The New York Herald Newspaper, September 27, 1859, Page 3

OOOO EOE oO EEE ———<<— =< —— @ence adduced had ostablished this on the company’s be- hif. He had no desire to call further evidence unless ‘wished for by the Court, aoe Caner mak 1) wet Fost Hoomy ihe Jory would like to examine Mr. chief engiucer. ‘The inquiry was then adjourned tt Saturday morning. The interest evinced by the public in this part of country ip all relating to the ship seems ag great as ever, During all yesterday, Song it blew a severe gale from fhe southwent, accompanied by heavy rain and sometimes thunder, the steamboats brin, visiters to the vessel were donsely tbronged. Nearly 6,000 persons paid their half-crowns to go on board, an day, defying the squalls of wind and rain with an endurance worthy of a better cause. Tho scene of the explosion, as far a8 jt could be viewed from the deck, is the great centre of attraction, and as the monstrous frag- ments of ironwork have now been got up from the stoke- hole and placed on deck, enough evidence is given of the fury of the explosion (o satisfy the most eager curiosity, Mr: Nottidge, of the London Parcanoaple Company, who has been on board from the first time of starting, in order to got pictures of the vessel, has photographed this ‘mass of ruins most successfully, From these pictures the will be enabled to gain a fair idea of force of aie Tonle ox toe dusonges Lnliotes be he soto ae jamages ex) a8 already commenced, Mr. Scott Russell baying contracted to restore the whole for £5,000. If it should turn out that ekher of the forward boilers has been injured, £5,000 will wearcely suffice for the entire restoration. From the fact of there haying been no escape ef steam from either of the boilers at the time of the caplet, when there was a pressure on each of 22 bs. it is believed they have esca; ‘without material injury. ‘The mere joinery of tho cabin and’the redecoration of the grand saloon can, and doubtless will, soon be completed. With the iron work, however, it is'a different affair. All this must be executed im London from the wor! drawings of the vessel and sent down piecemeal by rail to Weymouth, where it can ‘Be bolted togethor on board the ship. Mr. Scott Russell’s contract is to finish the whole ship in her former state ay she left the river, within three . THE VISITERS. FWeymouth Correspondence of the London Daily News, Sept. 15.) Visiters are flocking to Weymouth from al! parts, par- Ucularty from the west.of , in such: m re as to est in the severest manner the capabilities of town to Danty: ir any lengthened a ly eek aniation rates tay thousands since she thas been here, and large steamers leave the quay at Weymouth every half hour for the great ship, now ying in Portland oat is crowded by passengers who are constantly arriving in excur- sion trains, In order to prevent inconvenience from the overcrowding of the vessel, the directors have iesued @ notice urgently requesting that tie visiters ‘should not extend their stay on board more than an hour, Of course this is a regulation which cannot be enforced, Dut the wish of the directors has been protty generally 10, That portion of tho ship in which the explo- sion took place has been boarded round by a three feet boarding, to prevent any access to it, and as soon as the boilers are tested by the engineers, which was to be done to-day, active stops will be taken to repair the damage and reconstruct the grand saloon, which was blown to pieces Dy the force of the’ explosion. As a preliminary step to proceeding with the repairs, the Lge: no) pay engaged ‘wil the carpenters and joiners they could lay their hands ‘on in Weymouth, and have also sent to London for expe- rienced hands to direct the operations. The work of re- fitting the saloon and rep! the funnel will "be pro- ceeded with simultaneously, and it is expected that in the eourse of five or six weeks the vessel will be in a condi- ‘aon to proceed upon her trial trip. THE GREAT EASTERN AND HER PROSPECTS. és {From the London Chronicie, Sept. 12) fe thought it would be unnecessary after our - tions on this on the 17th of August again to refer to it, but finding Holyhead and Portland are named (though not datatively) by the directors, we must ask why? A contemporary stated that there were more perils in ‘twenty-four hours in the Channel than in double as many days in the Atlantic. In this we and all the press agree; the facts havo proved too true by the losses of tMourands of lives in steamers and sailing ships. Now this is one reason why she should start from Cork, within one hour of the Ajlantic, instead of Holyhead, with 250 miles of coasting dangers, ‘The directors may say Holyhead is nearer Liverpool, the emperium of Great Britain; true, but on the other hand, lines of steamers are running not only from Liver- pool, but from London, Bristol, Milford, Glasgow, and “ther ports, to Cork. So that not only’ Liverpool, but Scotch and’ English goods could be shipped cheapor there than by rail to Holyhead, while the chief emigra- ‘ton is Irish. Let us now look to the continental trade, and the more favorabie position of Cork to intercept it. Ifthe Great Fastern made it her port, lines of steamers would be soon started to Bordeaux, Nantes and Havre. Thus the wines, Drandies, fruit, silks of Lyons and Paris, cottons and woollens’ of France, Germany and Belgium, jewelry ef Switzerland, and produce of Northern Italy, would come to it as a general rendezvous. Leghorn and [ Genoa by rail, through France, would be within four days of Cork and ten of America. This isa vast. trade with the United. States, competing with British, and, in ‘the finer articles, ontdoing us. Cork has offered to the great ship freedom from harbor dues, while she obtains those steam facilities with Great Britain and Europe with- out any outlay or trouble on the part of her directors. , the ship is uningured. Ought they not, then, to sail from the port with the fewest dangers to their property, and—what is of far greater consequence—to the thou- sands of lives on board? These arguments in favor of Cork are unanswerable. Let us now look tothe reasons why Quebec, not Port- Jand, ought to be the transatlantic port. bec, by the St. Lawrence, bas an inland navigation for ships and steamers to and Superior, 1,660 miles distant, the ‘St. Lawrence and lakes having a coast line of over 6,000 rtland, which is some hundred miles distant by rail, and more than pagel Y the ocean. The lian railways, in which so much British capital is invested, have a direot in- terest in Quebec, as from, their terminion the lake ports, steamers and sailing Pescls could go alongside the Great Eastern in the St. Lawrence. The London directors of the Great Western, the Northern, Welland, Southern nd Ottawa lines should see to the property of their con- ‘stituents, while the genflemen who have lately advanced money for north shore line from Quebec to Mon- treal and Ottowagought also to know that from Portland they would derive no benefit. The Grand Trunk should ‘de as much interested in the St. Lawrence route as any of the other companies, though Net ‘thoy wish it trans- ferred to the foreign city of Portland is strange, as by the erection of a wharf at Point de Loup they could command ‘the chief traffic, especially in passengers. Their direc- tore may rest assured than if changed from Quebec to Portland it will be only the precursor of another change 0 Norfolk, from 200 to 300 miles nearer the great West by rail than Portland, and much nearer to the great cities of Philadelphia, Baltimore and Wi , With the grain, tobacco and cotton trades of the Central, Southern and Western States. Quebec is also 260 miles nearer than Portland, while the river De Loup, to which the railway is extended, is 400. From these facts the directors should select Quebec, by which they would obtain the American passenger and goods traffic, formerly carried by the liners and steamers to New York (which has not suilicient water), but which they would not get at Portland. As to an Indian trade for the Great Eastern, and her going to Catcutta,as stated by some of our contemporaries, it would never pay. There is n@ emigration, pro- perly go called. India or Chinese goods would