Mr. Bayard to Mr.
Hubbard.
Department
of State,
Washington, January 29,
1889.
No. 275.]
Sir: The inclosed copy of a report made by me to
the President under date of the 22d instant, and of the dispatch of Consul
Birch at Nagasaki, therein referred to, will apprise you of the
circumstances under which I sought the direction of the President regarding
the proper method of carrying out the purpose of the joint resolution of
Congress, approved May 24, 1888, to enable the President of the United
States to extend to certain inhabitants of Japan a suitable recognition of
their humane treatment of the survivors of the American bark “Cashmere,” which was abandoned in the vicinity of
the island of Tanegashima, in September, 1885.
As you will perceive by the report of the United States consul at Nagasaki,
that officer, in pursuance of the instructions of this Department, consulted
with the Japanese authorities of the district and obtained through them a
very carefully considered expression of the views of Watanabe, governor of
Kagoshima Ken, within whose jurisdiction Tanegashima is situated, upon the
subject of the contemplated employment of the amount appropriated. The
governor’s recommendation is that the bulk of the sum be bestowed upon the
inhabitants of the island as a common fund, to be used for educational and
industrial purposes, the fund or capital being invested in such a way that
the interest accruing therefrom shall be sufficient to maintain educational
institutions of the character suggested, in perpetuity, for the benefit of
the islanders.
Before submitting the matter for the President’s consideration and direction,
I obtained an informal expression of Mr. Mutsu’s general concurrence in the
recommendation of Governor Watanabe, with the acceptable suggestion that the
whole of the fund in question shall be devoted to the purpose indicated,
without diversion of any part of it as personal rewards to Japanese subjects
not residents of Tanegashima.
I have now received the President’s directions in the premises. He fully
agrees with the suggestions made as aforesaid by certain Japanese officials
resident in the neighborhood of the proposed beneficiaries and acquainted
with their situation, to the effect that the best application which could be
made of the donation of this Government would be its use in furtherance of
the educational advantages of the people of the island of Tanegashima. The
President remarks that this island is reported to have an area of about 100
square miles and a population of about 22,000, but that the inhabitants of
the two villages of Isekimura and Akimura appear to be entitled to an
especial recognition of their humanity and generosity, and assuming that
they do not lie far apart, he considers that the school to be established or
endowed should be located in one or the other of the villages named, or else
to be accessible to the residents of both. Adopting this line of action, as
proposed, the
[Page 530]
President directs me
to instruct you to confer with His Imperial Japanese Majesty’s Government
with a view of procuring its action and consent to such an arrangement as we
have in mind 5 and obtaining the assistance of that Government, and of the
officials of the locality interested, in accomplishing the purposes set
forth in my report.
I have therefore to instruct you to carry out the President’s direction in
the premises by laying the subject before the Japanese minister for foreign
affairs and inviting his excellency to take steps for the suitable
employment of the fund in the manner and to the ends suggested. The actual
disbursement of the money should be made by the hands of the Japanese
officials, but it will be proper that some clear understanding should be
arrived at as to the general features of the plan to be adopted by the
Japanese Government. From the informal suggestion made by a member of the
Japanese legation here, it is thought that a sum not exceeding $1,500 would
suffice for the erection of a suitable school building on which perhaps
should be placed a tablet inscribed with a brief statement of the gift by
the United States and the circumstances leading to it. The remainder of the
fund might be invested in the Government securities of Japan and the income
be devoted to the maintenance of the school and the compensation of the
teachers.
You will at the same time suitably express to his excellency the pleasure we
have in thus seeking to carry out in a permanent and conspicuously useful
way the material expression of the desire of the people of the United
States, through their national law-givers, to recognize the high service
rendered to humanity by the inhabitants of Tanegashima; and our
gratification at thus being able to add another proof of the lasting esteem
in which we hold the people of Japan and the high value we set upon their
friendship and that of their Government.
Upon reaching a practical solution of the problem now presented and obtaining
satisfactory assurances of the active co-operation of the Japanese
Government in receiving and applying the $5,000 which Congress has placed in
the President’s hands for the purpose above described, you are authorized to
draw in favor of the Japanese Government or the proper officer thereof, upon
Messrs. Brown, Shipley & Co., our London bankers, for £1,027.8.8, the
equivalent of $5,000, and to deliver such draft to the Japanese minister for
foreign affairs on behalf of the beneficiaries and take his receipt in
triplicate therefor.
