No. 33
Legation of the United States
Peking
Honorable William M. Evarts
Secretary of State

Sir: -

In my No 21 I expressed the hope that I should soon be able to send you a copy of the official report of the visit of His Royal Highness, the Duke of Genoa to Corea. The report was written by Mr. Wm Donald Spence, of the British Consular service, who accompanied the Duke as Interpreter, and is therefore formally made to the British Minister at Peking. A copy was furnished to Signor de Suca, His Italian Minister. This copy, by the courtesy of Signor de Luca and of Sir Thomas Wade I have been allowed to use with some restrictions. They desire that this communication shall for the present at least not be made public, but be treated as confidential. The Report covers ninety folio pages of manuscript, I should be glad to send the whole, but our clerical force is insufficient to accomplish this in the period during which I feel at liberty to have the manuscript copy.
But I think I can give an accurate idea of it in the full résumé, which I now present, with quotations of several pages. I believe that the information the report contains concerning Corea and the Coreans is of more value than anything I have seen published.
The Duke visited Corea party from curiosity and party to make an attempt to enter into friendly relations with such of the authorities on the coast as he might meet with. An Italian ship had some time ago been wrecked on Quelpart Island, and the only surviving sailor had been kindly treated. The Duke made this the occasion of seeking to open correspondence with the authorities in order to express the thanks of his Government for the kindness shown to the sailor.
The Report states that the books of Oppert and Ross were found to be worthless. Far more valuable proved the Histoire de l’Englise dans la Coreé, and vol. IV of Siebold’s Japan.
The first visit was to the harbor of Fusan, or Chosan, which is thus described.
“Its surroundings are fully and accurately described on page 68 of Vol. IV of the China Sea Directory of 1873. It affords a magnificent anchorage for many more ships than are likely to frequent the port, and it is open all the winter. I have little to add to the description given on the publication mentioned. All the sides of the harbor, except the South, are studded with villages, containing a resident population of ten or twelve thousand inhabitants, engaged in fishing. At certain times of the year there is an enormous influx to these fishing towns of people from the interior to catch and cure the ribbon fish which visit the harbor in schools. The Southern shore of the harbor is formed by Deer Island, a densely wooded peak some 1,500 ft. high. It is a Government reservation, where the Government steed of diminutive ponies is turned out to graze. At the time of our visit there were several hundreds of these ‘horses’ roaming about the lower slopes of Deer Island, and with the exception of their keepers, it is uninhabited. It abounds with hog deer, pheasants, wild pig, and even tigers as I myself can testify.
The country round the harbor is all within the jurisdiction of the prefect [___] of Tung-Tsai-foo [____] or, as it is called by the Coreans and Japanese, Toraifoo. The walled city of Torai is situated a few miles inland, and it is the seat of the local Government. It is with this official, dignified by the name of Governor, that Commodore Shufeldt, on behalf of the United States, and Captain Tournier, on behalf of the French Minister at Peking, tried to enter into official relations. Both these officers availed themselves of the services of the Japanese Consul at Fusan, to carry their letters to the Prefect, but, in both cases, the prefect not only refused to receive or open them, but did so in a rude and offensive manner.”
The Japanese Consul stationed here warned the Duke not to land except on Deer Island, lest his party should be attacked, and offered to forward a letter to the local authority at Torai, but gave it as his opinion that the local authority would decline to receive it. The letter was placed in his hands. Two days later the Consul sent a reply, saying that he had forwarded the letter and that the Prefect had declined to receive it because Corean law did not empower him to do so. Mr. Spence was convinced before he left Fusan that the Prefect was there visiting the Japanese Consul on one of the two days intervening between the dispatch of the letter to the Consul and the receipt of the reply. He saw the Prefect in Fusan and was told both by Coreans and Japanese of his presence at the Consuls. He naturally infers that the answers of the Prefect were written by him and the Consul together, and that the Japanese officials are pursuing the policy of throwing obstacles in the way of Europeans, who desire to gain access to the Coreans. It is clear that such access had best be sought at ports not occupied by the Japanese.
“The settlement of Fusan has been inhabited by Japanese ever since the treaty of 1615, between Japan and Corea, with which Fidejoshi concluded his victorious campaigns. It was garrisoned by the Japanese princes of Tsushima for two centuries with three or four hundred soldiers, but, for what purpose, it is hard to say. The garrison was kept under the most severe restrictions by the Corean Government, similar to those imposed by the Japanese themselves on the Dutch at Decima.
