"auch cause to apprehend that Chinese "stibjects- would avail themselves of it, "there are articles in treaties between the "United States and other powers, pursuant "to which the latter might claim. from us "the same privileges for their subjects." 1 ME. Mefane, in s letter to the Hon, mates how he acted on these instructions.
Marcy, hai, 71, 1854, inti "During a conference at Kwan-shan, the "Viceroy of the Liang Kiang was urged to communicate with the Emperor at Peking, "and submit to him a project, prepared by "myself, for a more enlarged intercourse "with the interior, and especially the free "navigation of the great rivers of the "Empire. The Viceroy was startled at "suggestions so calculated to bring down the exclusiveness which for centuries had "been the settled policy of China."
This extensive project of the American Minister for making all the coast and river peti of the Chinese Enupire open to United tates commercial vessels was not carried to its completion; but it i remarkable as ing evidence of what the intentions of the United States Plenipotentiary were in the succeeding negotiations, and that the Chinese Government was fully alive to what he was going to ask from i The project and the. instructions of the Secretary for Foreign Affairs at Washington resulted in the stipulations of the Treaty of Whang-hia being consequently confitaed and. greatly extended by the United States Treaty of Tientsin, in 1858, In Article XIV it is again provided that "The citizens of the United States are por-mitted to frequent seven coast ports and "any other ports opened to commerce by "treaty with other powers, and to trade there, and to proceed at pleasure with their cessele and merchandise from any of these ports to any other of their."
hho expression of "contraband trade" used in the former treaty is here omitted, and the phrase "clandestine and fraudulent "trade at other ports not declared to be ""Jeyal," is substituted in its place, which anakes the restrictions on the coasting trade still less than the previous treaty had "Im Atlicte XV of the sume treaty, the nature of this coasting trade is more clear j defined than it had been before. At ead {of the ports open to commerce, citizen of the United States shall be permitted to import from abroad, and sell, purchase, and export all merchandise of which the importation ur exportation is not prohibited "by the las ut the Empire so. that. the permission to share in the coasting trade [Included every article of Chinese produce which Chinese merchants were not forbidden to import or export by the Imperial Ins, or, in other words, nearly every article produced and used throughout the country.
In considering the question of British treaty rights in China, it is important to bear in mind what other nations have acquired by their treaties with China, as the favoured nation clause places British rights {on the sume ground as that enjoyed by them, and hence attention has been pur posely drawn to what the United States treaty rights are regarding the coasting trade, as they indirectly establish British ghtstothesame. Itshould not, howe imagined that British rights to the coast-Ving trade are merely consequent on the United States treaty, for it will be presently sven that, the British Treaty of Tientsin specially provides for all that can be claimed caus were tins securing privileges for thei mercantile marine, Great Britain was taking milar steps to obtain like advantages for its shipping on the coast of China, The instructions which Lord Clarendon gave to Lonl Elgin, on the 20th April, 1807, foF negotiating the proposed treaty with China, state—" The demands which you are in-1 "structed to make will be 5°. A revision of "the treaties with China, with a view to "obtaining increased facilities for commerce, "such as access to cities on the great rivers,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.