You may render a special account of this transaction, and you will request
the Japanese Government to advise the Government of the United States when
the arrangement now contemplated shall be fully completed, in order that the
information may be laid before Congress.
I am, etc.,
[Inclosure 1 in No. 275.]
Mr. Bayard to the
President.
Department of State,
Washington, January 22,
1889.
The undersigned has the honor to request the directions of the President
regarding the proper method of carrying out the joint resolution of
Congress, approved May 24, 1888, “to enable the President of the United
States to extend to certain inhabitants of Japan a suitable recognition
of their humane treatment of the survivors of the crew of the American
bark Cashmere.”
The resolution referred to reads as follows:
“Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives
of the United States of America in Congress assembled. That the
President of the United States be, and he is hereby,
[Page 531]
authorized to extend to the inhabitants of
the island of Tanegashima, Japan, a suitable recognition of their kind
and humane treatment of the survivors of the crew of the American bark
Cashmere, lost off that coast in the year
eighteen hundred and eighty-five, and to convey to the Government and
people of Japan an expression of the high appreciation in which the
Government and people of the United States hold such humane
services.
“Sec. 2. That the sum of five thousand dollars,
or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated out of
any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to enable the
President to execute the purpose aforesaid.”
The circumstances of the rescue of the crew of the Cashmere and the narrative of the conspicuous humanity and
generosity shown to them by the inhabitants of Tanegashima Island are
found in the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives (Report 401, House of Representatives, Fiftieth
Congress, first session, accompanying House resolution 95), which was
submitted by Mr. Morrow, on the 14th of February, 1888, as follows:
“‘On the 11th of September, 1885, the American bark Cashmere, bound on a voyage from the city of Philadelphia to
Hiogo, Japan, encountered a violent typhoon near the coast of Japan. The
fury of the gale soon reduced the vessel to a hopeless wreck. The
officers and crew numbered fifteen, consisting of the master and his
son, first and second mate, carpenter, eight seamen, steward, and cook.
The first and second mate perished on the 13th of September while
engaged in heroic efforts to save the vessel. A few hours later the
master was swept overboard and lost. At this time when the dismantled
vessel was apparently unable much longer to resist the violence of the
storm, seven of the men managed to get into the only remaining boat and
set out in what appeared to be a hopeless effort to reach land.
“The captain’s son, the carpenter, and three of the crew were compelled
to remain with the floating wreck. After two days of suffering, without
food or water, the seven men who took to the boat landed in a famished
condition on the little island Tanegashima, inhabited by Japanese
fishermen and peasants. These kind-hearted and hospitable people
hastened to feed, clothe, and dress the wounds of the unfortunate
castaways, and in every possible way administered to their wants. As
soon as the latter were able to travel the islanders provided them with
transportation to the Japanese city of Kagoshima, where they were also
hospitably received and kindly treated for eight days, when they were
sent to Kobe, where the United States consul took them in charge and
placed them on board a vessel bound to San Francisco.
“In the mean time, the wreck upon which were left the captain’s son and
four members of the crew, was unexpectedly kept afloat by the buoyancy
of its cargo of kerosene stored in cans in the hold of the vessel. For
seven days and nights after the departure of the boat the five men
remained on the wreck, crowded into a small space under the forecastle,
with only a few raw yams to eat and a little vinegar to drink. Their
suffering from hunger and thirst was most intense. The helpless craft
finally drifted in sight of land,’ and the men constructed a raft with
which, after much toil and danger they reached shore and found they had
lauded upon the same little island of Tanegashima, where their comrades
in a boat had a few days before been rescued from the perils of the
sea.
“The Japanese, unwearied in their kindness, again hastened to the shore
to rescue, feed, clothe, and administer to the wants of this second
party of unfortunate strangers, which they did with even more kindly
generosity and a greater sympathy than before, as the last party were in
greater distress than their comrades. After ten days of careful
treatment, the second party had sufficiently recovered health and
strength to travel and they were also sent to Kobe, from which place
they were sent to Yokohama by the American consul, and from the latter
port they obtained passage on a vessel to New York. The escape of these
poor sailors from the misfortunes that had overtaken them was most
miraculous, but the humane and generous treatment they received at the
hands of the kind-hearted Japanese was the feature of the story they had
to tell when they reached home.