From the seat the settlement has the appearance of an ordinary Japanese town, the houses being of wood, and of the usual Japanese type. It is pleasantly situated in a magnificent grove of fir-trees of fabulous age and enormous size. Immediately on the port being opened the Japanese population rose to 700, and it has gone on increasing until there are, today, over 2,300 residents.
Every inducement is held out by the Japanese authorities to encourage settlers to come to Corea. The land on which the settlement is built is leased by the Corean Government to the Japanese for a nominal rent of $50,00 per annum. On application by any Japanese wishing to settle in Fusan, a lot of land is assigned and made over to him by the Consul, free of all charge and expense whatever, whether of initial price, or annual rent. On this lot he is at liberty to build, and he may sell or mortgage his land to any other Japanese subject, provided the consent of the Consul is obtained. The Municipal Government of the settlement is entirely in the hands of the Consul, but in matters where he desires to have the opinion and support of the public he takes no steps until he has consulted the leading merchants. The police, draining, and lighting are all attended to after the manner of European settlements in Japan; there is a Chamber of Commerce, a public hospital with duly qualified surgeons, and I believe, a large Japanese Budhistic temple.
Fusan is, as yet, a free port. There is neither an import nor an export tariff. The Corean authorities have stationed a small custom house at the jetty where goods are landed, but its functions are confined to preventing the importation of articles which are, in Corea, a government monopoly, or articles whose importation has been forbidden by treat. A tariff is at the present time in process of negotiation, and as soon as the amount of duty is agreed upon, it will be put in force.
In the year 1879, the imports were of the value of 560,000 yen. They consisted of English cotton goods, Japanese copper, foreign dye, and Japanese silk goods and notions. I visited nearly all the shops in the settlement, and carefully examined the cotton goods which were exposed for sale. I was surprised to find that they consisted entirely of ordinary English grey and white shirtings of 7 lbs. to 8 lbs. pr. piece. It is notorious in China that Corea is one of the principal markets for American sheetings, and for the heavy and more expensive cotton cloths imported into Shanghai. In the settlement of Fusan however I could not find a single piece of heavy cotton cloth either English or American. All the goods were light weight, had come from Shanghai, and bore the names and marks of BIRLEY, BRAND, REISS, HOLLIDAY, THORNE, and other well-known importing houses. The present consumption of piece-goods is from 5000 to 7000 pieces a month, and is increasing. The exports in 1879 amounted to 670,000 yen. They consist of Rice, Furs, Gold dust, dried fish, seaweed, and medicines. There is no restriction at present to the export of grain.
The volume of the trade of the port is increasing, and for the half year ended June 30th last it amounted to 760,000 yen. It is very surprising that so small a trade can support 2,300 residents. In other ways however than legitimate commerce the Japanese try to make money in Fusan, for I saw more than one large tea house where Japanese girls were entertaining crowds of Coreans with tea, music, singing, etc.
The currency of the port is Corean cash, which are more valuable and better made than Chinese. It is however only suitable for small transactions, and in order to make the smallest purchases a Corean visitor has to have two or three servants to carry the few strings of each he means to spend. The few transactions of any magnitude which take place are done by means of barter, so many pieces of cloth for so many bags of rice. A short time ago the Corean Government interdicted the export of rice, and the consequence was that the Japanese merchants lost heavily through the inability of their Corean customers to complete their contracts, and the whole trade of the port was deranged till the prohibition was removed.
The settlement swarms with Coreans during the day, who come in from the towns and villages in the neighborhood. They are ordered by law to leave every night, but many of them do not do so, and some are engaged by and live permanently with the Japanese as their domestic servants. Every Corean merchant intent on buying is accompanied apparently by half a dozen friends who advise him regarding the transaction he is about to make, and by his servants who carry a load of the international currency. The transactions, as a rule, are trifling in amount, and preceded by an interminable conversation which, in many cases, leads to nothing. Accusations of cheating are freely bandied about on both sides, and it is only after much strong language, and vigorous measurement that a piece of cloth is sold.
There is communication by steamer twice a month with Japan. The trade, besides, gives employment to about a dozen Japanese schooners of foreign type, which ply between Fusan, Simonoseki, Nagasaki, and Osaka.
The Japanese Consul is in official communication with the Prefect of Toraifoo, with whom he corresponds on a footing of equality.
