No. 121.
Marquis de
Noailles to Mr. Fish.
[Translation.]
Legation of
France,
New York,
June 9, 1873. (Received June 12.)
Mr. Secretary of State: Although temporarily absent
from Washington I do not wish to delay sending to your excellency the
inclosed copy of a dispatch which I have just received from my
government.
So far as I have been able to understand from the few words which I have
heard from the mouth of your excellency in relation to the treaty which has
just been proposed to the government of the Mikado by the minister of Italy
in Japan, in relation to the privileges to be granted to his countrymen
traveling in the interior of the empire, I think I may hope that the views
of the Department of State will coincide with those expressed in the
dispatch of the minister of foreign affairs of France. It is, indeed, a
matter of great importance, as well for the United States as for France,
that the representatives of the principal powers in Japan should act
harmoniously, and your excellency has several times been pleased to state to
me how important you considered it that their harmonious action should not
be interrupted.
Be pleased, &c.
Count de Rémusat to
the Marquis de Noailles.
Marquis: Our chargé d’affaires informs me that
the minister of Italy is about to go to Rome on leave of absence, and
that, while there, he will submit to the approval of his government an
arrangement, the terms of which have been fixed by him, with the
ministers of the Mikado, with a view to making provision for the free
travel of Italians in the interior of the empire. I have the honor
herewith to send you the text of this draught of a convention as
furnished to M. de Turenne by the legation of Italy, and by the minister
of foreign affairs of Japan. The difference between the two versions
does
[Page 270]
not change the purport of
this document, the sole interest of which for us lies in the provision,
in virtue of which Italians, when they have passed the limits assigned
by the treaties now in force, as those of the residence of foreigners,
are to be subject to the jurisdiction of the Japanese authorities.
The motive which has led the minister of Italy to seek to procure access
to the interior provinces for his countrymen is evident, and as long ago
as 1868 we were witnesses of the impatience of his predecessor to secure
to his country new facilities for the obtainment of silk-worms’ eggs.
Whatever may be the importance of this product for Italian industry, the
advantage expected from the new convention does not seem to us to make
amends for the very serious objections which it presents. Such has been,
according to the information furnished me by our chargé d’affaires, the
opinion of the representatives of England, the United States, Russia,
Germany, and Spain, who have, like him, viewed with regret the agreement
brought about by the minister of Italy, and who have felt it their duty
to write in this sense to their governments, urging them to dissuade the
government at Rome from ratifying the arrangement submitted to it for
approval. This is a step which we on our part cannot hesitate to take,
and which is justified by an interest of the highest importance. The
proposed convention would in effect destroy in a capital matter that
unity of action which constitutes the first element of the success of
foreign legations in Japan. It would create a troublesome precedent, of
which the Japanese government (which has already declared that other
nations shall enjoy similar privileges only on the same conditions)
would not fail to avail itself. The organization of justice in Japan,
and the laws in force there, do not furnish guarantees sufficient to
render it wise to renounce, for the present at least, the right of
exercising protection over our citizens, and of securing to them, on
these terms, access to the provinces of the interior, where we hope
without doubt to cause them to be admitted more freely, but without
abandoning a prerogative, the maintenance of which is still rendered
necessary by the state of the country. What we know of the intentions of
the Washington Cabinet does not permit us to doubt that it will share
our view, and the Secretary of State, whose attention I beg you to call
to this matter, will without doubt be disposed to instruct the
representative of the United States at Rome to endeavor, as Mr. Fournier
will do, to induce the Italian government not to sanction an arrangement
whereby it only secures an advantage which it might confidently expect
to secure by co-operating with the other powers in their efforts, and
which it would then obtain without making a dangerous sacrifice.
Receive, &c.
Draft of a provisional convention relative to the
travel of foreigners in the interior of Japan, presented by the
minister of Italy to the government of the Tenno.
1. Italians may travel freely in the interior of the empire, with the
proviso that, if they shall go beyond the limits of the jurisdiction of
their consuls, they shall be under the protection and jurisdiction of
the territorial authorities, according to the usages which prevail in
the countries of Europe and America.
2. To this effect Italians of good character and conduct shall obtain,
through the intervention of the authorities under whose jurisdiction
they are, a personal passport from the ministry of foreign affairs.
3. If an Italian subject, or his property, shall suffer injury, the
Italian government shall have the right to demand satisfaction,
conformably to the laws of Japan. It is understood, however, that the
said government shall not interfere in any matter of this kind so long
as that one of its subjects who shall have been injured in person or
property shall not have used all the means rendered available to him for
the obtainment of justice before the Japanese tribunals.
There shall be no exception to this rule, save in the case of an evident
denial of justice.
4. The Japanese government engages that foreigners condemned by its
courts shall not be subjected to cruel punishments.
Such persons shall only be liable to imprisonment, with
or without compulsory labor. (Sic.)
5. If a crime shall be committed rendering the perpetrator liable to
capital punishment, the local authorities shall not execute the sentence
without having first referred the matter to the seat of the government
of the Tokeï, in order to conform to the usages adopted in this empire
in the case of a Japanese under a similar sentence.
[These two paragraphs are wanting in the text of the draft furnished by
the Japanese government to the French government.]
