Washington telegraph., 1853-11-30
From the Washington Sentinel
THE JAPAN EXPEDITION.
Letter from an Officer OF t2se u. S.
steamer SgSsEicaiaRREaa.

We are under great obligations for the
privilege of publishing the following ex-
tracts from a letter written by a prominent
and distinguished officer OF the u. States
Navy, to his estlnabie wife, resident III THIS
city.
FRIDAY, July 8, 1858.
"'Tis distance lends enchantment to the
view" Here we are in the harbor of jed
do after running over nearly 10000 miles
of various seas and Of various cllmes-here
at anchor, four miles higher up the bay than
has ever yet anchored ship bearing
Christian flag. We anchored at ) P. m,
and soon large boats, rowed cheeriiy, with
about 20 men, and in each some manda-
rims, or gentlemen with two swords, neat
and well dressed came swarmlng off. with
determination fell to come on board, demand
the name, the nation and the intentions OF
the four crafts thus coming boldly IN: IN
10y and calm They were met with wave
ut the hand and-"heep OHIO one allow
ed to come on board save the highest Man
DARN" This literally took them aback
but they clustered together and INSISTED up
on adnttance At last a voice said. III
Dutch-'.Do you speak Hollander p And
soon the Commodore clerk, Mr. Postman,
was in high conlab.
After much persuasion on their part, and
their insisting that one OF thela was a high
mandariL tue Commodore ordered me to
put on my uniform, and TO receive hlm and
the Interpreter on board III the cabin, and
to represent himself Sayiag that our mission
is a friendly one We are the bearers Of
letter from the President OF the United
States to his Majesty of Japan, that it was
necessary to send on board a high mandarin
to receive the letter. Again, was 10 Insist
upon it, that boats should not lie, by the
hundred near and around our ships, thus
guarding and watching US, as has been their
custom. (The Columbus and Vincennes
having from 500 to 1000 boats around
them constantly, all linked together) That
we would not submit to this, but would
drive them off. Here you have the basis Of
my instructions. Thus armed, | took Mr..
Mandarin aud Interpreter, with my two in
terpIeters-Mr Williams, in Chinese, and
Mr. Postman III Dutch-into the cabin
After being seated moment, Mr. Man
DARN arose, made Sata0n n la Japanese
and then extending his hand we shook hands
then seated ourselves, using Mr.. Postman
as interpreter. as the japanese Interpreter
spoke Dutch f1uently, | thus opened: Tell
the lieutenant Governor {for such was the
mandarin) that AM the aid Of our Chief
the Admiral, and am instructed to speak for
him. We have come here on friendly
mission, with friendly Intentions to deliver
a letter IRON the President OF the IT, States
to your sovereign, the Emperor Of Japan;
ttat the letter is ready for delivery by nine
O'Clock tomorrow, to any mandarin suffi-
clently high to receive it. TO this was re-
pled-''lt must be referred to higher pow
ers to know who can receive the letter. =
then asked-"How long will it take to
give US an answer ," They could not tell.
said--"l think the sooner the better, as
we are anxious to be off - The reply was
L do not think it will take long" and it
was then understood that in the morning
mandarin would be off to receive the let
ter
then emphatically said-"This ship has
on board the chlef-there is his pennant.-
All messages from shore must come here by
high mandarin. No boats must 90 to the
other ships their commanders have orders
not to permit intercourse they have no
rlSht to think, and must obey We insist
lnat no boats shall hang around our vessels
70 m, watch them.'' This was cot palatable.-
Ihey said-"It is japanese custom, law.
a,o 'In we must carry them out" Says /
leil him, sir, that we, too, have our Gus
.oms' and with men-ot-wa one of the laws
~ that no boat is allowed to come within
certain range" There was no positive con-
sent gwen just then as to what they would
uU,, u9 they evaded it by asking questions
where are you from - ''From the Uni
tea States of America "Yes, but what
part-H ashlngton, New York, Boston ?'"-
'iy surprise was SO great that smiled, and