TEEASHIMA MUNENORI, His Imperial Japanese Majesty’s Minister for Foreign Affairs to Honorable John A. Bingham , Envoy Extraordinary and, August 22, 1875

Mr. Terashima to Mr. Bingham.

Sir: I had the honor of receiving, on the 18th instant, your excellency’s note of the 16th ditto, wherein you detail to me the facts in the matter of the stoppage, at the village of Hachoji, in the province of Musashi, of two eminent American citizens, and of the further improper treatment to which they have been subjected.

Previous to the receipt of your note, I had heard of the occurrences through another source, and was very greatly surprised and annoyed at them, and directed Mr. Mori to call upon your excellency and ascertain the facts, at the same time that I issued instructions that strict inquiry into the matter should be made by the governor of Kanagawa, under whose jurisdiction the village of Hachoji is situated.

I have now the honor of making known to you the results of the inquiries that have been made.

It seems that the chief of police at the village of Hachoji, Ito Shigehide, who ordered the arrest of Captain Lewis and Mr. Richardson, was sadly mistaken in supposing Hachoji to be without the treaty-limits, his error being based on the fact that, as indicated by the posts along the road, Hachoji is eleven and one-half ri (28¾ miles) from the Kanagawa Keucho, whereas the distance should have been calculated in a straight line.

Ito Shigehide had been recently appointed to the position he occupied at Hachoji, and pleads that he was unaware that foreigners were within their treaty-rights when sojourning in the village, and consequently deemed it his duty to ask the two gentlemen to produce their passes, and when they failed to do this, he summoned them to the police-court, and sent them the following day to Yokohama under escort of a policeman, still thinking he was merely performing his duty. And here, allow me to remark to your excellency, these two gentlemen were not detained at Hachoji; they requested to remain the night in the village and to proceed to Yokohama the next day. But this is only a trifling circumstance of the case.

Ito Shigehide has been found guilty in that he had failed to inform himself accurately of the treaty-limits, and that he had failed to show proper respect and consideration to Captain Lewis and to Mr. Richardson when these gentlemen had informed him of their names and positions, and in that he had ordered them to be conducted back to Yokohama by a petty police-officer, when they had expressed their readiness and willingness to quietly return at once. Ito Shigehide’s conduct has been unwarrantable and rude. The policeman in Yokohama, Yoshimura, on the arrival at the police-station of these two gentlemen and of the letter from the chief of police at Hachoji, detained them unnecessarily long at the station-house, interrogated them as to their names and positions in a disrespectful and unbecoming manner, and appealed to the constable of the United States consulate for confirmation of their assertions, thereby subjecting them to fresh humiliation.

Your excellency will please observe that Mr. Elmer, the official in the United States consulate, was not called upon to stand surety for the appearance of these two gentlemen; he was merely called upon to corroborate their statements of themselves.

These two Japanese officials, Ito Shigehide and Yoshimura, have been dismissed from the service of the Japanese government; for, though they maintain they thought they were merely doing their duty, they have exceeded the power conferred upon them, and have acted unbecomingly toward two American gentlemen, even after they were made aware of their names and positions.

I hope your excellency will favor me by communicating to Captain Lewis and to Mr Richardson the very sincere regret which is felt by our government for the injustice and indignity put upon them, and to beg them to believe that their treatment arose out of no desire to offend or embarrass, but out of ignorance, however unfortunate have been the consequences.

To guard against a recurrence of such usage as befell your two distinguished countrymen, the government has taken steps which it is hoped and deemed will prove effectual.

I hope the explanation I have here given you of the misconduct of the police officials will prove satisfactory and sufficient to both your excellency and the two gentlemen interested, to whom I request you to communicate the above.

With respect and consideration,