Papers Relating to Foreign Affairs, Accompanying the Annual Message of the President to the Second Session of the Fortieth Congress, Part I
Mr. Burlingame to Mr. Seward
Sir: I have the honor to enclose (marked A, B, C, D, E, and F) a correspondence with the Chinese government and our consul at Ningpo and several American missionaries, which involves a question of protection to the native Christians in China.
You will observe that in my despatch (E) to the members of the foreign office, I disclaim the right to interfere between the Chinese and their own authorities in questions submitted to the Chinese legal tribunals, and that in my letter to our consul, Mr. Lord, (D,) while I propose to maintain treaty stipulations, I intimate that the Chinese Christians should not be encouraged to expect protection by forcible intervention on the part of the United States.
This is the only course to pursue unless we are prepared to enter in China upon an armed propagandism.
The Chinese government favors toleration, and has repeatedly informed me that it has no objection to Protestant missionaries for the reason that they have never appeared to be political agents.
I have never yet failed to secure from it a respectful hearing for the cause of Christianity, and such official action, as in this case, against local and exceptional outrage, as was required.
The moment it should be understood that Chinese Christians would have forcible protection, as against their own authorities, the question would become political, and the voice of the missionary could be no longer heard.
I have tried to prevent the question from taking that form, and have been sustained in that view by the leading American missionaries.
These noble men, contenting themselves with all Christian means of spreading the gospel, have won their way to the hearts of the people, and secured the central government for their cause. Without invoking political aid, or armed intervention, they have planted the cross quietly and securely, not only in the treaty ports, but in the interior and along a line from the Yellow sea to the great wall.
I hope this policy will be continued and mutual forbearance exercised.
This is consistent with our treaty rights—disarms prejudice and reserves our power to act in the future as occasion may require.
I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,
Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State.
Protestant missionaries to Mr. Lord
Sir: We, the undersigned, Protestant missionaries to China, and citizens of the United States, some of whom have already had occasion to call your official notice to repeated acts of injurious interference on the part of Chinese officials towards ourselves, or those in our employ, while engaged in preaching and teaching the Christian religion, have heard with much concern that another outrage has been perpetrated by a Chinese officer, of so grave a nature that we seriously apprehend, unless some decided steps are taken to induce the Chinese government publicly to disown and punish the acts complained of, no security can be anticipated to the lives and property of such of our number as, relying upon the rights and privileges conceded and guaranteed to us by the treaties concluded between the Chinese government and western powers, have gone to reside, more or less permanently, at a distance from consular ports; and we think it is to be feared that evil-minded Chinese officers and their underlings, emboldened by impunity may proceed to the commission of, or conniving at, acts of violence which may result in the loss of life, or in serious complication in the relations of the Chinese government and our own; and we respectfully request that you will take the earliest opportunity in your power to bring the subject to the notice of the United States minister at Peking, in order that his excellency may take such measures as shall in his judgment be advisable and necessary, to induce the Chinese government rigorously to punish the offending parties, and to give greater publicity to the stipulations of the treaties with western powers, and to enjoin and enforce upon the local officers the strict observance of the same
Herewith we enclose a statement from the Rev. D. D. Green, relative to vexatious interference upon the part of the Chinese officers at Sinshi and Shihmun, in the prefectures of Huchan and Kiahing. Also a statement, with Chinese documents, from Rev. M. J.Knowlton, showing that the district magistrate in the prefect city of Kinhwa is disposed to proscribe Christianity.
These papers, together with such additional remarks as, from your personal acquaintance with the matter, you may judge advisable to add for the information of his excellency, we earnestly request that you will forward to him, and respectfully request him to give the subject his early and earnest attention, as in the unanimous opinion of all the American missionaries resident at this port, it is of the utmost importance to our interests, and the safety of ourselves and families, that a stop be immediately put to these violent infringements of our treaty rights.
We have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully, yours,
Rev. E. C. Lord, United States Vice-Consul.
Mr. McCartee to Mr. Lord
Sir: On behalf of myself and colleagues, Rev. D. D. Green and Rev. J. A. Leyenberger, citizens of the United States resident at this port, and connected with the board of foreign missions of the Presbyterian church, I beg respectfully to apply to you, as the consular officer of the United States, for redress of direct infringement of the XXIXth article of the treaty of Tientsin, viz., of harassing interference with, and a case of persecution of a Chinese in our employ, who has been engaged in peaceably teaching and practicing the principles of the Christian religion, begging that you will make such representations to the higher officers as will put an immediate stop to the interference and persecution complained of, and prevent any future recurrence of the same.
