"brought home to their businesses and bosoms,"--there could never
afterwards have been any pretence for his or their saying, that they had
been deceived in any part of the proceedings. Doubtless, however, Sir
Henry Pottinger acted advisedly in abstaining from penetrating to Pekin,
and also from stipulating for the residence of a British ambassador at
Pekin. How such a proposal would have been received--or how, if adopted
and carried into effect, it would have answered our expectations--it is
difficult to say; but we have several letters lying before us, from
peculiarly well-informed persons on the spot, in all of which the
absence of this stipulation from the treaty is very greatly regretted.
"I am afraid," says one, "we shall be again left to the tender mercies
of the local mandarins, and that their old habits of arrogance and
deceit and extortion, will be resumed. For what are _consuls?_ They have
no power of communicating even with the provincial officers: or if this
should now be conceded, they have none with the government at Pekin: and
may we not fear that the Chinese will continue to force away gradually,
by effectual but invisible obstacles, the trade from the ports now
ostensibly opened to us?" The gentleman, from whose long and very able
letter we have quoted this paragraph, takes a somewhat disheartening
view of the treaty, and its probable observance and consequences. He is
on the spot, and has access to the best sources of knowledge; but we
confess, that for our own part, we do not share his apprehensions.
Whatever disposition to do so the Emperor or his people may entertain,
we believe they will neither dare at all to offend or injure us openly,
or persevere long in attempting to do so indirectly. It may be a work of
time but as soon as they perceive the steady benefits derivable from a
prudently-conducted course of dealing with them, we think it likely that
a sense of self-interest will lead them to encourage our intercourse and
augment our dealings. On one thing we regret to feel certain that we
must calculate--namely, on an enormous overstocking of the Chinese