The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1904-03-31
SPENCER And
JAPAN'S POLICY
The Philosophers Advice on Its
Attitude to Foreigners.
FAVORED GIVING FEW PRIVILEGES

Letter That Americans and Euro
peans Should Be Kept at Arms
Eength-strongly Opposed Marriage
with Outsiders.
1t has already been announced in the
gable dispatches that the late Herbert
gpencer about twelve years ago wrote
- letter to Baron Kentaro Kaneko in
rgard 70 the attitude which Japan
should maintain toward foreigners.
The following is a part of the text OF
ss1e letter which the Tokyo correspond
snt of the London Times published in
4 -recent issue of his paper:
Fairfield, Pewsey, Wits, England,
Aug. 26, 1892.
NV Dear Sir-Your proposal to send
ganslations of my two letters to Count
10. the newly appointed prime minister,
- quite satisfactory. very willingly
z5ve my assent.
Respecting the further questions you
ssz, let me, in the first place, answer gen
sxaIly that the japanese policy should. l
gfnk. be that of keeping Americans and
gauTopeans as much as possible at arm
Nrgth In presence of the more powerful
faces. your position is one of chronic dan
ser. and you should take every precaution
- give as little foothold as possible TO
Eoreigners.
1t seems to me that the only forms of
Intercourse which you may with advan-
cage permit are those which are lndlS-
1srsable for the exchange of commod1.
3fes, Importation and expectation of phys
aeal and mental products No further
privileges should be allowed TO people OF
ekher races, and especially to people OF the
zzfcre powerful races, than are absolute
81 needful for the achievement Of these
ends. Apparently you are proposing by
revision of the treaty with the powers Of
Europe and America ito open the whole
empire to foreigners and foreign capital.
Lregret this as a fatal policy. If you wish
70 see what is likely to happen, study the
E5story Of India. Once let>one of the more
powerful races gain point dappui, and
ehere will inevitably in course of time
grow I'D an aggressive policy which will
sead to collisions with the Japanese.
These collisions will be represented as
attacks by the japanese which must be
avenged. as the case may be. A portion
Of territory will be seized and required to
ne made over IS a foreign settlement. and
from this there will grow eventually sub
ng9tion of TIE entire Japanese empire.
Believe that you will have great difficulty
= a.
sill make the process easy il you allow OF
Any privileges to foreigners beyond those
which I have indicated.
IN pursuance of the advice thus general
x iadica ted, I should say. in answer to
your INST question. that there should be
E5t only prohibition Of foreign persons
70 hold property in land, but also q re-
Szzsai to give them leases and a permission
aa4y to reside as annual tenants.
%Iosc T should q
zsefedlX to prohibit to foreigners the work
Tag e &F9e mines owned or worked by the
government. Here there would bA obvi-
yas3y liable to arise grounds Of difference
Between the Europeans or Americans WHO
worked them and the government. al
these grounds of quarrel would be follow
ed by invocations to the English or Amer
seaD government or other powers to send
&orces to insist on whatever the European
workers claimed, for always the habit
here and elsewhere among the civilized
peoples is to believe what their agents or
geilers abroad represent to them.
In the third place, in pursuance OF tie
policy I have Indicated you ought also to
Keep the coasting trade in your own hands
and forbid foreigners to engage in it. This
seasting trade is clearly not included in
che requirement I have indicated as the
seIe one to be recognized a requirement
70 facilitate expectation and importation
~ commodities. The distribution of COM
Iaodities brought to Japan from other
places may be properly left to the Jap
8nese themselves and should be denied to
foreigners. for the reason that again the
warious transactions involved would be-
same so many doors open to quarrels and
nesulting aggressions.
TO your remaining question respecting
the intermarriage of foreigners and jap
saese, which you say is now very much
sgitated among our scholars and politi-
Sans and which you say is lone of the
Hcst difficult problems my reply is that,
~ nationally answered, there is no diff
salty at all. II should be positively for
hidden. 1t is not at root question of So
esal philosophy. 1t Is at root a question
aG biology. There is abundant proof, alike
furnished by the intermarriage Of human
races and by the interbreeding of animals
fhat when the varieties mingled diverge
Heyond a certain slight degree the result
ia inevitably bad one in the long run.
have myself been in the habit of looking
zx the evidence bearing on this matter for
many years past, and my conviction is
EHsed on numerous facts derived from
Hu-uerous sources. This conviction have
WI ain the last half hour verified for
asxnpen to be staying in the country with
q gentleman who is well known and has
had much experience respecting the in
e1l VI CCdiiS VI CottlS, anu he mas just, on
inquiry, fully confirmed my belief that
when, say of the different varieties Of
sheep, there is an interbreeding of those
which are widely unlike the result, espe-
cia1ly in the second generation, is a bad
one, there arise an incalculabe mixture
Il traits and what may be called chaot-
&c constitution. And the same thing hap
pens among human beings The Eurasians
n India, the half breeds in America show
ahis. The physiological basis of this ex-
aertence appears to be that any one va
rety Of creature in course of many gen.
STATIONS acquires a certain constitutional
adaptation to it's particular form Of life.
and every other variety similarly acquires
rs own special adaptation. The conse-
aaence is that If you mix the constitution
as3 two widely divergent varieties which
RaVe severally become adapted to widely
divergent modes Of life you get a con-
szsitution which is adapted to the mode OF
4Ee OF neither, a constitution which will
not work properly because it is not fitte
Isr any set of conditions whatever. By
ad means, therefore. peremptorily inter-
diet marriages of Japanese with foreign
ers.
You see, therefore, that my advice is
strongly conservative in all directions
give this advice in confidence I wish
ds1af 1t should not transpire publicly, at
any rate during my life, for I do not de-
tssre to rouse the luminosity of my fellow
eeuntrymen. I am, sincerely yours.
HERBERT SPENCER.
p S.-Of course when I say 1 wish this
n n ho In r a