70
The balance sheet and profit and loss account of the Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij (Netherlands Trading Society) for the year 31st ended December last show that the net profits for the year amount to £344,269, out of which, after providi g for the statutory reserve to the extent of £31,072, a dividend of eight per
cent. has been declared.
The British Consul at Tangyueh writes in his annual report:-The British-American Tobacco Company, with methods of advertise. ment which bid fair to entirely capture the local cigarette market, have recently sent two travelling agents through the district. hey have decorated towns and villages with gaily coloured Chinese posters, stirred the curiosity of the people by performances on the gramo phone, and astonished them by the distribution of the free samples, hey appear to have realised that strenuous measures are necessary in order to break through the conservative scruples of the natives, but they have also illustrated the truth that the Chinese, when once convinced of good value at a reasonable price, have the sound business instinct which will adapt any new commodity to their daily
life.
One of the largest irrigation projects that is being undertaken by the Bureau of Public Works in the Philippines has recently been inspected by Chief Irrigation Engineer Kirkpatrick. It is the construction of an irrigation system in Norzagaray for the irriga tion of over 25.000 hectares of rice lands in Bulacan province. The estimated cost of the entire project should the present plans be adhered to, will be about P.1.200.000. The water for the projected system will be drawn from the Angat river above the town of Norzagaray The inspections made have shown that the scheme to irrigate the vast area and treble the
present output of rice is a feasible one, and it is considered by far the most important one that has yet been prepared, and in all probability the largest that will ever be undertaken in any one province. Engineers of the irrigation division are now surveying the entire tract of land it is proposed to irrigate and will report on the result of their labour next month
Dr. F. Wisner, formerly President of the Can.
ton Christian ollege, in an article in the North American Reviews tells the following story of Yuan Shi Kai-Sent to Shantang as Governor in 1900, to deal with the Boxers, he received a delegation from them, and listened patiently to their schemes for clearing out the foreign devil. They were confident that they could do this, since "by the secret magic of their order all the followers were made invulnerable." He honoured the delegation with an invitation to dine in company with some of the leading gentry of the place. After dinner he invited these men'to explain their methods fully to the assembled guests. Then he adjourned to the outer court.
Now, gentlemen," said he, we will put this
41
matter to a practical test." The Boxers found themselves suddenly confronted by a squad of soldiers. It was in vain they protested. The word of command was given, and the muskets disposed at a single discharge of the claims of the impostors, and from that moment the new Governor had the Boxer movement by the throat in his province.
A telegram has been received by the Governor of the Straits Settlements, intimating that the Anglo-Siamese Treaty was duly ratified in London on Friday, the 9th inst., that being the last day of the period within which the formal confirmation of the arrangement was fixed to take place. All the arrangements in connection with the taking over of Protectorates in the States of Tringganun, Kelantan, and Kedah will now proceed. The Governor and staff have left Singapore for Tringganun and will meet the Sultans of that State and of Kelantan. He will proceed to Kedah to take over sometime next
month. Meantime the officers who have been chosen as advisers to the new States are prepar- ing to take up their duties. Mr. J. S. Mason has arrived in Singapore en route for Kelantan. Mr. W. Conlay is proceeling to Tringgannu, and Mr. W. G. Maxwell will be iu Kedah,some- time before the visit of the Governor to that
State. There is happily, says the Straits Times, every indication that the Protectorates will be assumed under the most favourable conditions.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
CONSULAR JURISDICTION IN
KOREA.
(Daily Press, July 19th.)
..
[July 24, 1909.
gradually taking root throughout the country, and what with modern law courts with competent Japanese judges and procurators, the importance of maintaining "bas thus greatly In the Annual Report for 1907 on Reforms consular jurisdiction and Progress in Korea, compiled by the diminished, and it is now rather the case Japanese Residency-General at Seoul, it is that certain inconveniences resulting from affirmed that it has been the unbroken its continuance are becoming palpable." policy of Japan to open the Hermit Possibly this is illustrated by a difficulty at engaging attention in Korea. Kingdom'.to the world, to establish terms present of neighbourly friendship with the peninsular Three new taxes have been decided upon nation, to strengthen the Korean Imperial tax on house property, a tax on to- House, and to maintain the independence of bacco, and a tax on aké. It was apparently the country." The Report tells us that
the intention of the authorities to levy them.
The Japan's endeavour to inaintain Korea's on foreigners and natives alike..
