Thanks of Emperor.—Translation.
[Delivered to the President by the Japanese Minister, November 1, 1895.]
Mutsuhito, by the grace of Heaven, Emperor of Japan and seated on the throne occupied by the same dynasty from time immemorial, to His Excellency Grover Cleveland, President of the United States of America.
Great and Good Friend: During the war between our Empire and that of China, which has now happily been brought to an end by the conclusion of a treaty of peace, the diplomatic and consular officers of the United States in China, with Your Excellency’s gracious permission and acting under Your Excellency’s wise direction, extended their friendly offices to our subjects in China and on many occasions afforded them succor and assistance.
Again, as the war was nearing its final stage, the representatives of the United States at Tokyo and Peking, by Your Excellency’s authorization, provided the way whereby China was able to approach directly our Government, and it was through the facilities afforded by those two representatives by direct reciprocal communication between the Governments of Japan and China that all the preliminaries looking to the opening of negotiations for the definite termination of hostilities were adjusted. The manner in which those delicate services in the interest of peace were performed left nothing to be desired.
And we make this opportunity to express to Your Excellency our high appreciation of those acts on the part of Your Excellency as well as on the part of Your Excellency’s officers, acting under Your Excellency’s wise directions, which not only tended to mitigate the severities and hardships of the war and finally to promote the successful issue of the negotiations for peace, but served to draw still closer the bonds of friendship and good neighborhood which happily unite our two countries.
We assure Your Excellency of our highest regard and esteem.
Done at our palace at Kioto the twelfth day of the fifth month of the twenty-eighth year of Meiji.
Minister for Foreign Affairs.