Mr. Seward to Mr. Browne
Sir,: I have received Mr. Williams’s dispatch of the 2d of July, No. 17, together with its accompaniments, namely, a copy of eight rules which have been agreed upon between Prince Kung and the foreign ministers residing at Peking, for the conduct of the joint tribunal in the case of confiscation and fines for breaches of the revenue laws.
The accompaniment also contains a copy of an extended correspondence, which occurred in part before the adoption of those rules and in part after their adoption. I have the pleasure to express the President’s assent to those rules, and to commend the diligence, discretion, and ability which Mr. Williams has practiced in securing the adoption of a code which promises to be so highly beneficial to commerce in the East. I am, sir, your obedient servant,
J. Ross Browne, Esq., &c., &c., &c.