Chapter II (5)

Article 33.
Germany shall form a customs and commercial union, having a
common frontier for the collection of duties. Such territories
as cannot, by reason of their situation, be suitably embraced
within the said frontier, shall be excluded. It shall be
lawful to introduce all articles of commerce of a state of the
confederation into any other state of the confederation,
without paying any duty thereon, except so far as such
articles are subject to taxation therein.

Article 34.
The Hanseatic towns, Bremen and Hamburg, shall remain free
ports outside of the common boundary of the customs union,
retaining for that purpose a district of their own, or of the
surrounding territory, until they shall request to be admitted
into the said union.

Article 35.
The Empire shall have the exclusive power to legislate
concerning everything relating to the customs, the taxation of
salt and tobacco manufactured or raised in the territory of
the confederation; concerning the taxation of manufactured
brandy and beer, and of sugar and sirup prepared from beets or
other domestic productions. It shall have exclusive power to
legislate concerning the mutual protection of taxes upon
articles of consumption levied in the several states of the
Empire; against embezzlement; as well as concerning the
measures which are required, in granting exemption from the
payment of duties, for the security of the common customs
frontier. In Bavaria, Würtemberg, and Baden, the matter of
imposing duties on domestic brandy and beer is reserved for
the legislature of each country. The states of the
confederation shall, however, endeavor to bring about uniform
legislation regarding the taxation of these articles.

Article 36.
The imposing of duties and excises on articles of consumption,
and the collection of the same (article 35,) is left to each
state of the confederation within its own territory, so far as
this has been done by each state heretofore. The Emperor shall
have the supervision of the institution of legal proceedings
by officials of the empire, whom he shall designate as
adjuncts to the custom or excise offices, and boards of
directors of the several states, after hearing the committee
of the Confederate Council on customs and revenues. Notices
given by these officials as to defects in the execution of the
laws of the Empire (article 35) shall be submitted to the
confederate council for action.

Article 37.
In taking action upon the rules and regulations for the
execution of the laws of the Empire, (article 35,) the vote of
the presiding officer shall decide, whenever he shall
pronounce for upholding the existing rule or regulation.

Article 38.
The amounts accruing from customs and other revenues
designated in article 35 of the latter, so far as they are
subject to legislation by the diet, shall go to the treasury
of the Empire. This amount is made up of the total receipts
from the customs and other revenues, after deducting
therefrom--
I. Tax compensations and reductions in conformity with
existing laws or regulations.
2. Reimbursements for taxes unduly imposed.
3. The costs for collection and administration, viz.:
_a_. In the department of customs, the costs which are
required for the protection and collection of customs on the
frontiers and in the frontier districts.
_b._ In the department of the duty on salt, the costs
which are used for the pay of the officers charged with
collecting and controlling these duties in the salt mines.
_c_. In the department of duties on beet-sugar and
tobacco, the compensation which is to be allowed, according to
the resolutions of the confederate council, to the several
state governments for the costs of the collection of these
duties.
_d_. Fifteen per cent. of the total receipts in the
departments of the other duties.

The territories situated outside of the common customs
frontier shall contribute to the expenses of the Empire by
paying an 'aversum,' (a sum of acquittance.) Bavaria,
Würtemberg, and Baden shall not share in the revenues from
duties on liquors and beer, which go into the treasury of the
Empire, nor in the corresponding portion of the aforesaid
'aversum.'

Article 39.
The quarterly statements to be regularly made by the revenue
officers of the federal states at the end of every quarter,
and the final settlements (to be made at the end of the year,
and after the closing of the account-books) of the receipts
from customs, which have become due in the course of the
quarter, or during the fiscal year, and the revenues of the
treasury of the Empire, according to article 38, shall be
arranged by the boards of directors of the federal states,
after a previous examination in general summaries in which
every duty is to be shown separately; these summaries shall be
transmitted to the federal committee on accounts. The latter
provisionally fixes, every three months, taking as a basis
these summaries, the amount due to the treasury of the Empire
from the treasury of each state, and it shall inform the
federal council and the federal States of this act;
furthermore, it shall submit to the federal council, annually,
the final statement of these amounts, with its remarks. The
federal council shall act upon the fixing of these amounts.

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Article 40.
The terms of the customs-union treaty of July 8, 1867, remain
in force, so far as they have not been altered by the
provisions of this constitution, and as long as they are not
altered in the manner designated in articles 7 and 78.

