been taken to obliterate the Chinese inscriptions in the epitaphs, especially the name of Jesus, proving the deliberate purpose to annoy as well as destroy. Dr. McCartee, the former consul at Tangchau, demanded that the authorities should see that these aggressions were stopped, but in vain. Mr. Sandford has done all that remonstrance can do, since he arrived, to urge the intendant to punish the offenders. I send a copy of the latter's reply to the consul, (enclosure A.) as it exhibits his view of the responsibility of the proprietors of the graveyard. A second proclamation forbidding natives to go to the place was issued by the Punglai magistrate, January 11, 1866, under orders from the intendant; but through fear of the people he seems to have retained most of the copies in his office. I also enclose copies of Mr. Sandford's statement of his preceedings and my reply, (enclosures B, C,) which furnish all that is important. Although I do not think that the Chinese government, ace rding to a fair interpretation of the treaty, is liable for damages done to the graves, unless it can be shown that their officials have screened the offenders, yet, lest this ill feeling proceed to other acts, which may render a residence at Tangchau very disagreeable, I have requested Admiral Bell to visit that city, if he can, as no United States national vessel has yet been there. The missionaries concur in attributing these acts to a dislike to foreigners generally, and an unwillingness on the part of the citizens to see them settling permanently in their midst; and not to any personal pique against them as missionaries, for none others yet live there. One of them remarks, when explaining this point, that "I believe these acts of injury did not arise from ill-will to any individual foreigner in Tangchau, neither did it arise from hatred to the American residents, as a body, because they are missionaries or Americans; but simply because of a general hatred of us as foreigners. After residing among the Chinese nearly fourteen years, I am deliberately of the opinion that they bear no malice against missionaries because of their religion, but they bear intense malice against the white race, simply because.they see that they differ essentially from themselves that there is no common ground of union. They see in the white man will, energy, purpose, and they dread and hate him as a latent power, and an intruder in their country, foreboding no good, but much future trouble. Under the influence of these feelings, it gives many of them exquisite pleasure to injure a foreigner, or anything belonging to him, and I think they have destroyed these gravestones simply as a luxury. They entertain no such feelings, as far as I have been able to discover, towards any other race, and those who enjoy luxuries should pay for them in dollars and cents at a fair valuation, and thus they will be able to calculate beforehand to what extent they can afford to indulge." Such a feeling as is here described no doubt exists to some extent all over China; but it cannot be checked at all times, and is often stimulated by proud, literary families, while others of the same class will oppose and somewhat neutralize it. The officials belong to the literary class, but they desire to keep the peace with both natives and foreigners, and think that to trim and delay a matter is their safest course. Every Chinese official comes to regard his own safety as his chief object, and his rule of action is to do as little as possible. I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, S. WELLS WILLIAMS, Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Chargé d'Affaires. Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. A. The Intendent to Mr. Sandford. [Translation.] NOVEMBER 23, 1865. Pwan, intendant of circuit, commissioner of the gabelle, and acting as collector of customs in the east of Shantung, has the honor to reply to the despatch of the United States consul respecting the destruction of gravestones in the American cemetery near Tangchau: On receiving your despatch I issued orders to the district magistrate of Punglai to make inquiry, and he has now sent the following report: "I have to state that in October, 1861, Mr. Danforth and other American missionaries reported to me that Mrs. Danforth had just died, and as they had no place to bury her in, it was necessary for me to get a spot somewhere. I therefore selected a plot in the public domain, lying on the Little Gold-peak hill, and there they laid her body. A map was made of the locality, and, at their request, I issued a public notice confirming the lot to them. On the 10th of March, 1864, Mr. Hartwell and other missionaries represented to me that the gravestones placed in this cemetery had been broken by persons unknown. Finding that the statement was true, I sent policemen to make careful inquiries through all that neighborhood as to who had done it, and issued a proclamation warning people not to do any damage to the grounds. Now this lot where the American cemetery lies having been a portion of waste land belonging to the government, it had not been rented by anybody and had, therefore, paid no tax. When the missionaries complained last year that the gravestones had been defaced, search was made for the offenders, and a proclamation issued forbidding people to go there; but no explicit evidence as to who committed the desecration this year has been brought before me. "I take the liberty to remark, however, that the gentry and people of China usually appoint custodians to watch their burial grounds, so that if evil persons and vagabonds injure them, some clew can be obtained of the offenders, or they can be seized on the spot and handed over to the magistrates for examination and punishment. But this American burial ground lies remote from dwellings, in a wild spot, and has been left unprotected by the missionaries, so that although the gravestones have been repeatedly defaced, and they have complained of the injury, it has been no easy matter to arrest the offenders. As this affair is one that concerns the people of both nations, I have not presumed to intrude my opinion as to the best mode of protecting the place." In regard to this business, I(the intendant) may observe that in China custodians are usually appointed to look after the burial grounds, whether lying near or remote from dwellings, lest they are injured by lawless people. If it is situated far away among the hills, like this one belonging to the American missionaries, it is still more desirable to have a watchman placed over it, and then if damage be done, he can