Papers Relating to Foreign Affairs, Accompanying the Annual Message of the President to the Second Session of the Fortieth Congress
Mr. Burlingame to Mr. Seward
Sir: I have the honor to inform you that on the 21st of October last I presented the portrait of Washington, sent by the government to Sen-ki-yu, in the presence of the members of the Tsung-li-yamun.
Dr. S. Wells Williams and Dr. W. A. P. Martin acted as interpreters.
[Page 513]The ceremonies were impressive, and are well described in the memorandum, marked A, kindly prepared by Dr. Martin.
Please find also, marked B and 0, the address of presentation, with Sen’s reply.
I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,
Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State, Washington, D. C.
[Enclosure A.]
Memorandum of an interview between Mr. Burlingame and the Council for Foreign Affairs, at the Foreign Office, October 21, 1867.
The occasion was the presentation, by order of the Department of State, of a portrait of Washington to Sen-ki-ju, a member of the council, in recognition of an eloquent tribute which he has paid, in a published work, to the character of Washington and the institutions of America. On account of the liberal sentiments expressed in that work he was dismissed from office in the former reign, and retiring from the high post of provincial governor, spent nearly eighteen years in comparative obscurity. Recalled to the public service and made a member of the council for foreign affairs, he has lately received the additional honor of being appointed to the presidency of a new college which has been established by imperial order for the express object of cultivating the languages and sciences of the west—a sufficient proof that the liberal views of which he has been such a distinguished advocate are regarded with favor by the more enlightened policy of the present administration.
The presentation of the portrait was accompanied by a complimentary address from Mr. Burlingame, a written translation of which was placed in the hands of the old minister. After the reading of the address a conversation took place, an outline of which is here furnished from memory.
Mr. Burlingame. The presentation of this picture indicates a commerce of thought. We have borrowed many useful ideas from you. Some of our arts were originally derived from China, and, perhaps, we may have some things to offer in exchange, industrial arts, physical sciences, and religious truth.
Wen-siang. Our maxim is, in everything, to inquire for the best method and to adopt it for our own, no matter where it may originate.
Mr. Burlingame. The institutions of our country present many points of resemblance to your own; e.g., the elective principle which prevails with us is quite analogous to your practice of admitting all honest citizens to the privilege of a fair competition for the honors and emoluments of office.
Wen-siang. With you that excellent system descends from Washington, who refused to transmit to his successor a legacy of hereditary power, but preferred to leave it in the hands of the people.
Mr. Burlingame. Like your ancient sovereigns, Washington honored agriculture by himself holding the plough, and, like them, he inculcated the doctrine that rulers should employ moral influence in preference to physical force.
Tan. Nothing is more desirable than that nations should conform, in their practice, to a principle which is at once so just and so humane.
Tung. That is the surest way to conciliate the love and respect of other nations, for our sacred books lay down the principle that “those who respect others will be respected, and those who love others will be loved.”
Mr. Burlingame. Washington cautioned his countrymen against unjust encroachments on other nations, or violent interferences with their policy. In conformity with his teachings we systematically abstain from foreign wars.
Wen-siang. Is all interference so far out of the question that you cannot even lend a helping hand to your friends when they are in need ?
Mr. Burlingame. We can and do afford them our moral support, as we have recently done in the case of Mexico, relieving the people of that country from the yoke of a foreign oppressor and leaving them free to choose their own rulers.
To this the Chinese ministers all replied by expressing their gratification at the manner in which we had enforced a policy of non-intervention, and Tung went on to remind Mr. Burlingame that America has formally accepted the position of a mediator in the difficulties of China.
Mr. Burlingame. Not only shall we ever be ready to give you our countenance and support in cases where you suffer wrong, but other great powers will do so likewise, if you frankly lay your grievances before their representatives, and through them before the eyes of the world. Instances are not wanting to show how promptly you may obtain redress by this method; alluding to the recall of a chargé d’affaires by France, last, year, who had insulted [Page 514] and bullied the Chinese government in the matter of Corea. Our government, proceeded Mr. Burlingame, instead of adopting a violent course in connection with that unhappy affair, has such confidence in the justice and good will of China, that I am instructed to say that we shall solicit your good offices in re-establishing friendly relations with the Coreans.
This was received with evident satisfaction, but elicited no remark from the cautious mandarins; and Mr. Burlingame proceeded to inform them that our Senate has also instructed him to exert all his influence for the suppression of the traffic in coolies.
Tung. The Spanish minister, on the contrary, is urging us to alter our existing regulations and remove all restrictions which lie in the way of that traffic.
Mr. Burlingame. Against Mr. De Mas I have nothing to say; but the whole coolie system is vicious. The most objectionable point, and that which allies it most closely with the slave-trade, being the fact, that men make a contract in one country, by which their bodies are placed at the disposal of persons in another country, where no protection can be extended by the authorities of their native land.
Tung. When the Spanish minister objected that a term of five years is too short, and wished to stipulate for an extension of the time, we replied that we could listen to no proposals on that subject; that it rests wholly with ourselves to regulate the emigration of our own people, and that he should consider whether, if we wished to hire Spanish subjects for laborers, Spain would feel pleased to have her own emigration laws set aside and new ones dictated by us.
