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tion does not recognise a Diet which assembles of its own accord without summons, and the deliberations of no such Diet shall be allowed to possess any efficacy.

8. When the country is threatened with danger, or when the nation is visited with famine, plague, or other calamity, every necessary and possible measure must be taken for the maintenance of the public safety, for the prevention of such calamities, and for the relief of distress thereby caused. Should an emergency of the kind happen to arise while the Diet is not sitting, the Government will have to take upon itself the responsibility of issuing Imperial ordinances in the place of laws, and shall leave nothing undone that may be required in the juncture; for such action is imperatively demanded for the defence and safe-guarding of the country. It will be seen that Article 5, providing that the exercise of the legislative power requires the consent of the Diet, regards ordinary cases; while the provisions of the present article, authorizing the issuing of Imperial ordinances in the place of laws, refers to exceptional cases in times of emergency. This power mentioned in the present article is called the ‘power of issuing emergence ordinances.’ Its legality is recognised by the Constitution, but at the same time abuse of it is strictly guarded against. Thus, the Constitution limits the use of this power to the cases of urgent necessity for the maintenance of public safety and for the averting of public calamities, and prohibits its abuse on the ordinary plea of protecting the public interests and of promoting public welfare. Consequently, in issuing an emergency ordinance, it shall be made the rule to declare that such ordinance has been issued in accordance with the provisions of the present article; for should the Government make use of this power as a pretext for avoiding the public deliberations of the Diet, or for destroying any existing law, the provisions of the Constitution would become dead letters having no significance whatever, and would be far from serving as a bulwark for the protecting of the people. The right of control over this special power has, therefore, been given to the Diet by the present article, making it necessary, after due examination thereof at a subsequent date, to obtain its approbation to an emergence ordinance.

9. The present article treats of the sovereign power of the Emperor as to administrative ordinances. A law requires the consent of the Diet, while an ordinance holds good solely by the decision of the Emperor. There are two occasions for the issuing of an ordinance: the first is when it is required to regulate measures and details for the carrying out of any particular law; the second when it is required to meet the necessity of maintaining the public peace and order, and of