Postmaster General of Ceylon rendered him entirely independent of the British Postmaster General at London. He said that the postal regulations of Ceylon were made by the governor of Ceylon, with the consent of the councils; and that these, when approved by her Majesty the Queen, were as potential for the government of Ceylon as the treaties or the laws passed by Parliament were for the British empire generally. He then exhibited to me a printed document containing "an ordinance enacted by the governor of Ceylon, with the advice and consent of the legislative council thereof," entitled "An ordinance to amend the law relating to the post office, and for revising the rates of postage," and he rested the vindication of his course entirely on the provisions and requisitions of this ordinance, which remains in force.

The twelve first sections of this ordinance relate entirely to the inland administration of the Ceylon Post Office Department. The 13th section is as follows: "All letters received or sent by mail by way of the Red sea, whether the same shall be received or sent by way of Bombay or Point de Galle, or shall be brought to Ceylon by private ships, shall be charged with the postage duty of one shilling each, single rate, at whatever place they may be delivered, or from whatever place they may be sent, within this colony, and that no additional inland postage shall be charged on the same, and no privilege of franking shall extend to letters transmitted or received by way of the Red sea, the public despatches and letters being bona fide on the public service only excepted."

"SEC. 14. And whereas the Postmaster General may already have been, or may hereafter be, directed to levy certain charges on behalf of her Majesty's General Post Office in London, under the denomination of Red sea postage, foreign Europe postage, prepaid British postage, intercolonial postage, or similar charge, it is hereby enacted that, on such directions being published in the government gazette of this colony, it shall be lawful for the Postmaster General to levy such extra charges, in addition to the colonial rates in the foregoing clause laid down."

"SEC. 15. That on every letter which shall be brought to Ceylon by any vessel not sent by way of the Red sea, from any port or place beyond sea, there shall be a sea postage of four pence; and on every letter which shall be sent through the post office to any port beyond sea, a sea postage of two pence, besides any postage chargeable thereon for previous or subsequent transmission inland. And for the encouragement of masters and commanders of vessels to deliver to the post office any loose letters or packets brought by any such vessel, it shall be lawful for the Postmaster General to allow to the master or commander of every vessel arriving as aforesaid the sum of two pence for each letter and one penny for each newspaper, not being enclosed in the ship mails of the General Post Office of the United Kingdom, by him delivered or caused to be delivered at the post office of the first port he may arrive in these settlements."

Under the 13th section of this ordinance the extra shilling is imposed, under the title of "colonial postage," by the government of Ceylon, which, as you will observe, makes a local regulation "discriminating against letters mailed by way of the Red sea." I presume this discrim

ination relieves sea-going and sea-coming letters between the British colonies, as well as commercial letters for all parts of the east or on the Indian seas; in fact, by every route except by way of the Red sea; in other words, by the "overland route." The ordinance, by other clauses, has further exemptions from the operation of section 13, thus: By section 23, "every seaman in her Majesty's navy, or in the employ of the government of these settlements, whilst such seaman shall be actually so employed at any port in this colony; every sergeant, drummer, fifer, corporal, and private soldier in her Majesty's regular forces, artillery or royal marines, whilst actually employed in her Majesty's service in this colony, may both send and receive letters, not exceeding half an ounce in weight, by the post, on their own private concerns, at a postage of one penny.

Section 24 provides that this privilege shall not extend to letters liable to foreign rates of postage. I infer that section 24 is intended to secure the governor and council of Ceylon merely from an implied douceur to this privileged class of foreign rates, as well as of that excess which is charged above a penny, under the style of "colonial postage." By section 6, the following persons may send and receive letters free of postage, to wit: "Governor-general and governors of the presidencies in India, naval commander-in-chief and commanders-in-chief in India, metropolitan bishop of Calcutta, the secretaries of the supreme government and secretaries to the governments at the several presidencies of British India, and the governors and colonial secretaries of any of her Majesty's colonies within the limits of the charter of the East India Company." This ordinance took effect 1st February, 1846, and remains yet in force. I was furnished at the same time, by Mr. Lee, with a printed advertisement of the following date and tenor, which he yet deems to be in force, and which may afford you the reason why all letters are required to be sent to an agent at London:

Optional prepayment of the British packet postage on overland letters via Southampton.

