Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1913-01-11

foundation ur IT." constitution ana
Law. T." alIOWci thv war minister Il
d"a;ru, -" Constitutional government
II lie We're a mal 81 tho Calit"r &.
GLADSTONE or Pa'merstOn, whom OF
course l." Eims II does not cen
dream OF cQualiEg. Tor the people ~
y Ct hin To lie a IIIN OF SuCI C"arac-
tcr.- i.Ut if re TrT" equal to tie a.
casio ana a, serious and carreet a
he Cug.t TO tc in his position If prize
minister OF the empire, lie ought to
have rCQuC ItGd tie emperor to re-
turn tie re-igLatiCH to inc Wa min
lot":. with tuc TebUkc that he is set
ting at EauE It the constitution grant
C,I - Lie fItncr, I late 1mVC"Or, to
To- people as the buIwark and guar
antCe of their rights and interests
But he did not do anything IF tho
kind, and he tamely submitted to the
destructive. unconstitutional method
OF Tic wa ministc! and Re adopted :
moe unconstitutional method himself
bl throwing off his office, withOu,
even suggesting the successor What
an irresponsible act it is. This act
represents him more like a dome site
servant than d minister of 4 great ma
ton. Even servant would not be so
irresponsible in ordinary cases as
Marquis SaiC1ji vas in this cabinet
crisis.
- II. Then as the result of this ire
sponsiblc resignation by the prime
minister, tue duty of advising the en-
peror as TO who should be the success
sOr fell upon the shoulders of the
Elder Statesmen. TIE constitutional
cOnsf quencc of this is lamentable in
the CXtrc'. { in that the Japanese gov
eminent is now maintained not by a
constituted authority or any one rec
ognized~as such by law but by a body
OF men who are quite unknown to the
law, the Elder Statesmen. They are
the men who have been most meritor-
ious in the building up of the empire
as it is today, but they are not author
lied by any law to find the successor
of any cabinet that has seen fit to go
out. The constitution says that the
ministers shall assist the emperor in
the carrying on of the government of
3.
But there is no such provision either
in law or in constitution enjoining
such duty upon the Elder Statesmen.
The word assist necessarily means
and includes the duty, inter ALA, of
suggesting to the emperor the sue
ceeding cabinet. as the throwing off
of power without recommending the
successor will only embarrass the en-
peror instead of assisting him.
As to the Elder Statesmen.
III. The Elder Statesmen, too, are
not without responsibilities in bring
ing about this constitutional crisis,
particularly Prince Yamagata. If they
were real patriots, as they ought to be
or as they were supposed to be, they
could have saved the country without
bringing down upon it this deplorable
condition Of things. They are influ-
entail men, particularly in the army,
and If they told the military party
that the condition of the country
would not allow their claims for
larger army to be put through, the ar
my men would have certainly acqui-
esccd, and the agitation for the army
expansion which has brought about
this crisis would have been easily ex-
pressed. But instead of doing such a
patriotic act Prince Yamagata has
rather encouraged the military party
to press their demand for a larger ar
my and the other Elder Statesmen
have been quiet onlookers, and have
brought about the present crisis. The
tot
other name signifying that they are
the most meritorious men, but from
this act of treachery and playing with
the country's welfare, as a child with
his toys, does not entitled them to
this august name, but they may be
Justly charged as most unpatriotic
men and genuine enemies of the
They are playing with the
army and the nation, and are setting
them at each others throat They
lack the seriousness with which the
country must be governed. They are
utterly wanting in the true, apprecia-
ton of the greatness of the response
bllity that rests upon a statesman.
criticism Is Bitter.
". Not only do they lack the os-
5ential quality of statesmen-the pa
triotism and the seriouesness-but
hey have also swept away the consti-
-utional barrier of distinction between
The court and the government. Prince
katsura is the chief chamberlain and
as such he should absolutely hold him
self aloof from politics either as the
chamberlain or as one of the Elder
statesmen, for if such a distinction
De allowed to be made. the same man
Will be now politician and then a
This will mix up the
court and government which is the
cause of all corruption in government
and decay Of all peoples. But he is
now playing the double role. He is
in the Elder Statesmens
as one of them. and at 9TH
er times he is acting as chamberlain
The keeping distinct of these two
functions is the very foundation of the
nations healthy development along
lines. along the civilized
path of political growth. The present
'risis. however. has brought about
his 6pOlOr0 hlp state of tbiDpC in