Sir H.S. Parkes to Earl Granville.—(Received July 7)

(No. 92 Confidential)
Tôkiô, May 31, 1883

My Lord,

I HAVE the honour to inclose a copy of a despatch in which Mr. Aston has reported to me the endeavours he made to ascertain the feelings of the Corean Government in respect to fresh Treaty negotiations. Mr. Aston incloses in this despatch a translation of a draft of General Trade Regulations which the Corean Government have proposed to the Japanese Government, and probably intend to propose to the other Treaty Powers, and also a Memorandum of a project of a three-clause Treaty which the Corean Government appear inclined to entertain.
I shall submit my views on the important subject of this Report in a succeeding despatch.

I have, &c.
(Signed)　　HARRY S. PARKES

Inclosure 1

Mr. Aston to Sir H.S. Parkes.
Sir,
Tôkiô, May 29, 1883

I HAVE the honour to report that I took advantage of my recent visit to Söul to endeavour further to ascertain the views of the Corean Government as to the basis on which they would be willing to reopen Treaty negotiations. I found the President of the Foreign Board, however, in a much more reticent frame of mind than on the occasion of my previous visit. It had plainly been suggested to him, probably by Mr. Kim Ok Kiun, that he ought not to commit himself further to any one but a duly accredited Envoy, and to my inquiries his invariable reply was that he would reserve his answer until the arrival of a Plenipotentiary, and this he hoped he should not have long to wait for. He allowed M. von Möllendorff to supply me with a copy of an English translation of the Trade Regulations lately communicated to the Japanese Government, but with the reservation that it was only a draft for consideration, and was not binding on them. I inclose this document, which I was told had originally been drafted in English by M. von Möllendorff, some alterations are mainly based on the Chinese and Japanese Regulations of Trade. Their most important provision is the permission to foreigners to carry on an interport trade in Corean produce for a period of five years. The Article of the Treaties prohibiting this trade was characterized by M. von Möllendorff as a shallow device of Ma for securing to China a monopoly of this trade. He had, he said, prevailed on the Corean Government to adopt a more liberal course.
Duty at the rate of 5 per cent. ad valorem is payable on native goods carried from one port of Corea to another, half of this amount being recoverable afterwards.
These Regulations contain no provision for the importation of medicinal opium.
The tonnage dues remain fixed at the same high rate named in the Treaties.
There is a provision for granting a drawback on re-exports of non-Corean goods within twenty-four months of their importation. In this respect, these Regulations are more liberal than the Japanese Trade Regulations.
Section 5 (miscellaneous).—Article 4 states that “in order to protect native produce the Tariff may from time to time be changed, four months’ notice of such change being given by the Custom-house.” I believe the meaning of this clause is that such luxuries as are for the present omitted from the list given in the Tariff of articles on which 30 per cent. duties are payable may at four months’ notice be again made subject to the higher rate, so as to prevent their competing with similar articles of native production. The principal article affected by this provision is Chinese silk goods, of which a considerable quantity is imported into Corea. The guild of dealers in this article consists of 100 members, and all Coreans of rank wear silks of this description.
Grain is not mentioned among the goods whose export is prohibited.
The Tariff supplies an obvious omission in the Treaties, by providing for the importation of foreign gold and silver coins, ship’s stores and personal effects free of duty. It is also more liberal than the Treaties in promising a lower rate than 10 per cent. for medicines, and in omitting from the list of articles subject to a duty of 30 per cent. a number of articles which might fairly be considered luxuries.
As the Coreans have at present no gold or silver currency duties are to be payable in Haikwan (i.e., Chinese Customs) taels of 36 grammes of silver. M. von Möllendorff informed me that by private arrangement orders on Shanghae banks in this medium would be accepted in payment of duties.
M. von Möllendorff spoke with decidedly greater moderation than before about Japan’s share in the approaching negotiations, and admitted that much depended on the view she might take. He was confident, however, that Japan would adopt any Tariff which might be consented to by the other Powers.
Finding that the President of the Foreign Board declined to add anything to his former statements regarding the Treaty, I endeavoured to ascertain through M. von Möllendorff and Mr. Kim Ok Kiun, who represent two opposing parties in the Board, whether or not the Corean Government would accept a Treaty consisting of three Articles, viz., peace and friendship, jurisdiction, and a favoured-nation clause. M. von Möllendorff told me that at a meeting of the Board, at which this question was discussed, all the members appeared favourable to such a Treaty, the only objection having been made by Mr. Kim Ok Kiun, who suggested that the Jurisdiction clause should be reciprocal, and that Corean subjects in England should be subject to Corean law. M. von Möllendorff had argued that this was utterly inadmissible, and I do not think Mr. Kim Ok Kiun could have been in earnest in holding this language.
Mr. Kim Ok Kiun informed me himself, at a visit which he paid me on the morning of my departure from Söul, that his Government would accept a three-clause Treaty of the kind described, leaving other matters for subsequent consideration, but that the President was precluded from saying so to me, as I was not a Plenipotentiary. In order to give a somewhat more definite character to this suggestion, I prepared, along with M. von Möllendorff, the Memorandum, of which I inclose a copy, showing in more detail the character of the three Articles suggested. M. von Möllendorff promised to lay it before the Government, and inform me later on of their views respecting it.
In M. von Möllendorff’s opinion, the Chinese version of the Treaty does not contain anything corresponding to the phrase “in the opinion of the British Government,” which appears in the English version. He also remarked that the Corean Government would not alter the rate of duty of 5 per cent. payable at the Chinese frontier. They were about to avail themselves very largely of the promise made by the Viceroy Li Hung Chang to M. von Möllendorff personally to alter the existing Regulations to the disadvantage of China, by withdrawing the privilege of visiting the interior for purpose of trade, residence in the capital, and the monopoly of the interport trade, and they felt they could not well go further in this direction. There was also the precedent of the China and Russia frontier arrangement, which showed that the favoured-nation clause did not entitle other foreign Powers to claim similar privileges at the ports to those granted in respect to a frontier trade. M. von Möllendorff admitted that the frontier trade was not likely to be important. Of late years it has been gradually declining, and the opening of Inchön would probably give it its death-blow. English shirtings, for example, could then be laid down at Söul for little more than half the price they now command, and a difference of 5 per cent. in the duty would never compensate for the heavy expense of land transport by way of the Chinese frontier.

