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Letter of A. H. Foote.

125

"U. S. SHIP PORTSMOUTH,' HONG-KONG, June 27, 1858. “MY DEAR BRADFORD,—I have read your letter published in the Philadelphia Press. It does you intellectually great credit, and certainly I believe it to have been written, notwithstanding its wholesale errors about our force in Canton, with that moral sentiment which I always have considered as a feature in your character.

"You were not in Canton when our force was there. Consequently the assertion in your letter that it was not asked, but, on the contrary, that a request was made that it might be withdrawn, as it was unnecessary for protection, must have been made on other authority than your personal knowledge. The credibility of that authority may be seen by the inclosed copy of a letter addressed to me by Consul Perry, showing that the force was officially and immediately urged by the highest American functionary in Canton-Dr. Parker, the commissioner, being with you at that time in Shang-Haï. And so far from the force not being wanted by the Americans, and they having requested its withdrawal, I need only to remark that, after having been in Canton a fortnight, I received orders from the commodore to proceed with the ship to Shang-Haï. On making these orders known, one of the merchants said that he hoped I would not leave them; that a letter signed by the Americans, showing the necessity of a force for their protection, would, if I wished it, readily be furnished. I declined the proposal, remarking that in the existing state of affairs I should not leave Canton, and had no doubt but that the commodore would, as he afterward did, fully approve my course. Besides this, every American house in Canton-I do not remember a single exception-importuned me for sentinels to be posted within their premises. And still further, I call upon your informant, or any American then in Canton, to say that he gave me the slightest intimation that our force might be withdrawn, until it had been there more than a fortnight, and accomplished fully the object for which it was placed there-for the protection of our citizens, and their persons and property; when I announced my intention of conferring with the commodore on the propriety of withdrawing the men, and having the Levant brought up to the city as a place of refuge in case of emergency.

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'Although the government has unqualifiedly approved our course, as may be seen in the copy of a letter in my possession, still, if there remain a doubt on the subject in the minds of persons whose opinions are worthy of my regard, I hope that the whole matter may be reopened by agitation, investigation, probing, and sifting, so far as my own agency in

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taking the force to Canton is involved, as well as the subsequent course of the squadron at the 'Barrier Forts.'

"I still feel, as I often have expressed myself, that had I not promptly taken the force to Canton, and in counsel and deed approved the capture of the 'Barrier Forts' for having on three different occasions fired upon our flag, I ought to be turned out of the Navy as one wholly unworthy of holding a commander's commission in it. Had you been there, holding my commission, I believe also that your course would have corresponded with my own.

"I thus have freely commented, as I am justified in doing, on that part of your letter referring to acts in which I bore a prominent part; and now take the liberty of a friend in remarking that our sentiments toward the English are antipodal. I hold them to be a nation altogether in advance of any European in promoting Christian civilization and the highest interests of mankind. Your Anglophobia, pardon the expression, often leads you, though no doubt unintentionally, to do them an injustice. I am quite proud of our ancestry, even with all their faults, when I compare them with the other nations of Europe.

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The Portsmouth lay off the " Barrier Forts" for some days, to carry out the work of demolition. In one of his dispatches to the commodore, Foote says, "We don't work, of course, today. I have preached aboard and in the fort." The destruction of the forts was completed in ten working days. Some men were unfortunately killed, and others wounded, by a premature explosion. Of this work of demolition, Commander Foote writes to a friend:

"The governor (Yeh) in his correspondence with the commodore has given no satisfaction, and therefore we have taken it by utterly demolishing his forts. He now says that he also desires peace, and matters look more pacific, at least till the pleasure of our government is known. American merchants here, and missionaries too, unanimously regard our course as having been necessary to show the Chinese that the Americans are as powerful as some other nations with whom they have been in conflict. It is the first display of American force in China, and it was desirable that it should be effectual."

Letter of Canton Merchants.

127

In certification of what Commander Foote here says of the opinion of other Americans then in Canton and vicinity in regard to his course of action, the following letter to Captain Foote, signed by influential American residents in China, is of value:

“MACAO, February 9, 1858.

"DEAR SIR,-We have been informed that in some of the American newspapers it has been stated in a communication from China that the force taken by you to the factories at Canton, in the month of October, 1856, while difficulties existed between the English and Chinese authorities, was not only not necessary there, but that you were requested to withdraw it. In justice to yourself, we beg to say that of the necessity for the force there, at the period in question, we are fully satisfied, and that it imparted great confidence and security to the Americans generally in Canton. We, of course, can not know if you were requested to remove it, but are convinced that had you done so, the danger to life and property would have been greatly increased.