not be shipped from Bombay, Madras, Singapore, Canton or inghae, thousands of miles out of their course to Calcutta, whose imports are not one-twentieth those of New York, or as great as those of Montreal, Philadephia, Boston, Baltimore @ New Or- Jeans, The Australian emigration has ceased, while there $s little to come back, most of the ships going to load guano. The only trade, then, is that formerly carried by the packet ships and liners, and latterly by them and steamers, between New York and Liverpool, which from want Gio ery depth of water has now to be trans- ferred to CorMand Quebec. ‘We look on the question with no Jocal or sectional views, but in a broad and national spirit, deciding in favor of Cork and Quebec for the reasons we have given, which ‘we commend to the secretary, directors and proprietors of the mammoth ship, with the best wishes for her success 4g a novelty in shipbuilding, as well a8 in a commercial point, THE WAR IN CHINA. Accounts from Our Own Correspondents and from the English Newspapers. The Battle of Taku—The. Action and Opening of a Tremendous Fire by the Chinese=The Retreat—Russians Sup- posed to be Directing the ChinesemAc- tion of the Americans—How the Chinese Triumphed on Land—The Killed and ‘Wounded—Anglo-French Preparations to Continue the War—Commercial and Political Aspects of the Affair, dic., &c. OUR CHINA CORRESPONDENCE. Usrrep States Sreamamp PowHATAN, At Axcuon Orv tum Pano River, June 22, 1! Naval Movements of the Allies—Cause of the Troubles in China—Duplicily of the Chinese—Ihe English Policy to Drub the Chinese—Slow Progress of American Representa- tives— Formidable Chinese Fortifications—Renewal of Hosti- Lities— Opposition to the English—Position of American Of- Sicers—Terrible Action with the Chinese—Bright{ul Loss of the English—Desperate Pluck of British Soldiers—Security of the Chinese Mud Walls—American Interests in China— Complicated Diplomacy—Conduct of the English Admi ral and the American Minister—How the Chinese Treated the American Representative—River Navigation—The American Flag in the Late Engagement—The Commander Yo an American Steamer Brings Up the English Reserves— Awful Ferocily of the Struggle—Death of a Heroic British Officer—A Truly Christian Minister—The Power of Eng land in the East Secures Safety to Commerce, dic., dc. My last lettor was dated some nine days back, and left this ship and the chartered steamer Tocy-wan at anchor near Shanghae, in the daily expectation of sailing for this place with our Minister, the Hon. John E. Ward. During the nights of the 16th and 17th following, we ook the latter vessel in tow, steamed four days through wind, rain and thick weather, and finally anchored within mile of the English squadron, which had preceded us by three days. The French frigate Duchayla, hay ing on doard M. D. Bourboulon, Minister “Ro sident, and tho chartered steamer —Nosegay, ar. rived a few hours ahead of us. When daylight arrived we counted sixteen steamers of war, two of which wore Amorican, two French and twelve English. The lat |, despert ter nation also had several gunboats at anchor inside the river, but below the forts, from which point this outer aa- chorage is distant about eight miles, Newspaper readers are of course familiar with the causes which have thu® collected more than twenty vessels of war at the mouth 0 this river, Just twelve months since, England, France’ America and Russia made treaties with Chine at Tein-sing, and they have now retarned to have them ratified. Rus- fia alone is not represented this time, one report telling us that her Minister is already in Pekin, and another tha he bad met a violent death before reaching that city by his overland route via Siberia and Tartary. It now re- maing to be seen how we shall get up the river via Tein- sing to Pekin, and how and by whom the treaties will be ratified. In my Hong Kong letter, dated several weeks back, 1 used words to the following effect regarding this coming ratification: place no confidence in Chinese professions of sincerity. If they do not resist us openly at the mouth of the Petho they will do so secretly in the Cabinet at Pekin.”’ And now I waut you to read and see how the present aspect of affairs about ‘the mouth of the Peiho” points to Chinese duplicity and insincerity; and to a renewal of the scenes of bloodshed which were enacted here thirteen months since by the English and French with their gunboats on one side, and by thousands 0° Chinese behind their well built but miserably defended fortson the other. Again I assert the conviction that “ John Chinaman is a narrow minded, unsocial and churl- ish rascal, and, that to secure anything from him like political honesty of action, ‘the West’ generally must do What England is now alone doing, drub him into a healthy state of mind.” All hail to John Bull, the sen- sidle and fearless gentleman. ‘This is the third time that it bas been the writer’s fortune to engage in an attempt “to reach Peking by water’—h> hopes it may be the last. He doesn’t believe a word o Mr. O’More’s sage obsrevation in regard to ‘luck in odd numbers.” He rather regards that gentleman in the light of a humbug. In 18541 came past where Iam now with Mr. Robert McLane, In 1858 ] managed, thanks to English and French guns, to get as far as Tein-sing with Mr. Wm. B. Reed. And now, in 1859,1 have accompa- nied Mr. John E. Ward thus far towards Pekin, and the indications are we shall get just about as far as did Mr. Robert McIane. This is an evident case of ‘‘one step ahead and two back.’? Previous to leaving Shanghae rumor had told us of the rebuilding of the forts in sight of which we are now ap- chored, but we had no idea that the work had been en. gaged in so largely. They now seem twice as high as formerly, and are said to be much more formidable. ‘Ten thousand Tartar troops are also said to be behind their walls, and other forts are reperted as having been built between this and Pekin. All this we learned yesterday from the English Admiral, who, upon his arrival here, sent in a gunboat to examine the river and report if it was clear. This vessel found the forts re- built, the river barricaded by chains and heavy booms, and everything indicative of another resistance. Upon requesting permission to pass the barrier it was refused, and with this for an answer her commander returned to the Admiral. This was on the 18th inst. A message was now sent to the forts demanding that by Monday, the 20th, the barrier should be removed and a free pas- sage granted to the English Minister. This they pro- mised to do, but Monday evening came and showed ouly that the works had been strengthened in the meau- time. Another message was then sent to the effect, that if the previous demand was not complied with by a certain time the forts would be attacked—and we are now await. ing the result, And while we thus await Iam going to mount an old hobby of mine, and indulge in a few remarks regarding the very mortifying and irritating position in which the profitable but unworthy policy of our govern- ment last year placed, and is again about to place, us tho United States naval officers of this station. 1 take the ground that we cither have business here or we have not. If we have not, we should be in some other part of the world; and if we have, we should be just where we are, but with intentions worthy of a firet rate Power and with a force adequate to carry out these intentions. In other words, we should be here to help England in clearing the road which con- duces to the commercial prosperity of the United States as ‘well as to that of John Bull. Instead of this, however, we are sent to strut with a lordly air in case the Chinese are friendly, and to retire with depressed tails should they prove otherwise. This is a policy unworthy a nation of our strength and excossively disgusting to individual Americans. Jury 2.