TOUR OF THE EAST.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19197, 13 June 1924, Page 3

TOUR OF THE EAST.

NEW ZEALANDER'S IMPRESSIONS. INTERNATIONAL QUESTIONS. JAPAN’S RECUPERATIVE POWERS. IFeom Ou.b Own Correspondent.) AUCKLAND, June 11. Acute observation, combined with readiness to apply what ho has seen to the international question in t-ho Pacific is marked in the impressions which Mr John. Alexander, ex-president of the Auckland Law Society, has gathered during his recent tour in tire Far Fast, eiuoiacing Thursday Island, Borneo, the Philippines, Hongkong, Japan, Singapore and Java. His observations in the Philippines and Japan are of special interest at the present time in view of the Japanese exclusion and the Singapore base issues. “At Yokohama,” he said, “wo saw some of the entrance forts which the earthquake had destroyed, but wo also saw some of the immense hurried efforts to repair and recreate which are being put forth by this ambitious and indomitable race. Our ship became one of over 100 steamers lying in the harbour of this port waiting for wharfage or lighterage accommodation. Great was the damage caused bv the earthquake and the fire, but almost more marvellous is the reconstruction ivurk already effected by this wonderful people. Japan possesses wonderful recuperative powers. Her people appear to have a great national spirit as well as personal courage, and although Tokio and itotohania have severely suffered it must not be forgotten that *oniy a small area of country was affected by the earthquake. Kobe is now a bigger port than YokoKama ever was. Many great cities such as Kagoya, Kyoto and Osaka, have not been in any way affected. Many great factories, also, including those which surrounded and in some cases are upon the islands in the inland sea, are all intact, and it is only a small part of one of the islands of this empire of 70,000,000 people tliat has been destroyed. 1 have heard various people say, both hero and in Australia, that the earthquake has put Japan back 60 years. This is held ny tlio foreign residents of Japan to bo absurd, and when one thinks for a moment of the strides that Japan has made in the 70 years since she first became open to the western world, the fallacy of such a statement is evident. This nation of clever and ambitious people must not be under-rated. “The question of the American Exclusion Bill had not reached an acute stage when we were in Japan, but the matter which was much talked of was the Simr - poro base. The Japanese were highly delighted over the abandonment, but all ° the foreigners took a contrary view, and were emphatic in their opinions on the subject. At Win gap wo made a short stay. It is often referred to as the ‘Gibraltar of the East,’ and at one time it no doubt was proportionately well fortified, but what were suitable defences a few years ago cannot now be relied on. “It was not only in Singapore but in other parts of the East that we found the thinkers were perturbed. Various people, when they found we came from New Zealand, wanted to know what we were going to do about it. IT.ey told us that it was just as important to us as to Britishers in the East, and several of them said that there was no proper English air force in the East. One angry man said that many of the politicians in England appeared to be so busy in trying to get or hold office that they had no time to see to the real and important matters in the East. Another hoped that Lord Jcllicoe would be 1 sent out to one of the F”nr Eastern posts £nd given a free hand a free purse. “We called on our homeward way- at Port Darwin, and saw that isolated town of a few houses and an enormous, but at present idle, meat works. Having come from the over-populated countries of the East. Australia seemed to us to be even emptier and more lonely than we had thought before.”