Non-PRO Japanese to English Social Sciences History Japanese colonial history (Meiji Era)

A critique of Japanese colonial administration policy written in the late Meiji Era.
Here's an excerpt from the sentence:

「自治行政ノ慣習ヲ俠復するが如きハ、蓋し其急務中ノ急務ナルモノナラン。」

As for the word I am looking for, google search results only yielded some texts written around the same period. Going by context, it seemed to mean 征服 in some instances, but I just couldn't be sure.

Any insight on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!