No. 363.
Mr. Bingham to Mr. Fish.
United
States Legation, Japan,
Tokei
,
October 8, 1874.
(Received November 16.)
No. 132.]
Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith, for
your information, a copy of a notification by the Japanese government to
Chinese subjects resident in Japan (inclosure 1) informing them that in the
event of [Page 769] war between Japan and
China they shall not be harmed by this government unless they engage in
trade contraband of war, act as spies, or do other injury to this country. I
have also the honor to inclose a copy of another notification (inclosure 2)
which has reference to the Japanese expedition to Formosa, the occurrences
there between the Japanese forces, and the efforts at negotiation by the
ministers sent to China by Japan, &c. It is to be observed in this last
notification that while it is said that the Emperor desires a peaceful
result by negotiation, it is clearly stated therein that preparations are
being made for war in the event of a failure to settle the difficulties by
negotiation. A notice appearing in the papers that Mr. Wasson, the American
citizen mentioned in my dispatches of April last, was recently in Nagasaki,
awaiting orders to report to General Saigo, the Japanese commander in
Formosa, I took occasion to request the minister for foreign affairs, by a
dispatch of date the 1st instant, (inclosure 3,) to notify Mr. Wasson of the
fact hitherto communicated to you, that he (Wasson) was detached from that
service and should not proceed to Formosa. I have the honor to further
inform you that in the latter part of September I received from Mr. Seward,
at Shanghai, a dispatch of date the 1st ultimo, inclosing a note identically
agreed upon by the foreign consuls at Shanghai for the protection of foreign
commerce, &c., in the event of hostilities between Japan and China,
(inclosures 4 and 5.) To this communication I replied in a letter (inclosure
6) dated the 2oth ultimo. 1 respectfully submit the same for your
consideration, hoping that my action may meet your approval, and especially
desiring your instructions in the matter. I have this evening received a
communication from the minister for foreign affairs asking me what Chinese,
if any, are in the service of this legation, and requesting me to notify him
in future if any Chinese shall be employed at the legation or discharged
therefrom. To this I have replied that there are no Chinese in the employ of
the legation at present, and that should any be employed therein or
discharged therefrom in the future I shall inform him.
I am, &c.,
[Inclosure 1 in No.
132.—Translation.]
Notification to Chinese subjects.
[From the Japan Weekly Mail, October 3, 1874.]
Chinese subjects.—The wicked inhabitants of
Formosa have, in former years, murdered and plundered several tens of
our Japanese subjects. Steps have, therefore, been taken to punish these
offenses, and to protect our subjects from injury in the future. To this
the Chinese government have objected, and our government has therefore
dispatched officials to discuss this matter, but no conclusion has yet
been arrived at. We hear that you, the Chinese subjects, resident in
this country, are unnecessarily apprehensive lest it should be
impossible to preserve peace between the two countries, and that, if war
broke out, your persons would be imprisoned, and your property plundered
and confiscated, and we are informed that you torment yourselves with
all kinds of anxieties. If this is truly the case, your condition is a
very pitiable one. But even if war should unavoidably break out, in what
are you, the Chinese subjects, resident here, to blame? Except in the
case of persons guilty of contraband trading, spying, or doing injury to
this country connected with the war, the government of great Japan will
neither imprison or plunder you. Take careful note of this, obey the
instructions of this government, pursue your occupations in peace, and
do not allow yourselves to be carried away by excitement.
(The above was notified on the 29th September to
Chinese subjects resident in Japan in the Chinese and Japanese
languages.)
SANJO SANEYOSHI,
Daijo Daijin. [Prime Minister.]
[Page 770]
[Inclosure 2 in No.
132.—Translation.]
Notification of No. 127 as to Formosa.
To the In, Sho, Shi, Fu, and
Ken:
An expedition against the barbarous part of Formosa was announced in
notification No. 65 of May last, and on the 22d of that month the
commander-in-chief, Saijo Yorimichi, arrived there. The troops had
arrived some days previously. They entered the territory of the savages,
and were exploring its lands and waters when they were suddenly fired
upon by them. Our troops then, attacked them, and put them to rout.
Eighteen heads of villages gave in their submission, one after another,
and almost the whole savage territory was reduced to peace. We were
thereafter engaged in preparing preventive measures for the future, when
the Chinese government persistently objected. Yanagiwara Sakimitsu, our
envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to that country, was
therefore instructed to discuss the matter with the Chinese government,
and numerous written communications and conferences were held. The
further special step was then taken of dispatching to China Okubo
Toschimichi as high commissioner plenipotentiary. It is, of course, the
aim of His Majesty that these negotiations shall result in a peaceful
settlement and’ in the preservation of amicable relations, but
preparations are at the same time being made to meet any emergency in
case circumstances leave us no other alternative than to do so.
His Majesty will give you his further commands with reference to the
result of the negotiations to be conducted henceforward by our high
commissioner to China.
SANJO SANEYOSHI,
Daijo
Daijin.
September 28,
1874.
[Inclosure 3 in No. 132.]
Mr. Bingham to Mr.
Terashima.
United
States Legation,
Tokei
,
October 1,
1874.
No. 87.]
Your Excellency: I called at your office
yesterday for the purpose of acquainting you with the fact that Mr.
Wasson, a citizen of the United States, hitherto referred to by your
excellency in your No. 26 of date the 22d April last addressed to me,
and who, as your excellency then informed me, had, by the action of your
excellency’s government upon my request, been detached from service
under the Japanese government in the Formosan expedition, is reported in
the Japan Gazette of the 29th ultimo to be “in Nagasaki awaiting
instructions to resume his position on General Saijo’s staff,” and “will
probably sail for Formosa in a few days.”
