JAPAN VICTORIOUS. 369 



raising up hostile influences in territory unpleasantly 

 close to their island empire, and, realising with unerring 

 intuition the menace to their security, determined to be 

 first in the field. They had doubtless watched with 

 interest the invariable outcome of diplomatic encounters 

 between British and Russian statesmen in Asia in the 

 past, and were consequently able to gauge at its correct 

 value the pledge given to Great Britain by Russia in 

 1886, that she would not occupy Korean territory 

 " under any circumstances whatever." Be that as it 

 may, war was waged with a success that elicited a 

 chorus of approbation from the European press ; the 

 pretensions of China to be regarded as an entity in the 

 comity of nations were rudely shattered, and a treaty 

 was signed, which among other things gave over to 

 Japan that part of Manchuria which is known as the 

 Liao-tung Peninsula. 



The proceedings which immediately followed upon 

 the conclusion of the treaty of Shimonoseki are only too 

 well known. Japan in possession of the southern 

 coast of Manchuria was inimical to Russian aspirations. 

 The object of years of patient toil and persevering 

 diplomacy was thereby frustrated, and Japan's enjoy- 

 ment of territorial acquisition was doomed to be short- 

 lived. It is generally admitted that Li Hung Chang 

 proceeded to Shimonoseki with the comforting know- 

 ledge that the more grasping the demands of the victor, 

 the more certain was the prospect of European inter- 

 vention. And so he signed away integral portions of 

 the Chinese Empire with unabashed complacency. Nor 

 was he disappointed at the sequel. With the co- 

 operation of Germany and France, Russia addressed 

 Japan in April 1895 as follows : — 



" The Imperial Russian Government, having ex- 

 amined the terms of peace demanded of China by 



2 A 



