CHINA

Colonist, Issue 53, 23 April 1858, Page 3

CHINA

~-.■ ARREST OF COMMISSIONER YEH. . [From the Sydney Herald's Point de Galle Corres-

porident.) ' . I briefly mentioned in my last the= assault and taking of Canton by the Allied Forces, British and French, on the 29th December. Our soldiers still occupy the city. The resistance being feeble and ineffective, our loss was small,, but the destruction caused by a twenty-four hours' continuous bombardment has beeu considerable. Possession of the extensive city was entered upon by degrees, the native governor submitted and was dismissed, and Yeh, the Governor-General, to whose unbending obstinacy all the calamities entailed upon the province must be attributed, was fortunately discovered, and is now a prisoner on board a British vessel of war. The utter want of preparation for defence, or of plans for averting foreign hostility, which it now appears could never have been seriously contemplated, renders his policy more mysterious than ever. The only act of the plenipotentiaries as yet, has been to organise a native civil and military Government in the city, at the head of which are the Governor of the Province of Kvvangtung, the Tartar General acting,, it is presumed,, under the immediate con lrol of the foreign authorities. Their future measures, of which no indication has as yet appeared, are consequently looked to with the greatest interest and anxiety. The Government of the United States, through the Plenipotentiaries, stands aloof from participating m the recent proceedings. Should the blockade be raised, there seems no reason to doubt that trade would be resumed at once, notwithstanding the military occupation of the city., . , , . . These events have not yet had the effect of imparting any confidence or activity to business in imports. The transactions reported during the last month are without importance. /

FIRE ON BOARD THE ROYAL CHARTER., The following statement of a fire on board this' fine vessel has been handed to us by a passenger:— On Saturday afternoon the 24th January, latitude 19 degrees thirty-five minutes north, longi--24 degrees 41 minutes west, some of the second class passengers thought they perceived a smell, as of something burning, and mentioned the matter to one of the stewards; but so slight was it, that it was believed to arise from the oilcloth becoming warm, from something hot being put upon it; so this passed off without further notice. However on the following morning, about 4 a.m., an alarm of fire was raised. The captain and officers were very promptly at their several posts. The pumps fore and aft were quickly got ready for action. On the after hatch being opened, the. dense, smoke which poured forth left no doubt as to the reality of the alarm. Some difficulty was experienced at first in discovering the seat of the fire, the hold being full of cargo. The decks were cut away in several places, and the fire at laet reached, and was

finally extinguished about 8 a.m., to the thankfulness of all on board. , Some of the passengers gave what assistance they wereable, care, being taken not to crowd the officers and crewanthe execution of their duty. Mr. Stephens, the. first officer, entered the hold at the outset, but was shortly taken out again, in a state of insensibility, being removed to the poop and exposed to the open air, and the usual remedies applied, he' was enabled ere long to returu to the scene of action. The. fire was aft, and in the direction of the magazine. The powder consisted of one barrel, which was heaved overboard, and the rockets, blue lights, and a few charges of loose powder, sent on to the forecastle.

Various at first were the opinions conjectured as to the cause of the fire, but on removal of the damaged goods, suspicion seemed to point very forcibly to a quantity of partially consumed waterproof coats, which might.have fired spontaneously. At 10 a.m. a meeting of passengers was: called in the saloon, and a vote of thanks passed to Captain Taylor, for his cool and gallant conduct under so trying an ordeal. Captain Taylor thanked tke passengers for the compliment, and assured them that every care should be taken to have the cargo carefully removed and re-stowed, to ascertain whether there were any more cases of a similar description of goods to those in which the fire was supposed to originate. He was aware that there were other cases of the same mark and brand shipped as merchandise only, but as to the nature of their contents it was impossible to say. These remarks from Captain Taylor were in reply to inquiries addressed to him on the subject. About 5 p.m. of the same day another case of the goods above referred to was discovered in a highly combustible state. To look at the case no marks of burning were perceptible, but the heat felt, when touched, left no,doubt as to the fire within, 'is it proved on opening. It is in the power of Captain Taylor to satisfy the curious and inquiring.on the subject, as he has retained a small reserve of these goods on. hand. ; The passengers met again in the evening, to seek the opinion of Captain Taylor, or to suggest to him the desirableness of putting in at Cape Verde, as the ship: was then very near^ to have the cargo fairly overhauled, oi1 taken out and restowed, as danger was apprehended in proceeding out to sea. Under the circumstances Captain Taylor assured the gentlemen then present that they need be under no apprehension- or alarm; that, whilst he was decided to keep the ship on her course, every precaution should be taken to guard against any recurrence of a similar disaster, as lie himself and his officers would be constantly on the alert in looking amongst the cargo, which they had already done carefully and at different times, and found all cool and in good order.

A few days after this another case was discovered in the main hold. The smell of the burning oilcloth led to its discovery. On removal of sundry goods it was got at, and so hot was it that it was impossible to handle it with the bare hands. So as not to alarm the passengers, the case was very adroitly got out and thrown overboard; and I believe but few of the passengers are aware of the circumstance up to the present moment.. These are the simple facts of the whole affair, and the only drawback to the otherwise pleasant passage. Now here is a valuable ship and cargo, with nearly 500 souls, that has been jeopardised by a few cases of goods, shipped as merchandise only or without any notice of care or attention from the dangerous nature of their contents. What protection have persons who are constantly crossing these seas, or indeed the shipowner or underwriter, if goods liable to spontaneous combustion are shipped in this careless manner ? Perhaps this case may be a clue to some of the missing ships that are lost'annually, and of which no tidings are ever heard. — Argus, March 18.