THE JAPS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VII, Issue 2122, 17 October 1885, Page 2

THE JAPS.

-Silvgr Eei}!! jn fye Jfey Zealand Heraltl, writing fron) San f rancisco,' has jM fQllQ\ying;-Tlje Olpnqe has by no ipan§ liqen yqt; hi|t as " helps" they sre now losing quickly displaced hy the Japanese, who, as servants; are infinitely preferablo to the dirty, insolent Ohinaman, and also a wonderful improvement upon the still more insolent white women, who are more mistress than servant. At any rate, the Japanese are a veiy studious race, not caving so much for money a? tyrning,'being thus the very ahtipodes several socfetfes here where" an/'"amoiijit to he ha,d for fop'shillings''a \yeek, tiufc wjfli j» ajnj' Vijqjir dition; the Jap must atteri't sclpqj frpm one to four, go to church three or four timeg a week, apd do a certain amount of •'study,'' Tlierpfpye, |f yon want a servant in every of tl]e wd, vol} are left in the cold, These Japs oome here for the sake of their education—a most praiseworthy end, 'tis true. They have 110 means, but live on the society until they get a pay, when they think it a good thing tp'get lodging, and four shillings a week in refefor a portion of their time, They are painfully polite, bowing and scraping every time they see you in the parlor or kitchen; also, they dress like Christians, and are, hi fact, an improvement on many of them. I had one qf fliese Japs for a few months. He was the soil of ij Goye&njeii't' 6ffiqij'rJ and had ip ajyay frpm'hp[iie fp jniprqve his English, having graduated from a college in Japan, He stayed until his father, relenting from his first anger, sent him money, when he informed him he was 'independent,'andleftatamoment'snotice. He was invaluable as a servant; but all these black races are the same in one respect—they have no gratitude or thought of anything J)|it fheir own comfort, They will leave yoii in' ! a :l !{i&nie i jii;, i ho'matter how much you require'theta, or how'their departure may inoonveniende you,' But, bad as they are, they are better than white help. It is amusing to see the airs these half-savages give themselves. Their bedroom must be of the best, and everything to njatgh, Tlje §tyle the Japs put on is remarkable, though 1 rijiiifc s'ay'tliaj; their" manners are absolutely polished, arid their sense of propriety would make aneducated fine gentleman sink' to ftothiiig besides them. The boy I had possessed a hand | some watch and chain, He informed me one day that lie thought a chain :<t Very improper for |ous'o-?ork boy; 'Jieresfore he got a blaok' ribboii in stead, This fine sense of the fitness of things in his low position shored more common Bense than is often displayed by our own race, who

will, no matter how poor, generally contrive to dress up beyond their mean 3. The Japs have a wonderful contempt for their Chinese neighbors. "If we are foolish, at least we are honest," they say; " not like the Chinaman." And they are right. I find the Japs, as servants, very honest, and their desire for learning is unsiibduable. " I think of science and forget potato," .said Kito to me one day, when I mildly.represented to him that potatoes boiled to a jelly three days out of four were not pleasant; nor did I believe in going without a well-cooked dinner even in the cause of science. These boys call themselves " students," and only profess to work until they know enough of English to.epter the grammar, school;; So, you see, we are between thrtie instead of two stools—the insolent white women, the dirty thieving Chinese, and the "student" Japs—and 1 leave it to you who read to determine which is the easiest to put up with, since all are without the pale. A well conducted excellent servant is as hard to find as a diamond in a flint.