The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1855-10-25
TREATY WITH JAPAN.

The Treaty with Japan, negotiated by Com
modore Perry, provides for friendly and limit
ed commercial relations between that country
and the United States. Two ports, Simoda
and Hakodade, are designated for the recep-
ton of American ships, "where they can be
supplied with wood, water, provisions, coal, and
other articles their necessities may require, so
far as the japanese have them" American
vessels thrown or wrecked on the coast of ia
pan, are to be assisted, their crew carried to
the two ports above named, and handed over
"to their countrymen appointed to receive
| them;" articles the shipwrecked may have pre-
served are to be restored; and the expenses
incurred in the rescue and surc ccc.-.. OF Ameri-
cans and .IcFdnese, who may thus be thrown
,.pon the shores of either nation, are not to be
refunded.
Thus far the treaty provides simply for the
rites of hospitality, not for commercial rela-
tons. The following articles, however, al
though obscure, evidently contemplate a linn
tied commercial intercourse, and were doubt
less designed by Commodore Perry to pave the
way for the temporary settlement of American
traders at Simoda and Hakodade:
CART. 4. Those shipwrecked persons and
other citizens Of the United States shall be free
as in other countries, and not subject to con.
tinement, but shall be amenable to Just laws.
ART. D. Shipwrecked men and other cih-
zeas Of the United States temporarily liring at
Simoda and HakOdade, shall not be subject to
such restrictions and confinement as the Dutch
and Chinese are at. Nagasski, but shall be free
ct Slmods to go where they please within the
limits OF seven japanese miles Tor ri) from a
small island in the harbor of Smoda. marked
on the accompanying chart hereto appended
and SHALL in like manner be free to go where
they please at Hakodadc, within the limits to
be defined after the visit of the United States
squadron to that place.
" ART. 6. If there be any other sort of goods
wanted, or any business which shall require to
be arranged there shall be careful deliberation
between the parties, in order to settle such mat
tiers.
art. Z. 1t is agreed that ships of the Uni
ted States, resorting to the ports open to them,
shall De permitted TO exchange gold and siluer
com and articles Of goods TOR other articles of
goods, under such regulations as shall be tenn.
porarily established by the Japanese Govern
ment tor that purpose. 1t is stipulated how
ever, that the ships of the United States shall
be permitted to carry away whatever articles
they are unwilling to exchange"
Articles four and five certainly implv the
right of American citizens, not shipwrecked on
the coast of Japan, to live at the two ports,
temporarily, without being subject to confne-
ment, and with the privilege of going where
they please, within certain limits No condi-
ton is appended: they may be there from curl
OSIty for 6
porary" is quite indefinite. The American
factor at Canton may reside there ten or twen-
ty years, intending at last to return to his own
country and home; properly, he is there, only
for time, temporarily"
The New York Courier and Enquirer an.
nounces that the Treaty is one merely of amity.
not at all OF commerce. This is hardly correct
1t purports on its face to determine "the rules
which shall in future be mutually observed in
the intercourse Of their respective countries"
That this intercourse was not to relate SIM
ply to hospitality towards shipwrecked people,
and to the supply of accessories for American
ships, is evident from the 18th article, in which
it is agreed that ships of the United States, re-
sorting to the ports open to them, shall be
permitted to exchange gold and silver coin,
and articles Of goods for other articles Of goods
under such regulations as may be temporarily
established by the Japanese Government for
that purpose" 1t might be supposed that the
articles of goods to be obtained from the Ja-
panese are only the necessaries specified in
the second article, but this construction is ex-
cluded by note to the first article, as follows
"A tariff of prices shall be given by the ia
panese officers of the things which they can
furnish, payment for ,chich shall be made in
gold and silrer coin"
But, the seventh article provides not only for
the purchase of articles, but for the exchange
of goods.
The truth is, the terms of the Treaty are not
sufficiently explicit; room was left for misun-
derstanding the Department of State ought to
have issued instructions with regard to it. 50
that American citizens might have known
clearly their privileges under the Treaty. By
a recent arrival from California, we learn that
Messrs. Reed and Dougherty, Americans, at
San Francisco, had failed in an attempt to es