Court were permitted to have their own way. Indeed, it was during all that spring only the determined purpose of the Japanese Government, as administered by Marquis Ito, that made possible the inauguration and progress of any measure of reform. It was the same wise policy that stood between the Emperor and a fate similar to that endured by his royal consort at dawn of October 8, 1895. And only after his friend, the Resident-General, hoping for a long time against the repeated violation of the grounds of hope, had reached the sad conclusion that the Emperor’s “disease was incurable,” and that the vital interests of Korea as well as of Japan demanded the termination of his unfortunate and disgraceful career, did the event take place. Even then, however, it was forced by his own cabinet ministers. As to the general character of the administration of the magistrates throughout the country of Korea, in the winter and spring of 1906 and 1907, there can be no difference of intelligent opinion. It was essentially the same which it had been for hundreds of years. With rare exceptions, which were liable to make the magistrate suspected and traduced to the Emperor and his court, the local jurisdiction in Korea was a system of squeezes and acts of oppression, capable of classification only under two important specific differences. These differences were, first, the marks of strength and corruption combined with cruelty, and, second, of weakness and corruption without obvious cruelty. The following extracts from the _Korean Daily News_—the paper which (with its native edition) Mr. Hulbert and Mr. Bethell, its editor, were employing to excite foreign and native opposition to the Japanese—are only a small number of the items of news on which this impression was based: As a high official was passing through the streets heavily guarded, a number of men belonging to the chain-gang were passed. One of them was heard to remark that if the official were not a criminal himself he would not need the heavy guard, and he added that after his term of penal labor was over the first thing he would do would be to kill that official and a few more like him. These words were heard by all and they continued until the minister was out of sight. A man of Ma-chun (near Chemulpo) was recently arrested by order of the local magistrate and tortured without cause. After confinement and torture for a period of eight days the man expired and his relatives are now asking the Supreme Court to look into the matter and punish the magistrate. A report from South Chul-la Province states that the people in a certain section there do not look with favor on the new tax-collectors; on the contrary, they say that they will tie up the collectors with ropes and make life hard for them.