I have, &c.
(Signed)　　W.G. Aston

Inclosure 2

Rough Translation of Draft of General Trade Regulations of Corea.

Article I—On Entrance and Clearance of Vessels

THE captain or agent of any merchant-vessel, within two days (forty-eight hours), Sunday excepted, after anchoring in one of the open ports, shall deposit the ship’s papers at the Consulate of his vessels’ nationality; the Consul informing the Customs authorities of this fact.
The ship’s papers should clearly show the length of the ship, the tonnage and name of the ship, the names of her crew, the year when the ship was built, which papers should bear the seal of the Customs and local authorities.
He shall then make an entry of his ship at the Custom-house, by giving a written paper, stating the name of the ship, her tonnage, the names of the captain and the agent, the name of the port from which she comes—which paper shall be signed by the captain or agent of the ship—and by depositing a written manifest of his cargo, setting forth the marks and numbers of the packages, and their contents, as they are described in his bills of lading.
Should there be no Consulate of the ship’s nationality at the port, the captain shall deposit the ship’s papers at the Custom-house.
2. Should there be any wrong statement, or any omission in the ship’s papers, the captain shall pay a fine of 300 Haikwan taels.
3. If any error is discovered in the manifest the captain may correct it at the Custom-house within twenty-four hours; after that time the captain will be fined 20 Haikwan taels each day.
4. All goods not entered on the manifest shall pay on landing double duty.
5. Any captain who shall neglect to enter his vessel at the Custom-house within two days shall pay a penalty of 50 Haikwan taels for each day, but not exceeding the sum of 500 taels.
6. Should any goods be discharged from a ship without a permit to break bulk, the captain of such ship shall pay a penalty of 200 Haikwan taels, and the goods shall be confiscated.
7. Any merchant-ship wishing to clear shall pay all dues and duties and shall then receive from the Custom-house a port clearance, on receipt of which the Consul of the vessel’s nationality will deliver to the captain the deposited ship’s papers. But if the Custom-house has reason to refuse the port clearance it shall immediately inform the captain or agent of the ship of such reasons, and give the same notice to the Consul.

