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tion to the treaty revision lost its raison d’être. The Chinese War of 1894–95, which showed the real strength of Japan, and her ability to act like a civilized nation, not only in time of peace, but also in that of war, and even towards the enemy, greatly facilitated the work of revision.

After the fall of the Matsukata Cabinet in August, 1892, Marquis Ito was again the Premier and Count Mutsu Minister of Foreign Affairs.^[1] During the fourth session of the Diet, in 1893, the House of Commons presented an Address to the Emperor, humbly imploring him to cause the last work of the Restored Imperial Government—namely, treaty revision—to be accomplished, not by such halfway measures as had been tried by the successive Ministers of Foreign Affairs, but by at once concluding with the foreign Powers treaties on a footing of perfect equality. Nor was the task very difficult now, for the reason above stated. Count Mutsu followed the principle of giving full powers to the Japanese Ministers abroad, and made them negotiate with the Governments to which they were accredited upon the project of revision sent them from Tokyo. The negotiations were in some cases long and difficult, because despatches had to be received and instructions given by mail requiring weeks to arrive, but the method proved successful on the whole. Even before the war, England signed the new treaty, in July, 1894, the United States during the war, and the rest of the Powers immediately after it. All these new treaties were designed to enter into force simultaneously in May, 1899, and to remain so for twelve years, after which the contracting parties were free to renounce them at any time, subject to one year’s previous notice. In them extraterritoriality is done away, the sojourn and possession of movable property by foreigners in the interior are allowed, and the most favoured nation clause is made reciprocal and unconditional. The Custom tariff is not yet autonomous, but import duties are fixed by a separate diplomatic document accompanying the main treaty, with which it is to disappear after twelve years or more, to be replaced by autonomy pure and simple. These conventional tariff rates, of course, differ in the different States, according as their chief articles of export and import differ, but the most favoured nation clause applied to them makes them uniform throughout. In the treaties with China, Corea, and Siam, it is Japan that still retains the right of extraterritoriality over her subjects living in these countries.

Thus, the last work of the new Imperial Government was