Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, Transmitted to Congress, With the Annual Message of the President, December 8, 1885

No. 406.

Mr. Bingham to Mr. Bayard.

Legation of the United States,
Tokio, Japan, June 1, 1885. (Received June 30.)

No. 2058.]

Sir: Herewith I have the honor to inclose for your information duplicate copies of the Japanese-Chinese convention, lately concluded between the two powers, as published in the Japan Daily Mail of the 29th ultimo, together with a copy as therein printed of the official notification of said convention issued by the prime minister and the foreign minister of His Imperial Japanese Majesty, and also of the dispatch of his excellency Li.

It would seem from the terms of this convention that neither China nor Japan can hereafter claim any colorable authority over the rightful sovereignty of the Corean Government.

I am, &c.,

JNO. A. BINGHAM.

[Inclosure 1 in No. 2058.]

The Japanese-Chinese convention.

notification no. 3 of the department for foreign affairs.

It is hereby notified that, with reference to the complication between Japan and China, which occurred in connection with the disturbance at Seoul in December, last year, [we] have carried out negotiations with the Chinese Government, and have brought the question to settlement by concluding the following convention and receiving a communication.

Prince SANJO SANEYOSHI,
Prime Minister.

Count INOUYE KAORU,
Minister for Foreign Affairs,

May 27, 1885.

convention.

Ito, ambassador extraordinary of the great Empire of Japan, minister of state arid of the Imperial household, first class of the Order of the Rising Sun, and count of the Empire.

Li, special plenipotentiary of the great Empire of China, grand guardian of the heir apparent, senior grand secretary of state, superintendent of the North Sea trade, president of the board of war, viceroy of Cni-Li, and count Shinu-ki of the first rank.

In obedience to the decrees which each of them respectively is bound to obey, after conference held, have agreed upon a convention, with a view to preserving and promoting friendly relations (between the two great Empires), the articles of which are set down in order as follows:

It is hereby agreed that China shall withdraw her troops now stationed in Corea, and that Japan shall withdraw hers stationed therein for the protection of her legation. The specific term for effecting the same shall be four months, commencing from the date of the signing and sealing of this convention, within which term they shall respectively accomplish the withdrawal of the whole number of each of their troops, in order to avoid effectively any complications between the respective countries.

The Chinese troops shall embark from Masan-Po, and the Japanese from the port of Ninsen.

The said respective powers mutually agree to invite the King of Corea to instruct and drill a sufficient armed force, that she may herself assure her public security, and to invite him to engage into his service an officer or officers from amongst those of a third power, who shall be entrusted with the instruction of the said force.

The respective powers also bind themselves, each to the other, henceforth not to send any of their own officers to Korea for the purpose of giving said instruction.

In case any disturbance of a grave nature occurring in Corea, which necessitates the respective countries, or either of them, to send troops to Corea, it is hereby understood that they shall give, each to the other, previous notice in writing of their intention so to do, and that after the matter is settled they shall withdraw their troops and not further station them there.

Signed and sealed this 18th day of the fourth month of the eighteenth year of Meiji (Japanese calendar), the 4th day of the third moon of the eleventh year of Kocho (Chinese calendar).

• ITO,
  Ambassador Extraordinary of the Great Empire of Japan &c.
• LI,
  Special Plenipotentiary of the Great Empire of China, &c.

[Inclosure 2 in No. 2058.]

the official dispatch.

I, Li, special plenipotentiary of the great Empire of China, grand guardian of the heir apparent, senior grand secretary of state, superintendent of the North Sea trade, president of the board of war, viceroy of Chi Li, and count Shinu-ki of the first rank, nave the honor to make the following communication:

As regards the fighting which took place between our respective Imperial troops at the palace of the King of Corea, on the occasion of the disturbance in the capital of Corea, in the last tenth month, it was an affair that occurred entirely remote from the conception of the respective Governments, one for which I cannot but express the sentiments of my deepest regret. Holding in great importance the friendly relations happily existing from olden times between the respective countries, I have to say our Imperial troops failed, at the last, to preserve carefulness in their course of action, though they were unavoidably forced, by the crisis of the time, into lighting.

I shall, therefore, undertake myself to issue an official dispatch reprimanding them.

As to the deposition of the wife of Honda Shiunoske, a Japanese subject, and to those of others that your excellency has forwarded to me, I find in them on perusal that in the Corean capital Chinese soldiers broke into houses of Japanese, stole property, and took the lives of Japanese subjects. I have not at hand any substantial evidence on our side, and shall, therefore, dispatch an official to investigate the matter and obtain all the evidence bearing on the point in question.

Should I find proof that any soldier of any of our camps was in the streets on that day creating trouble and murdering and robbing Japanese subjects, I shall not fail to inflict upon the offender severe punishment according to the military laws of the Chinese Empire.

The above I beg to bring to your excellency’s attention.

4th day of the third moon of the eleventh day of Kocho.

[seal.]

To his excellency Count Ito,
Ambassador extraordinary, &c.