Decision of Hiroshima Court on queen’s assassination.... Miura’s estimate of situation.... Approached by Ta-wun-gun.... pledges required of ex-Regent.... Miura’s instructions.... preparations complete.... The rendezvous at the Ta-wun-gun’s summer place.... a final exhortation.... joining the Korean troops outside the West Gate.... The move on the palace.... the entrance.... Royal quarters surrounded.... The search for the queen.... the assassination.... Viscount Miura arrives on the scene.... an audience.... other representatives arrive and see the king.... Miura disclaims any connection with the plot.... degradation of the queen.... foreign representatives refuse to recognize it.... Miura recalled.

We append the decision of the Hiroshima Court in full as it gives the fullest and probably the most nearly correct account of the events which led up to the assassination of the queen. It reads as follows:—

“Okamoto Ryunosuke, Adviser to the Korean Departments of War and the Household, etc.

“Miura Goro, Vicount, Sho Sammi, First class order, Lieutenant General, etc.

“Sugimura Fukashi, Sho Rokui, First Secretary of Legation, and forty-five others.

“Having, in compliance with the request of the Public Procurator conducted preliminary examinations in the case of murder and sedition brought against the above-mentioned Okamoto Ryunosuke and forty-seven others and that of wilful homicide brought against Hirayama Iwawo, we find as follows:—

“The accused, Miura Goro, assumed his official duties as His Imperial Majesty’s Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at Seoul on Sept. 1st, 1895. According to his observations, things in Korea were tending in the wrong direction. The court was daily growing more and more arbitrary, and attempting wanton interferance with the conduct of state affairs. Disorder and confusion were in this way introduced into the system of administration that had just been reorganized under the guidance and advice of the Imperial government. The court went so far in turning its face upon Japan that a project was mooted for disbanding the Kunrentai troops, drilled by Japanese officers, and for punishing their officers. Moreover a report came to the knowledge of the said Miura that the court had under contemplation a scheme for usurping all political power by degrading some and killing others of the Cabinet Ministers suspected of devotion to the cause of progress and independence.

“Under these circumstances he was greatly perturbed inasmuch as he thought that the attitude assumed by the court not only showed remarkable ingratitude toward this country which had spent labor and money for Korea, but was also calculated to thwart the work of internal reform and jeopardize the independence of the kingdom. The policy pursued by the court was consequently considered to be injurious to Korea, as well as prejudicial in no small degree to the interests of this country. The accused felt it to be of urgent importance to apply an effective remedy to this state of affairs, so as on the one hand to secure the independence of the Korean kingdom and on the other to maintain the prestige of this empire in that country. While thoughts like these agitated his mind, he was secretly approached by the Ta-wun-gun with a request for assistance, the Prince being indignant at the untoward turn that events were taking and having determined to undertake the reform of the court and thus discharge his duty of advising the king. The accused then held at the legation a conference with Sugimura Fukashi and Okamoto Ryunosuke on the 3rd of October. The decision arrived at was that assistance should be rendered to the Ta-wun-gun’s entrance into the palace by making use of the Japanese drilled Korean soldiers who being hated by the court felt themselves in danger, and of the young men who deeply lamented the course of events, and also by causing the Japanese troops stationed in Seoul to offer their support to the enterprise. It was further resolved that this opportunity should be availed of for taking the life of the queen, who exercised overwhelming influence in the court. They at the same time thought it necessary to provide against the possible danger of the Ta-wun-gun’s interfering with the conduct of State affairs in future—an interferance that might prove of a more evil character than that which it was now sought to overturn. To this end, a document containing pledges required of the Ta-wun-gun on four points was drawn by Sigimura Fukashi. The document was carried to the country residence of the Ta-wun-gun on the 15th of the month by Okamoto Ryunosuke, the latter being on intimate terms with His Highness. After informing the Ta-wun-gun that the turn of events demanded His Highness’ intervention once more, Okomoto presented the document to the Prince saying that it embodied what Minister Miura expected from him. The Ta-wun-gun, together with his son and grandson gladly consented to the conditions proposed and also wrote a letter guaranteeing his good faith. Miura Goro and others decided to carry out the concerted plan by the middle of the month. Fearing lest Okamoto’s visit to the Ta-wun-gun’s residence should excite suspicion and lead to the exposure of their plan, it was given out that he had proceeded thither simply for the purpose of taking leave of the Prince before departing for home, and to impart an appearance of probability to this report, it was decided that Okamoto should leave Seoul for Chemulpo and he took his departure from the capital on the sixth. On the following day An Kyung-su, the Minister of War, visited the Japanese Legation by order of the court. Referring to the projected disbanding of the Japanese drilled Korean soldiers, he asked the Japanese Minister’s views on the subject. It was now evident that the moment had arrived, and that no more delay should be made. Miura Goro and Sugimura Fukashi consequently determined to carry out the plot on the night of that very day. On the one hand, a telegram was sent to Okamoto requesting him to come back to Seoul at once, and on the other, they delivered to Horiguchi Kumaichi a paper containing a detailed program concerning the entry of the Ta-wun-gun into the palace and caused him to meet Okamoto at Yong-san so that they might proceed to enter the palace. Miura Goro further issued instructions to Umayabara Muhon, commander of the Japanese battalionbattalion in Seoul, ordering him to facilitate the Ta-wun-gun’s entry into the palace by directing the disposition of the Japanese drilled Korean troops and by calling out the Imperial force for their support. Miura also summoned the accused Adachi KenzoKenzo and Kunitomo Shigeakira, and requested them to collect their friends, meeting Okamoto at Yong-san, and act as the Ta-wun-gun’s body-guard on the occasion of His Highness’ entrance into the palace. Miura told them that on the success of the enterprise depended the eradication of the evils that had done so much mischief to the kingdom for the past twenty years, and instigated them to dispatch the Queen when they entered the palace. Miura ordered the accused Ogiyara Hidejiro to proceed to Yong-san, at the head of the police force under him, and after consultation with Okamoto to take such steps as might be necessary to expedite the Ta-wun-gun’s entry into the palace.

