Prince Komatsu (senior) is to represent. Japan at the coronation of King Edward. The members of his suite have not yet been named, Suicide la Yokohama.
The suicide of Mr. A. Norman Walter, of the firm of Messrs. Walter and Leather, brokers, Yokohama, has set people here talking again on the deleterious effect the climate of Japan has upon certain temperaments. All throughout their history the Japanese sevn to have been very ready to com unit suicide, and from statistics recently published, it seems that the number of suicides is steadily mounting. As for the foreign population, more suicides seem to take place anion them in proportion to their numbers than among any other foreign community in the Far East. I certainly do not believe that this comes—I put the matter bluntly and brutally—from greater drunkenness and immorality among the foreigners hero. It seems to me to come in many cases from the influence of the climate on delicate nervous systems, an influence of which the evil effects ure a hundred-fold increased by worry and overwork, Missionaries and other persons of studious and retired habits are very subject to nervous breakdown in this country; in fact, it is perhaps the people who lead the most monochromatic lives that are most subject to that _—_intense nervous depression which so often ends in self-murder. But if Japan is really so bad for the nerves, why does not some eminent doctor like Dr. Baelz write something on the subject?
Saghaliev.
A French traveller from Saghaliew has just told mo that the Saghalign Fishery Question will yet: be the great question between Japan and Russia. At present the Vaps seem to be getting on all right in Between April, 1900 and March, 1901 out 130.000 koku of fish and 10,0C0 piculs of Kombu were secured in Sagha-Tien, and of this amount about 82,000 koku of fish was taken by Japanese fishers. To transport these products to Japan 119 vessels went thither, and of these ships, 94 were Japanese and the rest Russian. So that the Japs seem to hare the lion's share, Li Hung-chang.
A good article to be read_in connection ith Mr. Boulger's "Li Hung-chang—{Statesman or Impostor?" in the "Fortn glutly," of better still Mr. Michic's article in "Blackwood," is a sketch of the Chinese statesman by Mr. Kei Hara, Minister of Communications in the last 1to Cabinet, which has just appeared in the January number of the Taiyo." I make use of the translation which has appeared in the " Japan Times In one place Mr. Hara says that his acquaintance with Earl Li dates back to the end of 1883 when he went to Tientsin as the Japanese Consul there. For over a year he remained in Tientsin and during that time he quite frequently had occasion to talk with On some of these occasions Mr. Hara noticed Li to fall in the course of conversation into no little confusion in an unexpected manner and from this fact as from others the Japanese writer concludes that the deceased statesman of China was not a man with so much diplomatic resourcefulness as he was generally reputed to possess.
In another passage Mr. Hara says:—"As generally believed by our countrymen, it is a fact that Li had always had to solve the difficulties of his country when the bungling of others had made them well-nigh insoluble. But this does not mean that he was an old hand at tricky diploma-As is well known, it has always been of the high officials of China to shun intercourse with foreigners and to have recourse to all possible arti-roid such intercourse. Such be-ase it may be about correct to say that whenever any foreign question cropped up, each of these officials took turns in shifting the settlement. of it on to others until it finally reached Li Hung-chang. Whatever else may be said about him, ways felt great concern about the future of their country, and he was consequently always ready to grapple with all the international affairs in which China was concerned. This circumstance, if it proves anything, would prove that he was anything but the cunning old politician he is generally said to have been."
Oid Li Embarrassed.
Further on Mr. Hara proceed: 1884 occurred that Seoul outbreak in Corea, which occasioned the dispatch of Count Inouye as our special Envoy to that country. The following year brought the present Marquis Ito to Tientsin where he met Li Hung-chang. After repeated conferences China through Li yielded so far as to recognise the independence of Corea and agree that thenceforth China would not station her troops in that country, thus bringing into existence what has ince come to be known as the Tientsin Treaty. At the time of this outbreak inj Corea I was serving as Consul at Tientsin (and had opportunities to watch L's movements). Li appeared to be greatly worried by the idea that the Corean question would entail serious consequences and he was untiring in his efforts to explain away China's position in the matter. One day a dispatch reached Li from Wu Tai-hi, China's special Envoy in Corea. On the strength of that report Li informed me the officials of Japan and China in Corea were getting on very well with each other und asked me to transmit this intel-nem to our Government. As if thinking it not sufficient to tell me this much, he offered to show me Wu's letter. He called his page and cent him for the letter. As the page started on the errand I canld read on Li's face that he was regretting the offer he had made. The letter arrived and was put on the table between us,—I could see it consisted of more than a dozen sheets of aper. Li then went carefully over each leaf putting it face downward on the table as he finished reading it and he was very slow about fulfitiag lus promise to show me the document, ty he began to read the contents to me. I told him that I could not understand a word as read but that I would be able to do so if I were allowed to see it in writing. Thereupon I could see that Li was in some confusion again. He then said that ko must not give me the trouble of reading it and he actually took up a brush ani copied portion of the contents exten several dozens of lines. This copy ed to me but after all he failed to zeke good his promise to let me read tue whole dispatch. I can even now sea before my eyes the face of Li Hung-chang in his extreme embarrassment. I say this sort of exhibition is not to be expected from a man who schemes deeply and who depends on his own resoureefu! Indeed any idea of Li is different to that generally ontertained by our countrymen; for I he-lieve that he was rather a man of sincerity than one given to tricks and dondia-cteale ing."
The Return of the Court, The Peking correspondent of the " Nichi Nichi" sends a very vivid and interesting account of the return of the Court, Your readers are perhaps satiated with such accounts by this time, but they may be interested "nevertheless in gotting a glimpse of the scene through Japanese glasses.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.