geon Pyar: 5th Tune. a recent. number. ofthe Yorodzu Choho;' %° paper which' has an English section. in, its colkains, appeared., an article in: Eiglish answering certain objections: in'theSeoul: Independent and Corean'. Repository, to' Japan's claims for, the murder. of Japanese: by Coreans. 'While an" answer to these two Corean journals, it, is at the sume time"a tem: perate'stateméiit' of what Japan believes tobe. her. rights with regard to Corea...
"Nhe writer: first treats the proposition brought forward by the Independent that. "Japan has. no other or. larger right in Corea: than has England, America, Fravce, or any other, Power, and her. citizens have, no rights. in Corea. that. do not pertain to the citizens of any other Power in treaty with, Corea,"; The Yorodsw traverses this on the ground. that:—* Broadly spanking, Corea has, since the days of the opening of that vexed Peninsula to the outer world, lived en and managed to make ends, meet simply..and solely by reason of Japan's forbearance, Japan's trade, and Japan's pecuniary aid. Coren has; time and again, incurred. heavy debts to, our Empire; has broken, her promise ina score of. instances; has given offence more. than' enough to warrant the inception of a dozen wars has, in a word, lived on as nation solely, by. reason, of Japan desire to secure the autonomy of. the Peninsula at all costs and: despite" the "greatest Sacrifices on. her own,, part. What millions of money have been spent. and hundreds of, brave. lives offered up: to this. Moloch of. Corean -independence Why the Kingdow'is doubly and trebly bankrupt, and would not be able to pay. the lowest and humblest employe, were is not for the moneys Jent by Japan!" And the writer goes ov to say that while those things. may. not' give' Japan any. exclusive' rights on paper, " indeed and in truth, by every law human and.divine, Corea should: ever be'a suppliant at the feet of Japan; ati ally on whose, firm friendship the utmost confidence might be imposed."
'Who second proposition treated is "That the present disturbed condition of affairs in. Corea-is an outcome of' the intervention of, the' Japanese in the politics, of Corea.".As. to. this the Yorodzu says:—* Pray; was 'Japanese intervention' responsible for thie'émeutes, of '1884, 1886,.and the. T'oughak Rebellion.? Has not Corea: been, for' the: last fifteen. years, filled' with sedition, insurrection, rebellion, tumult, rit, and. murder 2". Ts. Jupan' responsible for. all this 7, Is. Japan., responsible. for. the. helpless. incapacity: of* the: ~-Corean-monarch, the insatiable capacity of the governing—misgoverning!—classes, the low grade of morality,, insouciance, and absolute improvidence -of. the: Coreah people at; large ¢: For these and, these al factors at, work... Japan's "ain wasyof the noblest, most' enlightd kind, But you.can-
The North - China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette (1870-1941); Jun 5, 1896; not: make a silk purse out of a sow's edr something.of the porcine nature: will. remain however deft the modeller. We have yet. to hear of a year, age, or''a"sifiglé month or week when some part of Corea was not in a state' of -disorder. And -we can well imagine that any attempt to bring order out of the..chaos of - Corean polities will both now and in future be followed -by 'a disturbed condition of affairs.'."
When we come.to the third point, a more definite charge made by the Independent. This is that "this disturbed condition of affairs was - very greatly increased by the events. of October the 8th, 1895, when, at Japanese instigation, the Queen was murdered." "To this the © Yorodcu's reply is not so_ satisfying. It says:—"To the first place, nothing. can exceed the horror. and indignation. of the Japanese Government: ion hearing of the. atrocity, the. steps promptly. taken entirely clearing our: Empire of any: complicity. No., one can more profoundly deplore the wifeward fate of the Queen thin do we. But to say that Japan was directly responsible for the murder, is not true. The assassin tiation had, for years, been a. foregone conclusion for the late Queen's absolute indifference to the weal of the people; her vehement partisanship of the hated and. hateful. Mins: her unreasoning and'unreasonable desire for absolute power as' vested in her own person; her, in a word, wholly unpatriotic and downright tyrannical bearing—these and these only: were the pregnant causes of her downfall, her—Joath as we are to say it—merited fate! Nothing can make us _believe—not ever the Seoul Jndependent—that the Japanese are hated by reason of their supposed connection with the. Queen's murder, for never was a crowned head better hated."
And then. the. Yorodzw concludes, by saying:—"'Thit under all these circumstances, the Japanese Government.: should demand. $5,000 for each Japanese citizen: murdered Corean' soil' by: Corean natives, is, assert it most emphatically,.a "most moderate and just claim; a claim that should' be enforced: by fire and sword,' if need be! We make no charge for the scores and hundreds "of brave' men who-fell at Sénghwan, at Phydngyang, and_at Wiju!. We have: not: brought: a counterclaim: against. the—Corean Government for the iutdréds' and thousainds of Corean' coolies who after being well-paid for their. putative services, ran away and: left- our: Army. inthe lurch!) We have made no claim for the injuries done our fishermen off the Corean littoral. Corea promised, long years: ago, to. pay a suitable. indemnity "which has never been forthcoming. We care not if—which is very doubtful—the majority of our murdered: country-ith passports ab the, life, a Japanese citizen should be dearer in nationals."
Corea's eyes than one of her own
Now the Yorodzu's answers to the Independent's first proposition would have been quite good if Corea had ever asked Japan's assistance. Corea rubbed along very fairly under the mild guidance of the Chinese Resident, Yuan Shih-kai, and never asked Japan to make any' sacrifices.to secure her autonomy. She took money from China. as.well as from Japan; as she will take it from Russia, or from anyone who will offer it; but- it is human nature not to be specially grateful for -kivduesses that are forced on one; precious balms that break the recipient's head stifle' gratitude. So with the answer to the second proposition, It is the nature of such. a misgoverned country as Corea to be filled. with sedition, insurrection, rebellion, tumult, riot, and murder;" but it is undoubtedly true that her condition has been much worse since the Japanese intervention, because in the first place, the Coreans have a" strong traditional and well-founded hatred of the Japanese; and in the second place, Corean conspirators, if they will only profess Japanese leanings, are allowed to plot freely in 'Tokio. as Baku Biko is doing now, and: are. ptotected by the Japanese Goverment. As to the murder of the Queen the Yorodzu's argument will not hold water at-all. 'There is no reason for believing that: she would have' been murdered under any circumstances; and in the face of the finding of the Japanese Judge at Hiroshima, it is almost impudent to assert that it.is not true to say that Japan was directly responsible for her taurder, -No. brinishment has been inflicted'on Viscount. Miura, and therefore itis impossible to say that the step taken by the. Japanese Government: have entirely cleared the Empire of any complicity. We do not believe for a moment that the. Queen was well hated in Corea; we know, indeed, that she was affection ably regarded: as the mother of, hier people, and that her murder added fresh.fuel to the popular hatred of the Japanese in Corea, If, scores and. hundreds of "brave Japanese fell in the battles between the Chinese and Japanese in Cores, the 'Chinese' must have fought very much better: than: Japanese accounts ofthe fighting have led the world to: believe and as. the Japanese were fighting to gratify their own ambition, there is no reason why the Coreans: should be gratefal for'their devotion. The Corean Government; is not responsible. for the Tapanese-commanders: being "enable to conttol'the coolies they -engived; and Japanese fishermen were injured.off the Corean littoral, it might bea warning to. them to fish in. their, oimn waters, The: fact is. that Japan's - inter fence with 'Corea has been throughout - for her own purposes, though she' no doubt "hoped to. do-good. to Corea incidentally; "but if, was good that orca, id pant,' and certainly not want from Japan and
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.