To His Excellency John A. Bingham to Thos. B. Van Buren, June 7, 1875

Mr. Bingham to Mr. Van Buren.

Sir: Referring to your dispatch of date the 25th ultimo, No. 850, in relation to J. M. Rappeport, and the request of the Japanese governor of Kanagawa for his deportation, I have to say that, in my opinion, the provision of the VIIth article of the treaty of 1858, that the Japanese authorities may require Americans who may have been convicted of felony or twice convicted of misdemeanors to leave the country, does not, as your dispatch seems to imply, confer the power upon the Japanese government either to deport such convicted Americans or to subject them to Japanese jurisdiction and punishment. By such conviction of felony or such repeated convictions of misdemeanors the American so convicted forfeits his right to go more than one Japanese ri inland from his residence, or to abide in Japan beyond the time allowed by the American consul, not exceeding one year hut, in my opinion such convict does not forfeit his right to he tried for all further offenses which he may commit in Japan by American consular courts, and, if found guilty, to be punished according to American law.

I inclose for your information, as you request, a copy of Department Instructions, No. 193, of date 16th April, 1873, in which it appears that, in the case of John Rogers, Consul Shepard, in the opinion of the Department, “did not transcend his power.” The Department, you will observe, says “the judgment and sentence appear to have been authorized by law,” &c. The judgment and sentence in the case reads as follows:

“Of the crime charged the court finds the prisoner guilty, and the sentence is, that John Rogers be imprisoned at hard labor for the term of one year, and that he forfeit his right of residence in Japan.”

It would seem from the last paragraph of the inclosed instruction that no authority was given by law to the consul, in the opinion of the Department, to deport such convicted citizens, as the Department says the consul will “be instructed to explain to the Department by what authority he sent American citizens out of the country.”

I am, sir, your obedient servant,