“The accused, Sugimura Fukashi, summoned Suzuki Shigemoto and Asayama Kenzo to the Legation and acquainted them with the projected enterprise, directed the former to send the accused, Suzuki Junken, to Yong-san to act as interpreter and the latter to carry the news to a Korean named Yi Chu-whe, who was known to be a warm advocate of the Ta-wun-gun’s return to the palace. Sugimura further drew up a manifesto, explaining the reasons of the Ta-wun-gun’s entrance into the palace and charged Ogiwara Hidejiro to deliver to Horiguchi Kumaichi.

“The accused Horiguchi Kumaichi at once departed for Yong-san on horse-back. Ogiwara Hidejiro issued orders to the policemen that were off duty to put on civilian dress, provide themselves with swords and proceed to Yong-san. Ogiwara also himself went to the same place.

“Thither also, repaired by his order the accused Watanabe Takajiro, Oda Yoshimitsu, Nariai Kishiro, Kiwaki Sukunori and Sakai Masataro.

“The accused Yokowo Yutaro joined the party at Yong-san. Asayama Kenzo saw Yi Chu-whe and informed him of the projected enterprise against the palace that night. Having ascertained that Yi had then collected a few other Koreans and proceeded toward the Ta-wun-gun’s place Asama at once left for Yong-san. Suzuki Shigemoto went to Yong-san in company with Suzuki Junken. The accused Adachi Kenzo and Kunitomo Shigeakira, at the instigation of Miura, decided to murder the Queen and took steps to collect accomplices. Twenty-four others (names here inserted) responded to the call, by Miura’s order, to act as body-guard to the Ta-wun-gun on the occasion of his entrance into the palace. Hirayama Iwahiko and more than ten others were directed by Adachi Kenzo and others to do away with the Queen and they decided to follow the advice. The others who were not admitted into the secret but who joined the party from mere curiosity also carried weapons. With the exception of Kunitomo Shigeakira Tsukinori and two others all the accused went to Yong-san in company with Adachi Kenzo.

“The accused Okamoto Ryunosuke on receipt of a telegram saying that time was urgent at once left Chemulpo for Seoul. Being informed on his way, at about midnight, that Hoshiguchi Kennaichi was waiting for him at Mapo he proceeded thither and met the persons assembled there. There he received from Miura Goro the draft manifesto already alluded to, and other documents. After he had consulted with two or three others about the method of effecting an entrance into the palace the whole party started for the Ta-wun-gun’s place with Okamoto as their leader. At about three o’clock A. M. on the eighth of October they left the Prince’s place escorting him in his palanquin, with Yi Chu-whe and other Koreans. When on the point of departure, Okamoto assembled the whole party outside the gate of the Prince’s residence and declared that on entering the palace the “Fox” should be dealt with according as exigency might require, the obvious purport of this declaration to instigate his followers to murder Her Majesty the Queen. As the result of this declaration, Sakai MarataroMarataro and a few others, who had not yet been initiated into the secret, resolved to act in accordance with the suggestion. Then slowly proceeding toward Seoul, the party met the Japanese drilleddrilled Korean troops outside the West Gate where they waited some time for the arrival of the Japanese troops. With the Korean troops as vanguard the party then proceeded toward the palace at a more rapid rate. On the way they were joined by Kunitomo Shigeakira and four others. The accused Husamoto, Yasumaru and Oura Shigehiko also joined the party having been requested by Umagabara Muhon to accompany as interpreters the military officers charged with the supervision of the Korean troops. About dawn the whole party entered the palace through the Kwang-wha Gate and at once proceeded to enter the inner chambers.”

