Page 218 - Merchants and Mandarins China Trade Era

204.

Napier at this point announced: "Now there are two things to

be considered--the honour of His Majesty's Commission, and the

interest of the merchants. I conceive my duty to be to sustain

92
them both, but not one at the expense of the other." This
statement was extremely significant, since the King's honor

became a stake. Of course an Englishman could not compro­
mise on this point. John Shillaber's earlier predictions

began to be realized. Napier sent a despatch to the British

frigates outside the Bogue to come up to Whampoa and send
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their marines up to Canton. The frigates' commanders obeyed

their orders, but in the process had to fight their way past

Chinese forts at the Bogue.

Throughout the affair so far, the Americans maintained

a rather nonchalant attitude. Convinced that neither side

actually desired hostilities, they assumed that eventually

both sides would compromise as had always happened before.

Even the embargo on British trade did not dismay the Americans,

since they believed this would not last long either� August

was one of the less busy months at Canton in terms of volume

of trade. Most vessels had not yet arrived. John Murray Forbes

confided to Russell & Co.'s English agent, Joshua Bates, that

in three months, when business would increase and "the trade

will be of so much importance" to the Chinese, "they will find

92
From a despatch of Lord Napier, Aug. 17, 1834, in Collis,
Foreign Mud, p. 131.
93
chang, Commissioner Lin and the Opium War, pp. 56-58.
Napier, who stayed at the house of Jardine, Matheson & Co.,
followed their advice. Collis, Foreign Mud, pp. 146-47.