The Express.
London, England, 1861-10-17 00:00:00

TO OUR *RADER&

VOWING INTELLIGENCL

A !ate edition al the &prom is published every
eastinig during the man mason, coutaising the
malt* 4 the day's man.

Tna imialligence which reaches us from Japan,
so far as it relates to the situation of our country-
men at Vest to, is defective and disappointing. We
know not what to think of the efficacy of tho pre-
cautions taken by the Japanese Government for
their safety ; and as to the extent of the protection
afforded by our marine, we are left to speculation.
On the other hand, in respect of the causes of the
late murderous assault our information is
most suggestive. The general tendency of
native feeling in a foreign, and still more
in an Eastern country, is always difficult
to ascertain. Wu know, however, that it
is not universally true that every Oriental in-
stinctively regards the stranger as an enemy. Our
experience in China, where we have uniformly
found, not only on the coast, but on the banks
of the great riven, people pleased to hold inter-
course with the foreigners, negatives that once
co JJJ ion belief. In China we find, almost univer-
sally, that the opposition offered to our traffic
proceeds from officials, who fear that the visits
of the stranger merchant will diminish or
destroy their emoluments, while the common people
are ready to receive us gladly. As to the ruling
classes in Japan, their sentiment has never for a
moment been doubtful. They regard us, our
treaties, our trade, and relations simply as so
many unmitigated evils. When Mr. AIA:OCK told
the Governor of Kenai/awe that an envoy from
Belgium was likely to apply fora commercial treaty,
he counted off the Treaty Powers on his fingers
and said ;—" With these five we find scarcity
" and dearth, and daily increasing difficul-
" ties already resulting from foreign trade ;
" what should we do, then, if new countries were
" added to the list?" And, as the public know,
Japanese exclusiveness has not been confined to
this mild form of expostulation. The question is
whether this disposition is to any great extent
shared by the population. And at this conjunc-
ture a very curious document comes into the pos-
session of our Minister in Japan. It is • paper
found on the person of one of the wounded men
of the band which attacked our legation on the
memorable Zith of July, and is thus rendered in
English :

" I, though I am a person of low degree, have'
" not patience to stand by and see the Sacred
" Empire defiled by the Foreigner. This time I
" have determined in my heart to follow out
"my Master's will. Though being altogether
" humble myself, I cannot make the might of the
" country to shine in the eyes of foreign nations
" —yet with • little faith and a bold warrior's
" power, I wish in my heart, though I am a per.
" sou of low degree, to bestow upon my country
" one out of a great many benefits. If this thing
" from time to time may cause the Foreigner to
" retire and partly tranquillize both the minds (or
" the spirits) of the Mikado and the Tycoon I shall
" take to myself the highest praise. Regardless
" of my own life, I am determined to set out."
As • mere specimen of Japanese literature this
paper is remarkable. It is either the expression
of a simple, though rude and almost brutal,
patriotism, or the production of a writer of con-
siderable dramatic power. tin the whole, appear-
ances are against its genuineness. It is too self.
coracious and deliberate for a desperate fellow
ready to throw away his life. Men of that vigor-
ous and active turn do not generally sit down and
figure to themselves the ideal aspect of what they
intend, write down their thought', and put the
manuscript in their pockets. Another fact which
favours our suspicion is that the composition does
not simply represent the act of one man, finding a
private satisfaction in expressing his feelings. For
it bears fourteen signatures. Either, then, it was
the production of some enthusiastic Japanese of
the humbler order, or it was artfully drawn up
by instigators of the attack occupying a superior
station, who found means to induce the inferior
agents to adopt it. The latter seems the more
reasonable supposition. The ideas which occur in
the paper are those which the Damios, or nobles,
are known to entertain. The policy disclosed in
the final paragraph is precisely that which they
have followed from the moment of oar entrance
into Japan—to compel the foreigners to retire
by annoyances repeated from time to time. The
argument implied--I, a person of low degree, may
aspire to the distinction of ►venging the empire,
and pleasing the spirituel and temporal Emperor—
is just one of those with which the feudal nobles
of Japan would seek, not omitting more materiel
inducements, to influence their dependents end
followers. on the whole, there is nothing in the
paper to discredit, but much to confirm the opinion
formed, when the first news of this very serious
attack arrived—the opinion that its authorship is to
be sought among the great nobles of the State
rather than in popular feeling. It is well ascertained
that the men must have been encouraged, or at
least abetted, by some persons in • clam superior
to their own, for they were seen together as a
band long before they made their appearance at
the British Legation, and were known to be in
possession of ample funds.
But however we at • distance may try to die-
tinguish between the dispositions of the people and
of their rulers, it is but too certain that in Japan
we have to face an opposition which for all prao-
tical purposes is national. There, as in China, !
are running round the old circle of Eastern experi-
ence. We begin with a Treaty, invariably ex-
Jetted by force exerted or displayed. The seen
eantile world applauds and congratulates itself that