Intervention in his main objective.The Manchu government was neither effectively reformed in itself nor greatly reconciled to the presence of the West.The 'break-up of China'remained a constant possibility throughout the later nineteenth century, and the maintenance of British treaty rights there was always ultimately dependent upon the presence of British gunboats. The difficulties in the way of success for Bruce's plans were indeed formidable,as was the opposition he aroused.British merchants and missionaries who looked for quick returns under the new treaty settlement were critical of a policy which seemed to them more concerned to protect Chinese interests and sen- sibilities than their own.He had also to curb consuls brought up under the old dispensation,who were quick to call upon the nearest gunboat to force satisfaction from the local Chinese authorities when faced with what they considered an infringe- ment of the treaties.If grievances were to be handled in this way,Bruce objected,not only might it lead to general hostilities, as in 1856,but there was little point in having a diplomatic representative to the central government in Peking. There was also little point in having such a representative if the Peking government itself was incapable of enforcing its authority upon its own subordinate officials in the provinces. Bruce wanted to strengthen the hand of the central government and to help make it the sole effective military and political power in the Chinese state.?His attempts to do this ran quite counter to the realities of the political situation in China by 1860,a fact of which he was not completely unaware.The failure of the regular Imperial armies to crush the Taiping rebellion during the eighteen-fifties meant that effective military and political power in central China and,through the new likin tax,s a great measure of independent financial power also was passing into the hands of the great provincial officials.Chief among these were Tseng Kuo-fan and his nominees,Li Hung- chang and Tso Tsung-t'ang,who became governors of Kiangsu and Chekiang respectively in 1862.These were the men who actually created the armies and devised the strategies which defeated the rebellion.Given their growing power and authority,any attempt to bring about changes in the govern- ment of China which did not win their support and co-operation was bound to fail.Indeed,it could be said that it might have GBAT I 113r拗 矽crv召J9矽 ft,F, 揖嬲 髑 鞲 毛飘 斛趱 搀拊 搬:獭扳盥:谳 0∶li丨::∶ 揩F扌:l罗拧器t砦%嘿氵梦::多∫1炅If::s恶步拣强抟糕 鞲弼球鞲秽瑛鞯骀鞲 GBAT I 1I3