Mr. Burlingame. The best substitute for such a traffic is the encouragement of free emigration, such as that which is flowing towards the shores of America. The Chinese who go there are at liberty to reside in permanence and enjoy the rights of citizenship. But, in fact, most of them return to their fatherland, not a few laden with the gold of California. Every steamer of the new line carries out several hundreds, and brings back nearly as many.
Tung spoke of it as an interesting fact that the new work places America on the east, and they all express interest in learning that the Pacific line is already a commercial success.
Mr. Burlingame. The success of that line, by throwing commerce into a new channel, promises to remedy another evil. At present you take opium in payment for your tea and silk, but as specie comes in from California, the amount of the drug imported from abroad will be reduced.
Tan. Anything would be desirable that might check the trade in opium. A remark in reference to the new college here led Mr. Burlingame to speak of Mr. Hart, inspector general of maritime customs, who has taken a leading part in its organization. He warned the mandarins not to allow their confidence in Mr. Hart to be shaken by the misrepresentations of interested parties.
Wen-siang. Such parties are actuated by malice and envy; the rats are of course not over-friendly to the cat; but we are not inclined to listen to the rats.
Mr. Burlingame. Though Mr. Hart is not a countryman of mine, I assure you that he is thoroughly honest, and a man of rare ability—one whom it would be difficult, if not impossible, for you to replace.
Wen-siang. Mr. Hart was originally recommended by your excellency, and if he were removed we should look to you to nominate a successor. But we know the value of Mr. Hart too thoroughly to think of superseding him. Fidelity always makes enemies.
B.
ADDRESS.
Sir: It is now nearly twenty years since you published a geographical history of those countries lying beyond the boundaries of China. You brought to the work great labor and sound judgment, and the marvellous scholarship of your native land. You passed in review the great men of the countries of which you wrote, and placed Washington before all the rest. You not only did this, but you placed him above the statesmen and warriors of your own country, and declared that he recalled the three dynasties whose serene virtues had shed their light along the ages for four thousand years. These words have been translated and read by the grateful countrymen of Washington. To show their appreciation of them, the President has caused the Secretary of State to have made by a distinguished artist* this portrait, and to send it over land and sea to be placed in your hands. When you look upon its benignant features do not recall with sorrow the eighteen years of retirement endured by you on account of your efforts to make Washington and the countries of the west better known, but rather exult with us that an enlightened government has for the same reason placed you near the head of the state to aid in conducting the affairs of four hundred millions of people, and, what is better, that by a kind of poetic justice you have been placed at the head of an institution whose purpose is to advance the views for which you were censured, and to instruct your people in the language and principles of Washington. By doing this you [Page 515] Will please all the nations, for Washington belonged not to us alone, but to the world His life and character were such as to peculiarly commend him to your countrymen. Like them he honored agriculture; like them he was for peace, and only fought in defence of his country; like them he believed that every man is entitled to the inspiration of fair opportunity; and like them he held to the great doctrine of Confucius, spoken twenty-three hundred years ago, that “ we should not do to others what we would not that others should do to us” This great rule came to Washington not negatively but positively from the lips of Divinity itself. as a command unto him, “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you,” and so he would have it taught to others. Why should we not exchange our thoughts ? Why should we not have the maxims of Confucius and Mencius, and you the sublime doctrines of Christianity? Why should we not take your charming manners, your temperance, your habits of scholarship, your improvements in agriculture, and your high culture of tea and silk, and you our modern science, our steamboats, our railroads and telegraphs ? Why should not this great nation, the mother of inventions, whence came paper printing, porcelain, the compass, gunpowder, and the great doctrine that the people are the source of power, follow up those inventions and principles, and enjoy them in all their development? Why should not the discoverers of coal have the wealth and strength derived from its use, and those who made the first water-tight vessel, guided by a compass, use the great steamers whose swiftness makes us your nearest neighbors, and which carry a thousand men on their decks ? I present this portrait with all good will in the name of the people of the United States, hoping it may ever recall to you and yours their enduring friendship for your country, and their love and regard for you, its worthy representative.
C.
Sen-ki-yu to Mr. Burlingame
Sir: I yesterday perused your highly-prized address, in which you have bestowed upon me such high commendation in presenting me the painting of the portrait; of Washington, the founder of your honorable country. As I and my associates again and again looked at this beautiful and elegant gift our pleasure and admiration increased, and we could all only the more value and appreciate this worthy remembrance of you.
Among all the great men of your land I think that Washington stands first for his surprising capacity. He founded and planned its enduring institutions as a pattern for all ages, and his merit makes, him a perfect link to connect the great men of antiquity with those who will come in all time, so that his name will surely be honored by mankind through all cycles.
I beg to renew my thanks in sending you this answer, and avail myself of the opportunity to offer my wishes for your highest happiness.
His Excellency Hon. Anson Burlingame, United States Minister.
- H. G. Pratt, esq., Boston.↩