THE FAR EAST.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 77, 24 December 1907, Page 9

THE FAR EAST.

NEW ZEALAND'S OPPORTUNITY. '. ~(FKOSr OUE SPECIAL COIIRESrONDENT.) ... Hongkong, November 29. After a residence of a few months in the i'ar East one cannot but be struck by the general ignorance that exists in regard to both Australia and Now Zealand. A little is dono by tho Stato commercial agents in advertising Australia as a commercial centre but New. Zealand is quito neglected. Tho world's tourist.traffic passes through tho Far East, yet nothing is dono to divort it, or at least a portion of it, to tho south. The writer has personally interested some six lioliday-makers sufficiently in Australia to causo them to alter their original plans and decide to visit tho Southern Hemisphere. A system of wise advertising would result in tho attraction of many wealthy visitors to tho south. Both the Commonwealth and the Dominion loso through having no head office in .tho Ear' East I —some place where inquiry could bo made by any person desiring information about either country. Tho south is a natural health resort for the Easterner, yet at present most of them spend in England or America the six or twolvo months' leave that is granted to thorn. after a few yoars' service. No views of tho beauty spots' of the south are on view..anywhere, though those of America, Canada, and Japan aro plentiful onough to catch the oyo of every tourist, or prospective tourist.- Tho round-the-world pasengers who pass through the Far East eiich year must total many thousands, and this tourist traffic is well worth attracting. ' ■ CHINESE PIRATES. Piracy is very prevalent on tho Chinese coast, and their capture of-Chinese junks is almost a weekly occurrence. A recent piracy resulted in a. curious ■ legal action in Hongkong. The case was tried this week, and arose out of a piracy in Chinese waters. Tho. pirates lauded the. crew, and brought thoV-junk to Hongkong and sold it. Then tho original ownor brought an action against the purchaser for tho recovory of tho junk. The puisne judge, Mr. Gompertz, •in giving his doeision,said the defence was market overt. The rules of markot overt were based upon the custom of England, and did not apply, in Scotland or in' America. They bad been adopted in somo States of the Commonwealth of Australia, but had. never apparently been adopted in Now South Wales. Ho found that the dofendant bought tho junk in good faith, -and without, noticb of any; defect or want of title, , and therefore gave a verdict for him with costs. Yet His Honour admitted that the plaintiff had established that the. junk, the subject of the claim, was tho one he had. boon forcibly deprived of by tho pirates! ' ..■:.:•" JAPAN AND CHINA. .'' ■ As stated in my last letter, thero is a dispute between China and Japan over tho boundary of China and Korea'. Japanese ti'oops have'been sent to Chien-tao (Kanto) ostensibly for tho protection of Koreans; The Peking Government has a very shrewd idea that the anxiety of Japan is really duo to her desire to. occupy the rogion which commands the easiest approacii from tho ■southward to,the valley of the Sungari; The' reasons, that weigh with Japan aro : purely military. The Chinese Government seems determined to code nothing, ! and tho Japaneso Government, by establishing , a post office arid a branch of the Residency-General in tho disputed ■ territory, indicated that they, ton,: aro disinclined to givo way. Tho quarrel hinges, on the meaning of tho Chineso 'characters' upon two sets .of stones.. These different sets of stories mark the boundary lino between China and' Korea T-or, at'least,, biio set does. Tho Chineso' Government hold that .tho'.southern' stones' mark tho boundary, while 'the Japanese Govprnmont say the northernmost stones indicate the demarcation lino. That tho fato of Ka'nto is an important incident iri tho Far East is generally recognised. . ."'..

