religious mystery. … The commanding feature of the ceremony was that calm dignity, that sober pomp of Asiatic greatness, which European refinements have not yet attained. … Thus have I seen 'King Solomon in all his glory.' I use this expression as the scene recalled perfectly to my memory a puppet show of that name which I recollect to have seen in my childhood, and which made so strong an impression on my mind that I then thought it a true representation of the highest pitch of human greatness and felicity."
At a later period the visitors participated in the solemn ceremonies incidental to the celebration of the Emperor's birthday. The Emperor did not show himself on the occasion, but remained behind a screen where he could see what was taking place without inconvenience. At first there was slow music. "On a sudden the sound ceased and all was still; again it was renewed and then intermitted with short pauses during which several persons passed backwards and forwards, in the proscenium or foreground of the tent, as if engaged in preparing some grand coup de theatre. At length the great band struck up with all their powers of harmony, and instantly the whole Court fell flat upon their faces before the invisible Nebuchadnezzar, 'He in his cloudy tabernacle sojourned the while.' The music was a sort of birthday ode or state anthem, the burden of which was 'Bow down your heads, all ye dwellers upon earth, bow down your heads before the great Kien Lung, the great Kien Lung.' And then all the dwellers upon China earth there present, except ourselves, bowed down their heads and prostrated themselves upon the ground at every renewal of the chorus. Indeed, in no religion, ancient or modern has the Divinity ever been addressed I believe with stronger external marks of worship and adoration than were this morning paid to the phantom of his Chinese Majesty." On September 18th the Ambassador had another opportunity of conversing with the Emperor. The occasion was a theatrical performance in the palace to which the members of the mission were invited. At this meeting the Emperor handed to Macartney a casket which he said had been in his family for eight centuries and which he desired should be presented to the King as a token of his friendship. This and other imperial courtesies showed the old Emperor in a most amiable light. But as far as the great objects of the mission were concerned Macartney was able to make no progress. His efforts to open up negotiations were at first politely ignored, and when he became importunate it was plainly hinted to him that the Emperor regarded the mission at an end. After this the courtesies which had been paid to the Ambassador became less marked. There seemed even a disposition to humiliate him, as, for example, in compelling his attendance at three o'clock on a cold morning to wait for hours for an audience with the Emperor who never put in an appearance. The results of the mission were tersely summed up in the following words by Aeneas Anderson, who accompanied Lord Macartney in a subordinate capacity and wrote an account of the Embassy: "In short, we entered Peking like paupers, we remained in it like prisoners, and we quitted it like vagrants." The mission bore home with it a letter from the Emperor to the King which set forth in unequivocal terms the determination of the Chinese Government to adhere to the exclusive policy which it had hitherto maintained. It stated that the proposals of the Ambassador went to change the whole system of European commerce so long established at Canton, and this could not be allowed. Nor could his consent by any means be given for resort to Limpo, Chusan, Tientsin, or any northern ports, or to the stationing of a British resident at Peking. He mentioned that the Russians now only traded to Kiatcha and had not for many years come to Peking; and added that he could not consent "to any other place of residence for Europeans near Canton but Macao." In conclusion, after remarking that the requests made by the Ambassador militated against the laws and usages of the Empire, and at the same time were wholly useless to the end proposed, he read his royal correspondent a sort of lecture on the virtue of resignation to his supreme will, "I again admonish you, O King!" he wrote, "to act conformably to my intentions that we may preserve peace and amity on each side and thereby contribute to our reciprocal happiness. After this, my solemn warning, should your Majesty, in pursuance of your ambassador's demands fit out ships in order to attempt to trade either at Ning Po, Tehu San, Tien Sing, or other places, as our laws are exceedingly severe, in such case I shall be under the necessity of directing my mandarins to force your ships to quit these ports, and thus the increased trouble and exertions of your merchants would at once be frustrated. You will not then, however, be able to complain that I had not clearly forewarned you. Let us, therefore, live in peace and friendship, and do not make light of my words. For this reason I have so repeatedly and earnestly written to you upon this subject."
(From Sir George Staunton's "Lord Macartney's Embassy.")
Regarded in its main aspect as an attempt to open up the trade of China the Embassy was beyond cavil a conspicuous failure. But that it was not without some beneficial effect is a fair assumption from the course of events in the years following the reception of the mission. The vexatious interferences of Mandarins in the conduct of business were abandoned, and the costly and inconvenient practice of stopping the whole trade on the smallest pretext also apparently became a thing of the past. A shooting incident which occurred in 1800 marked very conspicuously the change which had come over the attitude of officialdom since Lord Macartney's Embassy. On the night of the 11th of February, the officer on watch on H.M.S. Madras at Whampoa, having hailed a boat which had been at the ship's bows for some time, and receiving no answer fired into her under a conviction that an attempt was being made to cut the vessel's cable. By the discharge a Chinaman in the boat was wounded and a second man in the course of a struggle with one of the crew of the Madras either jumped or fell overboard. The Chinese authorities demanded that the officer who fired the shot should be given up for examination, and that the man who caused the man to fall overboard should be confronted with his accuser. Finally it was demanded that a basket of vegetables stated to have been taken out of the boat should be restored. The Captain of the Madras proceeded to Canton and from thence, on the 22nd of February, addressed a letter to the Viceroy respecting the thievish conduct of the Chinese, and stated that he had no doubt they would meet with proper punishment. He maintained that an attempted theft led to the firing of the shot which wounded the man, and he asserted in regard to the second man that he jumped overboard and was not pushed into the water. The demand for the return of the basket was treated as a trifle but a promise was given, nevertheless, that it should be returned. To the Chinese merchants who were asked to deliver the letter a statement was made that the captain would not give up the man without seeing the Viceroy, and that he would not even be placed in the charge of the Select Committee. The discussion continued for some weeks and eventually was amicably closed, a settlement being greatly facilitated by the recovery of the wounded man and a confession on the part of the second Chinese concerned that he had thrown himself overboard. Owing to this occurrence, the President of the Select Committee applied
