Page 420 - Merchants and Mandarins China Trade Era

406.

"Constellation" remain until the Chinese concluded their dis­

26
cussions with the English. Kearny compromised, announcing
that he would visit Manila and return to China in January 1843.

When he returned, news of an attack on the Foreign Factories by
a Chinese mob greeted the Commodore. The Chinese at Canton,

noted for their anti-foreignism, had assailed only one American

establishment in their riot, the house of A. Heard & Co. Not

very surprised by the incident, Heard earlier had corrunented that

"the temper of the people is evidently bad toward foreigners &

may show itself, violently, upon very slight provocation. 11 27

Nevertheless Heard, who was still transacting the business of

the English house Jardine, Matheson & Co. (not all English mer­

chants had yet returned to Canton), requested Kearny to demand

repayment of funds looted by the mob. Kearny did so, but his

major concern was the effect of Anglo-Chinese negotiations on the

American trade.

Thinking he had already settled the matter of American

trade with the Governor-general, Kearny now was not so sure.

From his observations he concluded that "unless a special pro­

vision for other than British vessels to enter the five ports

iopened to English trade in the Treaty of Nanking/ is made,
the trade of the United States would be subject to be cut off,

until a treaty could be entered into. 11 An American vessel had

26
snow's letter of Oct. 20 is in "Squadron Letters," East
India Squadron, Oct. 21, 1843.

27
Letter, A. Heard to W. Appleton & Co., Dec. 20, 1842,
Harvard Business School, Baker Library, William Appleton & Co. MSS.
Letter, W.A. Lawrence to S.W. Comstock, Jan. 13, 1843, Harvard
Business School, Baker Library, Comstock Brothers M S S. Lawrence
and Comstock both were agents for the New York house of Howland
& Aspinwall.