28

THE  CHINESE  EMPIRE

continued,  and  was  often  carried  on  by  ships  called  lorchas,*
which  secured  the  right  of  flying  the  British  flag,  by  taking
out  licences  in  Hongkong.
The  immediate  cause  leading  to  hostilities  was  the  case
of  the  lorcha  Arrow.  This  vessel,  flying  the  British  flag,
during  the  absence  of  its  captain,  an  Irishman,  was  boarded
by  some  Chinese  officials  by  order  of  the  Viceroy  Yeh,  while
lying  at  anchor  off  Whampoa.  The  flag  was  hauled  down,
and  twelve  of  the  Chinese  crew  were  taken  prisoners.
Mr.  Harry  Parkes,  who  was  then  English  Consul  at  Canton,
demanded  an  apology  for  the  insult  to  the  flag,  and  the
immediate  return  of  the  men.  The  Chinese  authorities
refused  to  comply  with  these  demands.  At  first  they  gave
as  their  reasons  that  the  flag  was  not  flying  when  the  vessel
was  boarded,  and  that  they  had  seized  these  men  because
they  were  noted  criminals  wanted  by  the  Chinese  Government. ­
  Later  they  stated  that  the  ship  had  no  right  to  be
flying  the  British  flag,  as  the  time  of  its  license  had  expired.
This  last  statement  was  true,  but  it  is  generally  believed
that  the  expiry  of  the  time  of  the  license  could  not  have
been  known  to  the  Chinese  at  the  time  of  the  seizure  of  the
crew.
A  series  of  altercations  grew  out  of  the  incident,  and  as
neither  party  was  willing  to  agree  to  a  compromise,  both
prepared  for  war.
In  1857  Lord  Elgin  was  appointed  High  Commissioner
for  Great  Britain,  and  transports,  with  5,000  troops,
were  dispatched  to  China.  This  force  was,  however,  diverted
to  India  to  assist  in  the  suppression  of  the  Sepoy  Mutiny
in  that  country,  and  it  was  not  until  some  months  later
that  a  British  force  arrived  on  the  scene.
The  French  Government,  induced  partly  by  a  desire  to
obtain  reparation  for  the  massacre  of  a  French  missionary
in  Kwangsi,  and  partly  by  the  spirit  of  Imperial  aggrandisement ­
  that  manifested  itself  so  strongly  when  Napoleon  III.
was  Emperor,  decided  to  join  forces  with  the  British  in
*  A  lorcha  is  a  light  Chinese  sailing-vessel,  built  somewhat  after
a  European  model,  but  rigged  like  a  junk.