JAPAN AND RUSSIA.

Waikato Argus, Volume XIX, Issue 2978, 11 September 1905, Page 2

JAPAN AND RUSSIA.

Tok to, Septembers 'J'n b Marquis Saionji, leader of the principal political party in Tokio, the Constitutional Political Association, has stated in an interview that the object of the war has been attained, and that further conflict would be useless. It would bo impossible to obtain an indemnity, and Japan would not be warranted in disregarding the world’s desire for peace merely from pecuniary motives. The people should calmly devote themselves to the development of the resources of the country. Subsequent to the meeting, rowdies, supposed to be in the pay of agitators, surrounded the office of the Ministry of the Interior, where the Premier (Count Katsura) and the chief of police were believed to be. The mob threw dust in the eyes of the police, and tried to force an entrance. Five men entered the hall, and officers there killed the foremost and disarmed and arrested the rest.

Tho police then charged and wounded many, and also suffered themselves.

The mob tried for hours to force an entrance.

After dusk the mob set fire to the outer buildings of the Ministry of the Interior, and stoned the firemen who tried to extinguish the flames. Then the Imperial guards charged the crowd but used the people gently. The mob burned and destroyed ten Christian churches and one missionhouse in Tokio on Wednesday night. No one was injured. The troops guard the foreign Legations. The mobs have roughly used some foreigners. The residences of the Ministry and of the elder statesmen are guarded. J Later. Eight hundred arrests have been made in Tokio, and the town is now quieter. The newspapers condemn the authorities for closing the park and attempting to prevent free speech. The “ Uochi Shimbun ” declares that “Tokio has been converted into St. Petersburg,” and urges the Mikado not to ratify the treaty. The newspaper “ Niroku ” has been suppressed. Rioters at Cheba, eastwards ot Tokio, burned the prefecture police station. (Received September 11,1.4 a.m) Tokio, September 10. Count Katsura addressed an informal meeting of all parties in the Diet, as well as editors and other influential personages, and fully explained the terms of the treaty of peace. Baron Yamamoto, the Minister for Marine, stated chat the capture of Vladivostok would have) entailed a far heavier sacrifice of lives and money than did Port Arthur. The statements produced an excellent impression, and Tokio is now quiet.