98 



NA TURE 



[December i, 1904 



rather than practical demonstrations of tlie same. In 

 Japan a crowd will halt before a straw rope on which 

 flutters a tiny paper notice. In Europe police and 

 truncheons might be required. The good manners of 

 the East are hardly so superficial as popularly 

 imagined. They are the outcome of their philosophy 

 emphasised by special training, the end of which is 

 " to cultivate your mind that even when you are quietly 

 seated not the roughest ruffian can dare make an attack 

 on your person. " 



The higher secondary schools are preparatory to the 

 universities, the objects of which are to teach " such 

 arts and sciences as are required for purposes of the 

 State." To each is attached a university hall, which 

 is established for purposes of original research. In 

 the si.x colleges forming the university the professors 

 and assistants number 245, and the students 3121. 

 The entrance fee is 2 yen, and the annual tuition fee 

 is 25 yen (i yen = 2x.). For those who cannot proceed 

 to the universities, industrial, agricultural, commercial, 

 and other technical schools have been established. In 

 1902 there were 845 such schools, attended by 55,596 

 scholars. The expenditure on these in 1902 was 

 2.739.297 yen, of which 285,253 yen was State aid. 

 The total annual expenditure by the Government in 

 connection with the educational department is roughly 

 six million yen (6oo,oooZ.). 



In addition to the schools mentioned, Japan has its 

 naval, military, art, and music schools. Over and 

 above these, again, we find educations in departments 

 of life which in Europe have received but little atten- 

 tion. Chess, or rather "go" clubs are common 

 throughout the country, and for proficiency in the game 

 certificates are awarded. Certificates can also be 

 obtained in the art of flower arrangement, an art which 

 has its terminology and canons, but which in Europe 

 finds its perfection in "studied negligence." 



In connection with education,' a point which Dr. 

 Dyer has not emphasised, but which is in strict accord- 

 ance with the imperial edict of 1868, is that the 

 Government keeps up a stream of its best educated 

 men flowing round the world, each being a specialist, 

 visiting countries and institutions with the object of 

 gathering together what is valuable in his own voca- 

 tion. Originally it was the Japanese student who was 

 sent abroad; now it is the professional man. You 

 may not know it, but often he may be able to give 

 more information than he receives. Generally speak- 

 ing, in Dr. Dyer's words, the Japanese Government 

 finds that money spent on education is a good national 

 investment. 



The chapters devoted to industrial development, the 

 army and navy, commerce, politics, and other subjects 

 are as interesting and full of information as those 

 bearing upon education. 



With regard to the future of Japan, Dr. Dyer tells 

 us that his ideas are decidedly optimistic, and he 

 believes " that in material, intellectual and moral in- 

 fluence Japan will fully justify her claim to be called 

 the Britain of the East." So far as the concrete 

 adjuncts of civilisation are concerned, Japan might be 

 pleased could she be on the same platform as her ally, 

 but it is doubtful if she aspires to much more. Her 

 46 millions of people have smiling faces, their 

 NO. 1 83 I, VOL. 71I 



courtesy and politeness have attracted the attention of 

 all travellers, they are scrupulously clean and see a 

 bath-tub every day, to show anger is to put yourself 

 on a level with a dog, and should two persons have 

 an altercation, for one to dub the other as a " shaba 

 fusagi " or an " impeder of the world's progress " 

 would be an epithet not to be forgiven. The courage 

 of her soldiers needs no comment, while the endurance 

 of a " jinricksha " man, who for a week can pull a 

 heavy European with his baggage 40 or 50 miles per 

 day, is, from an occidental point of view, quite 

 phenomenal. 



The Japanese are temperate, frugal, modest, and 

 happy, while the world knows that they possess 

 artistic instincts. In many directions a Japanese is 

 distinctly superior to the European. The nation has a 

 soul, and if we reflect on the components which make 

 up that soul — the soul of Ruskin — it seems that in 

 certain directions European countries might be bene- 

 fited if only they were able to raise themselves to the 

 level of Dai Nippon. Although by the opening of the 

 country much has been gained, there are many signs 

 indicating that the blessings have not been unalloyed. 

 Commerce, competition, and the accumulation of 

 wealth have been accompanied by increasing poverty, 

 whilst those whose vocations have been at the open 

 ports have acquired the manners of those with whom 

 they came in contact. So far is this marked that a 

 Japanese who has been a servant in a European house 

 may be handicapped in obtaining similar employment 

 amongst his own people. To say the least, he has 

 become too brusque. Side issues of this nature may 

 cause a nation to regard with regret the disappearance 

 of old conditions, but, taking all in all, Japan has 

 gained more than she has lost. She is no longer a 

 pupil, but a teacher. 



SYLVESTER'S MATHEMATICAL PAPERS. 



The Collected Mathematical Papers of James Joseph 

 Sylvester. Vol. i., 1837-1853. Pp. xii + 650. 

 (Cambridge : University Press, 1904.) Price 18s. 

 net. 



THE appearance of this volume is very welcome for 

 more reasons than one. Sylvester's papers were 

 published in a variety of journals, and generally con- 

 tained a considerable number of misprints ; they will 

 now be available in an attractive form, with their 

 accidental blemishes removed by a very careful and 

 competent editor. The work of preparing these papers 

 for the press must be troublesome and tedious, and 

 the thanks of mathematicians are due to Dr. Baker 

 for having undertaken it. Special attention should be 

 directed to the note at the end of the volume on 

 Svlvester's theorems about determinants, some of 

 which require correction. 



The papers here published range in date from 1837 

 to 1853. The first three relate to mathematical 

 physics; but Sylvester soon followed his natural bent, 

 and all the rest of this volume is pure analysis, mostly 

 algebra. Historically, the most notable results are 

 those on elimination, canonical forms, and the theory 

 associated with Sturm's method of locating the real 



