Excerpt from The Open Court, Vol. 28: A Monthly Magazine Devoted to the Science of Religion, the Religion of Science, and the Extension of the Religious Parliament Idea; March, 1914 N ear the end of 1865 when the ministers of the foreign powers went to Kobe to request the emperor to ratify the treaties which the Shogun had made, Hitotsubashi was one who recognized the futility of further Opposition or delay; and he, with others, pre sented a joint memorial to the court, as follows: The foreigners have come up to the home provinces to request that Your Majesty will signify your consent to the treaties and to demand the open ing of Hiogo. They say that they have come to arrange these matters directly with Your Majesty, as the bakufu [shogunate] is unable to settle them. Your servants will do all in their power to create delays, but unless the imperial consent to the treaties is given, the foreigners will not quit the Inland Sea. If we were lightly to use force against them we might be victorious for the moment, but a tiny piece of territory like this could not long with stand the combined armies of'the universe. We are not so much concerned for the preservation of the bokafa as for the security of the throne. If the result be what we must anticipate, your pe0p1e will be plunged into the depths of misery. Your Majesty's sacred' wish of protecting and succoring your subjects will be rendered unavailing, and the bakufu will be unable to fulfil its mission, which is to govern the country happily. Your servants cannot find heart to obey Your Majesty's order to breakofl? Foreign relations, and humbly pray that Your Majesty, deigning to take these things into consideration, will at once give your consent. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.