The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1873-09-27

cQu<ld 10 al tHIHS ia tnO olo "OAAN7
and all this would be very nice were
it not for having to pay for it.
Whether the people Of the States will
like to pay for paving the streets OF
Washington in order thas the carria-
ges of our local aristocrats and their
own representatives may roll smoothly
and noiselessly along without dis
turbing the nerves of our great dig
nitaries is aquestion that viii scarcely
admit of more than one answer. The
people would probably like to know
that the capital is handsome city,
but they would probably not want to
pay moro than seventeen millions to
purchase this luxury for their officials.
I heartily admire the motive that
induced the President to offer the
governorship to Mr.. Shepherd, yet
can not but feel that It has been a
mistake. 1t does seem that this ex-
travagant expenditure ofpublic money
has gone far enough, though I am
quite sure / am altogether unlnfu-
eneed by the improved rumors of cor
ruption and fraud. Ks
Much comment is likely to be ex-
cited by the action of the Japanese
government in calling home the young
men sent to this country and to Eu-
rope to be educated. A number OF
them have been students in the How
ard University in this city. Others
have been placed in other institutions
of learning, and others have been pur-
suing special duties under private in
structors. The government has given
no intimation of itsfeasons for calling
them home, but it is very evident this
action has considerable significance.
There are about six hundred of these
young men abroad, and the only OBJ
iect there could have been in educat-
ing them in this country and Europe
was to enable them to gain thorough
ideas of orr civilization. In phiioso-
ply and science the Japanese are not
at all behind us. It is only in practical
application of scientific methods to
things of every day life that We excel
them. It would have been much Tess
expensive to import the teachers than
to send the students abroad, but it
was thought best to adopt the latter
course, for the reason that these
| young men, destined to play import
ant parts in the future of Japan, should
have ample opportunities for obsery-
ing tile effects of other civilizations
than their own
Much has been said about the spirit
of progress that has been lately man
Tested in Japan, and it does seem thai
there has been q serious inclination t.
adopt some of the features of our civ
ilization. A large number of Ameri-
cans have been appointed TO import
ant official positions at immense sal
aries; travelling embassies have beer
SIT out to visit the United States and
the yarious European nations Amer
l,ieansInachinery has been introduced
aud d proposition to substitute the
Ealsais language for their native
tongue Aha been seriously entertained
Nov, question is, does the call
ing hem the students abroad in.
dictate an mention to abandon this
policyq lave may expect to heal
next that ID Apericans in Japan have
been dislnissa rom their renumera.
tive official ps ens and superseded
by natives.
The reason for IBIS apparent rever-
sal of the policy q the last few years
may be that the enese havo begun
to find out that Il 81 many of us have
known from the @be ming; that is
that the Americans the5 have appoin.
ted to Office are men of little or nj
ability instance ii pake of Genera
Horace Capron, also of E. Peshin,
Smith, Esq, and that dc schools tt
which they have sent tleirs young
men to be educated are net generally
model institutions instance the How.
ard University, which is not certainly
a first-class educational establishm6
at any rate an acquaintance wiz
| some of the professors of that instr
tuition does not serve to so impress {
close observer. But we NAV expect