Hawaii holomua = Progress. [volume] (Honolulu) 1893-1895, 1894-02-01
The Emperor, The Diet
And the Privy Council.

to anticipate that the Emperors
reply t, the House Of Represen
tatiyes' address on the subject Of
Official Discipline, would not be
altogether favourable to either of
the parties concerned. Absolute
impartiality is the Sovereign's
first attribute in judging between
his subjects. Whatever topic is
carried for decision 70 the first of
the Throne. the Emperor main
tains an attitude of unbiased
Justice. The House of Repre-
sentatives, during the present
session, has betrayed marked for
getfulress OF japanese traditions.
1t has shown itself curiously
lacking in the sense of reverence
towards the Throne that has al
WAYS been regarded as a domi-
nsnt trait OF japanese character.
Approaching the Sovereign on
the most petty subjects, it has
sought to make His Majesty a
Judge of appeal between itself and
the Cabinet. If grave issues were
in question, if the House were
dealing with materials at all
sufficient to constitute an i'm
peachmeut Of the Ministers of
the Crown, there might be some
excuse for reference to the
Throne. But when the points to
be determined are the propriety
of Minister'S dining with mer-
chants. or Of a Vice Minister S
receiving a gold watch in public
presentation, or of a judicial
precedent being followed after
thirty years of unquestioned OBJ
seryance, or of the Sovereign S
name being used in Court Of
Law, as are the names of all
Western monarchs-when such
trivialities as these alone are at
stake. the House of Representa-
tives' constant appeals to the
Throne amount to an attempt to
drag the Sovereign down into the
arena of political chickering's.
and to divest His Majesty of the
respect and reverence hitherto
accorded to him by every one of
his subjects. We entertain no
doubt that many loyal japanese
have watched these frivolous pro-
ceedings with strong lndigna-
ton, and that dissolution
of the Diet on the de-
clared ground of the Lower
Houses failure to appreciate its
responsibility towards the
throne, would have been a tho
roughly popular measure with
large section Of the nation. But
His MajesN's present ministers
must naturally hesitate long be-
fore having recourse to such
step. They doubtless argue that
the less heedful the Houses
action towards the Emperor, the
more SOLICITORS should His
Majesty's trnsted statesmen be to
thrust back the waves of political
dissension from the foot of the
throne. This conviction, we
may fairly assume. led them also
to counsel rigid absence of part
iality in the sovereign's reply to
the address. though it did not
restrain. and need not have
restrained, the Privy Council
from expressing, in terms sing
ularly strong and unequivocal for
such document, emphatic
disapproval of the Houses ire
sponsible levity. Neither side is
awarded complete victory by
the Emperor. The House of
Representatives is distinctly re-
minded that the Sovereign recog-
nizes no right in any of his
subjects to interfere with the
exercise of the Imperial Preroga-
tive Of appointing and removing
officials, and is informed by i'm
plieation that the charges pre-
ferred by it have no validity as
an impeachment of Ministers of |
State. On the other hand. the
used by the Privy Coun-
ell and lis apparent endorsement
by the Sovereign lead the public
to infer that some laxity has been
found to exist in the Department
of Agriculture and Commerce.
and to that extent the action of
the House OF Representatives