Mr. Burlingame to Mr. Seward
No. 43.]
Legation of the United States,
Peking,
June 21, 1863.
Sir: I have the honor to submit the
correspondence between Colonel Balluzeck, the Russian minister, and
myself, on the eve of his departure for St. Petersburgh. The cordiality
of the relations, it discloses will, I hope, not be distasteful to the
government.
I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,
Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State.
Colonel Balluzeck to Mr. Burlingame
Legation of Russia in
China, Peking,
June 1, 1863.
Mr. Minister: I have the honor of
announcing to you that his Majesty the Emperor, my august master,
having deigned to accord me authority to return to Russia, I leave
shortly my post of representative of his Majesty in China, and that
Mr. de Glinka, secretary of this legation, remains chargé d’affaires
of the Emperor at Peking until the arrival of my successor.
Permit me to express here the hope that your excellency will continue
to accord to Mr. Glinka the same warm regard that I have constantly
received from you, and to manifest the wish that you may be well
persuaded that the remembrance of the amicable relations which have
not ceased to exist between us will always be precious to me.
I desire earnestly that our personal connexions, in losing their
official character, may not be entirely broken; and it is in this
thought that I renew, Mr. Minister, the expression of the very high
consideration with which I have the honor to be, of your excelleney,
the very humble and very obedient servant,
Anson Burlingame, Esq., &c., &c., &c.
Mr. Burlingame to Mr. Balluzeck
Legation of the United
States, Peking,
June 2, 1863.
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the
receipt of your despatch of June 1, informing me that you are about
to take your departure from your diplomatic post, and that Mr. de
Glinka will, as chargé d’affaires, remain as your successor. I
assure you, my dear colleague, that I learn of your departure with
regret.
Deeply moved by the struggle for liberty in my own country, it was
natural, when I came here, that I should eagerly seek for
companionship the [Page 942]
representative of that power which has, by its sincere and
persistent friendship, entitled itself to the first gratitude of
every American. I found what I expected in the representative of the
Russian empire, and more. I found a man deeply appreciative of the
cause of our struggle, and with stong desire for its removal.
With rare capacity you traced the sympathy of our great nations to
the fact that, at the same time, in different ways, they are moving
for the freedom of our fellow-men. My elder in this difficult
diplomatic field, I have ever found you a safe adviser; I cannot
recall one question upon which we have differed. It has been our
good fortune, largely through your influence, to witness a union of
the treaty powers in the interest of civilization in the East.
In the presence of an open and fair policy, these powers have
disavowed any purpose of seeking special privileges, and have united
in a policy which secures the territorial integrity of the Chinese
empire. Of our personal relations I need not write. They have been
unusually intimate, and to me most gratifying; and I reciprocate
most warmly the hope you express, that our personal may not end with
our official relations. I have, &c.,
His Excellency Colonel L. de
Balluzeck.