—A fatal and unlooked for calamity has over taken the prosperity of Western commerce with China England has thrown her gunboats against the forts of the Peiho and™ been repulsed with terrible logs Three out of thirteen sunk, all terribly battered, and five out of twelve bundred men killed, wounded and missing. Such havos has never before befallen an attacking squadron. ‘Don’t ask me about our Joss,” replied the Admiral’s flag copa when questioned shortly after the bitttle; ‘it is too fright- ful to think about.”” ‘The battle came off on the 25th ult., and was witnessed by a number of our officers who were on board of the Toey-wap, inside the river atthe time. It was the most fighting that the imagination can picture upon the part of the English, and a premeditated, certain, cold- blooded, relentless and cowardly massacre upon the part of the Chinese. The former were of course the at- tackifg party, and could have had no possible idea of the strength of the fortifications against which they ad- vanced; and the latter were well: protected by heavy walls of mud, through which bristled two hundred guns and into which the shells seemed to bury themselves and lose the power of explosion. , Now that it is all over, apd we have time to think, we wonder how it was that more than four thousand shells should have been thrown at them without even ef- fecting a breach. If this matter is not satisfactorily ex- plained you may as well sell the granite of our seaboard fortifications and build others of mud taken from the bot- tom of the harbors. Here and there you can sce a corner knocked off a bastion, a cart load of earth blown out of the face of a battery, or something of that sort; and shot holes are plentiful, but it is greatly to be doubted if the fortifications generally were not as defensible ager the explosion of the Jast shell as they had been at the first. Of course it will never be known how many Chinese were killed in their forts, but the number is supposed to be small, perhaps not more than that of the English them- selves. This would seem incredible did we fail to cen- sider the safety of tie position from which they perpe- trated the massacre, but that viewed, the only wonder is that there were any killed at all. [We have since been told by the Chinese that several hundreds were killed in the ports, Englishmen have no cause to blush for the battle of the Peiho. Such indomitable courage and dogged resistance as was there displayed are in taemselves sufficient to re- flect the rays of glory around the semi-circumference of the globe, and dry the tears which will shortly flow over the unburied dead. You will be surprised to learn that the neutrality of the American flag has been involved in this affair; and to ex- plain and palliate this wo must take a look at the insult- ing manner in which our Minister has been received in this country (or rather along its outskirts), as well as at the distressing and very peculiar circumstances in which the English Admiral was placed during tho heat of the battle. Mr. Ward (as good a man as we could have in China) arrived at Shanghae in this vessel on the 28th of May last, on his way to Pekin, via the Patho river, for the purpose of there exchanging the rattied treaty made last year at Tein-sing by Mr.Wm. B. Reed. Learning there that the Commissioners were upon the spot instead of being at Tein-sing, where the foreign Ministers of last year had been led to infer they would await their successors with the ratified treaties, he at once notified them of his presence and desire to com- municate. The result of this was the interview spoken of in my last letter; and the result of that was, in so many words, a very plain intimation that, as our right to visi Pekin was derived from the English treaty, we could no: go there in advance of the representative of that nation. There was a return visit to this, and they were both sig- nilized by the usual amount of bows, unmeaning ques- tions, and protestations of regard and anxiety for one’s health, but the above was the substance of them both. Query—Was there any substance in it at all? ‘Well, while this was going on the English and French Ministers arrived from Hong Kong. Surprised at finding men in Shanghae who should have long since left for ‘Tein sing had the Chineso government been acting in good faith, these gentlemen nevertheless communicated with them, notifying them of their intended movements, and very properly, I think, refusing to exchange the treaties short of Tein-sing. This refusal was in answer to a note from them indicating very plainly a desire that the exchange should take place at Shanghac, and a continued determination upon the part of their master to adhere to China’s old policy of treating Europeans not only like children but atso as inforiors. No reply to this return note having been sent at the end of several days, the Ministers wrote again, and finally received one, To read that note any honcat, eensible and unprejn 1 man wonld have thought just as did Mr. Bruce. “Now Tmay go to Pokin without’ firing a gun.” And yet witness the detesmined and untooked tor resist ance'Which he encountered at the vory first defensible point. yw for Mr. Ward again. No soonor did wo become vare of the spirit of this note than he naturaltys said, «f algo shall soon be at Pekin, for the Commissiongrs haye E #2 y fi e alll i E 3 Ht age Fee cp ood ce EEEEE Bi i E ¥ i i z E : E i Ear Ge innate Yopemtai on een mn r, representative ri can Minister, bitnselt the ceived by persons who came from the fort, coolies, themselves coolies. asked them, politely h, What they wanted. “We wish to see the highest officer present upon the “ There is no officer bere,” ‘was the reply. ‘We are only afew poor country people who look out for the forts. You must go farther , where the high officer is.” “Where is that?” they then asked. «¢ About 30 li (10 miles) distant!” ** How shall we get there?’ « a ‘the peat”? “Will you furnish us a pilot?” «No!!! «Will you furnish us sedan chatra?”? “No! There is no road by land,’? ‘< We wish to leave our cards for the high officer. Will you receive them?’” “+ We cannot; we are too mean, we have no rank.’” T leave the reader to draw his owm qonclu- sions from this evident rebuff. Takiny it for granted, as @ matter of course, that were off. for ath gir oage: at 22 ae yy ae ® national ingalt . o, appareniiy, , , who very r] said to bimeelf, “ There is insincerity pec dy ‘4 jooks very much as if I am to be trifled with. They tell me, through coolies, to go to some place to our charts, and permit said coolies to refuse me a pilot for the sea as well as sedan chairs for the land. Now that lam in the river, I will wait and see if they have any better manners after the English shall have knocked down their forts.” Tam Mnf well satisfied that this was the view taken of ‘everything taken together,’ by our Minister, and as an American I admire him for it. As for myself, 1 am able to assert positively, trom personal observation, that the river off which we are now anchored is the only navigable watercourse from the sea to Tein-sing. How dol know this? Last year I went to Tein-sing in an English pap, and came back in our chartered steamer Ante- lope. Before commencing the ascent of the river some oue observed, ‘This is a small river to drain such a vast area of land, and yet it bas nota tributary between this and Tef-sing;” and we consequently kept our eyes opon during both ae We saw a few mud docks dug into either bank for the repair of junks, but no stream of any description, Iam, therefore, positive upon this point. It would not suprise ine at all, however, if they should dig a canal to hide their falsehood, Here, then, we Bave the why and wherefore for our Minister's presence in the river the next day, when, alas for the prosperity of the commercial re- lations of the West with China, the forts were un- successfully attacked by the English Admiral. Let us now sée how it was that the neutrality of the American tlag was jeopardized, if not positively involved. t nothing might be wanting in showing respect to the Minister before the Chinese, Flag Officer Josiah Tat- nall had accompanied him in person. This officer needs no words of mine to place him before the American read- er in a proper light. His services since entering the navy in 1812 are his best vouchers. Agreeing with the Minister in his views as to awaiting the result of the attack, the Toey-wan remained at her anchorage, just out of range of the forts, and witnessed the hopeless strait to which two