Anson Burlingame to William H. Seward, April 18, 1863

Mr. Burlingame to Mr. Seward

Sir: I have the honor to send you the correspondence from our consul at Ningpo, enclosed, marked A, B, C, D, and E.

From this it appears that the French consul, Mr. Edan, undertook to secure a concession of a portion of the city of Ningpo to the French government, and that Mr. Mangum, the American consul, opposed that attempt, and referred the correspondence to me at Peking. I immediately, in an interview with the Chinese authorities here, supported our consul, not only because Mr. Edan’s attempt was in violation of the arrangement made on the 13th of January, (see minutes,) but on the broad ground that any concession of territory would be an abridgment of our treaty rights; that it was our right to buy and sell and live in any part of any treaty port; and that any such concession would infringe that right, and if they might concede a part they might the whole, and I warned them that such concessions, if made, would not only destroy our treaty rights, but that they would be the beginning of a disruption of the empire. They informed me that they had not granted any concessions, nor would they, and thanked me for taking a position so in accordance with their rights. I never failed in my interviews to keep the non-concession doctrine before them, because I had been made aware in Shanghai, by conversations with the British consul, that he and the British residents supposed they had a quasi territorial concession at Shanghai over which they could maintain jurisdiction not only over British subjects, but over Chinese. This assumption led the French to make like claims, and the result was that there was a race, apparently, between the British and French local authorities as to which could secure the most. I brought the question, in many conversations, to the attention of the British and Russian ministers, and, since his arrival, to the French minister. I am happy to say that I found my views accorded with theirs, and that we are now, on this most important question, in perfect agreement; and this agreement is a guarantee of the territorial integrity of the Chinese empire.

As an earnest of the sincerity of Sir Frederick Bruce on this subject, I send you copies of letters and extracts, from letters marked F, addressed by him to her Majesty’s consul at Shanghai. From these it will be seen that Sir Frederick Bruce takes the non-concession ground most strongly.

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,

C.

Minute of a conference held at the United States consulate at Ningpo, Chusan, this morning, the 13th day of January, 1862. President, Captain I. Corbett, her Majesty’s royal naval steamer Scout; President, Willie P. Mangum, United States consul at Ningpo; President, Frederick Harvey, her Majesty’s consul at Ningpo.

Whereas certain forces in opposition to the government of China have captured the city of Ningpo and its surrounding districts; and whereas, in the absence of any imperial authority, it is necessary for defensive purposes, for the protection of life and property, and for the general security, order, and good government of foreigners residing in Ningpo, that certain limits should be clearly defined, within which those foreigners are to reside, free from molestation, aggression, and interference of any kind: For these purposes, the undersigned, as the only representatives of foreign powers at this port, have this day met together at the United States consulate, and have, after consultation, agreed and determined upon the following articles, viz:

1st. That that tract of land, or country, or promontory, known as the Keang Pilo site, and comprised within the boundaries or limits drawn by the Yung river, the Yu Yaon river, the Ken Po Foo creek, and a line drawn across the fields from the Sze-Ken-Merrin, (or temple,) to join the Yu Yaon river above mentioned, (the whole site forming an irregular quadrangle or trapeze,) shall, from this date and hereafter, be opened and considered as the foreign site, within which such foreigners shall reside, free from any interference of any nature whatever, always subject to their respective treaty obligations.

2d. The undersigned reserved to themselves to make and establish such rules and regulations within the limits above mentioned as the future necessities of the settlement may render necessary, such regulations to be in conformity with the provisions of the respective treaties with the imperial government of China.

3d. The above agreement, to which the undersigned have appended their approval and signature, will be submitted without delay to the high ministers and officers of the nations to which the undersigned, respectively, pertain and belong.

[Untitled]

I wish you to understand, that by treaty we have no right to interfere between the Chinese people and their authorities; that the words “sanctity of the British concession” have no meaning, and that we have no power to compel the Chinese, who live within the so-termed concession, to pay any tax for local purposes, except through and with the consent of their own authorities. I am inclined to think that the whole system at Shanghai is a mistake; that the police arrangements of the Chinese within the lines would be more efficiently and more economically done through themselves than it is done by Europeans, and that our management is both extravagant and oppressive. I beg you also to remember that what is done in a military point of view is for the defence of the settlement, and that her Majesty’s government has a right to expect that any charges for that purpose will take the precedence of local improvements, which, under the circumstances, might be desirable. If the Chinese are taxed for local purposes to the utmost, it only proves, as I said above, that the system is a bad one. If the assistance given to Shanghai entitles us to a voice in the matter of taxes, no distinction ought to be made between the people in the settlement and those in the city. There ought to be no difference made in favor of the settlement. In fact the accumulation of Chinese there is a great misfortune, and would make neutrality impossible should the government wish to leave Shanghai to take its chance. It is a great source of danger and insecurity of our interests, and by ignoring the jurisdiction of the Chinese government over the inhabitants, we release from any claim under the treaty in case of incendiary fines, &c. That is a point not sufficiently borne in mind by the community.