The Sun.
London, England, 1866-01-13 00:00:00

JAPAN.

" The Tycoon, who so long allowed himself to
be styled His Majesty,' is now," says the Mail,
"in no small difficulty. Though almost always the
son-in-law of his Imperial Majesty the Mikado,
and though his policy is seldom opposed to that of
the lawful sovereign, the manner in which he con-
cluded the treaty with the foreign representatives
drew upon him the hatred of most of the power-
ful princes of the empire, who have not failed
to make him feel that he requires their cordial
co-operation in the hour of need. The appear-
ance before Osaca of the combined fleets of Eng-
land, France, and Holland, with four pleni-
potentiaries, has made little or no impression upon
the holy city, so far as we have yet learned ; and it
is, not unlikely that a little more demonstration of
power will be necessary in order to fulfil the pur-
pose of the expedition. In these eventful days
foreigners may congratulate themselves on having,
in Japan as well as at Pekin, representatives of the
British Government who are firm but just, and
whom the resnective governments cannot but re-
spect for their integrity, and dread for their deter-
mination."

The Japan Herald contains the following account
of the execution of the second murderer of Major
Baldwin and Lieut. Bird :—" On Saturday last her
Majesty's minister received information from the
Gorogio, that the second murderer of Major Bald-
win and Lieut. Bird had been taken in Yeddo, and
had confessed his crime. The name of this culprit
is Mamiya Hajimei, and he is not the man who was
taken on suspicion some time ago. He stated that
he cut down the second officer ; and when he was
arrested, he had on him the sword with which he
committed the murder—some of the blood being
still visible upon the blade. All the circumstances
confessed and known of the man confirm the
Japanese authorities in their conviction that he is
the veritable murderer. He arrived from Yeddo
on Sunday evening, and yesterday morning the
British acting consul, accompanied by Mr. Satow,
as interpreter, and one or two other gentlemen,
went to the " Tobee" prison, and examined the
prisoner. They found him to be a young man, of
about 18 years of age, and anything but repulsive
looking. He declared himself to be the actual
murderer of Lieutenant Bird, stating that he
first cut him down, and then that he
gave him innumerable wounds when on the
ground. On being asked whether he had preme-
ditated the act, be declared that " of course, it
was in his nature, as a Japanese, to kill foreigners:,
His statements differ materially from those of
Shimodzo Seiji, his name even differing from that
mentioned by the former culprit. It is possible,
however, that Shimidzu may have given wrong
names and erroneous information for the very pur-
pose of misleading the authorities and screening his
companion. About ten o'clock he was brought into
Yokohama, tied in the same way as Shimidzu, and
led through the principal streets of the settlement.
The state of the weather was such that but few
were in the streets, and as the time for the carrying
into effect this portion of the sentence was unknown,
very few saw him. The execution took place on
the same spot as his comrade's, but without any
of that military parade and display which was
then exhibited. In spite of the rain, which had
been incessant since early morning, a fair number
' of Europeans went to the execution ground, and
the murderer was brought up precisely at 1 o'clock.
The Japanese officers were already there ; but the
British authorities, whose presence was necessary,
did not arrive until fully half-an-hour after. The
poor boy—for he was little more—had been drugged,
and was quite, or apparently, unconscious. He was
laid upon the ground, his legs covered with a mat,
and his body supported in a half sitting, half recum-
bent position, by two jailors, who between them
held an umbrella over him to keep off the rain.
Only twice did he open his eyes and raise his head,
and then only to stare vacantly, and immediately
relapse into unconsciousness. When at length all
the officials arrived and the time had come for
his execution, he was aroused sufficiently to walk,
with support, to the spot where he was to kneel
for decapitation, but he was too unconscious to
know how or where to place himself. And when he
was blindfolded, which in his case wl left undone
until he had been put in position, three men were
obliged to support his body to prevent its falling,
and one to hold his head until the very moment
before the blow was struck. The work was done
by the old and well-known executioner, who walked
about whilst the criminal was being prepared,
laughing and appearing to exult over his work. His
manner, and the unconscious helplessness of the
victim, gave to this execution a repulsiveness far
greater than that of Skimidzu—although the execu-
tioner on that occasion had to strike three times
before the head fell, and this was severed in an in-
stant. Immediately on the head falling it was
seized, put into a mat, and carried, accompanied by
a mounted Yakonin, to the place on this side of
Yoshida Bashi, where it is to be exhibited for three
days. A board is in front of it with his crimes and
sentence written on it. And so ends this dreadful
tragedy. We cannot hazard an opinion as to whe-
ther the youth who thus suffered is the real culprit or
not. He declared he was, and gloried in the deed ;
and there we must leave it.

Intelligence from Yokohama states that a cham-
ber of commerce had been formed there, and that
the troops which arrived some time ago from Hong
Kong are improving in health and spirits.

MR. MOENS AND THE BRIGANDS.—Whether it
will be of any advantage to his countrymen or not,
we cannot say ; but unless his imperfect knowledge of the
language misled him, Mr. Moons must have left a pro-
found impression upon the brigand mind. No man ever
acted better up to the precepts of A ristippus. He climbed
up precipices in a way worthy of the President of the
Alpine Club. He shared his capote with a murderer, and
not only amused himself with making a wooden ramrod
for him, but actually got paid for his work. He
taught the band on one occasion how to avoid the
firo of the soldiers, and they even proposed to elect him
their chief. Once only did ho see any chance of escape.
But his feelings revolted from shooting in cold blood two
sleeping men, and the probability of having to shoot a
third. When he finally took leave he was loaded with rings
and keepsakes, the most curious of which was a knife which
had taken the lives of two men. The man to whose .pecial
charge he had been all along consigned was most anxious
for a parting kiss. But this condescension to foreign usages
was very properly reserved for the old shepherd, who
brought the last instalment of the largest ransom that ever
was paid in this way.—The Reader.