instantly seize the offenders and carry them before the magistrate for punishment. I accordingly inform you, sir, of these circumstances, and beg you to urge the missionaries at once to engage a trustworthy person to take charge of their cemetery, so that if the stones should again be injured, he can instantly hand over the guilty persons for punishment. E. T. SANDFORD, Esq., United States Consul. B. Mr. Sanford to Mr. Williams. UNITED STATES CONSULATE, SIR: I have the honor to inform you that on the 21st instant I received a visit from Rev. C. R. Mills, who told me that he had just received a letter from C. W. Mateer, stating that the Chinese had again desecrated the American cemetery at Tangchau, entirely ruining the stone which was placed at the head of Mrs. D.'s grave, (one of fine American marble,) and those placed on the graves of Mr. G.'s children, and requesting him (Mr. Mills) to lay the case before the consul. I informed him that Mr. Mateer's deposition and his own would be necessary regarding the previous occasions when the cemetery was desecrated, but that I would see the intendant upon the subject. According to arrangement, I visited that official on the 23d. He requested me to furnish him with an official statement. When I remarked that the perpetrators must be arrested and dealt with according to law, and that an indemnity of one hundred and fifty taels was demanded, he stated that the people of Tangchau were very bad, and he was so far from them he did not know how it would end. He added that the Americans ought to come to Yentai to reside, as the treaty specified open ports. I urged their right to reside at the city of Tangchau, and that I should insist upon it. I called his attention to Articles XI and XII of the treaty, and he admitted that it was his duty to arrest and punish the offenders. I have stated the various outrages committed on the tombstones to the intendant from the first. I fear, however, from his manner and his unwillingness to have foreigners reside at Tangchau, that he will act in a very dilatory manner. I shall exercise patience. I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, S. WELLS WILLIAMS, Esq., &c., &c., &c. E. T. SANDFORD, United States Consul. C. Mr. Williams to Mr. Sandford. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, SIR: I have to acknowledge your despatches Nos. 4, 5, and 6, with their enclosures, relating to the desecration of a cemetery at Tangchau, wherein were buried the bodies of several American missionares and their children, by breaking the stones and destroying the trees at various times during the last three years; together with your efforts to obtain compensa tion and protection. I have carefully read these papers, for, so far as I know, it is the first instance in China of persistent injuries done to foreign graves, and I do not think that the district magistrate exerted himself when informed of the outrages as he should have done; still I do not think that the spirit or letter of the treaty will bear you out in demanding one hundred and fifty taels indemnity for the injury from the authorities, except as they can get it from the offenders. It would be right to call upon the authorities to defend a cemetery if it was threatened by a mob, and if there is any clew to the offenders, demand that they be punished. The owners of a cemetery are, however, expected to take measures to protect it; and in all parts of China the natives do much to guard their dead. The foreign burial grounds at the ports are usually walled in and custodians appointed; but, so far as I can learn, the missionaries have taken no measures at Tangchau to enclose their ground, which lies exposed to depredations, being situated at a distance from dwellings. Mr. Crawford speaks of the dislike to all foreigners of the people of Tangchau, and they would seize such an opportunity to show their malice without risk of detection, mutilating gravestones being one of the ways in which one Chinese irritates another. I cannot call upon the authorities to maintain a guard over this graveyard, and I see no other way for its protection than for the missionaries to take some measures to secure it by appointing a custodian, or otherwise, as they see best. Your action in urging the local authorities to do what they can to arrest the aggressors and punish them is very proper, and I hope your efforts will lead them to act vigorously, and to understand that a graveyard is a place held sacred by foreigners as well as natives. I am, sir, your obedient servant, E. T. SANDFORD, Esq., &c., &c., &c. S. WELLS WILLIAMS. Mr. Williams to Mr. Seward. No. 32.] LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, SIR: I have the honor to transmit to you copies of a correspondence (enclosures A, B, C, D) with the United States consul general at Shanghai, and the general chamber of commerce, relating to the rights of foreigners by treaty to carry their steamers through the internal waters of China, which I respectfully commend to your perusal. The subject has been fully discussed among the ministers, all of whom take the same view as to the intention of the treaties. The provincial authorities in China, by their loose administration of the laws, often open the door to many irregularities, which are afterwards, as in this instance, quoted as precedents. I have no fear, however, but that the Chinese government and people will adopt our improvements as rapidly as is safe for them. The difficulty is to carry them on intelligently, and not force what is good on those not yet fitted for it. In this connection the circular note lately received from Prince Kung (enclo you. sure E) respecting chartering foreign steamers to act against pirates, will interest Now that the indemnities due to the British and French by the conventions of 1860 are paid up, the Chinese authorities will be better able to do something to suppress the depredations of these miscreants, whose atrocities are so fully shown in the minute of Mr. Vice-consul Jones, of Amoy, sent to you the 16th of March last. I have also furnished Rear-Admiral Bell with a copy of Prince Kung's note. Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. Chargé d'Affaires. A. Mr. G. F. Seward to Mr. Williams. UNITED STATES CONSULATE GENERAL FOR CHINA, SIR: I transmit herewith a copy of a letter, with enclosure, lately received by me from the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce at this port, touching the navigation of the interior waters of the empire by small steamers. I understand that an authoritative opinion was expressed by Sir Frederick Bruce to the effect that foreign armed vessels could not be taken into the interior as of right under the treaty, and upon this point I have nothing to offer. Upon another point, however, I may be allowed to express an opinion, and in this direction I feel the ability to speak with a degree of authority, to wit: I believe that regulations may be made under which small steamers may be used in the interior without danger to the imperial government, and yet to the great advantage of foreign, and indeed of native, interests. If it shall appear to you desirable, I will undertake, in conjunction with the local authorities, to draw up such a code of regulations. I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, Dr. S. WELLS WILLIAMS, United States Chargé d'Affaires, Peking. B. GEORGE F. SEWARD, Consul General. Mr. Tyson to Mr. G. F. Seward. SHANGHAI General ChamBER OF COMMERCE, Shanghai, April 11, 1866. SIR: I have the honor to enclose to you a copy of a letter addressed to the Chamber of Commerce by a number of the mercantile firms of Shanghai, on the subject of the prohibition that has, during the past year, been placed by the provincial authorities upon the use of small steamers for the purpose of carrying on the trade with the interior of this province. The letter fully sets forth the losses sustained and the wrong which, in the opinion of the signers, has been suffered by them in consequence of this prohibition. The committee are decidedly of opinion that the plain letter of the ninth, fourteenth, and twenty-eighth articles of the British treaty affords the strongest argument against the legality of the prohibition, and that any discussion on the part of the Chinese authorities as to the true meaning and interpretation of these articles, so far as they relate to the matter under notice, should now be impossible, for the reason that the Chinese authorities have already accepted the plain and manifest meaning which is herein claimed, in having authorized the use of small steamers for purposes of inland traffic for a period of several years. The object of the present letter is to solicit your favorable representation of this matter to the United States minister at Peking, and to request that you will point out to him the urgent necessity for prompt action, in order that the matter may be decided, if possible, and the decision known here before the middle of May, when preparations for the new silk will com mence. I am, sir, your obedient servant, GEO. F. SEWARD, Esq., GEORGE TYSON, United States Consul General, Shanghai. C. SHANGHAI, April 2, 1866. SIR: The question of the legality of using small steamers for proceeding into the interior of this district has, we believe, been several times informally brought to the notice of the consuls at this port: but thus far the matter has received no satisfactory solution, and, although those interested have patiently waited for over a year, they have not learned that the foreign ministers at Peking have come to any decision on the subject. We therefore beg that some action may be taken by the Chamber of Commerce in the matter. We, the owners and agents of these small steamers, are suffering much loss in consequence of the Chinese authorities having taken the initiative in February, 1865, and positively forbidden to allow our boats to proceed, as before, into the interior. This, we strongly maintain, is in direct violation of article nine of the last British treaty with China. The small steamers were ordered in England on the faith of this clause, and so long as it suited their convenience the Chinese authorities permitted them to ply to all ports of the surrounding country. Thus, during the rebellion the trade in silk and cotton with the disturbed districts was, in large measure, carried on by means of these steamers, which conveyed treasure for the purchase of produce that could not otherwise be safely sent. Soon after the country was pacified, however, the Chinese authorities suddenly and without, we believe, first consulting any of the representatives of foreign nations, declared that no more steamers should proceed into the interior-the only reason assigned being that arms might be conveyed, and, further, that these steamers would injure the native carrying-trade. Heavy bonds were offered to guard against the first contingency, but declined. The present position of affairs, therefore, is as follows: The steamers are lying at anchor, perfectly useless, (being specially built for the inland trade, they are unfit to put to sea,) and not only can they earn nothing for the owners, but the expense incurred by keeping them in order, as also the loss by depreciation and interest, amount to from $1,000 to $3,000 per boat per annum. The real reason of the prohibition on the part of the Chinese authorities seems to be that they are anxious to purchase the steamers for their own purposes; but, having this matter entirely in their own hands, the offers now rarely exceed from one-fourth to one-third of the prime cost of the boats. Several sales have been made at this ratio to the authorities by parties who despair of the matter being settled on a fair and equitable basis. The signers of this letter are those who still have their small steamers on hand, and they desire earnestly to appeal, through the Chamber of Commerce, to all the foreign ministers at Peking to insist on the treaties being adhered to and justice being done. With the exception of the difference in the motive power, these steamers stand in precisely the same position as the "house-boats," which for the past fifteen years have conveyed Enropeans travelling for business or pleasure into the surrounding country, and are still used in the same way. The steamers are not registered, and are worked by a Chinese crew, with, at most, one or two Europeans on board; and the right to travel in boats being granted, it seems prepos terous to insist that the treaty must be interpreted to mean that only craft propelled by sails or oars shall be used, to the exclusion of those worked by steam. SIR: I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch No. 48, of the 26th ultimo, enclosing two communications from and to George Tyson, vice-chairman of the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce, respecting the legality of foreign steamers proceeding into the interior waters of China, and urging the permission accorded to them in the vicinity of Shanghai as a proof in favor of the practice. This question, it appears, has attained its present importance through the implied consent of the provincial authorities of Kiangsu for such vessels to go into the silk districts during |