He is a truly great prince, doing and seeing everything for himself." Keen Lung survived his abdication about three years, dying on the 8th February, 1799-which also happened to be the Chinese New Year's-day-and as to the character and historical importance of his reign, I may be permitted to repeat the language I formerly employed on this subject.

It formed the most important epoch in modern Chinese history, for it marked what was long thought to be the zenith of Manchu power, and it certainly beheld the thorough and complete establishment of that authority. The exceptional brilliance of this reign was enhanced and rendered the more conspicuous by not only a succession of unsurpassed military ex ploits, but also by a series of literary and administrative achievements unequalled in Tartar if not in Chinese history. Keen Lung's attention to his people's wants, and his zeal in promoting what he thought were their best interests, showed that he desired to appear in their eyes as the paternal ruler, which is the salient characteristic of a Chinese Emperor. That he was almost completely successful in realising his objects there can be little doubt, and it was by general consent, more than by palace flattery, that the title of Magnificent was attached to his name. Taking his reign in conjunction with that of his grandfather, Kanghi, whose work he carried on and completed, the period was one of almost unexampled achievement in the annals of any country. The authority of the Manchus, which appeared likely to be overthrown and obliterated before the vigorous onslaught of the Chinese commander, Wou Sankwei, was triumphantly asserted, and the sovereignty of the Empire was established and made good over remote tributary kingdoms and recalcitrant vassals. The Emperor Kanghi accomplished a great deal, but he left much undone, or half done, for those who came after him to complete. Keen Lung, on the other hand, succeeded in everything he undertook, and his success was never partial, but always complete and decided. Those who followed him on the Dragon Throne had but to retain what he had won, to maintain intact the authority he exercised, to be able to boast with truth that they swayed the destinies of the most remarkable empire of a homogeneous race since the time of Rome.

When Keen Lung released his hold upon the sceptre the Manchu power had reached its pinnacle. A warrior race, supported by the indomitable courage of a great people, and by the unlimited resources of a most favourably situated country, had been able to set up its unquestioned authority throughout the Middle Kingdom and the dependencies which, from a remote period, had been included under the vague and uncertain term of tributaries. From that post of vantage, and by means of those powerful elements of support, it had succeeded in establishing its undisputed supremacy throughout Eastern Asia from Siam to Siberia, and from Nepaul to Corea. There remained no military feat for the loftiest ambition to accomplish when the aged Keen Lung retired into private life, leaving the respo sibilities and anxieties of power to his sons and their descendants. Well for those later rulers of the Manchu race would it have been if they could have retained peaceful and undisturbed possession of the great empire to which they succeeded. But a long period of decadence was to follow this century and a half of unexampled vigour and capacity. With the disappearance of the great Keen Lung the stern qualities necessary to the preservation of a widely extended sway also take for a time their departure from the region of Chinese history. Often it was thought that they had departed altogether,

and that the long period of decay and disunion would terminate in complete disruption and disaster. Within a quite recent time the character of the people reasserted itself under trying circumstances, and the evil day for them has again been postponed, if not finally put off. But before that reassertion of natural strength takes place a period of internal trouble and external weakness has to be gone through and described. With the death of Keen Lung the vigour of China reached a term, and just as the progress had been consistent and rapid during the space of 150 years, so now will its downward course be not less marked or swift, until, in the very hour of apparent dissolution, the Empire will find safety in the valour and probity of an English officer, and in the ability and resolution of the Empress-Regents and their two great soldier-statesmen, Li Hung Chang and Tso Tsung Tang.

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CHAPTER XV.

THE DECLINE OF THE MANCHUS.

ALTHOUGH it is usual and historically accurate to date the decline of Manchu power from the accession of Kiaking, it must not be supposed that it crumbled rapidly away, or that either Chinese statesmen or their European critics were aware that a great change had taken place, and that the power of the Government had been seriously diminished. On the contrary, the great achievements of Keen Lung left a profound impression after his death, assuring tranquillity against internal rebels, and deterring external enemies from attacking his State. Even to the eyes of Europeans China appeared a mighty and formidable empire nearly twenty years after the death of Keen Lung. Mr. Henry Ellis, one of the British Commissioners in 1816, and a man well acquainted with European courts and countries, said, "However absurd the pretensions of the Emperor of China may be to universal supremacy, it is impossible to travel through his dominions without feeling that he has the finest country within an Imperial ring-fence in the world." And if this was the opinion of a competent observer, there is no doubt that the general view of the exalted character of the Chinese autocrat and the extent of his power was still more pronounced. The merchants and factors of the East India Company, which retained the monopoly of the Chinese trade down to the year 1834, spread about their view of the magnificence of the Chinese Court and of the resources of the country, and only harsh experience could show how far this appearance of strength was delusive, and how far Manchu authority rested on an insecure foundation.

The favourable opinion which his father had held of him does not seem to have been shared by all the ministers of Kiaking. The most prominent of them all, Hokwan, who held to Keen Lung the relation that Wolsey held to Henry the Eighth, soon fell under the displeasure of the new Emperor, and was called upon to account for his charge of the finances. The favour and the age of Keen Lung had left Hokwan absolutely without control, and the minister turned his opportunities to such account that he amassed a private fortune of eighty million taels, or more than twenty-five millions of our money. He was indicted for peculation shortly after the death of the great Emperor, and without any friends he succumbed to the attack of his many enemies incited to attack him by the greed of Kiaking. But the amount of his peculations amply justified his punishment, and Kiaking in signing his death warrant could not be accused of harshness or injustice. The execution of Hokwan restored some of his ill-gotten wealth to the State, and served as a warning to other officials, but as none could hope to enjoy his opportunities, it did not act as a serious deterrent

upon the mass of the Chinese Civil Service. If arraigned, they might have justified their conduct by the example of their sovereign, who, instead of devoting the millions of Hokwan to the necessities of the State, employed them on his own pleasure, and in a lavish palace expenditure.

