PROGRESS IN JAPAN.

Taranaki Daily News, 2 December 1920, Page 2

PROGRESS IN JAPAN.

AN INTERESTING COUNTRY. Mr. CI- V. Pearce, ex-M.P. for Patea, wlio returned last week after a holiday visit to Japan, gave an interesting account of that country in the course of a brief chat with a representative of the Patea Press. Asked what impressed him most about the country, Mr. Pearee said it wa, B the general air of prosperity and the number of children. During his run through the country he had not seen a single puson poorly dressed. It was vast'lv different from Hongkong, where there was evidently some extreme poverty, as he saw quite a number poorly clad. Everywhere you went, added Mr. Pearce, there seemed to be children; judging by the numbers .Japan must be the home of large families. A significant fact about the children was that after they had passed a certain standard all had to learn the English language. The country not only appeared exceedingly prosperous, but there were signs of progress on every side. Japan is evidently a firm believer in the utilisation of water power, for practically every city is apb.ulidly lit with electric light generated by hydro-electric power stations. The street lighting bears more than favorable comparison with that of New Zealand towns—in fact, the very worst street in Yokohama was better lit than Lambton Quay, Wellington. The Japanese appear to take a pride in having their streets brilliantly lit at night. As showing their eagerness to adopt the Western mode of. life, Mr. Pearce said he was sitting on a seat alongside a young Britisher in one Japanese town, and in the course of conversation he asked the young man what he was doing there, and received the astonishing reply: "Oh, I have only recently come out from Scotland under special engagement to teach the Japanese golf!" With regard to the Japanese warlike preparations, Mr. Pearce preferred not to sav much, remarking casually that at one small place ho visited he counted no less than 20 warships in the harbor. Ashore there were some very fine barracks, with large bodies of sailors dressed m white, drilling most of the day. Mr. Pearee said he visited Fugi Yama —the most symmetrical mountain in tho world, and whilst there he eqierienced a typhoon, which delayed them for some days. Fugi Yama. though symmetrical, was not so imposing as Jit. Egmont. It was entirelv clear of snow when he saw it, said Mr. Pearce, though the country round about has very heavy snowfalls in the wintertime, and the climate is far colder than that of New Zealand. Sheep were not to be seen except high up in the hill country, where some twenty were seen one, day in a yard. Mr. Pearee said the horses were small, and appeared to be a kind of thoroughbred. They drew very long and very narrow carts, which were just suited to the very narrow streets.

The Japanese, added Mr. Pearce, evidently believe in intensive cultivation, for the number of small plots highly cultivated was remarkable. The Japs go in for a series of terraces in their gardens, watering each terrace by means of a gravitation system of watering, the water being conveyed in shoots from the upper to the lower terraces.

Speaking of the Japanese boats, Mr. Pearce said they were kept scrupulously clean, and the attention was all that could be desired.

That the Japanese are clever craftsmen was shown by a number of articles of exquisite workmanship which Mr Pearce brought back with him. "Some people," he said, "imagine the Japanese only make poor stuff, but that is a mistake. The. poor stuff is purposely bought by the British and Colonial dealers on account of its cheapness, for the cheaper tho article the greater th« profit. As one traveller put it, 'lf I were to buy the very best goods'only about ten persons in the average town could afford to buy them, whereas thousands can buy the cheaper goods.' Silk added Mr. Pearce, "can be obtained in either cheap or expensive lots. The heavy weight siik is naturally expensive, and it is the thin and light kind that is most frequently exported." In conclusion, Mr. Pearce said there was no getting away from the fact that the Japanese were a coming people, who were not to be despised.