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Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2011, 21 February 1907, Page 4

OUR EASTERN ALLY. THE SLIM LITTLE JAP AND HIS MORALITY. Mr. H. It. Bloomfield roturnod to Auckland Inst week from a trip of sovornl months’ duration, spoilt in visiting places of interest along the Chinoso seaboard, tli islands of that cornor of the Pacific, anil tho Empire of tho Mikado, Mr, Bloomfield and his wifo—for ho was accompanied by Mrs. Bloomfield—spending some little time of their tour in Dai Nippon. In tho course of a conversation with a Star reporter concerning his visit to this last-named country, Mr. Bloomfiold made it clear that ho is not in love with our sallowskinned allies. “As far as Europeans are concerned,” ho says, “they seem to ho an excellent nation of thieves and spies. Tlioy will steal any mortal thing they can lay hands on, mid lmvo no moro sense of moral obligation in the matter of mourn and tuuin than if it never existed. Of course it must not Ijo forgotten, I suppose, that as teachers of ethics the whites with whom they have largely came in contact, have not boon high exponents—a little worse lor the most part than tho Jap himself, in fact. But however that may ho, they are absolutely insincere to the European —tho Britisher, perhaps, to a very small extent, excepted—and that fact should make us equally distrustful of them, as, there is no doubt, they are of us, and treat them as an extremely dangerous quantity. They .are suffering from swollod-hend, of that there can lie no doubt, whatever, and their insolence to all Europeans, except Britishers, up in their own quarters is simply intolerable. The coolies brush wliito men and women from the footpaths, and in their pleasant smiling way, if you turn on them, will apologise—and do it, again. Tho only remedy is to do likewise. “But that, obviously, is not always possible, so the best thing is, in my opinion, to give the Jap and his country a wide borth.’ When Mr. Bloomfiold was up Hongkong way excitoment was running very high in anticipation of war between .Japan and America. “I quite expected to hear upon reaching Australia that hostilities had commenced,” ho remarked. “And notwithstanding the immensely over-rated estimation at which the little yellow man has been taken since his lucky termination of tho war with Russia, it was generally recognised that America would have no chance against Japan’s fleet in her own waters. There were four big now battleships of tho Virginia class at Hongkong when I was there, and a largo flotilla of torpedo-boat destroyers and other craft in Manila Harbour, but tho Japs arc cautious, and if war did ensue, they would have reckoned all tho odds beforehand, and Manila and other American ports would probably have dropped into their possession at pretty quick rate. It would bo just the same at the present time if Germany went to war with them, in spite of tho anxiety of the Germans t'o have a slap at the Mikado’s men. “But, as you can guess, that makes them none the easier to get on with, for they have begot such a vast confidence in .themselves that they feel quite able to lick creation. 'Wo boat Russia, the most powerful nation in tho world,’ they say, ‘and we could therefore beat America or England, or any other nation.’ “How are they financially?” “Why you have only to go into tho country to see that it is bankrupt. The peasants are groaning under taxation, and in many places are almost in open revolt. 'The Government is trying all manner of moans to raise the wind. Nationalising the tramways, railways, and several industries of the country is one method they have. At one phicc I visited the populace rose up and endeavored to wreck tho tramcars and other property belonging to the State. The inland peasants know very little about the aggrandising policy of the Mikado’s advisers, and care’ less for it. It is in the interior, by tho way, that you see the people at their best—kindly, courteous, and comparatively trustworthy, a different man altogether is the inland Jap to his brother on the coast, demoralised by his half-digest-ed ideas about Western notions and innovations. Tho Westernised Jap is really a veneered savage, and just as treacherous to the veneerer as any savage you could find. “They have absolutely no scruples about accepting foreign charity. All this talk about the failure of the rice crops is absolute rot. The-rice crops wore never better, but they will take money at any price and by any moans. If they see an easy way of getting it, so much the better for tho Jap, according to his views.” “The excitability of tho Japanese is wonderful,” said Mr. Bloomfield, in discussing this side of their character. “Take a football match that took place between two Japanese Universities while I was there. We are pretty strenuous at football ourselves, but we are not a circumstance to these Japs when they get along with their blood up. After this particular match of which I am speaking, the combatants—for that is wliat' it comes to—who had fought like little demons on the field, were to have a meeting in the evening, but the authorities forbade it, as it was considered a foregone conclusion that they would be at each other’s throats before the night was out, and probably a few of them killed. If you get their blood up, they fight like Dervishes. But in the ordinary way Monsieur le Jap is a very small potato in the matter of courage unless backed by numbers.”

“The cleanliness of this interesting nation is,” says Mr. Bloomfield, “about as bankrupt as his credit. The nation reeks with disease, which is not to bo wondered at when everyone in a house or hotel, whether he bo afflicted wit'h skin or other complaint, or sound and healthy, bathes in the same water. Their national cleanliness is, in fact, a myth, and they themselves admit it who have becomo Westernised sufficiently tto recognise the value of hygiene.” “Their astonishing cleverness at imitating and improving upon an original pattern is, however, as remarkable as their dislike to part the secret of those improvements to outsiders. It is well known that the British Government handed them the plans of the Dreadnought, and that in the Satsuma they evolved an improvement on the original. Yet when Britain asked Japan in her turn to disclose to us those improvements—‘Oh, no I Those belong to the Mikado!’ And that is just it'. They live only for the Mikado, and they consider no subterfuge too base in order that his work may be accomplished and Japan’s power increased” Mr. Bloomfield was loud in praise of the courtesy and general accommodation to be met with on the N.D.B. boats in the East. “The Sandakan, upon which I travelled from Hongkong to Sydney,” ho said, “was one of the most comfortable and best cuisined boats I have been on. They are superior to the English boats. And the officers are individually some of the pleasantest men one could wish to meet. Their system of training, however, should, I rather imagine, unfit tTiem somewhat for a life of hardship, say, in the event of a rough campaign. They appear to have all the little things that help to make life easy.” The Sandalcan called at Frederic’s ITafen, the capital of German Nicw Guinea, which, like most German colonies, contains of Gormans, says Mr. Bloomfield, little more than the official element. In fact, everywhere in the East the inability of the German authorities t ; o adapt their methods to successful colonisation was noticeable, those methods of trading and administration that were successful being faithful copies from the Britisher. The German officials in many of these colonies were highly educated, and often scientific men, drawing a salary of perhaps £3 or £4 per week, and with nothing more to do but wait for a visit from strangers to vary the deadlv monotony of their existence.

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