The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1895-01-17
REFORM PROGRAM
TO COREA BY THE
JAPANESE.
Progressing Satisfactorily-It Provides
for a One-Man Administrative
Power-Useless Display. to
Be Dispensed With

Washington, Jan. 13.--Late newspaper
advices at the Japanese legation are to
the effect that the reform program pre-
sented to the Corean government by the
Japanese is making satisfactory progress.
Ihls program, according to the Kegi
| (newspaper), embraced 30 propositions
| and was presented to the King of Corea
| on the list of November and was approx
ed by him. The propositions include
| among others the following:
That the administrative power should
center i'll the hands of one man; court
affairs should be distinctly separate from
the general administration of the country;
hat court and state affairs has hitherto
)een mixed up; a sovereign is bound to
'bey the laws of his country: the court
hould be Systematically organized the
unctions and competency of the cabi-
let and various departments of state
should be determined; taxes should be
unified by the finance department, hither-
to there having been eight or nine tax
officers, all being Independent; the eX-
penses of the court should be carefully
scheduled and expenses retrenched as
should be established, and after this has
been placed on sound footing, the adop-
ton of Il navy is expected. Useless eX-
travagant display should be done away
with. it being Il standing fault in Corea,
from the court to the lowest officials,
to indulge i'll unnecessary display and
useless ceremony. A criminal code should
be enacted, the police authorities should
he unified, the discipline of government
functionaries should be rigidly enforced,
and any such practice as that in vogue
of selling government offices must be
abolished. The authority of local ofh-
cials should be limited to statutes and
the power centralized. Appointments or
dsmissals of government officials should
be arranged according to n fixed system:
Government officials should not
grasp eagerly at power, nor should they
exhibit suspicious; political vengeance
should not be permitted; promising youths
should be sent to study in Japan and the
national policy is requisite in order to es-
tablsh the independence of the court on
Il sound basis and effectively to reform
home affairs"
Tai Won-Kun, until recently the aged
regent of COrea, and who was deposed for
sending letters to the Chinese generals
in Phyong- Yang, has apologized to the
Japanese representatives and declared by
way of showing his repentance that he
should not take further part in the active
politics of the country.
TO question to the Japanese minis
not to interfere any longer in administra-
tive affairs, either covertly or openly, he
answered dejectedly in the affirmative.
He further asked the minister to employ
all his ability for the reform of Corea and
also asked pardon for his favorte grand
son, who has taken prominent part i'll
the whole matter
The letters referred to promised the
Chinese generals that on the approach of
their troops to Seoul, he, Tai-Won-Kon,
would instigate the Tonghaks to rise and
attack the Japanese from their rear
They were found among the documents
that the japanese seized in the Chinese
camps at Phyong- -Hwang.
Another difficulty at present on the hori-
zon of Corean politics is said to be the
Unsuitable ambition Of the queen to in
terfere in state affairs. Obliged to curb
her ambition while her inveterate enemy,
Tai Wong-Kun, was at the head of the
administration, she is now secretly watch
ing an opportunity to regain her former
position and such an opportunity has pre-
sented itself in the gradual wane of the
old statesman's power and his ultimate re-
trement.
A correspondence describes the intense
distress that the japanese army is labor
ing under in the province of Shrinking,
China, which is very sparsely populated.
There are no trees in the province and the
rivers are said to be almost empty of
water. The army Of over 10000 men,
the correspondent says, is almost on the
point of death from hunger, cold and
thirst and there is no wood to cook their
rice with or water to drink.
Many have been frozen to death from
their inability to stand the cold with an
insulficiency of food and clothing.