(19.) 25th day. To the Princes of the Blood, _Kugés_ and Princes. “The first day of next month having been fixed for the ceremony of shaving off the eyebrows of the Empress, you are ordered to offer your congratulations at the palace of the Empress Dowager and of the Empress. It is not necessary to present offerings. Persons in mourning will attend on the following day.” Similar orders are issued to officers of the fifth rank and upwards. Rules prescribed as to dresses of ceremony (_Ikan_ and _Shitataré_). Orders as to the Emperor’s journey. Visits of congratulation to be paid by Princes of the Blood, etc., at the palaces of the Empress Dowager and Empress. “During the fifteen days following the Imperial departure each of you will proceed once to the Palace to inquire after the Emperor’s health.” The 28th instant having been fixed for the revival of the ancient ceremony of praying for a prosperous year, the Emperor will be engaged in prayer, and religious exercises will be continued from the evening of the 26th until the morning of the 29th. Persons in deep or slight mourning, Buddhist priests and nuns should avoid going to Court on those days. Appointments of Boards of Trade at open ports; new purchases and orders not to be entered upon until old obligations shall have been settled. (20.) 24th day. Regulation of prices of horses and coolies during the congestion of traffic caused by removal of the Court to Yedo. (21.) 25th day. An order for framing rules and regulations for the House of Parliament, for which accommodation will be found in the Castle. Despatch of a mission to Koyasan. NOTE.—A mountain in Kishiu where there is a temple founded by Kōbō Daishi, and other temples. Koyasan is the home of the Koya Maki (_Sciadopitys verticillata_.) * * * * * These few extracts from the earliest numbers of the _Kiōto Gazette_ seem to me to have a certain interest as showing the great variety of affairs with which the newly-established Government had to busy itself. Some were small, others important: the _Dai-jōkwan_ (the new Government) had to imitate the elephant’s trunk—pick up a pin or uproot a tree. THE “GI-JI-IN,” OR PARLIAMENT It is generally agreed that the British House of Commons is the mother of parliaments. The new House of Representatives at Yedo was its youngest babe. Like those of all other babes, its first footsteps were somewhat tottery and uncertain. It had to learn to walk before it could run. The first debates did not reveal much oratorical power or even promise of power; oratory was, as I think I have said before, not one of the natural gifts of the nation; but the subjects of discussion were interesting and the arguments used by the speakers very instructive to all students of the country’s idiosyncrasies. The Imperial Parliament was opened on the 18th of April, 1869, under the Presidency of Prince Akidzuki. The Emperor’s message to the House—a maiden effort—was as follows: