New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-12-28
EFF
THE JAPANESE CRISIS.

The fall Of tho Matsukata Ministry In japan
may be regarded as BIT Of the proverbal
irony of fate, which the return OF MARQUIS Ito
to Office would make complete. The latter was
formerly Prime Minister He was. In fact. the
Great Minister who was foremost In the es-
tablshment Of constitutional government. and
who brought the country successfully through
the war with China and placed it ndisputably
among the great Powers Of the world After
| that war, however, he declined to enter into
another war with Russia and perhaps Ger
many, too, for the retention of Leao-Tong, but
submitted with dignifed protest, to the mod
ificailon Of the Treaty of Slmonoseki which
those Powers together with France. united In
demanding. This was undoubtedly an act OF
wisdom on his part, and there Is reason to think
that the Marquis so regarded It. he having
grave doubts Of the deslrability OF acquiring
territory on the continent. and thus impairing
the security Of purely insular position. Never
theless his yielding to the Powers gave great
offence to the Jingoes Of japan and strength
ened the hands Of bis enemies, who had long
been working for his overthrow The crisis
came when he made Count Itagakl, the Radical
leader Minister Of the Interior, apparently in
return for the support Of the Radical party In
the Leao-Tong matter. Violent agitation arose,
and at the end of August. 1896, MARQUIS Ito
and Count Itagaki resigned. Count Kuroda
conducted a stopgep Ministry for month and
then Count Matsukata became Prime Minis
ter and Count Okuma Minister OF Foreign AZ
fairs
Whatever were the actual plans Of these new
Minister'S there Is no question that n partic-
ularly aggressive foreign policy was expected OF
them. The newspapers which wcrc supposed to
express their opinions made open declaration
of that fact. Corea was to be controlled The
Philippine Islands were TO be acquired. Ha.
wall was to be annexed Colonial expansion
was to be carried to Australia and New-Zealand,
to the west coast Of South America, and even
10 California, and perhaps there would be terri
torlal conquests In some Of those regions These
utterances seemed preposterous to other M
tons at the time. and probably do to their au-
thors now. There is little reason to suppose
that the Matsukata Ministry was responsible
FOR them or sympathized with them TO any con.
siderable degree. But that Ministry probably
dld intend to conduct more vigorous foreign
policy than its predeoc ssor, and A large pro.
portion or the people undoubtedly expected II
to make Japan. ofhand the mistress of the
Eastern Hemisphere. From such dreams there
now cones an awakne. Japan realizes that
the rights Of other nations, especially Of that
one which introduced her into the circle Of
civilized Powers. must be respected, and that
her own interests are best to be served by re-
specting them.
And now, confronted with the most serious
foreign problem in her history she dismsses
the "Progresslst" Ministry, from which so much
was expected. and returns to the old policy Of
conservative liberalism under which her great.
est victories were won and her greatest prog.
ress was achieved. Upon this she is to be con-
graduated There is no reason to speak any.
thing but good Of the retiring Ministry It has
done well for the domestic interests O. japan.