New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-11-07
VTCARIOUS PUNISHMENT.

German ironclad squadron has Just bonn
barded an African village, with considerable dam
age to the flimsy dwellings Of the natives, but
no loss of life Germany, in acting thus. is Of
course only doing what all other civilized powers
have done themselves at some time. But it is
curious that when uncivilized peoples adopt what
is essentially the same policy, we are accustomed
to cry out against their barbarism. When
white man wrongs or kills an Indian, the tribe
of the latter think it perfectly fair to retalate
upon the next white man they encounter. In the
South Seas, where the islanders occasionally mass
acre few white men, and have their villages
shelled and their palm trees cut down in return,
tho quarrel is almost invariably opened by An
assault or outrage-often kidnapping for the pur-
pose OF slavery-perpetrated by those maritime
border rufians who are known as beach-combers.'
The beach-comber is pirate, SLAYER and wrecker
or small scale He Is in what he calls the black
bird business, whenever an opening for that in
iqutous traffic appears. lie is the man who hrst
wrongs the natives, but being SMART he is
seldom the upon whom the vengeance Of the
injured falls
Some innocent missionary, some honest trader
happens along soon after an outrage has been
committed upon the islanders. and they, not paus
ing to draw distinctions. attack and kill the
unfortunate third party. Then the looks
black against them, and a man Of war is ordered
to the scene and the usual bombardment ensucs.
Oddly enough, no government follows course
which is much more enlightened than that Of the
sayages themselves. Sometimes demand is made
for the surrender Of the actual murderers, but
not always. Generally speaking, an attempt is
made TO punish the tribe, notwithstanding the fact
that as rule the tribe does not possess the power
to make the surrender demanded. Often how
ever the villages destroyed do not belong to the
tribe whose members took the blind revenge
complained of, and in these cases the injustice
of the retaliation must inevitably appear ranker
to the natives punished than native revenge can
possibly do to white men. 1t is possible that
this is one Of the many obstacles which VIGOROUSLY
delay the civilization and especially the evangel
cation of savage races They must frequently
find it quite impossible TO reconcile the teachings
Of the missionaries with tho action Of the gov
ernments to which the former belong. They
are asked to believe that the white men do Justice
from religious motives. Their experience con-
tradicts this assertion fatty.
Possibly there is no way Of avoiding the course
SO generally followed by the great powers in
dealing with undeveloped races. Certainly ths
great powers themselves with all their advance
have not got beyond the policy Of vicarious
punishment in dealing with ono another. and
perhaps it is impracticable TO maintain civiliza-
ton in any other way But il this be so,
why should we persist in trying 10 teach savnges
a scheme OF life which we ourselves find it i'm
possible to follow? Why should we urge upon
them applied Christianity which for eighteen
centuries has been too lofty and pure for the people
Of. Chrstendom itself to put in practice? We
will not say that there is hypocrisy n this
but certainly it Is not consistent. AS matter
of fact all the weaker races melt and vanish
when brought in contact with Western civiliza-
ton That is what happens. and there is 10
evidence TO show that the moro or less feeble
protests which accentuate the process retard it
in any way. 1t might be suggested that the
maintenance even of a pretence OF better things
argues a certain uneasness to the moral status
of the general policy; but since no such uneas,ness
prevents the steady working out Of the policy,
it may not unreasOnably be asked what good ban