Consuls had a conference on the subject, and independence led to the war with China;
we gather from the reports in the Japanese and that Japan was again compelled to
papers that while they claim for their engage in a costly war with Russia "largely on account of Korean affairs." All this is
nationala exemption from taxation within very naive, but it would be sheer humbug to the limits of the Treaty ports they are not suggest that Korean interests were the para- prepared to claim exemption for those mount consideration; the interests that were residing beyond those limits. It is interest. paramount were, of course, those of Japan.ing to observe that the Japanese residenta It was recognised as vital to her existence in Korea, who constitute the largest body of X8 a nation that Korea should not come foreigners, are offering the strongest apposi- under the domination of any other foreign tion to the taxes, and claiming exemption ag Power, and so Japan twice went to war to
an extraterritorial privelege, while they prevent that eventuality. In the words of and many other foreigners are completely PRINCE ITO, "the identity of Korean and ignoring all the restrictions as to residence Japanese interests in Korea will not permit and trade which the Treaties impose. Jajan to leave Korea to the care of any Here, then, we have an illustration of
inconvenience of other foreign country. She must assume the the
extra-territorial charge herself." What identity of interests jurisdiction. There there is between the two countries is not very obvious, but it is plain to everyone that it is necessary for strategical and other reasons that Korea should virtually, if not in name, form part of the Empire of Japan. Japan, it is true, bas definitively guaranteed the "independence and territorial integrity of the Korean Empire", but when we see the Defences and the Judiciary of Korea, as well as the Posts and Telegraphs, given over to the absolute control of Japan, it appears to be a curious kind of "independence" that Korea is permitted to enjoy. The Agree- ment announced in Tokyo last week trans- ferring Korean Judiciary, as well as the military to Japan the control of the forces, is but the formal declaration of what is already un fait accompli. Japanese sub- jects for sometime past have held numerous appointments in the Korean Courts which have been established or remodelled by the Japanese. In the Court of Cassation there
is
a
Japanese chief justice, a chief procurator, two judges and five clerks; in each of the three Courts of Appeal there is
Japanese chief justice, two judges, a chief procurator, an assistant procurator, and five clerks; the eight Local Courts have Japanese subjects filling the positions of chief justice and senior procurator, and there are besides thirty-two Japanese judges and eighty clerks attached to these Local Courts, while a Japanese judge and a Japanese clerk are attached to each District Court in Korea. All this is provided for in previous Agreements, and we conclude that the new Agreement is designed to
are probably a8 many foreigners outside as within the limits of the Treaty ports of Korea. We find it stated in the Report to which allusion has already been made that “ many missionaries, some of them helping to maintain schools and hospitals, are residing in towns and villages in the interior quite outside Treaty limits; many hundreds of miners-Americans, Chinese and Japanese -are engaging in agriculture in the interior of the country" There can be no doubt that all this is very inconvenient in a country where the Powers claim extraterritorial jur- isdiction. All the Powers in their Treaties with Korea, however, have given the promise to rennounce extraterritorial jurisdiction when the laws and judicial procedure of the country shall be held to justify the ste. Hence we may expect to learn in due course that the arrangement whereby Japan takes the judiciary out of Korean hands has been prompted by the wish to put an end to the system of extraterritorial jurisdiction at the earliest possible date in view of the difficulties and inconveniences which recent events have suggested are likely to constantly arise in the future so long as the system is maintained. Pre- sumably the men as well as the machinery in the judicial administration in Korea will for many years to come be Japanese. The Resident-General has now become much more thn an adviser to the Korean Government: he is gradually acquiring the powers of a Viceroy. We are not complaining of this. I has long been recognised as inevitable tha: Korea should pass completely under the domination of a foreign Power, and
the world. So long as the "open door" is maintained the Powers are not likely to offer any objection to the recent devolop- ment of Japanese policy.
accelerate the reform of the judicial pro- the absorption of the peninsula by Japan is cedure chiefly for the purpose of get-
un loubtedly the best solution of the ting rid of the extra-territorial juris- diction of other Powers in Korea as problem in the interests of the peace of speedily as possible. Our Tokyo cor- respondent in a telegram a few days ago mentioned that the Japanese Press attached considerable importance to the Agreement on this account. It is very evident that this object has been kept well in view by the Residency-General at Seoul, for in the Report from which we have already quoted, a couple of pags are devoted to a referenc to the subject of Consular Jurisdiction, it being mentioned among other things tha what with the improved methods
of government, central and local, which are
The honesty of Yuan Shih-kai is now assured. It is reported that H. E. Na Tung has tele- graphically memorialized the Throne that from enquiries made among the officials he finds there has been no misappropriation of the public monies by Yuan Shih-kai or Yang Shih-kaiang, but that the accounts of the Chihli Viceroyalty are in a most confused state and are being duly investigated.