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

does not degenerate physically In hot
countri.~ About the Importance OF the
question there In no doubt. seeing that
the temperate regions are either getting
full. OF are being cloeed to immigrants
by tho jealousy Of their occupants. Our
author sdmi,s that a good deal Of evidence
may be adduced by those who hold that
man can live In the tropics without phyri-
cal detenoration. Tn Arabs. for instance.
the ~Soudane~e. the southern CHINESE
and almost all negroes. are remarkable
for muscular strength. the power Of en-
during fatigue and physical energy in
general. They may bs. on the whole.
shorter lived than northern Europeans.
but the differences In that re~pcct may
be due To special circumstances A. to
courage. the Soudancse broke a British
square. tho West Indian negro soldiers
can be- trusted anywhere. and. II the dar-
ing OF the southern Chinaman " doubt
full. except when he Is a pirate, no ono has
ever questioned that Of the Malay. Neither
IL there much violence OF intellectual
decay, for, II the world owes nothing to
the negro. she takes all her creeds from
the men Of the hotter lands. and the clearest-
sighted professor In Europe II not superior
In subtle thought 20 the Brahmin OF Madras
II. then. man as a genus does not degol-
crate In tho tropics. why should a par
ticular sp-ci.~. the white man. degenerate
eithsr' Il j. certain that some white Insn
do not degenerate. There are families
Of Jews which, without mixing their blood.
have retained for centuries the character
istio lsraelitc energy in Persia. Bombay
and even Bengal. b people Of Costa
kica, who arc nearly white. are a SINGH
larry hardy poasantry. and the Copts. who.
II not white. are as nearly white as the
jews. ars still the most competent race
In the valley OF the Nile. Neither the
Ptolemiee nor their Macedonian and Greek
soldiers degenerated IN Egypt. and there
arc spanish families In Mexico A. strong
and as able an ever were their progenitors
in Old Spain.
SO much. It IL acknowledged. may H. -aid
on ono side Of the question. On the other
side. Mr Townsend submits that IL must
have been a powerful instinct or a strin-
gently opsrativehw which originally divided
mankind 10 that tho white race Wa mainly
confined 10 Europe, while the black race
peopled most Of Africa. and the huge buik
Of Asia vas. for the most part, hlLed with
yellow and brown men. Our author cannot
see how Il IL possible 70 draw more than
one deduction from this state Of facts.
A. he puts II: a scientific theors, would
cav that some immutablo law OF oonven-
isnce alone could have produocd q result
which. amid all the mutations Of history,
has remained subst niially unchanged
EurCDs and ASIA have fou-ht in~cNssantly,
hut the bulk Of their populations has
RENAMED European and Asiatic. Thu in
vasion Of western Asia by the Greeks.
the INVASION Of North Africa by tho no
mans, and the subsequent INVASION Of
the lsAt-named region hv tho Nandals have
all alike ended Ia the Triumph. moro or
less complete. 81 tho brown racse
Summing up the evidence on both sides.
the autho 81 these ESSAYS oon~Ndes I hat
II points Ia thr result II Is probably much
more possible for white men to coloniz"
n tropical country than is GENERALLY i'm
aRncd. especially II the colony should
ht ~ organized that sanitary laws could
he euforcsd from tho very first Tn hrSt
generation ~ colDnists. how"v"r. would
suffer terribly from ~unaccustomed die
"a -..s. from the depressing effect Of changes
81 climate. and from The shock involved
m a violent change - daily habits. ~ TO
diet, hours Of labor and general social life
This suffering. involving much mortality,
would d~iecpursg. tn" average oolonIst
to such a degree that he would not remain
for the time needed 20 secure complete
decentralization No generation Of men
will devote itself In this way for the h~nant
81 It's succ~s-sors, and every experiment will.
therefore. end either In failure or in tho
IMPORTATION 81 races able to relieve the
colunists 81 all severe or exhaustive toll
such arr Mr.. Town-snd's assertions, and.
a. first sight. thcy may -srn nofut"d by
the fact hat the Spaniards and Portuguese
have done the very thing which he de'ms
iupracticablo. The SpanIards colonlzed
Moxico and Central America, and tho
the Spanlards and Portuguese between
them ~coloniz~d South America. Upon
reflection. however, II will toe admitted
that The exception to the rule laid down
i. more os'en-ible than real. l-causs
from the beginning Of the conquest Of the
New World down 20 the present hour
ia" spanish and Portuguese" colonists have
done very little manual labor. but have had
ills done for them. hr-t, bv IA" aborislnes
and then. to a considerable extent, by
negroes They have practically consti-
'u'ed a ruling cnsi". Just a. the English
syeaking peoples have done In the British
West Indies and Ia or Gull Stat"s
In an es.ay on Cruelty In Europe and
Asia. an attempt IL made to explain ono
of tho most pcrpieNing differences he
tween Asistio- and Europeans The
natural horror 81 cruelty. which distin- !,
cuisines tho En~glish-.pesking peoples. and.
for that matter. all EUROPEANS In a greater
OF le-- degrees. seems not 10 extend to
Asiatics The evidenC" on the point IL
overwhelming Some 81 the most striking
proofs Of Asiatic Indifference TO suffering
ara collect"d hv Mr.. Townsend. Tho
Chinese officials constantly sentence po-
htical Offenders - awful tortur. TO be
kill-d hy "a slow ~chopping into little bits
The King who ruled in Burma In 1851
sentenced tho women 81 Anv
family. the head Of which was convicted.
or even suspected. Of treason. Co h. riprcd
while tho children were ordered To he
pounded mp In the mortar- used for pound
ing grain The charge brought against
the late Guirnwar Of Barods, the charge.
namely. Of having offenders stamped 10
hy elephants. l. SAID 20 be we'll
Every traveller In Persia has