Prince Kung to S. Wells Williams , United States Chargé d’affaires ad interim, December 7, 1887

Prince Kung to Mr. Williams.

Prince Kung, chief secretary of state for foreign affairs, herewith makes a communication:

His Imperial Majesty having seen fit to appoint Anson Burlingame, formerly minister from the United States with [the Manchu] Chi-Kang and [the Chinese] Sun Kia-kuh, two of the members of the Foreign Office, to be his envoys to proceed to all the treaty powers with authority to manage whatever affairs may arise between those countries and this, the imperial decrees conferring this authority on them were recently copied and sent to you.

But I am somewhat apprehensive that the foreign ministers in this capital, learning that his Majesty has commissioned three persons at once thus to represent him, will conclude that neither of them is to take the lead in conducting affairs with those nations, and I have therefore deemed it proper to explain the reasons of this cause in order to remove all doubt upon this point.

It is the usage among all the great western powers, in the interests of peace and good will, to appoint envoys to go to each other’s country to attend to any affairs that may arise; and it would have been proper, during the many years that peace has existed between your honorable country and this, for his Imperial Majesty to have, at a much earlier period, commissioned a high officer to go there for the purpose of representing him and attending to any affairs arising between us. But owing to our imperfect knowledge of the languages and usages of foreign nations, this step has been delayed from time to time. Now, however, as Mr. Burlingame, a man of honor and peace, and intimately conversant with our intercourse and relations with other countries—one, too, with whom the officers of this government have long had acquaintance and confidence—is willing to act on behalf of China in attending to her interests, a memorial was presented to his Majesty requesting that he might be appointed imperial commissioner to all the treaty powers, and that Messrs Brown and Deschamps might be also appointed, to be first and second secretaries of the legation, to aid him in conducting its duties and accomplishing its purposes.

But if no high officers are sent on the mission from China also, there will hereafter be no one sufficiently acquainted with the necessary details to be qualified to receive the post of envoy; and this consideration induced the Foreign Office again to request his Majesty to appoint both Chi and Sun as his imperial commissioners, to go at the same time. This arrangement would manifest the good feeling existing, and be moreover a means of giving them practice and experience in their duties. If they could, in this way, add to the efficiency and dignity of Mr. Burlingame and his two secretaries, then the completeness of the mission for its duties would be all that could be desired. When this government at a future day desires to send her own envoys, she will then have precedents to follow, and it will be easier to prepare them for their duties.

Everything, however, that relates to the duties of imperial commissioner in the United States will devolve alone on Mr. Burlingame, and his decision will be final; but the correspondence with the Foreign Office at Peking will properly devolve on the two Chinese commissioners, who will at all times consult with Mr. Burlingame in attending to their duties. In this way the requirements of the entire legation will he provided for, without difficulty to any part of it. As one of its members understands the languages and peculiarities of all the countries he will visit, so do the other two as fully comprehend the language and affairs of China.

This arrangement is, however, rather a temporary one, applicable at the initiation of the mission, and is not designed to serve for a constant rule in future. I have, therefore, to request that you will inform the Secretary of State of these particulars, so that when these imperial commissioners reach the United States to transact the business of their mission, he will be fully aware of their position and relative duties.