Tokio, July 5, 1882
No. 76

My lord,

I have the honor to report the circumstances under which I recently instructed Mr. Aston (Her Majesty’s acting consul for Hiogo and Osaka) to proceed to Korea, in order that Admiral Willes might have the benefit of his services as Interpreter in the Korean Language.
As soon as Admiral Willes received at Hong Kong his instructions by telegraph to watch American proceedings in Korea and to secure by negotiation with the Korean authorities, if necessary, the advantages of the most favored nation, he consulted me by private letter to the best means of obtaining a competent interpreter. I at once recommended Mr. Aston on the ground that, besides being familiar with the Chinese character, he possessed an exceptional knowledge of the Korean language, both oral and written. I am not yet aware that the ability to speak this language has yet been attained by any officer of the China Consular service.
Admiral Willes subsequently visited Peking, and he there arranged with Sir Thomas Wade to take with him Mr. Spence of that service as interpreter. Mr. Spence, however, had to make the long journey from Ichang for this purpose, and on the 1st of June I received a note from Admiral Willes, written at the moment of his departure from Nagasaki to Korea, stating that it was doubtful whether Mr. Spence would be able to join him.
I therefore telegraphed to Mr. Aston to proceed at once to Nagasaki by a mail steamer which had already left Yokohama and would call at Hiogo the next day. To wait until I could give Mr. Aston written instructions would have involved the loss of a week, and in adopting this step I was supported by the receipt of Your Lordship’s Despatch, No. 35 Confidential of the 17th of April, in which you instructed me to act in concert with Admiral Willes as far as we practicable.
The Admiral had arranged that Her Majesty’s Gunvessel “Kestrel” should bring on Mr. Aston from Nagasaki to Korea in case his services were required, and presuming from the doubt expressed by the Admiral as the possibility of his being joined by Mr. Spence that they would be so required, I requested the commander of that vessel to convey Mt. Aston to the Admiral, I also instructed the former to place himself under the order of Admiral Willes and to make the best use of any opportunities that might offer for collecting information in Korea.
On the 9th of June Admiral Willes telegraphed to me from Nagasaki that he had returned there after concluding his Treaty and thanking me for sending Mr. Aston. The latter unfortunately had not joined the Admiral until two hours after he had started on his return. The Admiral added that Mr. Aston remained behind in the surveying vessel “Flying Fish” to collect information to Nagasaki by the end of the month.
I therefore instructed Mr. Aston to come on to Yokohama as soon as he arrived at Nagasaki in order that he might report the result of his observations to Admiral Willes. Mr. Aston accordingly arrived at yokohama yesterday morning, but Admiral Willes had already left on his cruize to the north of Japan and the Russian settlements two days previously.
Mr. Aston has prepared a Report for the Admiral, but in consequence of the departure of the latter he addressed it to me instead, and I am submitting a copy of it to Your Lordship in my succeeding Despatch.

I have the honor to be with the highest respect,
my Lord, Your Lordship’s most obedient, humble servant,
Harry S. Parkes