The catechist Dzing Shihniau has been employed by myself and colleagues for the last five or six months, to occupy a house at Sinshi, in the district of Tehtsing, in Huchaufu, and preach, distribute religious books, and give instruction in Christianity to those persons at that place who wish to conform to the Christian religion. Of late he has been several times interfered with and ill treated by the underlings of the sub-magistrate of Sinshi. On the 5th instant he was arrested by them and treated with much abusive language, accused of propagating the doctrines of the long-haired rebels, and dragged nearly to the office before he was let go; and this harassing persecution has occurred several times in direct contravention of the treaty, and, as I verily believe, for the purpose of extorting money.
Tsiang Ning-kwoh, a catechist residing at Hangchau, in our employ, and a native Christian named Pin, living there in connection with the English church mission, upon hearing of the [Page 487] affair, went to Sinshi, taking with them a copy of the foreign treaties to show to the sub-magistrate; but upon reaching his office were denied access to him by the underlings, and threatened if they did not go back to Hangchau, that they and all those professing Christianity should be arrested and punished.
On a like occasion of abuse and ill treatment at Hangchau last year, representations were made by you and the British consul, in consequence of which the magistrates there arrested and punished the guilty parties, and issued a proclamation, dated November 19, 1865, forbidding a recurrence of the offence under penalty of punishment. Since then no disturbance has occurred there. I therefore earnestly request that you will speedily take such measures as may seem in your judgment most expedient, for the redress of the grievances complained of, and to prevent their recurrence.
I am, sir, very respectfully, yours,
D. B. McCARTEE.
E. C. Lord, Esq., United States Vice-Consul.
On receiving the above petition, the consul complained to the high Chinese officials, which was responded to favorably. But although no further violence has been offered to the cate-chist at Sinshi, the effect of the former interference has not passed away; nor has the local officer done anything to remove the prejudice against us which his former conduct excited. The reply to our consul stated that the persons complained of were not guilty of the offences charged against them, yet there is good evidence that no proper investigation of the matter has ever been made by the local authorities, as neither the assistant nor any others, except perhaps those who committed the outrage, were ever called as witnesses. So palpable has been their neglect, that I am constrained to believe that the original offence was not only connived at, but was instigated by them.
Within a month after its settlement, I sent an assistant to Shihmun, in the prefecture of Kiahing, distant from Sinshi about 10 English miles, for the purpose of renting a house while he lived there, and distribute books. The day after his arrival he succeeded in negotiating for and occupying a house; but that evening the constable of that part waited on him to inform him that the district magistrate wished to see him. The assistant said that he would be glad to accompany him (the constable) to the magistrate’s office, but the man put him off for that evening, agreeing to go with him the next day, but the next morning he was not to be found. The underlings from the office were however trying to frighten the landlord. The assistant went with the constable in the afternoon to the magistrate’s office, but on entering the outer court, he suddenly disappeared through a side door. After hesitating a moment the assistant went in and made himself known to the principal clerk, and stated that he had been sent for by the magistrate, and had come to inform him that his business in the city was distributing Christian books. On being asked why he dared to distribute such books, he replied that the religion of Jesus had been authorized by the Emperor, and produced a copy of the American treaty as proof. The clerk said that religion must not be taught in the city; they did not wish to see the treaty, and he must leave the city instantly, and showed him out of the office. He then went with a friend into a tea-shop to consult what was best to do. Presently the landlord came in great flight, bringing the advance money paid for renting his house, and begged the assistant to leave it at once, for otherwise he would be ruined, as the police runners were disposed to come down on him for renting to one who distributed Christian books. He was consequently obliged to give up the house and quit the town.
Sincerely desirous of propagating the gospel without appealing to consular protection, I had determined not to bring this matter up, but later outrages of a more serious nature have induced further representations to the American minister, and this statement is respectfully submitted for his information.
Translation of the edict issued by the high officers of Fuhkien and Chehkiang for circulation through those provinces, July, 1866.
Tso, governor general, and a marquis by imperial patent, issues these general injunctions :
To fast, no one can call an evil plan ;
And he who lauds Budh is not a bad man ;
But rascals who merely make a feint of fasting—
Only thereby to stir up simple fools to rising—
Do so to forai a band, and gather round them troops,
To violate the laws with high audacity.
