In February 1868, Emperor Norton issued his first extant Proclamation in defense of the Chinese.

A year before that, in February 1867, an anti-Chinese riot in San Francisco prompted a San Francisco correspondent to a paper in Stockton — 60 miles to the east of San Francisco — to suggest that Emperor Norton was better-positioned than the San Francisco Mayor to lead on the Chinese question.

Did the Emperor and the correspondent know one another from before?

Had they traded their views on the Chinese question?

Did they influence one another on this issue?

Very likely, both men were regular visitors to the same building on Post Street between 1862 and 1867. This would have created the opportunity for them to meet and befriend one another.

If so, the operative question is: What did they talk about?