People Talked About

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXXIII, Issue XXIV, 10 December 1904, Page 2

People Talked About

Campaigning With General Kuropatkin. Mr Douglas Story, the first war correspondent to be attached to the Russian army, and the first to reach the scene of operations in Manchuria, has been lecturing in England on the war. The lecturer gave it as his opinion that when Kuropatkin first took command he had not more than 80,000 troops east of Lake Baikal. It was a remarkable parallel, he thought, with the position of the British in South Africa in 1889.

General Kuropatkin, at the commencement of the war, stated that at the end of the first month people would say he was inactive, in the second month they would say he was incapable, in the third month that he was a traitor, and at the end of six months —nous verrons. They were at the end of six months, and every one of them was looking and watching and wondering what Kuropatkin was going to do. Personally, Mr Story was impressed with the enormous resources of Russia. He spoke with knowledge, having twice

passed through Russia, Siberia and Manchuria, and he was of opinion that the resources of Russia up to the present had not been demonstrated to the world, and that the world was going to stand marvellously amazed at what Russia could do, and what Russia would do within a very few weeks. The war had not yet finished; it had hardly yet begun, and if it was to depend upon the armies at the front it must last some two or three years. He met General Kuropatkin first at Liao-yang. Kuropatkin was a hard worker, who person-

ally kept control of every detail of his army. He welcomed every reinforcement, personally superintended the hospitals and every section of the army passing through his headquarters. He was a man to whom his own immediate staff was devotedly attached, and a man who had commanded the respect of every military attache who had gone to the front. Of Admiral Alexieff" he wished to say that he was a man who possessed the absolute love and devotion of every member of his personal staff. Mr Story was not blind to the things

that were said to have occurred between Admiral Alexieff and General Kuropatkin. He was not blind to the amount of responsibility which was thrust upon Admiral AlexiefTs shoulders with regard to the present war: but he personally knew of innumerable instances of his great tact in dealing with the very difficult position he occupied as Viceroy of the Far East. Of other men on the Russian side he had a little to say, especially of Count Keller, the modern Skobeleff, who died with his face to the foe and 37 wounds in his body. « ft ft » ft The New Japan. In 1881, some years after the restoration of the Mikado to power, the ministers of two of the four leading clans — those of Tosa and Hizen—resigned their offices on the Korean question. From these dissatisfied elements sprang two great political parties, the Liberal, founded by Count itagaki of Tosa, and the Progressive, led by Count Okuma, of the clan of Hizen. Count Okuma has written an article on “The New Japan,” of which the following translation appeared in “The Monthly Review:” — “It is fifty years since Japan was awakened from the dream of two centuries and a half, and her door turned slowly on its hinges, which creaked with the rust of these long weary years. How it chanced that a country which received its ancient art, literature, religion, and civilisation from China through Korea, a country which until thirty-seven years ago had a mediaeval form of feudalism for its social basis, a country which until then was only known for its hara kiri and its two-sworded Samurai, should within such a short space of time become a seat of liberty and civilisation in the Orient, the object of admiration and envy not only of the Asiatic countries, but also of some of the Western countries, is one of the most perplexing problems in the history of the world. But the fact is very ciear. From time immemorial, though we strove hard to preserve the national characteristics of oUr own race, we were always disposed to mingle with other races. The “Yamato Minyoku,” as we proudly call our race, is an agglomeration of several tribes, or races, which came from the West and the South and the North. Moreover, our national character had always within itself the germs of liberalism, and therefore was never governed by a set of narrow national ideas, condemning the customs, laws, religion, and literature of other nations, which, if they were good, we soon adopted and assimilated with our own.

It may be asked, how was it, then, that we turned out the Portuguese missionaries and persecuted and massacred all the native Christians, and closed our door to Western intercourse for over two Centuries? The answer to this question is very simple. Although the object of the pioneer of the mission, St. Francis Xavier, was to preach the gospel of Christ, that of those who followed him was by no means to spread the doctrine of Christianity, but to absorb our country by a series of most treacherous intrigues. However well disposed we were towards them at first, however willing we were to iisten to things consonant to nature and reason, we could not tolerate that foreign intriguers should appropriate even an inch of our territory, and hence the wholesale massacre and expulsion. Nations who are not disposed to come into contact with other forms of civilisation, like the Chinese and Koreans, can never become great and prosper. Our people, as I have mentioned before, being composed of several races and tribes, have no prejudice or antipathy against a civilisation foreign to their own. but are always willing to import all those outside influences which are new and beneficial to them. When centuries ago the Koreans, whose guardians and protectors we now are, brought to us the religion, customs, laws, literature and arts of China we eagerly adopted them, and soon shaped them as would suit our national characteristics and aptitudes, both Buddhism and Confucianism especially being speedily assimilated with Shintoism. Thus, during the many centuries which have elapsed since the introduction of Buddhism and Confucianism htere has never been a conflict between them and Shintoism. All of them have been interpreted and taught in such a way as would not be prejudicial to our past traditions and future prosperity. Had the Portuguese missionaries con-

