Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 03.pdf/587

building itself exteriorly is plain, but char manacled couple approached the precincts of acteristic and Oriental, with a dodecahedral justice, the rope on his wrist galled a little, tower and spiked roof-ridges. Inside it was and with a bow he called his guards' atten simplicity itself — the floor matted, the walls tion to the fact, saying, as the officer adjusted whitewashed, the furniture either of the com first his blue spectacles and then the knot, monest wood or the cheapest upholstery. " Give me your honorable pardon. I cause an The public, which did not attend, and seldom interruption." " O jama itashimas, — Oh does, had its own benches behind the front dear, no!" replies the police-constable. " O seats reserved for the prisoners. At the Kinodoku sama, — The honorable deep re gret! " " Do itashimaskite, — Don't so much side of the square apartment was a form re served for women prisoners, who are never as mention it." There they were at last, all numerous, — for women here seem hardly safely ranged fronting the judge, — ten men ever to do anything particularly wrong, leav and a boy, and at the side of the court the ing that and all other selfish and brutal woman, her head hanging down and face habits to their "lords and masters." In constantly concealed, but not handcuffed or front of the judge's green baize desk was a roped up like the others; merely an officer with a sword following her. Only one or bar and a table, to which each prisoner ad vances when his or her turn arrives. The two countenances among the accused could judge, with black hair cropped close, colored be styled " bad." Some were decidedly quiet, necktie, and tightly buttoned coat, took his good-looking individuals of the lower orders, place unsaluted; and the policemen on duty, and there was one offender who, like Barin a uniform something like a yachting suit dolph, had stolen the pyx from an altar, — with brass buttons, bearing the Imperial in the shape of a silver utensil from a Bud chrysanthemum, and peaked caps, — never dhist temple, — but his mild, innocent as removed in court, — brought in the batch of pect made one think he might plead that he offenders, roped two and two with box-cord, was not so much a thief as a too enthusiastic and manacled. There were eleven men and and unreflecting collector of curios. One by boys, and one woman; and as they entered one they were called in front of the judge, the court and took their seats in a long row whereupon the secretary read the indictment, on the front bench, the police-officers un and for the most part the prisoners pleaded fastened each pair of handcuffs, and neatly guilty, and received their sentences forth twisted the confining rope round and round with in the form of three or four months' the neck or wrist of each malefactor. When imprisonment, together with a more or less the eleven sat in a rather ill-looking row, heavy fine, and kaushi, — that is to say, police facing the judge, and one observed that but surveillance, and loss of civil rights for six sub two officers stood in the court, and two more sequent months. Japanese justice is admin only sat in cane-chairs by the door, the istered after the French mode. Mr. Cham berlain, in " Things Japanese," justly says : thought arose that escape by that open door into the bright sunshine outside, and "The system of trial, as well in civil as in thence into the busy bazar, would be a very criminal cases, is entirely inquisitorial. It was simple and easy feat. But Japanese pris so in Old Japan, and is so in France, whence oners are wonderfully polite, amenable, and modern Japanese law comes. Formerly no reasonable. They bow to their custodians, convictions were made except on confession and these to them; assist offended justice by the prisoner. Hence the use of torture, in the most submissive manner; and are on now happily abolished, and a tendency, even terms of almost exquisite good-breeding with in civil cases, to suspect guilt in the defenthe court and the officials from the time of I dant, although the theory is that the defencapture to that of sentence. As one of a I dant must be presumed innocent until actually