“Our shipwrecked sailors have not always been so fortunate in that part
of the world. The Japanese have never failed when occasion required to
show their sympathy for people in distress, but this kindly disposition
is in marked contrast with the barbarous conduct of many other people on
the Asiatic coast. Instances have been reported where our shipwrecked
sailors have been subjected to the most cruel and inhuman treatment, and
the power of the Government has been invoked to punish such
inhumanity.
“It is the boast of our civilization that we seek to cultivate the
highest order of fraternal obligations for the relief of distress in
times of peril and disaster, whereby we spread abroad a spirit of
friendliness and universal brotherhood. The present instance should not
be allowed to pass, therefore, without some suitable recognition of the
humane conduct of the Japanese towards the survivors of the American
bark Cashmere.
“The committee, therefore, recommend the passage of the accompanying
resolution.”
[Page 532]
To the end of devising and adopting a suitable and effective recognition
by this Government of the humane action of the inhabitants of
Tanegashima on the occasion referred to, the consul of the United States
at Nagasaki, Japan, was instructed on the 5th June, 1888, to report his
own views and the views, also, as far as they might be properly
ascertainable, of the Japanese authorities relating to the disbursement
of the sum appropriated by Congress.
The undersigned has the honor to lay before the President a copy of the
report of the consul, from which it will be seen that he has consulted
with the Japanese authorities of the district, and has obtained through
them a very carefully considered expression of the views of Watanabe,
governor of Kagoshima, within whose jurisdiction Tanegashima is
situated, upon the subject of the contemplated employment of the amount
appropriated. While suggesting a small personal compensation to certain
men, strangers in the island, who were present at the time, and who
aided in the rescue of the crew of the Cashmere,
he recommends that the remainder of the sum appropriated be bestowed
upon the inhabitants of the island as a common fund to be used for
educational and industrial purposes, the fund or capital being invested
in such a way that the interest accruing therefrom shall be sufficient
to maintain educational and industrial institutions in perpetuity for
the benefit of the islanders.
One of the most conspicuous and gratifying evidences of the moral and
intellectual advancement of Japan in our day is seen in the rapid
development of education among the inhabitants of that island in the
serious endeavors of the Imperial Government to promote popular
education in every way.
The geographies show this district to consist of many islands, a large
part of them small, not easily or regularly accessible, destitute of
facilities for commerce, and inhabited by a laborious community engaged
in fishing and in agriculture. These circumstances are naturally an
impediment to the enforcement and practical extension of the
comprehensive scheme of popular education designed by the Japanese
Government; and, as pointed out by the consul in his report, such
islands as Tanegashima are necessarily devoid of the school facilities
which the more central, populous, and prosperous districts of the Empire
enjoy. The proposition, therefore, of employing the money appropriated
by Congress in the practical and benevolent way suggested by the
governor of Kagoshima will, it is trusted, commend itself to the
approval of the President.
The undersigned has recently brought the subject informally to the
attention of His Imperial Japanese Majesty’s legation at this capital,
and has obtained the ministers full concurrence in the suggestions so
made, with the recommendation, however, that the entire fund
appropriated be devoted to the purposes described, without the diversion
of any part thereof to the recompense of individual Japanese subjects.
The minister is understood to regard any such personal reward specially
bestowed upon non-residents of the island as calculated to make
invidious discriminations against the resident islanders, whose services
in aid of the crew of the Cashmere were equally
if not more deserving of remuneration. In this view of the case the
undersigned is disposed to acquiesce.
The undersigned has therefore the honor to request the direction of the
President with a view, should he deem it proper to do so, of instructing
the minister of the United States in Japan to come to an understanding
with the Government of His Imperial Japanese Majesty whereby the entire
amount appropriated by Congress for the purpose of extending to the
inhabitants of the Island of Tanegashima a suitable recognition of their
kind and humane treatment as aforesaid, may be delivered to the Japanese
Government for the endowment of educational institutions on that island
in the manner suggested by Governor Watanabe; and further, in the event
of the offer being accepted as tendered, to provide that the sum in
question be placed by the President’s warrant upon the Treasury at the
disposal of the Secretary of State for delivery to the Imperial Japanese
Government.
Respectfully submitted:
[Inclosure 2 in No. 275.]
Mr. Birch to Mr.
Rives.
United
States Consulate,
Nagasaki,
Japan, December 5,
1888.
No. 111.]
