Page 404 - Merchants and Mandarins China Trade Era

CHAPTER VIII

KEARNY, CUSHING AND THE END OF THE "CANTON SYSTEM"

In November 1840, while Congress pondered the signifi­

cance of the Opium War, the Secretary of the Navy ordered a

squadron to Canton to protect American residents in China.

News that the English fleet had blockaded Canton and hostili­

ties had erupted between the English ano Chinese prompted this

response. Lacking adequate means of communication with China,

the Van Buren Administration feared that the War threatened

American lives and property. Secretary of the Navy James K.

Paulding designated Commodore Lawrence Kearny to command a

squadron composed of the U.S. S. "Constellation'' and U.S. S.

"Boston." Paulding instructed Kearny that, while protecting

Americans in China was the squadron's primary mission, he should

assiduously respect and observe the laws of the Celestial Empire.

Kearny's orders included a very important addendum. Once in

China he must convince the Chinese and foreign residents that

one objective of his cruise was "to prevent & punish the smug­

gling of opium into China either by Americans or by other nations
under cover of the American flag. 11 1 The Navy Department' s desire

to maintain the American position of strict neutrality in the

Opium War determined this injunction.

1
U.S., Department of the Navy, Letters Sent by the Secre-
tary of the Navy to Officers, 1791-1868 (''Letters to Officers of
Ships of War"), Nov. 2, 1840.
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