Sunday morning globe., 1901-08-18

his wife and children, ruin for hi
house. and a felon's death for himself
His statement of motives, while not
dwelling upon the sacrifice he wa'
about TO make, shows that ne appre
ciated Il. and that the pain was not al
leviated by fanatical zeal Then there
is the fact that the murder was com
mitted IN open day ana In the imme
diate presence of five persons all
friends Of the victim.
Usually the assassin seeks TO waylay
his enemy or to gain private access to
him. But lba Sorato went 60 cham
Der where he expected to find Mr.
hoshi seated or standing among a
number OF colleagues, and in going
thither all his motions must have been
orderly and his mien perfectly calm up
to the very instant Of delivering the
attack. Such quiet self-possession in
the preliminary stages contrasts vivid
ly with the fierce energy of the act 1t.
self-flve powerful stabs delivered with
unerring aim and lightning rapidity
frsm every side Of the victims body
J before any OF those seated at the same
( table could stretch out a hand to inter
/ fere. II Is here, indeed, that par
/ tial explanation Of the crime may be
| found. Iba Sorato's family enjoyed for
many generations the hereditary right
OF furnishing a teacher Of swordsman-
snip to the Court OF the Tokugawa
Saoguns His father had been a cele-
brated fencer. his elder brOther-who
fell lighting at Hakodate I'm 1868 on
the occasion Of the Enomoto rebellion
had been equally famous, and SOtaro
Il M
man. knowledge that he possessed
| skill of fence without which the deed
could never be achieved, doubtless
helped to persuade the man that a spe-
cial mission developed on him In the
matter and the traditions of such
/ family would naturally lay stress upon
a samurai's duty to immediate himself
at any moment on the altar Of public
good. Japan has many men of the
same temper and convictions, and their
presence is unquestiOnably a danger,
for a firm faith in each individuals
heaven-sent mandate to redress wrongs
by any and every means they add the
essential condition that iusctidcation
consists I'm their own readiness to die
for the cause they champion. In the
Occident the political assassins aim
with the bomb or the pistol is distrub-
ed by solicitude for his own ultimate
escape In Japan the consequences of
the act are wholly subordinated to its
achievement
Mr.. Hoshi Toru was in his flfty-hrst
year. His career had been very check
ered When only twenty-five his abil-
tiles were recognized, and from a hum
bic station ne was raised to the post
OF Assistant Inspector Of Customs at
okonama. In that Office his attempts
to check the illegal use Of private land
ing places by foreign residents involv-
ed him In a controversy with Sir Harry
Parkes, which ended in the youthful
reformers loss of his position as a
penalty for writing the title Of her
late Majesty with an unsuitable ideo-
graph. subsequently he studied law
in England, eating his dinners at the
temple, and on his return to Japan he
entered the political lists vigorously
against the government and experi-
enced several vicissitudes. He pub.
Isned two newspapers, both of which
were suppressed as calculated to dis
turn tue peace. He was thrown into
prison for a speech bringing officials
into contempt, his name being at the
same time removed from the list of
barristers. He was expelled from To
N0 under the provisions Of the peace
preservation law Entering the Diet.
ne was elected to the important post
or President of the House Of Repre-
sentatiYes, and was expelled from the
House two years later, only to be re-
turned again Immediately by his con.
sutuency His singular astuteness
mad shown him from the first that an
lmplacable struggle against the Clan
Statesmen must end in the dlscom-
hture OF the political parties, and the
can Statesmen on their side, recog-
nlzed In him the necessary link be-
tween the parties and themselves.
They sent him to Washington as
minister in order to free nlm from in
convenient ties, and in 1893 he hasten.
ed back TO effect a separation of the
Liberals and the Progressives. who had
united against the government. From
that time he became the most prom
lnent figure in the political arena. a
dictator welding almost autocratic
power. Many scandals attached to his
name, and 1t is certain that he built
up his fortune with suspicious randi
ity. His own avOwed creed indicated
a peculiar view Of the rights and priv.
ileges attaching to political influence.
and the outcry raised against him was
too vehement and widespread 10 be
quite fictitious. Indeed, he himself
recognized the expediency, last Decem.
Der, Of resigning his port folio of Com
munications in the Ito Cabinet. and NOT
few onlookers would have been glad
no NnHr 4 al
for they regarded him as a Japanese
exponent OF the worst features OF New
York politics. He remained however.
leader OF his party in the Diet. and
president Of the Toxic City Assembly.
nor did his influence suffer any diminu.
tion whatever. Undoubtedly he must
be written down as one of the strongest
men Of his era, probably OF any era,
IN Japan. But although he could win
followers he could not make friends.
cold, imeprious manner combined
with almost brutal inheXibility OF pur-
pose, and an unfortunate proneness
to forget benefits, often shocked his
most ardent admirers. Considering his
very exceptional intellectual gifts and
his great force of character his un-
timely death ought to shock the nation
more than II will be founu TO have
done. In foreign eyes what seems
most striking is that a man so essen
TALLY an outcome OF modern conditions
should have been the means Of elicit.
ing a conspicuous display OF the mood
and method Of old Japan.
Carolina Brlghts are Midland fragrant.
A Scotch farmer, having buried his
arrNNn