No. 114.
Mr. Hoffman to Mr. Fish.
Paris, July 24, 1873. (Received August 7.)
Sir: Referring to your dispatch No. 510, of June 21, I have the honor to inform you that I called to-day upon the Duke de Broglie, and communicated to him verbally the views of the President upon the subject of the joint action of the western powers in Japan.
M. de Broglie said that he entered entirely into the views of the United States Government, that the western powers should have a common action; that one should not separate itself from the others with a view to any special advantage, but that they should “press with a common weight” upon countries like Japan; that he must ask for a few days for reflection before taking action in the matter, but that his present impression was very decided to give instruction to the ministers of France at Borne and in Japan in the sense suggested in your dispatch.
Referring to Mr. Washburne’s dispatch No. 821, I have the honor to inform the Department that M. de Broglie stated to me this morning that the French government had no objection whatever to the extension of the jurisdiction of the consul-general of the United States in France over Algeria.
Mr. Washburne went to England yesterday, to be absent four or five days.
I have, &c.,