Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 5.djvu/122

 being placed in the second class. Each class elects one-half of the members. This is called the system of ō-jinushi (large landowners), and it is found to work satisfactorily as a device for conferring representative rights in proportion to property. The franchise is withheld from all local salaried officials, from judicial officials, from ministers of religion, from persons who, not being barristers by profession, assist the people in affairs connected with law courts or official bureaux, and from every individual, or member of a company, that contracts for the execution of public works or the supply of articles to a local administration, as well as from persons unable to write their own names and the name of the candidate for whom they vote. Members of assembly are not paid. For prefectural and county assemblies the term is four years; for town and district assemblies, six years, with the provision that one-half of the members must be elected every third year. The prefectural assemblies hold one session of thirty days yearly; the county assemblies, one session of not more than fourteen days; the town and district assemblies have no fixed session: they are summoned by the mayor or the head-man when their deliberations appear necessary, and they continue in session till their business is concluded. Speaking broadly, the chief function of the assemblies is to deal with all questions of local finance. They discuss and vote the yearly budgets; they pass the settled accounts; they fix the