The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1868-03-21
China.

Our advices from Hongkong by the Great Re
pubic are to january 18th.
Hon. ANsoN BuRLISGAsE's MISSION Great
excitement was occasioned among the foreign res
idents of China by the announcement OF the ap-
pointment of L.. S. Minister Burlingame as
Minister Plenipotentiary to the European Powers
from China. The British organs manifest a great
deal of irritated superciliousness at the selection
of an American, and talk as though the China
Government had lowered its dignity a great deal.
The North China Neacs of December Sd says;
On the evening of Saturday, the Odd ultimo,
the community of Tientsin We're startled by the
astounding news, just received from Pekin, that
Hon. Arson Burlingame, the United States Min.
mister to the Court of Picking. had been accredited
Ambassador To the Courts of Europe and Wash
ington by the Government ofhis Imperial Majesty
the Emperor of China; and that his ENcellency
takes with him as attache Mr.. Brown, other Bri-
fannie Majesty's Legation, and NJ. Deschamps, of
the Chinese customs service. 1t is supposed that
other gentlemen will be attached To the mission
but on the despatch of the letter from Picking
their names were not known to the public. His
Excellency was to leave Peking on the 18th ulti-
mo for this place and he is of course now momen-
tarily expected here. What does this step OF the
Chinese Government mean? As yet this commu-
nifty are completely in tho dark as to the special
objects-for special We take them TO be-on which
the mission goes to Europe and America. Ii
seems so strange for the representative Of q foreign
government at Peking to be suddenly transformed
into a chinese Ambassador that we are lost In
amazement at the change.
Mr.. Burlingame's salary is SAC, cooper year,
and this affords the Mani an opportunity 10 say:
"Neither in bis capacity as Z. S. Minister, nor
in his newly-aedged appointment as Chinese
Envoy. has Mr.. Burlingame had the honor of an
interview with the Son of Heaven, and his rank,
anomalous and equivoeal at the best, will not be
magniied by any undue pretensions to the position
ofan Ambassador. 1t would be impossible for the
most ardent hater of American governmental in
stitutions to wish for a more practical comment
airy upon Yankee diplomacy and d~iplomatists than
is afforded by Mr.. Burlingame's acceptance OF the
appointment under discussion. Let any one i'm
agine the appointment of Chinese Envoy offered
to the Minister of France, of Russia, Prussia,
Great Britain, or even of Spain. He would be
an old Clinaman who would venture to make
such a proposition to the representative of any of
the European powers Our American friends
will of course say that it is a mere question of
: dollars with all, but Europeans may safely reply
that the almighty dollar will not induce an Eu-
ropeap diplomatist to sell himself and his services
to the Court to which he has not been accredited"
The Tsunle Yaman have addressed dispatches
to the foreign Ministers with reference to the
status of the Chinese officials who accompany
Mr.. Burlingame. The document is to the effect
that the Chinese gentlemen are novitiates in the
art of foreign diplomacy, and that one object in
their appointment is TO fit them to represent
China at the Courts of the Treaty Powers at a
future date. The document expresses a strong
wish on the part of the Chinese to become better
understood by Foreign Powers, and eyinces a de-
sire to enter upon a course of progress.