Referring to the question which has arisen in regard to the liability of foreigners to the payment of taxes raised for war purposes, a Yokohama paper observes that the whole period of preparation for the war, necessitating a large increase of the nation's armaments, has been marked by extraordinary taxation for this very purpose, a fact which would seem to make it somewhat late now for foreigners to begin their protest.
our contemporary is under the impression that such a question would not: be likely to be raised in a Western land. During the Civil War in America there was no distinction whatever made between native and alien residents in the matter of paying taxes incident to the great increase in the burden of the nation.
The Russophil Paper.
As tothe Russian spy question recently raised in the Diet, I learn that it is probably unfair to charge Mr. 8. Akiyama, proprietor of the "Niroku," with having acted as an agent for Russia. But the rehabilitation of the " Niroku" several years ago was largely for the purpose of promoting Russian interests, and expedite ing the conclusion of " Russo-Japanese entente, which has been long urged by some politicians. The Kuropatkin Agreement, which subsequently proved to be a fabrication pure and simple, appears to have been supplied to the "Niroku" by the Russian Legation in Tokio, as a ballan @essai. A certain noted politician who persistently favoured the Russo-Japanese entente, is also said to have been in the pay of the proprietor of the "Niroku." The Tokio paper published 'a table showing the circulation of all the metropolitan papers, and putting itself at the head of the list. This is said to ave been done for the purpose of making 'a show to the Russian agents, from whom the " Niroku" was anxious to extract) as large a subsidy as possible.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.