Sir: In my dispatch to the Department of State
No. 101, and dated August 20, 1888, acknowledging the receipt, July 9,
1888, of communication No. 32, and dated June 5, 1888, I expressed the
hope that I would be able to write the Department by the next mail a
full expression of not only my own views, but those of the Japanese
authorities, relative to the proper disbursement of the money
appropriated by Congress
[Page 533]
to
enable the President of the United States to extend to the inhabitants
of the island of Tanegashima, Japan, a suitable recognition of their
kind and humane treatment of the survivors of the crew of the American
bark Cashmere, lost off the coast of Japan,
September 18, 1885.
The delay in forwarding the report has been longer than I anticipated,
and in order that the Department may know that it was necessary, I have
the honor to submit the following cossespondence between this consulate
and the Nagasaki Kencho relative to the matter.
[Untitled]
Consulate of the
United States,
Nagasaki, July 10, 1888.
No. 757.]
Governor Yoshio Kusaka,
Kencho:
Sir: I beg to send inclosed a copy of a
joint resolution of Congress appropriating $5,000 to enable the
President of the United States of America to extend to certain
inhabitants of Japan, a suitable recognition of their humane
treatment of the survivors of the American bark Cashmere, lost off the coast of Japan on September 18,
1885.
The Department of State desires from me a full expression of my views
as to how this money may be laid out to the best advantage. To this
end I think it better to have your views as to the best way of
disbursing this money, and will consider it a favor if you will
write me fully on the matter. The Department of State suggests that
a part at least should be presented to the inhabitants, not in
actual money, but in some articles suitable to their use.
I am, etc.,
John M.
Birch
,
United States
Consul.
[Untitled]
Nagasaki Kencho,
July 19, 1888.
No. 77.]
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the
receipt of your dispatch of the 10th instant, inclosing the copy of
a joint resolution of Congress appropriating $5,000 to enable the
President of the United States of America to extend to the
inhabitants of the island of Tanegashima a suitable recognition of
their humane treatment of the survivors of the American bark Cashmere, lost off that coast on September
18, 1885.
I beg to state in reply that as I am not in a position to give you my
own views on the matter, I have communicated the purport of your
letter to the governor of Kagoshima Ken, requesting him to give his
views as to the way of disbursing the money to the best advantage,
and I would be glad to furnish you with the information as soon as I
should receive an answer from the government of that prefecture.
I have, etc.,
Y. Kusaka
,
Governor of Nagasaki Ken.
[Untitled]
Government
Office,
Nagasaki, September 29, 1888.
No. 113.]
Sir: I have the honor to inform you, in
respect to your dispatch of the 10th July last, that after I had
communicated to Governor Watanabe of Kagoshima Ken on the 19th July
inclosing translations of your letter and its inclosure and asking
him to furnish me with his views as to the best way of disbursing
the money proposed to be presented to the inhabitants of
Tanegashima, I received a letter from Governor Watanabe on the 11th
ultimo, but as it was an unsatisfactory answer, I again wrote to him
on the 21st ultimo on the subject.
I then telegraphed him on the 24th instant, asking him to furnish you
with his views on the matter as early as possible, and have received
his telegram on the 25th instant, answering that he is now making
necessary inquiries and adding that navigation to the island being
inconvenient the required information can not be obtained early.
I would forward you any information as soon as I receive it from
Governor Watanabe.
I have, etc.
Jiro
Nakamura
,
Secretary,
etc.
[Untitled]
Government
Office,
Nagasaki, November 27, 1888.
No. 126.]
Sir: In answer to your communication of the
10th July last, I now have the honor to forward to you a copy of a
letter I received from Governor Watanabe of Kagoshima
[Page 534]
Ken, furnishing me his
views as to the disbursement of the money intended by the Government
of the United. States to be presented to the inhabitants of the
Tanegashima Island.
I trust that the letter of Governor Watanabe will explain itself to
you.
I have, etc.
Y. Kusaka
,
Governor of Nagasaki Ken.
Letter of Watanabe, Governor of Kagoshima
Ken, to the Nagasaki Kencho.
