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became divided into three rival principalities, called North, South, and Middle Mountains, and the ruler of the Middle Mountains finally unified all the islands by the aid of China. In 1373 the Chinese Emperor of the Ming Dynasty named the island Liukiu, and conferred investiture on its King, who was obliged to pay annual tribute to the suzerain.

In 1609 Iyehisa Shimazu, Daimyo of Satsuma, obtained from the Shogun permission to reconquer Liukiu in the name of his ancestor, reduced the whole of the islands to submission, established there a local government, took the census, surveyed the lands, and gathered taxes from the inhabitants. But the people of Liukiu always regarded China as one of their masters, calling China their father, and Japan their mother.

The Powers of Europe and America generally regarded Liukiu as an independent State, and entered into treaty relations with it. The treaty between Liukiu and the United States bears the date of 11th of July, 1854, and in the Liukiu text the Chinese era is employed (17th of June, 4th year of Heng-Fieng), which, according to Oriental ideas, is the symbol of China’s suzerainty. Under the new Imperial Government, when the question of Liukiu was first raised in 1872, some advocated the maintenance of the status quo for fear of coming into conflict with China and the foreign Powers; others advanced the theory of a well-defined joint protectorate, but finally a clear forward policy was decided upon. In September of that year order was sent to the new King of Liukiu to send a member of his family to Tokyo in order to announce his accession and congratulate the establishment of the new Imperial Government. When the mission arrived, the recognition of the King of Liukiu was formally issued by the Imperial Government, and under this title Sho Tai was made one of the peers of the realm. As all the peers were obliged by law to reside in Tokyo, a house was given him in the capital, and a sum of 30,000 yen was granted to him out of the Imperial treasury. Japan was, of course, to incur the liability for the national debts of Liukiu, amounting to 200,000 yen, but on the express wish of Sho Tai to pay them back in his name, the Imperial Department of Finance guaranteed the new bonds issued for cancelling the Liukiu debts.

The Imperial Government entrusted to the Foreign Office the regulation of the diplomatic relation of Liukiu with the foreign Powers, and the fact having been communicated to foreign Governments represented in Japan, the United States Minister in Tokyo sent a letter to our Minister of Foreign Affairs bearing the date of 20th of December, 1872, and asked whether by the late ‘annexation’ Japan meant to take upon herself all international responsibilities formerly incumbent on