of nobles and samurai only, and was found to be a virtually
useless body. Not till 1873, when Itagaki Taisuke, seceding from the
Cabinet on account of the Korean complication, became a warm advocate
of appealing national questions to an elective assembly, did the
people at large come to understand what was involved in such an
institution. Thenceforth Itagaki became the centre of a more or less
enthusiastic group of men advocating a parliamentary system, some
from sincere motives, and others from a conviction that their failure
to obtain posts was in a manner due to the oligarchical form of their
country's polity.

When the Satsuma rebellion broke out, four years later, this band of
Tosa agitators memorialized the Government, charging it with
administering affairs in despite of public opinion; with ignoring
popular rights, and with levelling down instead of up, since the
samurai had been reduced to the class of commoners, whereas the
latter should have been educated to the standard of the former. But
the statesmen in power insisted that the nation was not yet ready to
enjoy constitutional privileges. They did not, indeed, labour under
any delusion as to the ultimate direction in which their reforms
tended, but they were determined to move gradually, not
precipitately. They had already (1874) arranged for the convention of
an annual assembly of prefects who should act as channels of
communication between the central authorities and the people in the
provinces. This was designed to be the embryo of representative
institutions, though obviously it bore that character in a very
limited degree only.

In the following year (1875), the second step was taken by organizing
a Senate (Genro-in), which consisted of official nominees and was
charged with the duty of discussing and revising laws and ordinances
prior to their promulgation. But it had no power of initiative, and
its credit in the eyes of the nation was more or less injured by the
fact that its members consisted for the most part of men for whom no
posts could be found in the administration and who, without some
steadying influence, might have been drawn into the current of
discontent.

At this stage, an event occurred which probably moved the Government
to greater expedition. In the spring of 1878, the great statesman,
Okubo Toshimitsu, who had acted such a prominent part on the stage of
the reformation drama, was assassinated. His slayers were avowedly
sympathizer