Sir H.S. Parkes to Earl Granville.―(Received April 14)

(No. 35)
Tôkiô, March 9, 1883

My Lord,

VICE-ADMIRAL WILLES having been so good as to place the services of Her Majesty’s ship “Moorhen” at my disposal to convey Mr. Aston to Corea, I have arranged that he shall leave Nagasaki about the 14th instant.
I inclose copies of the instructions I have furnished to Mr. Aston, and also of three letters which I have addressed to the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Corea, and to the late Corean Envoy to Japan, in order that the Corean Government may be clearly informed of the objects of Mr. Aston’s mission.
As the American mail, by which I am writing, is on the point of departure, I am unable by this opportunity to furnish the observations which I wish to submit to your Lordship on those instructions and letters; but as the instructions themselves are very detailed I trust that, in the meantime, they will carry with them sufficient explanation.
I can only now add that I attach considerable importance to Mr. Aston being accompanied by Kim Ok-kiun, the Confidential Agent of the King of Corea; that the latter cordially concurred in my view that Mr. Aston should be sent as soon as possible, and that his co-operation would probably not have been secured unless Mr. Aston had gone at once, as he (Kim Ok-kiun) was on the point of leaving Tôkiô when I informed him that I intended to send Mr. Aston to Korea.
I had these circumstances in view when I telegraphed to Vice-Admiral Willes (as I have reported in my despatch No. 33 of this date) that I had additional important reasons for desiring that Mr. Aston should be promptly dispatched.

I have, &c.
(Signed) HARRY S. PARKES

Inclosure 1

Sir H.S. Parkes to Consul Aston.

