CORRESPONDENCE.
THE END OF THE REVOLT IN JAPAN.
[nom A CORUESPONDESIT.] Tokio, November 17, 1877. 'TOltio is at present occupied in celebrating the final suppres- sion of the great rising in Satsuma. This powerful province has in vain struggled against the overwhelming odds poured in from revery part of the empire, and may be regarded as completely crushed. The last scenes were tragical in the extreme. After the recapture of Kagoshima by Saigo, the great rebel leader, the -whole of the forces of the Imperialists were concentrated against -him there. And it seems that he then at last recognised how hopeless his position was, and in the true spirit of the sumurai, the ancient chivalry of Japan, he has preferred death to sur- render. Retiring with the other surviving insurrectionary leaders to a position on Shiroyama (the White Mountain), they were there surrounded and slaughtered like rats in a pit. It was simply a massacre, for but faint resistance seems to have been offered. His personal friends seem to have made some attempt to save Saigo himself by flight, and hurried him into a convey- ance ; 'but finding his escape cut off, ho alighted, and having re- ceived one wound, his friend Murata performed for him the last and greatest kindness which, in the eyes of a Japanese samurai, there remained to do, and his sword struck off the head
of his great leader. So awful was the confusion of that terrible morning of September 24, that it was not until more than a week had passed away that any details that could be relied on arrived at Tokio. The body was left where it fell, but the head was carried a little distance, and then hastily buried. The spot of this interment was pointed out, and the head recognised. And it is no mean proof of Saigo's capacity and influence, that when his head was discovered the war was at once known to be over.
To the native historian the credit of the Imperialist successes will doubtless appear to belong exclusively to Prince Arisugawa- no-Miya, the commander-in-chief. But I think that by a foreign observer the central position of interest on the Im- perialist side will be accorded to Admiral Kawamura, minister and commander-in-chief of the Japanese naval forces. But for his firmness and fidelity, the war must have had a very dif- ferent issue. Himself a Satsuma man, he was fighting against his friends and kinsmen. In the war of restoration he had fought for the Mikado side by side with Saigo. In the course of an interview I had with him soon after his return to Tokio, he himself said, " I had no dearer friend than Saigo." Day by day he was sending messages, entreating his friend to abandon a useless strife while there was time, but in vain. It will easily be seen how severe must have been the strain on his loyalty, when it is known that reports of that loyalty having given way were more than once circulated in Tokio during the war, and produced more sensation than any account of insurgent suc- cesses. And it must have been a deeply pathetic sight when the head of Saigo was discovered to see Kawamura, in ac- knowledgment of early friendship and a respect which bad not ceased through strife and death, reverently wash it with his own bands, as is the custom with those dead whom the Japanese specially revere. To such a man civil war comes home in its true dross, when defeat means disgrace and victory the death of our dearest.
And now during the past week there have been holidays observed in the Government departments and festivals in memory of those who died in the war. We trace some analogy to ancient Greek customs in displays of horse-racing and wrestling, at which the relatives of those who fell are granted "a conspicuous position amongst the audience." With great good taste there have been no rejoicings over the overthrow of Satsuma as such, and celebrations have been confined to a token of respect for the memory of the slain.
Thus the present Government are left unopposed in Japan, and probably will be so for many years to come. And on the same morning which witnessed the final close on Shiroyama a son was born to the Mikado, who will, in the event of the Empress having no issue, be heir to the Imperial throne. So it seems that there is no reason why the present tendencies of Japanese politics should not develope without interruption, and the present Ministry perpetuate their policy, But though danger of further armed resistance seems over, it by no means follows that the nation is contented with its rulers. In fact, there seems to be nearly as much discontent as ever, and though the national characteristic of wanting always to begin where other nations have left off may have much to do with this discontent, it is none the less interesting to see what are the complaints of the advanced party of Japanese Liberals. To do this we can have no better guide than a memorial—than which there is no more remarkable political document in the archives of Japan—lately presented to the Mikado by the members of a political society called the Rissisha. This society was formed at Toss some three years ago, and its objects are the furtherance of the people's rights and the establishment of a representative system of govern- ment. Its members number about twelve hundred, and meet once a week. There is a school attached in which European sciences are taught, with about three hundred scholars. And in July last this society drew up a memorial and presented it to the Mikado. It was read by the Cabinet and at once rejected, and soon after the presenter of the memorial, Kataoka Kenkichi, by whom also it had been signed, was imprisoned on a charge of complicity with Saigo. What truth there was in this charge no one knows, but he has not since been heard of. The memorial itself is a model of respectful firmness and good sense, though it is very doubtful whether Japan could stand the immediate intro- duction of the main change it advocates, the representative form of government pure and simple. It is of great length, and endea- vours to give full reasons for all its demands, and it abounds also with remarks and illustrations, as Eastern documents appear gene- rally to do, but unlike Eastern documents generally, they seem in this case to contain a high-class political wisdom, improved by
much careful study of good writers on political science. As it is really an able statement by a native Japanese of the questions which seem to him of most moment in the politics of his own country, I give such account of it as I hope will interest any who are desirous to learn the real condition of affairs here.
