Dr. King on Japan.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7858, 28 June 1905, Page 2

Dr. King on Japan.

The lecture delivered by Dr. Trubj King, brother of Mr Newton King, at, Si. Clair, Dunedin, was largely attended last week, the gymnasium being crowded and some having to go away disappointed as finding the hall full. The lecturer began by show : ing the resemblance of Japan to New Zealand in respect to size, shape, and latitude. A noticeable point, 01 difference was that New Zealand ran north and south, whereas the chici places of Japan lay within short roach of one parallel, so thai the climate in each of the centres was much the same. It was a mistake to regard Japan as a lotus laHd of eternal summer. On the eastern coast the climate was much the' same as the average New Zealand climate. The western coast, untouched by the stream of warm water that bathed the east, and whipped by the prevailing westerly wind, was of an Arctic character. Very few people lived there ; it was seldom

visited, even by the persons who wrote about it. The scenery ol Japan was soft and pretty rather than of the New Zealand grandeur. Japan's position in relation to the As-ian-European continent corresponded with Great Britain's position, one ociiig on the north-cast, ami the other on the north-west, and civilisation and teligion travelled to each from the same source—viz., the cradle of thought at the head of the Persian Galf. He accepted as probably correct the theory that the Japanese were probably a mixed race, made up of a blend of the Malays with the Oceanic Mongols. It was a virile and proud race, and had the honour of resisting the might of the great Mongol Kmpire when invasion was attempted. He thought the destiny of Japan was to conquer and possess Manchuria. At present the Japanese mainly lived "by agriculture, working mere garden holdings entirely by manual labour, unassisted by horses or bullocks, and using only the most primitive implements for tilling the soil. The rude implement that stood foe the plough was so clumsy and so inefficient that a man took thirty days to dig up an acre very roughly, whereas in New Zealand the • same area could be properly ploughed tot ss. Japan was, at present, simply marking time. But she had 10,000 boys being scientifically trained to agriculture, her population increased at the rale of 1500 a day, she was beginning to inquire about steam ploughs and oilier modern methods, and when she started to work, in earnest Manchuria would be redeemed from a desert to a great farming country. A peculiar thing about Japan's fields was the 'absence of fences. The reason was simple—there were no lower animals to be confined within given areas. The Japanese did their work themselves, tbey ate very little flesh, and had *no need for the lower animals. Speaking as a doctor, he declared this to be i>f vital importance, conveying a prcat lesson to Kuropean mothers. Side by tide With this he gave the pregnant fact ibat in France, during the horrors of the Franco-Prussian War, when the people in some of the towns had to live on the moat awful substhntes for food, infant mortality] decreased by 40 per cent, owing to mothers being compelled to nurse their babies. There was no substitue for mother's milk, and Nature extracted a frightful penalty for the crime of giving other sustenance to babies. The fact that the Japanese diet consisted principally of grain, vegetables, and fish was also important in considering Japan's future. There was a minimam of waste; a nation so fed could support itself very cheaply ; not only did the people grow op strong and hardy, but they could become rich because of their not requiring uxuries. Sdch a race was bound to have an advantage in the competition of nations- The lecture was illustrated with a large number of original photographic views. Mr J. F M. FUser moved a vote of thanks to the lecturer, and this was carried with great cordiality.—Dunedin Star