Early Relations bctzvecn the United States and China. 135 



tion, he was to preserve the dignity of the United States Gov- 

 ernment, and to assert always that he was no tribute-bearer. If 

 possible, he was to reach Peking. To that end he was given a 

 letter from the President to the Emperor, which he was to deliver 

 in person, or to send by a proper messenger if assurances were 

 given of a friendly reply signed by the monarch himself. The 

 question of kotow was left to his own judgment: "All pains 

 should be taken to avoid the giving of offense, or the wounding 

 of the nation's pride ; but at the same time you will be careful" — ■ 

 so the instructions ran — "to do nothing which may seem even to 

 the Chinese themselves, to imply any inferiority on the part of 

 your government . . . ." And last of all, he was to insist 

 on the principle of the most favored nation treatment.^^'* Both 

 the letter of instructions and that of the President to the Emperor 

 were the work of Webster.^^° The former was a dignified, 

 succinct statement, showing the best of judgment, if here and 

 there an ignorance of China, but the latter reads much like a 

 missive to some barbarian prince, and echoes that same feeling of 

 superiority which later characterized Cushing's communica- 

 tions."^ 



The mission was looked upon rather critically by many Ameri- 

 cans as a Tyler undertaking, and some doubt was expressed as 

 to its success. Benton, of course, had nothing good to say of 

 j^ i;52 Niigs found fault with the display and pomp and preferred 

 "such a demonstration of republican simplicity as our first of 

 American ministers, Benjamin Franklin .... had the 

 intrepidity to make at the most scrvipulous court of aristocrats 

 in Europe," in preference to the "unavailing mummery of 



^'^ Sen. Doc. 138, 28 Cong.. 2 Sess. Webster to Gushing, May 8, 1843. 



""Foster, Am. Dip. in Orient, p. 8r, thinks that the letter of the 

 President to the Emperor, because of its inferior quality, was written 

 by Tyler or Webster's successor, Upshur, who countersigned it ; but it 

 is given in Webster's works, ed. 1856, 6 : 477 ; with a footnote attributing 

 it to him. Webster had evidently made something of a study of the 

 situation. He wrote to the merchants in the China trade, asking for 

 suggestions in regard to the mission, April, 1843. Letters and Recollec- 

 tions of J. M. Forbes, i : 115. 



"' Sen. Doc. 138, 28 Cong., 2 Sess., Tyler to Empr. of China, July 12, 1843. 



""Benton, Thirty Years' View, 2:515. 



