Norwich bulletin., 1920-02-14
HOME RULE IN KOREA

Il1Iations a governor general is ap- pointed as such in civil capacity, no matter whether he is a civilian or
 On the resignation by Count Has egawa of the governor generalship, l was appointed his successor and ar rived at my post in Seoul early in September.
 Since my arrival in Seoul I and my
 assistants have been working day and night to complete the projected re- forms in administration, and it is al source of pleasure to be able to say that these reforms have either been already carried out or are on the eve of being carried out. The administra- tive policy is now based on the re- script granted by the emperor on the occasion of the promulgation of the revised organic regulations for the governor general. In this reScript, bis majesty was pleased to announce his desire that in all respects his Japan i csc and Korean subjects should be placed on a footing of equality. Ac- cordingiy, one of the first reform ] measures taken was the abolition of all discrimination between Japanese Eand Korean officials in respect to treatment. In other words, the rule
 was made that Korean officials should hereafter be paid according to the
 same scale of salary as that for their
 Japanese colleagues. Ways were also
 opened for Koreans of talent and abil- ity to be raised to posts of responsibil- ity and honor in the government. For instance, the post of principal of com mon schools for Korean children, hith- erto exclusively given to Japanese, will i hereafter be given to Koreans, too! It is hoped that the government will be able to secure many well educated and capable Korean young men for its
 service, though, as matter of fact,
 there are already many Koreans sery- ing and occupying high posts in the
 government, among whom, ir may be said, are five provincial governors, forty-four judges and public procula- tors, and POI county magistrates.
 I earnestly desire to hear the opin- ions of the Korean people, learn of their complaints and aspirations, and mold my policy so as to satisfy their reasonable desires.
 | I aim at doing away with the evil
 of formality and red tape in the trans action of official business.
 I also hope to establish a thorough
 understanding between the govern
 ment and the people. It is hoped that, ;after the Korean people have shown themselves possessed of sufficient capabilities, they will be allowed to
 send their representatives to the in-
 perial diet in Tokyo.
 Among the old institutions not suit ing the present condition of things ir
 this peninsula, which it. is intended
 shortly to abolish, is the method o1 ' punishment by flogging This form ot punishment had long been practicet
 in Korea, and, as it was considered 2 measure suitable to the standard o. the people and an effective preventive , of minor offenses, the Japanese gov. l ernment retained it as a penal meas ure for Koreans. It is, however, { method of punishment at variance
 with the modern idea aiming at re formation of erring people. For thii
 reason it is necessary shortly to abol
 ish it, substituting for it fines or i'm l prisonment with labor, so as to con l form to the progress of the timess. The sanitary condition in Korea i , still far from ideal; epidemics ire s quently break>out and the people sui fer from a dearth of competent med e ical practitioners and good hospitals r In order to remedy this shorteornins n the government has established an 0 maintains in Seoul a great central hos e pital equipped with all modern i'm
 provenents and staffed by first clas k physicians. It also maintains nine 0 teen charity hospitals in the province. r besides stationing more than one hun : dred public. doctors at different cente T throughout the peninsula In thes p hospitals Korean patients of poore