The Hawaiian gazette., 1900-09-04

klo. Ito returned TO Europe after Wit
Messing the Jap's manotuyr,s on land and
sea The following letter was written BY
the Count before his departure from To-
k.o.
Nothing can oNcccp Japans warllkc
preparedness rs FAR as the army and
navy themselves are concerned. ! saw
a. en- at manoeuNr,s and do not hesitate
TO say that they are ready TO the last
ltwgifs' button.
This preparedness. from the civilized
warriors staGdpt Int, !s both external tnnd
Internal. the equipments are there and
the spirit II. Indeed. imitation OF Euro
poan courtly and m litary lrstitut ons has
] Icon carried to such an extent as 10
Iotlterate the source. Wfat were origin
Z ally French, German and Russian service
reforms have entered into flesh and blood
ari mind Of the Japanese people 20
thoroughly as to become part and parcel
~ their everyday existence and en-
doayors.
/ The army mauoeuvres took place on the
Is aud CT Kyushu ana headquarters were
established at Hokata, with Prince Ko-
natsu In command. the latter being chief
OF the chapter of field marshals or gu
premc war council.
Like the regular European war lord he
arrived by special train after everybody
! else, Including the fore gn mill airy at
tachcs. rs his saloon car rolled into the
station the national hymn was Played,
just as God Save the Queen is on Ike
occasions In London. hut there the SINH
larty stopped. The Japs cons der voc.f-
orous salutation und!griiied. They mere
~ barred their heads ard bowed low as the
great man stepped out and walked to his
carriage.
THE Emperor's court marshal had taken
charge Of us foreigners, and none of his
European colleagues ever executed such
l. F,.rt
ly. There was n lot of us. Even Chii
had modified consul and metamor-
rhosCd him Into warrior with the n d
Of a many-co.orcd uniform and mighty
sword, while China ard Korea made up
IN quantity for any lack of quality that
might develop. and sure enough, did de-
velop. All tod. these empires sent A. al
l,gcd officers
We were lodged and dlned like princes.
the cavalry riding school in Toxic fur
n'shing cur horses. and. indeed. nothing
was too good for us. Field Marshal va
maFata and other digntaries never tired
cpquiring after our wishes In the name
OF his imperial master, who. he said, re-
gurdod us Is his personal guests.
There are funny ep sodes in all manoeu-
vrcs. At this the foreign contingent fur
rishcd food for laughter. Even during
the first galop the majority of Chinese
and Korean pseudo officers became separ-
ated from their steeds and spoiled their
beautiful clothes by wping up the road
way with them. The Chill uniform.
though wavering like a dummy at n
street corner in a gale somehow stuck to
the saddle for quite little while. Final
ly however, the good consul came down
with the proverbial dun thud that caused
his nose to bleed and twisted his sable
straps around his legs.
I The law OF March, 1896. ordering the
gradual development of the japanese
army, named the year 1903 as the time
when the desired reforms etc, were to
I be completed, but from what / hear and
saw the Toxic war office had not to wait
for the expiration of the term. ! under
stand that the complete complement of
troops provided by the law referred to
could be put in the field now, namely 81
Infantry regiments. each having three
battalions, ~ regiments of horse at five
escadrons each, as many regiments OF ar
til!ery. with III batteries and six regi-
ments OF siege artillery; furthermore,
technical troops. train commissariats de-
partment, etc.
Service is compulsory. and the Japs are
the only people not discontinued on that
account. Their ambition, that stops at
nothing, makes each raw recruit think
that he carries the marshais staff In his
krapsack. Able-bodied men are subjected
TO enlistment at the completion of the
seventeenth year. and remain under mill
tary control until they are 40. They serve
three years under the flag, four years
IN the reserves and five years in the
l.andwehr. Soldiers who distinguish
themselves for intelligence and diligence
may be placed on the reserve list before
the expiration Of their term.
II ! were to give a detailed account of
the manoeuvrlng, it would read like the
report of some sham battle or drill on a
large scale held in Berlin, Munich or on
the plains Of Alsace Lorraine. The Jap
anese order of march, advance and re-
ueat, their shooting regulations, cavalry
and gun practice are identical with the
German. So are the technical move
ments, reconnoiterings. etc.
The programme provided a brilliant
military spectacle, such as | had seen
time and again, albeit that the strange
uniforms, standards bands, etc. lent 1t
n peculiar interest of its own, but aside
from that / was most agreeably struck
by the evidence of superior discipline
noticeable on all sides. The common Jap
soldier cannot be too highly praised for
following orders strictly, 2ealously and
irtelllgcntly at the same time / don't
krow from my own observation how he
behaves In the barracks--in the field he is
certainly at home making the best pos
sihle use of the excellent instruction he
received He IL n hardy chap, too, for he
eats well and things that do him good
rice, fish. vegetables, chickens and eggs.
II we could feed our European armies
on these luSures. that are at the dis
posal OF the beggars in this country. there
wouldn't be so much complaint about the
stupidity OF recruits | think
+ AT the conclusion of the manoeuvres
the prince and his STAFF of generals gave
a Lucullian banquet i'm our honor and
We We're asked for Il critical estimate Of
what we had seen. Then and there | had
occasion to observe the Jap's true estl-
mate OF the powers. To the remarks OF
the British and French representatives.
they listened politely, but without dis
playing particular concern about the crit-
cisms delivered, hut when the Cars man
Landed the behavior and praised the
achievements Of the troops, thcy could
ut conceal their highest eradication,