What Japan gives with one hand! she is rather apt to take away with the other, writes the Tokyo correspondent of the An instance is the way in which the provisions of the Peace Preservation Act were recently invoked to nullify the advantages which might have been expected to accrue to democracy vender the much-acclaimed Manhood Suffrage Act.
The Suffrage Act enfranchised 11,000,000 males; and it "seme? az if the time had come when the voice of democracy would be able to make itself heard. The orga-of a Labour Party, on modest and strictly constitutional ines, was at once set afoot. The promoters were immediately approached by- Communist elements, which pressed for inclusion in any proletarian organization, This was not in the scope of the original scheme, but objections were overcome and persons of supposedly moderate Communist views were allowed to join. Some of these, being competent organizers, oon ceeupied administrative positions.
The political activities of the part developed until a warning wa received from the police, acting on instructions from the Department of Home Affairs, that unless certain aims, considered by the Home Department to be revolutionary, were dropped from the programme of the party its further development and its public meetings would be prohi-_ ited. This action was taken under! the Peace Preservation Act, which in its original form was supposed to be directed solely at restricting the activities of Soviet agents in Jupan,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.