The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1896-03-29


then threw . hot4is oe rel INK an sui.
phuric acid ot hin. ana Il struck I'm %
the shoulder. but fortunately did no dam
age He luckily happened 70 have tvo Ut
his own 8oohi With him. ana ghaDe men rAA
sftsr the h1aekguaF1s Of the oeAer party
and beg AUh& rssu1ted- roar days earlier
than this twenty 0usM ssaAeks1 shs e3ce
81 daily newuDoDer and stoned the editor
because he haA commeneed ogvurely %
By thousands. ana It = surp<istng bow vel
thsy arc organised Outside Of chose who
are attached to the politicians there are
bands or societies who work together fcy
their mutual benefit. and who are. In fact.
bands Of thugs. asoaSsin1. olAckmnilesS
ard ''strikers-" Some ok them gtve their
services for the1r foed and clothes. an1
they WI do anything. II they are arrest
ed. you are expected to pay chem for the
tina they stay IN prison. aDa to sand fsw
Injuries now and then to the jail. They
are not At all fond Of foreigners. and hey
form . large part Of the anti-foreign ele-
ment OF the country. The non-political
Ooshi are sometimes disanectsd against
the government a. well - against foreign
ers. II II not . little singular that both
sections include large number Of unsuc-
cessful students. A good point about the
whole class II that when they levy black
mail they give their victim . receipt and
Q guarantee from further molestation- The
attitude Of the government toward these
people n one very much like fear. and IL
has heen the vonder Of foreigners that
they have not been put down. They have
carried on their work openly. and . sign
board was recently stuck up In one of the
business parts Of Tokyo. which read:
'soshi provided here. Terms moderate:
BY the day or month"
The japanese parliament h one Of the
most interesting legislative bodies In ex-
building not unlike . great American sea-
ade hotel In its architectural structure II
n made Of frame. and n Of two stories. II
10 situated In the center OF Tokyo. not far
from where the Shotgun laid down the bar
harous laws Of the past, and just outside
Of the moats which run round the palace
grounds. There 10 . wall around II. and
when the houses are In session you sec
about 500 black jinrickshas. with bare-leg-
ged men In butter bowl hats sitting in them
and waiting for their masters, who are
inside. The membership Of the two houses
Is about the same. The upper house il
called the house Of peers. and 1t contains
about 3D members. 1t comprises tho aris-
tocrats OF the japanese empire and con-
tains. In the first place. all male members
OF the imperial family Of the age Of % and
upward 1t also includes members selected
from the eleven princes and twenty-eight
marQuises. eighty counts, viscounts. and
twenty-nine barons Of the empire. These
men have to be elected by their own order,
ana their number Is restricted. In addi-
ton to this there are some whom the emf
peror has made members on account Of
their learning and Of the services which
they have done for Japan Then there are
certain members who come from the differ
ent counties and districts in Japan who
have been nominated by the emperor, and
who are chosen by the vote Of the fifteen
men In each district who pay the highest
taxes. Those who are members on account
OF their blood or have been appointed by
the emperor are for Efe. Those elected by the
different orders and by the taxpayers are
Tor seven years. With all this it is ques-
tionaoie whether the upper house contains
the brains Of Japan. The house OF repre-
sentatives also numbers 800. and any man
can De member OF congress who is Of Jap
enese birth and over 30 years Of age and
pays tax Of not less than 30 yen a wear.
There are very few members Of the house
OF representatives who do not keep a num-
Der OF Soshi in their pay. In the present
parliament the Independents number n.
the Inyato III. and the Progressists and
Moderates 136. But the complexion Of the
new diet cannot be clearly gauxed from
these figures. The changing attitudes Of
the various cliQues-it Is doing them too
much honor to call them all "parties"-
are too Kaleidoscope to afford any clear
idea OF their Intentions. In Japan. In fact.
politics are In state OF transition. There
are no definite programmes, no real divid-
ing lines. and each Individual acts on the
spur Of the moment.