Page 417 - Merchants and Mandarins China Trade Era

403.

Imperial system of administration in China had so decayed that

the Court at Peking could ::o longer control its local authorities.

English merchants had never actually stopped trading opium and

American merchants could not afford to vacate the trade :.::01::-

long. Especially after the conclusion of the Treaty of Nanking,

profits in the drug trade were too great to dismiss.

Kearny had followed his orders, nevertheless, in informing

the Chinese government of the American government's disapproval

of the opium trade. He had also protected American interests

during the latter stages of the Opium War; After the English

and Chinese concluded a treaty in August 1842, Kearny undertook

to make certain that future American interests in China remained

secure. Very aware of the power held by the victorious English,

the Commodore sought to insure that the English did not utilize

it against American commerce in their negotiations with the

defeated Chinese. Consequently, during the winter of 1842-43

Kearny entered into his own deliberations with the Chinese.

II

When Kearny first heard of the conclusion of the Treaty

of Nanking, his squadron lay in Hong Kong Bay on a visit to the

new English colony. Although his immediate reaction was one

of relief, he quickly reconsidered circumstances and decided not

to leave China. He explained his prolonged stay to the Navy De­

partment as a necessary measure to protect Americans and their

trade in China. Kearny argued that the presence of American

naval power in China would provide for a more favorable treaty,

"for unless the Emperor & officers of the Chinese government are