“My ancestor, Iyéyasu, settled the form of government in Japan in its fundamental principles and all its details; for upwards of two centuries there has been no one, from the Emperor down to the humblest of the people, who has not paid respect to his virtue, or who has not reaped the benefit of his good intentions. But the world has changed. Since the conclusion of the treaties with Foreign Powers it has been impossible not to be aware of certain shortcomings in laws which, up to that time, had been held to be all-sufficient and good. From the first moment when I succeeded my predecessor I felt this, and determined, in collaboration with Kiōto, to introduce a reformation of these laws. Inspired by an honest love for my country, and for the people, I laid down the Power which I had inherited, and with the understanding on the other hand that I should call a meeting of all the Princes of the country, with a view to discussing the matter from the point of view of a reform of the constitution for the public weal, and deciding it by the vote of the majority, I placed the conduct of affairs in the hands of the Imperial Court. “In order to the fulfilment of this great work, my resignation of the government was accepted by His Highness the Regent, who had been appointed by the late Emperor as protector and adviser of the young Ruler and by several of the Princes of the blood and Nobles of the Court; at the same time I received the Imperial command to carry on the government as before, until a decision of the assembly of territorial Lords should be arrived at. I waited for this assembly and was firmly resolved to take part in it. In the most unexpected way, however, one morning several Princes broke into the Palace with an armed force, drove out His Highness the Regent, who had been appointed by the Emperor, together with the Princes of the blood and the Nobles of the Court, introducing in their stead certain Nobles who had been banished by the dead Emperor, and abolished the office of Shōgun, without waiting for the decision of the proposed general meeting of the Council. My Hatamotos” (petty nobles of the Tycoon’s court) “and vassal Princes were profoundly indignant, and pressed upon me day and night the absolute necessity of resisting by force of arms a crime which broke the laws and set at nought the will of the people. But inasmuch as my original intention in laying down the government had been to assure the union of all classes of the people, such exaggerated zeal was in contradiction to the determination which I had adopted.