"1. Instructions having been received from the Postmaster General in London that the optional prepayment of the British packet postage on letters betwixt Ceylon and the United Kingdom, via Southampton, should be forthwith commenced from the 1st December next, the several post offices throughout Ceylon will be prepared to receive, at the option of the sender, the British packet postage on letters directed to the United Kingdom via Southampton.

"2. The following are the British rates of packet postage fixed by the Lords of the Treasury, according to which all letters received unpaid' from, or despatched 'paid,' to the United Kingdom, via Southampton, will be taxed, in addition to the usual Ceylon postage, to wit:

Not exceeding half ounce.

1 shilling.

66

Above half and not exceeding one ounce. 2 One ounce and not exceeding two ounces... 4 Two ounces and not exceeding three ounces. 6 " &c., &c. "3. This optional prepayment of the British rate of postage applies only to letters despatched via Southampton, and that letters sent via

Marseilles cannot be prepaid in this island. It applies also only to letters to be delivered in the United Kingdom."

The clause underscored by me is substituted for a former one, which read, "and does not apply to letters posted in or addressed to places beyond the United Kingdom; i. e., all letters for America, unless addressed to agents in the United Kingdom, as well as those addressed to the continent of Europe, if marked "via Southampton," must go bearing home postage from this island."

The suppression of this clause, in the regulations now published, would seem to convey an acquiescence in a different rule from that which prevails at Aden. Indeed, Mr. Postmaster General Lee, at Ceylon, was ready to mail my letter without prepayment, (except the colonial rate,) but would not answer for its passage through London, except on payment there of the British postage.

It was not within the supposed scope of my instructions that I should discuss with any one the propriety of regulations I might ascertain to exist. Therefore, contented to inform the honorable postmaster of the facts as I have thus far found them to be, and designing to extend my inquiries so as to comprehend, at all events, the British views of the practical effect of the treaty of 1848, I shall close this communication by submitting the foregoing observations and narrative, without comment, to the Department of State, for the consideration of the honorable Postmaster General and government of the United States.

I have the honor, sir, to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, HUMPHREY MARSHALL, Commissioner to China.

Hon. EDWARD EVERETT,

Secretary of State, U. S. of America.

P. S. This vessel proceeds through the straits of Molucca to-night for Singapore, and I hope to arrive at Canton by the 18th instant. My health is very good under this exhausting and protracted voyage. I only hope the result may prove the toil I have undergone to be of advantage to the country. Before I finally close this communication, I am induced to ask whether the fact has been communicated to the department that an American citizen, named Gibson, has been in prison in Batavia, in the island of Java, since February last? Of the fact of the imprisonment, I am assured by several merchants from Java on board this vessel at the present moment; and I am also, from their understanding of the case, in possession of the charge against the accused. It seems that this person was traversing this quarter of the globe in a yacht, and that he ascended the Palamling river, in Sumatra, at a time when the Dutch authorities in the colony and the natives were at war. Gibson was arrested on the charge of assisting or giving aid to the insurgents, or rebellious natives, and he and his yacht were taken to Batavia. According to one account, he was discharged upon his examination by one tribunal, but was again arrested under some other jurisdiction, and was imprisoned, and has been detained in custody ever since his yact lying at anchor in the roads near Batavia meanwhile.

I confess that in this distant quarter of the globe, even without authority, I feel much inclined to depart from my course to look into this

case, and to ascertain the exact facts; but as we may have a commercial agent at Java, (I know the government has no consul,) whose duty it has been to put the department in possession of all the facts, I remain content to state what has come to my ears, and to signify to the department the alacrity with which I shall ever be ready to enter upon a rectification of any wrongs sustained by my countrymen in this distant land. Respectfully, H. MARSHALL, Commissioner, &c.

LEGATION OF THE U. S. OF AMERICA, CANTON, CHINA,

February 7, 1853.

