No. 353.
Mr. Marsh
to Mr. Fish.
Rome, September 27, 1874. (Received Oct. 14.)
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your instruction No. 440,* dated September 2, 1874, and of the accompanying inclosures relating to co-operative action between the minister of the United States and those of the western powers in Japan, and to participation by American citizens in the expedition to Formosa, and in other foreign wars, and have perused the correspondence between the Department of State and American ministers abroad on those subjects.
I do not think that Italy is disposed to encourage separate action, on the part of her minister in Japan, ou any matter in which the Christian powers have common interest. The force of the motive which led to such action by the minister of Italy in that country, on a former occasion, is much diminished by the success of the methods of Pasteur and others in combatting the disease of the silk-worm in Italy, The importation of the seed, as it is called, of this insect into Italy, was considerably [Page 755] reduced last season, and some Italian silk-growers believe that the persevering employment of these methods will entirely extirpate this malady in Europe, and restore the silk-industry to its former prosperity.
I have, &c.,
- Identical with instruction No. 703 to the legation in Germany; Foreign Relations, 1874, page 460.↩