VII. Railways.

Article 41.
Railways, which are considered necessary for the defense of
Germany or for purposes of general commerce, may be built for
the account of the Empire by a law of the Empire, even in
opposition to the will of those members of the confederation
through whose territory the railroads run, without detracting
from the rights of the sovereign of that country; or private
persons may be charged with their construction and receive
rights of expropriation. Every existing railway company is
bound to permit new railroad lines to be connected with it, at
the expense of these latter. All laws granting existing
railway companies the right of injunction against the building
of parallel or competition lines are hereby abolished
throughout the Empire, without detriment to rights already
acquired. Such right of injunction can henceforth not be
granted in concessions to be given hereafter.

Article 42.
The governments of the federal states bind themselves, in the
interest of general commerce, to have the German railways
managed as a uniform net-work, and for this purpose to have
the lines constructed and equipped according to a uniform
system.

Article 43.
Accordingly, as soon as possible, uniform arrangements as to
management, shall be made, and especially shall uniform
regulations be instituted for the police of the railroads. The
Empire shall take care that the administrative officers of the
railway lines keep the roads always in such a condition as is
required for public security, and that they be equipped with
the necessary rolling stock.

Article 44.
Railway companies are bound to establish such passenger trains
of suitable velocity as may be required for ordinary travel,
and for the establishment of harmonizing schedules of travel;
also, to make provision for such freight trains as may be
necessary for commercial purposes, and to establish, without
extra remuneration, offices for the direct forwarding of
passengers and freight trains, to be transferred, when
necessary, from one road to another.

Article 45.
The Empire shall have control over the tariff of fares. The
same shall endeavor to cause--
1. Uniform regulations to be speedily introduced on all German
railway lines.
2. The tariff to be reduced and made uniform as far as
possible, and particularly to cause a reduction of the tariff
for the transport of coal, coke, wood, minerals, stone, salt,
crude iron, manure, and similar articles, for long distances,
as demanded by the interests of agriculture and industry, and
to introduce a one-penny tariff as soon as practicable.

Article 46.
In case of distress, especially in case of an extraordinary
rise in the price of provisions, it shall be the duty of the
railway companies to adopt temporarily a low special tariff,
to be fixed by the Emperor, on motion of the competent
committee, for the forwarding of grain, flour, vegetables, and
potatoes. This tariff shall, however, not be less than the
lowest rate for raw produce existing on the said line. The
foregoing provisions, and those of articles 42 to 45, shall
not apply to Bavaria. The imperial government has, however,
the power, also with regard to Bavaria, to establish, by way
of legislation, uniform rules for the construction and
equipment of such railways as may be of importance for the
defense of the country.

Article 47.
The managers of all railways shall be required to obey,
without hesitation, requisitions made by the authorities of
the Empire for the use of their roads for the defense of
Germany. Particularly shall the military and all material of
war be forwarded at uniform reduced rates.

VIII. Mails and Telegraphs.

Article 48.
The mails and telegraphs shall be organized and managed as
state institutions throughout the German Empire. The
legislation of the empire in regard to postal and telegraphic
affairs, provided for in article 4, does not extend to those
matters whose regulation is left to the managerial
arrangement, according to the principles which have controlled
the North German administration of mails and telegraphs.

Article 49.
The receipts of mails and telegraphs are a joint affair
throughout the Empire. The expenses shall be paid from the
general receipts. The surplus goes into the treasury of the
Empire. (Section 12.).

Article 50.
The Emperor has the supreme supervision of the administration
of mails and telegraphs. The authorities appointed by him are
in duty bound and authorized to see that uniformity be
established and maintained in the organization of the
administration and in the transaction of business, as also in
regard to the qualifications of employés. The Emperor shall
have the power to make general administrative regulations, and
also exclusively to regulate the relations which are to exist
between the post and telegraph offices of Germany and those of
other countries. It shall be the duty of all officers of the
post-office and telegraph department to obey imperial orders.
This obligation shall be included in their oath of office. The
appointment of superior officers (such as directors,
counselors, and superintendents,) as they shall be required
for the administration of the mails and telegraphs, in the
various districts; also the appointment of officers of the
posts and telegraphs (such as inspectors or comptrollers,)
acting for the aforesaid authorities in the several districts,
in the capacity of supervisors, shall be made by the Emperor
for the whole territory of the German Empire, and these
officers shall take the oath of fealty to him as a part of
their oath of office. The governments of the several states
shall be informed in due time, by means of imperial
confirmation and official publication, of the aforementioned
appointments, so far as they may relate to their territories.
Other officers required by the department of mails and
telegraphs, as also all officers to be employed at the various
stations, and for technical purposes, and hence officiating at
the actual centers of communication, &c., shall be appointed
by the respective governments of the states. Where there is no
independent administration of inland mails or telegraphs, the
terms of the various treaties are to be enforced.

