Year: 1879

| SO cast ASIDE the Responsibilities not nioAoiy
of an arbitrator, but Of the unraveller OF
great Oriental riddle, the disentangler
of tho most Chinese of all the Chinese
puzzles. This Loochoo problem certainly
beats all the problems in the mythology In
the popularity that the only solution OF
which it is apparently not capable is rea-
sonable one. Everybody's old acquaint-
ance, the Sphinx, is as plain by comparison
as an announcement of Rabbits soap In
ten-foot letters, and the Cretan labyrinth
is made straight by it. Had one OF the
Powers asked General Grant to play the
part in this case of Alexander before the
cart of Gordius he would have been more
at home. He could easier cut this knot
than unite it.


Our correspondence from Japan printed
to-day deals fully with the difficulty which
General Grant has been requested to over
come. In former letter, it will be remem-
bered, this subject was laid before the Gen.
eral personally by Prince Kung, who re-
quested his good Offices as an arbitrator out
of harness-that is to say, an arbitrator at
whose hands they would be happy to get a
solution favorable to their own view, but
whose decision they do not pledge them
selves to accept if it should happen to be
adverse to their claims. An arbitrator fully
possessed of great case by the formal con-
sent of two governments, which consent is
signifed by treaty, and whose decision,
which cannot equally favor both, is yet cer-
tain to be accepted by both as final, stands
in position of great dignity. So stood
at Geneva the arbitrators between England
and the United States. But the position
now occupied by General Grant in this
difficulty is not the same. Even China,
which invited him to act, has made no
declaration whatever Of it's readiness to
abide by his decision in any event. It is
uncertain whether China would stand by
such pledge even if she had made it, but
that would be no concern Of the arbitrntors;
tor if government violates its faith that
fact touches only its own honor, and not
the honor of one who has endeavored to
serve it. But to commit such labor to
one without pledge that his judgment
shall be final merely plays with the point
of arbitration, and tends to make the arbi-
traitor ridiculous. Japan has not given such
pledge, of course. She has merely not
objected to General Grants examination of
the subject. She does not care for arbitra-
ton, has no doubt OF her rights, and
will fight apparently if the case cannot
be settled in any other way and
settled peaceably to the satisfaction of
both parties by mere consideration of their
respective claims it certainly never can be.
Both nations claim original sovereignty
over these islands from remote times
China from A. D. $50. and Japan from early
in the eighth century. On this point there
might appear to be preference in favor Of
China on that odd hundred years; but we
fear the point would not hold. All that is
necessary to make your claim equal in that
way is to know what your adversary claims
| Tweed, in order to have his majority right
in New York, only wanted to know what the
adverse majority would be in the country.
With that knowledge it was easy enough to


adjust the figures And so no doubt the
Japanese, fully in possession of the date
from which the Chinese claim, only need to
go through another row in the library
to show that they go further still into that
| dingy past. Both nations also claim that
their language is the language of Loochoo,
and put their case thereby on chronological
| grounds. The Chinese declare that the
Loochooans, in addition to using their Ian
| guage, use their calendar, ''as is known to
| oil nations under heaven" and this refer
| ence to notoriety and common report is q
| graceful indication Of their sincerity. Both
| nations claim to have received tribute from
these islanders. and both pretend to have
| exercised administrative authority. Japan
gives the date when she set up milestones
in the country. Japan has the credit, at
least, OF making the most far-reaching
claim when she appeals to geology and
physical geography and shows that the
islands are part of the same natural system
as the island world OF Japan generally.


Given all these points, who is entitled to
the sovereignty of these islands? 1t is evil
dent that that point may be absolutely in
dependent of every one OF them. Perhaps
the Japanese guess at the true state of the


case when they allege that the ruler of the
| Loochoos was one Of the ancient feudal
lords of their system who has been recently
absorbed in their abatement OF that system,
and who in the old times, in order to have
two strings to his bow, paid tribute to the
Emperor of China with view to the pos
sible need now and then Of threatening his
intrusive neighbors with his relations to
the Brother of the Sun and Moon. So
might Lowland Scot in tho days of the
Border call himself an Englishman to-day
and Scot tomorrow as either character
was more convenient in the circumstances


Perhaps, also, the Chinese touch the bulls
eye when they argue that the Japanese in
gathering their outlying feudatorics under