I have the honor to further inform your excellency that I communicated to
my Government copies of my communications heretofore made to your
excellency in which I protested against the employment of United States
citizens and vessels in the Japanese expedition against Formosa, and a
copy of your excellency’s dispatch of the 22d of April, setting forth
the action of your excellency’s government as above stated, to which my
Government has replied that the proceedings taken by me to detach the
citizens of the United States and the steamer New York are approved. Not
doubting that the instructions heretofore issued, as stated by your
excellency, for the detachment of Mr. Wasson and the other citizens of
the United States named in your excellency’s dispatch of 22d of April
were in accordance with the treaty obligations subsisting between the
United States and Japan, and feeling quite assured that it has been and
is the purpose of your excellency’s government to carry the same out in
good faith, I beg leave to respectfully request that your excellency
will notify Mr. Wasson of the instructions issued by your government
detaching him from service in the Japanese expedition against Formosa,
to the end that he may not proceed to Formosa, in violation alike of the
instructions of your excellency’s government and of the laws of his
country.
I have the honor to be your excellency’s obedient servant,
His Excellency Terashima Munenori,
&c., &c., &c.
[Page 771]
[Inclosure 4 in No. 132.]
Mr. Seward to Mr.
Bingham.
United
States Consulate-General,
Shanghai
,
September 1,
1874.
No. 24.]
Sir: I have the honor to hand yon herewith a
draught of a dispatch which has been addressed by the several consuls at
this port to their several ministers at Peking, looking to the need of
action to secure the safety of our commerce and of our settlements in
the event of war between China and Japan.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
GEO. F. SEWARD,
Consul-General.
Hon. John A. Bingham,
United States Minister to Japan, Yeddo.
[Inclosure 5 in No. 132.]
Draught of an identical note to be sent by each
consul to his ministerial representative at Peking.
Sir: The probability of a war between China and
Japan having of late attracted much attention, and the possibility of
such a contingency not by any means having passed over, it has occurred
to myself and some of my colleagues to consider what would be the
position of the foreign settlements of Shanghai in such an unfortunate
event, and how far it would be expedient to adopt such precautions as
may render that position a comparatively safe one. It does not need any
extraordinary foresight to predict that Shanghai, from its importance as
a commercial center, and from its proximity to one of the few arsenals
which China possesses, will become a focus of attack in case of
hostilities being declared, and in that event the foreign settlements
will be at once exposed to extreme danger, inasmuch as they stand (that
portion called British more especially) exactly in a quarter where any
outworks necessary to cover the city from hostile approach by the river
must be constructed.
No move has been as yet made by the Chinese toward the utilization of
this strategical position, but they may at any moment see fit to occupy
it, and should they do so, and hostilities supervene, the consequences
to neutral life and property may be very serious. The conclusion appears
to myself and colleagues obvious, that, if such a sacrifice can be in
any way averted, no effort ought to be left untried to avert it; and the
alternative we would venture to propose is that advantage should be
taken of the presence in Peking of a Japanese minister plenipotentiary,
to negotiate for the neutralization of the ground covered by the foreign
settlements, and a stipulation that nothing shall be done on either side
to endanger the safety of the residents therein or of the property in
their keeping. The Tautai of this place, it is believed, will be quite
willing to give his consent to this proposition, and I beg to submit it
to your excellency, in conjunction with such of my colleagues as are
more directly interested, and each of whom has addressed an identical
note to his minister, in the hope that the scheme may meet with your
favorable consideration. I may refer here to the 26th article of the
United States treaty with China, which provides for the immunity of
American commerce in case of war, and to suggest that such further
negotiation may be undertaken with the Japanese as will render this
provision operative as far as they are concerned; and, in this
connection, it may be mentioned that the Chinese are likely to obstruct
the Woosung Bar in case of war, unless some means are adopted to prevent
them taking this course. Various and serious questions, it must be
confessed, will be involved in the adoption of the proposed measure; but
as these must of necessity occur to your mind, and their discussion
scarcely comes within my province, I prefer to submit the simple
proposition, free of all observation or remark.
My colleagues agree with me that it is also beyond our province to
propose that any arrangements arrived at shall embrace all the foreign
settlements in China and Japan, but it may not be amiss to point out how
obviously desirable such an extension would be.
[Inclosure 6 in No. 132.]
Mr. Bingham to Mr.
Seward.
United
States Legation,
Tokei
,
September 25,
1874.
No. 102.]
Sir: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your
dispatches 23 and 24, dated the 7th August and the 1st September,
respectively, and tender you my thanks for the same. [Page 772] The regulations of the consular courts in
China, inclosed with your No. 23, upon such examination as I have been
able to give them, seem to me satisfactory and worthy of consideration
here. The note identical, inclosed in your No. 24, I consider to be
called for in the present exigency, and should war be declared between
Japan and China, the adoption of the same should be insisted on by the
foreign representatives accredited to both nations. I have this to
suggest: that the foreign settlements, or places exclusively occupied by
foreigners, in each empire, should be declared by the sovereign
authority of each inviolate in the event of war, and should be respected
alike by the forces of Japan and China. What is said in the note
identical touching the 26th article of the United States treaty with
China is a matter of the first importance to the people of the United
States, and it shall be my pleasure, as it is my duty, to co-operate
with you and with all the representatives of our common country in
securing to our people the full benefit of that article, if, unhappily,
a public, solemn war shall obtain between Japan and China.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
Geo. F. Seward, Esq., &c.,
Shanghai.
