No. 403.
Mr. Bingham to Mr.
Bayard.
Legation of
the United States,
Tokio,
Japan, April 27, 1885. (Received May
25.)
No. 2047.]
Sir: Referring to instruction No. 887, dated
February 11 last, and also to its inclosure, in relation to the action taken
by the President touching the offer of this Government of a gift of land to
the United
[Page 561]
States for legation
purposes, I beg leave to inclose herewith copies of two notes addressed by
me to his excellency Count Inouye Kaoru, his Imperial Japanese Majesty’s
minister for foreign affairs, wherein I apprised him of the President’s
action in the premises.
I have the honor to also inclose a translated copy of the reply, under date
the 25th instant, which Count Inouye has been pleased to make to my two
notes, in which, among other things, the minister says that His Majesty’s
Government “still entertain the desire” to make the gift of land heretofore
proposed, and are prepared “upon receiving an intimation that the Government
of the United States will accept the offer, to formally proffer to the
United States a suitable lot of land in this city (Tokio) for legation
purposes.”
Respectfully submitted for your consideration.
I have, &c.,
[Inclosure 1 in No. 2047]
Mr. Bingham to
Count Inouye Kaoru.
Legation of the United States,
Tokio, Japan, March 28,
1885.
Sir: Having been verbally notified on the 20th
of December last by your excellency, through your secretary, Mr.
Stevens, that his Imperial Japanese Majesty’s Government desired, in
token of their friendship for the United States, to make a gift in
perpetuity to the United States of America of 5 acres or more of land
for legation purposes, in the central part of this city and near to the
new imperial palace now being erected, I now beg leave to acquaint you
that, on the 22d of December last, I telegraphed, as suggested, to my
Government this kind and generous proposition of His Majesty’s
Government, and also communicated the same to our Government by written
dispatch of that date, and that in reply thereto I received, on the 13th
of January, 1885, from my Government a telegraphic instruction, dated
January 12 last, stating that this proposition had been, or would be,
“submitted to Congress by the President with a recommendation that it be
accepted, &c,” of which I verbally apprised you. I now have the
pleasure to inform you that by the last mail I received a copy of the
National Republican, dated the 6th ultimo, in which is published a
notice of the President’s message on this subject (a copy of which
notice is herewith inclosed), wherein it appears that the President, by
a message to Congress on the 5th ultimo, earnestly recommended that the
Executive “be immediately authorized to accept
the proposed gift in the name of the United States, and to tender to his
Imperial Japanese Majesty’s Government a suitable expression of the
United States Government’s thanks for the generosity which prompted the
proffer so kindly made.”
I am not yet advised of any action taken by Congress upon the President’s
recommendation, but hope and believe that if the action asked for by the
President has not yet been taken it will be taken in the near future,
and therefore hope it may be the pleasure of his Imperial Japanese
Majesty’s Government to acquaint me, through your excellency, that this
generous proffer of land for a United States legation still remains to
be acted upon by the Congress and to be accepted by the Government of
the United States.
I avail myself, &c.,
[Inclosure 2 in No. 2047.]
Mr. Bingham to
Count Inouye Kaoru.
Legation of the United States,
Tokio, Japan, April 21,
1885.
Sir: On the 26th ultimo I had the honor to
address to your excellency a note inclosing a newspaper notice of the
President’s communication to the Congress of the United States in
relation to the generous offer made by you, through me, to give in
perpetuity to my Government a piece of land in Tokio for legation
purposes. Having
[Page 562]
now received
an official communication on the subject, inclosing the full text of the
President’s message to the Congress, dated the 5th of February last and
also the official letter of the honorable Secretary of State to the
President on the same subject, I beg to inclose herewith, for your
excellency’s information, a copy of said papers, as published in
Executive Document No. 187 of second session of the Forty-eighth
Congress of the United States.
It gives me pleasure to invite your attention to the words of the
President expressive of his high appreciation of the generous
proposition of his Imperial Japanese Majesty’s Government.
Accept, &c.,
[Inclosure 3 in No.
2047.—Translation.]
Count Inouye Kaoru
to Mr. Bingham.
Foreign
Office, Tokio, April 25,
1885.
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the
receipt of your excellency’s two communications, dated respectively the
28th ultimo and the 21st instant, and having relation to the verbal
intimation which I caused to be given to you, that his Imperial
Majesty’s Government were disposed to offer to the United States
Government a lot of land to be used for legation purposes; and also
having relation to the request which I instructed my private secretary
to make on the same occasion, that your excellency would do me the favor
to ascertain whether such a proffer as that indicated, if formally made
on behalf of his Imperial Majesty’s Government, would be accepted by the
Government of the United States.
Your excellency now informs me that the proposition in question was
submitted to the Congress of the United States by the President on the
5th February last, with the recommendation “that the Executive be
immediately authorized to accept the gift in the name of the United
States, and tender to His Majesty’s Government a suitable expression of
this Government’s thanks for the generosity which prompted the
presentation of so desirable a site of ground.” Although your excellency
is not yet advised of any action taken by the Congress with reference to
the President’s recommendation, you express the hope and belief that
such action, if not already accomplished, will be taken in the near
future. Noting with pleasure the kind expressions employed by the
President and the honorable the Secretary of State in regard to the
motives which have actuated his Imperial Majesty’s Government in
expressing their desire to pursue the course indicated, I beg to assure
your excellency that my Government still entertain that desire and are
prepared, upon receiving an intimation from your excellency that the
Government of the United States will accept the offer, to formally
proffer to the United States a suitable lot of land in this city for
legation purposes.
I avail myself, &c.,
