New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-09-29
TOWNSEND HARRIS.
THE MAN WHO ROUsED JAPAN fhoM
ITS rEUDAL sLUMBERs


ory Of an extraordinary man. That the sre"'.''
victories Of foreign diplomacy in Japan at 'he
ou,set should have been won by man VINO hau
M sneciaI training for his task has always peen
a matter of surprise and even Americans nave
hesn too ant 10 take for granted the Claims Oh
Ensl,shmen that wtRhout Lord Elgin the treaty
making Of 1858 would have been iaiiure' MI
0rifis shows that this was not the case anu HIS
evidence is largely drawn from harris wv"
Journal in which the occurrences OF eaoH ""'
were set down almost at the moment "heh '"es
took place without any chance Tor altei'ho"en'e
II turned out that the training which haifis "au
h,,s,ross man was the best that he could
h.v6 had for his work in Japan. He was the
hotter Consul General and Minister FOR not peins
aware of the many devious courses whlch d man
acquainted with the ways OF Courts ana Caoihe's
might have adopted. 1t is agreed by all oipio-
matists now that the most direct line Is 'he
best with the willy but yielding races OF ASIA
Almost unconsciously this was the principe 'na'
Guided Harris all the time of his residence In
the East He honest and straightior"alu'
He did not know how to be otherwise ana ne
oauauv nressed the japanese officials who
were appointed to confer with him into corner
wbere they also had to be honest This was
ACCOMPLISHED in the face Of difficulties that
must have seemed insurmountable at first Inc
American envoy had the prestige OF Commodore
Perrv's successful negotiations as starting
no,nt but as for himself he had barely standing
room 10 begin with, in an obscure coast Town
which could easily be shut off from all cominu-
nicat.on with the rest Of the empire
II is when the difficulties Of the task OF OPEN
ing Japan are considered that the Vaiue Is uii-
derstood of Harriss preliminary training as oe-
scribed by Mr.. Griffis. His earliest lessons were
those of patriotism and dislike for thgiahu'
In the War of 1872 which began when ne was
boy Of eight years his gTandfather's house near
Ticonderoga was burned by the British troops OF
nv Indians in British pay Resentment ior tnis
act of barbarity cherished by MS grahu-
mother. Thankful Townsend Harris. to the DAY
., her death. and he caught so much Of the feel
ing that he never used Sheffield kn1e nor wore
a scran Of English cloth His grandmother,
saws Mr. Grifiis. taught him ITO tell the TRUTH
fear God. and hate the British" He was not the
man to disguise his likes or d!shkes, and the
lessons of his youth must not be forgotten in the
per,sal Of English comments upon him ana MS
achievements-such for example, as described him
"a "not a diplomatist but a plain, honest-hearted
gentleman" AS boy he loved books ana study.
Rut the education with which he started in life
was the little he could attain before his thir-
teenth wear in a village school and academy or
New-York State. Then his active career began
18th employment as a clerk in this city. SUISSE
ouently he Joined his father and brother IN the
business OF importing china and earthenware
His interests as business man led him to cher
ish curiosity about foreign lands, especially
those of the Far East. He devoted his leisure
10 study. mastered French Spanish and Italian
and made himself acquainted with the most I'M
portant fields OF European literature. mus IN
1s49 he was no ordinary merchant with horl-
ION bounded by ledgers and price-lists. But he
had as vet never been outside or ms natlVe
country. 1t was only when his mother died that
he ceased to feel the ties of home few months
after that event he sold out his business and
bought a half interest in a ship which carried
him around Cape Horn TO San Francisco. Was
he a victim of the gold fever Of 1S49? There is no
sign of It. and above all no inkling at that time
of what the future had in store for him.
What really happened was that he bought the
other half of his ship and began series OF trad
ing voyages 10 China, India and the South sea
Islands that lasted for five years. The range of
his travels In these years is shown by his record
Of the places where he celebrated Christmas. In
1s49 he was at sea in the North Pacific Ocean
The next year he was at Manila, then at Puo-
Penang next at Singapore. in another twelve
month at Hong Kong. the next year at Calcutta
then in Ceylon. and finally in 1856 in Japan In
these days Of steam and ocean tramps, the list
might easily be duplicated but 1T was different
in those days. Besides he visited many regions
which he never on Christmas Day He
seems to have learned all the ms and outs OF
the Malay Archipelago. of the Dutch East In
dies and even to have gone far as Australia
1t Is said that he spent one night with the chief
OF tribe Of man-eaters. THE snoke-blackened
and soot-festooned hut" adds Mr.. Grfis, was
decorated with dado OF human skulls The
Americans host not only eXpatated on the
merits Of man-meat. but even touched with his
fingers Mr.. Harriss body at those parts where
he declared the choicest bits were to be found"
This interesting. but 1t might be said that
1t not training for diplomacy. But man
who could enjoy the knocking about from port
TO port now in the harbor of city like Cal
cutta, and again casting anchor in the lagoon OF
a coral island infested by cannibals. must acquire
a knowledge Of human nature, such as even the
best foreign office would never give. Mr.. Griffis
grows eloquent on this point. Such an expert
ence. in his opinion. was admirably calculated
to increase his knowledge of Malay. insular and
Oriental human nature, and to give him wide
practical knowledge OF the laws Of nations and of
the conditions Of trade and exchange. Above all,
1t would fit him to take part in the solution Of that
supreme wordprobem Of the nineteenth and
twentieth centures-the harmony OF Christen-
dom with Buddhadom and the reconciliation of
Occidental and Oriental civilizations"
Harris was not to go TO Japan without some
knowledge from within Of consular duties. He
Is said to have been acting Vice Consul at Ming
po for a short time. and he was well enough
known in the East to venture on a congratua-
tory letter to Commodore Perry upon the atter's
success in Japan and TO receive cordial reply
He also brought himself to the attention OF the
Government at Washington by urging the pur-
chase of Formosa. His plan apparently
feasible, but its only result was to convince his
old friend, Secretary Marcy. that he might be
made useful In the East Mr.. Grffs does not in
dictate that Harris up to this time had any dip
omatic yearnings. but he does to hint that