November 1840, an important First Opium War printed circular
regarding the change of Plenipotentiary to China Dated 2nd December
1840 in
November 1840, an important First Opium War printed circular
regarding the change of Plenipotentiary to China Dated 2nd December
1840 in Macao, this printed circular was sent to London and at the
back flap with forwarder agent double-oval mark of “WHITE BARDAS &
CO. BOMBAY, 19 Jan 1841”. This letter, in its 7th paragraph, has
stated that Admiral George Elliot was relieved of his command and
sent back to England due to his heart illness. Admiral George
Elliot was then replaced by captain Charles Elliot to succeed him
as Plenipotentiary, but captain Elliot was indeed not appreciated
for being able to closely follow the directives of Lord Melbourne,
the Premier of England. In several months later, Charles Elliot was
eventually replaced in 1841 by Sir Henry Pottinger, who became the
first governor in Hong Kong. The paragraph mentioned: “On the 29th
November, Admiral Elliot resigned his command on the plea of bad
health; he has been laboring under palpitation of the heart for
months, and allowed all the negotiations with the Chinese to be
solely conducted by captain Charles Elliot, who succeeds him as
Plenipotentiary, thus virtually doing what Lord Melbourne, the
premier of England said in his place in the House of Lords, should
not be done, namely, captain Elliot placed in the direction of the
expedition. The result all can read as they run – a monsoon lost; 6
months wasted; vast expense incurred; 500 gallant soldiers buried,
and the settlement not advanced one step! Not even a promise
offered by our cautious enemies, many of whom know well how to
baffle captain Elliot. Sir Gordon Bremer succeeds to the command of
the expedition, but whether his is Plenipotentiary here or not not,
we are left in ignorance. And then the printed circular also
recorded a printed letter by George Elliot replied on the HMS
Melville to the correspondence of a group of trade union: “In
answer to your letter of yesterday, I regret to say, I can only
give you an answer to one of your queries, namely, with regard to
the truce agreed to at Chusan. It was entered into with the
governor-general of that province, and does not extend further. I
am perfectly aware, gentlemen, of the state of anxiety the
mercantile interests must be in, to know what is likely to take
place; and shall take care to give the arliest intimation in my
power of anything bearing on such interest, but at present I am
myself ignorant of the intentions of the Chinese government, and
can therefore only express my hope that your suspense will now be
of short duration (Signed) GEORGE ELLIOT / Rear Admiral, and
Commander-in-Chief”
1840年11月鴉片戰爭期間英國全權代表更替之重要印刷通告
此通告於1840年12月2日在澳門印製，寄往倫敦，背面加蓋孟買轉遞商「WHITE BARDAS & CO. BOMBAY,
1841年1月19日」雙橢圓戳。 通告第七段記載，海軍少將喬治·懿律（George
Elliot）因心臟病卸任返英，由堂弟查理·義律（Charles
Elliot）接任全權代表。然查理·義律未能貫徹英國首相墨爾本勳爵之指令，數月後被亨利·璞鼎查爵士（Sir Henry
Pottinger）取代，後者成為香港首任總督。 通告節錄：
「11月29日，懿律少將以健康為由辭職。其心疾纏身數月，對華談判全權委予查理·義律。此舉實違墨爾本勳爵之命——義律上尉竟主導遠征軍！結果顯而易見：季風時機盡失、六個月虛耗、鉅額軍費、五百勇士埋骨，而事態毫無進展！敵方深諳如何牽制義律。布雷默爵士接掌軍權，然是否兼任全權代表，我等仍蒙在鼓中。」
通告另附喬治·懿律於「HMS Melville」艦上回覆商團之信：
「關於舟山停戰協定，此僅限於該省總督轄區，不涉他處……本人深知商界焦慮，必儘早通報相關動向，然目前亦不悉中國政府意圖，惟望諸位無須久候。」