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Article 51.
In assigning the surplus of the post-office department to the
treasury of the Empire for general purposes, (article 49,) the
following proceeding is to be observed in consideration of the
difference which has heretofore existed in the clear receipts
of the post-office departments of the several territories, for
the purpose of securing a suitable equalization during the
period of transition below named. Of the post-office surplus,
which accumulated in the several mail districts during the
five years from 1861 to 1865, an average yearly surplus shall
be computed, and the share which every separate mail district
has had in the surplus resulting therefrom for the whole
territory of the Empire shall be fixed upon by a percentage.
In accordance with the proportion thus made, the several
states shall be credited on the account of their other
contributions to the expenses of the empire with their quota
accruing from the postal surplus in the Empire, for a period
of eight years subsequent to their entrance into the
post-office department of the Empire. At the end of the said
eight years this distinction shall cease, and any surplus in
the post-office department shall go, without division, into
the treasury of the Empire, according to the principle
enunciated in article 49. Of the quota of the post-office
department surplus resulting during the aforementioned period
of eight years in favor of the Hanseatic towns, one-half shall
every year be placed at the disposal of the Emperor, for the
purpose of providing for the establishment of uniform
post-offices in the Hanseatic towns.

Article 52.
The stipulations of the foregoing articles 48 to 51 do not
apply to Bavaria and Würtemberg. In their stead the following
stipulation shall be valid for these two states of the
confederation. The Empire alone is authorized to legislate
upon the privileges of the post-office and telegraph
departments, on the legal position of both institutions toward
the public, upon the franking privilege and rates of postage,
and upon the establishment of rates for telegraphic
correspondence into Hanseatic towns. Exclusive, however, of
managerial arrangements, and the fixing of tariffs for
internal communication within Bavaria and Würtemberg. In the
same manner the Empire shall regulate postal and telegraphic
communication with foreign countries, excepting the immediate
communication of Bavaria and Würtemberg with their neighboring
states, not belonging to the Empire, in regard to which
regulation the stipulations in article 49 of the postal treaty
of November 23, 1867, remains in force. Bavaria and Würtemberg
shall not share in the postal and telegraphic receipts which
belong to the treasury of the Empire.

IX. Marine and Navigation.

Article 53.
The navy of the Empire is a united one, under the supreme
command of the Emperor. The Emperor is charged with its
organization and arrangement, and he shall appoint the
officers and officials of the navy, and in his name these and
the seamen are to be sworn in. The harbor of Kiel and the
harbor of the Iade are imperial war harbors. The expenditures
required for the establishment and maintenance of the navy and
the institutions connected therewith shall be defrayed from
the treasury of the Empire. All sea-faring men of the Empire,
including machinists and hands employed in ship-building, are
exempt from service in the army, but obliged to serve in the
imperial navy. The apportionment of men to supply the wants of
the navy shall be made according to the actual sea-faring
population, and the quota furnished in accordance herewith by
each state shall be credited to the army account.

Article 54.
The merchant vessels of all states of the confederation shall
form a united commercial marine. The Empire shall determine
the process for ascertaining the tonnage of sea-going vessels,
shall regulate the issuing of tonnage-certificates and
sea-letters, and shall fix the conditions to which a permit
for commanding a sea-going vessel shall be subject. The
merchant vessels of all the states of the confederation shall
be admitted on an equal footing to the harbors, and to all
natural and artificial water-courses of the several states of
the confederation, and shall receive the same usage therein.
The duties which shall be collected from sea-going vessels, or
levied upon their freights, for the use of naval institutions
in the harbors, shall not exceed the amount required for the
maintenance and ordinary repair of these institutions. On all
natural water-courses, duties are only to be levied for the
use of special establishments, which serve for facilitating
commercial intercourse. These duties, as well as the duties
for navigating such artificial channels, which are property of
the state, are not to exceed the amount required for the
maintenance and ordinary repair of the institutions and
establishments. These rules apply to rafting, so far as it is
carried on on navigable water-courses. The levying of other or
higher duties upon foreign vessels or their freights than
those which are paid by the vessels of the federal states or
their freights does not belong to the various states, but to
the Empire.

