blow to the trade upon which other nations so much depend. That is one reason why China asks your good offices, and hopes for those of your Government and of your Minister to Japan. We have been told of the kind disposition of Mr. Bingham towards us. Our Minister has told us of that; and one reason why we kept our Minister in Japan, under circumstances which would have justified another Power in withdrawing him, was because we knew of Mr. Bingham's sentiments, and we were awaiting his return. It is because such a war as Japan seems disposed to force on China would be peculiarly distressing to foreign Powers that we have asked them to interfere.

General Grant.- How far have the Japanese gone in Loochoo?

Prince Kung.—The King of the islands has been taken to Japan and deposed. The sovereignty has been extinguished. A Japanese official has been set up. We have made a study of international law as written by your English and American authors, whose text-books are in Chinese. If there is any force in the principles of international law as recognized by your nations, the extinction of the Loochoo sovereignty is a wrong, and one that other nations should consider.

General Grant.-It would seem to be a high-handed proceeding to arrest a ruler and take him out of the country, unless there is war or some grave provocation.

Prince Kung.- If there was provocation, if Japan had suffered any wrong in Loochoo that justified extreme action, why does not her Ambassador at our Court, or their own Ministers at home, in dealing with our embassy, give us an explanation? China is a peaceful nation. Her policy has been peace. No nation will make more sacrifices for peace, but forbearance cannot be used to our injury, to the humiliation of the Emperor and a violation of our rights. On

this subject we feel strongly, and when the Viceroy wrote the Emperor from Tientsin that he had spoken to you on the subject, and that you might be induced to use your good offices with Japan, and with your offices your great name and authority, we rejoiced in what may be a means of escaping from a responsibility which no nation would deplore more than myself.

General Grant.-As I said before, my position here and my position at home are not such as to give any assurance that my good offices would be of any value. Here I am a traveller, seeing sights, and looking at new manners and customs. At home I am simply a private citizen, with no voice in the councils of the Government and no right to speak for the Government.

Prince Kung (with a smile). We have a proverb in Chinese that "No business is business"-in other words, that real affairs, great affairs are more frequently transacted informally, when persons meet, as we are meeting now, over a table of entertainment for social and friendly conversation, than in solemn business sessions at the Yamen. I value the opportunities of this conversation, even in a business sense, more than I could any conversation with ambassadors.

General Grant. I am much complimented by the confidence you express and in that expressed by the Viceroy. It would afford me the greatest pleasure - I know of no pleasure that could be greater-to be the means, by any counsel or effort of mine, in preserving peace, and especially between two nations in which I feel so deep an interest as I do in China and Japan. I know nothing about this Loochoo business except what I have heard from the Viceroy and yourself and an occasional scrap in the newspapers, to which I paid little attention, as I had no interest in it. I know nothing of the merits of the case. I am

going to Japan, and I shall take pleasure in informing myself on the subject in conversing with the Japanese authorities. I have no idea what their argument is. They, of course, have an argument. I do not suppose that the rulers are inspired by a desire to wantonly injure China. I will acquaint myself with the Chinese side of the case, as Your Imperial Highness and the Viceroy have presented it, and promise to present it. I will do what I can to learn the Japanese side. Then, if I can, in conversation with the Japanese authorities, do anything that will be a service to the cause of peace, you may depend upon my good offices. But, as I have said, I have no knowledge on the subject, and no idea what opinion I may entertain when I have studied it.

Prince Kung. We are profoundly grateful for this promise. China is quite content to rest her case with your decision, given, as we know it will be, after care and with wisdom and justice. If the Japanese Government will meet us in this spirit, all will be well. I shall send orders to our Minister in Japan to wait upon you as soon as you reach Japan, and to speak with you on the subject. Your willingness to do this will be a new claim to the respect in which you are held in China, and be a continuance of that friendship shown to us by the United States, and especially by Mr. Burlingame, whose death we all deplored, and whose name is venerated in China.

An allusion was made to the convention between Great Britain and America on the Alabama question- the arbitration and the settlement of a matter that might have embroiled the two countries. This was explained to His Imperial Highness as a precedent that it would be well to follow now. The Prince was thoroughly familiar with the

Alabama negotiations.

General Grant.- An arbitration between nations may

not satisfy either party at the time; but it satisfies the conscience of the world, and must commend itself more and more as a means of adjusting disputes.

Prince Kung.-The policy of China is one of reliance upon justice. We are willing to have any settlement that is honorable, and that will be considered by other nations as honorable to us. We desire no advantage over Japan. But, at the same time, we are resolved to submit to no wrong from Japan. On that point there is but one opinion in our Government. It is the opinion of the Viceroy, one of the great officers of the Empire, and, like yourself, not only a great soldier, but an advocate always of a peaceful policy, of concession, compromise, and conciliation. It is my own opinion, and I have always, as one largely concerned in the affairs of the Empire, and knowing what war entails, been in favor of peace. It is the opinion of the Yamen. I do not know of any dissension among those who serve the throne. Our opinion is that we cannot, under any circumstances, submit to the claims of Japan. We cannot consent to the extinction of a sovereignty, of an independence that has existed for so long a time under our protection. If Japan insists upon her present position, there must be war.

General Grant.-What action on the part of Japan would satisfy China?

Prince Kung.-We would be satisfied with the situation as it was.

General Grant.—That is to say, Loochoo paying tribute to Japan and China.

Prince Kung. We do not concern ourselves with what tribute the King of Loochoo pays to Japan, or any other Power. We never have done so, and, although there is every reason an empire should not allow other nations to exact tribute from its vassals, we are content with things

as they have been, not only under the dynasty of my own ancestors and family, but under the dynasty of the Mings. We desire Japan to restore the King she has captured and taken away, to withdraw her troops from Loochoo, and abandon her claims to exclusive sovereignty over the islands. This is our position. Other questions are open to negotiation and debate. This is not open, because it is a question of the integrity of the Empire. And the justice of our position will be felt by any one who studies the case, and compares the violence and aggression of Japan with the patience and moderation of China.

General Grant.-I shall certainly see the Viceroy on my return to Tientsin, and converse with him, and read the documents I understand he is preparing. I shall also, when I meet the Japanese authorities, do what I can to learn their case. If I can be of any service in adjusting the question and securing peace, I shall be rejoiced, and it will be no less a cause of rejoicing if in doing so I can be of any service to China, or be enabled to show my appreciation of the great honor she has shown to me during my visit, and of the unvarying friendship she has shown our country.

The islands referred to lie in the North Pacific, about half-way between Formosa and Japan. They are thirtysix in number, the largest of which is the Great Loochoo, of which the capital is Napakiang. The Chinese first learned of the existence of these islands in the year 605 A. D., when the Emperor Yangti was on the throne. He at once sent messengers to inquire into their condition, as they had all been included under the general term “Eastern Barbarians." But the difficulty at once presented itself that neither understood the other's language. The Chinese were obliged to return without having accomplished anything practical, but they brought back with them several