urkistan
was laid waste by fire and sword. After twenty more of the rebels had
been decapitated, the emperor enacted new laws for the country, with
the view of attaching the people to himself by the mildness of his
rule. The black caps were promoted either to offices of trust in their
own country, or to places of distinction in the Chinese army. When
Turkistan again became the seat of trouble in 1830, the emperor at
once sent 4000 camels with 2,000,000 taels of silver (about L.700,000)
to settle matters, which was considered much wiser than to engage in a
long and expensive war. A similar policy was pursued in 1847, when a
formidable rising occurred, during which Kashgar was taken, and the
Manchoo forces routed. The Mohammedan leaders agreed to accept the
emperor's bounty; and on condition of all lives being spared, the
imperial troops were allowed to recapture Kashgar as by military
force. A splendid victory was of course announced in the _Peking
Gazette_; and in the subsequent distribution of rewards, the
diplomatist was raised ten steps above the general.

It is commonly believed that the Celestial Empire dwells in perpetual
peace within itself, as the fruit of that universal spirit of
subordination and filial obedience which is the great object of all
its institutions. Nothing, however, can be more erroneous. Not only do
the restless Tatars frequently break into revolt, but in China itself,
the extortions of the mandarins, or the occurrence of famine,
frequently excites a village, a city, or even a large district to
rebellion; and there are cases of an infuriated population actually
broiling their magistrates over a slow fire. The usual policy of
Taou-Kwang in all such cases was to send an army, but at the same time
to set the leaders at loggerheads by administering suitable bribes,
and inducing them to betray each other. In this manner, a civil war
can be brought to a speedy conclusion; and then the cruelty of the
victorious government knows no bounds. 'The treatment of political
prisoners,' says our author, 'is really so shocking as to be
incredible, if one had not been an eye-witness of these inhuman
deeds.'

The volume affords us some amusing particulars connected with the
collision with England. When the British fleet was expected in the
Chinese waters, the imperial orders were, to 'listen to no proposals,
but fire on the ships, and annihilate them at once.' To the great
emperor, it would have appeared quite