Article II—On application at the Custom-house for Import and Export Goods

1. The owner of any goods who desires to land them, shall make an application at the Custom-house, clearly setting forth therein the name of the owner and of the ship in which those goods were imported, with the marks, numbers, and packages and value, which application shall be signed by the owner. The original invoice for each merchandize shall be presented on the demand of Custom-house; if this be refused, the Custom-house may not grant the permit to land.
2. All goods so entered may be examined by the Custom-house officers, and for this purpose the merchant shall bring them to the Customs jetty for examination. On opening the packages the Custom-house officers should not injure the goods, nor should they give any unnecessary annoyance. After examination they shall restore the goods to their original condition in the packages (so far as may be practicable) and such examination shall be made without any unreasonable delay to the injury of the merchant.
3. If any goods have been damaged on the voyage of importation, the owner may notify such damage to the Custom-house, and he may have the damaged goods appraised by two or three competent persons, who shall state the actual value of the damaged goods. The Custom-house officers having approved of this, the owner shall then hand in another application signed by him, stating this valuation and the duty will be charged according to it.
4. After the duties have been paid, a permit to land the goods will be issued by the Custom-house.
5. All goods intended for exportation shall be entered at the Custom-house before they are placed on ship-board.
6. The applications for export shall not be different from those for import.
7. All goods which are put on board a ship for exportation before they have been entered at the Custom-house, or which have been secretly placed on board, or which contain prohibited articles, shall be liable to confiscation.
8. A person making a false or incomplete application with the intent of defrauding the revenue of Corea shall be liable to a fine of 100 Haikwan taels.

Article III—On Protecting the Revenue

1. The Custom-house shall have the right to place Custom-house officers on board of any merchant-ship in their ports. Those officers shall close and watch the hatches of the ship, they shall be not an object of annoyance, and shall be treated by the crew of the vessel with civility.
2. Goods shall be unladen from any ship or placed on board during daytime, holidays excepted, except by special permission of the Custom-house. If this is not granted the Customs authorities may secure the cargo by fixing seals on the hatches. Whoever breaks open such seal shall pay a fine of 50 Haikwan taels for each offence.
3. Goods that shall be discharged without having been duly entered at the Custom-house shall be liable to confiscation.
4. Packages of duty-free goods concealing therein dutiable goods shall be liable to confiscation.
5. Packages of goods concealing therein articles of a higher value shall be liable to confiscation.
6. For trading at a non-opened port, ship and goods shall be liable of confiscation.
7. The import of all kinds of opium is prohibited. Should any one try to import it, the opium shall be confiscated and the captain of the vessel shall pay a fine of 10 Haikwan taels for each catty. If the opium has not been found on board the ship, the person carrying it will be fined 10 Haikwan taels per catty.

Article IV—On Tonnage Dues

1. All vessels of more than 150 tons’ register shall pay tonnage dues at the rate of 5 mace per ton; of between 100 tons and 150 tons, 2 mace per ton; of less than 100 tons, 1 mace. Tonnage dues are payable once every quarter.
2. Vessels remaining less than two days in port pay no tonnage dues if the hatches are not opened.
3. Vessels requiring only victuals, or being driven into port by stress of weather, need not enter at the Customs. Should they, however, commence to trade, then they must act according to 1st Article.
4. Vessels wanting to repair, and therefore to discharge their cargo, must enter at the Customs. No duties are charged if, after repairs, the goods are taken on board again. For each part sold, they come under these Regulations.
5. For transhipments a permit has to be obtained; no duties are charged. If goods are transhipped without such permit, a fine of 100 taels is levied.
6. For re-exports of non-Corean goods a drawback is granted within twenty-four months of importation, which may be exchanged for silver or be used in the payment of other duties.
7. Vessels of war are exempted from all obligations of the above Regulations.

Article V—Miscellaneous

1. Coast trade is allowed to all vessels of all nationalities for the term of five years.
2. Native goods, if carried from on Corean port to another, which have paid export duty, half the export duty is refunded on arrival at the port of destination.
3. Native manufactures will be treated in conformity to these rules—that is to say, no privileges will be given to them.
4. In order to protect the native produce, the Tariff may from time be changed. A four-months’ notice of any such change will be given by the Custom-house.
5. To prevent smuggling and defrauding the revenue, the Customs may, from time to time, frame rules, to which all merchants should submit.
6. Each vessel arriving in port shall wait to have her anchorage assigned to her by the Customs.

