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THE KOREAN FEELING.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
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[October 20, 1906. crossing of the two lines, where our present Equator intersects both the Himalaric and and the Pacific Girdles. Seismology bas made some little progress since that disaster, as we shall see by a reference to the "Illustrated London News" of the 25th August last, where the two girdles to which we drew attention in our previous article are plainly drawn out, but curiously enough without any appreciation of their rel importance as great circles. To this latter
we shall refer lower down.
Meanwhile it is interesting to follow the reports of the Valparaiso shock. It would seem tuat two days before, the observatory at Santiago announced that some tremblings had occurred to the instruments there, showing that the state of uurest had not altogether terminated. It is, of course in our present stage of knowledge absolutely impossible to predict an earthquake as we would predict a cyclone; we have, for instance, no means of judging whether the tremor is a precursor or the sequela of a disturbance, nor whether it is not only the effect of a slight local adjustment of
quake prognostications subterranenu conditions. Pretended earth. except in the most general terms, must without present knowledge, ba locked upon as worse than empiric, in most
sale of property in any locality where lives a Japanese official without the consent and (Daily Press, October 15th.)
official seal of the latter being affixed to the With regard to Japan's treatment of Korea land deeds. Practically, whenever the land as an absolute colony, it is convenient for in question is required by Japanese this Great Britain to dream of a b nevolent leads to its confiscation in everything but supervision of Korea's wayward adminis.name, the native being forced to give up his tration to her own ultimate good, and the property in return for a consideration. By future benefit of her inhabitants. A foreigners, the purchase of eligible sites for correspondent just returned from Kora business purposes has, we are informed, bel eves that Japan aims at the eventual become a matter of practical impossibility. supersession not only of Korean government The immediate consequence is curious. by Japanese, but the substitution of a Owing to the impossibility of purchasing land Japanese population for the present native the price of that already acquired has gone Korean. The present population of Korea up to famine prices, and the few foreign at the lowest computation, amounts to eight residents who in the early days had invested millions or about 175 to the square mile, so in land, are now reaping huge profits out of that the task undertaken by Japan, if it is un- their ventures, Now, looking at the position dertaken, is of no light magnitule. If Korea from an outside and perfectly unbiassed were in a stage of civilization immeasurably point of view, all this must be considered lower than Japan's the undertaking would very unsatisfactory; nor is the situation be at least a serious, one, if not dangerous : without danger politically. It must be a the task is rendered more serious and more difficult task to hold do vn a whole race for dangerous that as a race the Koreans are any continuous term of years, even when but little behind their neighbours in menta the population is so unprepared for resist- ability, and individually very much their ance, and so averse from aggressive measures superiors in physical development. Their as is that of Korea. notorious morale, however, has caused the are not troubled with doubts of their own Yet the Japanese Japanese to commence their task by sufficiency. In such a condition something, it despising their suhject, a had beginning. may be a mere spark, is sure to bring out the Contempt is indeed paramount in the treat- latent spirit of the populace, and Koren is
cases the individual ment being at the momen meted out to just now in such a state of unrest that at any making them not having experience the i habitants wherever their protectors moment the spark may give rise to a general enough of the relation of cause and have effected a settlement, however small, conflagration. A mab once excited to action effect to justify his even laying claim to and the rot unnatural consequence of this does not long have any respect for persons, the title of empiric. The day of the is that an old-standing racial hatred is and in such a case the innocent are as earthquake had been fine, in fact like any being universally augmented from one end likely to suffer as the guilty. The Koreans ordinary day at the season, and the shock of the country to another. Without any are long-suffering: but they seem to find it
came without warning. The written show of conciliation, the feeling is being harder to bear the Japanese contempt than accounts state that the shock took place at repressed by the fear engendered by an
