Treaties, Politics and the Limits of Local Diplomacy 171
βirmness of himself and Bishop Smith in insisting on their rights. He
appealed for joint action by England, America and France to secure better
terms in a forthcoming revision of the treaty. He particularly regretted
that the English Treaty made no reference to missionary work, for what
he saw as a selβish objective—the extension of commerce between China
and England. On the revision of the treaty, he wanted to see something
more deβinite secured “for the honour of the English nation”.^88
Towards the end of 1852, however, Welton mitigated his con-
frontational approach. He felt encouraged by the improved bearing of the
people, noting that he had met with scarcely any unpleasantness from
the people of late, and none from the authorities. There were, he noted,
“many advantages and comforts at this port for a missionary, and now
our troubles with the literati are passing away”.^89 In his observation,
there was also an increasing conβidence on the part of the local people in
receiving him and in the eagerness with which they sought his medical
aid. He was very much in want of a suitable building for seeing the sick,
distributing books and addressing the people. He proposed giving up the
house in the city that he had intended to use as a dispensary, in return for
one outside the city, feeling that he was losing time dealing with the issue.
He hoped such a conciliatory gesture on his part might disarm much of
the prejudice.
Concluding Reβlections
The Fuzhou affair provides revealing glimpses into the operation of
Chinese diplomacy and the milieu in which the missionaries lived and
worked. It shows that viewing the episode as a choice between anti-
foreignism and capitulation oversimpliβies a complex situation in which
different contending forces, both domestic and foreign, were at work. Liu
and Xu were among a small but growing group of pragmatic provincial
ofβicials who emerged after the war. They were at the forefront of
contact with foreign powers. They soon grasped the reality of diplomatic
constraints under the new treaty system and adjusted themselves to its
modes of operation.
The insensitivity and uncompromising attitude of the British consular
ofβicials and the two missionaries undoubtedly aggravated anti-foreign
and anti-missionary feelings among the leading literati in Fuzhou. The
latter’s genuine concerns and unhappiness about the new international
- CMS, C CH M2, Welton to Venn, October 4, 1852.
- Ibid.