[Footnote 49: The strength of this movement may, however, be doubted. Murdoch (op. cit. i, p. 162) says: "At present, 1910, the War Office and Admiralty are, of all Ministries, by far the strongest in the Empire. When a party Government does by any strange hap make its appearance on tho political stage, the Ministers of War and of Marine can afford to regard its advent with the utmost insouciance. For tho most extreme of party politicians readily and unhesitatingly admit that the affairs of the Army and Navy do not fall within the sphere of party politics, but are the exclusive concern of the Commander-in-Chief, his Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Japan. On none in the public service of Japan are titles of nobility, high rank, and still more substantial emoluments showered with a more liberal hand than upon the great captains and the great sailors of the Empire. In China, on the other hand, the military man is, if not a pariah, at all events an exceptional barbarian, whom policy makes it advisable to treat with a certain amount of gracious, albeit semi-contemptuous, condescension."] [Footnote 50: The following account is taken from McLaren, op. cit. chaps, xii. and xiii.] [Footnote 51: _The Far East Unveiled_, pp. 252-58.] [Footnote 52: See McLaren, op. cit. pp. 227, 228, 289.] [Footnote 53: Coleman, op. cit. chap. xxxv.] [Footnote 54: See an invaluable pamphlet, "The Socialist and Labour Movements in Japan," published by the _Japan Chronicle_, 1921, for an account of what is happening in this direction.] [Footnote 55: _The Times_ of February 7, 1922, contains a telegram from its correspondent in Tokyo, _à propos_ of the funeral of Prince Yamagata, Chief of the Genro, to the following effect:-- "To-day a voice was heard in the Diet in opposition to the grant of expenses for the State funeral of Prince Yamagata. The resolution, which was introduced by the member for Osaka constituency, who is regarded as the spokesman of the so-called Parliamentary Labour Party founded last year, states that the Chief of the Genro (Elder Statesmen) did not render true service to the State, and, although the recipient of the highest dignities, was an enemy of mankind and suppressor of democratic institutions. The outcome was a foregone conclusion, but the fact that the introducer could obtain the necessary support to table the resolution formally was not the least interesting feature of the incident."] CHAPTER VII JAPAN AND CHINA BEFORE 1914