New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1871-01-27
JAPAN.


IN pp-rsrApIIsIlMENT OF THE MlKADO'S
1~n,pT--rrERLENESs OF THE GOVERNMENT
wARLIKE PREPARATIONS
ypno. Dec. 2O.--Whatever may be said to
the contrary by who interested in supresng
the truth concerning the present condition OF JAPAN
there can now doubt that the country is In state
OF agitation which may at any moment break out into
acyc rev oiuton Few signs of disturbance appear ON
the surface and 10 casual observers the new Govern
mcnt may indeed seem to have established itsen WIN
tocrahe security; hut among those who nave inc OPP
portunity Of looking more closely into affairs no sueh
deusion exists. The precarous condition OF the MINI"
dos regime is thoroughly understood by oil who are
oualifed 10 nudge and the dangers that menace IT
are concealed only for reasons OF expedency 10 the
Government itself it Is naturally, of vital Importance
that the brightest possible picture shah he constantly
kept before the public view; to those among the repre-
sentatiVes OF foreign Powers who chiefly instr
mental in assisting the revolution, or as they probably
prefer to call H. the restoration, OF 1861 woulu DC
modification to confess the unsatisfactory results Vi
all their schemes and ntrgues and they equally
careful to withhold whatever they may know In regard
10 the growing disaffecon On the other hand, those
who are foremost in the reactionay movements. as well
those who share their confidence have the strongest
motives for secrecy. An open acknowledgment OF ther
plans might not bring them to immediate disaster or
the Government is not sufficiently powerful 10 lnhet
that, but would throw them into temporary coniSoh
cause serious delay in the execution of their pro
ects Itmght even intercept them altogether since the
various elements of the opposition are by no means III
perfect accord at the present time, and might IL sus
pccted be ured back the side of the Government py
liberal brides other persuasons. Their chief oohd OF
union is intense dissatisfaction with the course OF the
powerful princes who now control the Mkado court
but on points that of adherence 10 the uy
nasty of The deposed Tcoons they are more or less al
HISTORY OF THE PRESENT GOVERNMENT
II seems useless TO attempt clear explanation OF the
condition in which the domestic affairs OF Japan now
stand without recalling, in some detail, the clrcun-
stances under which the existing Government was
formed OF course the story is not new one, but so
far as am aware il has always been imperecty told,
and told in manner which renders ii more likely to be
misunderstood than properly appreciated. The mistake
Of writer's about Japan is an inorinate fondness
for surrounding every subject with all kinds of mystery
and obsourty The fact is that nothing could be simpler
or more easily comprehended than the general course OF
since the admission Of foreigners 1t Is nothing
history of native Government perpexed ana
harassed the necessity OF dealing with an unexpected
and unwelcome contingency, exhausted by fruitless
though sincere efforts solve difficult problem, and
finally crushed almost at the moment Of success, be-
tween the conflicting forces Of outside pressure
and internal resistance, and compelled to give
way TO administration which was ready to profit
by the experience Of that which it suppanted, but
too unfamiliar with the vast executive machinery sud
denly placed in its hands, employ it with skill or
efficiency Dyested of all distortions and exaggeratons
the position Of this present regime and the antecedent
movements leading 10 it, as follows:
The unreenting opposition TO the admission OF foreign
ers during period of nearly $50 years is fact well |
enough known perhaps the only fact in the entire his
tory of the empire with which the world at large s ac
quainted. Even the collateral circumstance that their
expulsion in the seventeenth century was strictly just
fable as OF sepreservation, Is either I'M
known or generally overlooked. This principle of exclu
on established by Iyeyas the founder of the dynasty
of Tyeoons which overthrown only three years ago,
was rigidy maintained until 1854, when Commodore
Perry first broke through the chain of isolation with
which they seemed determined to surround themselves
forever AT this period the strength OF the Tycoons
Government was undimnished. The chief executive
power had descended directly since Iyeyass time and
had been exercised in accordance with series OF laws
prepared by him. in which the minuest domestic con-
fingences of the future were foreseen and guarded
against with view preserving the rule IN the hands
his descendants. BY close obedience to these laws
the successive Tycoons enabled TO maintain almost
supreme control the destnes OF the country the
Mikado being merely species OF magnificent myth, a
gloried IDEAL with nominal rank UNNECESSARILY above
all others, but welding power In the State which need
interfere with the ambition of the potenate at Yedo
Restricted TO his residence in aco supported by the
Tcoons bounty and under the constant surveillance Of
the Tycoons emissaries, he was denied the slightest
opportunity Of asserting political independence
Under no conditions except could he hope to estab
Ish any claim, to have it established for him; and
even that condition was provided for by Iyeyas,
although will presently be seen, the remedy, when
suddenly required, was too imperfectly applied TO
accomplish end During ali these years the powerful
rulers DamiOs Of the various provinces and districts
were allowed tolerably free and unlimited sway in their
own territories, but held i'll subsection TO the
central at Yedo by rigorous enforcement OF
certain precautionary laws-all dictated by the sus-
pciOus Iyeyas The most effective Of these IL may be
remarked the regulation compelling the residence
all Daimos during part of every year at the capital
and the detention of members Of their families as
hostages during the remainder 1t is not to be supposed
that these lofty nobemen in all cases submitted will
lingly to the restraints imposed upon them and, in
addition to the securities above mentioned, 1t in time
became the policy OF the TycOons to erect |
additional safeguards by alyiDg themselves with |
some Of the higher families and by the
easy expedent Of comforting their household To
guyana orMats'daira, upon many othersa compliment
sometimes received with gratitude, sometimes with
indifference, and sometimes declined altogether.
These marks OF favor not always sufi-
eent 20 conciliate the jealous Daimos, a few
OF whom would at any time have welcomed
pretext for resistance, but who could find Of
universal application as TO unite any large number
OF their body hostile cooperation. From the first the
counenance youcbsafed to foreigners, after the visit
Of Commodore Perry, seems TO have been taken an
available cry Of complaint. The feeling of the nation
was undoubtedly unanimous against their admission.
The Mkado and his retnue, the Tycoon andhs court land
the Damios with their numerous retaners, were alike
disposed to adhere the traditions Of their ancestors
this question But the officers Of the Tycoon were quick
TO discover the useessness Of protraced Opposition and
to represent to their master the overwhelming strength
at the command Of the invaders.
THE TYcooNs EMBARRAssMENT.
MANY years were passed in the endeayOr To reconcile
the two opposing influences. The TycOOns the mpOs
sbty OF doing than deferring the entrance OF for
egners until the temper Of the leading mobiles should be
modified toward Them and felt at the same time the dan