Article 55.
The flag of the war and merchant navy shall be black, white,
and red.

X. Consular Affairs.

Article 56.
The Emperor shall have the supervision of all consular affairs
of the German Empire, and he shall appoint consuls, after
hearing the committee of the federal council on commerce and
traffic. No new state consulates are to be established within
the jurisdiction of the German consuls. German consuls shall
perform the functions of state consuls for the states of the
confederation not represented in their district. All the now
existing state consulates shall be abolished, as soon as the
organization of the German consulates shall be completed, in
such a manner that the representation of the separate
interests of all the federal states shall be recognized by the
federal council as secured by the German consulates.

XI. Military Affairs of the Empire.

Article 57.
Every German is subject to military duty, and in the discharge
of this duty no substitute can be accepted.

Article 58.
The costs and the burden of all the military system of the
Empire are to be borne equally by all the federal states and
their subjects, and no privileges or molestations to the
several states or classes are admissible. Where an equal
distribution of the burdens cannot be effected 'in natura'
without prejudice to the public welfare, affairs shall be
equalized by legislation in accordance with the principles of
justice.

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Article 59.
Every German capable of bearing arms shall serve for seven
years in the standing army, ordinarily from the end of his
twentieth to the beginning of his twenty-eighth year; the
first three years in the army of the field, the last four
years in the reserve; during the next five years he shall
belong to the militia. In those states of the confederation in
which heretofore a longer term of service than twelve years
was required by law, the gradual reduction of the required
time of service shall take place in such a manner as is
compatible with the interests and the war-footing of the army
of the Empire. As regards the emigration of men belonging to
the reserve, only those provisions shall be in force which
apply to the emigration of members of the militia.

Article 60.
The strength of the German army in time of peace shall be,
until the 31st December, 1871, one per cent. of the population
of 1867, and shall be furnished by the several federal states
in proportion to their population. In future the strength of
the army in time of peace shall be fixed by legislation.

Article 61.
After the publication of this constitution the full Prussian
military system of legislation shall be introduced without
delay throughout the Empire, as well the statutes themselves
as the regulations, instructions, and ordinances issued for
their execution, explanation, or completion; thus, in
particular, the military penal code of April 3, 1845; the
military orders of the penal court of April 3, 1845; the
ordinance concerning the courts of honor of July 20, 1843; the
regulations with respect to recruiting, time of service,
matters relating to the service and subsistence, to the
quartering of troops, claims for damages, mobilizing, &c., for
times of peace and war. Orders for the attendance of the
military upon religious services is, however, excluded. When a
uniform organization of the German army shall have been
established, a comprehensive military law for the Empire shall
be submitted to the diet and the federal council for their
action in accordance with the constitution.

Article 62.
For the purpose of defraying the expenses of the whole German
army, and the institutions connected therewith, the sum of 225
(two hundred and twenty-five) thalers, shall be placed at the
disposal of the Emperor until the 31st of December, 1871, for
each man in the army on the peace-footing, according to
article 60. (See section 12.) After the 31st of December,
1871, the payment of these contributions of the several states
to the imperial treasury must be continued: The strength of
the army in time of peace, which has been temporarily fixed in
article 60, shall be taken as a basis for calculating these
amounts until it shall be altered by a law of the Empire. The
expenditure of this sum for the whole army of the Empire and
its establishments shall be determined by a budget law. In
determining the budget of military expenditures, the lawfully
established organization of the imperial army, in accordance
with this constitution, shall be taken as a basis.

Article 63.
The total land force of the Empire shall form one army, which,
in war and in peace, shall be under the command of the
Emperor. The regiments, &c., throughout the whole German army
shall bear continuous numbers. The principal colors and the
cut of the garments of the Royal Prussian army shall serve as
a pattern for the rest of the army. It is left to commanders
of contingent forces to choose the external badges, cockades,
&c. It shall be the duty and the right of the Emperor to take
care that, throughout the German army, all divisions be kept
full and well equipped, and that unity be established and
maintained in regard to organization and formation, equipment,
and command in the training of the men, as well as in the
qualification of the officers. For this purpose the Emperor
shall be authorized to satisfy himself at any time of the
condition of the several contingents, and to provide remedies
for existing defects. The Emperor shall determine the
strength, composition, and division of the contingents of the
imperial army, and also the organization of the militia, and
he shall have the right to designate garrisons within the
territory of the confederation, as also to call any portion of
the army into active service. In order to maintain the
necessary unity in the care, arming, and equipment of all
troops of the German army, all orders hereafter to be issued
for the Prussian army shall be communicated in due form to the
commanders of the remaining contingents by the committee on
the army and fortifications, provided for in article 8, No. 1.