hours fighting had reduced the English. Surprised be- yond measure at @ result which no one had deemed possi- bie, and with sympathy necessarily upon the side of civilization, he followed anxiously the unequal struggle. It was evident that the fire ef the gunboats was becoming every moment less active, and the cause of this was equally apparent. They had suffered so severely in killed and wounded that there were not men enough left to work the guns. While regretting this there came a message from the Ad- miral telling him that such was the case, and intimating how much he was in want of the services of the Toey-wan to tow his reserves against the strong ebb tide, which the boats could not stem. Now, I don’t think I should want to kiiow the man who could resist an appeal such as that, more especially as the Admiral was badly wounded, and had only the day before sent a gunboat under the very mie the forts to assist the Toey-wan out of what he considered a dangerous position. “I cannot spare a gun- boat for this service now,” he said; ‘we have all our ‘Of course the Tocy-wan was under way at once, and in as short a time as possible the reserves were in the action. It was the act of a brave sailor, whose heart was too full of generous sympathy to admit the companionship of international considerations, and as such should be admired even by Congressmen. ‘This generous aid, though timely, only furnished the more food for powder—it could not turn the fortune of the day. The havoo continued, and other reserves became necessary. The Tocywan brought them up, and the attack once mor swelled in power, only to sink again as thoy ‘were swept away by the merciless forts. Finally night came and enabled the jlish to withdraw from the attack with a loss of three gunboats and men, whose number they could not then estimate. Many of them fell in an at- tempt to storm a fort that they could not reach, owing to spiked moats and ditches, and a few were drowned by get- ting over their depth while weighed down by their arms and ammunition. Probably the English navy has never before suffered such a defeat, and this in spite of the most unheard of daring and obstinate A gph Let me tell you of two incidents, which will give a fair idea of the spirit which animated these men. Capt. Clutterbuck, of the Coromandel, was returning in company with a brother stormer from the attempt upon the fort. It was dark, and he stumbled over a wounded mare who had been shot down during the advance, and who pleaded for assistance to gain the boats. The balls and rockets were driving by them at every moment, and their safety said “hurry on!’ but they stopped to help him. Exhausted as they were his weight proved too much for their united strength, and a third fugitive was ordered to assist. Before be could obey he was shot down—dead, “This is hot work,’ remonstrated his friend, ‘one of us will go next.” “Then,” replied Clutterbuck, “we shall at least die do- ing a good action—I will not leave him.” They were the last words he uttered; the next moment he fell forward, pierced by adeadly ball. He has gone to receive his re- ward. ‘The second incident relates to the chaplain, the minister of the regiment. He fell toward the latter part of the charge, and firmly refused all offers of assistance. “(Go on to the wall,” he replied to one of his flock, “you will be more needed’ there.” Itis gratifying to know that this gentleman is in a fair way to recover. When subsequent- ly asked why he had jOined the party his reply was that his duty was to be by the side of the dying men of his re- giment. And it is Such men as these that have been late- ly shot down by this miserable nation, and yet there will be enough people even in the United States to rub their hands over this battle as “a check to English pride and arrogance.” 1 wish they could visit this part of the world, and see how it is that English power ensures sufety to the world’s trade with the East. Once reduce her to the position of a third rate Power, and let the United States continue her hos- tility to a Jarge navy sand the half civilized nations of the East will soon expel all foreigners and close their ports to our trade. Unirep States Steam Fricare PowmAtan, Gvir or Pics, xkaR Pumo River, July 3, 1889. The Battle of the Taku—Graphic Description of the En- gagement by an Eye Witness—The Attack Upon the Gun- boats of the Allies—Terrible Slaughter—The Attempt to Storm the Forts and Signal Defeat of the Europeans— Movements of the American Minister and Commodore Tatinall During the Trouble—Searching for the North Bend under Difficulties—Laughable Mistake—Mr. Ward's Journey to Pekin Delayed—Efforts of the British to Draw the Americans into the Quarrel—List of Vessels Compri- sing the Allied Squadron—Independence Day on Board the Powhatan, ée., de. Simultaneous with this letter you will doubtless receive full particulars, from other sources, of the attempted visit of the Allied Ministers to Pekin, and their extraordi- nary and unexpected failure, with the loss of some 600 men and extensive damage to their gunboats. Having been an eye witness of the whole proceeding, a short description of the engagement may prove interesting to your readers, and I may, perchance, have picked up a few facts which will not be found in other narratives, and which may serve to throw additional light on the subject. On the 18th of May we left Hong Kong for Shanghae via Ningho, the Torquan, a small steamer, having pro- viously been chartered for the uso of Mr. Ward, the United States Minister and his suite. Ten days thereafter we were at Woosung, where Mr. Ward left us, and went up to Shanghae on board the Mississippi with a strong guard of marines. Our Minister was cordially received at Shanghae by the Chinese Commissioners, who politely informed him that on arriving at Peiho river he would find ambassadors in waiting to escort him, with all due pomp and ceremony, to Pekin. Accordingly, Mr. Ward returned to Woosung, and we set sail again, arriving at the Gulf of Pichili on the 2st ult. Here we learned that the river was ina stato of blockade from sunken junks, chains and iron stakes, placed there to prevent the advance of the Allied Ministers on Pekin. Nevertheless, on the 24th of Juno Mr. Ward, accompanied by his aid, our Commodore and Captain, and an experienced intorproter, started in the Torquan for the Peiho river; but on applying for a passage we were re fused, and told that there was no one in authority to ro- ceive us nearer than the North Bond, a placo nine miles further north, where, we were iniormed, we would find ambassadors to escort us to Pe ‘The English, it appears, had deen told ¢ same thing before our Minister's arrival, and atso that this was net the Peiho river at all but that the North Bend was. They bad been plainly ‘warned that if they attempted to force a passage they would be fired into. But the English, regarding the threats of the Chinese as 20 much empty boasting, determined to pase up the river at all hazards, and so began to make their preparations, Our Commodore, disbelieving the as- sertions of the Chinese, and having been informed by the British Admiral that there was in reality no such place as North Bend, concluded to follow the English up the river, should they attempt the passage. He therefore remained under the fire of the forts and looked on. At balf-past two o’clock in the afternoon the work com- menced, the Admiral’s boat taking the lead and essaying to belve up one of tho stakes. The second one that was attempted proved the signal for @ ge- neral cannonade on both sides. A shot was first fired from one of the forts, and was Promptly returned by every one of the gunboats, twelve in number. The slaughter was really terriflc—such as I bave never read or heard of before. The gunboats re- ceived gremendous damage, and to add to the difficulties of their position, the tide, which had been high on.our arrival, receded gradually, and left them aground, when they s00n became perfect wrecks. During the hottest of the fire Commodore Tatnall had his barge manned, and started for the Admiral’s gunboat. When alongside the latter, a shot from one of the forts struck the barge, and killed the coxswain, John