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DIPLOMACY
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shutting them up within the concession grounds (settlements), for the double purpose of disseminating the civilizing influence among our people, and of making the Western Powers agree to the treaty revision. To the question why he regarded the present treaties as unfair, he replied that in order to make them fair England ought to give to Japan the same rights and privileges she had already given or would give to France; France the same rights and privileges she had already given or would give to Germany, etc. That is, he laid the greatest stress on the unfairness of Japan’s being obliged to treat the Western nations on the basis of the most favoured nation clause, while Japan received no corresponding treatment from the Western Powers. The foreign Ministers in Tokyo agreed to the necessity of revision on principle, and the Italian Minister even went so far as to agree to submitting the Italians in Japan to the Japanese laws on the condition of their being allowed to reside in the interior. But the Ministers of the other Powers objected to the advances of their Italian colleague, and the mission of Count Soyejima in China, and the fall of the Cabinet soon after his return, prevented him from accomplishing his object.

The second systematic attempt at treaty revision was made by Count Terajima, Minister of Foreign Affairs, immediately after the civil war of 1877. As it was then clear taht until the laws and the system of administration of justice in Japan had been reformed on the European model nothing could be effected by way of the recovery of judicial rights, so Count Terajima made the establishment of tariff autonomy the principal point of his revision. He developed his ideas as follows:

‘When the treaties were first made both the Government and the people did not understand anything about foreign commerce, and hence everything was made as the foreign Powers wished; but after more than ten years of experience we now know that the existing treaties infringe our right of independence in a very material way. Moreover, our Government having begun the works of national progress and enlightenment, public expenses increase from year to year, and as there is no way of increasing national revenue by import duties, so the Government is thrown upon the increase of internal taxation as the only means of meeting the increased demand. If the national power thus goes on declining by the ever-increasing burden on the people, the policy of national progress and the opening up of the country might become unpopular, and meet with unexpected hindrances caused by discontent. This is what the Government fears the most. Hence, we now deem it extremely important to recover the right of independence in matters of Custom tariff as the only means of covering the financial deficit, and satisfying public opinion, at the same time promoting foreign intercourse and international trade. For this reason, the foreign Governments are expected to restore tariff autonomy to Japan on the condition of our never introducing
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