THE AVERAGE CITIZEN THIRSTS FOR KNOWLEDGE. JAPAN : ASPECTS AND DESTINIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2654, 25 January 1905, Page 77

THE AVERAGE CITIZEN THIRSTS FOR KNOWLEDGE.

JAPAN : ASPECTS AND DESTINIES.

HERE ARE THERAPEUTIC FACTS.

" Were you under medical treatment?** " You may be sure I w*s. and the doctors said my liver and kidneys were diseased, ' and that, my system was completely --run down. They were very «ttentiv« to rhj - oase, but beyond a little ease now and then I did not benefit by their medicines, »nd itlooked as though 1 would have to suffer to ' the end of my days. Such was the hopeless conviction that east a gloom over my mind; -j^hich made my existence all the mora wretched ; yet iv spite of my desperation I could nob help thinking, as I read about Clements Tonic one day, that there may still he hope for me." "Did you give that medicine a trial?" " I thank God that I did, for without i\ Ido not know what I would have dono. It is quite certain that I would have fared very badly, because none of my other medicines could do what Clemen ti Tonic did, and I honestly tall you that my salvation ia due to that wonderful remedy. People who had seen me . so terribly emaciated .and drann scarcely knew me when I had been taking Clements Tonic a few weoks. They said I looked twice the woman I had been, aud that they had never seen such an extraordinary improvement in all their- lives. But it was myself who- had good reason to be surprised, for I felt just aa well as people said I looked. Never before in my life had I experienced such earnest feelings of thankfulness aa I did whilst Clements Tonic was doing its work, as each week I felt that I was approaching nearer aud nearer to the health that I had so long lost, ft Unlike tb» medicines I had taken before, - Clemeatg Tonic did not cas» me a little one day and . thea do ao good the next, but it kept on relieving my paint from start to finish. Thos» between my shoulders and across my loins vanished by degrees, and the head- , aohea which had tortured me weirs soonT oufe of existence. ■ &. lightness of heart thai I htd never thought of again acquiring ami tom e, as I noticed the gr&nd effect Clements " Tonic had upou my nervous system, for the groundless fears that used to worry 'me died way, aud I could sleep in peace the whole night through. Another thing that pleased me^wns to hnd that I was now digesting my food, and it was indeed a great blessing to be able to enjoy my meals , and have no thought of after consequences, auch as flatulence aud the like, and a great load was lifted from my mind when my he*rt ceased to give me anxious moment!, for Clements Tonic actually had a regulating and stimulating effect upon that organ. The stronger I grew the lesß troublesome 1 my cough became, and finally it left me altogether ; and as each of my bodily pains had Been removed, and I was feeling as gay as a lark, I only required to take a little more Clements Tonic to make my recovery perfect, and then I was completely cured." "Such a record ought to be widely known." " Of course it should, and you may pub* lisli my story in any way you think beat." STATUTORY DECLARATION. I, Louisa Aubusta Parkkrson-, of 117 Atbol Place, Dmiedin, in th« Co'.otiy of New Zealand, do solemnly aud sincerely declare that I have carefully read th« annexed document, consisting of three folios, and consecutively numbered from one to three, and that It contains and is a .true and faithful account ol my illness and cure by Clements "Tonic, and also contains my full permission te publish in any way my statatnents— which I gjive voluntaiily, without receiving tny payment; and I make this solemn declaration conscientiously believing; the same to be true, and by nrtue of the provisions et an Act ol tha General Assembly of New Zealand, intbuled t'Tbf Justices of Ptace Act, ISS'2."

Declared at Dunedin thie ttvelftii day of Ms rah, CBC thousand ume hUndrtd and three, before ms, WM. D. HANLON, J^.

- —The fact that a fire burns brighter in winter than in summer is due to the intoreased amount of oxygen in the air. The fire of life burns brighter when supplied Srith an extra amount of fuel-^xygen. Cold »ir, always supposing that it is as pure as iaan possibly be obtained', aids in the elimination of all the poisonous matter* which are Tdonstantly forming in the human body -JWhen the fuel requisite for this purpose Ss supplied in an insufficient quantity, then jnuoh of the waste and poisonous matter " 5s left behind in the body, where it cannot So good, ■ and may probably do a great "iamount of harm. Trials and experiments •hfrye shown that fully otoe-half of the Jjatienfcs suffering from lung diseases, and ja much, greater proportion in oases of patients suffering from consumption in the earlier stages, make a satisfactory recovery »ftec undergoing the outdoor cure.

— The fascination of diving is no doubt great, although it is difficult to parallel the caso of a female- diver of 30 years ago. T&is woman acquired the art from her husband, who was a diver in th© Santa Barbara pearl fisheries, and when the man was suffocated in his diving armour his wife courageously took his place. She used to say tihat there is a. fascination about the diving business which is stronger than all its dangers, and tikis fascination acted powerfully upon he-r. She was able to remain down as long: as any of the Kten Onoe she was almost suffoQa-ted through a break in the air supply, and when she was ctraggedi to the surface her face was black and stained with blood, which had started even from her eye-sockets. But she only missed two days' work, and then resunaeu hey strange callinfi*.

