Mr. Williams to Mr. Seward
Sir: Referring to Mr. Burlingame’s dispatch No. 125, of December 18, 1866, inclosing a copy of the Revised Land Regulations for the foreign settlement at Shanghai, I have the honor to request that a reply be sent to it, as circumstances render it desirable that these regulations be soon acted upon.
I have just received an official note upon this subject from Sir Rutherford Alcock, her Britannic Majesty’s minister here, inquiring if the United States government has responded to the request contained in that dispatch. In this note he says:
It is now more than 12 months since her Majesty’s government informed me they were prepared to sanction those regulations, in common with other treaty powers, when such concurrence should be formally made known, and that they had communicated with the government of the United States on the subject. As I have not received any intimation of the views of the United States government, and as it is of no avail for one treaty power to accept the said regulations without a similar act on the part of all, I shall be glad to be informed if you have received any instructions.
The United States consul general has also been inquired of by the municipal council as to the views of the United States government and [Page 575] was informed that those of Portugal and Netherlands had also formally approved them, and that France and Sweden and Norway have them in favorable consideration.
The acceptance of these Land Regulations has been urged upon you, and I hope that the government will not withhold its assent, for at present the well-being of the community depends somewhat upon it. To my mind the discussion respecting the article in the Réglements, about which there has been some correspondence with the French and British governments, is quite distinct from this approval, as the two communities are under different municipalities.
I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,
Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State, Washington, D. C.