The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1901-09-29

etIsahi ~ uf'BtatADt .
kept up for ages. without exhAusting this
soil or importing food. q systsm Of agri-
culture which sustains Ia health and even
comfort a population often denser than
that OF any European State. They per
fectly understand agricultural hydraulics,
and have executed hydraulic works, canals
and tanks which are tho admiration OF
European engineers. They have covered
entire provinces. Bengal for example,
with fruit trees. which Englishmen pro-
nounce equal to their own From the
d I've Of Babylon TO the days Of Bombay
they have dotted their continent with
great cities, some Of which contain marvels
Of architecture. while all ave been ware
houses for immense trades. centres Of
great banking systems. or chosen seats
Of men who have conquered or admin
ister-d great empires. That there must
be an elaborate native banking system
In China IL evident. tecau-e otherwis,
Internal traffic could not 20 on To the
existence OF one In India every Anglo
Indian can bear test imony Mr.. Town
sand himself. he tells us. received for ten
years thousands ~ native hoondees. or
checks. annually, scraps Of tissue paper
covered with unknown characters lle
IL WV fN'
asked the manager If he greatest European
bank. who. a. he know. was making great
reInittances In native checks to Bombay.
n he were not occasionally afraid Of such
I pap-r NO morr.- he sad. than I am
afraid OF Bank Of England notes. Mr.
Townsend adds that Asiatic bankers scern
10 nave defeated forgery. and that they
have devised a system Of insurance for
river tranic called In India -btems.' which
works exccllrntly well A. for archi-
lecture. We scarcely need 20 recall the fact
that Asiatic- built the Alhambra and tho
Tai. the temples above the ghsuts Of
Bcnare~. and the towers OF Nankin A-i-
atics. In truth. unassi-ted by Europeans,
have In all the arts, -avc sculpture and
painting. made a close approach To per-
%fection. 50 that learned men have written
volumes 10 explain their architecture,
and. while no pottery can excel Chinese
porcelain. and no swordsmith a Damascus
blade, no goldsmith will promi-. to i'm
prove IN a Trichinopoly chain In a word.
the Asiatics arr civilized peoples. though
their civilization has seen arrested, per
haps by the adoption of a belief not I'M
known IN Europe. that perfection has been
attained, and that the path Of wisdom
for all j. incrssant repetition
once more. II may be objected that man
lives 10y thought. and that tho thoughts
Of Asia'ics are cehle. Mr.. Townsend CON
c,-dc- hat the Asiaiic - the slave 81 super
s,ition. that he can belicvc ia the teeth Of
evidence. and that he II possessed 10y the
idea that falsehuod Is an exercise Of the
intellect like any other, to hc judged Of 10y
it, object and 10 success our author
.aLy.v.l.l.y.. fI.f tl.aa A.fg-fs weaken
the mind Of the A-iatic in all it, applica-
tions. but IL H. submitted that. never'he-
less. he Is possessed 81 great powers. lilo
has, organized gres' armies, and, though
f-ar'ully was'cful of life. So thai the
wounded NAV he accounted dead, lie has
50 Furnished forth those armies that they
have Wag"d long. and often victorious.
campaigns. lie hAe a remarkable capacity
for recognizing genius, whether 1t Lee mp
plicable 90 war. 10 instruction or 10 litera-
turr Tie great soldier rises rapidly 10
th. top. the great teacher L. followed with
blind devotion, the great littarateur Is re-
gardel with a respect hardly known in
Europe. AsiAtics have. indeed. an extraor-
binary faculty both Of detecting and
following a great man. Again, It can hardly
be pronounced a proof of mental feeble
ilfN- 10 lldN' - ~ ~ VI fAAibNfN wv
perennial discomfort Of the agricultural
mind that even great ca'sstrophcs, lik"
rood. or famine. or war, make no perma-
nent impression. II being a matter 81 com
mon obser alton that the moment the
external pressure IL removed, village life
j. resumed 10y a population which. when
not iuterfered With. shows many signs
Of being distinctly happy Hunger. the
Ill. - .A.-l -.-~ - ,,avg. g -.
human race, is borne in Asia cuntentedly.
and produces. instead of murmur and
revolt. a ceaSnlcs- industry 81 which no IN.
ever complains. II II be the end of sy-tcms
Of life 20 produce cnntent"d aCquie-cence.
then, IN Mr.. Iuwnssnd's opinion. the AsiatIc
~ stems mus, H. held To have Succeeded
Even In tho domain ~ pure thought. they
have not been wanting II they have a.
complished It'll" IA science. except WrTon-
omy. and II they have neglected history.
thry have devoted such mental force 10 the
consideration ~ the vhencc and Whittier.
and 10 the relation Of the visible to the
invisible. tina all the cre.sis accepted by
civilized and semi-civilized mankind, are 10
Asia,ic origin. All human beings, except
the negroes and the savage races 81 Amer
ica and Polynesia. regulate their conduct
anu lRbA lbi "a lihif ~ ~ toHtt hNlaAA
has taught their.
Finally. the current assn mption that
the morality Of Asia il distinctly Inferior
to our own j. narrowly examined Ia the
book irforr lie II is undeniable that the
Christian rule. Thou halt love thy neigh
Dor rs myself 10 not observed In Asa.
The Asiatic cares for his family, his caste.
his clan. and. sometimes. his profession.
hut ~ his neighlor lac ~ little more re-
gardful than one dog IL of another The
lack of the capacity Of sympathy Is recog-
niycd a. tho root Of all evil IN him. the ulti-
mate cause Of all the %tyrannirs, massacrcs.
and fortunes. which, from the Ar, until the
present hour, nave dissrac-d Asiatic life.
u - Just a. well. however, TO remember
that sympathy is ~ late development.
even in EuroJr, that massacre has hcrn
fught'uilv common In European history.
that Europeans used To pcr-Acu,e for the
faith. as Asistios do now, that IL il hardly
"a century since torture was disu@nd aud
that only about forty wears ago In tho United
States all who were called slaves were given
NJ 20 H. 'r,sted ~ their owners would.
II - not TO H. disputed. however that the
difference lot q Asia and Europe IN
r~"~I-'ct Of the power Of sympathy j. enor-