'We are happy also to avail ourselves of this opportunity to express to you our acknowledgment for the prompt and willing manner in which you have given your assistance and support to your countrymen in this part of China, whenever it seemed to you that you could be of any possible service or that circumstances required them. We remain, dear sir, your friends and countrymen,

"JAMES PURDON & Co. (of Canton)," and others.

The remainder of the cruise of the Portsmouth must be more briefly treated. She dropped down to Hong-Kong, and stayed there until the 1st of January, 1857, when she was sent north to Shang-Haï; and after remaining twenty days at that port, she came south to Ningpo, on account of alleged disturbances there. Commander Foote and his officers were invited to an entertainment by the governor, or Taontai, who pledged himself to protect American lives and property. From Ningpo the Portsmouth proceeded to Foo-Chow, where it was found that the Canton difficulties had not extended to the detriment of our interests. Amoy was the next stopping-place; thence they returned to Hong-Kong on March 14th, having

visited all the Chinese ports north of Canton opened by treaty.

On the 11th of April the Portsmouth sailed once more from Hong Kong to Singapore, her commander being charged with orders to obtain full information in regard to the case of the Dutch bark Henrietta Maria, that had been abandoned at sea by her officers and most of her men, and brought into that port by the American ship Cœur de Lion, in a perilous and constructively piratical condition, for adjudication. The difficulty was one of salvage with the British civil officer, and involved a somewhat lengthened correspondence between the Governor of Singapore, Edward A. Blundell, Esq., and the commander of the Portsmouth. This business being attended to with his usual thoroughness, Foote set sail May 21st for Bangkok, taking on board Dr. Bradley, bearer of the treaty to the King of Siam. While at Bangkok the officers of the Portsmouth were presented to both kings, and were treated with the highest consideration.

The second king of Siam having made many inquiries about the ship, and manifesting a good deal of interest in ordnance and fire-arms, Commander Foote invited him to visit the vessel, which he did, although this was the first time that a king of Siam had been aboard a foreign man-of-war. The king came down from Bangkok, forty miles, to where the Portsmouth was anchored, with a suite of twenty princes and nobles, and remained during the day. A grand banquet, taxing the artistic powers of the Portsmouth in this line to the utmost, was got up for the occasion.

The treaties of Siam with the United States, England, and France are fast developing the agricultural resources of the country, especially the culture of sugar; and Commander Foote remarks: "It is due to the American missionaries to say that, owing to their indirect influence, favorable treaties have been negotiated. Previously to their coming, the Siamese

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were almost as exclusive in their commercial policy as the Japanese. Our consul, the Rev. Mr. Mattoon, in consequence of his personal popularity with the kings and officers of state, his knowledge of the language and business habits, has exercised a stronger influence upon the government and people than any other foreigner, and to him we are chiefly indebted for the good opinion of Americans which prevails in Siam." While in Siam, Foote visited the missionaries in state, in order that the natives might be led to pay them more respect.

The Portsmouth returned to Hong-Kong, arriving on the 26th of June, whence she departed a second time for ShangHaï, to carry Consul Bradley to that post. After dry-docking and repairs at Shang-Haï, the good ship, which had seen such continual service, meeting in these long voyages in the China seas many severe storms and typhoons, and once being aground in a dangerous condition in the Min River, set sail from ShangHaï on the 22d of August for Simoda and Hakodadi in Japan. The day before reaching Simoda, breakers ahead were discovered in latitude 34° 14′ N., longitude 138° 17′ E., not laid down in the charts, and were named "Portsmouth Breakers." If they had been running at night, the cruise of the Portsmouth would have been brought to an abrupt termination. Commander Foote says of Simoda:

"The appearance of Simoda, in fact the entire country around, is beautiful. Deep ravines lie between the mountain ranges, while the highly cultivated terraced fields stretch up to the very hill-tops. Again, green thickets were seen creeping up the valleys; and lawns of verdant turf here and there overlapped the precipices. The town added no beauty to the scenery. As soon as we had anchored, a large boat came alongside, with four officials high in rank, who in the name of the governors—bear in mind the duality of the Japanese-gave us a courteous and cordial welcome. These representatives were inquisitive, and manifested a degree of intelligence corresponding to their courtesy. We were favorably impressed with the cleanliness of the officials and of their men and boat, which their celestial' neighbors might do well to copy."

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