Henry Trescot to By the President: Wm. M. Evarts, September 27, 1880
No. 124. The commission to Mr. Evarts.
No. 4.]
Sir:
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We reached here upon the 19th instant, and found waiting our arrival a communication from the foreign office, informing us of the appointment of two commissioners by the Chinese Government, with full powers. Copies of this communication and our reply are inclosed.
The two commissioners are men of high rank and large influence, and are both members of the privy council of State; they are also ministers in the foreign office. They are both advanced in years. His excellency Pao Chün is a Manchu, distantly related to the imperial family. In addition to the offices mentioned above, he is president of the Imperial College of Literature and superintendent of the board of rites. He has had long experience in foreign matters, and is understood to be conciliatory and progressive in his policy. His excellency Li Hung Tsao, is a Chinese. He was the tutor of the late Emperor Tung Chih, and has the reputation of being one of the most profound scholars in the empire. He has been a member of the foreign office for about five years, and is credited with being anti-foreign or reactionary in his views.
We have, &c.,
- JAMES B. ANGELL.
- JOHN F. SWIFT.
- WM. HENRY TRESCOT.