The Japanese in Corea live under their own laws, administered by their Consuls. Attached to the Consulate at Fusan is a Court, a Gaol, a staff of police, and the usual official machinery for the arrest, trial, and punishment of offenders. In deciding mixed cases, as between Coreans and Japanese, in theory a most wise course is procured. When a Corean brings a case against a Japanese, the Consul tries the case by Japanese law; and pari ratione, when a Japanese brings a case against a Corean, the Prefect of Torai trys the case by Corean law. It has taken us many years of experience in China to find out that the only practical and logical solution of mixed cases is for the forum and the lex fori to that of the defendant; but Japan and Corea have blundered upon it at the very outset of their treaty intercourse.
In practice however any supposed offense by a Corean in the settlement is summarily dealt with by the first policeman who catches him, or by any Japanese who cares to assume the task of beating the offender. I regret to say that the Japanese treat the Coreans who come to the settlement merely as visitors, out of curiosity, very badly. The buffet and kick them, as they would beasts, and it seemed marvelous to me how these strong, stalwart men put up with the vile treatment they receive from the Japanese pigmies. I have no doubt that it is for this reason that stones are thrown by the Coreans at foreigners when they try to approach any of the villages which fringe the shore of the harbor of Fusan, and that the timidity and submissiveness which we found elsewhere in Corea were said to be wanting here.”
Finding it impracticably to accomplish his purpose at Fusan, the Duke departed and sailed along the Eastern coast of Corea to Yung King Bay. The general aspect of the country is thus described―.
“The physical configuration of the country, in the general outlines resembles Italy. It is traversed from North to South by an avail range of mountains which runs closest and is parallel with the East coast. The Corean rivers which flow into the Pacific are quite small, the main rivers rising to the West of the avail range and flowing Westward to the China Sea. The high east coast line which varies in height from 4000 to 6000 ft with peak rising to 8000 ft, is visible from a long distance at sea. On approaching the coast the country is seen to have a wild but attractive appearance. The mountains which, with their outlying spurs, extend close to the shore, rise in tiers, range behind range and are covered from top to bottom in dense impenetrable jungle and forest. Some of the ranges are harsh and serrated, others again are more soft and rounded; but on all there is the same undergrowth of creepers, roses, dwarf oaks, and stunted conifers on the lower slopes graduating into wild jungle and forest towards the summits. The narrow, deep valleys are cultivated and thickly populated, but the mountains are given over to wild beasts. Tigers abound everywhere and traps to catch them may be seen within a hundred yards of the sea. One is not surprised to learn that they are the plague of the country for the jungle and forests which cover the hills make it a perfect home for them.”
The vessel anchored in the northern part of Yung King Bay, called the by the Russians Port Lazareff.
“This is one of the points which the Russians are supposed to have designs upon, as a basis of operations against China. It is one of the finest harbors in the world, perfectly land locked, with waters as unruffled as a lake, and with a practically infinite space of good holding-ground in from eight to nine fathoms of water. Though fringed with ice round the shores the harbor is open in winter. We anchored from five miles from the Northern end of the bay, at which end has rivers run into it. An extraordinary account of the larger of these, from French sources, is given in the China Sea Directory Vol. IV which, however true at the time of the survey, is quite incorrect now. The French Admiral who surveyed it says that he found ten feet of water on the bar; that he sailed five miles up the channel through a smiling and cultivated plain; and that so far as he could judge from the information he procured, and the configuration of the country, the river led to the capital and was navigable a long distance. The trend of the mountain ranges is at right angles to the apparent course of the stream, and to reach the capital the river would have to cross a series of high mountains, and to flow South, instead of North as it does. Of this however when we first arrived we knew nothing, and when we came to anchor we knew no more about the country, the officials, and the people than if we had come to the moon.
The shores of this bay are a series of lovely inlets and coves with the forest and jungle clad hills dropping in a sheet of green, on the border of white sand which masks the seashore. Here and there were meadows and valleys covered with nice fields and villages.”
On landing the party was surrounded by crowds of curious people. The medium of communication was Chinese characters traced with the finger or a stick on the seashore. Every person, peasants, fisherman, boys hardly in their teens, classes who in China are uneducated, could read and write Chinese. All who wished were allowed to visit the ship and they thronged it. The next day visitors of a higher class came, including merchants and scholars. They were unwilling to talk about official matters, but were very desirous to get information. They declined to forward a letter to the capital, even when tempted by high remuneration. They said such an act was forbidden by their laws.
An examination of the mouth of the river showed that there were only three feet of water on the bar at high tide.
