Tue political intelligence which reaches us from Corea haseome generally through Chinese sources and latterly vid Tientsin, Now and then, particularly when any disturbance has taken place in Seoul, news comes vi@ Japan. In the former case there is every probability of our hearing the Chinese official account of affairs in the Peninsula, while in the latter a strong Japanese colouring has been given to events. It is only on rare occasions, as when Lieut, Foulk gave an account of the events at the latter end of 1884, and the beginning of 1885 tchis Government, that we get a trustworthy piece of Corean history. At othertimes official documents are allowed to see the light, as in the case of the Memorial which the Chinese Resident Yuen presented to the King last year, and we can then, by such means of comparison as are at our disposal, form some idea of events and those who are moulding them, But at the best our information about Corean affairs and the political movements in Seoul has always been scanty. This much however we know of the history of the Kingdom during the last ten or a dozen years, which period comprises the " time which Great Britain has a special political and commercial interesting, that China has alternately been vacillating and imperious, and that Japan until within the last three years possessed an influence at the Court which she was believed to be only waiting an oppor tunity to convert into thorough ascendoney and probably into acquisition of the country. Since the attack on some of the Corean Ministers and the threatened attack on the Japanese minister and residents in 1884 there has been a considerable change in the attitude of Japan to Corea, and by a Convention or Treaty made at Iientsin in 1885 between Li Hung-chang and Count Ito, the present premier of Japan, it was stipulated that neither power should land troops in Corea without the consent of the other. 'I'his put matters on a simple basis between China and Japan, the two powers who as neighbours to Corea had the most direct influence in her quiet and well-being. But the shillyshallying of China before then had placed Corea in an anomalous position with the rest of the world. China had allowed her suzerainty to fall into desuetude; she had done more than this, for she had informed some of the Powers that she would not interfere if they took direct and punitive action against Corea. Further, she allowed the King to make a ''reaty of friendship and commerce with Great Britain in 1883, the ratifications of which were exchanged in the spring of the following year. And last year the King made a Treaty with France without let or hindrance from his suzerain. All this time of vacillation it was notorious that Russia was intriguing in Corea, and Russian intrigues in such a country have but one meaning. That Ri russia desires a port in the North Pacific which will be open all the year round is known by all mien, and that next to the necessity of Keeping her out of a port in the Persian Gulf is the need for preventing her from possessing a place of arms in this part of the world which would be as open to her fleets in the dead of winter as in siummer. Many Powers, besides Great Britain, China and Japan are deeply interested in preventing this, notably the States "which could not view without anxiety the establishment of another Sebastopol in these parts. Hence the interest with which United States diplomatists in Corea have always watched Corean affairs, the s ort which they have given to the King, and that leaning Japanese policy in Coren, which has sometimes been apparent in their reports and papers on the country.
For the last two or three years the actual or presumed doings of Russia ix Corea have chiefly attracted attention to that country. It is probable that belie any foreign treaties were ntade, a pro-Russian party existed in Seoul
and that it has been increasing in strength every year since. The attempt ted protectorate under the auspices of Herr yon Méllendorf? was premature and was dropped and denied as soon asitwas discovered. The attempt which a writer in the Times lately said was made last September to give over the Kingdom toa Russian protectorate had we believe no existence. I'he report of it arose from a translator's mistake, but Yuen, the Chinese Resident, availed himself of it for his own purposes. gering telegrams about the movements of the China fleet appeared in the E gush newspapers—they were in Ce waters—they were patrolling the seas—and soon. It does not matter where they were, when if they had attempted to interfere with the Russian fleet they would have been blown out of the water. We refer to this incident, this mistake of last year, to show how little is known of what actually takes place in Corea, the Russian plot of last year having been accepted by the writer in the Times as a fact. But the silent activity of Russia in Corea is a fact and one which causes great anxiety to Chinese statesmen, as witness the remarkable Memorial of Li Hung-chang to the King of Corea, in 1884, a translation of which we published last year and the excited proceedings of Resident Yuen from time to time. Our Tientsin Correspondent, writing at the end of August, said that the King's position is very happy, the factions were becoming wananageable and Yuen was under the necessity of repairing to Tientsin, it was said, for specific instructions to enable him to deal with emergencies in whatever shape they might appear. It is apparently becoming a yearly necessity for Yuen to repair to tientsin or to be ordered to go there. Last year he made things so bad that Mr. Denny, the adviser of the King on foreign affairs had to appeal personally to Lite put some restraint on Yuen's doings. That was after the latter had tried to make capital out of the scare which someone had got up in Seoul on the presumed Russian designs. We do not know that anything has occurred. this year of greater gravity than the intention of the King to send envoys of is own to foreign Courts, and apparently this has been sanctioned at Peking on conditions of certain formalities beingobserved by them. How could Peking act otherwise, seeing that there are treaties in existence between foreign powers and Corea in which the suzerainty of China is not so much as hinted at?) Our own Sreaty is clear on this point. Sir John Walsham is accredited to Corea, and it is to be regretted that he has not. yet presented himself in Seoul. It is probable that if he had done so earlier the King might have been persuaded to abandon his foolish and probably. mischievous Aespatch of envoys abroad. He might even have moderated Mr. Yuen.
We pointed out not long ago that the best Chinese policy in Corea would be ta encourage and promote her commerce. Has Mr. Yuen ever done so? Unless our information is altogether wrong he has meddled in commercial matters only to the injury of Corea and especially of her foreign trade, That trade is small as yet, but there are ilities in it if the country were left wndisturbed by political intrigue. The developmentof Corean commerce is important but much less so than the preservation of Corea from partition. A mistake in the policy of China at the present time or in the near future might precipitate the transfer of the Eastern Question from Europe to the extremities of Asia, andre are told that a crisis which would usher in that is near at hand. It may be so, for what goes on in Corea is shrouded by a veil thicker than that behind which the doings of the Cabinet Peking are hidden. We are not without good hope that prudent councils wills way Chinese statesmen at this time, as they did when their relations with japan were so severely strained four or five years ago on this same Corean question, We defer to an early issue further consideration of the state of affairs now said to be ruling or imminent in Corea.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.