Mr. Seward to Mr. Browne

No. 6.]

Sir: S. Wells Williams, esq., on the 26th of May last, addressed his dispatch No. 12 to this department. It was duly received on the 12th ultimo. The paper chiefly relates to a contemplated revision of the tariff and commercial articles in the treaty of 1858 between Great Britain and China. Provision for such revision was made in article 27 of that treaty. Mr. Williams writes that the main purpose of the [Page 573] proposed revision is to promote the extension of trade throughout the provinces, and to open up their resources to general use and advantage. These desirable objects it is supposed will be greatly promoted by allowing steam vessels to navigate the inland waters of China. Mr. Williams dwells upon the benefits which may be anticipated from an extension of inland steam navigation in China. At the same time he does not overlook the objections which arise from the apprehensions which the Chinese government entertain in regard to so serious a modification of its internal policy.

I refer you to Mr. Williams’s dispatch for further particulars, being content on the present occasion to bring to your attention the purpose of the dispatch. He states that purpose as follows: “In view of the present revision of the British treaty it is desirable that instructions and powers be furnished to the United States minister in China, if it is deemed best, to enter upon similar negotiations for a revision of the American treaty during the coming year, so that he may be prepared to obtain the same advantages for our countrymen which others enjoy.” Mr. Williams adds, “that though the diplomatic mission to the treaty powers in the West, which is now in the United States, was designed, among other objects, to show them that the Chinese government is not yet prepared to accept all the proposals made to it, there is no determination to resist every change and return to the seclusion of former days.”

Article 30 of the treaty, concluded on the 18th of June, 1858, between the United States and China, recites that “The contracting parties hereby agree that should, at any time, the Ta-Tsing empire grant to any nation, or the merchants or citizens of any nation, any right, privilege, or favor, connected either with navigation, commerce, political or other intercourse, which is not conferred by this treaty, such right, privilege and favor shall at once freely inure to the benefit of the United States, its public officers, merchants, and citizens.”

The additional articles to the treaty of June 18, 1858, which were concluded here on the 28th of June last, which have been duly ratified by the President of the United States, and which have already been sent to Peking for the purpose of being ratified there by the Chinese government, embrace all the subjects which this government has deemed to be essential, at the present time, to adjust by an immediate revision of the treaty of 1858 between the United States and China.

In concluding those additional articles, however, this government did not leave out of view the fact that the British government has in contemplation a revision of the treaty between Great Britain and China, with a view to a modification of the tariff and commercial articles contained in the last-mentioned treaty.

Under these circumstances, the United States refrain from initiating any proposal for a modification of the tariff and commercial articles in their treaty with China. Nevertheless, if any such modifications shall be made in the contemplated revision of the British treaty, it will then be not merely expedient, but absolutely necessary, that the United States shall have for themselves an equal participation of all the benefits and advantages of such modifications.

It is believed that the 30th article of our treaty of 1858 will secure to us all those benefits, without any new stipulation. Nevertheless, to guard against any error or mistake on that point, you are hereby authorized to enter into negotiations with the Chinese government for a revision of our treaty of 1858, so as to secure to the government and citizens of the United States the same advantages and benefits which may be secured for the government and subjects of Great Britain in [Page 574] any new articles or treaties which may be concluded between Great Britain and China in the revision of that treaty which is expected to be made.

I think it necessary only to give you one general instruction upon this question, namely, that the Chinese government should be advised and solicited to make all such concessions to internal navigation by steam, by the construction of railroads, and by telegraphs, as largely and as rapidly as a system so entirely new there can be accommodated to the consent and acceptance of the people, who have lived so long and so closely secluded from commercial, social, and political intercourse with the western nations. On the other hand, these desirable changes are not to be pressed with such great urgency as to endanger the stability of the present government or the internal peace and tranquillity of China.

This instruction will be your guide in such debates and discussions as may arise between yourself and the representative of Great Britain or other treaty powers.

We do not allow ourselves to suppose that her Majesty’s government will seek or desire to press their proposals for revision beyond the limit which I have described. While they adhere, as we expect they will, to that limit, you will lend them your good offices and cordial support.

Ample powers, corresponding to the principles of this instruction, will, in due time, be sent to you by this department.

A copy hereof will be given to the Chinese envoys now in the United States, for their information. A copy of the same will also be transmitted to our representatives in London and Paris, respectively, with a view to its being used, if necessary, in preserving and maintaining a good understanding between the United States and the treaty powers in regard to the important subjects herein discussed.

I am, sir, your obedient servant,

WILLIAM H. SEWARD.

J. Ross Browne, Esq., C. B., &c., &c., &c.