Mr. Seward to Mr. Van Valkenburgh.
Sir: Your dispatch of the 26th of May, No. 52, has been received. It communicates the fact, which is announced by the press in Japan, that the men of Yedo who were executed at Saki for the murder of eleven unarmed Frenchmen, in violation of treaties, have been canonized in Japan. You regard this information as authentic, although you express the belief that the Mikado’s government is not wilfully guilty of canonizing Japanese for the murder of foreigners, and you further express the opinion that the proceeding was the work of some high priest or functionary, which the Mikado’s government is powerless to prevent.
The proceeding thus brought to the notice of this government is one to be deprecated and regretted. It might well be the subject of protest and remonstrance by the representatives of the treaty powers, but occasions for protests and remonstrances are so frequent, that to resort to that form of proceeding always involves a question of political expediency. You will exercise your sound discretion, in conjunction with the representatives of the other treaty powers, in determining whether to make such a protest in the present instance, or to let the affair pass away in silence.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
R. B. Van Valkenburgh, Esq., &c., &c., &c.