A Glimpse of Japan.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7911, 29 August 1905, Page 3

A Glimpse of Japan.

LECTURE BY COI.ONI'.L HELL.

SYDNEY, Aug. IS. Colonel Bell (formerly United States Consul,at Sydney), In a lecture delivered in the Centenary Hall, has discoursed most entertainingly concerning Japan and things Japanese.. The lecturer, who was introduced iiy Sir William McMillan as one whose popularity during his term of office in this State has never been excelled by the representative of any ;oreign country, lias quite recently returned from the East, where he spent six months closely studying the manners and customs of the interesting people upon whom the eyes of the world arc at present centred. Although during the past few years almost ever) thing that is known of Japan has been published over and over again, Colonel Bell's powers of observation, command of language, and peculiarly liappv platform style, enabled him to hold Ihe close attention of his healers for upwards of two hours, a great number of remarkably beautiful views, illustrative oi' ■vtariuus phases (of li, : iv in Japan-,, contributing to the interest of the lecture, 'thirty-seven or .'JB years ago, the lecturer pointed out, Japan was but a geographical expression, and the country was as a sealed hook to the rest of the world. He described its people's wonderful achievements in that brief space oi time as a record which had never heen equalled in the history of civilsation. Some folk, he said, chose to regard the Japanese as an inferior race, hut he asked how could an inferior race possess such superior power in every direction in life .I The subjects of the Mikado, he had no hesitation in saying, were imbued with as good a Christian spirit as any people thai ever lived. There was nothing in history, tradition, or poetry to equal their courage, their fortitude, their bravery, and—best of all—their huimanity. Some spoke of them as imitative, They were not imitative, hut they were the most receptive people It-hat had ever trod the earth, llie secret oi their success lay in their determination to "seek knowledge throughout the whole woild," and in I their religious sentiments. Colonel Bell mentioned that while in 1872 | there was not a newspaper in the country, to-day Japau possessed 1000 ! journals. In that year the first railway was started ; now there were I -1300 miles of railways, than which | there were none better in any single respect anywhere ; and along these j lines last year lid,(100,000 people tra- ■ | veiled at less than Id per mile. At i i that time 27-7 persons owned the ■ whole of the land ; now the land - belonged to the people, and only a L fourth of the farmers were l tiHants, the remainder either intire- - ly or partly owning their farms. No - people in the woild were so raven- ; ous for education, aod at) per cent, i of the children of school age l'egu- ! larly attended the schools, included ' among which were no fewer than -ISO 4 kindergartens. f _