TRAVEL TOPICS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1349, 29 January 1912, Page 3

TRAVEL TOPICS.

INTERVIEW WITH MR. JAMES LIDDIARD. JAPAN TO-DAY. AN ADVENTURE IX NEW GUINEA. Mr. James E.'Liddiiird, F.K.G.K.. who is at present on a visit, to' Wellington, is an English traveller who has seen inoru of the world than most people have road about. "I gin an old traveller," he told a Dominion' reporter who callc/.I upon him at his hotel on Saturday evening, and he appended a confession that ho has seldom boon stationary since ho was a mere ymngster. "Last year," lie remarked, "1 wns in America, the year before that I was in Algeria, visited Egypt, and travelled into, the southern portion of the Sahara." Sir. Liddi.ird is familiar with all the countries of Enrope except Russia, and ho knows the Pacific coast ot America from California to (Jio extreme north of 'Alaska.' He has travelled extensively in all tho northern countries of Africa. India he knows from end to end, and twenty yeai-s ago he ivas n traveller in China and Japan. . Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, and all the principal South Sea Island groups are familiar ground to him. One of his memories is of a visit to Itobert'Louis Stevenson at Samoa. Mr. Lilliard's membership of the Royal Geographical Society in of many years' standing. In addition, he h,as been admitted to the National Geographical Society of America, and is one of tho original members of the Japan Society, an influential body, having its headquarters in London, which was formed alout ten years ago. To assist in perfecting geographical knowledge and to assist missionary societies, and missionaries in their labours, have been at all times his principal aims. At the present time, Mr. Liddiard, accompanied by his wife, is' making a journey through New Zealand from south to north. After visiting the Hot Lakes district and other regions, he will leave Auckland for Sydney, proceed thence to Queensland, and subsequently go, by way of Manila and Hong-Kong, to Japan. Japan's Expansion. Mr. Liddiard takes a very keen interest in Japan, and although he has not visited the Tar East for a number of-years, he has been in constant touch with many • people—both European and native—in both China and Japan, ever since.he lastiset foot in their territories. Mr. Liddiard declines in any way to endorse the- idea, mare or less widely entertained in Austnalasia, ( that Japan meditates a warlike descent' upon Australia or New Zealand, or both. "There is nothing in it," he declared. That Japan is bound to extend her territorial limits, Sir. Liddiard fully admits, but he considers tliat' she will find her true field '. of national '.enterprise on the Asiatic seaboard. With regard to Korea, ho remarked that Japan had seized that country of sheer necessity. Had Russia annexed Korea ' Japan's existence as an independent jiation would not have been worth ten years' purchase. She would havo-been shut in, and, to her, the annexation of Korea was a matter of life and death. Of the honesty of Japanese intentions and of the people of Japan Mr. Liddiard entertains a very high opinion indeed. As an instance of their inherent modesty, he told a story of two Japanese generals who visited; London during the reign of the late King Edw.ard. Speaking from memory, Air. Liddiard thought that the officers in question twore Generals , Kuroki and Oku. In any.'-event, they were decorated by his Majesty, who himself pinned tho orders oil their breasts. A staff officer met them soon after tho audience, and noted that the orders were turned faco inward. He explained that this was nottho way in which they should be worn, whereupon the Japan3,sc Generals confessed that they had purposely concealed their decorations) on the ground that "it looked like boasting , ' to wear them in tho ordinary way. Mr. LiddJaxd states that tho Japanese nation throughout is permeated with the snirit of "Bushido," or chivalry. As h» "puts it, the Japanese, instead of merely looking after' "number one," aro wise enough to recognise that "number one" will not suffer in , the long run if lw is just and considerate to others. In further justification of the Japanese annexation of Korea, Mr. Liddiard stated that tho Koreans themselves' aro undoubtedly much better off under the Japanese administration than they were under the corrupt administration of their native rulers: At the present time tho country is being developed on modern lines in a way that augurs well for its future prosperity. Mr. Liddiard considers that the influence of Japan upon Ohina has been