(Confidential and Separate)
Tôkiô, March 6, 1883

Sir,

I HAVE to instruct you to proceed to Corea on service which appears to me to call for the following explanation:
In a despatch, dated the 15th December last, Earl Granville instructed me that, having had under consideration your Memorandum of the 12th October, in which you point out the difficulties which will be met with in securing suitable house accommodation for the Diplomatic or Consular officers who may eventually be appointed to reside in Corea, his Lordship deemed it desirable that I should make further inquiry as to the places most suitable for the establishment of Consular residences in that country, and obtain the refusal of eligible sites at the ports where they are likely to be required.
Knowing that I should be unable to prosecute such an inquiry in Japan, I obtained, by telegraph, the sanction of his Lordship to dispatch you to Corea for this purpose. I am sensible that his Lordship, in approving this step, may have been influenced in some measure by my representation that, even if you should not be successful in securing the refusal of such sites, you would still be able to obtain valuable information as to the existing state of affairs in Corea. The latter forms, therefore, another object of your mission, and, in view of its general and important character, I think it more convenient to consider it first, and to put you in possession of some particulars which will enable you to understand the character of the information which it is desirable you should endeavour to gain.
In the despatch in which Earl Granville instructed me to make inquiry as to Consular sites his Lordship also informed me that Her Majesty’s Government are not yet prepared, without further information on various points raised in the Treaty between Great Britain and Corea, which was signed by Vice-Admiral Willes in May last, and with regard to which investigation is being made, to ratify that Treaty as it stands. It is not impossible, I think, that this view may be confirmed by the information his Lordship will have received, subsequent to the date of that despatch, relative to the arrangements concluded towards the close of last year between China and Corea, which confer on the former country commercial privileges of greater value than those secured to British subjects under Vice-Admiral Willes’ Treaty.
I had occasion to discuss these arrangements with Pak Yonghyo, the senior of the two Corean Envoys who were lately accredited to Japan, and he assured me that though he was not authorized to pledge his Government to such a step, he believed that the latter would be willing to make a new Treaty with Great Britain, conceding the same Tariff as that granted to China, provided Her Majesty’s Government made proposals to the Corean Government direct, and not through China. Having telegraphed this information to Earl Granville, his Lordship replied that if the Corean Envoys could get authority from their Government to negotiate on the above-mentioned basis, Her Majesty’s Government would be happy to entertain their proposals.
The envoys had unfortunately left Tôkiô on their return to Corea when I received his instruction, but I advised Kim Ok-kiun, the Confidential Agent of the King of Corea, who, together with the Envoys, had repeatedly assured me that His Majesty was most anxious to see Treaty relations speedily established between his kingdom and Great Britain, that if the Corean Government wished to promote that object they should lose no time in intimating their willingness to negotiate with Her Majesty’s Government a new Treaty based in regard to commercial matters on similar conditions to those which Corea has granted to China and Japan.
Kim Ok-kiun assured me that he would convey this intimation to the senior Envoy, but when speaking with me on the subject on the 20th ultimo, he observed to me that though his government were sensible of the importance of such a step, they had yet taken no decision on the subject.
At the interview which I held with him on the 2nd instant, and at which you were the medium of communication, he stated that he was confident that commercial conditions were altogether secondary in the estimation of the King to the friendly relations and recognition of political position which Corea would secure by Treaties with foreign Powers, and that His Majesty attached special value to the friendship of Great Britain. But that, as the United States had ratified that Treaty with Corea, it would now be difficult for the latter to offer to alter the Treaty with Great Britain. He admitted that the high duties of those Treaties were unparalleled in the East, and would prevent the growth of trade; but he believed his Government, after some experience of the working of the Treaties, would themselves perceive that the duties were too high, and would spontaneously offer to reduce them. He therefore hoped that Great Britain would follow the example of the United States, that is, ratify the Treaty first and trust to its being subsequently amended.
I replied that I doubted whether such a course would be acceptable to Her Majesty’s Government, as it was manifestly undesirable to ratify a Treaty that was known to be defective, and the injurious consequences of our doing so in this instance might not be limited to our interests in Corea alone, but might also affect those in China and Japan, which were of much greater importance than the former. If Corea really wished for friendly relations with Great Britain, which were obviously of more importance to the former than to the latter, she should offer Great Britain sufficient inducements to enter into those relations.
She could now understand the deficiencies of the Treaty made last spring, and could perceive that a friendship based on such conditions was not likely to be valued by Great Britain or to prove advantageous to Corea. The former, with due regard to her own dignity, could not occupy in Corea an inferior position to China or Japan, and if Corea desired a Treaty with Great Britain, she should signify her willingness to extend to the latter the treatment of the most favoured nation.
Both the friendship and the political status of Corea would necessarily be judged by her action. If she were willing to treat on the above basis she would attest by doing so the reality of her friendship, and also her independence in regard to her relations with foreign States. It seemed to me very important that my Government should obtain definite information as to her disposition and her power in these respects, and as he had informed me that his Government had taken no decision on the communication already made to them through the Envoys, I thought it would be desirable to send an officer to the capital in order to ascertain what their views and position in regard to independent negotiations really were. You are aware that Kim Ok-kiun cordially concurred in this suggestion, and on my saying that I should depute you to proceed on this service he at once volunteered to accompany you.
I reached this point, as you will have noticed, without having had occasion to inform him that I had been instructed by Earl Granville to send you to Corea for the particular purpose of selecting Consular sites, although I subsequently apprized him that this would be one of the objects of your visit.
This recital appears necessary, in order that you may perceive the character of the overtures which it is desirable that the Corean Government should make to that of Her Majesty, and the tone which you should use in discussing the subject with them. Although I see no objection to your acquainting them that the views of Her Majesty’s Government in regard to the ratification of the Treaty are likely to be influenced by similar considerations to those which I expressed to Kim Ok-kiun, I do not think that you should press the Corean Government to negotiate a fresh Treaty, but should rather appear to leave it to them to elect the course which their own interests may prompt them to adopt. It is impossible at present to judge either of their own inclinations in this respect, or as to how far they are able to act independently of China in regard to their relations with foreign Powers. But your communications with them will oblige them to make some declaration of their views, and whether these should be favourable to the negotiation of a fresh Treaty or not, the information cannot fail to be valuable to Her Majesty’s Government. It would be desirable that you should communicate to me by telegraph any definite information that you may obtain on this subject, and if you can do so more expeditiously by way of Shanghae you should send your message (in Cypher N), under cover, to Her Majesty’s Consul at that port.
