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abandon her project. This object effected, England naturally gave up the occupation of Port Hamilton soon after. This affair did not directly concern Japan, but she derived benefit from it, all the same.

In our war with China, 1894–95, Great Britain kept her neutrality, and on the whole was friendly with Japan. Some say England might have gone a step further at the time of the intervention of the three Powers, but we do not complain of that. When Port Arthur was occupied by Russia, Great Britain occupied Wei Hei Wei. This was intended as nothing else but a counter-check to the Russian aggression, and the lease was made only coexistent with Russian occupation. This in itself is a striking proof of the opposing interests of Russia and Great Britain.

Amidst that war the revision of our old treaties with Occidental nations was effected, which placed Japan on an equal footing with other nations, admitting her for the first time into the comity of civilized nations. In this affair it was Great Britain that took the lead and initiative over other Powers.

Then came the Boxer rising, and the march on Peking by the allied forces to the rescue of their several Legations. The history of this is too fresh to reiterate here. It suffices to say that we, the Japanese, spoken of as ‘the pagans,’ fought side by side with the troops of Western nations, especially keeping up the best relations with the British and Americans. It is also not necessary to dwell in detail upon the diplomacy in the Far East, or what was done by Russia after the rescue of the various Legations.

It seems, however, of interest for me to give a brief résumé. Russia gave to other Powers repeatedly a pledge that she would terminate her occupation of Manchuria—an occupation which had taken place during the Boxer trouble as a part of the common action of the Allied Powers which went to the rescue of Peking, and for which she directly afterwards had received from China, for the trouble she had taken, a compensation to an amount far exceeding its value. At the same time in another direction she had been trying to exact from China humiliating concessions, which were quite contrary to, and irreconcilable with, the pledges given by her to the other nations. From the beginning to the end the chief efforts of diplomacy in the Far East were directed to check the clandestine attempts of Russia, and make her keep her pledge. In this effort England, America, and Japan stood fast together. Then came the treaty of alliance between England and Japan in 1902; the Manchurian question had not then come to an end, and it was still threatening. England was perfectly aware of the fact. Looking back over the long history of more than forty years,