their agents, who, when successful, were rewarded either by the San-on Coinmittee, or by the Chief Committee of Canton. Attempts known to us to have been made without success, to fire buildings and steamers, are spoken of, both before and after the fact. The firing of Mr. Duddell's store, and the seizure of the "Queen" steamer, are matters of great gratulation; so, on one occasion, is the kidnapping of foreigners, and that some must have been assassinated there can be little doubt; mention being made of more than one transmission of heads to Canton, and of the disputes regarding the amount of remuneration to be awarded the assassin.
The victims (unless corpses have been disinterred for the sake of their heads) we must assume to have been Portuguese or Manilla men, as no member of the British or American community has, to our knowledge, been missing. That Yeh, whose proclamations of reward for British subjects, dead or alive, fell into our hands very soon after the beginning of these troubles, is consulted regarding the disposal of captives, is clear from allusion to his instructions regarding the imprisonment of the eleven or twelve men surrendered to the San-on Committee by pirates.
On the expectation that we are about to treat for peace, Yeh has directed his subordinates to abstain from all more seriously aggressive measures, and to confine themselves to the stoppage of supplies. My belief is, that the expenses of his militia drive him to accept this hypothesis, and that he is glad to find an excuse for disbanding a portion of his troublesome allies.
The whole story must satisfy every one of the expediency of all precautions that have yet been taken, no less than, in my humble opinion, of the necessity of guarding against any relaxation of vigilance. The late expedition to Nam-tan will do much to check the activity of our zealous neighbour, Chan-kwei-tzih, but it would be unwise to forget the reflection of his brother, that "when the barbarians are tired of watching, a blow may be struck with certainty."
I have, &c.
(Signed) THOMAS WADE,
Chinese Secretary.
