April 29, 1907.)
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CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
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occurring in such widely separated patches | to almost rush into a panic, and proclaim | Orientals, and he remarks that any as Patagonia, Australia, and the East India au impending age of disturbanes. It is pro- absolute dichotomy of the Old World into Islands, so that there is ample room forbable, however, that the explanation, in a east and west is mislealing. Europe has a almost any number of earthquakes to great part, is to be found in the increased certain homogeneity in spite of many develop under the ocean without a single means of reporting smic disturbances, differences, but even superficial uniformity buman being being by to report the There is, of course, no reason to disbelieve is wanting in Asia. For the benefit of accurrence for the benefit of the curious. that outside influences may play a consider- 1 European touders chiefly we have frequently One of these missing earthquakes occurred able part in leading up to earthquakes; hirved on that string. There are greater on the 16th or 17th of August last, some people have suggested that spots on differences than similarities betwem the according as it happened at one side or the sun may even have something to say to Chineas and Japanese, greater even than other of the 18th meridian, and so was them. If we knew all about spots on the Sir CHARLES ELIOT sems to have notel. almost isochronous with the great Yal- sun we might be better able to judge, but He sees clearly that academically there is paraiso shock, with which, indeed it was at at present the sun-spot theory has many little to choose between the civilization of first confused. Writing about the quake burdens to bear, so that momentarily wo the Orient and the Oesident. The latter at the time we remarked on the uncertainty may dismiss it. The only other astronomi-, he defines broadly of the actual time of ecurrence, a remark, cal theory that seems to have any found itina . development of the material and mechanical curiously enough, al made in Europe. seems to be to refer the motions to the sides of life, and of the scientific studios From the small amount of information in diff Tent fluctuations of external gravity, which render them possible." which is our possession we concluded that the actual The differential pull, for instance, is greater invariably associated with Christianity," earthquake at Valparaiso had happened at perihelion than at aphelion, and th ́although it does not appear that the about 6.45 p.m. while the telegraphic difference s not altogether to be measured : material, scientific, anl
moral progress accounts had tied it about p.m. Now it statically, but the kinetic effect of approach of Europe is dus by Christianity. It 80 bappened that the instruments has to be taken note of But the effet, "has been lost striking in the coun- Sicuawei registered the beginning of a great whatever it is, does not vary from year to tries where the clergy have most_power." earthquake disturbance at 8.20 a.m. which year but is practically constant. Still, most | As for the former, th people Are in Valparaiso time was 7.40 p.m. or 20 of our calculations go to show that earth-
wither aggresiva Hor fanatical" -"the minutes before the quake actually com-quakes are rather frequent in or about brais of Chinese institutions is an menced. Similarly the seismographs at perihelion. Then again there is little to cellest, sang, prosaic, moral philosophy."* Greenwich registered the beginning at show that there is another slight maximum By implication SIR CHARLES must regard 1.05 p.m. which converted into Valparaiso when the moon is about perigee, and there i missionarjos as impertinent intrusions. The time and allowing nu hour for travel made certainly is some remote connietibu between traits of the Oriental mint
are often out that the shock commenced at 7.14 p.m. earthquakes and the harometer. Now none; correctly catalogued, but both readers and But a shock then on the spot would have of thes theories are in themselves absurd. i writers
err in assuming them 10 be excited attention, yet nothing is said of any only our knowlegd is insuffi int to apply | peculiarly Oriental, instead of common to preliminary shakings. If we reduce the thein adequately. Unfortunately, we have the whole humin race, One of the " Chi- Siccawei times similarly we would obtain as yet not elaborated any rational system „f
hese Characteristics" cited is "intellectual for the distance of Valparaiso a time of earthquake observation. Some writer on firbidite," on which St& CHARLES ELIOT about 6.20 p.m, so that, to suit both sets of the subject have multiplied their exlculations! breaks out thus deliciously : observations, we must look for a locality till they are formidable from their excess, | There is no doubt a good deal of turbidity in somewhat in the middle of the Pacific. running into many thousands of pretended the Chinese mind, but is it unknowa ia Altogether, as Professor MILNE SAYS, the observations. With writers of this class, America? In Great Britain, at any rate, not observations, as they stand, make a "jumble every notice however unskilled, is of equally mental turbidity, but a hatred of clear which may be compared with the meeting value, so that the record falls from its very strongest.
i thinking and lucid statement is on, of the national characteristics, aul an of waves at the mouths of two opposing redundancy. For the purpose of establishing | average British Cabinet contains onough intellec-
general rules one good record of each tus turbidity to supply a whole Chinese moh. single disturbance is better than the present system of taking every one to hund, the aim of the investigator should, in fact, be to harn what to reject. A few hundred good observations, say as to the periodicity of earthquake in the southern hemisphere, | would be worth more than all the so-called statistics, where every notios irrespective of period or locality is held of equal authority.
estuaries".
