JAPAN. 



393 



lowing these interviews, Sir Harry Parkes, the 

 British minister, attended by an escort, was 

 approaching the castle of the Mikado to pay 

 his respects, when he was attacked by a band 

 of desperadoes, who threw the escort into 

 confusion and wounded with swords eight 

 men. One account says that eight was the 

 number of the attacking party, of whom two 

 were killed, two wounded and captured, and 

 four allowed to escape. The same account 

 adds that the last six were " disposed of." 

 One who was captured and executed was an 

 officer of high rank of the Mikado's household. 

 The Mikado issued another stringent order in 

 reference to future attacks on foreigners. 

 Samurai (officials and nobles) guilty of assaults 

 hereafter will be degraded from their rank, and 

 decapitated by the common executioner. 



The Mikado's Government about this time 

 addressed an ultimatum to the Tycoon (who 

 is called in this document Yoshi-Hisa), of which 

 the Japanese Times published the following 

 synopsis : 



It premises that the Tycoon, having proceeded to 

 such an extreme as may properly be termed an insult 

 to the whole empire, ana having caused the deepest 

 ]Dain to the mind of the Emperor, both sea and land 

 forces were sent to punish him. Having learned, 

 however, that he is sincerely penitent and lives in re- 

 tirement, the excess of the imperial compassion shall 

 be exhausted, and the following commands be en- 

 joined upon him, let him be respectfully obedient to 

 them : A period of eleven days is granted him in 

 which to comply with all these orders. As the 

 period of eleven days is already a matter of clemency, 

 upon no account will any request or complaint be 

 listened to. The Emperor, having established both 

 his authority and clemency, will not allow any claim 

 of alliance to have influence with him. To be promptly 

 obedient, and resort to no subterfuge. 



The first article of the proclamation rehearses how 

 that the Tycoon, having insulted the Emperor by at- 

 tacking the imperial city and firing upon the im- 

 perial flag, was guilty of a great crime. But since 

 then he h\as manifested sincere contrition, and has 

 shu^himself up in retirement, suing for pardon. In 

 consideration of the important services rendered the 

 state by the Tokugawa family, in administering to 

 the Government during the last 200 years, and more 

 especially the accumulated meritorious services of 

 the late father of Yoshi-Hisa, it is the imperial will 

 that the following commands be given ; if they are 

 obeyed, the house of Tokugawa will remain estab- 

 lished in their Daimaite capital punishment will be 

 remitted, but Yoshi-Hisa is commanded to go to the 

 castle of Mito, and there to live shut up in retirement. 



Article second commands that the castle of the 

 Shegoon, at Yeddo, be turned over to the Prince of 

 Owari. Those living in the castle to move out and 

 go into retirement also. 



Then the third article requires all ships, arms, mu- 

 nitions of war, etc., etc., to be delivered up to the 

 General Government, when a proportion will be re- 

 turned to the Tokugawa Daimaite. The last article of 

 the manifesto says that all who have aided Yoshi- 

 Hisa deserve death, but that penalty is remitted, and 

 the imperial commission will decide upon other pun- 

 ishment for persons save those whose incomes are 

 over 10,000 kokus (say $31,000 or $32,000) per annum. 



In April, the Mikado issued a decree that, in 

 consequence of the confusion into which public 

 affairs had come, and that the sense of the 

 people might be obtained, the princes should 



meet with him at Miako as soon as it might be 

 convenient. They should bring with them 

 such counsellors as might be best qualified to 

 .propose improvements in the Government. 

 The Daimios were enjoined to obtain the will 

 of the people as to who these counsellors should 

 be. The selection, in order to secure the 

 greatest possible impartiality, should be con- 

 ducted or superintended, not by the prince of 

 a given province, but by the prince of the ad- 

 joining province. The counsellors thus chosen 

 and all the Daimios of the empire should 

 meet at Miako, and deliberate upon the affairs 

 of the nation. Besides, the Mikado decreed 

 that every man who had valuable sugges- 

 tions to make in regard to political matters 

 should have liberty to avow them openly, and 

 should send them to the Congress or Parlia- 

 ment at Miako, where they would be con- 

 sidered. 



The friendly attitude of the Mikado toward 

 the foreign powers alienated for a time some of 

 the most powerful southern Daimios, who had 

 always been sworn enemies of the foreigners, 

 such as Ohosin and Tosa. The following is a 

 translation of a portion of Chosin's remon- 

 strance, dated May, 1868, and published in the 

 Naigaispinlco, a Japanese newspaper : 



If the foreigners are invited to the imperial 

 court, who will be the man, when the time for expul- 

 sion has come, to employ his energy for this pur- 

 pose ? Therefore it is not right that the foreigners 

 are admitted to the Dairo (palace of the Mikado). 



The High-Priest of Kioto issued a manifesto, 

 warning the Mikado against interfering too 

 much in the temporal affairs, and calling upon 

 him to desist, on pain of being called upon by 

 the priesthood to abdicate : 170,000 copies of 

 the proclamation were reported to have been 

 sold and distributed among the Japanese. 



In May, the Tycoon, Stotsbashi, declared 

 his readiness to accept the conditions of the 

 Mikado, viz., to cede nearly half of his private 

 territory, disband his army, surrender his navy, 

 and himself to retire to Mito, for which place 

 he left on the 12th of May. The Tycoon gave 

 orders to his admiral to surrender the fleet, but 

 that officer left Yeddo with all the vessels, and 

 subsequently cooperated with Prince Aidsin. 



This, however, did not end the war. A 

 strong coalition was formed in the interest of 

 the Tycoon, and the most powerful of the 

 northern Daimios joined it. Aidsin attacked 

 a body of the Mikado's troops on the 10th of 

 May, 12 miles from Yeddo, routed them, and 

 took possession of a castle recently surren- 

 dered by the Tycoon. On the 17th he at- 

 tacked another army, killed 800 and captured 

 300, all of whom he beheaded. On the 22d 

 of May another engagement took place only 

 six miles from Yeddo, also ending disastrously 

 to the Mikado's troops. Fourteen hundred 

 were killed, and 800 captured. 



On July 4th an attack was made by 20,000 

 southerners on the Takugawas (the family to 

 which the Tycoon belonged) at Yeddo, who 



