Page:Japan by the Japanese (1904).djvu/193

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DIPLOMACY

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to the joint court of the Japanese Consul and the Chinese local officer in the treaty ports, but to the Chinese local officer alone in the interior, and, in view of the imperfect state of Chinese criminal law, this stipulation, although reciprocal, could not but be unpopular. Another very grave defect of the treaty was the fact that Japan was not placed in China on the same footing as the most favoured nations, and vice versa, so that the Japanese merchants and ships in China were placed under many unfavourable conditions compared with those of European and American nationality. For these reasons the treaty remained for some time unratified.^[1]

In October of the same year Lord Iwakura, Minister of Justice, was appointed Ambassador and chief of the mission to the United States and the principal States of Europe. Kido, Okubo, Ito, and Yamaguchi were the second plenipotentiaries. To the mission were also attached a great number of officers, chosen out of the various departments of public service, for the purpose of observing and reporting on the various branches of administration and justice. The main object of the mission maybe gathered from the following full powers given to the Ambassador and his associates:

‘Since Our accession to the Throne by right of descent in the line of succession one and eternal from Our Heavenly Ancestor, We have not yet envoyed any mission to the Powers at peace with us, and now that We deem it absolutely necessary to send one, We have given to the Minister envoyed Our confidence, Tomomi Iwakura, Minister of the Right, full powers as Special Ambassador, and named Kido, Councillor, Okubo, Minister of Finance, Ito, Vice-Minister of Public Works, and Yamaguchi, Second Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, as associate plenipotentiaries.

‘They shall with full powers proceed to the United States and the Governments of Europe, communicate to them Our friendly intention, and extend and increase the amicable relations happily existing between Us and those Governments.

‘The time for the revision of the existing treaties will arrive in less than a year, and We wish to revise them considerably, so as to place Japan on the footing of equality with the civilized nations, and preserve our rights and interests resulting therefrom. But as the customs and laws of Japan differ much from those of foreign countries, We do not intend to undertake the revision at once. We will first study the institutions of the civilized nations, adopt those most suited to Japan, and gradually reform our Government and manners, so as to attain

↑ After the treaty was ratified in 1873, under the circumstances to be narrated in § 5, Japan made various attempts at its revision, as, for instance, in 1880, when Kowashi Inouye was sent to China to obtain her consent to the revision on the basis of Japan’s ceding to her two islands, Miyako and Yayeyama, lying close to Formosa; but China never agreed, so that the unfavourable situation of the Japanese in China remained unaltered till the war of 1894–95.

[1] After the treaty was ratified in 1873, under the circumstances to be narrated in § 5, Japan made various attempts at its revision, as, for instance, in 1880, when Kowashi Inouye was sent to China to obtain her consent to the revision on the basis of Japan’s ceding to her two islands, Miyako and Yayeyama, lying close to Formosa; but China never agreed, so that the unfavourable situation of the Japanese in China remained unaltered till the war of 1894–95.

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