PATER'S CHATS WITH THE BOYS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2813, 12 February 1908, Page 85

PATER'S CHATS WITH THE BOYS.

THE UNREST IN EUROPE,

y The assassination of the late King oi , c Portugal and his son makes us think oi it Shakespeare's words, "Uneasy lies the I head that wears a crown." On his wed- ° ding day the King of Spain had a narrow r escape, and his wife's wedding dress was c spattered with blood, which Anarchists : y meant to be her husband's and her own. -- The father of the present Tsar was blown i- to pieces with a bomb, and the father r of the present King of Italy met a violent death also ; the wife of the present Emperoi of Austria was stabbed to death, and a recent President of France was shot. Crossing the Atlantic, we know that it is not long since a President of the great Republic was mortally wounded ; • Q and, to tyke our own sovereigns, our late ]. Queen was shot at several times. It would 5 appear that the lives of reigning sovereigns ?, and those who are constantly in their a company are risks that insurance com- '" parties would not cover unless the pro- [' miums are heavily loaded. j Now, I am not going to discuss the i- question why these assassinations haw 3 cl taken place except in a very brief manner. c It is said, and probably with an amount a t of truth, that the despotism of the Portua guese King had something to do with his „ death. But admitting for argument that c it had, and that the King's death was a - just but severe punishment for his mis- • deeds, what justice could be expected from 6_6 _ j a republican government set up by men _ I who would send not only the King to his 3 doom, but his unoffending wife and her i two sons? Even if it is admitted that, a in the development of civil liberty, it i« " allowable to remove those responsible *.r J despotism and misgovernment, the despol5 ism that is set up by men who wouM . take innocent lives would probably be a , worse one than the one pulled down. The t French Revolution shows that. I wonder 1 how many of my readers have read [ Carlyle's "French Revolution"? It is f not a true history, because undue pro- . minence is given to minor, though pic- - turesque, incidents, and the peispective ■ of history is lost ; but it contains such a ' panoramic gallery of word-paintings ani j it shows so clearly what ignorant men ; will do when they gft power that we cannot. feel anything bat horror at tho • acts of men who show by their deeds ' that they are removing the cause of evil only to substitute a greater one. Men ; who act unjustly when not in power can- • not be trusted to act justly when m i power. I ha\s suggested reading Cnrlyle's " French Revolution." Let me sugge.st 1 another book — "The Nineteenth Century: A History." It is 26 or 27 years ago i when ii first came out, but it is not out of date yet. la 't you will read abo-it the struggles for political freedom th.it were made any time between the French Revolution and the middle of the last century; and what is recorded in that history has been repeated in Russia and Portugal in the last few years. One is almost forced to the melancholy eonclu&ion that no political freedom is won without bloodshed, and one is also forced to another melancholy conclusio% that th^ educated classes, by their treatment i f the working classes, 'have been responsible for the bloodshed. We know how, down the centuries of our English history, political and religious freedom has been purchased with blood. With us Ma«na Charta and the Civil Wars of the Stuarts are milestones. France later tried to free herself by opposing the authority of th; King, nobles, and clergy ; but the massr? committed such o*ce&scs that they -de Seated their object and largely failei The bloodshed in Russia last year markej another distance on the road to reform but we live too near to the time to say what good was done. PROBLEMS OF EMPIRE. With modern developments the problems that have to be faced are increasing in number and in importance. First is the great colour problem. From a broad point of view it is the Orient, or the East, against the Occident, or the West. A man who has studied the problem as much as most is Mr Archibald R. • Colquhoun, F.R.G.S., and in an article he has written he puts forth a few clear facts : — The European — and with the European we might include the United Stales— forced the yellow, the brown, and the black man to' admit him into commercial relations and to adopt many of the methods and manners and customs of the West : "He forced his yellow brother to come into the arena of a common international life." Colquhoun then says that, "partly by force, partly by superior initiative, he— the white man of the north — has secured a large portion of the best of the world's surface, and he intends to retain this position." But can he? Neither he nor his are numerous enough to occupy or develop his acquisitions as fast as he would. "On the other hand, there are in Asia and Africa races which, diverted by the white man's influence from their age-long occupation of destroying each other, are now increasing by .leaps and bounds, and are beinjr crowded out of their own countries." Then, remembeiing that these crowdedout nations have adopted Western ideals ; that one — Japan — has defeated a nation Great Britain has repeatedly given way to ; that the same nation is on an equality with oui selves in a treaty offensive and defensive; that it has a navy surpassed by only one or two in Europe ; that it has a lai-f,e maritime tiade which has increased enoimously within recent years; that this nation is educating the slumbering giant, China, who has no reason to thank Europeans for obtruding themselves into her dominions — remembering these points, and many more, what chance have we of resisting the yellow and brown races once they thoroughly recognise their strength? For curiosity \ .turned tfl the areas and

populations of Australasia (Australia and New Zealand), and compared them with the corresponding ones of Japan, China, and India — the latter including trie Native States, Burmah (British), and the Straits Settlements. Here they are, the first columns giving square miles »nd the second the population :—: — Australasia .. ». 3,000,000 4,000,000 Japan 150,000 49.000,000 China v. .. .. 1,500.0W 407.000,000 India 2,500,00? 360,000,000 •In area Australasia is slightly understated to get a round number, but it will be seen that in area Japan, China, and -India are about one-third as large