Wells Williams to Georg Rehfues, July 29, 1868

Mr. Williams to Baron Rehfues

Monsieur le Ministre: I have had the honor to receive your reply of the 29th ultimo, in relation to questions of consular control growing out of the case of the Talee vs. Manchu. I have since heard from the United States vice-consul at Tientsin that the dispute has been settled between the parties.

I have carefully perused your remarks, but I cannot perceive that the bankruptcy of a mercantile consul has any necessary connection, with his ability to exercise his consular functions; and that whatever other reasons may exist to make it desirable for an unfortunate debtor to demit his office on declaring his bankruptcy, they do not affect his judicial position. In the present case, Mr. Meadows, though now a merchant, was in the British consular service for many years, where he became familiar with its details. I am induced, therefore, to make an extract from his report in this case:

“After I had read over the plaint, the defendant, Captain Clarke, asked the vice-consul of the North German Confederation, who was present, if he could give a decision if a similar case should be brought into his court. He replied that he could not decide the case, and would have to send down the written evidence to the consul general at Shanghai, who would decide it. As long as the vice-consul of the North German Confederation at Tientsin has not judicial powers to decide cases similar to the consuls of France, England, and America, so long, I beg respectfully to state, will it be impossible for the subjects and citizens of those nationalities, on bringing plaints into the vice-consular court of the North German Confederation, to obtain redress. * * * Are not judges and associates, in cases tried in the British and American consular courts, guided very considerably in their judgments in deciding cases by the manner, personal demeanor, and appearance of the witnesses when giving their evidence? The consul-general of the North German Confederation residing at Shanghai, 700 miles from Tientsin, and not being present in the vice-consular court when the evidence was taken, is he in a position, in accordance with Anglo-Saxon ideas of trying cases, to give a just decision? I maintain not. I consequently considered it to be my duty to bring the position of the North German Confederation vice-consul prominently forward, whenever circumstances allowed my doing so, in order that nationalities suffering hardships through the system might take the opportunity to urge upon the high authorities of the North German Confederation to empower the vice-consul at Tientsin with judicial powers to decide all cases, so that justice may be measured out where the parties in the case are present.”

The fact that a salaried consul is soon to be appointed for the North German Confederation at Tientsin is proof that the inconveniences of the present arrangement have forced themselves on your notice; and I still think that you will agree with me that many of them can only be removed by granting judicial powers to all consular officers. I shall bring the desirableness of appointing a salaried consul for the United States at Tientsin to the notice of the Secretary of State, and also the other questions discussed in this correspondence.

I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to your excellency the assurance of my high regard.