Hart, instantly. The Commo- dore found only three survivors of the murderous fire on board the gunboat, out of a force of thirty-five, and the Admiral himself was lying among the slain with one of hie legs broken. ‘The action lasted untileight o'clock at night, and the boat: bad by that time exhausted all their ammunition 400 rounds each, 80 that they were completely at the mercy of their antagoniste—a target for tho destructive fire of the fort in @ river not five hundred yards in width. There was but one French gunboat engaged in coucert with the English. An English officer, who had been at the siege of |. Sebastopol, remarked in my hearing that at no one timo was the slaughter so great or the firing so severe as at this engagement. The English have lost in killed and missing nearly six hundred men, and as many wounded, 80 severely too that they are dying hourly. A large number who landed were killed in attempting to storm the forts in the face of difficulties which one would think should have caused the commanders to ponder well ere they gave the hazardous order to attack. The men had to jump up to their waists in water, with the almost certainty of destroying their ammunition, and on reaching terra firma, instead of finding it firm, they had to wade through mud into which they sank deeper and deeper, after having passed trenches filled with quick- sand and run all sorts of davgers and annoyances. While the soldiers were tn this helpless condition blue lights were repeatedly fired from the forts, to enable the Chinese to mow down the French and English with mur- derous vdljeys of grape and canister. Out of one com- pany of three hundred men who had landed only one re- turned alive. Every head was cut off and put in bags by the Chinese, who thus exhibited them to their enemies. Such a defeat surely the English have never met with; yet they fought like lions and never flinched, grape shot, solid shot and canister flying in all directions about them. It is generally supposed the forts were manned by Euro- pean renegades of all nations, though some do assert that the Russians played the principal part in the defence. Jam certainly of opinion that the English Admiral was altogether two sanguine, and anticipated little resistance. But the stout resistance of these incomprehensible Chinese soon disabused his mind of the idea that, because the forts were yielded up so easily last year, they would also be surrendered wit it Opposition so soon as he would order the attack. : ‘The Torquan had a small share in the fight. She took in tow the boats conveying the landing parties, and acted as a messenger boat during a part of the action. Our Minister did not beh of our Commodore acting in con- cert with the English in the engagement. Shortly utter the commencement of the firing, Mr. Ward went on board a junk out of reach of the shot. It was understood to be the in- tention of the Commodore, had not the Torquan grounded, to bave returned to his ship and sent his marines, with every other availab! man, to [assist the British in landing. ‘‘A fortunate thing,” says Mr. Ward, our Minister, ‘‘the Torquan was grounded, otherwise the most of you would have been murdered; there are guns enough mounted on the forts to drive away twelve line-of-battle ships.” How far the adminis- tration will sanction Commodore Tattnal’s proceedings it is of course impossible for me to say, with the facta star- ing us in the face that we are here on a peaceful mission, and that only afew hours before our Minister was told that it he would go to the Peiho river, near North Bend, he would find all ne looked for—and whatis more, he did receive it yesterday. Last Wednesday, June.30, the Torquan went in search of the river that no existence, and retarned during the day: with the report that they had landed with an in- terpreter ata small town near agtream, and just had time to give the Minister's Jetter to a Chinese official when a.troop of mounted cavalry was discovered galloping to wards them, some thousand strong. All hands very natu- rally took to shanks’ mares as fast as they could carry them to the boat, returned, and madefa report of their failure, Which crested sowie merriment, It was given up for certainty that Joh Chinaman was not going to receive Mr. Ward, Yesterday, however, at 8A. M., two large junke, loaded with produce, came within a®short distance of us and anchored, A small boat, lowered from one of the Jumke, and having on boured a ‘Chinese official bearing an answer to our Minister's letter, immediately came alongsifle, The answer was in the highest degree favora- ble. It seems the party who landed from the Torquan been mistaken for the English, and the cavalry which chased them to their boat was part of a guard, 4: strong, which was to have escorted Mr. Ward to Pekin, and had been waiting several days in. expectation of his daily arrival. The produce, a present for our Minister, sisted of nineteen hogs, nineteen sheep, thirty-three sacks of flour, nineteen of rice, besides ducks, chickens, geese, eggs and vegetables in great quantities. The answer to is letter stated that the Commissioner would meet. him whenever convenient—that he would send a pilotfto bring his ship up the river, eight miles, A great deal of corres- pondence has since passed between the officials, the Eng- lish squadron lying in close proximity. It appears to have been the aim of the British Admiral to entrap our Commodore into taking a joint part in the éngagement. How nearly this object was accomplished you can judge for yoursef. It has been a blind piece of business all through, and there is every reason to believe thathad our Commodore acted on the information afforded him on the 24th of June by the Chineso, by retarning and making his way to the North Bend, our Minister would have been by this time closo on Pekii. uLy 4. ‘The following vessels form the squadron in the Gulf of Pichili:—Flagship Chesapeake, Highflyer, Cruiser, Fury, Magician, Assistance (transportship), Heifer (troop ship). Gimboats in action with the forts—Plover, Reshral, Nim- rod, Lee, Haughty, Opposum, Banterer, Forester, Star- ling, Janus, Cormorant (Admiral’s tender), and the French frigate Duchayla, in the Gulf of Pichili. Gun- oat in action with the forts:—Nosegay. 1 bave since earned that the English have succeeded in raising three of their gun boats and in getting them out of the river. ‘The number of officers killed and wounded is 23. Iforgot to mention yesterday that twelve of the hogs were killed and offered to the crew, but they refused to take them, preferring to have them sent on board the English ships for the sick and wounded. This of course was done. Funny, is it not. We help to fight their bat- tes, and then help to feed their wounded with produce coming direct from their enemy. A very quiet day we have for the Fourth of July—noth- ing unusual—a little more bunting displayed. At noon we fire a salute of twenty-one guns, and during the day splice the main brace perhaps. We are all on the qui vive for the pilot that is to take us tothe North Bend. I should like before closing this letter to inform you of our arrival at Pekin and favorable reception, but the mail goes in an hour and J must therefore conclude. NEWSPAPERS ACCOUNTS. THE ALLIES WEIGH ANCHOR AND BUN TO THE MOUTH OF THE PEIHO—MEETING THF BARRIERS. [Om the Peiho (June 28) Correspondence of Ceylon Observer] Ifecl scarcely equal to the painful task of attempting to describe occurrences which Tam altogather incompetent to depict in sufliciently striking and vivid colors, and yet on the vivid as well as correct representation of which, I feel, depends the honor of all the brave men with whom Tam serving—nay, more, of old England’s stainless flag itself. ‘As I did not keep a journal of the previous day's pro ceedings I shall confiae myself to those of the ill-starred 25th. ‘Atdaylight on the morning of that day the gunboats weighed and proceeded to make a last attompt to remove the’ barriers that the Chinese haa placed across the en- trance of the river, and were evidently determined not to remove of their own accord. These, however, being composed of strong iron bars and chains, Siccesetully resisted all the efforts made