Mr. K. Murray to Earl Granville.―(Received February 17)

The London Chamber of Commerce, 84 and 85, King William Street,
London, February 16, 1883

My Lord,

I Am in due receipt of your Lordship’s letter of the 6th December last, transmitting to the London Chamber the correspondence which has passed between Her Majesty’s Government, Admiral Willes, and Her Majesty’s Ministers in China and Japan, relative to the conclusion of a Treaty between this country and Corea. I have consulted both the Executive Committee and the Council of this Chamber as to the advisability of ratifying this Treaty, and am instructed, in reply, to convey the following answer to your Lordship.
This Chamber is particularly desirous that every opportunity to open up and develop new markets for British manufactures be turned to the best account. Such being the general policy of this Chamber, it cannot but express its satisfaction at the promptitude with which Sir T. Wade and Admiral Willes followed the action of the American Government in seeking to negotiate a Treaty with the King of Corea. The London Chamber would be prepared, when necessary, in the instance of new countries, to support, as a means of encouraging commercial relations with Eastern nations, the acceptance of conditions less favourable to this country, during the first years of a new Treaty, than the stipulations of our Treaties with China.
It also appears most desirable that the British Government should obtain, through these Treaties, the right of appointing Consuls, of establishing merchants, and of owning land in Corea, both as a means of intercepting Japanese influence in that country, and of anticipating the commercial efforts of the American Government, but particularly with a view of securing every means of access to China, and developing our influence with and upon that country with the purpose of ulterior trade extension.
The principal objection to present ratification of Admiral Willes’ Treaty appears to lie in the high rate of the proposed Tariff, influenced, as this seems to have been, by Chinese intervention, and the future possibility of the Chinese Government claiming from Her Majesty’s Government the right to exact similarly high duties. Since the drafts of the new American and British Treaties differ from the old Corean-Japanese Convention by the insertion of a Tariff and the pretended dependence of Corea on China, would it not be possible to take advantage of this real or pretended dependence to add, on the force of it, a clause to the proposed Treaty, providing that, on the expiration of the admittedly provisional measure, the rates of duty to be charged by Corea should not then exceed those now in force under our Treaty with China? With such a proviso this Chamber would recommend the ratification of the Treaty, for fear of encouraging at some future date Chinese pretensions to be placed on a similar footing.
I have purposely omitted to allude to the minor objections to Admiral Willes’ Treaty, such as the stipulations for paid Consuls and the possible withdrawal of their exequatur, the restrictions as to trading in the sea-ports and not in the interior, the exclusion of hides from the list of imports, &c., due relief having been given to these objectionable items in the correspondence submitted by your Lordship. If fresh negotiations, however, arise, the Chamber is confident that these items will be carefully dealt with by Her Majesty’s Representatives.
This Chamber has noted with satisfaction the interesting and thoughtful reports of Mr. W. Donald Spence and Mr. W.G. Aston, and will be obliged by such further communication as circumstances will permit of information as to the economical condition of the Kingdom of Chosen, and of the progress of negotiations for a Treaty with that country.

I am, &c.
(Signed) K.B. Murray, Secretary