The memorialists began with the statement that, by reason of His Majesty’s generosity, they are entrusted with the responsibilities of Ministers of State, although they do not merit such distinction. They have seen the petitions denouncing them to the Emperor as traitors. Those petitions affirm that the state has been destroyed; that the people have become slaves; and that Korean territory is now the property of another state. These opinions are indeed almost too absurd to be noticed; but since they affect the independence and dignity of the nation, the memorialists cannot permit them to pass without protest. The new Treaty with Japan does not change the title of the Empire or affect its real independence. The prestige of the Imperial House remains as before; the social fabric of the Empire is unaffected; and the country is in a peaceful condition. The only change is that the management of the foreign affairs of the country has been placed under the control of a neighboring state. Besides, the Treaty which brings about this result is by no means a new arrangement. It is the direct result of the Protocols concluded in 1904, and does not differ from them in object or in principle. If these persons who now so loudly proclaim their patriotism are really sincere and courageous men, why did they not denounce those Protocols when they were made and maintain their opposition with their lives? None of them did that then; yet now they clamor for the abolition of all these arrangements and for the restoration of the old order of things. It is impossible to agree with them. We desire, the memorialists go on to say, now to state the actual facts of the conclusion of the new Treaty: