As soon as it was known that a diplomatic expedition was to be despatched to Japan under the command of Commodore Perry he was deluged with applications, both from England and America, to be permitted to join it.
But Perry resolutely declined all these enterprising offers. In his long career as a naval officer he had seen the danger of admitting on board men-of-war persons who were not under the authority of the commander. From such dangers he meant to be free. He therefore refused to take on board the ships of his squadron any but regularly accredited officers and men over whom he exercised legitimate control. He even made it a rule that if any of the officers kept diaries during the progress of the expedition, they should be the property of the Navy Department and could not be published without its permission and authority.
Commodore Perry carried with him a friendly letter from the President of the United States to the Emperor of Japan,[263] who is therein addressed as “Great and Good Friend.” The letter pointed out the contiguity of the two countries and the importance of their friendship and commercial intercourse; it announced that Commodore Perry had been sent to give assurance of the friendly sentiment of the President, and to arrange for privileges of trade, for the care of shipwrecked sailors, and for the appointment of a convenient port where coal and other supplies might be obtained by the vessels of the United States.
After some provoking delays and disappointments the expedition sailed from Norfolk on the 24th of [pg 314] November, 1852,[264] proceeding by the way of the cape of Good Hope to the China sea. There taking on board Dr. S. Wells Williams as interpreter, and visiting several ports in China, the Bonin islands, and the Ryūkyū islands, they sailed to Japan. The squadron, led by the Susquehanna and followed by the Mississippi, the Plymouth, and the Saratoga, entered Yedo bay, July 8, 1853.[265]
Commodore M. C. Perry.
The Japanese government had been warned of the preparation and coming of this expedition by the Dutch. Eager to maintain their position with the government the King of the Netherlands addressed to the Shōgun a letter in 1844 suggesting the relaxation of the laws excluding foreign nations from trade. But in the following year he received an answer declining to make any changes.
With all the warning, however, which the government had received and the preparations which had been made for the momentous occasion, the appearance of the squadron at the entrance of Yedo bay was an intense surprise. Two large steam frigates—the Susquehanna and the Mississippi—and two sloops-of-war—the Plymouth and the Saratoga,—although much inferior to the squadron promised, composed such an array as had never before made its appearance in Yedo bay. As they plowed through the peaceful waters, in full view of the white-capped peak of Fuji-yama, every height and vantage ground along the shore seemed alive with troops and with [pg 316] wondering and alarmed inhabitants. The vessels came to anchor off the village of Uraga, which is not far from the present site of the dockyards at Yokosuka.
The account[266] of the preliminary negotiations conducted by Commodore Perry with the officers of the government is interesting, as showing the efforts made by them to send him to Nagasaki, and his absolute refusal to go thither or conduct his business through the Dutch or Chinese. When there seemed no other way, consent was given to receive, through an officer of adequate rank, the letter from the President of the United States to the Emperor of Japan. When he had formally delivered this letter, he took his departure with an intimation that he would return at a future day and receive the answer.[267]
There can be no doubt that the display of force which Commodore Perry took care to make in all his transactions with the Japanese officials at the same time that he was careful to convey assurances of his friendly purposes and objects, produced a deep impression on the government with which he had to deal. It is useless to deny that it was on this display of force that Commodore Perry largely relied for the success of his expedition. That he was prepared to use force had it been necessary we [pg 317] may feel sure.[268] But the instructions of his government and his own sense of international justice bound him to exhaust every peaceful resource before resorting to measures of coercion.