The question of the selection of sites for the residences of Diplomatic or Consular officers will afford you, I think, a practical opportunity of eliciting from the Corean Government some disclosure of their policy and opinions, and it therefore possesses a value apart from its own merits. In treating with them on this subject, you will be entirely guided by the instructions contained in Earl Granville’s despatch to me, of which I inclose a copy. I think, however, that the field of this inquiry may advantageously be extended to sites for settlements, of which it would also be desirable to secure the refusal, if such can be obtained. At several of the ports in China the site of the settlement appropriated to British subjects has been leased by the Chinese Government to that of Her Majesty, who have sublet it to British occupants, and as similar arrangements have been made by Japan in Corea, the Corean Government may see the reasonableness of extending those arrangements to ourselves.
Chemulpho (or Jinchuen) will, I presume, have to be selected as one of the three ports to be opened to foreign trade, and I conclude that the remaining two must be Pusan and Wönsan. In view of the distance of the latter port I trust it will not be necessary for you to visit it, on the present occasion at least, but trust that your knowledge of the locality will enable you to indicate, when at Söul, the site which you think suitable at that port. It may be necessary, however, that you should visit Pusan to effect a selection, and I have accordingly to authorize you to request the Commander of Her Majesty’s ship in which you will proceed to Corea to take you there on returning from the capital. You will also endeavour to bespeak a site at Yang-hwa-chin (or the town close to Söul, which will be opened under the Japanese Convention of last August), and it is particularly desirable that you should endeavour to secure at the capital accommodation for the residence of any diplomatic officer that may eventually be sent to Corea. As to the terms upon which such sites may be obtainable, I can, of course, say nothing, and you will be careful, in accordance with Earl Granville’s directions, not to commit Her Majesty’s Government to any expenditure, present or prospective, in this account; but in discussing the subject with the Corean authorities, you will naturally be guided by the terms under which the Japanese Government hold their settlements at Pusan and Wönsan, and the arrangements which you may find they have already concluded at Chemulpho, which was formally opened to Japanese trade on the 1st January last.
I need not point out to you the desirability of obtaining as much information as possible relative to the constitution and organization of the Corean Government, and their ability to control their people, the state of political parties, the conditions under which Chinese and Japanese are residing and trading in Corea, and the disposition of the people toward foreigners.
Another important subject of observation is the position assumed by China in that country, and the manner in which this is regarded by the Corean Government, the strength of the Chinese force now stationed there, and the objects and probable duration of this military occupation. The relations of the Japanese Minister of Söul with the Corean government, and the circumstances attending the maintenance there of a considerable guard, are also deserving of notice.
You will also naturally obtain all the particulars you can collect relative to the recent action of the Corean Government (taken mainly, it is believed, under the advice of Chinese Agents) as to the framing of the Customs Tariff, the organization of a Customs Service, or as to any other arrangements which they may be making for the management of foreign commerce. It is manifestly undesirable that your communications with the Corean Government should be conducted through the intervention of Makien-chang[sic] or M. Möllendorf (whose precise position in Corea you will endeavour to ascertain), but I must leave it to you to judge how far you should endeavour to check interference on their part in your affairs, or to avail yourself of their assistance if one or the other should be willing to render you any.
As it is necessary that the object of your visit should be authentically stated to the Corean Government and that you should be introduced to them in some official form, I have thought it advisable to address the two letters which I inclosed to the Prime Minister and to the Member of the Government who hold, I believe, an analogous position to that of Minister for Foreign Affairs. The first you will perceive is general in its tenour, while I specify in the latter that I send you to Corea under instructions from Her Majesty’s Government to endeavour to make arrangements respecting building sites, the selection of which, owing to the utter absence of any houses in Corea suited to the requirements of foreigners, should obviously precede the arrival either of Diplomatic or Consular officers and merchants. I also add a semi-official letter to the late Senior Envoy in Japan, which may serve to remind him of the prospect he held out to me, that his Government was disposed to grant to Great Britain similar commercial advantages to those which they have conceded to China, although I have avoided committing him to the direct statements which he made to me on this point.
Having applied to Vice-Admiral Willes for one of Her Majesty’s ships to convey you to Corea, and represented to him the importance of your being able to proceed there immediately, his Excellency has been so good as to order the “Moorhen” on this service, and I understand that she will be at Nagasaki and ready to embark you by the 14th instant. By proceeding from Kobe in the Peninsular and Oriental steam-ship “Khiva,” you will reach Nagasaki about that date, and Kim Ok-kiun and his coadjutor, Sö Kwang-pöm, will leave Yokohama in the same vessel on the 10th instant, in order to join you at Kobe. I trust these Corean functionaries, who have given proof of their friendly earnestness by their offer to accompany you in Her Majesty’s ship “Moorhen,” will be able to render you material assistance when in Corea.
On arrival at Chemulpho you will have to determine your own course of proceeding. Judging from the statements of Kim Ok-kiun, I do not anticipate that any obstacles will be placed in the way of your going to the capital, which would obviously be the best point of observation and the most convenient place for the transaction of business, and I trust you will find that the Corean Government will be disposed to provide you when there with the necessary accommodation. I should, however, enjoin you to avoid as far as possible personal risk, not only on your own account, which to yourself would not be a paramount consideration, but also in view of the political complications to which any untoward occurrence would give rise. If the result should prove that the visit of a public officer in your position to Corea is attended with insecurity, Her Majesty’s Government might naturally infer that the time is inopportune for authorizing private subjects of Her Majesty to resort to that country.
I must also leave it to you to determine the length of your stay. An officer who is tied to time in dealing with Orientals is deprived of one of the first elements of success, and as the Corean Government may perceive that your visit will have the effect of causing them to show their hand, they may not be over-prompt in responding to your lead. You will have, however, to consider the requirements of Her Majesty’s ship which takes you to Corea, and which will remain to support you when there, and also the importance of acquiring as speedily as you can, for the guidance of Her Majesty’s Government in regard to their approaching relations with Corea, the information you are sent to obtain.
As Her Majesty’s ship “Moorhen” cannot convey you nearer to the capital than Chemulpho, and in view of the isolated situation in which you would be placed at Söul, I think it expedient that you should be accompanied by another Consular officer as your assistant, and I have accordingly instructed Her majesty’s Acting Consul at Nagasaki to give you the services of Mr. Bonar, who will join you on your arrival at Nagasaki.
Although in confiding to you this delicate mission I have endeavoured to aid you with the fullest instructions in my power, it is due to you to add that I leave it to your discretion, on which I feel I can place implicit reliance, to be guided as you may judge best by the information you may obtain on the spot, and by circumstances which I am unable to foresee.

