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    April 14, I860.] The Leader and Saturday...

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    Soon after his arrival, Mr. Atcock recei...

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    . THE 3>AltLIAMEXX OF THE FUTUHB. I N a ...

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  • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

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    April 14, I860.] The Leader And Saturday...

    April 14 , I 860 . ] The Leader and Saturday Analyst . 349

    Soon After His Arrival, Mr. Atcock Recei...

    Soon after his arrival , Mr . Atcock received ¦ fonsratuiatoi y visits from the Ministers of Foreign Affairs . These " affairs . a ^ ln f * * ¦ ¦ . - amnds of a Minister and five Governors . The minister is ™ e « f ^ highest members of the Council of State , and according to Japanese Som is provided with a " double , 'Vwho « sits ^ . f ^ g * ^ sibns by his side , and takes part m the business , A well-behaved : cSwitnessed the laridin ^ and procession of the Envoy l ^ wte ran before , jingling iron rings at the end of long staves and tins , JvitU slight cords drawn across intersecting streets kept the passage clear ; a handsome custom-house , and two . < ^^ f ° ^ f , - . £ «[¦ beautifully constructed landing-places , with flights of well laid granite steps of great extent , " constituted the preparations made for foreign trade : A temple was assigned to our Envoy as _ a residence : and the people seemed « well pleased and interested . in the novel spectacle of a foreign representative going m state to paylus inst visit to the Tycoon ' s ministers far m the imperial quarter . lnus far the diplomatic heavens seem serene ; but it is not civilized Europe alone that possesses a breed of reactionary tones men of dthei * times , who catch an ague at the name of progress , and regard improvement as a mortal foe . The Protectionists of Japan succeeded an getting a bad locality offered for ptir merchants , . and Envoy Plenipotentiary AtcdCK " considers that the settlement improvised by the Japanese authorities resembles , in all its main ^ features , the humiliating- position made for the Dutch at Decima two . hundred years a ~ o . " All this was contrary to treaty ; and so , on the l ^ tn _ July , 1859 , we were in possession of a castes belli in a flourishing state ot babyhood , if not full grown . By July IS ^ another grievance was iji full feather . The Japanese Government had agreed tofurinsh -tsritisli subjects " with Japanese coin in exchange ^ for theirs , equal wei-lit being given , and nO discount taken for recolnage / ' Japanese silver currency wasm jtzebous , half itzebous ,, and ^ r ter ltzebous-three itzebou ^ being eqLual in weight to a dollar ; but a ^ f ; ^^ ^ just mentioned , the Japanese authorities made a new . lujxd of half itzebou ,: two of which were equal to a ^^ >"; * : f , J silver were of equal fineness we do not see what this could mattei , except that reckoning would be more complicated , thrpugh the existence of two coins bearing the same name , although duringin Sluei but Mr . AI . CQCK complains that , by-Calltngj the new ^ epmu / half itzeboU , it will only exchange for the- Original haU ^™' . < £ its eauivalent in produce . We sho , uld have doubted this action t ^ m ^ phaceVanditseQms incredible that the Japanese Government should have , as Mr , Ai . cociv supposes , " such absolute authority over their subjects ¦ " ¦ .. as to compel them to deal wit i foreigners , as tf the Simif itzebou werewPrth UP morethan tl . e ^ mall one , anoVUmi £ ke the big coin , to the treasury and accept a hWe - . onj ujj . ita stead iW however this may be , it seems that , within a month ot our " Euvpv ^ eni potentiar ^ and Minister Extraordinary - meeting the -Governor of Nagasaki , he had a location difficulty and a coinage 3 m ? y on his hands together . , While these quarrelS > were brewing , th ^ Sivocessions and upholstery part ? i ^*™^»» %£ * ¦ bravelv- the treaty , written in Japanese and in Dutch , was carried , th ? ou 4 ' « e city o ? Yeddo , resting - on a silk cushion , under a canopy . decovated with flags and evergreens , guarded by nrtilevy and Sdnes and followed by fifty of the crew of Her Majesty * ship S ^ n " c- » i ' " whi e the officers of the Consulate-General and Captam B & T 22 sr t ^^ ' ^^ S-S noUcqd " that all eyes were fixed upon ; the canopy , and were evidently ^^ mM ^ fm hSwrit en [ replies ° to hi / cotumunications , " pince nothing cam 0 > out £ ^^ £ ^^^ 5 fS | Si ordinary Alcock writes another epistle to Lord MALaiKSBUiiv S to ^^ JvffiSSStt i ^^ x ^^ p ^ ^^^ objected to , w . lii « h . confirms his impression tl . at the Dutch Com-° iss SsssiSs ?™ *^ risy si 0 ^ t ^ k zi ^^^ s ^ x ^^^ to djplo . nfttio squabbles J «» d ' ft h ° tl ° noihil ^ WItU . °