By W. Petbie Wxtsox.

London: Grant Richards, 1904.

(Revtfwed by E Hodgkixsox.)

This book, completed just before the outbreak of the present conflict, is one of the most notable that have of recent years been written on the unique Eastern nation that has isAelj entered the theatre of world politics. The author writes with a fuller acquaintance of things Japanese I than that carried a,way by the mere visitor ' who makes a tour of a few weeks or months' duration, and straightway writes a book on Japan ; and he is not carried away by the enthusiasm that usually possesses the passing visitor, particularly if he be of an artistic temperament. Of the artistic side of Japan, Mr Watson, recognising that it has received more than its due proportion of attention, has little to say. Be deals with — The Social, Economic, and Political Aspects of Japan. — The writer's style is at -the same time fascinating and repellent. There is not a dull page, scarcely a commonplace sentence, in the book. It is magnificent journalese ; but the reader who wishes to understand Japan would prefer less paradox and more philosophy ; fewer epigrams and more information. To be sure, Mr Watson begins by assuring such a reader of the hopelessness of his wish. No European understands Japan. There is an impassable gulf fixed between, the minds of the East and the West. -An Englishman who has been six weeks in Japan thinks he knows everything. In six months he begins to doubt ; in six years he is sure of nothing. "Has anybody lived twenty years in Japan and written a book about it?" Mr Watson quotes the saying "All understanding comes to us through love," saying that "leve" ;s; s his plea for writing on Japan ; but, instead of understanding, he confesses nescience. The love, however, is not very apparent. Mr Watson writes like a cool, somewhat cynical, observer, and deals with Japanese imitation of European institutions in a vein of airy banter. Perhaps more sympathy is essential to understanding a nation than an individual. But* this detachment and scepticism enhance the value of the moderate praise that he does accord. He is struck, as is natural, by the strange mingling of old customs and beliefs with the newly-adopted Western methods, also apparently surprised, which is not so natural. Japan "is Orientalism and the Middle Ages jostling the Twentieth Century and England ; a medley, a revohrfaon, a convulsion in being, the- evolution of man in a generation. It ii inspiring; sometimes it is irritating. It is always interesting, or should be, for there has been no spectacle on earth like it since time began." The writer finds that the aptitude of the Japanese for modern methods of manufacture has been much overrated. According to him, the Japanese mechanic does not know how to treat European tools or machinery. He leads one to believe that j everything of Japanese manufacture, from j a lamp-glass to a railway rail, is flimsy j ar>d given to breaking or coining to pieces ! on the least provocation. But we do not ; liei-di to go to Japm to find scamp work j And the war tells a different story. We j hear nothing of inefficient arms nor of j shoddy clothing in the Japanese army, j Like many other writers, Mr Watson finds i fault with the commercial morality of the Japanese. He accounts for it by saying , that the Japanese merchant 'does not know the sanctity of his bond, because his father beforehand did not know the sane- j tity of his. The trading class of old romantic feudal Japan never had much of a conscience, for they were not thought fit to be> trusted with anything so gentlemanly, and they themselves believed that it was much too good for them. (In old Japan the trading class ranked lowest, below the military class, the farmers, and the artisans.) By-and-bye they may learn that honesty is the best policy." In his comments on the working of — Japan's Newly-inaugurated System of Representative Government — the author is more sarcastic than reasonable. We do not need to be told that Japan is yet in hey constitutional infancy, nor do we find it surprising that Japan "has not achieved in one decade or two that which we Westerns have barely accomplished in five centuries." That there are less than a million voters in a population of 45,000,000 surely shows the. wisdom of the framers of the Japanese Constitution, who knew better than to make universal a privilege that the masses were quite unprepared to exercise. As the people become educated to the use of itolitical rights, these will be extended. :*art of the character of a Japanese politician by a Japanese critic, "Possibly atrabilious," might apply to many a New Zealand politician: — "The majority of Japanese politicians are insufficiently educated. Some are scarcely capable of understanding the purport of bills introduced in the Diet. The majority are poor. They are not men of the character to carve out 'a position for themselves in the world, nor are they content with the prizes of petty officialdom. They therefore take to I'olitics in prospect of a good reward with a minimum of labour. Their game is intrigue a>nd chicanery, and the business of the State suffers accordingly." Self-satis-faction means stagnation, hence it speaks well for the future of Japan that some, at all events, of her citizens are by no itteans self complacent nor satisfied with the result of political reform in its present stage. Mr Watson's hope for the future ot Japan lies in the character of ncr leading nien. "Thai which Japan has till now accomplished in politics has been accomplished by men, not by institutions." "The outsider, desiring to apprehend the phenomenon known as Modern Japan, will fenoouut-er the facts,, one of which is that

