ceive and supply a certain number of our ships that are daily expected there. The supplies
we intend to furnish are necessary, and cannot he furnished hy the Japanese, for they
have them not, such as chains and anchors, pork and beef, sails, tar and cordage, and ship
chandlery generally. We have our families with us, and shall require or want a house for
them to live in, and also a building to store our goods, for which we expect to pay a reasonable
compensation or sum of money. We have been living here (at Simoda) for the past
three months, awaiting the return of our vessel to take us to your place. When it returns,
(and we expect it every day,) we shall leave this place for Hakodadi. On our arrival there
we trust your excellency, in the absence of hotels and inns, will have selected a suitable
place for our families to reside, and also to store our goods. Suffer us, also, to ask of your
honor to inform any of our ships which may arrive there before us, that we are at this
place, and expect soon to be at Hakodadi.”
To this an answer was sent through Commander Rodgers, the purport of which will be
seen from the following communication, sent by that gentleman to Messrs. Reed and
Dougherty:
“ U n i t e d S t a t e s S h i p V i n c e n n e s , H a k o d a d i , June 19, 1855.
“ G e n t l e m e n : The governor of Hakodadi has replied to my application for permission
for you to reside on shore, in accordance with the stipulations of the treaty of Kanagawa,
that temporary, used in the treaty, means a short time—he thinks five or ten days, or, at
the utmost, a few months. Unless I will consent to his definition, by asking for some short
definite period, after which you may be sent away, he utterly refuses to permit you to sleep
on shore a single night. I have replied that I dare not define temporary residence in other
than the usual manner. That if two governments, in their wisdom, preferred to give you
permission to ‘ live temporarily ’ in Hakodadi, I would not so circumscribe the meaning
of the treaty.
“ I apprehend no difficulty in obtaining permission for you to live for a few months in
Hakodadi; but I must say how long you may remain. After the time expires, the
Japanese will consider that you cease to be temporary residents, and that you commence
to live permanently. I f permanent residence is not in the treaty, they will then have a
right to send you away. I have been officially informed of the fact, and, therefore, say to
you officially, that the government of Japan will not suffer you to sleep a night on shore
while I persist in claiming temporary residence to mean an indefinite period of time.
“ I f the government of the United States decides that the treaty has been broken to your
prejudice, I believe it will demand the proper redress for you. Should-the government
decide that the Japanese are right,'your coming here was rash.”
Subsequently Messrs. Reed and Dougherty, with their families,, left Simoda in their
schooner, and proceeded to Hakodadi, arriving at that port eight days after the arrival of
the Vincennes, and being the first American merchant vessel which had entered the port
under the treaty. In fact the port had but just been opened. Mr. Doty states that they
“ were refused permission to land, and ordered away.”
These seem to be substantially the facts connected with the voyage of the Foote, and
it will be perceived, that the question involved in them is one of interpretation of the treaty
merely. The conduct of the Japanese at Simoda certainly showed no unwillingness to
comply with the treaty stipulations, for everything they did was performed by reason of
the treaty, and, but for its existence, would not have been performed at all. The only
question raised by them was whether the treaty, by “ temporary residence,” meant a residence
which might be made “ permanent ” by continuance for an indefinite period. As to
Hakodadi, it must be remembered that the port is at a long distance from the capital on
the island of Nippon, being, in truth, on another island, (Jesso), and ordinarily has but
little communication with its more populous neighbor. The authorities at Hakodadi did
not refuse to let the Americans land—for under the treaty they had a right to do this for
“ temporary residence ”—but asked them to name, before landing, some definite period
which should be considered as being “ temporary ” in the sense of the treaty. They did,
however, object to Americans coming on shore, with their wives and children, to live at
Hakodadi as long as they pleased, just as a Japanese would live there ; they did object to
their opening a warehouse and making a permanent depot of supply, and establishing a
commercial house in Japan, as our merchants do in China; and it will probably be conceded,
after reading the conferences of negotiation which we have detailed, that they never
meant to bind themselves by the treaty to the concession of such privileges. If they did
not, and if, as at Simoda, they carried out all their stipulations touching the temporary
sojourn and personal comfort of our countrymen, then it would seem they are not chargeable
with any wilful breach of faith. Some may think they misinterpret as to the extent
of what they did concede; but this, as Commander Rodgers very truly said, is a point
which can be settled only by the two governments. One thing seems very certain from the
records of the negotiation, that both Commodore Perry and the Japanese commissioners
supposed that the treaty they were making was but “ a beginning ” of friendly relations,
and a partial agreement for trade; but neither party could have believed they were framing
a general “ commercial treaty,” inasmuch as the Japanese had, in the beginning,
expressly declined to enter into such a compact. It is understood, though we know not
that the fact has been officially promulgated, that th e ’ interpretation of the treaty by our
government agrees with that of the Japanese.
Y e d o a n d S i m o d a d o g s p r e s e n t e d t o C o m m o d o r e M . C . P e r r y b y t h e J a p a n e s e c o m m i s s i o n e r s .