.'...•' JAPAN'S TACTION.- : : i ■ Japan is being cm-sod with 'an answered prayer in finding herself a first-clas3 Power. The existing taxes constitute a war taxation which tho . Diet has moro. than once prbrnised to reduc6 : , is.\'c6rtain that thero will bo anjiic'reasp in! most taxes'this year.' It is. oxpocted' that tho cxpendituro will show! an increase of 20,000,000 yen. As a consoquenco of .these .additional burdens the Japaneso is commencing to aslc'whptlier. ho is not paying 'too highly for tho honour of being calleij a first-class Power;' In tho old happy-going days he had no need to maintain! a fleet of 300,000 tons, and an army of 350,000 troops. ■To-flay tho. nation is being called upon. to build:'ship after ship, and create division' after division of troops. While, tho peoplo groan under the'taxation Japan's every action is watched with suspicion by tho other great Powers. Tho cost of living is steadily rising,- and' as his taxes keep on increasing the'.Jap will assuredly ask whether tho limit of sacrifice .that.can reasonably' be paid for tho maintenance of national power is not rapidly being reached. Tho now reorganisation of tho Japanese army means that it will be increased from its former peace strength by nearly 50 per cent. .. , TRADE MARK PIRACY. ' ,Gross ...infringement' of trade marks continue'to bo reported from Japan. .The Japaneso Courts declino to regard as an infringement anything but an exact copy of the .registered trade mark—a position, that gives.the pirato,trader grand, opportunities. As an example of his methods', the following is typical: A close scrutiny of. a brand 1 of lead pencils jiow on tho. market of the East' will reveal that they bear the wording EAGLE No: 2, TALE PENCIL CO , NI'.IORK." Of course,vthe.intention in substituting the letter " F." for that of ''E" in the .word is plain, but whether tho Eagle Pencil Co. will, in view of recent decisions' tako any further actibn is a doubtful matter.' fins -wholesale piracy of'trado marks seems to call for a strong protest, and a demand that :.tho provisions of the Treaty ill this regard be properly respected.

REVOLUTIONARIES AS LAW-MAKERS.

It is provided in tho new-system of responsiblo,government for the Philippines that the islands shall 'have two resident commissioners in the United States. They have a voico in Congress, but no voting power. By a majority of 42 votes Pablo ■ Ocampo has been elected to represent tho Phillipine Assembly and Commissioner Beniyo Legarda is to be sent (as the Philippino Commission's rppresentativG at Washington. Both Senor■ Logarda and Senor Ocainpo wero members of tho Jlalolos Congress under the Filipino Revolutionary Governmcrit of 1898-1899. Senor Legarda was tho Vice-Prcsident of the Congress. Sonor Ocampo is a graduate of the University of Santo Tomas, and is an eminent lawyer. Ho was sent, while secretary, of the Malolos Congress, by Aguinaldp to make overtures for peace soon after tho outbreak of the revolution agaiiist' the United States. Ho was also one of tho, Filipinos deported by General M'Arthur as irreconcilablcs, and was'sent to Guam, where ho remained about two years. Signor Gregorio Arneta is likely to take Senor Logarda's seat in'the Commission. Senor Aniota is at present,Attorney-General of tho Philippines.-

. A LONG-DEFERRED BEQUEST. : . One of tho vexed questions America had to sottlo in ;the Philippines was tho title to a vast amount of property claimed by various religious orders thero. After somo timo a committee was appointed, and an amicablo allotment agreed to. Thus has been settled at least ono very old bequest—that of Governor Figuoroa, made in 1810, in connection with tho Cologio San Joso. This college was founded in 150. , ) under the reign of Phi.lij> of Spain. In 1810 Governor 'Figiicroa boquiatftcd a considerable sum of money to the'school, and stipulated that tho school should bo taken over by tho Jesuits in 17(57. With tho expulsion of tho Order tho institution was taken possession of by representatives of tho Spanish Crown. Against that action the then Archbishop of Alunilla niado a strong protest. In 1870, by ordor of tho King, the management of tho school was entrusted to the Order of Dominican Friars, who subsequently established there u collogo of medicine. The college has now been handed over to tho Jesuits, and tho institution, pneo tho objoct of famous contentions between State and Church,- now goes to the control of tho latter, . and tho wish of Governor Figueroa has materialised almost L two.hundred years after his death.