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over, the fact that the prefectural offices practically exercised no control over the district offices, the latter being put under the necessity of asking orders from the former, but denied facilities of operation. The administrative divisions of the island then in existence, having hastily been copied from those existing under the Chinese régime, under the pressing need of establishing a military form of government after the cession in 1895, had not been made the subject of thorough examination to see if they would best meet the requirements of the situation. In order, therefore, to establish a satisfactory system of administration, it was found advisable to increase the number of prefectures by four, the number of the island offices and of the district offices remaining as before. As the result of the new arrangement, the whole island was divided into seven prefectures and one island office, with the twelve district offices under them. Under this arrangement the larger prefectures then possessed an area of over 4,000,000 square ri, and contained more than 600,000 inhabitants, and the smaller an area of over 2,000,000 square ri, and more than 300,000 inhabitants. In area and population each was more than equal to the smaller Fu or Ken of the mainland.

As for the lower administrative system, the project was to establish more than seventy executive offices throughout the whole island to conduct public affairs within these small administrative divisions, and from each town or village of the division to elect a representative of the inhabitants to assist in the due performance of public functions. The Formosan administrative divisions were re-established solely in accordance with these views, but were subsequently reduced. It may appear that there was some weakness in the idea. The truth is, however, that at that early period of Japanese possession it was thought that the thorough recognition and respect by the natives of the high and august attributes of our gracious Sovereign was the first and paramount object to be attained by the new Government, and that a broad executive mechanism would best answer this purpose. When things came to assume their normal condition in the island, it was found that the extensive system as it then was would do more harm than good to the islanders.

The extension of the police force was an object of paramount importance in the government of Formosa. So also was the implanting in the minds of the people a high regard for the virtues of His Majesty the Emperor, as well as to secure a thorough appreciation by them of the goodwill and sincerity of our Government, and this could not better be attained than by extending the administrative police force of the island. In 1896 there were 2,000 gendarmes and 1,200 policemen under