Mr. Seward to Mr. Pruyn
Sir: Your despatch of September 28, No. 60, has been received. Whatever may be the end of the present complications in Japan, it is certain that the events occurring there are rapidly raising the curtain which has hitherto secured the political machinery of the empire against the intrusive curiosity of the western powers.
It is very instructive to find that the conflicting forces in the Japanese system are the same as in other systems of government, and that the difference between them really lies in the relative development of those identical forces and in their respective combinations. Thus we seem to have now found out that the Mikado is a spiritual power, while the Tycoon is purely a temporal authority; that the aristocracy, while revering the spiritual authority, control it, and employ it to embarrass the temporal government.
Your despatch now before me brings into relief a third political force, that of combinations of artisans or trade associations, counteracting and modifying the action of both the spiritual and the temporal power.
The more you enable us to understand the constitution of the government and of society in Japan, the more weight the President inclines to give to your suggestion, that as soon as practicable the western powers ought to take measures to have the treaties they have already made with the Tycoon ratified and confirmed by the Mikado.
I have already invited the attention of the British government to the suggestion, and I am informed that they are holding it under consideration.
The President’s message and the accompanying documents will inform you of the cheerful aspect of our domestic affairs, and if surprised, you will at the same time be gratified to learn that it is only in Japan that we are apprehending collision with a foreign enemy.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
Robert H. Pruyn, Esq., &c., &c., &c., Japan.