Evening star., 1913-03-11

| Irregular finances and heavy taxation
have brought to a crisis the fight for
constitutional rights in japan. While the
| movement for constitutional reform ID the
basis of todays disturbance, it was
deadlock over expenditures which brought
matters to the fighting point. diet is
supposed to hold Office for four years, but
| there have been twenty-seven in the
| twenty -four years of constitutional gov
ernment, and eleven ministries for the
| same period. Nine of these diets were
| dissolved for opposing extravaganza on
the part of the ministry. The combina-
| tion of the cabinet and the elder states
| men always was too strong to overcome.
The very first diet, organized in No.
| vember, 1890. cut the budget by 100000
yen "a yen is equivalent to 80 cents in
| United States money!, besides exacting
promises of further retrenchments. The
| second diet rejected all the governments
bills because the promises made to its
predecessor had not been kept. 1t was
dissolved for its temerity, and in the
subsequent election the bureaucrats used
| force at the polls. Bloodshed resulted
! in some localities. and this intimidation
of the electors set a precedent which has
not been wholly ignored from that day
to this The third diet was allowed to
live only one month, because it passed a
vote of censure upon the government for
its abuse of power The twelfth diet was
dissolved for fighting the governments
usual measure for increased taxation
The seventeenth diet had short lease
of life for opposing expenditures for in
creased armament, and in the eighteenth
the budget was accepted only after a
compromise suggested by the emperor.
The later diets have been fairly peaceful
owing, however, to Katsura's cleverness
in pretending to work in harmony with
the political parties.
X x
Party government, now in the ascend
ency, has gone through many vicissitudes
and is entwined with
Political Parties the fight for consti-
Rise and Fall rena' reform' anq The "aae'u eonstj
tutionalists, liberals and progressives were
makeshifts of the early days. They were
ridiculed, and when they finally did COM
bine and carry the twelfth diet by an
overwhelming majority, in. 1898, they
failed miserably under the leadership of
Count Okuma, the premier, and soon dis
solved themselves. At the subsequent
election the bureaucrats carried all but
forty seats.
A better day came with the organiza-
ton Of the Rikken Seiyukai (Constltu-
tional Association) by Prince Ito In 1900.
The party did not come up to its founders
expectations until the recent leadership
of Marquis Saionji. who has with great
artfulness been at once the liberal-minded
chief of the party and the lieutenant OF
the despOtic Katsura, who acknowledges
no party Saionji as premier has been
backed by his party as has no other chief
minister. In the election of the twenty
third diet in 1908 the party had an abso-
lutte majority. 1t was the first time that
q single party dominated legislative af-
fairs. 1t was also in majority during
the second Katsura ministry. but was in
duced to sanction some of his financial
methods which it now refers to with
such bitterness.
When Saionji began his second minis
try in May, 1911. he continued to hold
the presidency of the Constitutional Asso-
citation party. This was unprecedented
and would have been hooted out of court
ten years before. The party has been
measures. In fact, 1t has gone beyond
him and is now forcing the fight. where
as, he, yielding to the personal admoni-
tion of the young emperor, seems willing
to compromise for the time being. The
kokuminto. or nationalist party, is in the
minority and is more conservative. In
the present struggle, however, it has
Joined hands with the majority against
A glance at Japanese finances will show
the acutensss of the situation. For ex-
ample, take a COM
Acute Situation parison with the
United States: The
VI TAAdAccs. Japanese number, ap-
proximately. 5O,OO0OOO people. whereas
there are nearly 1OOOOO.OOO Americans.
Their total trade is $465OOO. 600 annually.
whereas ours is $500, 100000. America.
| rich and strong, hassa a national debt of
about 81. .OOO, 600 900. Japan, much smaller
| and much poorer, groans under a national
| burden of 81 $3.50, 100000 The annual ex-
penses of the American government aver
age $1,000 100000, while Japan's are 1885,
| 100000
In other words, Japans national debt is
almost three times as great as its total
annual trade. In this connection it is in
| teresting to note that Tor the past three
years Japan's own balance of trade has
| been unfavorable the imports exceeding
| on the average the exports by $3,0O0,UoO.
| Japan's annual expenditures for the up
keep Of the army, navy and other depart
ments is three-fifths of it's total trade,
| while in the United States the annual ap-
preparations are less than one-seventh of
our total trade. Also we have sub
| stantial balance in our favor, imports be-