Duties of a Consul

AT THE CLOSE of the Russian war I was transferred to the Consulate General at Yokohama and began, for the first time, to learn something of Consular work. Vice-Consul Hampden used to complain good-humouredly that the task usually fell to him of licking raw assistants into shape and, whether it was intentional or not, the first move from Tokyo was usually to Yokohama. Possibly it was felt that it was better to let a student down gently rather than to fling him out to a distant Consulate but, more probably, it was just chance. In any case the move was a fortunate one for me since Mr Hampden was a most efficient and fast worker and I flatter myself that under his guidance I soon developed from an unlicked cub into the semblance of a Consular Officer.

The duties of a Consul were, at that time, in a state of transition. Up to 1898 they had been mainly judicial. British subjects were under the jurisdiction of the British Government. Important cases were tried by His Majesty's Judge at Yokohama but misdemeanours were tried by the Consul acting as magistrate. The questions he had to discuss with the Japanese authorities had mainly to do with the maintenance of law and order. When extra-territoriality was given up, these functions ceased but other ones gradually took their place. In the interim he was kept busy straightening out the confusion naturally caused by the change. In particular, the main question that engaged his attention was the famous dispute over the House Tax. This is no place for an elaborate discussion of this vexed question but, briefly, the Japanese Government claimed that they were entitled to collect house tax from the holders of perpetual leases in the foreign settlements and the Powers maintained that they were not. The Hague Award in 1904 was in favour of the Powers but, unfortunately, the award was vaguely worded and the local authorities then began to impose other taxes which were merely the house tax under a different name. Perpetual lease holders on their side were apt to push their just case too far and claim exemption from all taxation.