Page:The passing of Korea.djvu/259

 army had to spend large sums in Korea, and this required the purchase of Korean money. The result was that the yen, instead of holding its ratio of something like one to two and a half of the Korean dollar, fell to the ratio of one to only one and four-tenths. When, however, the sea was cleared of the Russians and import trade was resumed and the bulk of the Japanese crossed the Yalu, the Korean dollar fell again to a ratio of about two to one, which it has preserved up to the present time.

From the time when the Russians retired beyond the Yalu, warlike operations between the two belligerents were confined to northeast Korea, though even there very little was doing. The Vladivostock squadron was still in being, and on the 25th of April it appeared at the mouth of Wonsan harbour. Only one small Japanese boat was at anchor there, the Goyo Maru, and this was destroyed by a torpedo-boat which came in for the express purpose. Of course this created intense excitement in the town, and there was a hurried exodus of women and children, but the Russians had no intention of bombarding the place, and soon took their departure. Only a few hours before the Kinshiu, a Japanese transport with upwards of one hundred and fifty troops on board, had sailed for Sung-ju to the north of Wonsan, but meeting bad weather in the night the torpedo-boats that accompanied her were obliged to run for shelter, and the Kinshiu turned back for Wonsan. By so doing she soon ran into the arms of the Russian fleet, and, refusing to surrender, was sunk, but forty-five of the troops on board effected their escape to the mainland.