for their removal up to twleve o'clock, when the order was given that the men should have their dinners, after which it was generally understood we should open tire on the forts, Strange to say, during the six or eight hours in which these preliminary measures were being effected neither was asingle gan fired from the forts nor was there a symptom evident that their occupants were prepared to defend them. Every embrasure was screened with matting, and not a head was visible over the ramparts ; and this, although the gunboats were all from 500 to 700 yards distant, and were all at sixes sevens, from some getting aground, while others had © haul them off, and the space in which they had tomoye being too confined to allow of their mana@uyring. OPENING OF TBR CHINESE BATTER'E5—A HEAVY FIRE ON BOTH SIDES. Dinner having been finished, about half past one o'clock the signal was run up to prepare for action, and the Opos- sum (Lieut. Commander Balfour), with Capt. Wiles, R. N., and the Plover, with our brave old Admiral, pushed in close up to the first barrier. No sooner did they arrive there than suddenly, as if by magic, the mats that screened the guns in all the certain batteries were triced up, and the whole of the guns opeued Gre. Our vessels being all well prepared ve Was immediately return: ed, and the general, it was at once ovident, though, that we had no ordinary Chinece artillery to contend against. Their fire, both in saul prect*iom, was such as few men, and Y feet certain patgners, e+ fore experienced.” In a very porsnm had several of her crow killed Jo the Plover the Adtniral was severely bit; ber gallant commander, Rason, and of the First Royals (doing duty’on ing Aare’ na) ‘wore killed, and almost every man of the crew A while the Haughty (Licutonant Broad), Toe (Lieutenant Commander Jones), Kestrel (Lieutenan: ‘Com. mander Bevan), and Cormorant — Wode- house), were #0 severely cri were ina sinking state. Lee, would have gone down at ‘once but for Licuteuant Broad, in the Haught , dashing in to her rescue, towing her out under a heavy fe. d Jess, the bombardment was kept up with unabated vigor, ‘and in about two hours the enemy's fire began sensibly to slacken; and (although they bad got our 80 exactly Sink Sineans evens. sh told thm admirably irected comparativel damage to thelr mud walls) él after four o'clock it became almost silented. ALLIED ATTEMPT TO LAXD, AND ITS EFFECTS. At about five o’clock the anxiously expected signal was py ase Cox Sor Secs land on appa » which ‘was br answered eS m, every boat containing them stri to be the first to reach the shore. Nota soul in the squadron at Bas manent, I believe, doubted our obtaining a speedy vi . Just ag it boat touched tie shore, however, bang went a gun again from the forte, immediately followed by a perfect hurricane of shot, shell, sggal balla and rockets, from all the southern batteries, w! mowed down our men by tens as they landed. Nevertheless, out ef the boats they all with undiminished ardor, (many into water #0 deep they had to swim ashore,) and dashed forward through the mud, while the ships threw in as heavy a covering tire as they possibly could. ‘The enemy’s tire, however, continued to be so deadly, and the mud proved so deep (in most places reaching up to the men’s knees, at least, often up to their waist), that out of the 1 men who landed barely 100 reached the first of the deep and wide ditches, which, after some 500 yards of wading through the mud, presented them- selves before the gallant few who got go far, and. out o' that small number scarcely [iy ag been able do keep their rifles or their ammunition . Nevertheless they boldly faced these new difficulties, and some fifty of them, with a crowd of officers {amone whom: were conspicuous the commanding offieer of French. comet ae manders Commerell and Heath, R. N.; Major and Lieutenant Hawkey, of the Marines; Major Fisher and Licutenant Maitland, of the Engineera}, succeeded in get- pe bel as the furthest bank of third ditch, from which they would certainly have made a good attempt to scale the walls had ladders been forthcoming; but out of the number that were landed, all but one had either been broken by hot or had stuck in the mud. With the re- maining one, however, tex devoted men spr: forward, three of whom were immediately shot dead, and five wounded severely, A vertical fire of arrows, as well as a constant fusilade. was kept up on the select band, who now crouched in the ditch, waiting, but in vain, for reinforcements; and that any of them afterwards escaped alive is miraculous. ORDER OF RETREAT, AND HEAVY LOSSES OF THE EUROPEANS. Seeing what insurmountable difficulties presented them- selves, the order was at last given to retire; the lion- hearted commander of the troops, Colonel Lemon, of the anh) ote who — Cd the bie into ihe aoe jiteh), Captain Vansittart, ¢ Magicienne, an it Shadwell, of the Highflyer, all having been severely wounded. The latter was badly shot through the foot shortly after landing, but nevertheless managed to strug- gle manfully forward, even to the advanced trench. Poor Captain Vansittart had his leg shot off. Lieut. Graves, of the Assistance; Lieut. Clutterbuck, of the Coromandel; young Herbert; of the Chesapeake; and Lieutenants In- eis and Woolridge, of the Royal Marines, were all killed while gallantly cheering on their men; and at Jeast three-fourths of the offers who landed were more or less severely hit. In effecting the retreat even more lives were lost, perhaps, than in advancing, as the Chinese, by lighting blue lights, were enabled to discover the exact position of our then reeling and thoroughly exhausted men and so to shoot them down like birds. Even on arriving at the water’s edge matters were not improved, as so many of the boats had been smashed to pieces by round shot that there was not enough remaining to take off the surviving men. Seve- ral were drowned in attempting to get off, while many had to remain for more than an hour up to their necks in wa- ter before they could get a place in @ boat; and even then their dangers were not past, as the fire from the forte continued 60 heavy that several boats full of wounded were struck and swamped while pulling off to the ships. ‘The Coromande} was made the temporary hospital ship, and the ecene on her upper deck was truly horrible. It was nearly one o'clock before the last load of wounded was brought off to her, and long ere that hour she was crowded with the mu ilated and the dying. Every exer- tion, however, was made by the medical staff (to whom and expecially to Dr. Little, of the Marines, great credit is due), and long ere daybreak every sufferer had his wounds tended. Every operation, (and their number was sick- ening) I was gratified to hear was performed under the in- fluence of chjoform. Our proportionate loss has indeed been frightful—464 killed and wounded. The Firat battalion of marines alone, which Janded barely 400 strong, has lost altogether 172 killed and wounded; the Chesapeake 26 killed or missing, and 34 wounded; and the gunboats 90 killed and wounded. No expectation whatever is entertained of those who are returned missing being still alive. With such enemies as the Chinese, and under the peculiar cir- cumstances of the case, all such hope is out of the ques- tion. FOREIGNERS AIDING THE CHINESE—THERY LOOK LIKE RUSSIANS. ‘The belief is universal throughout the squadron that Europeans manned the batteries as well as Chinese. AM in gray coats with closely cropped, hair, and with Russian istis ‘in the batteries, and the de- for * more powder” re that Geared in Chinese other pean faces. The damaged forts have ly been, repaired, and Nave newer ceased tofire upon the boats that are sill en: gaged under Captain Willer and Commanders, Oommerell and Wynniatt, in struggling to rescue the stranded reels. 