Japan, modern history is chiefly the patriotism, the enlightenment, the original genius, the trained intellect and the splendid self-sacrifice ot a group of leading men." "These men — Marquis Ito, Marquis Yamagata, Count Inouye, and the. rest of them— have no parallel types among the statesmen of the civilised world." The Japanese Government is in effect an oligarchy, though "it acknowledges an obligation to clothe its magnificent achievements in a cloak of Imperial purple." But t.]je Japanese leaders are not of a different ' race from the people, and that the nation 1 can produce such men and be responsive to their guidance seems to assure the future d&stiny of Japan, in spite of the . fact that transplanted representative government does not work quite as. smoothly ! as it may do in the land of its growth, and that' political morality is at about ' the same stage it had readied in England in the clays of Walpole. "Japanese politics have reached finality in nothing." Surely it is somewhat ea.rly in the day to expect that they should have! But the writer is moved to admiration at the self -sacrifice shown br the "Daimios," — The Feudal Aristocracy of Old Japan, — ; in the days when the nation decided to leform herself in accordance with Western ideals. ''The Japanese aristocracy died 30 years ago by its own hand, for which it should be forever remembered, by Japan and the world. There is no greatev act in history. I firmly believe, that the selfimmolation of the Japanese aristocracy 30 odd years ago. It was necessary, but it was 7io less noble. It was complete. They gave themselves to be pensioners ; they consented to imprisonment ; to be private gentlemen in the suburbs of Tokio, who had i administered the power of life and! death ia moated 1 castles set in the midst of. failprovinces. Out of their death sprang the mew life of Japan." This comes well after the sarcastic picture of the Japanese .Parliament. "Marquis Ito tells us that his coimtry is in its constitutional swaddling clothes. He would have it learn the alphabet of liberty. And to think that it might have been giving us the religion !" How in the name of re-ason could we expect that Japan should arise from the condition in which England was six centuries ago, and set up a liberal Constitution which should be a model to Etirope? The "religion" of patriotism and self sacrifice is shown us in the preceding quotation. The chapter headed "Mirabeau and Rousseau" — i.e., Ito and Oyama, gives very graphic pen portraits of these two great leaders — one the mind, the other the soul of the revolution. The account of the Japanese High School girl is novel and significant. The Women's Rights question will soon be a living one in Japan. Mr Watson thinks that — Japanese Scenery has been Underrated. — • '"The country is graceful, smiling, neat, small, sentimental, quaint ; but it is likewise a giant armed with terrors, a god familiar with the sublime, wearing the robes of his divinity, his awful front garlanded with clouds." The tinted photograph and native art give no adequate idea of Japan's grandeur. Perhaps we have made the same mistake about the people and the land that has given them birth. Mr Watson finds that colonials are not disposed^ to take Japan seriously. To the Australian Japan means "coloured labour." '"Yah ! yah !" said a member of an Australian Cabinet to me, as our launch jibbed in a steamer's wash in Sydney Harbour, "Japan is coloured labour, and that's the whole of it. 'Enry, tell the boys to come aft, and we'll sing the Australian Anthem for this gentleman from Japan." And they sang it, or rather he bellowed it. "New Zealand has heard that Japan is a very pretty country, and quaint, isn't it? But itjean't b& anything so fine as our Rotorua country or the Wanganui River. Oh, you can't see the country without seeing them. You'll make a great mistake if you do. And there's the Southern Alps and the Otira Gorge when you go to the South Island." Speaking of — The Anglo-Japanese Alliance, — Mr Watson says : "What does it mean if uot that we have recognised the success up to the present of an unparalleled experiment. The rest of the world says, "Asia, all Asia, is hopeless, doomed." We syy, scarcely knowing it perhaps, 'There is no such continent as Asia; there is only civilisation and the honest endeavour of nations to realise thie ideals of civilisation.' Japan is the last hope of Asia. Japan falls, and Asia, the World, lies at the feet of Europe; but it is a world of vipers scotched, waiting the decline of the European Age, with a baneful eye of cumulative vengeance. Japan lives, the Revolution prospers, obtains universal credence and universal recognition— and there is hope of a constructive, final peace 'twixt Asia and Europe, 'twixt Europe and the world Crush Japan, and you crush the last hope of this peace The final world content must bz -based on world toleration. The destruction—which could not be the distraction— of Japan by Europe, not her recognition and admission, is the true and only Yellow f. c " 1 f or Europe. • ■ I like to think also that the Alliance is sponsor to a great ethical experiment. Why not? Europe is near two thousand years old in the use of governments which at least pretend to find inspiration, direction, nay, even authority, m the^ canons of ajevealed theology. Some say Europe is a success by reason of its reception, admission, profession, of this revealed theology. Some say not. There is at least an element of doubt in the matter, and, anyhow, cur systems are often, by universal admission, a" hideous mockery of the theology we accept as revealed". Here, however, is a State that professes only reason, a State that glories in its stoic acceptance of the dread verdicts of unaided, uninspired reason. May we not, then, keep a space clear, so to speak, for this great ethieo-political experiment? There are other tbing-5 that oxm- recognition of the Revoluiion may mean besides a curb upon Russian, agorandisenientii in, the Fay East. The

Alliance has other import than the strictly political." Even as regards the political import only the Alliance has inspiring significance. England and Japan are natural uljies against the encroachments of Russia, and on the final day of reckoning the meeting of the Farthest West and Farthest East "shall be a token oi the final understanding and peace of Europe and Asia, when together shall hare brought China iind Asia to light and to life."'