the American consul at Singapore, Mr. J. Balestier, was authorized to negotiate a commercial treaty with the sultan of Borneo. He sailed from Canton in April, 1850, in the United States naval vessel Plymouth, accompanied by Rev. Mr. Dean, an American missionary "well versed in the Chinese and Siamese languages," as secretary and interpreter. After touching at ports of Annam and Siam to execute commissions of his government, he succeeded without much difficulty in making a treaty with the sultan of Borneo authorizing commercial intercourse with that island.[1]
In 1845 Mr. Pratt, a member of Congress from New York, introduced a resolution in the House, recommending that immediate measures be taken for effecting commercial arrangements with Japan and Korea. The resolution was accompanied by a memorandum giving various reasons for its adoption, among which were the following,—that the failure of other nations is no reason why we should not make "a vigorous effort now," and that "the day and the hour have now arrived for turning the enterprise of our merchants and seamen into the harbors and markets of those long secluded countries."[2] The introduction of this resolution was followed within three months by an instruction to the commander of the naval squadron on the East India station. He was informed that Mr. Everett, our diplomatic representative in China, possessed letters of credence to Japan, and the commander was instructed "to ascertain if the ports of Japan are accessible;" that if