It seems that the affair has called the attention of seismologists throughout the world to the possible sources of the double record, and that the matter is to be discussed at the next meeting of the international Seismological Association take place at the Hague.
to
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EAST AND WEST.
(Dady Press, 26th Aprili
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Unfortunately, 8 far as our unqualified approval of his letters is concerne, Sir Changes occasionally seems to neglect his owa system of clear thought, as when he condošemuls to be impressed by the uu- aumity of Japanese Treaty Port opinions of the Japanese. Still, he thinks a good deal for himself, and he has discovered for himself the jealousy which, unable to deny Japanese progress,
calls the Japanese
mere imitators of Western methods. The Japanese have a guius for adapta- tion, which is something more than imitation. Europeans cannot claim ab. solute orginality. Sir CHARLES shrewdly if unkindly points out that.
The inhabitants of the British Islands, for invance, did not invent the Christian religion, or the Roman alphabet, or the forms of art which they pursue with most success, any more thee things in Japan; but for European than the Japanese inrented what corresponds to nations have had so great a talent for infusing their own special individudity into what they borrowed without spoiling it.
But this is not the only case of a missing earthquake within the last few months. On the 5th January Siccawei reported an earthquake shock of considerable amplitude as having been registered by its instruments, The vibrations seemed to indicate a distance of some 2,500 miles. There was, of course, SIR CHARLES ELIOT, K.C.M.G., is no indication of direction, so it might have globetratfer with a difference. Though his taken place in the disturbed regious of "Letters from the Far Eist " | Iz›ndon Siberia or under sea in the Pacific. We; EDWARD ÅRNOLD ̧ are not offer l generally hear sooner or later of dis. anything more than impressions de voyage, turbances in northern Asia, but no news they are written by an acute observer and seems to have arrived. There is a well intelligent scholar, one who shans known earthquake district extending from thought as well as of language," and the the Philippines to Fiji, but even here we brevity of the writer's visit to these pirts generally get news of any more severe seems to have been fully compensatel by disturbance than usual, so
that the the diligence with which he observed and absence or any report is noteworthy. The enquired, and the care with which he sitte
It is his analysis of Chinese civilization, observations of Siccawei in this case and assimilated the results. We quoted, however, which most impresses us as 20 were confirmed from Toky, so that it is extensively from the letters as they appeared, exceedingly clever impressionist study. His more than likely that the pacific was last year in the Westminster Gazelle, and references are mostly to traits animadverted really the scene. It is known that severe do not propose here to do more than call upin by others, or to apparent defects, but earthquakes have happened in or about the attention to some of the many interesting he makes it clear that he is no slave, to East Indian Archipelago, so that there is points made in the course of the introduction prejudice. It was necessary, because he no. unlikelihood of the occurrence itself which he has written from them in their felt that the explanation to be sought was the lack of information is, however, difficult present book form. That such a man shout why the Chinese had not cut a better figure to understand as all these regions are now
think it necessary to protest, as he does,' in the world, as a result of their admitted fairly well settled. Still, however, these against the error of lumping together as excellencies, and 101 some things, their occasional reusinders ought to teach us how Orientals all Asiatics from Turkey to the superiorities. defective are still our records, and how; Pacific, argues that the much of the world is still little more than a blank to the scientific collector of statistics. Because we have with in the last five or six years heard more of earthquakes than we ever did before, there has been a tendency
error
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one
commonly made, although out here we do not need to be told how foolish and how mislealing it is. Sir CHARLES puts the Chinese aud Japanese on quite a different level of estimation to other Asiatics or
i
in numbers they exceed every other race, even if we reckon ali *gropeans together as a unit, and their physique is excellent; they can live anywhere, and certain sections of them laborious, and excellent men of business. Why are disposed to emigrate, they are civilized, then, have so large and gifted a people not
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