Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-04-23
Legation Burned

the middle of the last century and to plac.
| THESE al the disposal of our minister.
Legation Burned
One OF our ministers to Japan was burned
| out, apparently by plot This was Robert
| h. Pfuyn. who succeeded Mr.. Harris in
1861. The status of the land of flowers and
pretty tea-house girls was then rather
chaotic, and no one seemed to know
whether the mikado or the tycoon was The
actual ruler of Japan. During complica-
tons which ensued we got into a naval
brush with one of the feudal lords of Japan
and sank two of his ships. The British.
French and Dutch took a hand with us and
helped us demolish the Notifications and
capture the guns of this powerful noble,
who opposed our treaty stipulatlons OBJ
tanned nom the tycoon. whom we had recog-
nzed.
In May. g. while things were pretty
warm at home. our legation at Tokyo was
totally destroyed by fire which broke out
in the kitchen at am. The personal loss
| to Minister Pruyn was 5000 In furniture.
books and clothing, for there were no fire
insurance companies in Japan in those days.
A heavy rain fell while the fire ragged and
the archives of the legation were damaged.
Japanese houses in those days were finder
boxes, built of light WOOD and partitioned
With paper.
A plot was suspected by Minister Pruyn.
During his absence few days previous, his
secretary had discovered some priests of
tie nearby temple in the act of making
measurements of the legation and noting
them upon plans spread out before them. 1t
was then the Japanese custom to keep the
plans of house about to be burned Cor
political purposes, that 1t might be repro
duced. Mr.. Pruyn's suspicious were .n-
creased by the fact that the British legation
had just been burned under similar circunl-
stances and that pressure was being applied
to have the foreign diplomats remove 10
Secretary Seward took the ground that
the burning of the legation was committed
by incendiaries and for political purposes;
that Japan could perhaps have foreseen
and prevented it," An indemnity of SO 900
for this offense, and of twice as much for
atrocities upon three American citizens 1T
tackled about the same time was demanded.
Plot to Kill Our Envoy.
After being burned out, Mr.. Pruyn. with
two assistants, slept for week upon hard
mats on the floor of a single room in the
house of priest, outside the line of guards
which protected foreign diplomats. These
quarters, which had been assigned by the
japanese officials. were vacated after notif-
cation by the minister of foreign affairs of
the discovery OF plot to attack Mr. Pruyn
and his suite. 1t was claimed that 800
"ronins" or ''two-sword men were after
our minister's head. He was escorted
to the wharf by full regiment of guards
and packed off tc Yokohama. The legation
later moved to kanagawa, and there re-
manned while the Japanese government was
completing new quarters for ii at Tokyo.
The mikado later offered to present us
with a valuable tract of land wherein TO
build legation. His offer was made in De-
cember, 1884, through Count Inouye, min
lister for foreign affairs, and John A. Bling
ham, our minister. The mikado sent word
that he desired the gift to be a token Of
friendship. and that IT should be in per-
petuity. The tract comprised five acres
and was worth $4,000. England Germany
Italy, Russia and China had previously ae-
cepted similar grants, and had erected
buildings upon them. President Arthur
recommended that Congress authorize ac-
ceptarce. which 1t never did and we con-
tinued to pay So. 400 in rental until 1896
when Congress appropriated the sum stated
for the purchase of the site which we then
occupied JOHN ELFRETH WATKINS.