2nd Dec.
In another column will be found a letter -from -our correspondent at the capital of Corea giving a summary of the contract' by which Mr. Kuni Alexeieff has been appointed Financial Adviser to the Emperor of Corea in succession" to Mr. J. McLeavy' Brown, suitimarily dismissed from office. By the contract Mr. Alexeieff is appointed Chief'Adviser to the Finance Department'and Chief Superintendent of Customs, with power to appoint a Chief Commissioner of Customs. His appointment only terminates when there is to be found a Corean of sufficient education in financial matters to take over the duties, and under any circumstances he can only be succeeded by a Corean or a'Russian; there is not even an opening left for a Frenchman to aspire to the office, notwithstanding the union of hearts that has now been formally consolidated between France and Russia, The appointment has not passed without a remonstrance on the part of certain Coreans, and the Seoul Jndependent prints a long letter from a Corean who signs himself "Daihan Sir: and professes to write on behalf of "the common people of the country." His objection is not to the employment of a for 0 many years' service in the Go-uvate individual of another nationality
vernment; but that "the Foreign Office not only made a binding contract with a private citizen of another country, but it has bound the whole Government of Corea to the Russian Government." He maintains, and he states that he knows the law in such matters, having held an office in the Corean Govern-then for some years, that the Minister for Foreign Affairs acted entirely ultra vires in. making the contract. " First, be has no power to make a binding agreement concerning the affairs of the whole Government without consulting the Council. Second, the Council of State never authorised him to make it: Third, His Majesty never ordered him to omit the regular steps in this particular case. Fourth, the law does not allow the Minister of Foreign Affairs to act independently of the Council when agreements of national importance are to be entered upon, Therefore it is my belief that the document in question was illegally signed on the part of our Goverment." Vhese technical objections are all very well, but the fact remains that the Corean Minister of Foreign Affairs no option but to sign or resign The-Russian Minister practically held a pistol at his head, and his action is approved by his Sovereign as the following extract from the Independent shows "Phe Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cho Pyeng-sik, reports to the Throne that Mr. Alexeieff, a Russian Financial Adviser, has arrived in the capital according to the -request which was made by ex-Minister Min Yung-whan, to Russia. He further reports that he has an agreement with the Russian Minister, Mr. de Speyer, concerning the employment of said Mr. Alexeieff.and ho desires to know on what day the new adviser inlay commence his work in the Finance Department. His Majesty replied to the report as follows "he report is hereby approved. All the financial affairs of the 'Treasury and the Customs Administration be cartied on carefully by consulting with the Finance Minister. In regard to expenditure they wust observe the seals and countersigns without making mistakes.' (Wede not quite understand the meaning of this edict, but we venture to say that it means the new Chief Adviser must consult the Finance Minister in all financial matters; and he must countersign all cheques before the money is paid out from the Daihan Saram" was not the only public opponent of the Foreign Minister's action. Mr. Pak Yung-hang, who was the Corean Finance Minister at the time, sent to the Throne a memorial protesting against the step forced on the Government by the Rnasian Minister, making the same technical objections as those made by " Daihan Saram." Mr. Pak represented that he was not asked nor were the Council consulted as to the appointment of Mr. Alexeieff; the people must. think that there is-no Corean able. to fill the office of Finance Minister. He therefore begged the Emperor " to dismiss him from the Finance Department and punish him for his failure in upholding the dignity and rights of the Department." The Ewperor's reply was: "Yon need not make such statements, We accept your resignation."
'As far as we know, no-one of any consequence could have or has had any objection to Mr. McLeavy Brown personally. He -is a man' of unusual ability and power of work, who has been along time in Corea, and has carried out his duties in a manner that has been entirely satisfactory to every-one except the incompetent officials who found when pay-day came that he was not to be persuaded into paying Government money to men who had done no work for the Government. He found the Corean 'I'reasury in a state of chronic emptiness, and left it with fa large surplus in-hand after paying affa considerable portion of Corea's debt to Japan. Ihe Foreign Representatives and the American Missionaries alike knew the value of his service to the Government, and we cannot imagine the former Russian representa tive, Mr. Waeber, taking the step that has just been adopted in such a summary fashion by his successor. It is distinct slap in the face to' England though possibly that was not its intention. The Russians have for some time had the control of the Gorean Army, and they considered it necessary for their ends that they should also have central
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.