fined their energy to religious enterprises only Japan would easily have been transformed into a Christian country, with a sect of her own; for a few years’ exertion by Xavier and his followers succeeded in making more than a million converts, including several of the feudal lords and their retainers—a most wonderful achievement when we take into consideration the population of the country in those days. When we remember that in Europe, in mediaeval ages, religious conflicts were of frequent occurrence, and often were the causes of great and destructive wars and dynastic struggles, tl •» absolute freedom with which foreign religions were allowed to establish themselves in this country becomes more evident. When St. Francis Xavier came to the “Land of Sunrise,” Buddhism was the prevailing religion, and had a very strong hold upon the people. But the pioneers of the Portuguese mission had

not only absolute immunity from persecution or interference, but their religion was eagerly taken up by every class of the population. The best evidence of this is given by no less an authority than Xavier himself, in the following letter which he wrote to the Christian Society at Goa in the year 1550. “The nation.” writes lie, “with which we have to deal here surpasses in goodness any of the nations ever discovered. They are of a kindly disposition, wonderfully desirous of honour, which is placed above everything else. They listen with great avid ity to discourse about God and divine things. Tn the native place of Paul (ft Japanese convert named Anjiro) they received ns very kindly, the governor, the

chief citizens, and, indeed, the whole populace. Give thanks to God, therefore, that a very wide and promising field is opened to you for your well-roused piety to spend its energies in.” And this letter was written at a time when a great religious schism was taking place in Europe, and Christian England was persecuting in a most pitiless way a sect of her own religion. A nation which had been entirely given over to the influences of Buddhism welcoming n Christian mission in such a hearty manner looks at first sight as wonderful and perplexing as our progress during the last thirty years. But it must be remembered that from the earliest time, living in an island country, we had been free from that sort of foreign voke and oppression which every nation has more or less to endure in turn. No foreign invaders had ever conquered or enslaved

our land. True, centuries ago. our shores were occasionally menaced, and the island of Kiushiu. being exposed to piratical attacks, was made the object of pillage, and the frequent attacks of foreign adventurers finally led the Emperor Jingo (excuse the word, O reader, for the word simply means “Divine Success”) to make an expedition to Korea and conquer the peninsula. Later the famous Chinese conqueror, Khahlai Khan, with a magnificent fleet of galleys came to our shores, only to meet with the* same fate ns the Spanish Armada. Then again in 1592. the great warrior Hideyoshi tried to subdue Korea; but owing to his untimely death the great scheme had to be abandoned.

and his conquering army was recalled. A nation which possesses a written history of 2500 years, and which has never had to endure any humiliation at the hands of foreign invaders, would naturally have uo prejudice against other nations, and consequently our nationalism has no narrow selfish meaning. Although the plots of the Portuguese missionaries had a sad effect upon the people for two centuries, when Commander Perry came to Uraga fifty years ago. and by his friendly action showed us that every nation was not like the Portuguese intriguers, and when we came to realise that in a state of isolation no civilised existence is possible, we at once opened our door to the outside world and were admitted into the comity of nations.

The second opening of our land to foreign intercourse, instead of rousing a feeling of hostility towards other na-

tions as in China, served to enhance the feeling of friendship. But at the same time, having lived in peace for over twenty-five centuries, it is natural we should wish that no aggressive nation should disturb the peace of the Far East, and threaten the existence of our country. The China-Japan war was the outcome of the feeling that, Korea under the suzerainty of China was a constant menace to the future prosperity of our Empire. The same feeling is the cause of the present war. for Korea in the possession of Russia means the loss of our national independence. How patient we were during the protracted and tedious negotiations with Russia all the World know-s.