Seoul Times became the official English newspaper under the editorship of an able Japanese journalist, Zumoto, once the editor of the Japan Times. The Japanese authorities also started the Keijo Nippo in Seoul, in both Japanese and Korean. There were other Japanese-owned Korean newspapers in Seoul, but almost all were in financial difficulty and gave way to this official paper.[1]
Failing in all these attempts to suppress Bethell's papers, Japan in desperation took the matter up with the British ambassador in Tokyo and the British government. The Japanese insisted repeatedly that the British government do something about Bethell.[2] During the summer of 1906, the Japanese authorities had several articles from the Taehan Maeil Simbo translated and sent them to the British government with a charge against Bethell of "adopting a course of action likely to cause a breach of the peace." The basis of the charge was eight articles, six of which were descriptions of the fighting between the "Righteous Army," Korean rebels, and the Japanese forces in the interior; one was about the proposed visit of the Crown Prince of Japan to Korea; and one urged the Koreans to value and cherish their independence.[3]
The dominant influence of Bethell's papers in the mind of the Korean people was a truism, and considering the Korean disturbances in the interior, especially after the abdication of the Korean Emperor in July, 1907, the British government had to act somehow, even though scrutiny of the articles for evidence to substantiate the charge does not indicate any factual falsification on the part of Bethell in order to promote anti-Japanese feelings in Korea. Bethell was at last subjected to the "China and Korea Order in Council" of 1904, which was amended in February, 1907, to cover the activity of British journalists in the Far East.
Henry Cockburn, the British consul-general in Seoul, visited Tokyo to confer with the British legation there in September, 1907. Upon his return, he summoned Bethell, on Saturday, October 12, to appear before a specially appointed court on the following Monday to answer the charge. Bethell, without attorney or counsel, stood before the court held in the consular buildings, with Cockburn acting as judge. The case was predetermined. Bethell was convicted and ordered to enter
into recognizance of £300 to be on good behavior for six months. The
- ↑ The Tokyo Asahi, Aug. 15 , 1906.
- ↑ Tsuruhara to Ito, Jan. 18, 1906, JA(Korea) 269, pp. 55-56; Ito to Hayashi, Oct. 13, 1907, ibid., 344, 80ff.
- ↑ (Director General [in the office of the Residency-General] to Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs), July 2, 1906, ibid., 366, pp. 129-196. For the translated articles, see ibid., appendix, 1-28.
