d in character, wits and health are not only making the
living which they failed to obtain at home; they are testing some
national canons of agriculture. Face to face with strangers and with
new conditions, these immigrants are also examining some ideals of
social life and conduct which, old though they are, may not be
perfectly adapted to the new age into which Japan has forced herself.
One evening in Hokkaido I saw a lone cottage in the hills. At its door
was the tall pole on which at the _Bon_ season the lantern is hung to
guide the hovering soul of that member of the family who has died
during the year. The settler's lantern, steadily burning high above
his hut, was an emblem of faith that man does not live by gain alone
which the hardest toil cannot quench. In whatever guise it may express
itself, it is the best hope for Hokkaido and Japan.

During my stay in the island I had an opportunity of meeting some of
the most influential men from the Governor downwards; also several
interesting visitors from the mainland. We often found ourselves
getting away from Hokkaido's problems to the general problems of rural
life.

Of the good influences at work in the village, the first I was once
more assured, was "popular education and school ethics, a real
influence and blessing." The second was "the disciplinary training of
the army for regularity of conduct." ("The influence of officers on
their young soldiers is good, and they give them or provide them with
lectures on agricultural subjects and allow them time to go in
companies to experimental farms.")

Someone spoke of "the influence of the religion of the past." "The
religion of the past!" exclaimed an elderly man; "in half a dozen
prefectures it may be that religion is a rural force, but elsewhere in
the Empire there is a lack of any moral code that takes deep root in
the head. After all Christians are more trustworthy than people
drinking and playing with geisha."

On the other hand a prominent Christian said: "There is a weakness in
our Christians, generally speaking. There is an absence of a sound
faith. The native churches have no strong influence on rural life.
There is often a certain priggishness and pride in things foreign in
saying, 'I am a Christian.'"

Another man spoke in this wise: "I have been impressed by some of the
following of Uchimura. They seem ardent and real. But I have also been
attracted by strength of character in members of various sects o