exchanged the ratifications of the Treaty of 1858 with the envoys of England and France. The main political points on which this treaty differed from that negotiated by Sir Henry Pottinger, in 1842, were articles eight, nine, eleven, twelve, and eighteen. By the first of these it was declared that "the Christian religion, as professed by Protestants and Roman Catholics, inculcates the practice of virtue, and teaches man to do as he would be done by. Persons teaching it or professing it, therefore, shall alike be entitled to the protection of the Chinese authorities; nor shall any such, peaceably pursuing their calling, and not offending against the laws, be persecuted or interfered with." Article nine provided that "British subjects are authorized to travel, for pleasure or purposes of trade, to all parts of the interior, under passports which shall be issued by their consuls, and countersigned by the local authorities." By article eleven it was agreed that British subjects may frequent the cities and ports of Newchwang, Têngchow, Formosa, Swatow, and Kiungchow, in the island of Hainan." Article twelve provided that "British subjects, whether at the ports or other places, desiring to build or open houses, warehouses, churches, hospitals, or burial-grounds, shall make their agreement for the land or buildings they require, at the rates prevailing among the people, equitably, and without exaction on either side." Article eighteen laid it down that "the Chinese authorities shall at all times afford the fullest protection to the persons and property of British subjects, whenever these shall have been subjected to insults or violence. In all cases of incendiarism or robbery,

the local authorities shall at once take the necessary steps for the recovery of the stolen property, the suppression of disorder, and the arrest of the guilty parties, whom they shall punish according to law.' By the same treaty the importation of opium, which had formerly been smuggled into the country, was legalized. So soon as the ratification had been exchanged, and a convention, made necessary by the treachery of the Government, had been signed, Lord Elgin returned to England, leaving his brother, Sir Frederick Bruce, as plenipotentiary.

CHAPTER XV.

FOREIGN RELATIONS.

WHILE the war with the allies had been going on, the central provinces had been devastated by a rebellion which shook the empire to its foundations. The T'aip'ing rebels, who had begun as a small band in Kwangsi, had gathered sufficient strength to spread over wide areas, to capture cities, and even to establish themselves in the ancient capital of Nanking. The defeats of the imperial forces at Taku and before Peking had doubtless contributed to these successes by weakening the authority of the Government. This accumulation of disasters caused deep anxiety to the emperor's advisers, and in casting about for help in their emergency, they had sense enough to recognize that if they could secure the support of the "barbarians" who had defeated their armies and routed their best troops, they might fairly hope to overcome the rabble which constituted the rebel army. In order to secure this object they adopted a friendly attitude towards the foreign powers, and throughout the whole empire, with the exception of those provinces under the rule of the T'aip'ings, the period was one of peace and good will. Surprised and gratified by this sudden change of front, the European ministers

met applications for help with every desire to grant it. British instructors were appointed to drill the native troops; gunnery sergeants taught the untutored native artillerymen to use the European weapons now placed at their disposal; a fleet of gunboats was ordered from England to defend the coast and to patrol the large rivers; the English general commanding at Shanghai was instructed to repel all attacks on that city; and General Gordon was ultimately appointed to command the "ever-victorious army " in the campaign against the T'aip'ings. The history of the suppression of the rebellion, mainly effected by the energy and skill of Gordon, is too well known to need repeating here. In the summer of 1864 Nanking was taken, and the T'ienwang, the leader of the rebellion, was captured and executed. This last decisive victory was immediately gained by the troops of Tsêngkwofan, the father of the Marquis Tsêng, who for some years represented China at the court of St. James's. With the disappearance of this great danger, disappeared also the necessity for foreign help. The conciliatory attitude of the Chinese had therefore played its part, and symptoms soon showed themselves in the provinces which marked a change of policy, and the withdrawal of the restraining hand which had made for peace. Like all the former treaties, Lord Elgin's had been agreed to by the Chinese with the mental reservation that they would fulfil as little of it as circumstances allowed. Under the provisions of the article quoted in the preceding chapter (12), a Mr. Hudson Taylor visited Yangchow, in 1868, with the intention of establishing a mission in that city. It was admitted

that he and his friends had lived peacably and quietly with the people, and, as a matter of fact, the only charges which it was possible to bring against them were the palpably groundless accusations, with which we are now are now so familiar, of having killed children for the purpose of using their eyes and hearts for medicinal purposes. Instead of attempting to allay the excitement produced by these charges, the mandarins and literati did all that lay in their power to excite the mob against the missionaries. As at the ports on the Yang-tszeKiang in 1891, so, at Yangchow, the passions of the people were successfully worked up. missionaries were cruelly assaulted, their houses were burnt down, and they were driven from the city. During the same year anti-foreign riots broke out in the island of Formosa, and in 1869 the Rev. James Williamson, of the London Mission, was murdered near Tientsin. The perpetrators of this crime were not arrested, and as must always be the case in so unregenerate a country as China, one result of thus offering the other cheek to the smiter was to encourage the spirit which gave rise to the fierce anti-foreign outbreak at Tientsin a few months later.

The

For some time disquieting rumours had been in circulation foreshadowing an attack upon foreigners. The usual reports of children having been kidnapped were passing from mouth to mouth, and placards were posted on the walls denouncing the missionaries and all their ways. These instigations to riot were brought to the notice of the Chinese authorities, who, as usual, when they have nothing to gain by remaining on friendly terms with foreigners, took