f
Christians. The theology and phraseology of these men may be curious,
may be in many respects behind the times, but their religion had a
beautiful aspect.[275] Many of our people have got something of
Christian ethics, but are no church-goers. Some Japanese try to
combine Christian principles with old Japanese virtues; others with
some soul supporting Buddhistic ideas. We must have Christianity if
only to supply a great lack in our conception of personality. People
who have accepted Christianity show so much more personality and so
much more interest in social reform."

When we returned to agricultural conditions, one who spoke with
authority said: "In Old Japan the agricultural system has become
dwarfed. The individual cannot raise the standard of living nor can
crops be substantially increased. The whole economy is too small.[276]
The people are too close on the ground. They must spread out to
north-eastern Japan, to Hokkaido, Korea and Manchuria. The population
of Korea could be greatly increased. There is an immense opening in
Manchuria, which is four or five times the area of the Japanese Empire
and sparsely populated. There is also Mongolia."[277]

"But in Korea," one who had been there said, "there are the Koreans,
an able if backward people, to be considered--they will increase with
the spread of our sanitary methods among a population which was
reduced by a primitive hygiene and by maladministration. And as to our
people going to the mainland of Asia, we do not really like to go
where rice is not the agricultural staple, and we prefer a warm
country. In Formosa, where it is warm, we are faced by the competition
of the Chinese at a lower standard of life.[278] The perfect places
for Japanese are California, New Zealand and Australia, but the
Americans and Australasians won't have us. I do not complain; we do
not allow Chinese labour in Japan. But we think that we might have had
Australasia or New Zealand if we had not been secluded from the world
by the Tokugawa regime, and so allowed you British to get there first.
It is not strange that some of our dreamers should grudge you your
place there, should cherish ideas of expansion by walking in your
footsteps. But it is wisdom to realise that we cannot do to-day what
might have been done centuries ago or make history repeat itself for
our benefit. It is wiser to seek to reduce the amount of
misapprehension, prejudice and--shall I say?--national feeling in
Japa