Mr. Seward to Mr. Van Valkenburgh.
Sir: I have received at the same time your several dispatches, namely, of the 3d of February, No. 7; 5th of February, No. 8; 17th of February, No. 10; 18th of February, No. 11; 24th of February, No. 12; 28th of February, No. 13; and 1st of March, No. 14.
These dispatches inform me of a very rapid movement of political and military events in Japan; of battles between the Tycoon’s forces and those of the Mikado, near Osaka; of the retreat of the Tycoon; of your own removal, and the removal of the European legations in imminent peril from Osaka to Hiogo; of the Tycoon’s flight and return to Yedo; of the outrage committed upon European and United States citizens by the troops of the Prince Bezen, at Hiogo; of the joint defense of the place by the naval forces of the treaty powers; of daily consultations among the legations, and of several conferences held by them with Higashi Kuze Saki No Sho Sho, the agent of the Mikado for the establishment of the Mikado’s authority at Hiogo and in the adjacent country; of the interview between the French minister and the Tycoon, and the report upon it to the legations; of the terms agreed upon between the legations and the Mikado for the vindication of the rights and honor of the treaty powers; of the incongruous and uncertain reports of the Tycoon’s resignation; and generally of the division of the empire into two military camps.
I especially take notice of a conference between yourself and the other legations, in which a resolution was adopted that on the one hand the Stonewall, then expected at Yokohama, should not be delivered up to the Tycoon or his agents, but detained under the United States flag there or at Shanghai; and that certain war vessels expected from Great Britain on the account of the Mikado or his adhering Daimios should not be delivered to them, but retained under the British flag. You request an approval of your proceedings as reported in these several dispatches.
[Page 734]Cable advices from Europe represent that, at periods later than the dates of your dispatches, the Tycoon had given over the contest and had submitted to the Mikado, and that there was a good prospect of the restoration of peace and the re-establishment of order under the undivided sway of the Mikado. These dispatches, however, bear no marks of authority or authenticity. The narrative contained in your dispatches is clear, distinct, and full. It leaves no doubt on the mind of the President that in all your proceedings you have practiced consummate prudence and discretion, and your proceedings are therefore unhesitatingly approved. On the other hand, for aught that is known here, the political and military situation may have already changed more than once, and may change more than once hereafter. The approval, therefore, which is now given to your past proceedings must not be understood as interfering with the exercise of your discretion in future, as events may from time to time require.
The course you have marked out in regard to the Stonewall at present seems to me impracticable. The Stonewall was delivered to the Japanese government in American waters. Since that delivery she has been a Japanese vessel under the Japanese flag, and in no way subject to the laws or authority of the United States. Her officers and crew are employés of the Japanese government, and are not in the service of the United States. No diplomatic, consular, naval, or military agent of this government has a lawful right to reduce her into possession or to interfere with her movements. I forbear, however, to dwell upon this point at present, for the reason that it is supposed that long before this paper can have reached its destination the Stonewall will have arrived in Japan and encountered whatever obstruction or reception was prepared for her, whether that preparation was made by one or the other of the Japanese national parties, and whether with or without your concurrence. Your course in regard to the same must be determined by events. So long, however, as you shall continue to exercise a sound discretion, and at the same time co-operate in prudent measures with the representatives of the treaty powers in Japan, you may expect that you will have the approval of this government, which of course will adopt its own proceedings according to the exigencies of so anomalous a case.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
R. B. Van Valkenburgh, Esq., &c., &c., &c.