Hawaii Holomua, Volume III, Number 202, 4 September 1894 — IN THE RANKS. [ARTICLE]

IN THE RANKS.

The Rosc of England Hails the Chry»»nthemun of Jiptn Consular conrts aro a matter of the past in Japan. Great Britain ha» ratified a treaty «itb jjapan, by whieh extraterritorial jur:sdiction has been abandoned |by the former. All other po«ers will fol!o« in tbe footstepa of tbe “Qoeen of the eea/’ and Japan «ill be adopted and admitted as an equal partoer and a member ; in tbe great combioation of tbe civilized powers of the «orld. The follo«ing despatch whieh has beeo confirmed tbrough private advices fully explains the matters: Washington t Aug. 27—Japan i has at last succeeded in an object veiy dear to her people and for «'hieh the Government has stnven «ith all the arts of j dip!omacy for tnany yeara. Me«s has been received here by the diploraatic corps that a new ; treaty bas just been negotiated I bet«eeo Japac and GreatBritain ; by tbe terms of whieh the elaim of extraterritorial jnrisdiction by the latter is abandoned. Negotiations lookingto the ratification j of a similar treaty are going on * bet«een Japan and tbe Umted ; States and other European eouutri(s than Great Britain, aud it' ! is presumod tbat they «ill now i apeedily follo« the example set by the latter aud fully recognize the right of Japan to admiui«ter justico in her own territon*. The importauce of Great Bri iain’a aelion. whieh, by the way, rather tends to discredit tbe stories that sbe is uoeiile to Japan in her preseut «ar, lies in the fact that is actually the recognition of Japan as a fully civilized power. The addition of further territorial jurisdiction haa always been confined to barbarous aud semi-civilized oountries, whose ignoranco of the first principles of justice and law seemed to ronder imperative tbo retentiou by the civilized nations of the world of the po«er to administer justice, where their own citizens were eoneemeel, even as against the natives of the semicivilizod conntry and within its borders. Tbis bas been done i throngh tbe medium of consuIar coarts,and thes\-stem obtained in Egypt, China, Japan, Turkey and many other countries. Ever since the wave of eml- 1 ization rolled over Japan her sensitive and proud people have resented the eoniinuanee of tho extraterritoria! system, not aolely , because of its workings, but also because, it was a standing declaration that Japan was not civilized, and was a refiection on the Japauese judiciarj r . Therefore, the action of Groat Britain in surrendering this elaim in the new troaty is of great importance to I Japan, as marking a distinct : epoeh in ber advancement to the front rank of nations.