any of their former troubles. Though about eight o'clock, but here there is a overgrown military orcupiney, while an Korea has never been able to offer any curious, apparent at least, discrepancy. In over officious police system is rapidly being continuous opposition to her more warlike China, at Siccawei, in England, at Professor extended throughout the country; which, and ambitious neighbours at both sides, the Milne's private observatory. aad at Wasb. while it is insufficient to control. is quite patience of the people has well nigh been ex-ington the commencement of the shock was sufficient to create of itself dissatisfaction hausted. Even the despised Russiau peasant and alarm. In addition to the spread of is beginning to show that he is capable of unpleasant feeling amongst the native popu- resistance when the burden is made too lation, many foreign residents are also loud heavy to bear, and the Japanese would set in expressing their feeling of disgust at
more wisely did they take measures to gain the lengths to which interference is being the respect of the people who they would carri d, and this feeling is bound to react ou supersede. They would only be acting in the Koreans themselves. Situated as Japan accordance with the expressed wishes of is in Korea, it would seem a matter of con- Tokyo were they to do so. sileration to her that she should be able to depend on a large section of the people to
SEISMIC PHENOMENA, lend her friendly assistance in case of a renewal of her strife with Russia, who is
(Daily Press, October 16th.) looking on the general feeling of estrange- Last May we drew attention to the very ment prevailing with anything but unremarkable series of earthquake shocks, favourable eyes. Apparently the Japanese expect to manage as before, “off their own bat." It is quite true that Russia has been making a pretence of opening up friendly relations; but Russian advances of this nature, with the wounds to her self respect still unhealed, are of themselves only too likely to prove in the end an additional embarrassment. The cavalier-like manner in which Japan has intruded herself into the Palace at Seoul is of no good augury: nominally under the pretext of maintaining order and upholding the dignity and safety" of the unfortunate EMPEROR, no persons suspected by the Japanese authorities are permitted access to the Palace, and the gates and approaches are guarded by Japane e troops and police. A Japanese official has been appointed, noui- ally as
"advisor" to the Korean police; really his action has been to supersede entirely the native force, and the streets and walls of the capital are patrolled night and day by Japanese policemen. Practically Korean officialdom is extinct in all the ports, and the system is being gradually extended through the country, so that the native authorities are not permitted to register a
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which beginning at Esmeraldas on the Pacific coast of Columbia close to the Equator, culminated on April 18th in the destructive earthquake that rendered So Francisco a heap of ruins. It is one of the features of these seismic phenomena that they are distinctly periodic, usually reaching a maximum during the winter season in our northern hemisphere, and fading to a minimum when the earth is at its aphelion. Of course exceptions occur, and it is also noticeable that many, if not most of the worst of these disturbances recorde 1 in history, have happened during the summer months; but in earthquakes મસ in meteorological phenomena it is wise to recall the doggrel warning:- Long threatened long last-Short notice soon past". In most cases these summer shakings have heen preceded by a long series of preliminary quiverings; the first disturbance which has set the rest going in nearly every case being traceable to the period when the earth was in perihelion. As we showed in Our reference to the San Francisco disaster, the indication of the disturbed condition of what we may call the "Pacific Girdle' was given on the 31st January at the equatorial
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noted and calculating back the distance travelled by the seismic wave, the first shock must have occurred about 6.46 p.m. on the 16th August. The records are in curious agreement, and make the wave to have travelled at the rate of 4 miles per second, or very nearly 6 kilometres. Shanghai is situated approximately at the autipodes of Valparaiso, and the commence- went of the vibrations was recorded at 7.19 p.m. Valparaiso time, (8h. 19m. a.m. China Coast time); the length of the chord, bere passing near the earth's centre is approximately 7,900 miles, and the time would be within a few seconds of 33 minutes. giving 6.46 p.m. as the approximate time of the actual shock. In south England the length of chord is approximately 6,450 miles and the time nearly 27 minutes, the Valparaiso time is given as 7.15 p.m. so the calculated time of commencement would be 6.48 p.m. Washington the chord is approximately 4,850 miles, and the time of passage of the vibrations a little over 20 minutes. The time (Chile) recorded was 7.05 p.m. so the reduced tim of ac ual occurrence would be
6.44 p.u
At
These are only the roughest of calculations, and given without knowledge of the exact time noted at Valparaiso itself. but the coincidence is at least curious.
Nor are the sequelae of this Valparaiso earthquake any less instructive than those of the early part of the year. In Chile itself the earth was in a practically con tinuous stage of vibration till the 20th August, and during this period the vibra- tions were distinctly felt in the Formosa Chauuel. The Pacific Girdle spoken of above actually fringes the west coast of Formos, and we find on the 19th (18th in Chile), off the coast of Fukieo, E. long. 118.14, the Kwangse steamer reporting a
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