William H. Seward to O. B. Bradford, May 2, 1876

Mr. Seward to Mr. Bradford.

Sir: I have received your dispatch No. 470.

I approve the answer which you have made to the Taotai’s letter. I believe it to be true that the purpose of the purchasers of the land over which the Woosung Railway is now being constructed was generally understood at the time when the purchase was made, or soon thereafter. That purpose was not, however, as I believe, declared formally in any of the letters which passed with the authorities, and some pains were taken not to defeat the object in view by drawing attention to it unnecessarily.

I may say to you that I told the viceroy at Tien-tsin, on the 17th ultimo, that I had held the conversation with Feng, Taotai, in the fall of 1874, of which your letter makes mention, and that the viceroy admitted that the Taotai reported the subject to him soon afterward. I learn here that Mr. Mayers, of the British legation, spoke of the project openly at the foreign office on one occasion. The matter was brought up by one of the Chinese ministers, and no objections were raised on their part.

I feel sure that many of the high officers of the government wish to see the road completed, and that their opposition is formal only.

The British minister tells me that he has recently dispatched Mr. Mayers to Shanghai, with instructions to effect, if possible, an understanding with the Taotai upon which the construction of the road may go forward without further annoyance. He is, I believe, specially charged to admit the sovereignty of China in matters of this sort. As the government here may have written to the provincial authorities in a favorable way, the chances of his being successful may be good.

I shall take occasion to say to the minister of the foreign office that the Taotai has used unbecoming language in his dispatch, and that his course in printing it in the Chinese newspapers at Shanghai is very objectionable.

I have, &c.,