Ambassador Wright
to the Secretary of State.
American Embassy,
Tokyo, May 27,
1906.
No. 4.]
Sir: I have the honor to inform you that I
arrived in Yokohama on the 13th instant and immediately proceeded to
Tokyo. On the 15th instant, accompanied by Mr. Huntington Wilson, chargé
d’affaires, [Page 1008] I made an
informal call upon the Marquis Saionji, prime minister and acting
minister for foreign affairs, and presented to him copies of my letter
of credence as ambassador, of Mr. Griscom’s letter of recall, and of the
remarks I proposed making to His Majesty the Emperor. I have the honor
to transmit herewith inclosed a copy of my note of the 15th instant to
the foreign office by which I requested that I might be received in
audience by His Majesty.
On the 26th, accompanied by the staff of this embassy, I was received in
audience by His Majesty the Emperor and formally presented my letter of
credence, together with Mr. Griscom’s letter of recall. At the same time
I made a short address, a copy of which is herewith inclosed. His
Majesty replied briefly, but in a very cordial way, asking with much
interest as to the health of the President and his family. I herewith
inclose a copy of his remarks as furnished by the grand master of
ceremonies. Immediately following the audience with the Emperor, Mrs.
Wright and myself were received in audience with Her Majesty the
Empress, who was very gracious and kindly in her manner and
expressions.
I have not yet had the opportunity of meeting a great many of the
Japanese officials, but those I have met I have found agreeable and
cordial. Altogether my experiences up to date have been very
pleasant.
I have much pleasure in informing you that the Marquis Saionji expressed
himself in the most complimentary terms, in which my own observation
enables me fully to concur, as to Mr. Wilson’s manner of conducting the
affairs of the legation while acting as chargé d’affaires. I may say in
this connection that he has been very attentive and helpful to me since
my arrival, and, whilst I am glad of his deserved promotion, I shall
part with him with genuine regret. I feel that I am also already in a
position to say that Mr. Laughlin, Mr. Miller, and Mr. Scidmore have all
been most efficient and diligent in the discharge of their respective
duties and are aiding me in every way in arriving at a knowledge of the
business of the embassy.
I have, etc.,
[Inclosure 1.]
Ambassador Wright to the Minister of
Education, Acting Minister for Foreign
Affairs.
American Embassy,
Tokyo, May 15,
1906.
Monsieur le Ministre: The President having
appointed me ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the
United States of America to reside near the person of His Majesty
the Emperor of Japan, I have the honor to inform your excellency
that I arrived in Tokyo on the 13th instant, and to request that at
the convenience of His Imperial Majesty I may be received in
audience for the purpose of presenting my letter of credence and my
predecessor’s letter of recall. At the same time I beg to hand your
excellency copies of my letter of credence and of Mr. Griscom’s
letter of recall, and also a copy of the remarks which I look
forward to the honor of addressing to His Majesty the Emperior on
the occasion of my audience.
I have also the honor to request for Mrs. Wright and myself the honor
of an audience with Her Majesty the Empress.
I avail myself, etc.,
[Page 1009]
[Inclosure 2.]
Address of Ambassador Wright.
Your Imperial Majesty: I have the
distinguished honor of presenting from the President of the United
States the letters of recall of the Hon. Lloyd C. Griscom as envoy
extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the United States,
residing near Your Imperial Majesty, and from the same high source
my letters of credence as ambassador extraordinary and
plenipotentiary to Your Imperial Majesty. In doing so, I am directed
by the President to assure Your Imperial Majesty of his warm
personal regard and his earnest wishes for the well-being of the
great nation of which Your Imperial Majesty is the head. The
unbroken amity between the United States and Japan, now so long
continued that it has become almost traditional, is a source of
congratulation and of the greatest pleasure to the President and to
the American people. Both he and they have marked with unvarying
interest and generous sympathy the steady increase in power and
prestige of the Empire of Japan, at once one of the oldest and most
virile of modern nations. The appointment by him of an ambassador to
Your Imperial Majesty is but a recognition of her advanced position
among the great powers. The President has directed me to say further
that he believes that no other one factor will be so important in
determining the welfare of the peoples grouped around the great
Pacific Ocean as the friendship and good understanding of Japan and
the United States, which he hopes will grow ever closer.
Personally, I esteem myself most highly honored in being selected by
the President to represent him and the American people at Your
Imperial Majesty’s court, and I venture to express the hope that my
efforts to carry out the President’s wishes may meet with Your
Imperial Majesty’s confidence and approval.
[Inclosure
3.—Translation.]
Reply of the Emperor.
We are pleased to receive the letter of credence from the President,
informing us that the Hon. Lloyd C. Griscom has been relieved of his
duties and that the President, having raised the legation to the
rank of an embassy, has been pleased to appoint your excellency as
his ambassador.
It is our firm conviction that the appointment of your excellency as
ambassador will promote and strengthen the cordial relations that
have always so happily existed between the two countries.
We trust that the President and his family are in the enjoyment of
good health.