1 should have stated that the Plover, Lee and Kestrel all sank in the course of the evening of the 25th, and the Haughty and Cormorant (despatch vessel) early next morning. ‘Thanks to the untiring efforts of our gal- lant tars, however, the Haughty and Kestrel have, under a heavy fire from the forts, been floated again, and’ are in comparative safety, while ali the valuable contents of the Cormorant, Lee and Plover have been either saved or effectually destroyed, All who have witnessed the opera- tions are loud in their praises of the gunboat officers, who have all done their duty like heroes. It has undoubtedly been a most unfortunate affair; but, whatever befell, no one can deny that the men dial thet mortal men could do. The point selected for landing certainly appears to have been ill chosen; but yet, as we could not get past even the first barrier, it seems that after all it was as good as any that was accessible; and as to the expediency of the attack being made at ali, I would only ask what would they have said in England—what would the world have said—had we declined to attack, when, as far as we knew, we had only rascaily Chinese to contend with? Time, 1am confident, will prove that Europeans were our principal opponents, and that to have succeeded in our attempt we should lave fiad at least five times if not ten gimes the force we had. FRENCH AND AMERICAN AID TO ENGLAND. Lieutenant Peard, of the Cormorant, is particularly worthy of mention for his conduct. Besides being in ac- tion all day with his vessel, he landed, was first in the ditches, took back a message’ to the boats, and returned again to the advanced trench. Lieutenant Peard had served in the trenches during the whole of the siege of Sebastopol. ‘The great majority of the men hit are either danger- ously or severely wounded, but Iam happy to say they are almost all doing well. ‘The weather is very favorable for them, being cool, with fresh breezes from the north “rine ‘reach, out of their small landing of sixt he French, out of their s1 rt ‘ The’ “amr of a small men, had fifteen killed or wounded. cans assisted us considerably, by means steamer, with which they towed ‘wp several of our boats into action from the large ships, and also after the action, by taking out to their respective ships a number of our men, to whom they showed every kindness. They were loud in their praises of the daring our men showed, and have sent large presents of fresh meatand vegetables for the benefit of our wounded. {Gulf of Pecheli (July 1) Correspondence of Overland Friend of China. } On the 26th of June the negotiations with the Chinese having come to nothing but a put-off to gain time, the Ad- miral, with his flag flying in the Plover, followed by the gunbeats Lee, Nimrod, Cormorant, Opossum, Banterer, Starling, Forester, Kestrel. Janus and Haughty, proceeded to take up a position off Peibo forts, ready to attack in case the Chinese should offer any resistance to clearing away the barriers. At 2 P. M., the stations being pretty well obtained with the exceptions of the Starling and Ban- terer, who were on shore—the former on the South and the latter on the north bank—the Plover and Opossum weighed; the latter proceeded to clear away a pas- sage through the iron stakes which composed the first obstruction. Two of these having been drawn, the Plover, followed by the Opossum, passed through them and also the second boom, which’ been destroyed by the Flag Captain on the ‘previous night. On arriving ai the second she attempted, together with the Opossum, to break through it, but without effect. Almost imme- diately a single gun was fired at her,and directly all the masks were rolled up, a tremendous’ fire was opened on the squadron, and the action beeame general. The Lee, by signal from the Plover, passed through the stakes to the support of the Admiral.’ The Plover and Opossum were, however, soon obliged to slip, the fire being too heavy for them, and, followed by the Loe, dropped clear of the stakes at 8:15. The gunboat Plover suffered very much in killed and wounded. An officer was sent to the reserve to orger up reinforcements, but the tide was too strong for the boats to attempt to pull up. The American fing officers very kindly offered to tow the boats up to a position to enable them to reach the gunboats. At 4:30 the enemy's fire was slackened considerably, orders were sent down to the reserve for the marines and naval brigade to prepare to land, and the Forester and Opos- sum, together with the Toey-wan, proceeded and towed them to the Nimrod, the place of rendezvous. At an early period of the action the Admiral had been wounded on board the Plover by a Splinter in the thigh, and that vessel was almost entirely disabled. He shifted his flag to the Opossum; when there he took his station on the caboose and from’ thence issued his orders, until 5 round shot cut the mainstay on which he was leaning an caused him to fall to the deck, a heigh€ of somo eight fect, breaking a rib and severely shaking him, After a short time he left the Opossum in the Du Chayla’s gig, and pro ceeded to the Cormorant, where he remained. | At 545 the Hate having assembled alongside, Nimrod eee the shore, as near to the stakes as possible, and 0 to the left bastion, shear aoe Janis distance from it. ‘The landing here was composed of mud about knoe deep, and the greatest diffidulty was experienced in ne a the scaling ladders and bridges. ‘The marines aut! nays brigade, a small portion of which had only Just landed, pushed to the front, under a heavy fire from six guns in flank and front, The tire from the walls of gingalls, rifles and arrows was also very heavy: . No check had hitherto taken place, but hore aditeh five feet deep and ten broad occurred, and the men, having no choice, plunged across and thereby wetted their ammuni- tion. ‘A party of some fifty officers and men again pushed on and cvossed another wet ditch, which took them within twenty yards of the wall. In the meantime, Captains Shadwell gnd Vansittart, as also Colonel Lemon, having been wounded, the command devolved upon Commander Commerell and Major Parke. It was now about nine o'clock and darkness bad set in, The position of the land- for instructions, and the scnior officer sent him back im- mediately with orders for the force to withdraw,as no re~ inforeements could be sent. prey oe order wag ré- ceived the wounded were despa! to the rear and threes, and two hours having been given them to get to the boats, the Willes employed themselves in em! the wounded and land! Loattpecr py ty after they were all off. The to get her off. For the same reasons the Plover and ling, both immovably of . The ‘of the 26th showed our squadron iz sad condi a gunboat was undisabled. How- over, during the day the carpenters of the squadron were employed patching them te temporarily, and the Star- ling having floated her second master proceeded in a and cut her cable, when she drifted out of range with ebb. That night attempts were made by Captain Wiles to recover the Cormorant aud Plover, but without suc- cogs, The Cormorant’s ship com} mained till 11 P. M., to endeavor to float-her, @ most terrific fire was opened upon her from batteries both north and southis and it soon became sinking, down to Commander Wode- most. Plover, but it was found impracticable, as she was full water, and her shot holes between wind and water = no hope of her being able to float. the trel, sunk on the 26th, under the batteries, was drifting out, aud having been towed by the Janus shoal water, was eventually recovered. During that day the enemy got on board the Plover, over the mud, and saved us the trouble of destroying her by setting her om The next two or three days the boats of the Chesapeake were seyret destroying the abandoned veesels as much as possible. [Gulf of Pecheli (July 3) Correspondence of the Overland Frieud of China.