SIR: I have the satisfaction to inform you that I arrived at Victoria, colony of Hong Kong, on the 16th ultimo, in the British steamer Malta. Thence I proceeded to Macao, the residence of the former ministers from the United States, from which place I thought proper to come to Canton in an American ship-of-war. Accordingly, I requested such a vessel from the naval commander of the United States squadron on the East India station; and in a few days Commander W. S. Walker reported the corvette Saratoga at my service, to convey me to this city. Dr. Parker, the chargé d'affaires ad interim, called upon me at Macao, and received a despatch for translation into the Chinese language. I embarked at once for Canton on the Saratoga, but was detained on the voyage to Whampoa by adverse winds for four days. On my arrival at Canton, I forwarded the communication, No. 1, to his excellency Pih, who was understood to remain in charge of the seals of the imperial commission for the transaction of foreign affairs, and I received the reply, No. 2, on the 3d instant, from their excellencies Yéé and Pih; to which, on the same day, I rejoined by No. 3, and sh uld have embarked at once for Nankin, on the Susquehanna, but for the circumstances disclosed in my despatch, No. 4, which you will receive by this mail. I enclose, appended hereto, Nos. 1, 2, 3, referred to above.

I addressed a note to Commodore Aulick, on the 4th instant, of which I enclose a copy herewith, No. 4; to which, up to this moment, I have received no reply.

Should I find the steam-frigate Susquehanna ready to convey me to Nankin, it is my intention to sail thither without delay, in order to communicate to his imperial majesty the letter of the President of the United States, accrediting me to his court as commissioner of the United States. My object in this expedition is, to apply to the governor-general of the Siang Kiang, to transmit the communication, as by the 31st article of the treaty of Wang Hia he is bound to do, and thus at once to impress the imperial commissioner at Canton with the fact, that the representative of the United States has various modes of access to the imperial ear, of which he will avail himself whenever he may consider it expedient to do so. Should the governor-general of the Siang Kiang decline to receive the President's communication for transmission to the Emperor, or seek to postpone me on any such frivo

lous pretence as "want of leisure," I shall proceed to the mouth of the Pei-ho, to communicate thence directly with the court at Pekin.

The indifference, if not contempt, with which the Chinese officials treat the functionaries of foreign powers, can scarcely be known to the central authority. If so, the permitted repetition of such bearing must operate to produce a conviction on the Chinese mind that injury and insult may be multiplied with impunity.

The effect of violations of the treaty already allowed is too apparent in the violations which are constantly being repeated; in the contempt heaped upon American citizens, and the disregard of their rights (as at Too Chow for instance) in their exclusion from the city of Canton and city of Too Chow; the delay of settlement of claims long since acknowledged, and the amounts whereof have been liquidated; the acquittal, before Chinese tribunals, of pirates, upon their own confession or statements, in despite of evidence of their guilt; and in the internal policy of China, adapted as though expressly to defeat the beneficial operations of the terms of the treaty upon trade.

The exclusion of foreigners from the interior of the walls of Canton is made in defiance of express stipulations to open the gates, and despite of an express pledge repeated to the British minister in 1848.

The French minister has been awaiting at Macao for fifteen months the coming of "a felicitous day," to have a personal interview with the imperial commissioner at Canton.

The English have unsuccessfully (so far) demanded access to the interior of Canton. American citizens have leased ground at Toochoufoo, paying their rent for two years in advance, and have been prevented from erecting tenements thereon by an angry populace, at whose violence the local authorities connive, if indeed they do not direct it. Instances might be multiplied of the want of proper consideration for the obligations of treaty stipulations, and for the rights of foreigners, were they necessary to lead your mind to the conclusion that the propriety of the course I pursue is beyond cavil.

The imperial commissioner, you will observe, speaks of his "return to his court," and of appointing a day, after that event, to receive me. Were the assumption tolerated, you would have the mortification to know that the representative of the United States is not merely excluded from the imperial court at Pekin, but practically is excluded also from the court of the Viceroy-since that officer transacts business within the walls of Canton and refuses to permit the foreigner to enter, for any purpose, within those walls; indeed, confines him to a small area in front of the business houses of foreign merchants, and to the market streets in their immediate vicinity. Determined to recognise him only as a minister of foreign affairs, and not as the equal of the government I represent, I have not thought proper to discuss any objection to his assumption, or to notice the qualification of my own powers which he makes in the congratulation "that the honorable commissioner has received the superintendency of trade," &c. Regarding him merely as the conduit to the Emperor, which had been established by the treaty, I specified the object for which I sought a personal interview; and finding him inclined to postpone me quite as indefinitely as could be expressed by language, I should have lowered my own pride