JAPAN. 



431 



not entirely withdrawn, Chin* will not complete the 



|>avim-nt. 



Thin ci-rt iflonte U executed in proof of the ubove 

 agreement, and i-uch party retain* one copy. 

 MXIJI, hi'Vfiitli yriir, tenth month, day. 

 TUNOCIU, thirteenth >mr, ninth month, day. 

 (October, 1874.) 



.uUTML'iird by YANAGIWARA, 



istcr Plenipotentiary ut'Gmit Jupun. 



The evacuation of Formosa by the Japanese 

 troops was completed on December 2d, and the 

 last installment of the indemnification was paid 

 to the Japanese embassador,Yanagiwara, before 

 his return to, Japan, on December 17th. Okubo, 

 who hail succeeded in bringing about the 

 treaty of peace, was received in Yokohama 

 with great demonstrations of enthusaism, in 

 whirh all classes of the population took part. 

 The whole town was illuminated, a splendid 

 banquet was given, and the Emperor invited 

 the envoy to his table. 



On January 14th an attempt was made upon 

 the life of the minister Iwakara while he was 

 returning home from a visit to the Mikado. 

 The attack was made by a party of thirteen 

 men, who surrounded his carriage, killed the 

 coachman, and severely though not mortally 

 wounded Iwakara, who, however, succeeded 

 in making his escape. Nine of the would-be 

 assassins were subsequently arrested and be- 

 headed. 



An attempt at another insurrection was 

 made in February, in Saga, but, as the rebels 

 were very insufficiently provided with arms, it 

 was easily suppressed. Their chief, a former 

 Minister of Justice, was arrested, and, with ten 

 other leaders, put to death. 



The number of mines which, in 1874, were 

 worked in Japan, was as follows: gold, 82; 



-i!\.r, 118; copper, 800; iron, 20: zinc, 8; 

 I. al, .02; graphite, 8; coal, 412; sulphur, 12; 

 alum, TrJ ; besides, there were 182 pctrolctmi- 

 wells. 



One of the most important improvement* 

 adopted by tho Japanese is the light-house 

 system. It is in the hands of an English en- 

 gineer, and of incalculable value to mariners. 

 The bureau was organized in 1866, but did not 

 commence active operations until 1868. At 

 the commencement only principal points along 

 the coast were selected for illumination, and 

 those under the advice of American, English, 

 and French naval officers ; gradually less im- 

 portant points were taken up, until in 1872 

 there were 25 light-houses, 3 light-ships, and 

 11 buoys. 



The gas-works in Yokohama, the first in 

 Japan, were completed and put in use in Sep- 

 tember, 1872. They are a private enterprise, 

 and managed by Frenchmen. 



The schools of the different kens (provinces) 

 seem to be independent of each other, ana 

 equally independent of any head. The whole 

 number of foreigners in the employ of the ed- 

 ucational department was, in 1873, 72, of whom 

 17 were Americans, 12 English, 11 French, 

 23 German, and 9 of other nationalities. Ger- 

 mans are chiefly engaged in medical schools 

 and hospitals, and, with few exceptions, instruc- 

 tion in that branch of science is in their hands. 



Twelve missionary societies are reported to 

 have been laboring in Japan during 1874. The 

 Roman Catholic societies employed fifteen mis- 

 sionaries, and the society of the Greek Church 

 employed two missionaries. The following 

 is a list of the missionaries of the Protestant 

 societies : 



Thirty-nine of the missionaries were regis- 

 tered as clergymen, and three as missionary 

 physicians. Of the whole number of mission- 

 aries, eight were from England, and seventy- 

 nine from America. 



The native population connected with the 

 Roman Catholic missions was, in 1873, esti- 

 mated at about 14,000 ; with few exceptions, 



they were the descendants of former Chris- 

 tians. The number of those who preserve the 

 books of their Christian ancestors, and secretly 

 adhere to (Catholic) Christianity is, however, 

 much larger. On the island of Yesso alone 

 their number was, in 1861, estimated at 80,000 

 by a former English Consul, and, for the whole 

 of Japan, it is believed to exceed 200,000. 



