The Sun.
London, England, 1861-04-19 00:00:00

~~ ~.

.NEWSPAPER

1--=:. (laughter and atrpiia—bui

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as when some of us became a. e .. -1 At,. fi..., (!
not the occasion for my going at 2:4, ...dv,,.. ,,,‘,47,7
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these m.atters, but there is one 13,, ?i".
really wLh to flay sonnthing to the palesuttata
ferraline, because I think they are entitled to an
explanation from me, -and I think I can give an
explanation which will be satisfactory. When I
went to Japan in 1858 'to negotiate a, treaty I
found myself there in a very difficult poaition. In
the firist place 1 had 0n13,. a fortnight--owil,3rtalin
obligation I was' under to return to China to
arrange a tariff with the Chinese Commi.sioners
at a particular date—l had only a fortnight from
the day I left Jeddo in which to perform the
whole business ; and it is a curious thing that
I have never been allots ed more than a fortnight in
such cases, for when I went to the United States in
1851 I was only allowed a single fortnight to nego-

tiate a treaty which has admitted the whole of the
products of British North America to free competi-
tion with the products of the United States in their
own markets, and which put an end to the risk of
collision on the subject of the fisheries between this
country and America—the most serious which has
presented itself, at any rate, during the time that
I have been a public man. Well, I was in the same
position at Japan. I found that the American
Minister, who had been resident for some years in
the country, had succeeded in obtaining a treaty
which involved very great concessions on the part
of the Japanese, and which was a great advance on
the former state of their relations with foreign
countries. I found that the Japanese were willing
enough to give me the same treaty that they had
negotiated with the United States' Minister; but
they were decidedly unwilling to go beyond the
provisions of that treaty. And you will agree that,
after all, their disinclination was not very unreason-
able, when you recollect that by these treaties we
deprive these people of their power of controlling
their own fiscal affairs. For instance, if we want
revenue, our Chanerllor of the,Exchequer and our
Parliament deal with all questions of Custorne ai

they think the interests of the country require ;
but we bind these Oriental nations by treaties which
deprive them of all discretion in the matter, and,
whatever the exigencies of their public service may
be, they are bound by treaties not to impose duties
on articles respecting which they have agreed with
other nations. Therefore, naturally, it is only fair
that all these treaties should be in the same terms,

for if they are not, then the merchants pick and
choose out of the different treaties, and then the

thing then becomes a mass of confusion, and
neither the Japanese nor those who have deal.
ings with them know what are the obligations
they have contracted. Therefore I adhered as
much as I possibly could even to the phraseology
of the American treaty, though, I think, that
if you compare my treaty with Japan with my
treaty in China, which was my own making—
I think, on the whole, the Chinese treaty stands
best of the two. I, of course, confined myself, in
asking the Japanese to make alterations as much as,
possible to the things that were of great importance
Now, the thing that I considered of the greatest im-
portance was to establish the principle of a low rate
of import duties. In the American treaty with
Japan I think 20 or 25 per cent. ad valorem was the
duty imposed on all foreign imports; and I was
quite confident that if we could induce the Japanese
to relax that duty with respect to the few articles
that entered largely into consumption, and that were

of the greatest importance, in a very short time, the
thin edge of the wedge having been inserted in that
way, we should obtain as a general rule, or in all
cases in which we desired to establish the rule, the
principle of a 5 instead of a 25 per cent. ad valorem
duty. Well, I had a great deal of difficulty in nay
task, and I must say that I found the Japanese ex-
ceedingly intelligent negotiators, very good-
humoured, but very tenacious, and very properly
tenacious, of their own rights. I, however, suc-
ceeded in inducing them to adopt the 5 per cent. ad
valorem principle with regard to cotton and woollen
manufactures. I regretted very mach at the time
that I could not obtain the insertion of linen manu-
factures, but I am bound to say that it was not of

very much importance, because at that time I did
not believe that linen goods were known at all in
that country. But I wished to explain the prin-
ciple on'which I went, and which I think has been
entirely justified by the result, because within one
year after my tariff was ratified, anolegiMopirwas
given to the wedge, and we got thelineirmanufac-
tures in also. (Hear, and applause.) The noble
lord concluded by again expressing his obligations
for the manner in which he had been received.

On leaving the Council Chamber, Lord Elgin was
conducted through the town by his Volunteer escort,
and was greeted with loud cheers by the multitudes .
that lined both sides of the way. At Ladiesmill
toll-bar the foot Volunteers returned, and before
parting, Lord Elgin, standing on the step of his
carriage, addressed a few words of congratulation
and thanks to them, remarking that while on his
march from Tien-tsin to Pekin he had read the
splendid accounts given of the Fifeshire Volunteers
and others at the great review in the Queen's Park;
He added that he had seen enough of the difficulty
of landing in an enemy's country during his late
absence from home to make him feel that they in
Fife, with their rifles, artillery, and mounted corps,
were in a very good position to defend themselves
against any enemy that dare make the experiment
of landing among them. Still escorted by the
Mounted Rifles, his lordship proceeded to Broom-
hall, where he was received by a large assemblage
of the inhabitants of Limekilns and Charleston,
and by a procession of school children displaying
banners and flags. The noble lord briefly responded
to the shouts of welcome given him, expressing his
cordial concurrence in the motto on one of the flags,
I that there was " No place like home."