The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-01-20

| was strongly pro-Japanese. Another, the
L reactionary element, was as strongly In
1 favor OF encouraging the growth of Chi.
4 nese influence. The third hoped to check
intercourse with Japan by relying entirely
upon such native interests as were bitterly
opposed to japanese ascendancy. This
last, the purely Corean party, planned a
coup detat with the result that the jap
anese legation at Seou! was sacked and
the Government overturned. Japan sent
troops and an ultimatum. while the Chi
nese party obtained assistance from LII
i Hung Chang. The upshot of the whole
i business was that Japan secured from
/ Corea a treaty more liberal than the
Kokwa convention.
But the invitation given to China bore
/ other fruit. In 1884 Chinese political
agents and Chinese soldiers assisted in
a riot that gravely imperiled the life
| Of the japanese minister at Seoul. This
4 led to a protest to China and to Count
Ito's official PRONUNCIATION Of this doc
| trine: "The pretension Of Japan over
] Corea is economical, /. e., she does not
claim any legal AUTHORITY over Corea,
/ but from her geographical position and
the necessity Of providing for her con-
stantly. increasing population, she is
intent on utilizing Corea as the best
| source from which the defect of the
home product Of rice is to be supplied
as well as the nearest field in which the
\ future sons Of japan may find employ
ment. For this purpose Japan would
have Corea always Independent and un-
der no foreign influence, but within the
last years China has been sending MILL
tary and political agents to Corea, and
interfering with Corean International af-
fairs. as II she intended to make real her
pretensions over Corea. which have long
since become purely historical. This state
| OF things must be rectffled, for Japan
| would never consent to Corea becoming
In reality part of the ChiLese empire. i"
| In 1886 the fine hand Of Russia first
became plainly apparent. A plot to make
| Corea Russian province was discovered
| at Seoul. Great Britain. aroused at last
to the fact that her interests in Corea
| were not small and that they could be
| best maintained by Strengthening the
hands of Japan seized Port Hamilton as
| a base whence hostilities with Russia
| could be most readily prosecuted. The
Russian minister at Pekin was straight
away instructed to pledge his govern
| ment to take no steps to acquire Corean
territory, provided Great Britain would
give up Port Hamilton. Great Britain
surrendered on the positive assurance
that 1.-THE Russian government would not
occupy Corean territory under any cir
cumstances whatsoever" But while this
promise was kept for a time Russia pro-
ceeded to establish herself as a rival of
Japan In the Corean trade. A CONNER
cial agreement and telegraph conces-
sion were yielded by Corea at the re-
quest of Russia.
In 1894 China again threatened to- re-
gain ascendency in Corea and Japan de-
clared war. The issue of the conflict
was never in doubt. AS a result of her
decisive victory Japan had a fair claim
to the permanent occupancy of the Lao
tung Peninsula, a position assuring not
only the safety of Corea from Russian
or Chinese aggression, but which would
have made impossible the absorption of
Manchuria by Russia. Russia, Germany
and France forced Japan to surrender
the peninsula, which was afterward leased
by China to Russia. This action gave
to Russia a base from which to pursue
her designs upon Corea.
Robbed of the fruits of her victory by a
coalition which might have been thwarted
by her natural ally, Great Britain, Japan
endeavored to secure her political status
In Corea by measures the reverse of pol
lite. There can be no doubt that the at
tempted revolution of 1895 was the work
OF Japanese agents. who urged the pro-
Japanese party to rise at a most inoppor-
tune moment. The plans were badly laid
and popular feeling against Japan was in.
tensified by the unfortunate murder of
the queen by a mob and by the imprison-
ment of the king and the crown prince in
the japanese legation. Subsequently the
king and his son. escaping the vigilance of
their 1atlers. took refuge with the Russian
minister This turn Of affairs made Rus
STA powerful In Corea and had the era Of
Manchurian occupation begun a few years
before 1t did the Gar might then and
there have disposed of the Corean aues-
ton to his own satisfaction. But r .ssia
was not at that time ready for a quarrel
with Japan, so she consented to make
treaties. three in all. BY the first Japan
was allowed to place small garris ms at
important points in Corea and Russia was
allowed to maintain guards at the Seoul
legation and at various consulates. BY
the second Russia reserved the right of
establishing a telegraph line from Seoul
to the Siberian frontier and Japan was
confirmed in the possession of those Co.
rean telegraph lines already under her
control. The third treaty, known as the
Ntsst Rosen Convention, was signed at
Toxic on April rs, 1898. The first article
reads as follows: THE imperial govern
ments of Japan and Russia definitely rec
ognize the sovereignty and complete in
dependence of Corea, and mutually en-
gage to abstain from all direct interfer-
ence in the internal affairs of that coun-
try" The third, last and most important
article was this: I'm view of the large
development Of Industrial and commercial
enterprises between Japan and Corea and
also because of the considerable number
OF Japanese subjects resident in the coun-
try. the imperial government of Russia
will not interfere with the development of
the commercial and Industrial relations
between Japan and Corea."
Acting under this agreement Japan re-
doubled her efforts to increase these in
dustrial and commercial relations" to the
utmost. She obtained from the Corean
Nsrr vent a practical monopoly In rail-
road construction. She established banks
here, there and everywhere. By 1902 her
interest in the carrying trade of Corea,
was so great that out of the 1,241. 434 tons
of shipping entering Corean ports, 1894 6
were Japanese. In February. 1872. was
signed the Lansdowne-Hayashi treaty by