If Marquis Ito comes into power, as he may shortly, the Chinese trouble' will be settled very quickly, for the Marquis is not fond of foreign complications and is entirely TER mp sity doceeie politics. He naturally and justly regards the constitution, his own creation, with the greatest interest and solicitude; and as Napoleon wished to yo down to posterity with the Code Napoleon in his hand, so Marquis Ito wishes hims.1f to be remembered, not by any trouble in foreign diplomacy, but by work in connection with the constitution.
He has already declared that Japan's capacity for Constitutional Government has been tested during these last ten years and has not been found wanting. This is a sutisfactory assurwuce indeed, couling as it does from the Father of the Constitution" himself, but it is nevertheless certain that the working of the constitutional system by no means meets with the Marquis's entire approval, and the corruption and weakness of the Diet must have been considerable ere a statesman of Ito's calibre would consent to issue from his retirement in order to set things right. One is appalled indeed at the work he has laid out for himself. He proposes to hold together by his personal influence, the magic of his name and the high principles he preriches, a band of men united on no one point save respect for their leader. How he will do it is a mystery, especially to him who has read the brief but lively consti: utional history of Japan up to the present. What the Marquis would lose by hig patriotic action I have already foretold in your columns, and as a matter of fact Conservative intriguers have already been at work in the Imperial Court, with the result that the Marquis lis asked his Imperial Master to relieve him of the Presidency of the "Imperial Family Institutions Investigation Bureau," of the membership of the Imperial Household Financial Council, and of the tutozship to His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince.
Suddest of all, perhaps, is the fact that the new move brings the Marquis, who, though born a commoner, is a man of aristueratic mind, into connection with some very undeserving characters, with men who no more comprehend the lofty ideals the Marquis has view than a Lurk comprehends Ruski One of these men is Mr. Hoshi Toru, one of the most notorious leaders vf office hunters that ever battened on a corrupt Parliament system in any country, ani whose one merit is his iron stubborn-ess and the fiom control he exercises over his party. Thanks to the judicious manner in_which he sells himself, Hoshi is rich. He is also coarse. On the 8th for instance he undid most of the good effect created by Marquis Ito's statesmanlike manifesto by scolding a naval party in the style of a bargee.
In case, too, Marquis Ito fails to adopt an almost aggressively ' strong diplomacy" in his dealings w.th China, he will certainly have to face a bitter opposition. Count Okuma, his old rival, has already declared very emphatically that the Japanese ought not slavishly to follow the suggestion of European Power and that they ought to see that China gives thea security for her future good behaviour ere they leave Pekii This comes from a statesman who made yood usy of the "strong diplomacy" ery ott one occasion in the past and who lost a ley on another occasion through dis-Tegarding that ery, and no doubt if the suxpicim of the people are connection with this Peking it will go hard even with he Unreasoning jingoist ab will alone yell him one of power.
its best to, "What that element is capable ut is shown by x council meeting of an assueiation calling its-if the Toho (Ayo-kai), which took plice lust Saturday, A number of resolutions were passed, the first being ce the eff-ct that Russ a's propo-al, with regard to the evacuation of Peki was simply a process of diplomatic sounding, and that anybody who is grateful to her for that proposal is an cut-of-date theorist, if not an idiot."
Then " new association calling itself the National Union has been formed nection with this very Chinese crisis, under the leadership of Prince K-nove in order to force the Government to use strong diplomacy in the settlement both of this question and of the Corean question. The manifesto proclaims" that the maintenance of China's "integrity and the support of Corea are grave duties which devolve on Japan not merely for her own sake but also for the sake of the peace of the world."
All the signs proclaim, by the by, that the wise old statesmen of the Restoration and the obedient, ignorant people under them will soon be replaced by a half educated and vociferous democracy which may not promote the interes's of Da Nippon and which not will tend to. make the post of Prime Minister any more of a sinecure than it is at present.
Tokio, 12th September.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.