The proportion of courageous and honest officials connected with the Korean Court had not greatly increased up to the time when Marquis Ito undertook the task of its purification. This fact, in itself, so discouraging to the effort at instituting reforms from above downward on the part of the Koreans themselves, is made obvious in a striking way by the analysis of a brief, confidential description (a sort of official Korean “Who is Who?”) of ninety-six persons, prepared by one well acquainted with the men and their history, but favorably disposed toward—even prejudiced in favor of—the side of Korea. Of these ninety-six officials, only five are pronounced thoroughly honorable and trustworthy characters; twenty-seven are classed as fairly good; the remainder are denominated very weak, or very bad. Subsequent developments have revealed the weakness or corruption of most of those whom this paper less than ten years ago pronounced to be on the whole either hopeful or positively good. What this means for Korea to-day can be judged by the following selected examples: (1) “A rather proud and rich member of the ⸺ Clan; a notorious squeezer, and one whose services may always be had for a price; absolutely unreliable and incapable of patriotic impulses.” (2) “A contemptible but rich member of the ⸺ Clan; a most detestable oppressor of the people as shown in Pyeng Yang; incapable of good impulses apparently.” (3) “A slippery self-made man; Emperor’s private treasurer; Vice-Minister of Interior for many years; rose through influence of his cousin, but not loyal to latter’s memory; cannot be influenced except through fear or favor.” (4) “A self-made man who might better have let out the job; has courage, and is unmercifully, cruel and oppressive; is the most ignorant official in high office during twenty years.” Yet this low-born and ignorant fellow had almost absolute control of the Emperor and of the country’s finances for several years.