<論説>フェリー内閣と日本

Abstract

十九世紀末葉、フランスのフェリーは、かれの第二次内閣成立後、アジア植民地政策を強化するために、一方では清国を屈服させて賠償金を獲得しようと考えながら、他方では極東諸国間の矛盾を利用して日本の自由党と明治政府との双方と結托しようとつとめた。本稿は、日仏両国における当時の外交文献および若干の有力新聞紙の資料により、この間の事情を解明しようと試みたものである。とくに、フェリー内閣と日本との間にいかなる外交関係が存在したかという点の究明に本稿の主要な目的がある。

After Jules Ferry's Second Cabinet (1883-1885) was organized, having defeated China with military forces, he attempted to obtain a large indemnity from the Ch'ing Goverment. At the same time, he wished to take advantage of the international situation in the Far East, and acted secretly in concert with the Meiji Government, with the hope of using the Jiyu Party of Japan as a tool. Based on the diplomatic documents of Japan and France, and a few of the important contemporary newspapers of Japan, I have studied this subject, with emphasis on the international relations between France and Japan in 1884. We cannot clearly understand the influence of Ferry's colonial policy in the Far East unless we search for the fundamental reasons behind it. In this paper, I have attempted to give some answers to this problem.