“Three years and upwards have passed away since part of the crew
of the wrecked American ship Cashmere
arrived at Akimura on the island of Tanegashima, November 15,
1885, and on the 20th of the same month others of the crew
arrived at Isekimura on the same island, so that it is now a
difficult matter to ascertain the real fact concerning the
rescue of the unfortunate Americans in consequence of each
exaggerating his own supposed merit. It may, however, be taken
as certain that there have been eight or nine persons resident
in Akimura and four or five persons in Isekimura who have
endeavored directly to aid in the rescue of the shipwrecked men,
and that indirect assistance has been given by the inhabitants
at large. Among these residents who happened to be staying at
these muras (villages) at that time from other muras, i.e. travelers who have merely taken
their residence for a short time, there were five men who did
all in their power to assist and succor the unfortunate
Americans. Of the five men two were schoolmasters and three were
merchants.
“Now, it is suggested that the sum of money presented by the
Government of the United States of America shall be owned by the
inhabitants of Akimura and Isekimura as a common fund, and not
separately as individuals, and shall be used for educational and
industrial purposes, investing the fund or capital in such a way
that the interest accruing therefrom will be sufficient to
maintain the two great institutions, education and industry, in
perpetuity.
“The above is a mere general view, without entering into details,
as it is impossible to say more without studying all the
conditions of the island and its inhabitants. Now, the only
means to reward the five men aforesaid, who had but a temporary
residence in the village named, but who used their utmost
endeavors to save the shipwrecked seamen, is to present to each
one a sum of money. As for articles which might be sent from the
United States of use to the inhabitants of Akimura and
Isekimura, it is suggested that articles which could be used for
educational and industrial advances would be suitable, these
matters being in a very primitive condition and at their lowest
ebb. The selection of the articles must, however, as a matter of
course, depend upon the discretion of the giver.”
The idea of using the money appropriated by Congress to endow a
school on the island of Tanegashima, advanced by Governor
Watanabe, meets with my approbation. It would indeed be a
suitable recognition by our Government of the kind and humane
treatment of the survivors of the Cashmere by the Japanese. The island of Tanegashima is
south of the island of Kinshin, being separated from the latter
by Van Diemen Strait—has an area of about 100 square miles and a
population of about 22,000, consisting of fishermen and farmers.
It is distant from Nagasaki about 150 miles and is a part of
Kagoshima Ken. The people are poor. The population of the
villages Isekimura and Akimura numbers about 300.
In accordance with the present national system of education in
Japan, attendance at the elementary schools in which morals,
reading, writing, and arithmetic are taught is compulsory upon
all children between the ages of six and ten years, and each
school district in the Empire must be provided with elementary
school accommodation for its children. These schools are
supported partly by tuition fees and partly by local taxes. The
length of term yearly depends largely upon the wealth and
prosperity of the district, as the instruction, not being
gratuitous and as there is no permanent school fund in Japan,
the population of remote or thinly populated districts or in
districts where there has been a failure of the crops can not
bear the expense of a long term. If there exists, however, in
any district a satisfactory private or endowed elementary
school, this is permitted to take the place of the government
school, provided it is under the control of the governor of the
Ken (department) who is directed in school matters by the
regulations of the department of education of the Imperial
Government.
The population of Tanegashima is a poor one and remote from the
wealthier and more civilized portions of the Empire, and is able
only to a small extent to reap the advantages of the present
system of education which prevails generally in Japan, and the
generosity of our Government could not be exercised in a better
direction than in providing for this outlying island a school in
which regular instruction will be given not only in the simpler
elementary branches above named, but in geography, history,
physics, drawing, the English language, agriculture, and
commerce. I am
[Page 535]
reliably informed that the amount appropriated by Congress would
be sufficient to endow such a school. The school, should it be
established, would be a memorial institution; it would convey to
all the high appreciation in which our Government holds humane
services. It would meet the approval, command the respect, and
enlist the sympathy and support of the minister of state for
education as well as the local government at Kagoshima.
The governor of Kagoshima in his letter suggests that something
might be done toward industrial advancement, but I doubt this,
and I am not sure that anything could be sent from America
suitable to the use of the Japanese. For example, the idea of
presenting the Japanese with agricultural implements does not
commend itself for the reasons that agricultural conditions of
America are altogether different those which exist here. The
American implements would practically be useless to the Japanese
farmer. The same may perhaps not be said as regards specimens of
various teaching appliances, as outline maps, globes, etc., or
articles connected with education, should the school be
established. Text-books other than those printed in Japanese and
English would be of no practical benefit. To the five men not
permanent residents of Isekimura and Akimura, who aided in the
rescue, I would suggest that the sum of $200, or $40 to each
man, be presented.
I am, etc.,
