Notwirasranpixa her many difficulties, financial and otherwise, Japan contrives tovhold her.own gallantly. Last year, she managed the Formosan. affair in a highly creditable manner, and this year she has achieved a signal success. by her. Corean Treaty. The. Japanese native Press is, full to overflowing with information. concerning the country which has boon so long a terra incognita.to the rest of the world.: In common "with, the inhabitants of. another island empire with which we are acquainted, ithe Japanese are addicted to manias, 'They got saturated and absorbed in a -topio for month, and then let it drop. Phe topic now is Corea, 'The Hochi Shimbun, and the Nichi Nichi: Shimbun, and. the hoya Shimbun, and.all the "papers are fall of Corea.' Every scrap information that can be obtained on the subject is seized hold of,. printed; vend: read with the greatest. eagerness all ranks of the people;.and a very Hinteresting mass of knowledge relating -to.the country has' been dug out by the newspapers. It is. discovered that the Coreans, though acquainted with Chinese characters, frankly confess that they are barbarians." The art of drawcing is in a backward state among them, abut there are some few Coreans who write poetry, and some who write prose. {The country produces tigers.and leopards; the cotton cloth is of low quality, but very cheap; the silk is useless, and the climate cold. There are rarely heavy snowfalls in Corea; and the province of Kogen is the warmest of the eight into which the land is divided, The whole nation is poor, and the number - of Is enormous. The population consists of 5,000,000, and is said to have decreased of late years. It seems difficult to find out what are the revenues of the sovereign, but they cannot be very large. These are a fow of the facts that the curiosity of the Japanese have discovered regarding the people with whom they have at Jast entered into treaty relations. They are so extremely satisfied with the coup that they have made, that they are disposed to be very generous to. the Coreans. It seems that the Government have published the treaty with Corea, but have not thought it needful to publish the letter of apology which was wrung from the Corean Government.
The Japanese papers are at first puzzled at this; but they conclude it is all for the best.
After the treaty had been concluded," exclaims, the Nichi Nichi Shimbun, "Corea at once became a friendly "neighbour of ours. Why, therefore, "should we be puffed up with pride, "and publish both at home and abroad "her letter of apology, so as to obtain "for ourselves praise merely in our "own neighbourhood." Taking it all together, as we observed in a previous article on the subject, the Japanese have every reason to be satisfied with their treaty. It is a business-like and sensible document, calculated to promote the best interests of both countries and we trust that it will effect by peaceful processes that result, which two Western expeditions of ships-of-war failed signally to accompli Four clauses of the treaty are distinct gains to the "Land of the Rising Sun." It is satisfactory to read that Sone and two other ports are to be opened for commercial intercourse; that the rocky and dangerous coasts are to be surveyed; and that a Japanese Consul shall be permitted to resi at the. treaty: ports. 0} These provisions all read like: those made ty a European power of high rank and intelligence, and: show how thoroughly Japan is entering, and indeed.has already entered, into the spirit of our civilization.
Hoy - painfully. we cannot help adding, China contrasts with. her bri liant and active little neighbour.' While here, every conceivable obstacle is being raised by the Magistrates to the intro. duction of the thin edge of the wedge of civilization, and to the most, elementary steps in. the "direction of progress, we find Japan foremost in opening a country hitherto closed... We see her setting an example to the West, and showing how to exhibit, and how to economise pressure for her own good, and for the promotion of the best interests of the land she is dealing with, This surely is a sight which should encourage all: those who -advocate. firmness in the beginning of our relations with Orientals, Japan treats Corea as she was herself treated. Had the "let alone" policy been adopted with the one country, Corea would have remained closed for another century.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.