2-888-160 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Viscount Jocelyn, M.P. for Lyme Regis, 1850. Portrait after a miniature by Sir W. Ross. Jocelyn '...sailed with the despatches from Canton; and...wrote an account...under the title of "Six Months with the Chinese Expedition"...a narrative of the causes and first events of the war, ending in the exaction of full payment for the seized opium and the opening of the five ports to our ships under one of the most liberal tariffs in the world..."Most of the disagreements between our soldiery and the Chinese people...arose from the difficulty of making bargains and agreeing upon prices, when there were no linguists to interpret between the parties".' During a parliamentary debate on the Opium Trade, he argued that 'though the trade might be prohibited, it was no more possible to put down the use of opium among the Chinese by law, than of gin amongst ourselves'. From "Illustrated London News", 1850.