vival of mediaeval documents which meant something some hundreds
of years ago and still remain though their meanings have long since
lapsed. And yet there are persons in this country who peruse such
documents and know that they are simply words signifying practically
nothing, who severely criticise the assertion of a long-used title by
the Japanese Emperor upon issuing a royal proclamation. I am not aware
whether his Imperial Majesty or his Ministers of State implicitly
accept his divine descent, but this I do know--that those persons who
regard the present Emperor of Japan as a State puppet, arrogating more
or less divine attributes, are labouring under a profound delusion.
There is no abler man in Japan at the present moment. There is no
abler man among the sovereigns of the world. In fact, I should be
inclined to place the Emperor of Japan at the head of the world's
great statesmen. He is no monarch content to reign but not to govern,
concerned simply about ceremonial and the fripperies and gew-gaws of
royalty. He is a constitutional sovereign certainly. He has always
shown the deepest respect for the Constitution ever since its
promulgation, and never in the slightest degree attempted to infringe
or override any portion of it. At the same time he is an effective
force in the Government of Japan. There is nothing too great or too
little in the Empire or in the relations of the Empire with foreign
Powers for his ken. He, in a word, has the whole reins of government
in his hands, and he exercises over every department and detail of it
a minute and rigid supervision which is, in my opinion, largely
responsible for the efficiency of the internal administration of the
country as also for the place that Japan holds among the Great Powers
of the world.

I cannot leave a consideration of this subject without referring to
the assistance rendered to the Emperor by, as also to the debt Japan
owes to, some six or seven great men in that country whose names I
shall not inscribe here because to do so would be to some extent
invidious, several of whom do not, as a matter of fact, hold any
formal position in the Government of the country. The wisdom of these
men has been a great boon for such a country as Japan, and if she is
not now as sensible of it as she ought to be future ages will, I feel
sure, recognise the debt that Japan owes to them. Some persons with an
intimate knowledge of Japan have told me that it is not, after all, a