Article 64.
All German troops are bound implicitly to obey the orders of
the Emperor. This obligation shall be included in the oath of
allegiance. The commander-in-chief of a contingent, as well as
all officers commanding troops of more than one contingent,
and all commanders of fortresses, shall be appointed by the
Emperor. The officers appointed by the Emperor shall take the
oath of fealty to him. The appointment of generals, or of
officers performing the duties of generals, in a contingent
force, shall be in each case subject to the approval of the
Emperor. The Emperor has the right with regard to the transfer
of officers, with or without promotion, to positions which are
to be filled in the service of the Empire, be it in the
Prussian army or in other contingents, to select from the
officers of all the contingents of the army of the Empire.

Article 65.
The right to build fortresses within the territory of the
Empire shall belong to the Emperor, who, according to section
12, shall ask for the appropriation of the necessary means
required for that purpose, if not already included in the
regular appropriation.

Article 66.
If not otherwise stipulated, the princes of the Empire and the
senates shall appoint the officers of their respective
contingents, subject to the restriction of article 64. They
are the chiefs of all the troops belonging to their respective
territories, and are entitled to the honors connected
therewith. They shall have especially the right to hold
inspections at any time, and receive, besides the regular
reports and announcements of changes for publication, timely
information of all promotions and appointments concerning
their respective contingents. They shall also have the right
to employ, for police purposes, not only their own troops but
all other contingents of the army of the Empire who are
stationed in their respective territories.

Article 67.
The unexpended portion of the military appropriation shall,
under no circumstances, fall to the share of a single
government, but at all times to the treasury of the Empire.

Article 68.
The Emperor shall have the power, if the public security of
the Empire demands it, to declare martial law in any part
thereof, until the publication of a law regulating the
grounds, the form of announcement, and the effects of such a
declaration, the provisions of the Prussian law of June 4,
1851, shall be substituted therefor. (Laws of 1851, page 451.)

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Addition to section XI.

The provisions contained in this section shall go into effect
in Bavaria as provided for in the treaty of alliance of
November 23, 1870, ( Bundesgesetzblatt, 1871, section 9,)
under III, section 5, in Würtemberg, as provided for in the
military convention of November 21-25, 1870, (
Bundesgesetzblatt, 1870, section 658.)

XII. Finances of the Empire.

Article 69.
All receipts and expenditures of the Empire shall be estimated
yearly, and included in the financial estimate. The latter
shall be fixed by law before the beginning of the fiscal year,
according to the following principles:

Article 70.
The surplus of the previous year, as well as the customs
duties, the common excise duties, and the revenues derived
from the postal and telegraph service, shall be applied to the
defrayal of all general expenditure. In so far as these
expenditures are not covered by the receipts, they shall be
raised, as long as no taxes of the Empire shall have been
established, by assessing the several states of the Empire
according to their population, the amount of the assessment to
be fixed by the Chancellor of the Empire in accordance with
the budget agreed upon.

Article 71.
The general expenditure shall be, as a rule, granted for one
year; they may, however, in special cases, be granted for a
longer period. During the period of transition fixed in
Article 60, the financial estimate, properly classified, of
the expenditures of the army shall be laid before the federal
council and the diet for their information.

Article 72.
An annual report of the expenditure of all the receipts of
the Empire shall be rendered to the federal council and the
diet, through the Chancellor of the Empire.

Article 73.
In cases of extraordinary requirements, a loan may be
contracted in accordance with the laws of the Empire, such
loan to be granted by the Empire.

Addition to section XII.

Articles 69 and 71 apply to the expenditures for the Bavarian
army only according to the provisions of the addition to
section XI of the treaty of November 23, 1870; and article 72
only so far as is required to inform the federal council and
the diet of the assignment to Bavaria of the required sum for
the Bavarian army.

