SIR HARRY PARKES’ ADDRESS AT THE ŌSAKA-KYŌTO OPENING

On the part of the diplomatic corps I beg to express to Your Majesty the sincere pleasure which it affords us to participate in the interesting ceremony of the opening of a new line of railway to the ancient capital of Your Majesty’s realm.

The invitation to be present on this occasion, with which Your Majesty has graciously favored us, furnishes an unmistakable sign of the friendship which marks the relations of Your Majesty with the sovereigns and presidents whom we have the honor to represent. But this is not the only meaning which that invitation conveys. It shows that Your Majesty is sensible that a great industrial enterprise which so nearly affects the welfare of so many of Your Majesty’s subjects affects also the interests of foreigners who are resident in this land, and who will always gladly join with Your Majesty’s people in promoting those works of industry and peace which contribute to the brotherhood of nations and to their mutual profit and prosperity. In the case of the useful work now inaugurated by Your Majesty, both native and foreign interests are so nearly allied that it is evident our wishes for its success can scarcely be second to those which are entertained by Your Majesty, your government, and your people. Great difficulties attend the earlier construction of railway works in any country, and the way in which these difficulties have been overcome in the present instance reflects high credit upon all concerned. But we may be permitted to add that the event of today marks an epoch in the history of Japan, for it furnishes a durable record of those new relations which she has established with the world; it is a proof of her desire to advance as other nations have advanced, and also of the intelligence and practical capacity of her people; and it shows how closely Your Majesty identifies yourself with the interests of your people and how willingly Your Majesty and your government labor to promote the material progress of your nation.

These, may it please Your Majesty, are the sentiments which animate my colleagues and myself in uniting with your loyal subjects in offering our congratulations on this occasion. Most cordially do we join with Your Majesty in wishing success to the Kiōto, Ōsaka, and Hiogo Railway, and to all the efforts which may be made by Your Majesty’s government to provide your country with such means of communication and transport by rail or road as may be best suited to its advancing requirements.

Reply of His Majesty, the Emperor

To the foregoing address of the foreign representatives His Majesty the Emperor replied, that he thanked the representatives of the treaty powers for their presence on the occasion of the opening of the railway between Kiōto and Hiogo, and for the sentiments which they had been pleased to express in their address.