} ‘The fleet having arfived at the rendezvous near the Shah-pui-tien islands on the 16th,the Admiral wont im close to the mouth of the river on the following day and sent in twa officers, who had an opportunity of at the worke—a sight which was soon after accorded to the whole force. The river was found to be very effectually barred across by means of iron stakes of a formidable ap- pearance, as well as booms ingenious construction and of considerable strength. ‘These booms are raked by the fire of newly construct- ed forts on either bank of the Hiver, eccepyiag nearly the fame ground as those of last year, only much improved in strength and workmanship. There are altogether five forts, mounting ninety or one hundred guns, or, more pro- perly speaking, having embrasures for that number. ‘The principal fort is on the gouth side, and contains fifty embrasures. It is composed of three high bastions, abous thirty-five feet, raised above the ground, with three gun@ on each. These bastions are connected by a battlemented, wall, upwards of twenty feet high, through which the re- maining guns fire. ‘The whole fort is about 600 yards long, and is protected in front by a ditch full of water. Opposite the upper end of this fort, and consequently on the north side, is a large fort, also threatening the passage. Higher up are two more, one Sn either side, and the fifth is qnite to the south and retired some way back from the river’s bank. Each fort appeared to have a similar mound in it Ife the bas- tions described above, though the arrangement of the outer wall varied according to circumstances. The dis- tance between the extreme forts might be abouta milo and a half. Such is the general appearance presented by the defences of the Peiho. A landing was effected on the 17th, and some communication made, as algo on the 20th. but no decisive measures were adopted before the of the 24th, when an attempt was made to blow up one of the booms ‘sufficiently to enable our gunboats to make their way through. The result was only success ful. The Chinese showed their vigilance by two round shot after the explosion had ‘ben ‘On the morning of this day the force been moved inside the bar, and those who had not their own vessela to live in, were quartered in junks. Next morning (25tb) the despatch vessels and gunboats were moved up, the morning was mainly taken up by the operation of getting all the vessels into , 80 that each could firo ‘without injury to the other, which appeared a very difll~ cut matter, from the narrowness of the deep ° ths river and the extreme force of the tide. r, by noon the positions were almost gained and the mem were piped to dinner. At about ea P. M. tho Opossum went ahead, with Captain Willes on board, and deliberately made g rope fast to the iron moved away two of them, marking the pemes She then steamed up over the forbid ground to the next barrier, closely followed by the Plover, bearing the Admiral’s flag. iow the aspect of batteries, pushed BE There had been am aminous silence in and no sign of life but a sailing boat, which off just before the stakes were pulled, and eame down to- wards us, suddenly went about and retarned to the shore. However, no sooner did the enter the sanctum than the mats fell from the embrasures, and shot after shot was ) poured into the devoted but game little vessels. ‘The squadron returned the fire, of course, and the ball be- ing well opened , was carried on with vigor, which showed that we had a Chines foe to deal with sual a8 oe had not seen before. e Oppossum an 3 vi it go their anchors close up to the boom, held their position for some time, until their losses compelled them to drop down. a little lower. It was in the foremost position that Admi- ral Hope was wounded, and Captain M’Kenna, First Roy- ale, and Lieutenant y . $ losses. amongst the crew being very hedvy indeed. ’ The vessels were now pretty well together; the Banterer, Plover and Cormorant were nearly in a line, across the river, and im this manner the fight was flercely carried on by ail. By about 6 P. M. the Lee and Kestrel were in a sinking ° state, but the forts had considerably slackened their fire. ‘The landing party was now sent for, and the boats towed up by the United States steamer Toey-wan, obligingly offered by the commodore, and one of the gunboats, They pulled on shore opposite the lower or southern bas- tion of the main south fort. The fire from the works, which had been reserved with judgment, was then opened with very great effect upom the landing party. We have no news from Cochin China, except a report that Ambassadors from the Annamite monarch had ai rived at the quarters of the Admiral, and that the chole: ‘was raging among the French troops. In a anda point of view I believe it is felt, and I fear with some reason, that the expedition has done more evil than good [From the North China Herald, July 16.) We have little to add to the narratives of our corres- mdents, published in our issue of the 9thinst. We have, jowever, been set right on a few details. One point of importance we are glad to be able to cor- rect. We understood that the officer first sent in by the Admiral was received by a mandarin. It seems that no mandarins appeared at all. Some of the common people, calling themselves braves, under a leader, and. contrac- tor engaged in fixing the piles and booms which the river, presented themselves, but maintained positively that there were no mandarius near the place, and that the works in progress were undertaken at the expense of the people, and without any authorty the government; algo, that their object was the defence of the coast against rebels or pirates, and not hostility or hindrance to us. In- deed, the contractor promised to have the way clear for us in two days. ‘We are algo glad to be assured that Admiral Hope's ap- ance at Takoo in the first instance was so unmistaka- ly pacific in character. A solitary man-of-war’s boat carried in his first message. The Fury and two gunboats were left outside the bar; the rest of the squadron was lying thirty miles off at Sha-luy-teen, and when the Ad~ miral did come, in he is stated to have handed in a letter requesting that'a market might be opened at the fort, ag his ships would remain there until Mr. Bruce’s return from Pekin. There is another error in our last issue: that several letters and messages passed between Mr. Bruce and tha mandarins, who said Mr. Bruce would be received at Pekin in some roundabout way, but that the river was blocked up and no man-of-war would be allowed to pass. Mr. Bruce, it appears, received but one communication from the shore, the contents of which have not trans- Pired. Jt was brought from the mouth of another ed not, 80 far as we can ascertain, a branch of or connect with the river we call the Peiho. The place was visited subsequently by the Americans, who found the water too shoal for their bout, aud, consequently, had to wade in to the shore. ried another landing, and were purened into the water by some cavalry. ‘The letter brought to Mr. Bruce was found to have been two days on the rod, and was delivered on the 25th of June, but a few hours before the Admiral, as he had given notice he would, attempted to pass the booms, ng began. Foe ae ceram all that we can collect on the subject that if the Chinese government did intend eventually ta Admit us by some new route, it took care not to inform ust of the for some Treason or other it kept away from Takoo any one who might have informed us that the ol route, which is not closed to trade, for junks were seem thick above the forts, was closed to the Ministers, who, ali the world has been aware for a twelvemonth, wera coming to Pekin to exchange the ratiications of the trea ties. If a foreign Minister had been told by a responaibla authority, “You cannot pass this way; by the - orders you must go round by such or such @ road,” ha might have had a difficulty in calling on his Admiral to. force a passage. But this is precisely what the Chinese go~ 2 yerument did not do. On the contrary, it to have taken every precaution to be unrepresented in tlle matter, quite prepared, we cannot but think, had Admiral Hope’s movement succeeded, to throw the entire blame on the country people, who, as they themselves alleged, had run.up these works without its orders and fired with. out its authority. There are some contradictions which we cannot ox. plain. Why should an unwarlike and yery embarrassed overnment fight at all? Was it out of reve for tha alf hour's thrashing we gave it last year? .Or, wag it that it thought we were coming to get something moro out of it? Or was it determined not to leave us in the enjoyment even of what we had extorted? ‘Our Chinese goesips were agreed from the first that many conditions in the treaty of Tien-tsin the Emperor ra never consent to carry out, and pointed to the fact, wi the Pekin Gazette put beyond dispute, that Sangko.