Treaties, Politics and the Limits of Local Diplomacy 155
themselves whether or not to move out, but it seemed their stay in the
temple would not be long.^23
The Xianfeng Emperor’s comments on the joint memorial of August 19
sent by Liu and Xu were sent on September 1. In the edict, the Emperor
repeated the principle that commercial treaties were concluded with
foreigners for the purpose of maintaining law and order between the
two parties. Strict observance of the treaties was the best guarantee of
peace. To avoid violent clashes with the foreigners and incurring the
displeasure of their own people, ofβicials should not panic in their handling
of the matter, but neither should they be timid in their approach.^24 As to
Liu’s memorial, an imperial edict dated September 8 similarly advised
that it was equally important to maintain peace with the foreigners and
win the support of the public, and warned that the two ofβicials would be
held responsible for any disharmony between the local people and the
foreigners.^25
Meanwhile, former Imperial Commissioner Lin Zexu took the lead
in submitting a presentation to Governor Xu. Lin had already written
to Xu in early July, and had been assured that, allowing more time, the
Shenguang Temple affair would be settled. Lin waited a fortnight before
he sent another letter, saying that he was troubled by information that
the two missionaries had not moved out of the temple, and that more
foreigners were moving into the city. Every day, baggage and large trunks
containing weapons and cannon were being brought in, and local ofβicials
chose to ignore this trafβic. As a citizen of Fuzhou he considered it his
duty to remind the authorities of the worsening situation. He hoped the
authorities could enlighten him as to what military preparations had
been made to meet the emergency. He felt particularly angry with the
placards displayed by foreigners, threatening to put to death any local
troublemakers who dared to oppose them.^26
In his reply, Xu said that the literati had been misinformed. In fact,
the two clergymen had brought along only eight trunks of personal
belongings. Those who had arrived in the city after them were Consular
Interpreter C.A. Sinclair and Vice-Consul W. Connor, the latter accompanied
by his wife and a maid. The largest trunk, containing household utensils,
had been checked by the local ofβicers in Nantai. Sinclair brought along
- GCR (Beijing): Foreign Affairs, Sino-British Relations, βile 95, no. 4.
- GCR (Taipei): Square Record Books of Imperial Edicts, DG30/Autumn/7th
Month; also in GCR (Beijing), Record Books of Imperial Edicts, DG30/7,
microβilm 236: 243‒4. - GCR (Taipei): Square Record Books of Imperial Edicts, DG30/8.
- GCR (Taipei): Monthly Record Books of Palace Memorials, DG30/Autumn, pp.
31 ‒4. For the contents of the posters by foreigners, see DG30/Autumn, p. 37.