At this point the recital of the facts abruptly stops and the court goes on to state that in spite of these proven facts there is not sufficient evidence to prove that any of the Japanese actually committed the crime which had been contemplated, and all the accused are discharged.

It is very much to the credit of the Japanese authorities that they frankly published these incriminating facts and did not attempt to suppress them. Their action discharging the accused was a candid statement that in spite of the actual proof which they adduce it would not be possible to punish the perpetrators of the outrage, for Miura had been sent as the accredited Minister of Japan and his acts, thoughthough unforeseen by his superiors could not but partake of an official character, and therefore the onus of the affair must fall on the Japanese Government. This is the effect that was produced in the public mind, and while the Japanese Government as such must be acquitted of any intention or desire to secure the assassination of the Queen, yet it can scarcely escape the charge of criminal carelessness in according to the Korean Court a representative who would so far forget the dignity of his position as to plan and encourage the perpetration of such a revolting crime.

The description of the scene as given by the HiroshimaHiroshima court stops abruptly with the entrance into the palace before the actual business of the day began. It is necessary for us to take up the narration from that point. The buildings occupied by the King and Queen were near the back of the palace enclosure almost half a mile from the front gate, so that the Japanese and Korean force accompanied by the ex-Regent had to traverse a long succession of passage-ways through a great mass of buildings before reaching the object of their search. Some of the palace guard were met on the way and easily pushed aside, some of them being killed, among whom was Col. Hong. When the Japanese arrived at the buildings occupied by their Majesties a part of them formed about it in military order guarding all the approaches, but they did not enter the building. A crowd of Japanese civilians commonly believed to be soshi, and a considerable number of Koreans, all heavily armed, rushed into the Royal quarters. A part of the crowd went into the presence of the King brandishing their weapons but without directly attacking his person nor that of the Crown Prince who stood beside him. Another part of the crowd ranged through the apartments of the Queen, seizing palace women and demanding information as to the whereabouts of the Queen. They met Yi Kyung-jik the Minister of the Household before the Queen’s apartments and at once cut him down, but he managed to crawl into the presence of the King, where he was despatched by the Japanese. The Queen was found in one of the rooms which constituted her suite and was ruthlessly cut down. It is impossible to state with absolute certainty whether the blow was struck by a Korean or by a Japanese but the overwhelming probability is that it was done by one of the armed Japanese

The body was wrapped in some sort of blanket, saturated with petroleum and burned at the edge of a pine grove immediately to the east of the pond which lies in front of the royal quarters.

The Royal family had been aware for two days of the danger which threatened. The guards at the palace had been reduced, the arms had been taken away and the movements of Japanese troops were very suspicious. The King advised the Queen to go to a place of safety and she said she would do so if the Queen Dowager would also go, but the latter refused. Chong Pyung-ha who had been raised to high office through the patronage of the Queen but who had struck hands with the Japanese urged with great insistence that there was no danger to Her Majesty’s person and it was the confidence expressed by this traitor that did the most to set at rest the apprehension, of the King and the Queen.

During all the time leading up to these events, the palace guard was in charge of Gen. Dye but his efforts to carry out the wishes of His Majesty were continually thwarted and the guard was merely a nominal one.

At about the time when the Queen was being killed the Ta-wun-gun came into the presence of the King and took the direction of affairs at the court. As might be supposed, both the King and the Crown Prince were in anything but an enviable frame of mind. They had been pushed about and insulted by low Japanese and felt that their lives were momentarily in danger. Col. Yi Kyung-jik the Minister of the Household Department had taken his stand at the door of the Queen’s apartments and had there been cut down by the Japanese or Koreans but succeeded in making his way, desperately wounded, into the presence of the King. He was there stabbed to death by the Japanese before the eyes of His Majesty. This did not tend to reassure the King and the Crown Prince but the coming of the Ta-wun-gun tended to quiet them somewhat. Of course they had no idea as yet that the Queen had been despatched.

