New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-09-16
Literary yNesVs and Criticism

upon the introduction OF the science
of sanitation into a country that was
suffering untold miseries and losses for
the lack Of IT, and he recites the gains
to be attributed to hospitals and schools
Again and again. too. he emphasizes the
undesirable service rendered to India
! by the British through the sterling non
esty of their administration. civil ana
military. and through their gift OF ap-
solute justice to people not only accus-
toned to corruption in the courts put
actually fond of IT, All this, the reader
may say, he has heard before. But MI
Collier materially heightens the signln-
canoe Of his report by constantly SNOW
Ing. in close contrast with British EN-
cheney, the warning traits and the In
grained helplessness Of the natives he
does this IN chapters portraying various
centres and their representative figures
and in others which analyze the broad
bearing upon the Indian problem OF re-
| ligion and caste Of the water supply In
the fields and the money lender in the
village These chapters are packed with
details. and we make no pretence Of pur-
suing the latter at length. But we must
testify to the sense they give us OF con-
scientious II not exhaustive. investiga-
ton and Of the authors instructive Wis
( ion for the main point That is the
necessity for proceeding in the East with
tact, and then again with tact, and then
with more tact. Honesty and frmness-
these are indispensable,e but there is
/ nothing talismanic about either virtue;
without tact both may prove vain.
! In all that he writes about India Mr..
/ Collier himself delightfully."- affirms his
possession Of this resource. Even the most
/ critical Of the comments he has to offer
/ are set down so courteously. as well as
( SO reasonably, that the most prejudiced
Of Britons would have TO concede his
I good faith. and we believe. TO thank him
I for his suggestions. a captious reader
would be disarmed, too. by the mere
charm Of the book. Not in a long time
have we come upon impressions Of travel
so fresh and so interesting as these. We
would not exchange THE West in the
East" or at any rate the chapters re-
lating TO India, for boxful of novels.
/ The notes on things Chinese are read
able but Of lesser weight. and the au-
thor's remarks on Japan are curiously
disappointing The disparaging observa-
tons he has to present are doubtless
true enough, but he does not make us
feel here as he does in his talk about
India. that he has seen "al round" his
subject In fact, his picture Of Japan
seems out Of perspective, TO be tinged,
as though in spite of himself. by an I'M
conquerable prejudice in the author
Oddly enough. we condone the made
quacy Of his Chinese and Japanese chap
tiers far more readily than a positive
wrongheadednes which repeatedly crops
out when he has occasion to refer
TO a subject having nothing to do with
the East His remarks on France con-
stitute just so many incomprehensible
blenishes, which Mr.. Collier ought to
expunge for the next edition Of his in
valuable book AS direct result Of its
] secular education france IS SUFFERING
from physical and moral dry rot. In
France reverence has been knocked on
the head and faith smothered in ridicule.
France has substituted a sham equality
for constitutional liberty. France is a
land of pose and phrase, egotism and
skepticlsm There is in France a seeth-
ing mass of corruption. political and
moral In short. France is incurably de-
cadent. a very shambles. Well, we
would like to read a book about that
great country by Mr.. Collier. for if he
gave his mind 10 the task he could not
but write 10 good purpose. and TO his
severest conclusions we would be bound
TO attend with respect. But, TO tell the
truth. the views we have cited seem but
the nOnsensical outbursts Of an ungov-
ernable spleen. On this subject Mr..
Collier ought 10 read say. VI. Hanotaux
and Mr. Bodley, study French life with
little more sympathy and thereby re-
store his sense Of proportion.