After the usual preamble of respectful compliment to the Mikado, the document begins with a kind of historical resume of events immediately preceding the restoration of the Mikado, and from that time to the present. There are passed in brief review the resigning of their territories by the Daimios, the abolition of the feudal system, and the union of the country under one monarch ; the improvements in the army and navy, and the introduction of the railway, the post, and the telegraph. But with all this rapid civilisation, in which Japan appears to rival Western nations, she has not really done so. She has been afflicted with constant internal anxiety and strife ; so much so, that the future historian of the first ten years of Meiji (1868- 1877), " may say that wars ceased not for a day, and that the country was brought to the verge of ruin." This state of things has been caused by the despotic power of the Ministers. The overthrow of the Shogunate, in spite of laws backed up by inhuman punishments ; the abolition of the power of the Daimios, and the centralization of authority at the Capital, were all products of the will of the people, which will must have its way, "as surely as water runs down a hill." On the resto- ration, the Mikado swore to the observance of five promises :- That the Government should be Liberal, and that the will of the nation should be consulted ; that both the higher and the lower classes should be united in the Administration ; that the rights of samurai and of the people should be con- sidered ; that old and useless customs should be abolished, and the action of the Government should be progres- sive; and that the wisdom of the world should be adopted to promote the dignity of the Emperor. And again, by the decree of the 14th of April, 1875, the Mikado declared his desire that a legislative body be established, and also a deliberative assembly, to give strength to upright judicial procedure. And by the same decree the lower officials were also summoned to give opinions on affairs of State. These assurances of approaching popular govern- ment the people were glad to have, but the Ministers of the Cabinet have violated the Imperial will, and the legislative assembly was curtailed of its powers and placed under the judi- cial department, whilst the deliberative assembly of governors of provinces was only allowed to meet once, and then was not allowed time enough to discuss. The Ministers have thus acted contrary to the Mikado's will, press laws, libel laws, and frequent arrests stifle public opinion instead of encouraging it, and the real power had been kept in the hands of men from the four favoured provinces of Satsuma, Toss, ChOshin, and Higen, as completely as if these provinces alone were blessed with men of sense. And the result has been that many feelings of discontent, deprived of their natural outlet in a representative assembly, found vent in the recent outbreaks. " For the Omnipotent has endowed men with rights as surely as with bodies and souls, and if a Government, relying on its power, prevents their full exercise, there is no reason why they should remain passive under such oppression." The evils produced by this state of things may be classed under eight heads, as follows :-1. That the Government is despotic, an evil in itself. 2. That affairs are conducted in a random and confused manner ; officials are appointed to headships of depart- ments of which they know nothing, and the minor officials "aro like their superiors ;" the people are saying of Government notifi- cations when put out, " That may last a month." 8. There is too much centralisation ; provincial authorities can do nothing in any case but write a fruitless letter to the capital. 4. The military system of general conscription is not so much bad as unsuitable, being only good when voted by a free Government. 5. The finances are mismanaged ; taxes all are conveyed to the capital, " which causes great scarcity of money in the country, and cripples production." 6. The mode of collecting the land- tax was really reformed by the present Government, but as it was done by exercise of arbitrary power, the people did not believe in it as a reform, and rose against it. If the same thing had been done by a popular government, it would have been acknowledged as good by all. 7. The samurai and the common people have been equalised wrongly, for the common people should have been brought up to the level of the samurai, whereas the samurai have been levelled down to the common people. Lastly, foreign affairs have been mismanaged. In the affair of Formosa we did nothing beyond obtaining a paltry indemnity. Corea insulted us, and we did nothing at all ;
whence the Saga rebellion. In the times of the Sh6gunate every child knew that Sngahlicn belonged to us, "but now Russia has come down below the fiftieth parallel to hunt," and SagahlieD has been ceded.
The above eight great evils are the result of despotism. And when the great rebellion has been put down,—cui Bono f the Government will turn all its assured power against those whom, it hates. Therefore we pray your Majesty to take this oppor.. tunity of establishing a free and representative Government.
The above is an endeavour to represent as nearly as I can the spirit of this memorial. It is unnecessary to criticise it further than just to remark the somewhat astonishing recognition of some very advanced principles of political science. Thus the- seventh head of grievances clearly recognises the benefit of a. middle class, whilst over and over again we have the theory im- plied that the same measures may be either bad or good, accord- ing to the form of government by which they are adopted. That the political philosophy of the Rissisha is generally sounder than. their political economy is, I think, accounted for by the simple- fact that Mill's " Considerations on Representative Govern- ment" is a short book, and fairly easy reading, and his " Political Economy" is a long one, and very difficult to foreign students.. The remedy proposed by the Rissisha cannot yet be adopted in. Japan ; of that there can be no reasonable doubt. But their- petition is none the less valuable as a statement of those difficulties. which will have to be faced by the Japanese Ministry in the. future, and it is but too clear that they are neither few nor slight.
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