XIII. Settlement of Disputes and Modes of Punishment.

Article 74.
Every attempt against the existence, the integrity, the
security, or the constitution of the German Empire; finally,
any offense committed against the federal council, the diet, a
member of the federal council, or of the diet, a magistrate or
public official of the Empire, while in the execution of his
duty, or with reference to his official position, by word,
writing, printing, signs, or caricatures, shall be judicially
investigated, and upon conviction punished in the several
states of the Empire, according to the laws therein existing,
or which shall hereafter exist in the same, according to which
laws a similar offense against anyone of the states of the
Empire, its constitution, legislature, members of its
legislature, authorities or officials is to be judged.

Article 75.
For those offenses, specified in Article 74, against the
German Empire, which, if committed against one of the states
of the Empire, would be deemed high treason, the superior
court of appeals of the three free Hanseatic towns at Lubeck
shall be the competent deciding tribunal in the first and last
resort. More definite provisions as to the competency and the
proceedings of the superior court of appeals shall be adopted
by the Legislature of the Empire. Until the passage of a law
of the Empire, the existing competency of the courts in the
respective states of the Empire, and the provisions relative
to the proceedings of those courts, shall remain in force.

Article 76.
Disputes between the different states of the confederation, so
far as they are not of a private nature, and therefore to be
decided by the competent authorities, shall be settled by the
federal council, at the request of one of the parties.
Disputes relating to constitutional matters in those of the
states of the confederation whose constitution contains no
provision for the settlement of such differences, shall be
adjusted by the federal council, at the request of one of the
parties, or, if this cannot be done, they shall be settled by
the legislative power of the confederation.

Article 77.
If in one of the states of the confederation justice shall be
denied, and no sufficient relief can be procured by legal
measures, it shall be the duty of the federal council to
receive substantiated complaints concerning denial or
restriction of justice, which are to be judged according to
the constitution and the existing laws of the respective
states of the confederation, and thereupon to obtain judicial
relief from the confederate government in the matter which
shall have given rise to the complaint.

XIV. General Provision.

Amendments of the constitution shall be made by legislative
enactment. They shall be considered as rejected when 14 votes
are cast against them in the federal council. The provisions
of the constitution of the Empire, by which fixed rights of
individual states of the confederation are established in
their relation to the whole, shall only be modified with the
consent of that state of the confederation which is
immediately concerned.

----------CONSTITUTION OF GERMANY: End----------

CONSTITUTION OF JAPAN.

The following text of the Constitution of the Empire of Japan,
promulgated by the Emperor, February 11, 1889, is from a
pamphlet published at Johns Hopkins University on the occasion
of a meeting of professors, students and guests, April 17,
1889, to celebrate its promulgation:

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Having, by virtue of the glories of Our Ancestors, ascended
the throne of a lineal succession unbroken for ages eternal;
desiring to promote the welfare of, and to give development to
the moral and intellectual faculties of Our beloved subjects,
the very same that have been favoured with the benevolent care
and affectionate vigilance of Our Ancestors; and hoping to
maintain the prosperity of the State, in concert with Our
people and with their support, We hereby promulgate, in
pursuance of Our Imperial Rescript of the 14th day of the 10th
month of the 14th year of Meiji, a fundamental law of State,
to exhibit the principles, by which We are to be guided in Our
conduct, and to point out to what Our descendants and Our
subjects and their descendants are forever to conform. The
rights of sovereignty of the State, We have inherited from Our
Ancestors, and We shall bequeath them to Our descendants.
Neither We nor they shall in future fail to wield them, in
accordance with the provisions of the Constitution hereby
granted. We now declare to respect and protect the security of
the rights and of the property of Our people, and to secure to
them the complete enjoyment of the same, within the extent of
the provisions of the present Constitution and of the law. The
Imperial Diet shall first be convoked for the 23d year of
Meiji, and the time of its opening shall be the date, when the
present Constitution comes into force. When in the future it
may become necessary to amend any of the provisions of the
present Constitution, We or Our successors shall assume the
initiative right, and submit a project for the same to the
Imperial Diet. The Imperial Diet shall pass its vote upon it,
according to the conditions imposed by the present
Constitution, and in no otherwise shall Our descendants or Our
subjects be permitted to attempt any alteration thereof. Our
Ministers of State, on Our behalf, shall be held responsible
for the carrying out of the present Constitution, and Our
present and future subjects shall forever assume the duty of
allegiance to the present Constitution. [His Imperial
Majesty's Sign-Manual.] The 11th day of the 2nd month of the
22nd year of Meiji. [Countersigned by Ministers.]