APPENDIX
B,
Japan Trade.
subjected to an arbitrary . valuation, and about .the .same .time the exchange of thekobang
was altered. , A tax was laid upon the cargoes-in '1685, -. and further inçreased in. l68&.
the j new, kobang was introduced^:;;in,;1700 .theyCwere- limited- to-foiirr'shipa
annua^ijija-lTlO an exchange . .still (more disadvantageous was - fixed : in 17d4: their
.expOTtation was reduced;to fifteen thousand,pikulsfof popper: in<:1717 an.order was
issued,jJSmitjpg the trade to two; ships, only in-171 (k the third, - andnte 1780 thé fourth
sort oi.Jcçbqngs were introduced : and in 1743 the Dutch were limited to one ship and
to one-half of the cargo-;--,
-The Dutch,t.in, deliberating upon the measure .of abandoning the trader in. the
year 1744, ^rpce all their disasters-in- this commerce, to their having .tamely submitted,
in the first instance, to take tbaJkobang of reduced value at the same’ rate,'as the old
one. It'then occurred to'them, that, if .serious remonstrances- had. been made in:the
beginning, their firmness might have prevented .the^bsej^uentJosses. 7 “ «dhithe first
** tsays Mr. Imhoff, ^f^)ur commerce yvas carried on’ag, .bjda.peoplelgroping
C£ in the dark, neither knowing the actual price of purchase or .salefh'ecause the
“ kobang being the standard coiny qf the=country,- that kobang ought: ito :have been
“ calculated in proportion to the value of the tahil, and it would.’ havèj appeared' Hhat
“ since 1710 for forty stivers inferior silver thirty stivers superioosilvet -were recëivè'dj
‘-{ and all articles of trade not disposed _pf, with a > profit ƒ’^sixty-three.. pèr~- cent.
“ rendered a Joss. And this being the case with most of the cargoes that,were sent to
“ Japan after the period abovementioned, we ought eithey ,to have, relinquished that
“ commerce,, or had recourse to such means as might-have tended to re-establish the
‘ ‘ affairs -of the Company. - Instead, however, of so doing, fruitless remonstrances and
“ solicitations, were employed, which finally produced thjs'effect, .that ..the- Japanese,
“ during the latter years, granted ns, by way of charity an additional sum of six
“ thousand tahils upon the sale of our cargoes.”
From the deliberations which took place at this period, i t ’appears that-the proposal
then under consideration of relinquishing the trade, was rather intenlledjas a provisional
and political measure, to induce the Japanese to admit them to more favourable'terms
in future,' than brought forward with the view of .finally abandoning or Relinquishing
the trade altogether.
The public opinion of . the time was, that the Japanese had recourse to these measures
of restriction for no other purpose, but to oblige the Dutch to depart from theeóuntry>
but it occurred to the Dutch Government that a' nation which treated strangers in so
despotic a manner, had no need to resort to such shifts to dislodge them. Another, opinion
was, that the restrictions 'laidon the trade proceeded from political motives, ’of-which
the first and most important was their hatred against all the different persuasions; of the.