Before dawn began to break the King learned that Japanese troops were pouring into the barracks in front of the palace, and as some semblance of order had been restored in the immediate presence of His Majesty, a note was sent in haste to the Japanese Minister asking what all this meant. The messenger found Miura and Sugimura already up and dressed and sedan chairs at the door. Miura told the messenger that he had heard that troops had been marched to the barracks but did not know why. The Minister and his secretary thereupon proceeded rapidly to the palace. Immediately upon their arrival all the disturbance suddenly quieted down and the soshi dispersed and left the palace grounds. The Japanese Minister and secretary immediately sought an audience with His Majesty, accompanied only by an interpreter and another Japanese who had led the soshi. The Ta-wun-gun was also present.

Three documents were prepared by those present and placed before His Majesty for signature, one of them guaranteeing that the Cabinet should thereafter manage the affairs of the country, the second appointing Yi Cha-myun, the King’s brother, as Minister of the Household in place of Yi Kyung-jik who had just been killed, and the third appointing a vice-Minister of the Household. These documents the king perforce signed. Whereupon all Japanese troops were removed from the palace and only the Japanese-trained Korean troops were left as a palace-guard. Later in the day Ministers of War and Police were appointed in the persons of Cho Heui-yun and Kwun Yung-jin, both strong partisans of the Japanese and doubtless privy to the attack upon the palace and the murder of the Queen. In other words the King and court was surrounded by men every one of whom were in sympathy with the movement which had been planned by Viscount Miura.

Very early in the morning, while it was still scarcely daylight, Mr. Waeber the Russian Charge d’Affaires and Dr. Allen the American Charge d’Affaires ad interim came to the palace and sought audience with the King but were told that the King was unwell and could not see them. They insisted, however, and succeeded in seeing His Majesty, who told them that he still had hopes that the Queen had escaped, and besought their friendly offices to prevent further trouble. Other foreign representatives were received laterlater in the day.

It soon became evident that the Japanese authorities intended to deny any responsibility for the outrages committed. Miura stated in his dispatches to his government that the origin of the emeute was a conflict between the Japanese-drilled Korean troops, who desired to lay a complaint before His Majesty, and the palace guards who tried to prevent their entrance into the palace. Miura even sought to strengthen his disclaimer by obtaining from the newly appointed Minister of War a definite official statement that the rumors of his (Miura’s) complicity in the affair were without foundation. The document that the Minister of War sent in reply proved altogether too much and defeated its own purpose, for it stated baldly that there was not a single Japanese in the palace on the night of the eighth of October, when the Queen was murdered. As this Minister was a creature of the Japanese and as the presence of Japanese in the palace was clearly proved subsequently it is evident that Miura, by this sort of trickery, only succeeded in further implicating himself.

On the ninth, the day after the emeute, a full cabinet was appointed composed entirely of Japanese sympathisers, but with one or two exceptions they were not privy to the assassination of the Queen, though they were willing to profit by that crime in accepting office at the hands of the perpetrators. The men appointed were Yi Cha-myun, Kim Hong-jip, Kim Yun-sik, Pak ChÖng-yang, Sim Sang-hun, Cho Heui-yun, So Kwang-bÖm and Chong Pyung-ha.

One would have supposed that the enemies of the Queen would have been satisfied by her death, but not so. On the eleventh, three days after her assassination, an edict purporting to have originated with His Majesty and signed by the full cabinet appeared in the Court Gazette. In it the Queen is charged with having interfered in public matters, disturbed the government and put the dynasty in peril. It is stated that she has disappeared and that her guilt is excessive; therefore she is deposed from her rank as Queen and reduced to the level of the lowest class.

There can be no doubt that this edict is fraudulent. The King never gave his consent to it and several of the members of the Cabinet knew nothing about it, notably Sim Sang-hun who had already thrown up his position and run away, and Pak ChÖng-yang who denounced the nefarious business and resigned. It was put through by a few of the Cabinet who were thoroughly subservient to the Japanese. The Japanese Minister in reply to the announcement of the Queen’s degradation, affected to sympathize with the Korean Government but thought it was done for the good of the State. The United States Representative refused to recognize the decree as coming from His Majesty, and in this he was seconded by all the the other Foreign Representatives except one.

