The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1898-03-24

susceptible TO flatter as our TRENDS the
Japanese. and If foreigner Wheh at
tackled by lot Of coolies. would nave
the presence of mind to shout nippon
Banzai, Oong live Japan, he would re-
ceiVc an ovation instead OF thrashlhs'
Ito knows his countrymen well. ana III
order to stop the chickering's among pol-
ticians hat does he do? lie invites the
leaders and most prominent members TO
luncheon with the Emperor. There Is
nothing that a japanese would appre-
ciate higher, and If the feeling OF com
placency does not evaporate too soon, the
Cabinet Will have q handsome maJorty
in the neXs Diet. 1t Is the cutest thlhg
mat could have been done.
since next year will perhaps. see us
placed under japanese Jurlsi.clon' no one
can blame foreign residents Tor trying 10
familiariZe themselves with the Code-d
matter of grave concern ana no niue
difficulty for the japanese written chaI-
acter is not accessible 10 every man
mental power nor does everybody grow
bt-lin.ual with the same facility as Rev.
William Elliott Griffis. whose KNOWLEDGE
of Jaoan Is. indeed. extraordinary. Neh'
most forelgIcrs must bc satshed WIN
kcepin,, melnai record Cf the judgments
as reported in the daily papers ana 'hese
judgments are, l confess. somewhat puI-
ziina. Let ME submit some OF them 10
your readers: ,.,,e.,,,.
JUDICIAL TRAVESTY.
For muroering To-Jin uorelsh ueNip
a fine of 100 yen $50 with no prison altel-
naive. so il need not be paid. Let no
one say anything against the lehlehcy
NJ the Japanese criminal courts. 10 De
sure there are plenty more OF white
income so one more or less makes no
erest difference. Thus, take IL, rea-
soned ths humane judge who placed MN
self on record. H..
orr assault with robbery. upon Io-Jlh
fifteen DAYS major confinement MoneF
not returned. Japan must De pdI"uISo
for burglars and light-hngered gentry,
YOU will think. We'll, there may be soIlle
thing i'm that but then the fraternity mus
onnne themselves with working among
the To-iin. However. these are minor
crimes. mere misdemeanors' w men II
comes IN serious crimes the punishment
is swift and sure. ~.
A Chinaman had an opium den. Don
,binl for a moment that am IN sympa-
thv with that habit of John. but sun
am inclined to think that three years I'M
orisonment with hard labor is signify
Inconsistent with the ieniency SHOWN }"
the cases cited above
Rut now comes the real puzzle. son
Of Dai Nippon. boastlrg Of the lnpoSihs
name Of IsonO Tokuzo. was IN tIlai lOl
stealing (from another son OF Dal NlppoU
I'm the Osaka District Court me PI
oner asked TO be confronted WIN nI'
accuser. To us this may seem reaSUn
able request, but we have not redchTu w
100 Of ciyilizat on attained by Japan
11tH roo,,est was refused. the court re-
marking that there was no necessity TOT
doing so. This made the prisoner MAD
bo forgot his native politeness. ana IN
stead of closing the incident with snll-
inc "naruhodo." (you don't say so). ne
,n,ttered. What do you have WhlsheIs
and receive a salary for? =.
And vet there was no earthquake 10
swallow the offender. The procurator or
prosecuting attorney, Mr lshh' s'oou
aghast Thus to refer 10 the hirsute APP
pendage of a japanese judge! But Japa-
nese law is lenient and humane ana TOT
this contempt of court the prisoner was
Of of with Imprisonment for five months
with hard labor an fine of ten yen
From the instances given above. YOU
can understand with what longing we
look forward TO the day when we, too,
shall he amenable to the sweet vagaries
~ Japanese laws. and the conspicuous
partiality Of Japanese judges. How we
shall bless Mr. Cleveland's administration
for having revised the treaties. Most OF
us have blessed that administration be-
fore, but II will not be too much trouble
and It is very likely that We shall do
1t again. 1t is only as becoming token
Of gratitude that would suggest the fol-
lowing cure for obesity II our distinguish
cd statesman should suffer again. trip
10 Japan after July t. 1899 visit TO
Tokyo. with the accidental stepping on
a Japanese corn. Cure guaranteed.
Yokohama is poor place for the usual
amusemonts; for theatrical troupes. for
instance. IL is good place 10 keep away
from. DO not remember one that did
not get wrecked. They must depend upon
the foreign community. and that is too
small to furnish the requisite support.