THE PURPOSE OF THE ANGLO-JAPANESE 



ALLIANCE* 



By Hon. Eki Hioki 



First Secretary of the Japanese Legation 



NO Japanese need feel himself 

 among strangers when he ad- 

 dresses a British or American 

 audience, excepting for the language 

 that he has to use, and in talking to a 

 gathering of Englishmen living in 

 America he doubly feels among friends. 

 We of Japan realize how much we owe 

 to the great Anglo-Saxon nations, how 

 much they have taught us, and how 

 much we have still to learn from them. 

 Some of your English writers have 

 called us " the English of the Orient," 

 and it was an American who termed 

 Japanese 1 ' the Yankees of the Far 

 East. ' ' We have not as yet progressed 

 so far on the road to Yankeedom as to 

 be able to sell you gentlemen of Boston 

 wooden nutmegs, but we are still young 

 in the ways of modern civilization. 

 Give us time and there is hope we may 

 even teach Connecticut a thing or two. 



Having the honor to be with you to- 

 night — inadequately taking the place of 

 His Majesty's minister plenipotentiary, 

 whose health unfortunately makes it 

 impossible for him to be present, greatly 

 to his regret — it is proper for me to ex- 

 press felicitations for this great day, 

 echoing the sentiment deeply imbedded 

 in the bosoms of the fifty millions of 

 His Japanese Majesty's loyal subjects. 

 Nothing would be more out of place, 

 however, than an attempt on my part 

 to dwell upon the significance of the 

 Empire Day before the British audience. 

 Let it suffice to say that the memory of 

 Queen Victoria, that high personage, 

 whose reign distinguishes itself in his- 

 torv not only in point of length, but in 



the fact that it is so peculiarly coinci- 

 dent with the wonderful tide of general 

 advancement of civilization and material 

 prosperity which has blessed Great 

 Britain and the world in general, may 

 perpetually be preserved in so fitting a 

 manner as is done here tonight by the 

 United British Societies in America. 



This is not an occasion for making a 

 long address, but being present here as 

 the representative of Japan and as a 

 guest of Britishers, I feel I cannot let 

 the opportunity pass without saying a 

 few words about that remarkable com- 

 pact that binds our two countries to 

 the satisfaction of ourselves and to the 

 benefit of the world. 



The object of the alliance, as is well 

 known to you, cannot be better ex- 

 plained than by the language of Lord 

 Eansdowne. In his covering and ex- 

 planatory dispatch to Sir Claude Mc- 

 Donald, British minister atTokio, Lord 

 Eansdowne wrote : " We have each of 

 us desired that the integrity and inde- 

 pendence of the Chinese Empire should 

 be preserved ; that there should be no 

 disturbance of the territorial status quo 

 either in China or in the adjoining re- 

 gions ; that all nations should within 

 those regions, as well as within the 

 limits of the Chinese Empire, be afforded 

 equal opportunities for the development 

 of their commerce and industry, and 

 that peace should not only be restored, 

 but should for the future be maintained. 



"His Majesty's government trusts that 

 the agreement may be found of mutual 

 advantage to the two countries ; that it 

 will make for the preservation of peace 



* An address delivered at the Empire Day Banquet given by the United British Societies of 

 Boston, May 24, 1905. 