Several independent circumstances served to direct attention to the question of the foreign relations of China in the first years of the new reign. The increased import of opium entailing the increased export of silver became for the first time a matter of apprehension in the official world; and in the year 1800, the Hoppo, or Farmer of the Customs, at Canton, the only port where foreign trade was nominally tolerated, issued an edict denouncing the use of opium as a "growing evil," blaming the foreigners for importing it, and employing all sorts of threats against those indulging in or facilitating the practice. As the Hoppo could have stopped the import of opium if he had been so minded at this period, there is no doubt, and, indeed, the fact was notorious, that he did not share the sentiments expressed in the edict which bore his name. The suppression of the opium trade would have deprived his office of the pecuniary advantages which alone rendered it attractive, and enabled him to pay the large sum required for the appointment. The edict was drawn up by the Board of Censors at Pekin and published by Imperial command; but its enactments never possessed any force, and the Hoppo and his satellites, as well as the foreign merchants, treated it as a dead letter. In another matter the Chinese acted with greater energy and determination, and as it throws considerable light on the views prevailing at the time both in China and about China, and as it also forms what may be called the first scene of the drama for the effectual opening of Canton to foreigners, which was not closed for another half-century, it calls for detailed description.

The Portuguese were the tenants, as has previously been stated, of Macao, for which they paid an annual rent to the Chinese; but the nature of their tenure was not understood in Europe, where Macao was considered a Portuguese possession, During the progress of the great European struggle, the French, as part of one of their latest schemes for regaining their position in the East, conceived the idea of taking possession of Macao; but while they were contemplating the enterprise, an English squadron had accomplished it, and during the year 1802 Macao was garrisoned by an English force. The Treaty of Amiens provided for its restoration to Portugal, and the incident closed, chiefly because the period of occupation was brief, without the Chinese being drawn into the matter, or without the true nature of the Portuguese hold on Macao being explained. The exigences of war unfortunately compelled the re-occupation of Macao six years later, when the indignation of the Chinese authorities at the violation of their territory fully revealed itself. Peremptory orders were sent to the Canton authorities from Pekin to expel the foreigners at all costs. The Government of India was responsible for what was a distinct blunder in our political relations with China. In 1808, when alarm at Napoleon's schemes was at its height, it sent Admiral Drury and a considerable naval force to occupy Macao. The Chinese at once protested, withheld supplies, refused to hold any intercourse with that commander, and threatened the English merchants at Lintin with the complete suspension of the trade. In his letter of rebuke the chief mandarin at Canton declared that, "as long as there remained a single soldier at Macao," he would not allow any trade to be carried on, and threatened to

"block up the entrance to Macao, cut off your provisions, and send an army to surround you, when repentance would be too late." The English merchants were in favour of compliance with the Chinese demands, but Admiral Drury held a very exalted opinion of his own power and a corresponding contempt for the Chinese. He declared that, as "there was nothing in his instructions to prevent his going to war with the Emperor of China," he would bring the Canton officials to reason by force. He accordingly assembled all his available forces, and proceeded up the river at the head of a strong squadron of boats with the avowed intention of forcing his way up to the provincial capital. On their side the Chinese made every preparation to defend the passage, and they blocked the navigation of the river with a double line of junks, while the Bogue forts were manned by all the troops of the province. When Admiral Drury came in sight of these de aces, which must have appeared formidable to him, he hesitated, and instead of delivering his attack, he sent a letter requesting an interview with the mandarin, again threatening to force his way up to Canton. But the Chinese had by this time taken the measure of the English commander, and they did not even condescend to send him a reply; when Admiral Drury, submitting to their insult, hastily beat a retreat. On several subsequent occasions he renewed his threats, and even sailed up the Bogue, but always retreated without firing a shot. It is not surprising that the Chinese were inflated with pride and confidence by the pusillanimous conduct of the English officer, or that they should erect a pagoda at Canton in honour of the defeat of the English fleet. After these inglorious incidents Admiral Drury evacuated Macao and sailed for India, leaving the English merchants to extricate themselves as well as they could from the embarrassing situation in which his hasty and blundering action had placed them. If the officials at Canton had not been as anxious for their own selfish ends that the trade should go on as the foreign merchants themselves, there is no doubt that the views of the ultra school at Pekin who wished all intercourse with foreigners interdicted, and who caused Père Amiot, notwithstanding his signal services under Keen Lung, to be expelled from the country, would have prevailed. But the Hoppo and his associates were the real friends of the foreigner, and opened the back door to foreign commerce at the very moment that they were signing edicts denouncing it as a national evil and misfortune.

If Admiral Drury was weak, it is gratifying to find that, in a matter affecting the national honour and the first principles of justice, other English officers were resolute and consistent. The Chinese authorities on the Canton river, who were good enough to allow the foreigners to dispose of their useful articles in the profit of which they shared, advanced on behalf of their sovereign the judicial authority over the persons of foreigners, which is admitted without dispute among nations on an equal footing in laws and civilisation. For offences committed within Chinese territory, or more explicitly on Chinese subjects, they claimed to possess the same power of punishing an European as a Chinese, and for a time they not merely claimed but exercised that power. One tragic incident in 1784 had brought into prominence the full extent of the Chinese pretension, and the gross injustice it entailed when carried out, as Chinese judges would execute it without regard for circumstances or qualifications. When firing a salute the gun of a sailor on board an English merchantman happened to be loaded with ball, and to hit and kill a Chinese sailor. Although the