I have, &c.
(Signed) HARRY S. PARKES

Inclosure 2

Sir H.S. Parkes to Hong Sun-mok, Prime Minister of His Majesty the King of Great Chôsen.

Tôkiô, March 9, 1883
Your Excellency,

THIS letter will be delivered to your Excellency by Mr. Aston, one of Her Majesty’s Consuls in Japan, whom I have been authorized by my Government to send to Corea in order to obtain certain information from your Government, which may have an important bearing upon the future relations of our respective Government, and also to make certain preliminary arrangements as to building sites which he will explain to the Foreign Minister of Corea.
Mr. Aston is an officer of rank and long experience in Her Majesty’s service, is acquainted with your language, and, having twice visited Corea, is well known to several of your high authorities. As the object of his mission is to advance friendly relations between Great Britain and Corea, I confidentially trust that he will receive from your Excellency and the Government over which you so ably preside such friendly treatment and careful protection as you would wish your own officers to receive in my country, and which would certainly be extended to them by Her Majesty’s Government.
In making this important communication to your Excellency, I beg to offer you the assurances of my most distinguished consideration.

(Signed) HARRY S. PARKES, Her Britannic Majesty’s
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister
Plenipotentiary to Japan.

【漢譯文】
日本東京英吉利公使館三月九日千八百八十三年
奉此照會 要日本在留領事官阿須頓代達閤下 僕今奉我大英國政府命 代送阿須頓氏 一爲兩國交際上重大事件要貴國政府知悉 一爲審察建築房屋地界等事 伊當委細辦理于貴外務衙門 閤下諒之 阿須頓氏久仕我政府 官階高顯 又略解貴國語言 今再到貴國 貴國官紳亦有知之者 概伊君之此行 特爲兩國將來交際速趂敦密 閤下以寵幸邦國 克善隣交之道 特別款待 如禮保護焉 他日貴國官弁到敝國時 可徵今日貴國待我之誼 此呈照會于閤下 以盡恭敬之儀

大英國特命全權駐劄日本東京公使 巴
大朝鮮國議政府領議政 洪 閤下

Inclosure 3

Sir H.S. Parkes to Cho Yong-ha, Minister for Foreign Affairs of His Majesty the King of Great Chôsen.

