[Jesus-post] REATY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AN

Sat Dec 26 10:45:58 CET 2009

Ied with the suppression of the Satsuma Rebellion. The civil war being
ended, in 1878, the year which marked a decade from the establishment of
the new regime, the government, persuaded that the time for popular
institutions was fast approaching, not alone through representations of
the Tosa memorialists, but through many other signs of the times,
decided to take a step in the direction of establishing a national
assembly. But the government acted cautiously. Thinking that to bring
together hundreds of members unaccustomed to parliamentary debate and
its excitement, and to allow them a hand in the administration of
affairs of the state, might be attended with serious dangers, as a
preparation for the national assembly the government established first
local assemblies. Certainly this was a wise course. These local
assemblies have not only been good training schools for popular
government, but also proved reasonably successful. They hold their
sessions every year, in the month of March, in their respective
electoral districts, and there discuss all questions of local taxation.
They may also petition the central government on other matters of local
interest. The members must be males of the full age of twenty-five
years, who have been resident for three years in the district and pay
the sum of $10 as a land tax within their district. The qualifications
for electors (males only) are: an age of twenty years, registration, and
payment of a land tax of $5. Voting is by ballot, but the names of the
voters are to be written by themselves on the voting papers. There are
now 2172 members who sit in these local assemblies, and it was from the
more experienced members of these assemblies that the majority of the
members of the House of Representatives of the Imperial Diet, convened
for the first time last year, were chosen. The gulf between absolute
government and popu
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