The following is of interest. “Hempen clothes are universally worn by the laboring classes, and the thread is spun much finer than would be possible with European hemp. I tried to get some specimens of the fibre, but I was unsuccessful. It must be the same I think as the “China flax,” which grows in the neighborhood of Newchivang, and as the importation of that fibre into England has long been desired by our flax spinners and is only restricted on account of its high price, attention will probably be called to the Corea hemp whenever the country is open. Unfortunately I did not know the specific Chinese name for the flax of Chihli and Shinking. The better classes wear white cotton clothes, and many of them boast of an overall made of foreign cotton cloth, the gloss and finish of which they much admire, for that they prefer a heavy ‘honest’ cloth, such as American sheeting. Of silk culture there was none in the country which we saw. They spin however the cocoons of wild ailanthus, and I procured hanks of their silk, which to my inexperienced eye seemed closely to resemble Shantung silk, and several sheets of eggs, for Count Candiani who is much interested in sericulture. Of ornamental artwork, such as porcelain, bronzes, etc. they have none. We saw some worthless pearls, some silver work for feminine trappings and official insignia. The ceramic art is quite rudimentary, and they attach an excessive value to the commonest Japanese ware.”
Finally four minor officials appeared saying they had been ordered to visit the ship, and announced that the Prefect also would soon come to visit the vessel. On the day following he came on a junk. He was an old and feeble man. He was seated in a sedan chair which had been lowered into the junk. He brought three secretaries, and a considerable retinue of dirty, ragged fellows, who during the visit ate and drank all that was offered them, thrust the tumblers and empty bottles up their sleeves, as opportunity offered, and stole whatever else they could.
In the conversation with the Prefect he gave his name as Li-chi-chang. He said he was an official of the Board of Transmission and Prefect of Yung Hing foo. In reply to the request to forward the letter to the sovereign, he stated that no official can address the Court directly, no matter how important the matter may be, but that it was his duty to report to the Governor what he should see and hear, and await instructions as to whether he should receive the letter.
A communication to the Prefect, signed by the Duke’s aide-de-camp, Candiani, was then placed in his hands. It pointed out the desirableness of having a treaty between Corea and Italy, by which shipwrecked mariners and vessels in want of provisions or assistance should be cared for according to terms agreed upon. It indicated the advantage of treaties with foreign nations, who should be interested then in protecting the independence of Corea, if it should be threatened by some one nation. It asked that the Prefect would bring these things to the notice of his Government so that when after two months the ship should return, the intentions of the Government might be known.
The Prefect promised to report the dispatch and the conversation to the Governor. He respectfully declined a present of cakes and wine, which was tendered to him, saying that is was forbidden by law to take gifts without permission. He appeared to be a man of intelligence and constantly consulted his secretaries as to his answers. In closing the account of this interview, the Report says.
“During the interview and its close the numerous staff which crowded the room regaled themselves with wines, sweetmeats, and cigars. Not one of them showed the respect for Corean laws that was professed by the Prefect, or the same reluctance to take a souvenir of the visit in the shape of an empty bottle or a biscuit-tin. They wrangled for the possession of the most worthless articles, and many of them slipped up their sleeves the tumblers and glasses they had been drinking out of.
The Prefect and his staff at last left the ship. As before he was dragged along the deck by his two youths, and literally bundled down the gangway into his sedan chair in the junk. The noisy and hilarious staff poured in after him laden with the trumpery trophies of their visit with which they had been presented or which they had stolen, all in the highest good spirits. Then came the soldiers and attendants who had spent the time in wandering about the ship. They were similarly laden with gifts of biscuit, etc. by the sailors, who were much amused by their praiseworthy attempts to devour everything given them, even soap. The Prince gave orders for the steam launch to tow the Prefect’s two junks to the point where he wished to land. They departed in the midst of much din, for amongst the tatterdemalion followers was a numerous and noisy band of music which blew and banged in the lustiest and the most imposing manner. The spectacle of the two junks crowded with picturesque retainers as they were towed away in a chorus of shouting, laughter, Corean drums and trumpets, and finally, the booming of our big guns, was one of the most diverting and impressive I have ever seen.
The interview lasted nearly four hours, and was in some respects an unpleasant and trying ordeal. The filth of even the official class is extreme, and as an example of what is almost too disgusting to write about, I saw one of the secretaries performing for the hair of his colleague, the same good offices that one monkey may be observed doing for another in the zoological gardens.”
A final visit was made on August 15th, to the villages on the shore of the bay. The inhabitants all knew of the visit of the Prefect, and were very cordial. They sold no supplies to the Italians, declaring that if they were found with a foreign coin in their possession, they would be heavily punished and run some risk of losing their heads.
