iating the foreigner. It was a congenial task, and accordingly we
find that immediately upon his arrival in February 1839 he executed a
native smuggler opposite the British factories as a menace to his own
people and an insult to the barbarians. Early in the following March he
issued an edict marked with the "vermilion pencil," forbidding, in the
most uncompromising terms, the long-established traffic. With this was
coupled a demand for all the opium in the Canton waters. Captain Elliott,
who had arrived from Macao in the midst of this crisis, at first refused
compliance with this demand, but was starved out, and, like Lord Napier,
compelled to surrender at discretion. Lin's victory was complete, and on
the whole he used it well. All the opium, to the amount of 20,290 chests
was, in the sight of all, sunk in the muddy waters of the estuary. All
foreigners were now graciously permitted to depart in peace. But it was
evident that the matter could not rest here; for Elliott had guaranteed
compensation from the State to those traders who had voluntarily
surrendered their opium (which was otherwise quite beyond Lin's reach) in
order to release from durance vile the European residents whom Lin had
unjustifiably seized. War was now inevitable; but its formal declaration
was preceded by one or two collisions between the Chinese and foreign
ships. One encounter in the Bay of Coalloon led to the total destruction
of a fleet of Chinese junks by the English frigates _Hyacinth_ and
_Volage_. This was the first experience the Chinese had of our shot and
shell, and it should have warned them of what they might have to expect.
But it did not. Lin retaliated by a proclamation, addressed to the Queen
of England, giving out that for the future "principals in the opium
business would be decapitated and accessaries strangled." War followed,
and the Chinese were soon brought to their knees. The terms of peace
signed at Nankin were the cession of Hongkong, the opening of the ports
Canton, Amoy, Foochowfoo, Ningpo, Shanghae, to trade, with consular
officers at each place, and an indemnity of six million dollars as the
value of opium seized in 1839. The old exclusive trading with "Hong"
merchants was abolished, and a fair and regular tariff of import and
export customs and other dues was established at the open ports. In this
tariff opium was not even mentioned.[17] The author of the _Opium Question
Solved_ says: "The negotiators dared not mention