St. Paul daily globe., 1894-02-12
CONSPIRACY IN JAPAN.
A TRIAL THAT RiVALS THE GREAT
TicHs0RNE CASE.
AN ESTATE is LoorED
BY Rctainers of Noble Family
: They Are Charged With MUIR
&. dering Viscount Soma. But
Are Acquitted and in Turn
Make 1t Hot for the Accuser-
7t Thrilling Story.

dering Viscount Soma. But
Are Acquitted and in Turn
Make 1t Hot for the Accuser-
ar Thrilling Story.
i okohama Correspondence Globe Dem ocra
A celebrated criminal case is just
nearing an end here which rivals, in
many of its sensational details. the fa-
nous Tichborne case in England. The
case hinges upon sensational accusa-
Ton made against the relatives and
stewards of Viscount Soma Masatane, a
very wealthy noble, who died Suddenly
at his suburban home at Neguro, near
Toxic, on Feb. %, 1892. The accusation,
on which more than score of well
known Japanese were arrested on Grim
lnal charges. was brought by Nishlgori
katamiyO, who was personal attendant
of the viscount.
The story told by Nishigori was one
of the most startling ever heard outside
of fiction. 1t included the plundering
OF the vast possessions of the japanese
noble by his retainers. the incarceration
OF the victim in lunatic asylum. and
his final murder by the gang of con-
spiratorS in order to prevent the ex-
posure of their crimes. incidentally, it
also embraced charges of bribery and
corruption against dozen leading Of
fclals of the Japanese government.
These sensational charges were lodged
by NishigOri against the members of the
Soma family on July II last. They ere
ated an enormous sensation i'll Japan,
and the Importance of the case may be
Judged when it is said that the prelimi-
nary examination lasted ITO days, and
was only concluded on Oct. 81 last.
over eighty witnesses were examined.
and the trial ended with the acQuitatl of
the accused and the prompt arrest of
Nishigori, his wife and several others
ON charges of criminal conspiracy.
NIsHIGoRI's STORY.
The story told by NishigOri, on which
the accusations were brought and the
arrests made, was briefly as follows:
The Viscount Soma, while a pupil in
the royal school at Toxic. was robbed
by his retalnerS of large sum of money,
said to amount TO over S1.000.000. The
robbery occurred in 1874. The Grim
inals, who included half-dozen of the
trusted retainers of the young yiscount,
pretended to deposit this large sum
with banker who. as they knew was
on the verge of bankruptcy. The money
was not deposited as claimed, butelerkS
of the bank exchanged the coin for
Japanese paper money, and invested
the proceeds i'll the copper mines at
AShiO.
Following hard upon this was another
rnhhPrV a
which it was claimed was stolen by
burglars who descended from the
mountains at night and carried off their
plunder. The second robbery aroused
the young japanese mobiles suspicious.
and he hurried home to make an inves-
tigatiOn. What he discovered led him
ito set about complete reorganization
of his household. The conspirators, who
r. by this time. it is claimed, had obtained
the support of the viscouut's younger
brother, as well as his mother, brought
charges against the victim of insanity
After tedious legal proceedings he was
sent to private asylum at Nikko, where
ghls relatives constructed special prison
for him.
{ Nishigori claimed that when he
learned of this transfer of his lord to
prison he began series of proceedings
to secure his liberty. but that through
the bribery of high officials he was un-
able to accomplish any results. Japan
has no law of habeas corpus. and the
cOnspirators, he claimed. by spending
over 100000 Of their ill-gotten gains.
succeeded In stopping every avenue by
which he could appeal to the highest
courts. Amcng those who, he claims,
received large bribes were the minister
of justice, Count Yamada, who received
f1,a ,1aft ord ~
lice, $4,000; Judge China, of the
Toxic local court, SIS, 600, and half dozen
other sums ranging from $1,000 to
$1,000.
Nishigori held power of attorney
from the viscount. and with this he was
able to make large amount of trouble
for the consplrators. They finally de-
cided to secure the annulmenJ of this
document, and they induced the pris-
oner to sign blank document which
they represented was plea TO the i'm
perial household department for his
release. They filled in this blank docu-
ment with revocation of the power of
attorney, but the judge OF the Toxic
socal court, who had succeeded the
former bribed official, seemed to have
some doubts of the authenticity of the
paper, and in February of last year
gave an order that the longimprisoned
viscount be produced in person in court
on the 22d Of that month. This was
bOmbshell for the conSpirators, and
they at once set about for means of pre-
venting his compliance with the courts
order.
THE ALLEGED MURDER.
The only way TO accomplish this was
to remove him. On Feb. 81, the day be-
fore he was to appear in court, the long
imprisoned nobleman was taken TO Me-
guro, his old home, for holiday trip.
He went gladly, and without suspicion
ate of the food which was given to him.
In this food poison had been mixed,
which, it was calculated, would produce
his death at o'clock on the following
morning. On that morning notice was
sent to the judge that the viScount had
suddenly expired. but Nishigori claims
that the victim did not die until $50
O'Clock that same evening; he asserts
that his conspirators entered the cham
ber of the dying nObleman, and, finding
him still alive, Suffocated him with the
bed pillows.
Then ON that same night he was
buried in grave thirty-five feet deep,
the object being to prevent the disin-
terment of the body. Nishigori made q
demand upon two Judges Of the Toxic
couIt tIldL the Durtal cefClncateS be re-
Yoked, and that the corpse be disin-
TERED for medical examination, but he
asserts that the judges were heavily
bribed by the conspirators, and that
nothing was done to throw light upon
the real cause of tie viSconnt' death.
Although he left natural son, tine
younger brother succeeded to the title
and the estate.
After waiting nearly year, Nishigori
gathered evidence which he Claimed
supported his sensational charges, and
formally lodged an action in the Toxic
court against the viscount's relatives
and retainers. The chief of the accused
were the new visconnt. Soma Yoritane.
MS mother, his three stewards, two
servants and his family physician.
2, Wnen these charges were printed
they naturally created an enormous
sensation the Snna 70 atnil.r a,.., Z, AZ, -.