One singular incident is worthy of notice. The natives objected seriously to the gathering of oysters by the Italian sailors, who stripped off their clothes in order to procure the shellfish. On careful inquiry it was found that the objection was not to gathering the oysters, but to the sailors going naked into the water. The nations declared that on account of this indecent conduct their women had been obliged to keep indoors, but if the men would put on some clothing, they might freely take oysters. This modesty is surprising to one familiar with the habits of the Chinese and the Japanese. The poorest classes of the Coreans even while at work in the fields are always decently clad, and the women never show even their faces to strangers.
On the 15th of August the Duke proceeded with his vessel to the lately opened port of Gensan, which is situated on the southern shore of Yung-Hing Bay, about 12 miles distant from the former anchorage. It is the second of the three ports open to the Japanese by treaty. The Report says.
“The third port has not yet been agreed to, as the Japanese wish it to be on the West coast, and in proximity to Seoul. To this the Coreans object. Gensan has only been open four months, and, as yet, there is no trade. The only communication with Japan is one steamer every two months. There are at present 300 settlers, but, of these, nearly one third are soldiers or policemen. The houses in the settlement are being built in the Japanese adaptation of European style which is common in the modern parts of Tokio. The Bay, at this part, is so exposed that the harbor is virtually an open roadstead, and the side of the settlement does not appear to me to be wisely selected, either for an anchorage or as possessed of the best communications with the interior. I understood, however, that the Coreans would not consent to give a site at the Yung Hing end of the bay. A Consul General is stationed at Gensan, and he is in official correspondence with the Prefect of Tê Yïran. He has a large staff of student Interpreters, who are studying the Corean language. Communication between the new port and the capital is bad: a mere footpath over high ranges of hills.
At this port again, I regret to say I have to bear witness to the brutal manner in which the Japanese treat the Coreans. I do not think that the worst class of European rowdies would behave so badly to harmless and inoffensive Asiatics, as one finds the Japanese in Corea behaving to the Coreans. For example I saw one Japanese take a pail of dirty water, and throw it into the face of a grave, dignified, and well dressed Corean, for no other reason than that he was gazing with some interest at the new houses, and probably to make the by standing Japanese laugh, which they did, heartily. I have little doubt that in a year or two it will be as difficult for foreigners to land in the neighborhood of Gensan, as it is reported to be now in the vicinity of Fusan. I told the Consul General what I thought of the conduct of his nationals, but he seemed to think that all Coreans were bad, and that a promiscuous kick could not fail to fall upon a Corean who richly deserved it. He gave the Prince the usual caution about the danger of walking without the settlement limits, unless for a short distance with an escort. The Prince himself had some experience of the Coreans by this time, and had no fear of the unpleasant consequences of country walks. Accompanied by his aides-de-camp and myself, we spent three days very pleasantly shooting, fishing and roaming about the hills and coasts near Gensan. We were molested by nobody. The demeanor of the inhabitants was the same here as we had found it elsewhere. Fine men physically, much finer than the Japanese or Chinese, they have an upright bold manner, and the timidity they exhibit at strange sights and strange sounds is the timidity of ignorance, not of a craven spirit. For the rest, they are exceedingly inquisitive and filthy in their persons.”
The visit ended on the 19th of August.
I think you will agree with me that this Report is of great interest and importance. It appears that the trade of Fusan is already more than a million and a half Japanese yen a year or more than a million of our dollars. It appears too that the habits and tastes of the people are such as to promise in due time a considerable market for ‘honest’ American goods. At Port Lazareff the better classes express a distinct preference for them over the lighter and sized English goods. The peculiar quality of the hemp at the place is also worthy the attention of manufacturers of linen.
It is noteworthy that the mixed Court system, which we are using in China, is in full operation at the Japanese settlements. Doubtless the experience of Western nations here has suggested the adoption of the plan.
Nothing, which is told concerning the inhabitants is more surprising than their modestly and their attainments in reading and writing, unless it be their mildness and kindness to visitors.
The description of the ports, and especially of port Lazareff, on which it is thought the Russians are looking with longing eyes, will attract your attention.
But you will probably consider with special interest the indications that the Japanese authorities are endeavoring to appropriate to themselves whatever advantages are to be gained from intercourse with Corea. I believe there is much other testimony to the same effect. But of course such an effort on the part of Japan must before long prove futile.

I have the honor to be,
Sir,
Your obedient servant,
James B. Angell