ABSTRACT
Sir George Grey, Judge Advocate-General, rose first to defend the ministry. With the beginning of the 1840 session of Parliament the conservatives' assault on the ministry started anew. In a vote of no-confidence at the end of January they brought together in one debate all of their accusations against the Whigs. The disruption of trade in China provided added fuel for their attack. The private decision to wage war did not end the public debate about government acceptance of responsibility for Charles Elliot's actions. The government had no authority to put down the opium trade, and Elliot performed his duty by protecting British merchants. The anonymous writer acknowledged the moral evil of opium, but he believed that 'moral evils are to be met by moral cures'. Other writers saw the opium traders as the source of the unsettled state of affairs in China rather than as the victims of Chinese despotism.
