The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-12-17

stitutional party under Viscount TaiSaald Kato Is understood to be hostile. K. Hara, the head of the Seiyukai or minor ity party, has announced his position as sort of benevolent neutrality. He said: 'tOur party will hold an absolutely neu- tral position, but it will give it's support to anything that is in the interests of the public and agrees with the principle of our party" He went on: we must all work for the expansion of our na- tional influence and for the perfection
 of true constitutional government As for the new cabinet, we must observe it's policy, adnliring what is to be ad-
 mired and attacking when attack is de- served. The most important thing is to
 foster patriotic nationalism for the sake
 of the nation and the people,"
 The fact that Viscount Motono was
 one of the framers of the Russo-Japanese
 alliance while amuassador at Petrograd
 and the belief that Count Terauchi him.
 self has strong Russian sympathies has
 led many friends of the Anglo-Japanese
 alliance to fear that the support of the
 new ministry will be thrown primarily
 in putting into effect the Russian alli-
 ance as against the British. It is re. , marked that Count Terauchi is the presi- lent of the Russo-Japanese society and that Baron Cato, the new minister of he interior, is the vice president.
 AS to the policy of the new cabinet towards the United States, great satis- faction is expressed by representative apapese that Premier Terauchis recent ieclarations to the Associated Press should have received such cordial well 'ome in the United States. The new cabinet has as yet made no formal dec aration of it's principles and Count rerauchi's interview has given practi- cally the only indication thus far of the cabinets attitude on foreign questions PREMIER ISSUES STATEMENT In a leading article the semi official Japan Times says that a very important statement on the foreign policies of the empire has been made to the world by Count Terauchi through the Associated
 Press The newspaper continued: "It is gratifying that the premier has given an unmistakable assurance to the world
 that there will be no change in the line of action his cabinet will pursue in
 the conduct of our foreign relations. If Count Terauchi as premier places states manship before soldiership, his simplic. ity and sincerity as a soldier will stand him in good stead and we do not hesi- tate to declare that he can be depended upon to adhere faithfully to his aSsur. ances. If he has in the past been criti- cized for what has been described as his iron rule in Chosen (Corea), he has never yet been charged with going back on his
 words.'' The journal expressed satisfac- ton with Count Terauchis attitude to-
 wards the United States and concluded
 with the conviction that Japan's foreign
 relations will be perfectly safe in the
 hands of the new premien
 The Asahi, which publishes an edition
 in both TolSio and Osaka, adopted diff
 ferent strain. It expressed it's astonish.
 ment that Count Terauchi, who is very
 reticent to his countrymeh, should give
 such an important interview to a foreign correspondent in regard to his foreign
 policy The journal admitted djsappoint-
 ment should the premier's foreign policy
 develop as outlined by him, thinking that
 while his internal administration will be
 constructive he will adopt a 'Lasser