Mr. Van Valkenburgh to Mr. Seward.
Sir: By an arrangement accepted on behalf of Tokugawa Kamenoske, his daimiate of a revenue of seven hundred thousand koku is to consist of the provinces of Suruga and Totomi and a large portion of the province of Mikawa. Further arrangements are now in progress according to which all small Daimios and other land owners in those provinces are to vacate their respective properties, in lieu thereof receiving landed property elsewhere.
[Page 844]Tokugawa thus becomes the sole lord of the soil in these three provinces, excepting a portion of Mikawa; the latter is not very productive, but the two first named embrace the great tea-producing districts of Japan. By proper management I learn this tea cultivation is capable of great extension; and as a corresponding increase of revenue is sure to flow from sound legislation, no pains will be spared to attain such a result. Several tea plantations, hitherto neglected from many causes, will now receive careful attention; the tea farmers are to be encouraged and protected, and there is every reason to believe, therefore, that during the next year the exportation of tea from this country to the United States will be much larger than heretofore, and that this increase will be steady and progressive.
I have the honor to be, sir, your most obedient servant,
Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State, Washington, D. C.