Mr. Van Valkenburgh to Mr. Seward.
Sir: The southern troops reported in my dispatch No. 68, of the 13th instant, as having passed that day through Kanagawa, marched, it appears, some two thousand strong as far as Sakawa River, cróssed it two days afterwards, and entered Odowara without encountering any opposition.
The Tokugawa men, under explicit instructions from their chiefs to act on the defensive only, reluctantly fell back. Their rear, however, was overtaken by the southern troops at Hatta and Yümoto, and an engagement ensued in which about one hundred of these men are reported to have been killed. The Tokugawa men then continued their retreat unmolested.
Skirmishes to the north of Yedo are again occasionally reported; in some places the peasants are said to have taken up such arms as they could find, and to have killed a few of the invaders. Orders are being constantly issued by the Tokugawa chiefs to their men, wherever they are stationed, to avoid hostilities for the present, and these orders it cannot be difficult to obey in most cases, as, partly from a sense of insecurity perhaps, and partly also from a desire to retain their hold of Yedo, the southern troops have now principally been withdrawn from the country and concentrated in that capital.
The people complain of oppression, because they are still required to meet all requisitions for provisions and necessaries of the southern troops without receiving payment therefor; luxuries, however, are not included, and must be paid for in ready money. Attempts have been made to pass paper currency, but the people declined to take it, and the attempts had to be abandoned.
For nearly three hundred years Yedo has been considered the center of Japanese civilization. In that immense city there are innumerable tea gardens and places of amusement; and though it has lost much of its former splendor, there is enough left to make it, for a native, a most attractive place of residence, with which nothing in his own province can be compared. Already the southern troops, it appears, are less exacting. Fancying themselves the conquerors, with little or no more work before them, they are now, it is reported, indulging freely in dissipation. Their chiefs are now obliged to provide their pay; and both officers and men are spending it in a manner that may easily be imagined.
I would not be surprised if it should prove to have been part of the policy of the Tokugawa chiefs to try the effects of inactivity and dissipation on their southern invaders previous to taking action for their expulsion, and in the hope probably that such action may ultimately be rendered unnecessary altogether. With a treasury that shows as yet no signs of weakness, the Tokugawa chiefs can hold out much longer than their southern opponents, who not only exceeded their revenues, but are heavily in debt to English and French subjects besides.
There is an evident anxiety on the part of the southerners to bring matters to a speedy close, and on the Tycoon or Tokugawa side, the very opposite course seems to have been adopted. When fighting near Odowara and Hakone became imminent, a Tokugawa steamer left Yedo and communicated with the troops in Odowara, urging them not to bring on a collision at present, but to evacuate the strong points they had already occupied.
[Page 784]On the 20th instant, two Japanese steamers from Hiogo landed about five hundred men, principally Satsuma troops, to re-enforce the army in Yedo. The young Prince of Satsuma himself is suspected of being now concealed on board of a ship in this harbor, for the purpose of watching events and giving directions in person.
The Prince of Neegato, son and heir of Prince Choshin, who himself is one of the bitterest opponents of the Tycoon ate, is reported to have declared against the new government. From Osaka I also learn that the Daijokan, the great council of the Mikado, is said to have come to an end, as the councillors adjourned sine die. This is a mere rumor, however, and though it reached me from a good source, it would be too important to accept it without full confirmation.
On the day before yesterday a steamer bringing agents or envoys of the northern Daimios on board, arrived at Yedo. The object of their visit will probably not be known for some time.
It is also reported that Kugo Dainagong, the high functionary who in the name of the Mikado’s government was to have taken charge of the northern provinces, has declared against the court or government that appointed him, and authorized the northern coalition to raise the Mikado’s flag for their cause.
No one, probably, in this country, knows the people better than Tokugawa Yoshinobu, who is now called the late Tycoon. When in January last he found himself utterly betrayed in his council and in the field, he carefully examined his resources on his return to Yedo. If, then, the suggestion of his principal army and naval officers to resist invasion and to carry the war into the enemy’s country had been adopted, several Daimios who have since remained neutral might have been induced to unite with his opponents.
Mistrusting, as well he might, many of his own Daimios and retainers, he offered, under the inalienable right of a Tycoon, to appoint the Prince of Kishü his successor, as reported in dispatch No. 23 of this series. But when his envoys returned with an unsatisfactory reply, and he thus failed in securing the alliance of that prince, which would have been followed by a complete adhesion of all the Daimios, whose territories are situated between that province and his own, he withdrew to the temple of Wuyeno, in Yedo, there to do penance and obtain absolution for what errors or misdemeanors he was supposed to have committed. “The Tycoon submits to the Mikado,” was the word that went forth to all parts of Japan. His humility disarmed several of his opponents, and afforded others, who were strongly urged to do so, an excuse for not sending their contingents to swell the army that was to take possession of his eleven provinces.
It is said he actually addressed notes to the principal Daimios opposed to him, conveying assurances of his sincere submission, and asking that some pro vision might be made for him. In this manner he collected donations of money from nearly all of them, and then withdrew to the castle of Mito, where he still remains. After a cautious advance, the southern, or so-called Mikado’s troops, marched without encountering any opposition into Yedo, for the purpose of taking possession. But when they came to the treasury it was found empty; the Tycoon’s army left and the fleet did not lower its flag. The Tycoon was desired to issue orders for the unconditional surrender of both army and navy, and he promptly complied with the request. His orders, however, were disregarded.
How could it be otherwise? The power to enforce them had been taken away from him by the Mikado.
[Page 785]Not a musket, not an ounce of powder; nothing in fact of the slightest value to them could the southerners find in Yedo. Everything had been removed, and no one could tell whither. The rice magazines remained in charge of the Tycoon’s officers. Some rice was left in them, but in the name of the Tycoon, who well knew that it was not worth his while to keep it, it was gratuitously distributed among the people, who, moreover, are under the impression that his policy has been chiefly influenced by a regard for their interests, and with the view of keeping the war out of the capital.
Ever since the failure of an alliance with the Prince of Kishü, all efforts have been directed to bring about an alliance with a united north, and in this the Tycoon appears to have been completely successful.
The treachery of which he experienced so much, is now apparently showing itself among his opponents. This, and the effects of inactivity and dissipation among the southern troops, are two causes to which the Tokugawa chiefs are evidently anxious to allow full scope; and hence their stringent orders to their troops, so often disobeyed, yet in the main enforced, of avoiding collision for the present.
The chief object of the southern Daimios is undoubtedly to obtain possession of the Tycoon’s eleven provinces, yielding an immense revenue, which is then to be distributed.
They are now supposed by many to have taken those provinces because they have possession of Yedo. It is extremely doubtful, however, whether they will be able to hold them for any length of time, even if their claim to possession should be confirmed.
Not until the latter part of November can this be properly tested, when rice will be harvested and taxes and revenue are to be collected. Before that time I sincerely hope peace may have been restored in this country.
The Piscataqua, with Rear-Admiral Rowan, the Shenandoah, Oneida, and Maumee, are now in port.
I have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully your most obedient servant,
Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State, Washington, D. C.