    European merchants , he declares it urgent that " something more satisfactory should be obtained without delay , and iio time lost , therefore , in bringing the- Japanese ^ Government to a sense ot tbe impossibility of maintaining their present position in respect tp the trade and location of foreigners at the hew port . Thusi our Extraordinary Envoy turns out to be an apparatus for quarrelling , and acts in opposition to the merchants who are chiefly concerned . . On the 7 th October , Lord Johk Russell " entirely approves of Mr . Alcock ' s " various steps , " although , in the next sentence , he points out the probability of the Japanese succeeding in making Yokuaua ^^ the business station . Qn the 28 th July , Mr . Alcopk writes fhat the Bjjuce and Hope manufactured disasters in China had produced ' a bad impression in Japan , that the liberal party had been overthrown at Yeddo , and the tories installed m office and power Etfen the lives of the liberal ministers had been in danger from the violence of the protectionist nobles . With such a state of - affairs , it was not to be expected that European residents would enioy mueh peace , and accordingly we soon hear of personal outrages committed by Japanese officers , who had the countenance of the Damios , or nobles , in their misdeeds . Moreover , the merchants were compelled to be idle , as the Japanese traders were afraid ot taking dollars , and the Treasury made no satisfactoiy arrangements for their exchange . Presently , matters are made worse by a murder of three Russians , and tlie unwillingness of the local authorities to discover the assassins ; After much recriinination th ^ Japanese ministers write amicably and make coucessians . Count Moue ^ vieff is satisfied that efforts will be made to discover the murderers ; and the police endeavour to protect foreigners iii ^ tlte streets . But notwithstanding occasional gleams of sunshine ,, affairs do noE fi ( lvanee : The Damios , or hereditary feudal iioMes , hold three-fourths ofthe soil of Japan , and cpustitut ^ a Great Council oE the nation , determined to obstruct intercourse ^ with foreigners , while the European merchants cpntribute to the difficulty by violating the loeal lawi and doing , their utmost jtp smuggle the gold cui-rency , out of the cPiintry .. . ~ ¦' ,, ¦ n-v '¦ ¦'¦ It may happen that the more liberal portion of Hie 3 ) a « nos may regain poweiVor that theotheri ^ may bealarmed , if our phinese war . isluccessfuHy nianaged : ; but it is impossible not to foresee a Japanese ; war ¦ •' iooininfr in the distance , " and we may iniagme the dehghts of \ residin g at Ye ^ ldo by readingtwoextracts froralr . Alcpck sepistles . i In the first he th « s sums up his . case ^ " It co ^ es to this , tlieu—it we could , as the Japanese , live on nee and iish , with Japanese I cookery and ^ sak i feo aid a bad digestion , m liouses ^ wi tlv ii few hicquer j trays for furniture , and a ^ ressih g- ^ own and g . rdle for all clothuiff , Japan might form , a very , cheap , if not a lively or pleasant place of ^ AtThe beginning of the present year our envoy was not qui ^ disheartenedT although drunken of ^ rs ™ f de lfc dan ^ erGUf 3 ^ 3 : abroad , ancl ^ the commonest sounds in Yeddo were those occasioned by ^ musket and artillery practice , while rumours of an intended massacre of all foreigners were afloat . Mr , Alcogk observes : ¦ \ Vith a perpetual menSce of assa ^ ination on one hand , and of ^^ " ^^ on the other , while earthquakes almost every week sira ^ ce ^ tlie ^ ho usg totheir foundation , I cannot say the post of a , P >^ S- ^ of ^ nd Yeddo is to be recommended for nervous people . AVe thmk not , wad shall be truly glad if this dangerous and incautious ; eilort to open Japan does not lend to serious calamity and loss of hie .

    . The 3>Altliamexx Of The Futuhb. I N A ...

    . 3 > AltLIAMEXX OF THE FUTUHB . I N a recent paper , we made the venture of Drvukn ' s doubt , — 1 L " Uncertain wjiose thp narrower ej ) an , The uhrcftd clown , or hiilf-rcii « l feentleiTHin . Thou-h since his day , there is the difference that the gpntieman h s , crlu » p . s move right to retain the title tp "half-read '' Si the c own to " unread ; " and that in purely -ppllttcnl -knowedge i " any a mechanic now has a ju ^ ter view of Gcono . Micul creations lai . the " gentleman " pf eighty or a hundrod ^ 'ours ago j nor would t . bo a bactresult of this inference if the gentlemen-cducatpva pf c ' enfclevncn dirocted , as Abkoid did , the attention ot , tlrotr pupflsto what I 3 aoon culls the inpre ? olid and " osseous pars Sf knowledge , " espcciully the histovical , than has been lnthertp thquwont 5 Su iniioU in pussing , with the caution that , ni despmv of U ?" ciemmcoH for which'the gentleman has time , the poor and inorq sSlf-iSiSatUiir aBph-nrtt to knowledge will apply himself to the more subst ill parts of it ; and consequently , that , however . distasteful , it wi bo weK the gentleman to lead rather than to follow , taking his bint Irim a fow move Hues from the poom of Duy » kw J ™* referred tp . ' The ixinthor , full of inwurd discontonfc , iimJthv ; ,- xvmdd uo , before thoin wise v wont . gujiplyilip ; W ( V » t Oi' pOWCr // . // ( InHh'Mf / JI ) *(> . Wo are convinced that the hiylicr clusses in . EiiKUwd need not ^ wi ^^^ fe ^ . ^^ FP so lith ilwiS muiittS ? " to keep their ilowem above , the surface , iS ^ sSt ^ fss ^ s ^^^ s ^ ^ ¦ Sfe ^ SE fs s seaaa -

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), April 14, 1860, page 9, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_14041860/page/9/