Forsake their kindred, and ruin all perversely.
Vile doctrines now have flowed across the sea,
Which drench and soak this province through and through.
I plainly bid you all, both sires and squires,
[Page 488]To warn your kindred and your neighbors curb,
For if involved, they’ll meet the direst fate;
Therefore, at once, reform your crooked ways,
And each man firmly fix his steadfast mind,
Not to implore the demons nor suspect the gods.
Note.—The original is written in lines of six characters each, in order to enable the people more easily to remember the substance of the edict. Printed copies were posted on the walls of Ningpo, Hangchau, and Kinhwa, in the province of Chehkiang, and probably also of other cities. The district magistrate, at the latter place, said it referred to Christianity, and based official action upon it in the case of Chang Lan-tien.
Mr. Burlingame to Mr. Lord
Sir: I have received your despatch No. 18, of March 16, 1867, with its enclosures, relating to recent exhibitions of popular and official dislike to foreigners and their religion in the province of Chehkiang; and expressing your own belief that, as this anti-foreign spirit is increasing rather than diminishing, “unless it is held in check with a strong hand, it is likely to make a deal of trouble.”
The “missionary-question,” as it is compendiously termed, no doubt contains the germ of much trouble and revolution to this country, and its success will be complete when the entire fabric of Chinese society and government has been changed and reconstructed. I suppose, too, that none of the foreigners who are zealously engaged in advancing the work of evangelizing the Chinese, are aiming at anything short of this, whatever consequences may accompany the progress of the change. Nor do I wish to conceal this aim, for I believe that these changes will ultimately benefit the people of this land, and that they will themselves see, in their gradual development, that many blessings are springing up which more than compensate for whatever was good in the old order of things. It is an inestimable advantage, too, that this nation, while undergoing this renovation of its institutions by the introduction of pure morality and true science, has the example of western nations to follow or to shun, and need not go through their struggles in establishing free institutions, nor make their costly experiments when learning the best way. It can study the beneficial action of those institutions, and choose the most practical way of reaching it.
While I shall gladly aid in this cause as I have opportunity, the particular point raised in your despatch is one that has already engaged my serious attention. You state that your purpose is not now to ask redress in the cases complained of, but to bring facts to my notice that may be of service by and by in dealing with similar ones. The question is, what kind of protection can American missionaries expect in their work in China? and this, in its political, aspect, can at present only be settled by the stipulations respecting Christianity contained in the American and other treaties. These compacts are as precise on this subject as perhaps the nature of the case admits. A declaration in regard to the excellence of Christianity is taken as the premises, and then the article asserts “that persons teaching it or professing it shall alike be entitled to the protection of the Chinese authorities; nor shall any such, peaceably pursuing their calling, and not offending against the laws, be persecuted or interfered with.” This provision of the British treaty is like those of the other treaties, and covers the whole ground of appeal to the Chinese government.
I have furnished copies of the documents handed you by Mr. Knowlton to the foreign office, and stated, in my note accompanying them, that I had no jurisdiction in cases where natives were parties in lawsuits in Chinese courts, and have no desire to interfere in them; but I deemed it proper to inform the officers here that, in the present case of Chang Lan-tien, the authorities in Kinwha-fu had unnecessarily gone out of their way to defame and asperse the Christian religion, and apparently had decided the case against him on account of his having been a convert. I suggested that the edict of the governor-general was the stimulus to this course of conduct on the part of his subordinates, and alluded to the treaty stipulations. I have reason to believe that these provincial authorities will be admonished by their superiors, and a repetition of contumelious denunciation like the present be checked.
I may mention, for your information, that there is said to be a discrepancy between the French and Chinese versions of the article quoted by Mr. Knowlton in his temperate and suitable reply to the magistrate at Kinwha; and that the French version, which, by the treaty, is made the authorized text, does not contain so much as the other; but I cannot specify the differences.
In the progress of missionary labors, more and more opposition is likely to be exhibited on the part of the literati and officials; for they no doubt instinctively feel that the triumph of such doctrines as Christianity will materially weaken and imperil their standing and prescriptive influence. It is well that they cannot call in the aid of an organized body of priests to crush the growing cause; but the native converts will doubtless find that, whenever occasion prompts, both the gentry and rulers can find ways to harass and oppress them. Yet it [Page 489] is both undesirable and inexpedient that they should regard themselves as under a foreign protectorate; they would be aggrieved and disappointed to find, when they needed it, that it could not rescue them from their enemies.
