CHINA.

Otago Witness, Issue 283, 2 May 1857, Page 8

CHINA.

The Wholesale Poisoning — The Thistle Massacre-^ Progress of the, Revolutionise. ' < We ("Melbourne Age") have, still later •news from. China, containing particulars full of the same horrible interest which has characterized all our, recent advices from that Celestial Empire. ' - WHOLESALE POISONING. We find the following in the '"Friend of China" of the 15th of January : — A diabolical attempt was made this morning to poison the foreign residents in Hong Kong, by means of arsenic in the bread issued from the principal bakery in the colony. The firm is known by the title of " Esing," the proprietor being a well-known comprador named A-lum, long resident here. The sufferings of many who partook of the bread, have been severe ; but the quantity of poison mixed with the flour seems to have been too small for the purpose intended, and we are happy to say we have not heard of a single fatal case. The circumstance of A-lum having settled many of his outstanding accounts yesterday, and taken his departure for Macao with his family this morning before his customers' breakfast hour, when discovery, and his consequent apprehension, would have been certain, has afforded strong reasons for believing that the act was performed with his cognizance and sanction, if not by his express orders ; and the " Queen" has been despatched to Macao in search of him. The " China Mail" of the 22nd of January furnishes the following particulars : — A-lum, of the Essing shop, has been brought over from Macao, and with his employees has undergone an investigation before the magistrates. He, his father, and eight others have been committed for trial at the Criminal Sessions of the Supreme Court to be held on the 29th inst., charged with an attempt to poison the community, while all the others found on his premises are threatened with deportation. PROGRESS OF THE WAB. In the same journal we find the following report of the progress of hostilities up to that period : — We have nothing to record that contains promise of a speedy termination of our troubles at Canton. The burning of the foreign factories on the 14th December has been folloAved up by various acts and demonstrations, all showing that the quarrel gains both in depth and breadth the longer it endures. The capture of the little steamer Thistle, and murder of all on board, the placards and proclamations of the neighbouring districts, the pursuit of the steamer Fei-Ma, and the formidable attack of a large junk fleet upon the powerful steam squadron, details of which we give elsewhere, all prove the increasing hardihood of the enemy, and induce the conclusion that, if our present means are thoroughly equal to the maintenance of our present position at Canton, they are, at least, insufficient to the attainment of the end originally proposed. Nothing can be clearer, at the same time, than that to halt now would be to jeopardise not only our own interests in the south, but the interests of every country trading with China at every point to which we have access. In the course of three months, the local Government has been able so to stimulate the antibarbarian prejudices of the population aroimd us that the intercourse between the mainland and this colony may be said to have been all but suspended, while a number of respectable Chinese, .directly and indirectly dependent upon us, have been scared home, lest their apparent attachment to the foreigner should involve their friends and relations ; such implication being in China the most common consequence of disaffection, established or suspected. We doubt if all that is now needful to restore animation to commerce, and to guarantee the future security of trade, property, and life itself, can be effected by a naval force alone. We have seen that we may shell, burn and destroy, with little result except an increase of boldness and pertinacity on the part of our foe. Our navy may yet inflict a blow that will stay his action for the moment, but the city has yet to be taken, or the Canton-man is not beaten ; and until he be, we are still to him, (and to all China) that inferior thing, the barbarian trader, always uncivilised, and now deprived of trade by him, the Canton-man, whonv the trader has never been able .to beat. It •will be with no usual rejoicing, therefore, .that we shall hail the arrival of an adequate militariHbrce. i P^S. — Sirae the above was in type, the FeiMa'has arrived with intelligence of the Admiral having landed a body, of men and fired the suburbs, and that a great portion, of them,,,estimated at from 2000 to 3000 houses^have been destroyed $ .that the rebel fleet at Whampoa

had joined the Imperialists ; ; and that the Ad- ■ miral has withdrawn the^y.bille from Whampoa. All the chops, including, that- of the Brifc tish Vice-Consul,- left that^jplacc yesterday, morning . for Hongkong, -and the Spanish j steamer. Jorge Juan in tow of the Seipion for Macao; so" that their is now not a single vesseL of any description •at Whampoa, if Lwe .except a few deserted chops, -which' probably; before this, have served as* food for thY flames. ' ■ ■ The local alarm reported elsewere has by no means subsided ; and it is no good omen that many of the Chinese shopkeepers are removing the most valuable ' portion of their effects ; yet, except from fires, the acts of incendiaries, we see little cause for fear. Against them precautions are at length being taken, in the removal of mat sheds, and especially of some highly dangerous ones, used for the storage of spirits, pitch, tar, oakum, and other ships' stores in the neighbourhood of the Harbor Master's Wharf. These are now partially removed, and just in time, as an attempt was made on Tuesday night to set them on fire by means of a lighted joss-stick and a train of gunpowder leading along the top of the mats. The gunpowder exploded without doing any damage ; but had the shed, once taken fire, it must have communicated with the others, and probably the whole range of houses betwixt Pedder's Wharf and the Bank would have been destroyed; for the quantity of combustibles stored therein is immense," and there is no saying where the fire would have stopped. The Government is taking every precaution for the prevention of fire and for calming the minds of such of the Chinese as are determined to remain in the colony. In this they are receiving the most cordial assistance from Admiral Guerin and Colonel Armstrong — who, it is said, have again, and in stronger terms than before, protested against the barbarous manner in -which Yeh has thought fit to carry on the war, by the kidnapping and murdering of private individuals, and by rewards for the heads of foreigners. The Commodore doubtless has been in some measure urged to this by the murder of one of his marines on Friday night last, off the U. S. naval stores. A nian was there seen from the shore struggling in the water, and being forced under by some Chinese sampan men with bamboos, but the boats at the wharf shoved off, and refused to proceed to his assistance ; the marine, an Irishman, was missed that night, and has not been heard of since. Another murder is supposed to have been committed upon a Lascar sailor ; the man might have been set down as a deserter, but that his brother is in the colony and has been unable to learn what has become of him, while the Chinese have a story current among them of a coloured man having been killed and decapitated somewhere at the back of Taiping-shan. The rumour' may be without foundation, still such a rumour exists.