Mr. Portman to Mr. Seward
Sir: I have the honor to inform you that the accomplice to the murder of the two British officers, which took place in November of last year, has at last been apprehended. He confessed his crime, and was beheaded this day on the public execution ground, near Yokohama, in the presence of the British consul and other officers.
As in the case of Simidzu Seigi, the principal murderer, who was executed in December of last year, placards proclaiming his crime and sentence have been conspicuously posted at various places within the treaty limits of Kanagawa. This government, vigorously urged thereto by the foreign authorities, have evidently [Page 265] been untiring in their efforts to apprehend this criminal, and it is satisfactory to reflect that their admission of the atrocity of such assassins has again received a practical illustration.
I have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully, your most obedient servant,
Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State, Washington.