and in that respect I had worked also in the interest of Japan. Having gone to the East at the invitation and in the service of the Emperor of China, I could not with propriety accept any demonstration on the part of the Government or of a public character, but as the commercial people seemed so interested, I consented to attend a private dinner given at the house of one of the leading citizens of Tokio. An extended report of this dinner appeared in the Yokohama "Mail," the principal foreign newspaper of Japan, edited by an Englishman. I prefer that this account rather than my own be given, as it appears in the following extracts:

The Honorable John W. Foster paid a flying visit to Japan on his way home from the scene of his labors. He saw China through all her troubles. After the failure of the Chang mission, he remained until the appointment of the Viceroy Li as peace plenipotentiary, and after the ratification of the Shimonoseki Treaty he accompanied Lord Li when the latter was sent to accomplish the difficult duty of transferring Formosa to Japan. Hearing that the distinguished statesman would pass via Japan to the States, the Japanese at once began to think how they ought to receive him. That he had served China counted for nothing in their eyes. They saw in him only a great publicist, who had labored in the cause of peace, and whose guidance and counsel had materially promoted its attainment. Therefore they decided that every effort should be made to welcome him and to treat him with the hospitality always exercised by the Japanese so heartily and gracefully. The leading citizens of Tokio resolved to invite him to a great banquet in the name of the city. This project could not be carried out, and it became necessary to limit the programme to a comparatively small semi-private dinner and to the presentation of an address.

The dinner was given on the nineteenth of June at the

beautiful residence of Mr. Okura, one of the leading merchants of Tokio, with whom were associated as hosts Mr. Shibusawa, former Minister of Finance and now President of the Tokio Chamber of Commerce, and Mr. Tokoyama. There were present several ministers of state, the great majority of the Japanese officials who had taken leading parts in the Shimonoseki Conference, the United States representative, and many of the prominent business men of the capital. Mr. Shibusawa's speech, in proposing the health of Mr. Foster, was a genuine reflection of the sentiments long entertained by Japan towards the people of the United States. He said: "Your Excellencies and Gentlemen, - In holding this evening a small reunion of friends to furnish a moment's entertainment to General Foster, the well-known and universally respected ex-Secretary of State of the United States, who has just arrived in Japan, I must preface the brief remarks which, as one of the hosts, I crave your kind permission to make, by expressing our keen sense of the great honor conferred on us by the gracious presence of so many distinguished gentlemen, both foreign and Japanese. . . . The course of his travels in the Orient, in the discharge of noble duties, having brought this celebrated publicist to our shores, I can assure him that any suggestions or advice he may be persuaded to offer, out of the abundance of his deep erudition and long practical experience, as to the institutions or circumstances of Japan, will be received by us with the utmost gratitude and deference, and regarded even as a voice from Heaven. It is a matter of much regret to us that General Foster's stay in Japan should be so brief as to preclude the possibility of offering to him some more significant token of the appreciation in which we hold his labors as a peacemaker. We trust, however, that he will take the will for the deed, and we would further beg that if, after his return to his home, this meeting of to-night recurs to him, he will remember our desire to profit by his counsels and observation."

My remarks in reply, given in full in the "Mail," are omitted. The "Mail" continues its report as follows:

The following morning a deputation of leading merchants and manufacturers of Tokio waited upon Mr. Foster, and expressed their regret that they were not permitted to take any steps for expressing publicly their deep sense of the value of his labors in the cause of peace. They wished the honorable gentleman a safe voyage, and a preserved life of public usefulness, and hoped that it might be their good fortune to welcome him back to Japan at some future date.

After quoting my reply, the "Mail" says:

Later in the day an engrossed address was sent to Mr. Foster, accompanied by a pair of very handsome vases of cloisonné enamel. . . . The concluding words of the address were: "We regret that we must limit ourselves to conveying our sentiments of esteem and gratitude by offering you a trifling souvenir, your kind acceptance of which will still further increase the debt under which you have already laid us." The whole incident has left a most favorable impression, not merely as showing the perfect tact that Mr. Foster must have exercised throughout a period of difficult and complicated negotiations, but also as proving that the Japanese can distinguish and appreciate services rendered in the highest interests of humanity, even though an enemy's benefit may be the immediate object of their performance.

During my visit to Tokio I was invited by the Prime Minister, Marquis Ito, through the American Minister, to call on him, and in the course of the interview I found that he was fully informed of my journey to Peking and conference with the Cabinet, and was very expressive in his appreciation of my efforts to have the treaty faithfully executed.

The Japanese in official and the higher circles were not, it appeared, the only Japanese who were attracted by my

mission. I give an extract from one of a number of letters received by me from unknown persons. The writer said: "I see that you have finished your business with China towards her Peace-negotiations with our Japan quite satisfactorily and are going to return to your America in a few days hence; for the which let me offer you my hearty congratulation and 'long-live' towards you!" He inclosed his photograph, and gave in some detail a sketch of his life and education in the mission schools, expressed a great desire to finish his education abroad, and closed with this appeal: "Will you please forgive me my boldfacedness - fetch me to your America with you as a kind of memento of your distinguished work towards the Peace-negotiations at Shimonoseki between Japan and China?"

I sailed from Yokohama June 21, 1895, reached Vancouver July 2, and arrived in Washington July 7, having been absent on my mission six months and nine days.

After my return I received a letter from Mr. Pethick, to whom I have heretofore made reference as one of Li Hung Chang's secretaries and who was my constant associate during the negotiations. From this letter I extract a closing paragraph: "We miss you. The Viceroy often speaks of you. You have accomplished a great work in a national crisis, and placed on record some state papers which are models of acumen, tact, and eloquence. You have had a most unique experience among foreigners in the Far East, and as a recognized champion of China you will no doubt find more good work to put your hands to for her benefit."

CHAPTER XXXIV

THE ANNEXATION OF HAWAII

IN the autumn of 1896 I made a visit to the Hawaiian Islands, and the notice of my going at once led the newspapers to attribute to me a mission in connection with the annexation of the Islands to the United States. There was some color for such a report, inasmuch as I had negotiated and signed as Secretary of State the first treaty of annexation, and as the subject was considered by the people of the United States to be still an open and pending question, notwithstanding the opposition of the Administration of President Cleveland to the project.

There was no foundation, however, for such a report. I publicly denied it before sailing from San Francisco, but my denial was not readily accepted, as I did not feel at liberty to announce the business which really took me to Honolulu, which was in the interest of a Pacific cable company holding a concession from the Government of Hawaii for the construction of telegraphic communication with the United States, and of which the company desired me to secure some modification, and an enlargement of its franchise.

While I had no mission from any authority whatever respecting the annexation of the Islands, I welcomed the opportunity to visit them and to study upon the ground the question of annexation, which I regarded as vital to our country and which could not be decided permanently in the negative without grave peril to our interests in the Pacific Ocean. It seemed apparent to me that if the Islands did not soon become American territory, they would inevitably pass under the control of Great Britain or Japan, and I looked