in every way salutary. Ever sinde the war between the two countries, he remarked, China and the Chinese have been willing to learn from Japan. Many young Chinamen of the best class have been sent to. Japan to imbibe modern methods and ideas, and in various ways the smaller country has assisted to develop its bigger, but lees progressive, neighbour. Commercial Morality. ' Many reflections, Mr. Liddiard remarked, had been made upon the commercial morality, of tho Japanese, but it had to be remembered that until recently the trader had occupied the lowest place in the Japaneso social scale. Under a classification which is just being amended in some of its details, scholars were given the place of honour, military men came second, then the agriculturists, and the traders a bad last. During the last quarter of a century, however, the tendency of commercial morality in Japan has been distinctly, and continuously upward. At the present time Japan possesses a system of trade guilds which probably could not bo matched anywhere in the world. In the aggregate there aro over twelve hundred of these organisations in the country, and they cover overy trade and profession. So powerful are tho guilds that a man who wants to attain to any prominence in his trado or- occupation must bo a member. The guilds deal with questions.aft'ecting tho personal character or.commercial morality of their members A trader, for (sample, who is convicted of iraud or any shady practice, is.punished by exclusion from his guild, and this is equivalent to tho social ostracism and rum ot tho offender. In all Japanese schools, from' tho higher primary schools upwards, English is taught, and it is the only foreign language T-fr i ls * taught compulsorily. Mr. Liddiard states that there is a gTeat do-mand-among; tho Japanese for English books. Unfortunately some of the printed matter that- enters the country is of a very shoddy kind-cheap American novels and so fortb-but strong efforts are bcinir made to provide books of a worthier type About two years ago, Mr. Liddiard took part in a movement of which the ultimate effect will be to establish a librarv ran raining 50,000 English books at Tokio Assisted by three friends, he collected the books m England and Scotland. The principal steamship company of Japan packed and conveyed the volumes free of charge, the'municipality of Tokio contributed a valuable site, and the Japanese Homo Office provided a mini of 10,000 yen towards the cost of a building. Mr. Liddiard hopes to see the library completed when ho arrives in Japan. In the Wilds of New Guinea. A circumstance to which Mr. Liddiard ! looks with a certain amount of justifiable pride is that he has never carried for his own protection a weapon mure dangerous than a stick. He has travelled with wild Arab tribesmen in the north of Africa and has penetrated wild regions of New Guinea, empty-handed so far as weapons were concerned. In his opinion a travel ler is safer, upon the whole, who relies entirely upon peaceful methods, and in support of. this view lie described an expcrienco that befell him in New Guinea when he was travelling in company with the Rev. James Chalmers, a missionary who was afterwards murdered by tho natives. Journeying up a iivor, Mr. Liddiard and his party stopped at a villapo whoro thero were prospects of establishing a native teacher. 'Their negotiations were successful, and Messrs. Chalmers and Liddiard decided to push on and visit another tribe whoso village lav six miles away through thn bush. As they nearod the end of their journey, they became aware of armed narivei running through the bush apparently intent on cutting them off. The situation looked unpromising, but retreat fating impossible,thev decided to proceed, and eiitcrod tbfo village waving green branches in token of friend- [ ih.ip. rrescatlj thej loimd thfimaelres

('acting some hundreds of Papuan*, many | tif them sliiniliii!! with spears poised in | readine.-s, and oilier* with drawn hows, j

"Tannic" (Mr. Chalmers) and Mr. Lidliiurd went anion); the warrior?, showing that they had no weapons, and saying that they hail nut come to fight, hi this way they gradually induced tho native-, In abandon their hostile attitude. II trnnsliired thai the natives of the first village had a vendetta with those of the second, and that; the latter had taken it for granted that the visiting party had come in a hostile spirit. .Mr. Liddiurd is convinced that there would have been a ii;assncr« had not Mr. Chalmers and himself been able to prove, by (heir unarmed condition, (hat their mission was ix'iiceful.