XXXIV 



steam services are amongst the finest in 

 the world, notably the Nippon Yusen 

 Kaisha, which trades foitnightly with 

 London and some European ports, and 

 monthly with Australia, or, rather, did 

 until the present war. Numbers of their 

 young men study at the various univer- 

 sities in Great Britain, America, and 

 the Continent, and those of us who have 

 had the pleasure of their acquaintance 

 know what aceom-pliished, well-bred men 

 they are. In the capital of Tokio, which 

 is one of the largest cities in the world, 

 with a population of nearly 2,000,000, 

 are now to be vseen magnificent build- 

 ings, vieing with those of any capital 

 whatsoever, dedicated to commerce, art, 

 or government. This year the first elec- 

 tric tram service in the country has been, 

 introduced, and permeates Tokio in every 

 direction. Of their courage and know- 

 ledge of the arts of war, I need not speak 

 —the papers do that every day. And in 

 this connection, one must refer to their 

 humanity and their perfect system for 

 the treatment of sick and wounded, 

 equalling, if not surpassing, our OAvn. 

 amongst the nationis. Happy, I think, 

 are we in having formed a compact or 

 treaty with such a nation. Whatever 

 be the immediate result of the present 

 war, and 1 have little doubt as to that 

 reeu'lt, nor have the Japanese themselves, 

 it bids fair to be in its ultimate results 

 the most momentous perhaps that the 

 Avorld has ever seen, for it is the first 

 trial of conclusions worthy of the name 

 between the East and West. What must 

 or may follow must give us pause. On 

 several recent occasions I have heard the 

 sentiment that if the Japanese were suc- 

 cessful they would suffer from what is 

 called with rparticular vulgarity, "swelled 

 head," and would soon make an aggres- 

 sive descent upon these colonia'3. I be- 

 lieve no such thing. They are a people 

 of great modesty, and whatever pride 

 they possess is one to which they are 

 well entitled, and which they have thor- 

 oughly earned. Theirs are the arts of 

 peace and progress, and not of aggression, 

 and on those lin,©^ they desire to proceed 

 unhindered and in quiet. If such dan- 

 ger is in store we must look for it from 

 the adjoining Chinese, when they have 

 cast off their inertia, and feel the 

 strength of their numbers. Have we de- 

 served well of the Japanese?- Look at 

 our recent attitude in Australia towards 

 them, where they have been forbidden to 

 put foot, and have been classed amongst 

 the coloured races, a& unworthy to mix 

 with us. and as the ''yellow peril." They 

 feel such insults keenly, and properly so, 

 too. Often, and with shame, have I 

 heard their remarks on such treatment, 

 and as constantly have rejoined that the 

 lowest and most Ignorant alone utter 



these sentiments, those who have no idea 

 what true democracy is, but who follow 

 its present debased imitation. But 

 what at-rtonished me more than 



all amidst this great nation was 

 their educational system. Throughout 

 the country State schools are dispersed, 

 based largely on our own system; the 

 standards are in use, and wherever prac- 

 ticable English is taught,so that very soon 

 it will be difficult to find individuals who 

 are unable to read at lea«t English. In 

 the bookshops may be found Japanese 

 tn-anslations of the best writers in Latin. 

 Greek. English, French, and German. 

 Plato is side by siide with Plerbert Spen- 

 cer. The Imperial University at Tokio ie 

 a marvel, and I spent portions of thire« or 

 four days there. It compares well with any 

 other Universiity in tho world, though but 

 between 22 or 23 years old in its advanced 

 state. It stands in about 250 aci-es of 

 ground, which once formed the estate of 

 the great Kaga Daimyo. The mansion and 

 grounds have been, as fair as possiible, pre- 

 served in their entirety; the old qua/int 

 gardens, ponds, forest, and other ameni- 

 ties. Thus one can wander a distance in 

 apparent privacy amidst natural beauty, 

 until a cluster of handsome buildings in 

 open S'pace breaks the scene. This passed, 

 the same condition again recurs — firesh 

 beauty and other clusters. Thus are, in 

 a measure, shut off from one an- 

 other the various faculties or departments 

 of law, medicine, engineering, mining, 

 literature, etc. Special buildings are set 

 apart foa* commerce, botany, zoology, geo- 

 logy, ethnology, bacteriology, seismology, 

 and other ologies. The library is a mag- 

 nificent building, with every facility for 

 study, and numbers more than half a 

 million volumes, amongst them being sets 

 of our own Australasian scientific trans- 

 actions. Yet the authors of these great 

 deeds must not sully Australian soil! Oh, 

 shame! You may notice that the only 

 ology not in the list is theology, and this 

 fact gives food fotr a curious speculation. 

 The original Shinto religion, which was 

 some years ago reinstated as what we may 

 call the Esitablished Church, was super- 

 seded 1,400 years ago by Buddhism, which 

 was introduced 5rom China by way of 

 Korea. Since that time, with varying suc- 

 cess, the two creeds have flourished side 

 by iside. and still have a strong hold on 

 tSie people, though not so much on the 

 more educated class. These, gathering 

 the best from all nations with whom they 

 come in contact, here draw a line, and 

 many have adopted Agnoticism as their- 

 type of faith, or want of it. They are 

 compounded not merely by the multi- 

 plicity of our sects, for these exist in a-s 

 great numbers in Buddhism, but by the 

 wide differences between Protestantism 

 and Eomanism,and by the still wider and 



