Office of the Historian

No. 316.
Mr. Bingham to Mr. Evarts.

United States Legation,
Tokei, Japan, October 22, 1879. (Received November 28.)
No. 994.]

Sir: I have the honor to inclose herewith a copy of a treaty recently negotiated by the Japanese Government with that of Corea for the opening of an additional port in the latter country. You will observe that by the terms of this treaty “from the month of March next the Corean Government will open the port of Gensan, situated in Kan kion-do, to trade with the Japanese, who shall be entitled to establish a settlement at Chotoku-san.

This new port is distant from the Corean capital only about forty miles.

With the exception of China and Japan, Corea seems indisposed to hold treaty relations with foreign powers.

I have, &c.,

JOHN A. BINGHAM.
[Page 697]
[Inclosure with dispatch No. 994.]

Treaty.

  • Article I. From the month of March, in the year of Koshin, according to Corean chronology, which corresponds with the month of May in the 13th year of Meiji, Japanese chronology (1880), the Corean Government will open the port of Gensan, situated in Kankion-do, to trade with the Japanese, who shall he entitled to establish a settlement in Chotoku-san, the limits of which shall he fixed after a survey has been made by the Sorio-Kwan.
  • Art. II. The ground-rent in the settlement shall in the commencement be the same as the ordinary tax paid in that place; it may afterwards be increased or decreased by mutual consent between the two governments, according to the requirements of the expenditure mentioned in Article III.
  • Art. III. The Corean Government shall prepare the site of the settlement, clear it from bush and rock, level it, and make the necessary roads or bridges; but the Japanese Government shall build the houses and lay out the streets.
  • Art. IV. A cemetery for Japanese shall be laid out at a convenient distance, for which the same ground-rent shall be paid as at the settlement.
  • Art. V. The Corean Government shall build a pier from the western coast of Chotoku-san to Chotoku-jima, and keep the same in suitable order and repair, so that cargo may there be landed and ships lie safely at anchor. Corean vessel shall also be permitted to anchor there on condition of paying harbor duties to the customhouse, and they shall have the right to call there when navigating the coast. When a Corean wishes to take passage in a Japanese ship to any open ports, then he shall send in a petition stating his name and residence and his luggage, and the customhouse shall then grant him permission, and no unnecessary obstacles shall be thrown in the way of his intended voyage. Consul Miyamoto wrote on the 29th August, of the ninth year of Meiji (1876), as follows:
  • “With regard to extending the pier to Chotoku-jima, that question may be settled when a proper survey of the locality has been made, and according to the exigencies of the time.”
  • Art. VI. The Corean Government will establish a custom-house near the pier, and build a shed for protection of the goods against wind and rain while they are being examined.
  • Art. VIII. The treaty limits for Japanese shall be ten ri in all directions, the same as at Fusau. Tokugen Fu may be visited as freely as Torai Fu.

P. S.—The road from the port of Gensan to the port of Katsuma is within treaty limits; but as there is a place which is not open to visit, another road shall be made.

If there be any points in the above seven articles that require further arrangement, it shall be done according to the requirements of the settlement.