When confronted by an armed burglar at dead of night who, with a drawn dagger, demands "your money oF your life", is it cowardice to yield to the mal&factor or should tone, despite the odds, close in with the' marauder? That is a question that is' agitating a certain section of the Japanese to-day. Captai Asami of the army, while sleeping with his young wife and baby, was suddenly awakened by a masked intruder who, brandishing a short sword, demanded his purse—or, "and the burglar made a gesture illustrate ive of severing the captain's: jugular vein, The unfortunate officer, half-asleep and completely unarmed, bowed to the inevitable] Jand gave the thief what money he happened to have.
The story became known the next! day and Captain Asami was taxed th cowardice by Colonel Aizouchi, mediate superior officer, wi rds Captain Asami's conduct as heinous in the extreme and a disgrace to the regiment as well as to the service. Worse yet, Licutenant-General Hayashi, commander of the fourth di in which Captain, Asami's regiment is incorporated, and a number of other officers sat jin judgment on the matter and Jcaine to the conclusion that Captain. Asami's conduct was inexcusable, that he had sullied the honour of ud that he should retire including some foreigners, has come out in defence: of Captain Asami. These point out that it would have been suicidal for Captain Asami to have offered resistance, and resistance, if unsuccessful, would have meant not only' his own death at the hands of a violent man, but also that of his wife and baby—for that is a way, the enterprising burglar adts here as in China, Further, the Japanese supporters of Captain Asami contend that, in realizing the great odds and' displaying discretion, he far superior to the usual military man who glori courage and savage pugnacity, that he did right in preserving his: life for the service of his Emperor fand country instead of throwing it away in order to get even with midnight marauder.
The Law's Protection ynt_once again exposes serepancy between the Japanese conception of dealing with intruders and that prevalent foreign lands. The law of Jap: protects the potential robber: derer rather than the law-ab!dinz and if any ones shoots at, jerwise injuries, one of *hes2 night prowlers, the law comes dawn jon him with fall. force It is little wonder then that das-hardly murders, for robbery and at, ght, have greatly increased and with this protection that the law affords the man of murderous i stiners, there has also arisen greater contempt for the law and established authority on the part} of evil-doors. The general interest aroused by the Asami case has encouraged foreigners and the more ide-awake Japanese to renew thei agitation to allow them to bin firearms for the protection of their households and the honour of their women, and if the publicity that the Acami case has been responsible for leads to this, then Captain Asami would have rendered an inestimable service to. the community jay Well as to the strengthening of the forces of established law and lorder—at least that is what a large umber of sober, serious-minded. people think.
Retrenchment Plea Success 'Tne fervid pleas of the Hama-Jguchi Ministry' for retrenchment fare bearing ample and gratifying] results, according. to a_statement issued' by Mingeito (Government party) officials, who declare. that, Since the Government pleaded with the people to effect drastic economy and to save, an amount of near-Yen 1,000,000 a day is de in the savings bank department of the various postaffices throughout the country. "The principal banks, fon the contrary, complain that deposits are fal garded as showing that it is the "commoner" people who are doing! the saving, although, as one paper points out, it is more than possible that the middle-classes who deposited their savings in banks are row placing them with the save Dank department of the Gove ment postotices for the reason that the latter pay. better rates of interest and are much more handily located.
The post offices are said to be in possession of Yen 2,000,000,000 to-day and the authorities are said to be having quite hard time devising proper means to use these postal deposits. At this time of the year, whenever the weather is) '00d, the Japanese go out in the Sands to pleasure resorts, for it now that the countryside takes on charming aspect, when the lanes are yellow-purfled' with flowers of autumn and the maple-studded hills are a bewildering glory of gold, russet and brown, all the more enlerancing because' of the deep rich emerald of the ever-green pines that may be found all over Japan, 'This year, however, excursions have been very few. Railway deposits have consequently decreased, but. that has not. worried the Government. That this money is being, saved, that the advice of the Go ernment has been' truly heeded these the Ministry thinks are far greater importance and testify to the confidence of the average man and woman in the economics of the Hamaguchi Ministry.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.