Granville
no. 28
Tientsin
May 27 1882

My Lord,

In a telegram dated the 19th instant, I recommended adoption of the treaty accepted by the United States. The treaty will be found less liberal than the treaties between China and foreign States. I am, nevertheless, an advocate of its acceptance, partly because, with my knowledge of the trouble it has given the Americans to obtain it, I am satisfied that we shall not obtain any terms more advantageous without a resort to action such as there is not a shadow of a pretext to justify; secondly, because provision is made for reasonable modification at the end of five years. It must be remembered how reluctantly the exclusivism of this people has yielded to proposals to which the ultra-conservative majority of the upper class, unless we are misinformed, is still bigotedly opposed; and, unless perhaps in the rates of taxation of imports, which will, I presume, be discussed more in detail when the Tariff is fixed, I can honestly say that I should not have been more exacting than the Americans have shown themselves. I say this without forgetting that the Coreans have been guided mainly, if not entirely, by the Chinese in their negotiations, and that an attempt may one day be made to turn our concessions to the wishes of the Corean Government to account in negotiations between ourselves and the government of China. Thanks to the establishment of missions abroad, the relations of China with foreign Powers have so changed in character in the last few years that I am not afraid of this difficulty. Every day adds to the number of those who perceive that the ancient methods of restrictiveness avail nothing to the safety of advantage or this Empire
I have, &c.

Thomas Francis Wade