Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 5.djvu/110

 the fashion of their garments. In the Meiji era, on the other hand, although scarcely a month passed that did not see an editor fined or imprisoned, a newspaper suspended or suppressed, the representatives of the press grew constantly more defiant, the demand for journals more urgent. The first daily paper, the Mainichi Shimbun (daily news), was published in 1871, and in 1879, despite the severity of the law, there were one hundred and ninety-two journals and periodicals with a total annual circulation of over eleven millions.

No sooner did the Diet commence its sittings in 1891 than a bill was introduced for removing all restrictions upon freedom of speech. Already (1887) the Government had voluntarily made a great step in advance by divesting itself of the right to imprison or fine editors by executive order. But it reserved the power of suppressing or suspending a newspaper, and against that reservation a majority of the Lower House voted, session after session, only to see the bill rejected by the Peers, who shared the Government's opinion that to grant a larger measure of liberty would certainly encourage licence. Not until 1897 was this opposition overcome. A new law, passed by both Houses and confirmed by the Emperor, took from the executive all power over journals, except in cases of lese-majesty, and nothing now remains of the former arbitrary system. The result has falsified all sinister forebodings. A much more moderate tone pervades the writings of the press