The Opelousas courier., 1904-04-16
NEW JAPANESE NAVY.
MANNED BY A RIGHT GOOD,
STURDY AND HARDY LOT.

| would like to lay certain facts be-
fore the public with respect to the jap
anes navy, which, Aehile it is quite
one OF the best in existence, appears
to me to attract less attention in Eng
land than its sister service and than it
deserves, writes a correspondent of the
London Spectator. Just why Japan
should possess such a fine navy is
largely due to the fact that, with her
long and much broken coast line, one
half of which faces the mightiest of
oceans, and the other half the stormy
seas dividing her from the mainland of
Asia, and with innumerable creeks and
streams running in all directions. she
is singularly fortunate in possessing
for her naval purposes a population,
a goodly proportion of which is made
up OF boatmen, sailors and fisherfolk.
And a right good, sturdy and hardy lot
of men they are, too, with plenty of
go" and dash in them, and just the
material for the making Of good men
O;-war's men.
Leaving out certain matters of much
interest from a historical point of
view, it is interesting to kno,>PfeEe the
Japanese navy has been modelled upon
lines strictly British.
Yokosuka may be considered the
headquarters of the Japanese navy,
but Kure in the Inland sea. is in no
way behind in importance, for in addi-
ton to superior dock yaSd accommoda-
ton and a fine arseaal. the harbor
there is in every Way-for naval pur-
poses-one of the finest in existence.
Saseho, close to Nagasaki, is magnifi-
Gently situated for commanding the
waters lying between Japan and Co.
rea, and no less SO as a base for often
sive operations in the Gulf of Pechill
and China seas. Malzuru, on the Sea
OF Japan and Muroran, in Yezo, are
yards of secondary importance and are
more coaling stations and harbors of
refuge for small craft than anything
else as yet. Should Japan be drawn
into a war with Russia, they might,
however, be of inestimable value to
her as places of embarkation for
troops destined for the mainland of
Asia, as well as for the purposes al
ready mentioned.
The education of japanese naval Of
ficers is in the first place carried out
at the Naval College at Etajima. The
cadets enter when about II years of
age, and after a three years course
join a training ship for cruising pur-
poses. Returning to Japan, they are
then posted to sea-going men-o-War,
and upon being promoted to sub-lien-
tenant, go through gunnery, torpedo,
ETC., schools, and later on through a
curse at the Naval Academy at To-
kyo. The work done is good, but
though the japanese are apt pupils
and keen soldiers when young, they
toe often fall off as they grow older,
and this, | think, is largely due to GER
tain old-time family customs that still
hold sway in Japan. Every Japanese
officer marries somewhat young, and
ooner has he prepared a home
than members of his family at once
begin to make his home theirs also.
Household cares induced by such a
state of affairs often prove too much
for many of them; their early keen
ness vanishes, and then a general fall
ing off in efficiency Don takes place.
AS I explained in my former letter
on the japanese army, the Satsuma ell
ement is the all-predominating n in
the japanese navy. This most un-
doubtedly worked all right so long as
Japan had a navy of 100, 900 tons and
less, but since it's excessive augmenta-
ton during the last few years men of
other clans have been joining in ever
increasing numbers, and bid fair in
time to challenge the Satsuma FREEDOM
nance, and the consequence is that
the Japanese navy, like the japanese
army, is no longer the happy family af-
fair it was a few years back. The Of
foers then knew each other, got on to-
gether, and sc everything worked for
efficiency. The cadets now joining
are certainly not of the same high
stamp they were when / first took up
my duties at the naval college. Eta
jima, and this means a good deal-cer-
tainly more in Japan than in England.
The Japanese blue jackets and petty
officers are very fine men indeed, far
better so, on an average, than their
comrades of the army. They are better
fed, clothed, and looked after, and a
very great proportion of them join the
service voluntarily. Taking them on
the whole, they are a fairly intelligent
lot of men, far more so than the Rus
SLAMS, but in physique they cannot in
any way compare with them. Recruit
ed entirely from the fisherfolk classes,
they are a fairly hardy lot of men, and
having been brought up to the sea,
soon make themselves quite at home
on joining. The stokers and engine
room artificers are not as good as they
might be, but from all l have been able
to gather they are improving.
OF the strength of the ships in the
Japanese navy. there is no need to
write, for the fullest of information re-
garding that may be obtained from
books and ANIMALS devoted to sucbB
matters. The best of the Japanese
ships are as good as the best in any
navy. The Russians undoubtedly have
officers and men superior to any the
japanese can bring forward, but l
firmly believe-and / have seen a
good deal OF both-the average Japan
ese officer and man are every whit as
good as the average Russian. Wheth-
err the Japanese is quite SO stubborn a