Rémusat to the Marquis de Noailles, February 13, 1873

No. 120. Count de Rémusat to the Marquis de Noailles.

[Received from Marquis de Noailles, March 13, 1873.]

Marquis: You are, perhaps, already acquainted with the nature of the intelligence which has been recently received from China. Various decrees published shortly after the marriage of the Emperor have fixed the date of his majority, which is about to be solemnly declared. These events possess special importance for the powers represented at Peking. The Chinese government has hitherto refused to treat with foreign ministers concerning the question of their admission to the palace, on the ground of the minority of the sovereign. It is very desirable, for the strengthening of the friendly relations with China, that diplomatic officers in that country should enjoy a privilege the denial of which deprives them of a great source of influence with the central government, and encourages denials of justice on the part of the central authorities which are quite too frequent, and sometimes encourages feelings of dangerous hostility. It will only be when the sovereign shall have publicly manifested his consideration for the representatives of the countries with which he has entered into treaty obligations that we can hope to see a people as docile as the Chinese accept, in their turn, the presence of foreigners without an afterthought. It seemed, therefore, proper to us to try to put an end to a state of things which equally affects our dignity and our interests, and not to allow this opportunity to pass unimproved, since, should we do so, the Chinese government would not fail to use this afterwards as an argument against us. With a view to securing, among the agents of the various powers in China, the unity of action necessary to overcome the opposition of the Chinese ministers, I recently instructed our embassador at London to solicit the co-operation of the principal secretary of state in this matter. In reply to the note of Count d’Harcourt, the London cabinet instructed its embassador at Paris to send me the dispatch of which I have the honor to inclose you a copy, and of which copies will be sent to all the governments interested. On the ground that the relations of England with China have assumed a most satisfactory character, and fearing the complications which might arise from the refusal of the Chinese government to accede to the request to grant audience, the English government expresses its preference for a postponement. It would be best, in its opinion, for the envoys of the different countries to confine themselves to stating to Prince Kung that they would have been glad to present the congratulations of their governments to the Emperor in person on the occasion of his attaining his majority, but that in order not to force an innovation at such a time, and without relinquishing a right, the assertion of which they reserve until such time as they may think proper, they do not desire to insist upon a decision which they hope to see reached by the Emperor himself, who will become convinced, by experience, of the propriety of conforming to the usage of other nations in this matter.

We still think that by unanimously manifesting their desire the powers would have obtained a concession from the cabinet of Peking, which it no longer has any motive for refusing to them. From this would have resulted an improvement in the entire policy of China, as also in the disposition of the authorities toward foreigners, and these advantages were worthy of the efforts which we recommended. We have, however, constantly adhered to the policy of maintaining that unity which seems to us so essential among foreign representatives in China, not to be ready to sacrifice our own private views if they were to result in an unfortunate misunderstanding. Before adopting our final resolution we should be glad to know how the English communication is regarded by the Washington Cabinet, whose representative at Peking seemed, judging from the advices received from our minister, to ‘share our view of the case, and I will thank you to make inquiry with regard to this matter, with as little delay as possible, of the Secretary of State.