Realizing the friendly attitude of Americans towards their country, the Chinese coolies in Peru sent to the American legation in Lima a curious and affecting petition, setting forth their pitiable condition, and praying that through its government the emperor of China might be moved to intervene in their behalf. This petition was presented by the American minister at Peking to the Tsung-li Yamen, with the suggestion of a course which might be followed to secure relief without danger of foreign entanglements. He reports that the officials of the Yamen expressed their sympathy with their suffering countrymen, regretted that they should have been inveigled into such a miserable, cruel servitude, and hoped that the evils would soon be mitigated; but he states that they had no vivid sense of their own responsibilities in the matter, did not respond to his suggestion of a remedy, and took no steps for the amelioration of the sad lot of the petitioners and the scores of thousands of other Chinese similarly situated.
The explanation made by the American minister for this surprising indifference of the Peking officials was that their secluded position and prejudices of education and etiquette prevented them from learning the true state of the world and deterred them from any new step in foreign intercourse. Added to this was the fact that the interests of the great empire were not seriously affected by the exodus of a few hundred thousands from the swarming population of the southern provinces. During the negotiations which resulted in the treaty of 1858 one of the Chinese plenipotentiaries,