Meanwhile the Japanese government began to learn something of the truth in regard to the Queen’s death and felt called upon to defend itself from the charge of complicity in the outrage through its accredited Minister. Consequently it recalled Miura and Sugimura and upon their arrival in Japan they were arrested and charged with complicity in the matter. The fact of their arrest and trial was a distinct disclaimer on the part of the Japanese government that it was accessory to the crime; and in spite of the utter inadequacy of the trial and its almost ludicrous termination we hold to the theory that the Japanese government was not a party to the crime excepting in so far as the appointment of such a man as Miura cancan be called complicity.

But the vigorous action of Japan in arresting Miura and putting him on trial had a strong influence upon the course of events in Korea. The Korean public and all the Foreign Representatives were demanding that the occurrences of the eighth of October should be investigated and the responsibility for the murder of the Queen placed where it rightly belonged. This itself bore strongly upon the Cabinet, but when in addition to this the Japanese government itself seemed to be weakening and it appeared that Miura’s acts would prove to have been unauthorized things begun to look rather black for the men who were enjoying office solely through Miura’s influence, and although the fiction was still maintained that the Queen was not dead but in hiding somewhere, the situation became more and more strained until at last it became evident even to the Cabinet that something must be done to relieve the situation. Accordingly on the 26th of November the Foreign Representatives and several other foreigners were invited to the palace and it was announced in the presence of His Majesty that Cho Heui-yun the Minister of War and Kwun Yung-jin the Chief of Police were dismissed, that the edict degrading the Queen was rescinded and that the facts connected with the attack on the palace would be investigated by the Department of Justice and all guilty persons tried and punished. At the same time the death of Her Majesty was formally announced.

The popular feeling against the Japanese-trained troops was so strong that they were dismissed and another guard summoned, but as a matter of fact this new guard was composed almost entirely of the very men who had formerly composed the Japanese-drilled corps.

The position of His Majesty during the months succeeding the attack was anything but comfortable. He had no voice in the direction of affairs, and he considered himself practically a prisoner in the hands of the Cabinet. He even feared for his life, and for weeks ate no food except what was brought to him in a locked box from friends outside the palace. He had requested that two or three foreigners should come to the palace each night and be at hand in case of trouble, feeling that their presence would exert a deterrent influence upon any who might plot injury to his person.

The half-way measures adopted on Nov. 26th by no means satisfied those who wished to see His Majesty freed from practical durance at the hands of men thoroughly obnoxious to him, and a scheme was evolved by a number of Koreans to effect his release by forcible means. The purpose of these men was a laudable one but the execution of it was ill-managed. On the night of the 28th upwards of a thousand Koreans demanded entrance into the palace. They had arranged with one of the members of the palace guard, inside, to open the gate to them, but at the last moment he failed them and they found themselves balked. The palace was in some confusion, the King had called in to his presence the three foreigners who, at his request, were on duty that night, but in spite of their assurances that his person would be protected it was only natural that excitement should run high. The crowd without were shouting wildly and attempting to scale the high wall, and the members of the cabinet, before the King, did not know at what moment the guard might betray them to the assailants, and they knew that once betrayed they would be torn to pieces without mercy. They tried therefore to induce the King to remove to a distant part of the palace where he could hide for a long time before he could be found even though the crowd should effect an entrance. The night was bitterly cold and the King was but lightly clad, and as the King’s person was safe in any event, the foreigners who were with him opposed the move strongly and at last were compelled to use physical force to prevent the change, which would certainly have endangered the King’s life. The purpose of the cabinet was thus thwarted but as the hours passed it become evident that the men outside would not be able to effect an entrance. The shouts gradually died away and at last the crowd dispersed leaving in the hands of the palace guard three or four men who had scaled the wall but had not been followed by their confreres.

In view of the attitude of the Tokyo Government the Japanese in Seoul were now entirely quiescentquiescent and the government was standing on its own base. The cabinet held its own by virtue of the palace guard which was composed of the soldiers trained by the Japanese. This cabinet and guard held together from necessity, for both knew that should their power fail they would be denounced as traitors and under the circumstances could expect little help from the Japanese. The cabinet had to make a show of investigating the attack of Oct. 5th and someone must be killed for having murdered the queen. At the same time punishment was to be meted out to the principals in the attempt on the palace on November 28th.

