Sewaed to Wm. M. Evarts, November 25, 1879

No. 135. Mr. Seward to Mr. Evarts.

Sir: I have the honor to hand to you herewith the report of the committee, appointed at the recent conference of foreign representatives at this capital, to consider the changes needed in the forms of intercourse between foreign and native officials, together with two memoranda presented to the committee by the two senior interpreters of the services represented and a protocol adopted by the conference.

The report of the committee does not differ essentially from the conclusions reached by the ministers who considered the subject in 1876, shown in the protocol transmitted to the department with my dispatch No. 177.

I beg leave to ask for authority to sustain my colleagues in an effort to secure the adoption of the changes proposed.

I have, &c.,

Report of the committee upon official intercourse.

The question which your committee has had to consider might be generally described as the question of etiquette, a term which may be held to include the conditions of personal relations and of official correspondence alike.

It is in the provinces that the change seems more particularly to be called for, though in these, as elsewhere, there has been improvement of late. Up to a recent date the chiefs of provincial governments were on some occasions all hut inaccessible to consular officers desiring to see them on business or to pay them a visit; accessible only if the foreign official would accept admittance into the Yamên by such entrance as would be the only one open to a Chinese of rank corresponding to the consuls when waiting on the provincial superior as his subordinate. This state of things has been modified, and greatly for the better.

It seems unquestionably desirable that whether at a port or in the interior, a consular officer, having occasion to speak to the governor-general or governor of a province on business, should be assured access to the high authority, and that neither, when admitted into his Yamên nor into his presence, he should be treated as the subordinate of the high authority no matter what the inferiority of his official rank. The Chinese perfectly understand what is due from host to guest, and no more should be asked for.

In the forms of correspondence between the consular officers and provincial authorities, high and low, some changes have long been called for. The earlier treaties assigned to consular officials certain conditions of co-ordination with Chinese officials which have in themselves a certain value, and which, at all events, it is not proposed to disturb. But the prescription of forms in correspondence which at first sight appear the logical consequence of this co-ordination of grades was not equally happy.

The whole subject is treated exhaustively in the two memoranda appended, the one prepared by Monsieur Devéria, interpreter of the French legation, and the other by Monsieur Arendt, interpreter of the German legation. Both gentlemen recommend substitution for the form, more or less objectionable, in which foreign consuls and high provincial authorities have addressed each other, the term “wên i,” to “correspond officially,” to which no objection can be taken on the part of the foreigner, and to which it will scarcely be possible for the Chinese to object. The term, though official, marks nothing as to the rank either of the writer or person written to.

In correspondence between the legation and the Tsung-li Yamên the term “chao hui,” heretofore used in accordance with treaty, should be retained.

It has been usual for the high provincial authorities, in their dispatches to consular officers, to prefix to the word indicating the consular officer addressed, when there was occasion to mention him in the body of the document, the word “kai.” This, the accepted form of the high officer’s dispatch “cha,” which is literally an “instruction” considered, is idiomatically correct, but it is as objectionally depreciatory as the term “cha” itself. It would be desirable to substitute for it, when the consul is spoken to, the word “kuei,” which, with the noun, forms the second person of politeness; and when he is spoken of, as in a communication to the consul’s superior, he is to substitute his surname. The old form in the latter case might be translated, “This consul”; the proposed substitute, “Mr. Consul, so and so.”

memorandum by mr. deveria.

Règlement régissant la forme de missives officielles (sueny) échangees entre fonctionnaires civils de tous rangs.

Les autorités supérieures (dites du Tche-ly), dans leurs correspondances officielles avec les fonctionnaires de leur département, se serviront de la formule “pancarte;” les fonctionnairs sous leurs orders se serviront de la formule “exposé.”

Le Tchefou (préfet), écrivant á son assistant (Tso-Eurh), se servira de la formula “exposé.”

L’assistant se servira vis-à-vis de lui de la formule “soumission de rapport.”

II en sera de même des sous-préfets, Tche-tcheou et Tche-hsien, vis-à-vis de leurs assistants, et réciproquement.

Les sous-préfets (tche-tcheou) dites du tche-ly, dans leurs correspondances officielles avec des préfets, tche-fou-se, serviront de la formule “soumission de pancarte;” le préfet usera de celle de “communication à l’enere noire.”

Le directeur universitaire correspondant avec le trésorier de la province (fan-sse) ou le grand juge provincial (nieh-sse) addressera sa missive à ces personnages, mais au has de la suscription il ajoutera “aux soins de ses sécrétaires.”

Les trésorier et grand juge, dans leur correspondance avec le directeur universitaire se serviront de l’expression “signification confinée aux soins de nos sécrétaires pour être remise au directeur universitaire.”

Dans sa correspondance avec les Taotais le directeur universitaire se servira de l’expression “pancarte,” en retour de laquelle le Taotai se servira de la formule “lettre soumise á—.”

Les directeurs des métiers impériaux—Tche tsao—dans leurs correspondances avec les Tche-fou (préfets) et les Tche hsien (sous préfets de 2^de classe) se serviront de la formule “pancarte.”

Les Tche-fou et les Tche hsien en s’addressant à lui useront de la formule, “soumission de subordonné.”

Tels sont les renseignements ofiiciels fournis par 1’Almanach trimestriel administratif.

A part cela les individus dépourvus de fonctions mais ayant un titre nobiliaire se serviraient vis-à-vis des fonctionnaires de tous rangs de l’expression “déliberation.”

Les fonctionaires se serviraient vis-á-vis d’eux de la même formule.

Les savants ou docteurs enseignants ou hommes considérable en Chine et qui n’exercent pas de fonctions officielles se serviraient de l’expression “information.”

Les autorités leur répondraient suivant la meme formule. Le même Almanach contient le règlement relatif aux visites officielles échangées entre les fonctionnaires chinois.

Les Tsan tsiang, les Yeou Ki, se servent de la formule.

Les Fou sze, les Chao-pei, se servent de la formule.