The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1860-01-12

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) or general convention Of peace, amity ane
, commerce" with that Empire was conclu
: ded at Mientsin on the 18th Of June, 1853
and was ratified by the President, by and
J with the advice and consent Of the Senate
on the 2lst December following. I'd
! On the 18th December, 1853, John T..
Ward, distinguished citizen of Georgia,
wasduly commissioned as envoy extraor.
dinary and minister plenipotentiary to
4 China. He left the United States for the
2 place Of his destination on the 5th of Feb.
ruary 1859, bearing With him the ratified
copy of this treaty, and arrived at Shang.
hae on the 2sth May. From thence he
proceeded to Pekin, on the 18th June,
but did not arrive at that city until the
! 9th July. According to the terms Of
the treaty the ratiications were to be ex-
changed on or before the 18th Of June,
1859. This was rendered impossible by
reasons and excnts beyond liS control, not
\ necessary to detail; but seilf it Is due to
the Chinese authorities at Shanghae to state
that they always assured him no advantage
should be taken of the delay, and this
pledge has been faithfully redeemed. ,~
On the arrival Of Mfr. Ward at Pekin,
he requested an audience Of the Emperor
/ to present his letter Of credence. This he
did not obtain in consequence Of his very
proper refusal to submit to the humiliat-
ing ceremonies required by the etiquette
Of this strange people in approaching their
sovereign. Nevertheless the interviews
on this question were conducted in the
most friendly spirit and with all due regard
to his personal feelings and the honor Of
! his country. When a presentation to his
/ Majesty was found to be impossible the
| letter Of crcdence from the President of
the United States MAS received with pecu-
liar honors by kueling. " the Emderors
Prime Minister and the second man in the
Empire to the Emperor himself" The
Publications of the treaty were afterwards,
on the l4th Of August, exchanged in prop
er form at Pei-tsung. As the exchange
did not take place until the dap prescribed
by the treaty, it is deemed proper. before
its publication, again to submit it to the
Senate. a.
1t is but simple justice to the Chinese au-
thorlties to observe, that, throughout the
whole transaction they appeared to have
acted in good faith and in friendly spirit
towards the United States. It is true this
has been done after their own peculiar fash
ion-but we ought to regard with lcni-
! ent eye the ancient customs of an empire
dating back for thousands of years, so far
as this may be consistent with our nation.
al honor. The conduct ofour minister on
the occasion has received my entire appro-
baton. .-s - ,a''
In order to carry out the spirit of this
treaty, and to give it full effect it became
necessary to conclude two supplemental
and satisfaction of the claims of our citi
zens, and the other to fix the tariff on i'm
ports and exports, and to regulate the
transit duties and trade of our merchants
with China This duty satisfactorily
performed by our late minister These
conventions bear date at Shanghai on the
Sth Of November, 1883. Having been
considered in the light of binding agree
ments subsidiary to the principal treaty,
and to be carried into execution without
delay, they do not provide for any formal
ratifcations or exchange of ratifcations by
the contracting parties. This was not deem
ed necessary by the Chinese, who are al
ready proceeding in good faith to satisfy
the claims of our citizens, and it is hoped.
to carry out the other provisions of the
conventions. Still | thought it was prop.
er to submit them to the Senate. by which
they were ratified on the Sd March, 1859.
The ratified copies, however, did not reach
Shanghai until after the departure Of our
minister to Pekin, and these conventions
could not, therefore, be exchanged at the
same time with the principal treaty. No
doubt is entertained that they will be rati-
fled and exchanged by the Chinese govern
ment should this be thought advisable;
but, under the circumstances presented, |
shall consider them binding engagements
from their date on both parties, and cause
them to be published as such for the intor-
nation and guidance Of our merchants
trading with the Chinese empire.
1t affords me much satisfaction to inform |
you that our difficulties with the Republic
of Paraguay have been satisfactorily ad-
justed. 1t happily did not become neces-
sary to employ the force for this purpose
which Congress had placed at my command,
under their joint resolution Of ID June,
1858. On the contrary, the President of
that Republic, in friendly spirit, acceded
promptly to the just and reasonable de-
mands of the government Of the United
States. Our commissioner arrived at AS
sumption, the Capital of the Republic, on
the 25th of January, 1850, and left it on
the 18th of February, having in three
weeks ably and successfully accomplished
all the objects Of his mission. The treaties
which he has concluded will be immediate
ly submitted to the Senate.
In the view that the employ ment of 9TH
cr than peaceful means might be necessary
to obtain ''just satisfaction from Paraguay,
strong naval force was concentrated in
the waters of the La Plata to await contin-
gencies, whilst our Commissioner ascendcd
the rivers to Assumption. The Navy
Department is entitled to great credit for
the promptness, efficiency and economy
with which this expedition was fitted out
and conducted. 1t consisted Of nineteen
armed vessels, great and small, carrying
900 guns and $500 men, all under the
command of the veteran and gallant Shu-