Three men were arrested and charged with being directly implicated in the crime of regicide. Of these one was certainly innocent and while the second was probably privy to the crime, being a lieutenant of the Japanese-trained troops, there was no evidence adduced to prove his actual participation in the act of assassination. He had not been reinstated in his position in the new guard and he knew altogether too much about the existing cabinet. Their choice fell upon him as one of the scapegoats. The third was Yi Chu-hoÉ formerly Vice Minister of War. There was no evidence adduced against him at the trial, though from other considerations he seems to have been implicated in the outrage. He was chosen as the principal one to bear the obloquy of the crime, probably because (1) he was a bitter enemy of the existing cabinet and (2) because it was necessary for the sake of appearances to convict and execute someone of rank and reputation. As a fact the court did not know and never discovered who the actual perpetrators were. The three men were executed before the end of the year.

Though only three men were arrested in connection with the assassination of the queen thirty-three men were arrested in connection with the comparatively trivial affair of November 28th. Their trial proceeded simultaneously with that of the other three. Two of them were condemned to death, four to exile for life and four to three years imprisonment. To show the kind of evidence on which these convictions were based we will cite the case of Prince Yi Cha-sun who was proved to have gotten hold of some compromising documents and to have shown them to the King only, instead of to the proper authorities, namely, of course, the cabinet. On these grounds he was sentenced to three years imprisonment!

December and January saw matters move to an inevitable climax. The cabinet forced upon the people the edict ordering the cutting off of the top-knot, the distinctive mark of Korean citizenship. The whole country was in a ferment and the people, almost to a man, were gnashing their teeth at the cabinet. The finding of the Hiroshima court claimed to have freed Miura and his fellows from blame and it was rumored that several of them were to return to Korea to take office under the government. ChÖng Pyung-ha, a proved traitor, had been reinstated in the cabinet as Minister of Agriculture and Cho Heui-yun as Minister of War, and it was reported that Kwun Yung-jin who had fled to Japan would be made again Chief of Police. It was perfectly evident, therefore, that the grip of the Japanese upon the king through the GaolerGaoler Cabinet was tightening and that there was no escape from it except through heroic measures. These measures the king was prepared to adopt rather than longer endure the humiliating position to which he seemed condemned. At that time the principal men in the cabinet were Kim Hong-jip, ChÖng Pyung-ha, O Yun-jung, Yu Kil-jun. Of these O Yun-jung seems to have been far less culpable than the rest. The king had great confidence in him and had he not met his fate at the hands of the people he would probably have been called back to office.

But now we come to the important step taken by His Majesty to free himself from his unpleasant position. He determined to find asylum in the Russian Legation. C. Waeber was the Russian Minister, a pronounced friend of the dead Queen, and a man of great ability. Just how he was approached and his consent gained to the king’s scheme is not generally known but in view of subsequent events and the part that Russia intended to play in Korea it is easy to see how the Russian Representative would welcome an opportunity to do the King such a signal service and one which was of such a personal character as to render it certain that it would never be forgotten.

The plan was carried out successfully in every detail. Women’s chairs were caused to be sent in and out the palace gates at frequent intervals by day and night until the guards had become quite accustomed to them. Then on the night of the eleventh of February the King and the Crown Prince without escort slipped by the guards in common women’s chairs and were taken directly to the Russian Legation where they were courteously received and given the best portion of the Legation building. This act was of course a grievous lapse from the dignity that befits a king but under the circumstances there is much to say by way of excuse. On the whole it must be considered a mistake so far as the country at large is concerned, for it set in motion a new set of factors which probably did more harm than the temporary enforced seclusion of the King could have done. It acted as a potent factor in embittering the Japanese against Russia and opened the door for Russian intrigue which finally hastened if it did not actually cause the war at present waging. Had Japan been able to preserve the predominance which she held in Korea just after the China-Japan war she might have looked with more or less complaisancy upon the Russian aggression in Manchuria, but when Korea itself became disputed ground the war was inevitable.

At seven o’clock on the morning of February 11th the King and the Crown Prince entered the Russian Legation. Several hours elapsed before the Cabinet in the palace became aware of the fact. During that interval active operations were going on at the Russian Legation. The organization of a new cabinet was hastened by summoning from various parts of the city such officials as the King could trust. Pak ChÖng-yang was made Prime Minister. No time was lost in putting out a Royal Edict deprecating the necessity of taking refuge in a foreign legation, promising to punish the real authors of the Queen’s assassination, rescinding the order for cutting the top-knots. This was posted on the gates of the Legation and at various points throughout the city.