The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1898-10-17
Count Okuma, Leading Publicist Of
the Realm.
THE HERALD OF POPULAR RULE
release From Government By Claa-Career
and Home Life of the 10
teresting Premier.


political arena Of the worlds nations
the figure of little Jap, with one lee
says one of the leading papers of tn
States. He is Count Shigenobu Oku
ma, the new premier of Japan, an
what he lacks in a physical sense i
more than made up in those menta
qualities which have won for him tn
respect and admiration of his people
1t is safe to say that no foreign power
Will attempt to trite with little Okuma
What Ii Hung Chang is 10 China
Count Okuma is to Japan, and more
for he represents the people Of Japan
In his recent elevation to the premier
ship the death knell of the govern
ment of the clans was sounded, and
Japan now enjoys the comparative
freedom of party rule. It is really a
revolution in Japanese politics, and the
people are assured of representation.
Count Okuma is the father of the re-
formation. He has had ample expert
ence in the past as minister of finance
and minister of foreign affairs.
In order to thoroughly understand
the situation it is first necessary to
take a brief survey of japanese poll
tics. For the last thirty years Japan
has been ruled by the ministry COM
posed of the mobiles OF Satsum and
Choshu. There were times when Tosa
and HiZena men were members Of the
cabinet, but the latter were gradually
frozen out, and of recent years ali the
important government positions have
been filled by representatives of the
two famous clans.
Japan suffered long and patiently un
der this yoke of clan government, but
finally the clamoring of the people for
a change resulted in the establishment
of the diet in 1890, and at once it be-
came the mouthpiece of the peoples
discomfort. An address to the throne
charging the government with misad
ministratiOn or a vote of nOn-cOnfid-
ence in the reigning ministry or the
rejection of an important government
measure became the usual feature Of
the diet.
The government would reply with
either suspension or dissolution. The
clan government managed to continue
it's existence, as there were no politi
cal parties strong enough to overthrow
it, The liberals and the progreSsives,
the two leading parties, were always
at loggarheadS, but on recent meas
ure involving taXations they united
their forces.
The leaders of the two parties, Count
Okuma and Count Itagaki, got togeth
er, and as a result the great popular
party under the name Of "Kensei-to,"
or constitutional party, was born. The
inauguration ceremonies of the new
party were conducted on June %.
AS a result of this Marquis Ito re-
signed the premiership, and his eX-
ample was followed by all the other
cabinet ministers. Marquis Ito, him
self a man of keen and far-sighted
Judgment, had previously urged the
necessity of changing policy that held
aloof from political parties. But he
met with no support, so he resigned,
and in doing so he recommended to the
emperor as his successor Count Okuma.
The emperor summoned Counts Oku-
ma and Itagaki to the court, and they
were intrusted with the task OF cab
met formation, with the result that
Okuma accepted the premiership and
at the same time became minister OF
foreign affairs. The change in the
ministry was at once announced and
went into effect at once.
This very thing was predicted by the
late John A. Cockerill in 1895, when he
was the Herald's special commissioner
in Japan. In one of his letters Mr..
CoCkerill said, in speaking or Count
Okuma: Without ever having set
foot outside of Japan, and without I'M
derstanding a word Of foreign Ian
guage, he seems to have graSped the
genius of his own country and the Spir-
it of the age more fully than any other
citizen OF Japan with whom I have yet
conversed. He is a great force today,
although retired from all active polltl-
cal life and public service. 1t is the
universal belief that should this war
result in a political revulsiOn, as now
seems more than a probable, he will
succeed Viscount Mutsu in the foreign
office, and he may even be lifted into
the premiership, now held by Count
Ito. This much is hoped for by the
vast party behind him"
Count Okuma is native Of Hizen, a
province of Kyusyu Island, and is near
w sixty years old. But he still calls
himself young man. His father was
one of the Hizen elan, but was not
blessed with an abundance OF TINS
worlds goods. Meager as his opDor-
tunities were, Okuma never neglected
an opportunity to cultivate the emf
nent scholars and leading men of his
time, and he learned to take deep in
teEest in the affairs Of his country.
In 1877 the Saigo rebellion took
place, and following that the nations
finances became exceedingly disorder
ed. 1t was then that he was appoint
ed minister of finance, and demonstrate
ed his keen Judgment in matters Of
state. He later found himself at the
head of the foreign office.
In 1890 he had almost carried to
completion a treaty with Great Britain.
He had been vigorously opposed by