ish fleet, which
sailed for Marmorice under Admiral Walker. Soon after, the Sultan sent
a firman, according to the Pasha the hereditary possession of Egypt,
without any interference on the part of the Porte, while a yearly
tribute of 2,000,000 pounds was to be paid to the Sultan, besides about
2,000,000 pounds more of arrears.

Thus terminated the part taken by the British at that time in the
affairs of Turkey and Egypt.

CHAPTER THREE.

WARFARE IN CHINESE WATERS--1840-1842.

The war in China was undertaken to punish the Government for the
numerous injuries and insults they had offered to the English, and, by
teaching them to respect our power, to induce them to trade with us on
fair and equal terms, and to treat us in future as one civilised people
should treat another; also to demand reparation of grievances, and
payment for the property of British subjects destroyed at Canton; to
obtain a guarantee against similar occurrences in future; and, what was
of the greatest importance, to open up the trade at the different ports
along the coast.

With these objects to be accomplished, a large squadron and a number of
transports, containing a considerable body of troops, were despatched in
1840 by the Governor-General of India to the Chinese seas.

Soon after this a large fleet arrived from England, under the command of
Admiral the Honourable G. Elliot, while Sir Gordon Bremer had his broad
pennant flying on board the _Wellesley_. Captain Elliot, RN, it must be
understood, was acting on shore as Chief-Superintendent of Trade.

The Chinese are a very clever people, but though their civilisation is
very ancient it has been stationary for ages, and all change and advance
of Western ideas has been violently opposed both by the governing
classes and the people. In the matter, however, of armament they have
in recent years made great advance, but at this time this advance had
hardly yet commenced, and they had nothing to oppose to the British
fleet.

Not having the real thing, with great ingenuity they proceeded to
extemporise an imitation, the appearance of which they hoped would be
sufficient to frighten off the foreigner. They purchased an English
trading vessel, the _Cambridge_, intending to turn her into, at least in
appearance, a man-of-war, and built some strange-looking little
schooners upon a European model, for the purpose of employing them
against the English. Commissioner Lin also got up some sham fi