The Sun. — 1852-10-06 (London, England)

JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. From the New York Journal of Commerce, Sept. 16.) The following narrative of a visit of Captain Welsh, commander of an American East Indiaman, in 1850, to the Island of Japan, has been furnished to the New Orleans True Delta, by A. D., a California corre. spondent : " The expedition which has been recently fitted out to Japan has awakened some interest towards that comparatively unknown country, which has been so long almost sealed to the civilized barbarian of the west, and of which, in this age of progressive knowledge, so little is known. During my residence in San Francisco I became acquainted with Captain Welsh, of the ship Merlin, an Indiaman, and he gave me the particulars of a visit he made to Japan in 1850, which were highly interesting. With great personal courage, Captain Welsh possessed a superior education ; he was a man of discernment and observation, and was, withal, a gentleman, with that frank hearty manner which is so characteristic of our American captains. His statements may be implicitly relied on. While sailing off the coast of Japan some casualty occurred, which rendered it necessary for him to make the nearest land for repairs, and he accordingly put in. "On arriving in the roadstead, he took a boat with a crew armed, and pulled towards shore, which was lined with thousands of people, many of whom were apparently soldiers, and he was a little apprehensive as to the nature of his reception. He lay to a few minutes in consultation with regard to the course he should pursue, when, on looking a little higher up, he observed on a point or bluff, where the crowd was not so great, a man waving his hat, and apparently making signs for him to come there. Accordingly he pulled in that direction, and recognised by his dress a European ; and, as he approached within hearing, his ears were saluted in English with Come on, come on, for God'a sake come on ! Take me off, or I shall be murdered !' Although there were many natives at that point, no obstacle was offered to his landing; and on going ashore he was met on the beach by the European, who proved to be an Englishman, and who, as he told him, was a missionary, and had resided there three or four years. After repeating that he should be killed, he assured Captain Welsh that there was no danger, for he would be well treated, and that the natives were friendly and well disposed. In the interior, two or three miles distant, was a large city, which, from sea, struck Captain Welsh with surprise by its magnitude and the number of its domes and spires, and where, he learned, on landing, the governor of the province resided. "At first, he availed himself of the missionary as an interpreter, but, subsequently, learning his character, he would have nothing to do with him, but depended on a man he had on board, who could speak Chinese, which was understood by many of the Japanese. He was soon waited on by an officer, dressed in a peculiar costume, who inquired what he wanted, which, after disclosing, the request was transmitted to the governor, who soon returned an answer, that all be desired should be complied with.' The necessary arrangements were soon made, the ship hauled in to a safe place, and the work begun. "The intercourse between the crew and the natives