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Rh a hotel for a single night only, the guest must give an account of himself to the proprietor according to certain blanks supplied by the police. A foreigner is concerned with the following information by Dr. Masujima, the eminent lawyer and jurist of Tōkyō:—

"A foreign householder who intends to stay for more than nine days at one place in Japan, must, within ten days of his arrival, report to the police regarding himself and persons in his company, stating full particulars, ages, profession or other occupation, the place from which they last came, their home domicile, and the relationship of those persons with him; as well as the full address of the house in which he lives, counter-*signed by the landlord, any changes in such information to be treated in like manner from time to time."

The subject of taxation is one which may well be mentioned in this chapter, although it is scarcely profitable to devote much space thereto. In Old Japan taxes were paid in kind, chiefly with rice; but in New Japan they are payable only with cash. The system of taxation is rather complicated and oppressive; and yet the people stoically endure their burdens without indulging in the pastime of agrarian riots. The land-tax of 3⅓ per cent of the assessed value of the land in the case of rural lands and 5 per cent in the case of urban lands is a very important source of revenue, and has always been the cause of great trouble in political circles. Other taxes are the business tax, the income tax, the house tax, etc.