I do not know that such is the case among Protestant or American missions, to any extent, but the letter addressed to you by the missionaries at Ningpo seems to look to something of this kind; and it is not unlikely that some natives do join the Christian church merely to obtain the countenance of its teachers, and the powerful protection of foreigners. When a man earnestly believes the truth, it is to be hoped it will afford him consolation and reward adequate to his trials; but in his disputes with his own people he cannot look to the United States authorities for his remedy. Nor does it seem to me desirable for the missionaries to go to large outlays in the purchase or repair of buildings in the country; the cheapest buildings may prove sufficient for incipient labors until the people can begin to provide accommodations for themselves.
I do not think that the supreme government of this country is particularly averse or suspicious of Protestant Christianity; but its present attitude may be owing rather to indifference than to approbation, and would change with a fuller understanding of the tenets of the Bible. The provincial authorities are much more under the influence of the local gentry, and to please them may think they can oppress native Christians with impunity.
I do not, however, propose further to speculate on the future probabilities of this important cause, but rather to apprise you what are my views in relation to the protection of native converts, even when they suffer unjustly or for the truth’s sake. My action must be confined to moral influence, and such requests for leniency and just treatment as circumstances may seem to require. While local oppression may render their condition very irksome for a time, I do not think there is any reason to apprehend the initiation of a settled purpose on the part of the imperial government to persecute them, such as took place in the reign of Tungching.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
Edward C. Lord, Esq., United States Vice-Consul, Ningpo.
Mr. Burlingame to the Members of the Foreign Office,
To the Members of the Foreign Office:
Sirs: I have the honor to bring to your notice a despatch recently received from Mr. Lord, the United States vice-consul at Ningpo, in which he encloses several documents sent to him by the Rev. Mr. Knowlton, a missionary there. Among them is an edict issued as a circular order by the highest functionaries of Fuhkien and Chehkiang containing harsh and unjust aspersions against Christianity, which had been hung up in the streets. In consequence of this edict, one of his converts, named Chang Lan-tien, who had a lawsuit with a man named Kin Tien-yuen, had lost it, and the missionaries and converts had been unnecessarily involved in the affair.
I have looked at these papers, and have only to observe that in the cases constantly coming before the courts in China, there will no doubt be many in which the professors of Christianity will be parties against their unbelieving countrymen; and I have no right to interfere in such cases in any way with the decision of his Majesty’s authorities. However, when missionaries or their converts are interested in a case, for the rulers to go out of their way to publicly declare that Christianity is a base and barbarous religion, is entirely contrary to treaty stipulations and in the highest degree improper, and in the present instance, judging from the circumstances, was unjust.
It is for these reasons that I have deemed it desirable to send copies of these documents for your information, and beg to avail myself of this opportunity to assure you of my high consideration.
Your obedient servant,
Wansiang, Pauyun, and others.
Members of the Foreign Office to Mr. Burlingame
Sir: We have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the 16th instant, in which you refer to a circular or general edict, issued by the high functionaries of Fuhkien and Chehkiang, and send us copies oí the papers relating to the lawsuit of Chang Lan-tien [Page 490] and Kin Tien-yuen. We have carefully read the documents, and in reply beg to observe, that as many evil-disposed people in those two provinces, and also in Sheusi and Kausub, have lately been in the habit of collecting in large numbers under the pretence of worshipping, the local authorities have been obliged to exercise the greatest vigilance in searching them out and punishing the guilty. It is very probable, therefore, that this edict was posted up in order to warn ignorant and simple people against being led astray by such people; and as it does not mention American missionaries by name, it is more than likely that Mr. Knowlton quite misapprehended its object, and suspected where there was no ground.
The lawsuit between Cbang Lan-tien and Kin Tien-yuen has been settled by the authorities in Kiuhwa in a manner that appears to us just and legal; and the first order in court given by the prefect and district magistrate has nothing exceptionable in it, but the final judgment contains expressions that should not have been used, and which they employed without due reflection.
We have already transmitted orders to the governor general of the provinces and to the governor of Chehkiang, to enjoin upon their subordinates of every grade to take the utmost heed not to use such expressions again in any of their official proceedings, lest the amity and good feeling (which should be maintained between natives and foreigners) be put in jeopardy.
We have the honor, in sending this reply, to wish your excellency the enjoyment of increasing happiness.
His Excellency A. Burlingame, United States Minister.