Rangoon ordered a merchant, Mr Birrell,
to take down a flagstaff he had erected, and to remove a gun placed on
his landing-stage.

Mr Birrell refused to comply with this order, as the flagstaff had been
placed there by consent of the commodore, as a means of communication
between the Europeans on shore and the men-of-war.

The governor, enraged at this refusal, ordered all communication with
the shipping to be stopped. Commodore Lambert, sooner than give the
Burmese any cause of offence, directed the flagstaff to be removed, and
for the time trade was resumed.

Not long after this a deputation from the British to the governor was
treated with the utmost incivility and contempt, and was even refused
admission to his presence.

The commodore now resolved to take action. He ordered the King of
Burmah's ship, which was lying in the harbour, to be seized, and sent a
message to all the British residents in Rangoon to come on board the
frigate, and at the same time informed the governor that as the British
flag and Government had been grossly insulted, he intended to place the
town under blockade.

By the same evening all the British subjects had embarked, and the
men-of-war moved down the river.

Some of the Burmese officers now came to the flagship to offer apologies
for their rudeness; but as the viceroy himself refused to apologise,
none of these were accepted. The Burmese, seeing that the British were
in earnest, tried to avert the war for a time; and the commodore, also
anxious to avoid hostilities, allowed twenty-four hours' grace to give
the viceroy time to change his mind. Instead of an apology, however,
came a message, to the effect that if the British ships attempted to
pass the stockades on the banks of the river, they would be fired on.

Information was received that nearly 5000 troops were assembled near the
stockades, and during the night and the following day numerous
war-boats, each containing from fifty to eighty men, were discovered
coming down the river. At the same time several vessels full of armed
men arrived at the general rendezvous from the Pegu river. The war had
begun.

On the next morning active hostilities commenced. The _Henries_
steamer, Captain Fishbourne, first towed the _Fox_ frigate to within 400
yards of the stockade, where she anchored to protect the merchantmen as
they passed by to be out of fire. In the meantime the _Hermes_ went in
search of a large Burmese war-vessel