Article VI—Tariff

1. Duty-free goods: Foreign gold, silver, and silver coins, ships’ stores, personal effects.
2. All goods exported pay an ad valorem duty of 5 per cent. The export of red ginseng is prohibited.
3. All goods imported pay an ad valorem duty of 10 per cent.
Medicines will pay less.
4. The following goods pay, when imported, an ad valorem duty of 30 per cent.:—

Tobacco, all kinds.
Birds’ nests.
Wine and liquors.
Perfumes and scents.
Artificial flowers.
Real and imitation jewellery, and gold and silver ware.
All kinds of coral and jade ware.
Clocks, watches, musical instruments, and musical boxes.
All kinds of furniture.
Grass cloth.
Embroideries.
Carpets.

5. The importation of the following articles is prohibited :—Gunpowder, saltpetre, sulphur, shot, cannon, rifles, muskets, pistols, and all other munitions and implements of war; opium.
Length measure is the metre.
One tael is equal to 36 grammes.

Inclosure 3 in No. 121

Memorandum of Three-Clause Treaty.

HER Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Empress of India, on the one part, and the King of Chosen (or Corea), on the other part, being sincerely desirous of establishing permanent relations of amity and friendship between their respective countries, have resolved to enter into a Treaty of Friendship and Commerce, and to this end have appointed as their Plenipotentiaries, that is to say.
Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland and Empress of India,
His Majesty the King of Chosen (or Corea),
Who, after having communicated to each other their respective full powers, and found them to be in due and proper form, have agreed upon the following Articles:—

ARTICLE I

There shall be perpetual peace and friendship between the High Contracting Powers and their respective subjects. If other Powers deal unjustly or oppressively with either Government, the other will exert its good offices, on being informed of the case, to bring about an amicable arrangement, thus showing friendly feelings.

[The substance of this provision to be retained; the wording of it is admittedly defective.]

ARTICLE II

This Article is to contain the substance of section 2, paragraphs 2 and 3, of the Chefoo Convention, followed by the last paragraph of Article IV of Admiral Willes’ Treaty.

[The provisions of the Chefoo Convention referred to are as follows:—
“The British Treaty of 1858, Article XVI, lays down that Chinese subjects who may have been guilty of any criminal act towards British subjects shall be arrested and punished by Chinese authorities according to the laws of China.
“British subjects who may commit any crime in China shall be tried and punished by the Consul, or any other public functionary authorized thereto, according to the laws of Great Britain.”
“It is further understood that so long as the laws of the two countries differ from each other there can be but one principle to guide judicial proceedings in mixed cases in China, namely, that the case is tried by the official of the defendant's nationality, the official of the plaintiff's nationality merely attending to watch the proceedings in the interests of justice. If the officer so attending be dissatisfied with the proceedings, it will be in his power to protest against them in detail. The law administered will be the law of the nationality of the officer trying the case. This is the meaning of the words “hui ting,” indicating combined action in judicial proceedings, in Article XVI of the Treaty of Tien-tsin, and this is the course to be respectively followed by the officers of either nationality.”
The last paragraph of Article IV of Admiral Willes’ Treaty is as follows:—
“It is, however, mutually agreed and understood between the High Contracting Powers that whenever the King of Chosen shall have so far modified and reformed the Statutes and judicial procedure of his kingdom, that, in the judgment of the British Government, they conform to the laws and course of justice in England, the right of ex-territorial jurisdiction over British subjects in Chosen shall b abandoned{shall abandoned}, and thereafter British subjects, when within the limits of the Kingdom of Chosen, shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the native authorities.”]

ARTICLE III

This Article to follow the wording of Article XX of the Austro-Hungarian Treaty with Japan.
Article XX of the Austro-Hungarian Treaty with Japan is as follows:—
“It is hereby expressly stipulated that the Austro-Hungarian Government and the citizens of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy shall, from the day on which their Treaty comes into operation, participate in all privileges, immunities, and advantages which have been granted, or may hereafter be granted, by His Majesty the Emperor of Japan to the Government or subjects of any other nation.”

H.S. Parkes (1883. 6. 10) → G.L.G. Granville (1883. 7. 16)