Early Relations between the United States and China. 139 



his public entry May 3Oth, 150 and negotiations were at once 

 opened. The relations between the two commissioners were on 

 the whole very pleasant. The first two letters from the Chinese 

 had in the address the name of the United States one line below 

 that of the Chinese government, an expression of inferiority, 

 but when Cushing returned them, tactfully considering the offense 

 the &quot;result of clerical inadvertance,&quot; they were promptly cor 

 rected. 151 On July I7th^ Kiying crossed the boundary to the 

 Portuguese colcmy^of Macao, and took up his residence in a 

 temple in the village of Whanghia, or Wang Hiya. The next 

 day he visited the fleet, and on the following day (June I9th), 

 the Americans returned the call. That same evening three 

 Chinese officers attending the commissioner met Webster, Bridg- 

 man, and Peter Parker, Cushing s secretaries, and arranged the 

 course of the negotiations. 152 On the 2ist, Cushing presented a 

 pro jet for a treaty, basing it, as he said, on five principles 153 : that 

 the United States were to treat with China on a basis of friend 

 ship and peace ; that they did not desire any perfect reciprocity, 

 but since their ports were all open to the ships of all nations and 

 there were no export duties, and since the Chinese had opened 

 only five ports and had an export tariff, they would acquiesceST 

 the view qf the subject which it had pleased the Emperor to 

 adopt; that any difference between the American pro jet and the 

 British treaty was due to the fact that Great Britain had posses 

 sion of Hongkong, and the United States neither possessed nor 

 desired such a concession ; and that in drawing up the pro jet 

 the interests of both sides had been borne in mind. The Chinese 

 and American secretaries met for several days, sometimes in 

 Cushing s house in Macao, sometimes at Whanghia, and discussed 

 and modified this projet until both principals were satisfied. 

 Within the first week after their meeting/, Kiying told Cushing 

 that if he insisted on going to Peking negotiations must be broken 

 off. Cushing yielded with a show of reluctance, stipulating a 



150 Chinese Rep., 13 : 335. 



151 Cushing to Sec. of State, Sen. Doc. 67, 28 Cong., 2 Sess., p. 34. (June 

 13, 1844.) 



152 Cushing to Sec. of State, July 8, 1844, Sen. Doc. 67, 28 Cong., 2 

 Sess., p. 38. 



153 Cushing to Kiying, June 21, 1844, Ibid., p. 41. 



