The herald., 1895-02-20
AN ASIATIC BISMARCK

Only few years ago the japanese Leg
islature was extremely unruly, and the
Mikado was forced to dissolve the Paria
ment as recently as the spring of last
year. Today the people give consent to
every measure of the Government, and
every one acknowledges that this is in a
large degree due to the recent successes
in the war with China. This war would
have turned out less advantageously
had not Japan possessed man who,
of the country in spite of parliamentary
opposition. That man is Count Ito, the
Japanese Premier. The Tageblatt, Ber-
lin, contains an interesting sketch of his
life, from which we take the following:
Count Ito is scion of an old aristo-
an early age the army OF the Shotgun,
who then ruled supreme in Japan. Ito
and his friend Inonye, who has now been
sent to reform the administration of
Corea belonged to the anti-foreign party
for they had been told since their infancy
that the pale1faced barbarians would ruin
the country. The foreigners then lived
nearly all in Yokohama, and the two
young fire.-eaters, burning with patriot
ism, conceived the plan to kill the bar
barians. They left Toxic with hundred
men carry out this wild idea, but were
discovered, and barely escaped detection,
when, during the night, they fought
their way through the soldiers that had
surrounded them. They soon learned
that the execution of their plans would
have involved the country in, a war with
England, and that victory in such
struggle was only possible if Japan pos
sessed big ships and guns. Ito, and inonye
then asked Prince Choshua their Chief,
permission to go to England, to study
the maneuvers of the enemy, inspect
their arsenals, and obtain the secret of
their sea power. Their money was sent
to Shanghai, with orders to transmit it to
London, but the instructions to the
Shanghai agent were not very clear, and
he shipped them as common sailors to
England, instead of obtaining berths for
them as passengers. Arrived at London,
the crew left the ship, with the exception
of the two young japanese, whose agent
had not yet come to receive them That
day was the darkest in their life. They
had dollar left and went to buy some
Bread and the baker seeing that the
strangers did not know the value of the
coin, did not give them change. Luckily
| the agent came the next day, and they
! commenced their studies of European in
stitutions.
After many strange adventures they
| returned to Japan, where, i'll the meantime,
| the enmity against the foreigners had
| increased. When the two travellers related
that the foreigners were just as brave as
| the Japanese, and much more powerful,
the Shiogun's men treated Ito and Inonye
| as traitors and the latter was attacked
one evening by mob and left for dead
| upon the ground. His mothers nurs-
| ing brought him around, but his face
shows to this day the scars of the wounds
received during that night.
| "A revolution soon after removed the
Shotgun from power, the Mikado be-
came the ruler deed as well as in name,
and the two travellers, especially Count
Ito, rose rapidly to influence and fame.
He has now directed the affairs of his
country for many years. His first
thought after the occupation of Corea
was to open that country to western civil
| ization, and it is quite possible that this
| far-seeing spirit intends already similar