Tôkiô, March 9, 1883
Your Excellency,

I HAVE the honour to inform your Excellency that I have been instructed by my Government to make inquiry as to the means of obtaining building sites in Corea for the residences of the Diplomatic or Consular officers whom it will be necessary to appoint when Treaty relations between our two nations shall be established.
As the houses of your country are not adapted to the requirements of foreigners, the erection of Consulates will be indispensable, and foreign merchants resorting to Corea will also be obliged to construct their own residences. It is obvious, therefore, that the selection of suitable sites for these purposes should precede the arrival both of public functionaries and private individuals, and my Government, in authorizing me to send Mr. Aston, one of Her Majesty’s Consuls, to Corea, to make inquiry as to building sites, is giving a proof of their willingness to advance the establishment of Treaty relations.
I have, therefore, the honour to request your Excellency to afford Mr. Aston full facilities for selecting, in conjunction with officers deputed on the part of your Government, suitable sites for the above-mentioned purposes, both at the capital and at the ports to be opened to foreign trade, and my Government, on receiving Mr. Aston’s Report, and becoming acquainted with the conditions on which such sites can be obtained, will then be able to arrive at a decision on the subject.
I have also the honour to invite your Excellency’s attention to another important subject. Your Government, having studied the conditions which govern international intercourse, will now be aware that equality of treatment is the only satisfactory footing on which relations between different States can be conducted. They will, therefore, I trust, perceive that the commercial and other arrangements which they have recently concluded with China must materially influence the consideration of the Treaty between Great Britain and Corea, and I have consequently been instructed by Her Majesty’s Government to apprize your Excellency that, if the Government of Corea is willing to enter into further negotiations with them on the basis of those arrangements, they would be happy to entertain proposals of that nature. Mr. Aston is accordingly authorized to receive any communication which you may wish to make to Her Majesty’s Government on this subject.
I gladly profit by this opportunity to offer to your Excellency the assurance of my highest consideration.

(Signed) HARRY S. PARKES, Her Britannic Majesty’s
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister
Plenipotentiary to Japan.

【漢譯文】
癸未三月初九日 日本東京英吉利公使書譯漢文三月九日千八百八十三年
貴國與敝國 行將修睦交通 凡係交際官員及領事官駐留地面 先察形便 爲交際之先務 所以我大英國政府命僕審問于貴政府 閤下其諒之 貴國家產之制 不便於外國人所處 至於商民居留地界内 亦各因其便而建築爲可 今命派阿須頓領事航往貴國 足徵我政府樂與貴國修好之誼也 望閤下簡拔委員 京城及各港口通商界内便利之地使之指定 則我政府當以阿須頓氏所覆爲允准也 又有一重大事件奉告者 閤下諒察 今天下交通之道 惟以公允相待 平均無異 爲不易之公法 想貴政府今焉燭知 然則貴國向來與清國所訂通商約款及其外各節 視與敝國所立擬案大有關係者 貴政府亦應體察 貴國若以平均無異之權理以對我國 則我政府樂而顧聞 貴政府所有議論 阿須頓氏均能代達我政府 今奉照會 備悉禮儀

大英國特命全權駐劄日本東京公使 巴
大朝鮮外務衙門 趙寧夏 閤下

Inclosure 4

Sir H.S. Parkes to Pak Yöng-hyo.

(Semi-official)
Tôkiô, March 9, 1883
Your Excellency and my Friend,

RECOLLECTING with pleasure the friendly communications which passed between us when Your Excellency, as the Envoy of your Government, formed one of the body of foreign Representatives at Tôkiô, I am glad to have this opportunity of writing to you by the hand of Mr. Aston, who is so well known to you.
I send Mr. Aston to Corea under instructions from my Government to make inquiry on a particular subject which I have explained to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, and also to acquire information as to the views of your Government in regard to Treaty relations. You will remember that when you were in Tôkiô I pointed out to you the material differences which are observable in the Treaties which your Government made last spring and those which you have concluded with Japan and China. I trust your Government will now perceive that friendly relations between State may best be secured by treating all nations on equal terms, and if they have adopted this view, we may then hope that your country will soon be able to participate in that profitable commercial intercourse with western Powers which has been productive of so much benefit to the people of China and Japan.
I was glad to be able to accommodate Mr. Kim Ok-kiun and Mr. Sö Kwang-pöm with a passage in the ship of war which conveys Mr. Aston to Corea, and I am satisfied that no effort will be wanting on their part and on yours to promote arrangements which will conduce to durable friendship between our respective countries.
I take this opportunity to send you the photograph of myself which I promised you, but which had not been taken in time to present it you before your departure from Tôkiô, and I beg to offer with it the assurances of my most friendly regard and esteem.

(Signed) HARRY S. PARKES