Christian religion without exception ;* hut the government were inclined toxensider
these reasons as deserving oflittle notice. There is no probability, observes Mr. Imhoff,
« that,
0 where evident," saya Mr, Imhoff, “ th a t the Dutch ever gave cause to th e Japanese to h ate them
“ ior teing Christians: they seem rintfer J o have been accused o f indifference towards .their religion, although I
“ suppose th a t the writers on th a t subject are not altogether correct,’’
o that, in the present enlightened age, it can be a consideration^ even with the Japanese,
of what.persuasiommercKants are, who r neither attempt .to propagate their religion
with,ft view-(tQ(p'K)n}qte,their. interq3fetapr,>totendaiiger the safety, ófi the state, of neither
ofjwhich they,appear ever^tothavetbeen ^suspected.’..5 The Governor General was
further qf.opinipn, that-fhe Japanese’xpuld derive noiadvantage from the. expulsion of
the Dutch, „as, they w o u l d o f f frojb. all correspondence with Europeans,' and
thereby, become subject to greater.inpopy eniences than at present, being exposed to the
visits of,others, whose great increaselin those^regionsjwas not unknown,to them; for,
as he states,, it, jgynotpjious that the^J.apangsé.-g.pygj’ninen^took annual' mformation of
ali ttiaj.passedjfl^ttie_woyld,, and.that.the Dutch .servants had, orders ;to answer their
queries faithfully,; ip, orders that contrary, reports might„naj;( injure, their- credit, by which
the Japanese, were .well aware that if; the, .Dutch withdrew,, .o.ther&’^ u ld soon settle in
the country. , Instead, therefore, of attributing the .cpndüïïf.otdha Jap|ytgsp-t° either
.of these causes-the f5gyprnor;Gte,uferal laid itpujifely to thè^acpg^n^'f their interested
desire,-tojtakejevery possible’advantage,of the weqlyiess of the Dutch, who by admitting
the^fir^t" imposition, lard themselves P^fii®al|yt_hat followed. - ,
i„ fiig vêjy ableand interesting memmr;'// P n t^^radfejof Japan and .the,Causes
which:occasioned ite,JBecUn.e,;£ts<L Ife,is by no means stu dying,’Vi_saysT Mr. Imhoffj
f‘ tha^tto Japanese, when they altered the, kobang^ likewise juade^a, change in the
dediveyyjof the eopppr^, observing that our^pxqhmage^remained, always, the same,
and Xhdtvriqes H H mer 'chahdize unalterably fixed. r'effli^:cannptg pass; unnoticed,
^ .th a t Jfchis' .wrong, calcqlation has been the 'cause that, io ^ q ^ p p ^ )^ a n ,y i3valuable
JL articles o f ,commence, which wprejftoln^imfvtmtanM tendered by the Japanese,
‘ ‘ were declined. '.Among thos,eLarticles wasyedtew copper or.brassy Japan,porcelain,
c<,.0f which musters were seiitpn I7$6,- and camphor, which;; we- might have- exported
« from:thjM0e,,if1 ourireturn cargoes had not been.complete. Whether, the soyereign
right to regulate the trade oftheir country is.noi equally vested in^tfie government
V O?.Japan with, any othpr., nation,, I will leave unfjecjdejj.;• feeing,j.u^jpatiently
^submitting ,to a)l kipds of.restrictipns, inattentive in keeping, opr accounts in, a
“ regular order,, they,were ejicouragedto^put<usjto0theJast_^hift. I am .not inclined
,“ ’fq dwell,UgfiiLour surprising.,indifference, which was concealed-,, at the same time
under the cloak of mystery, from iwhence^so ®anyneVil tpons.equengesj respited.- I ’,
<{ am of opinion, that it cannot be either the.injerest or inclination^ Japanese to
.0 phiige us. to ijelinquish all intercourse with their cquptry, provided our trado„be
« carried on within narrow: .bounds, and they are^otJlp9ingjUpQ.n,Ithe: articles (jeljvered
“ to,u|Jn payment for our cargoes.^ It js no^gossible that ,they can hqve. apy. profit
“ on the copper, if it is^sold for^e.s^than one Übjmg. The. mines, certainly cannot
worked at a Reaper rate (than foijinerly; and what .pro^tjdh the, yepdejs^of .the
f f .copper derive from our merchandize, after it ha^ j^ fen .into the ,I ^ ^ s ^)f,the
a t j | |5 interpreters
. * “ Our peaceable conduct at Japan, and the alanu given greatly
« in OIU-. favour; and as it will be■ impossible for than to fiud ptbei- Eteppeans-more tractable than oui-selvea, they
f ‘ ..can certainly bavp 110. reasoaL to; idcslrc. our departure fro ill thence, although it may be undeniable 0iat Japan
■5 9t<md9 in s o Seed oï fotöipers.”—
APPENDIX
|p
Japan T rade.