ENUMERATION OF THE SEVERAL OBJECTS IN VIEW. 323 



replying to the letter from his sovereign, which had been sent to Yeilo from Nagasaki. The 

 Commodore was disposed to suspect, at iirst, as nothing had been said of tlie illness of the 

 Emperor of Japan during the first visit to the Bay of Yedo, and as so short an interval had 

 elapsed since then, that the statement of the death of the Emperor was a mere ruse to obstruct 

 the American negotiations. 



And even granting that the Emijeror was dead, (which was proved subsequently to be the 

 fact,) there seemed to be no reason for the delay in j^ublic business. The laws of China require 

 the eldest son of the highest classes to abstain from j^leasure, company, or business, for seven 

 weeks in the event of the death of an Emperor, but the successor to the imperial throne assumes 

 the government immediately, and public business is never interrupted. A similar custom was 

 inferred to prevail in Japan, as none of the books describing the manners" and customs of that 

 Empire allude to any different practice on such an occasion. 



The Commodore was not, however, to be deterred from the prosecution of his plans by any 

 unfavorable intelligence which those who might be disposed to obstruct them so carefully 

 acquainted him with. 



It is well to enumerate here, while the Commodore is on his way to Japan, the leading objects 

 of his mission. He was to demand explanations of the Japanese government respecting its 

 treatment of American citizens who had been accidentally thrown upon its shores, and to make 

 declaration that the United States government will no longer tolerate such acts ; to endeavor to 

 obtain, at least, the opening of one or more Japanese ports to American vessels ; and to negotiate, 

 if possible, a treaty with the Empire upon a basis just and equitable, and if a general treaty could 

 not be made, to make the best that was attainable for trade. Of course, there was much uncer- 

 tainty in regard to the successful issue of the mission in this respect, and the Commodore was 

 resolved to do all in his power by firmly insisting upon what was due to the United States, and 

 discreetly urging the establishment of those relations which seemed desirable for the interests of 

 his country. There would be little difficulty, he thought, in bringing about suitable exjjlana- 

 tions and apologies, with assurances of kind treatment to all strangers who should thereafter 

 fall into the hands of the Japanese, as also a friendly reception and necessary supplies to whaling 

 ships anchoring in the ports of the empire. These results alone, it was believed, would repay 

 the United States government for all the expenses of the expedition. With respect to the 

 accomplishment of the other objects there was some doubt, unless force should be resorted to. 

 This, however, was an alternative that could only be justified by some overt act of wrong or 

 insult on the part of the Japanese government, and, of course, was not contemplated. The 

 Commodore, though he felt confident that the purpose of his mission as regards the demanding 

 of redress for ill-treatment of American citizens would be easily accomplished, nevertheless had 

 made provision against any failure. He had arranged, provided the Japanese government 

 refused to negotiate, or to assign a port of resort for our merchant or whaling ships, to take 

 under surveillance of the American flag the island of Great Lew Chew, a dependency of the 

 Empire of Japan. This, if necessary, was to be done on the ground of reclamation for insults 

 and injuries well known to have been committed upon American citizens. Previously to leaving 

 Napha, Commodore Perry accordingly issued a proclamation to the effect that as a question was 

 pending between the United States and Japan touching certain demands upon tlie Japanese 

 government, and as it was deemed essential to the security of the just claims of the United 

 States to assume, during the pending negotiations, limited authority on the island of Great Lew 



