New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-12-01
Literary .NesOs and Criticism.

Ilng such work the man with the sTgag = may be
iio f and he Is usually capable and experienced
Ihe swagman illustrates the uneventfulness
OF his life as he follows the "walIaby track
from one edge of the continent to the other, and
the taciturnlty which It induces by a story
which may be heard in some form or other IN
any part of Australia" and which is known as
The Great Australian Joke" The author gives
the following variant of it:
Tive, Two mates; Bill and Jim. were carrying their
maEs tdnfo9gh very lnhospitabe stretch of coun-
~ 6g: aI3o p0In were completely down their luck
tba ad s , Ihey passed dry water hole,
1 fsnc oea6 0eass When they had left 1t some dis
f t 9sh fat t9e an B opened his mouth for he
dead bullock" About dusk they came to a creek
and billy Of tea Couple of pipes aT were smoked
s SPOKE as sge were being Rnoa Jim also
hot Wind was bow fnp rose a next day scVTehRg
push on. for the tucker bags were nearly empty
n more and more IN Pad country As The sun grew
and P s aaa rest but they came to no water
threw his swag angrily the ground, and, turn
Ing in fereeiy upon Jim. spoke yet again, saying.
outfit for rneI' -
OF very lively interest to American readers
Is the subject of Mr.. LIE Roys volume, Phillip
pine Life in Town and Country" although, as
he explains. strictly speaking, his book deals
rather with 1.-THE Filipinos Above and Below"
He aims, In fact, rather at a thoughtful con
sideration of Filipino civilization. progress and
prospects than at a mere presentation Of the
more superficial aspects Of native life IN the
cities and in the villages. His avowed purpose
is ito set forth the F1lipinos they are. avoid
ing, on the one hand psychological speculation
under the guise of analysis of their character
istics, and, on the other hand. political propa-
ganda in behalf of any theoretical plan for
their future government, or In behalf OF the
compromise plan under which they at pres
ent being governed" This purpose Mr.. LIE Roy
fulfls with rare discretion. and his book may
be read with profit and without offence by
imperialist and anu-imperialist alike. It Is. in
fact. one Of the sanest and least prejudiced of
the many accounts. discussions and pronunca-
mentos that form the already large and highly
variegated photography In regard to our
and perplexing Asiatio possessions. The point
which the author keeps constantly in view in
his description of native characteristics, Gus
toms and institutions is the capacity for prog
ress which they indicate. He confines his at
tentions to the Chrstianized FIlipinos. who
make up nine-tenths Of the total Inhabitants
of the archipelago. IN a good deal that has
been written of late" Mr.. LIE Roy contends,
cit seems to have been assumed that Spanish
dominion in the Philippines may practically be
disregarded." Such attitude, he asserts.
must be due to mere ignorance or to con-
temptuous indifference to the facts of history
He maintains that the Spaniards not only IN
fuenced the Filipinos. but Influenced them pro-
foundly during their three centuries of con-
troll .and on the whole for the better. There
are ways, indeed" he continues. in which their
record as a coIonizing power in the Philippines
stands today UNIQUE in all the world for its
benevolent achievements and its substantial ac-
cor11plishment of net progress These achieve
ments of Spain he finds, to be sure have been
due less to her halting and backward policy
(which at last turned the Fflipinos against span
ish rule" than to her work as a missionary
and teacher. But, having laid the foundations
Spain showed herself unable to carry on the
erection Of the fabric she had planned.
snajn has never yet fully entered into the nine
teefb century politically or intellectually in the
Penins1,la itself; how much less was she aole 20
guide f pee0Eet q With the world at large
and dimiy aware of the goal toward which they
contact with the . a0 the f raea and e envo
he orient the fact that they themselves rejected
spain as an sn ndcaton Of their tness for fur
ther progress in that direction The 1ps d e
Filipino revolutionary movement or 1882 dilioIs ls
similar peoples T tbe 3S Orient feen The fact hat the
F7iIipinos should have progressed unoer Spanish
mands so unique in Orient is in itself the high
est praise for Spain.
Asserting that the best Filipinos are optimistic
as to their race and future Mr.. LIE Roy asks that
we at least "be decent enough to give them the
benefit of the doubt, if not tc encourage that
optimism." AS an evidence Of the possession
of the elements, at least, of a strong national
life the author cites the slight influence exerted
bv Chinese immigration on Filipino institutions.
He says:
In Manila and other places where intermArriage
has taken Mace on a large scale during several
hundred years 1t Is rather curious TO note, the Chi
nese element which has been submerged rather
than the Filipino. In order TO marry under Span
ish rule the Chinese must turn Christian. be bap-
fized and married according to the only ritual
which the law recognized that of the established