The Progress of Ethnology

In regard to the mammoths, the fossil bones of which have been found in Siberia, M. Middendorff has shown that, in accordance with the views of Professor Owen, (who states that these quadrupeds were specially organized to live on the branches and leaves of such shrubs and trees as grow in boreal latitudes) there are still trees in latitude 72° which would suffice for their sustenance.

The Ethnology of this region has been elucidated by our traveller, who by investigating the languages and physical characteristics of these remote tribes, has been enabled to affiliate them with their parent stocks.

Our knowledge of the geology and geography of the northern and southeastern extremities of Siberia have been greatly extended by this journey; in fact no enquiry for the advancement of science and a knowledge of this far distant and hitherto unknown region, seems to have been neglected.[95 - The Royal Geographical Society of London has conferred its Victoria Gold Medal on Prof. Middendorff for his successful exploration.]

Another scientific expedition of an Ethnological character is employed in Siberia under the direction of M. Castren, who has devoted much of his first report to the geography of the country. After speaking of the river Irtisch and its fisheries, he gives some account of the Ostiaks, the most ancient people of its banks. Surrounded by Russians and Tartars, they have lost all their nationality except their language. The Tartar influence is feeble, but that of Russia is felt in their religion, their manners, their customs and even in their general mode of thinking.

A paper containing "Ethnological Notes on Siberia," by Prof. Von Middendorff, was read at the late meeting of the British Association for the advancement of science. "In this paper, the geographical boundaries of the different tribes were set forth, the tribes were enumerated and some of the characteristic peculiarities described. The 1st, was the Ostiaks; these were stated to be of Finnish origin, on both physiological and philological evidence. 2d, the Samoiedes, who were of Mongol descent. 3rd, the Tunguses. 4th, the Yakuts; the extent to which Mongol features were found in a nation speaking a language akin to Turkish, was insisted on. 5th, the Yukagins; the physical peculiarities of which placed them along with the Samoiedes. 6th, the Ainos; these were the inhabitants of the Kinule islands at the mouth of the Arnus; of these there were two types, the Finnish and the Japanese. 7th, the Kachkell; these were only known through the Ainos."

A geographical Society has lately been founded at St. Petersburg, to which the emperor proposed to give ten thousand silver rubles annually. The first great exploratory expedition under the directions and patronage of this Society will be directed along the eastern flank of the Ural mountains, from the parallel of 60° north (Bogoslafsk) to the Glacial sea. This survey is to be conducted by Count A. Von Keyserling, already known to the public through his valuable geological co-operation in the work on Russia, by Sir R.I. Murchison; and who by his sound acquirements in geology, zoology and geography, will it is presumed, during the ensuing three years, throw great additional light on the wild Arctic Ural which separates Europe from Asia, and which, inhabited by Ostiaks and Samoiedes, extends beyond the limits of arboreal vegetation. Among numerous other objects, it is hoped that this expedition will elicit new results concerning the entombment and preservation of the mammoths.[96 - Lord Colchester's Address before the Royal Geog. Society. London, 1846.]

India. The obstacles which have existed in India, and which have retarded the extension of European civilization, will now be effectually removed by the noble step taken by Lord Hardinge, the Governor General, for promoting education in that country.[97 - Missionary Herald. Vol. XLI. p. 138.] This benevolent and excellent man, whose well earned laurels on the field of battle are not more honorable than his philanthropic efforts in extending education among the natives of India, and in improving their social condition, "has directed the Council of Education and other authorities charged with the duty of superintending public instruction throughout the provinces subject to the government of Bengal, to submit returns of the students who may be fitted according to their degrees of merit and capacity, for such of the various public offices, as with reference to their age, abilities and other circumstances, they may be deemed qualified to fill." As this order recognizes no distinction of schools, or castes, or religion, it will have a great influence on the people, towards inducing them to give their children the benefit of a good education, which to a great extent must be obtained through the Christian missionaries. "It is," says the Friend of India, "the most powerful impulse which the cause of education has received during the last twenty-five years. It makes the seminaries the nursery of the service, and the service the stimulant of the seminaries. It introduces the enlightened principles adopted by European governments, of recruiting the public service in every department from those who have earned distinctions in the public schools. At the same time it will be found instrumental in the highest degree in the general elevation of the country. It will transplant into the interior that European knowledge and science which has hitherto been confined to Calcutta, and diffuse their influence through every district."

The renunciation of idolatry must necessarily follow the first steps in this great work of reform, and we already see it noticed that in southern India, within the short period of three months, eight hundred and thirty-two persons renounced idolatry and embraced Christianity. This large number was a part of the population of seven villages.[98 - Missionary Herald. Vol. XLI. p. 206.]

Such changes are not without their effects on the great mass of the natives, indeed it is only by removing from their minds the gross superstition in which they have been for ages immersed, that there can be a hope of improving their social condition. The wealthy Hindoos cling to their ancient religion with greater tenacity as it totters towards its downfall, than when in its most flourishing state. Alarmed at the innovations which European civilization and Christianity have made, they are printing by subscription, a series of popular religious books in monthly numbers, on their doctrines, rites, superstitions and idolatry. Fearing that the Europeans and such as have been taught to observe these things with ridicule, might controvert them, they have confined the subscription to Hindoos, and have directed that their books shall be rigidly kept from the hands of Christians.

The Mahommedans too, in Bengal, are greatly alarmed at the danger to which their religion is exposed. They have prepared tracts and books in opposition to Christianity, and have sent, or are sending emissaries in every direction, with a view to strengthen the tottering cause of their false prophet.[99 - English Baptist Missionary Report for 1845. p. 9.] A Mahommedan merchant in Bombay has printed at his own expense, two thousand copies of the Koran for gratuitous distribution, at a cost of several thousand dollars.

In former times the efforts of the missionaries were directed to proselyting among the Hindoos and other idolaters of the East, without first making themselves acquainted with the fabric which they were laboring so earnestly to demolish. Nursed and educated as the natives were in the doctrines and superstitions which for ages their forefathers had venerated and professed, the efforts of the missionaries and of others who labored to improve their condition were unattended with success – and a conflict between Oriental and European civilization – between Hindooism and Christianity – between the false science of the shastres and the enlightenment of Europe, for a long time existed; and it seemed doubtful whether truth or falsehood would triumph. Now, the system is changed, and a course is pursued which bids fair to produce the most wonderful effects on the people of India and China.

It has been asserted that the missionary enterprise in India was a failure, and did not warrant the large sums expended there. Those who are unfriendly to the cause do not see that more than half the amount there expended was for educating the people, for improving their social condition, for translating valuable books into their various languages and for establishing among them that mighty engine of civilization and reform, the printing press.[100 - It appears that the Baptist Missionary Society in the year ending in March, 1845,[119 - Report of the English Baptist Missionary Society for 1845.] expended in India $29,500, of which sum nearly $15,000, or rather more than one half, was expended in making translations of books into various languages. The remainder was for the support of the missionaries, their outfits and passages, the support of native teachers – schools &c. The languages and dialects which have been studied and elucidated and into which books have been translated may be summed up as follows.32 languages and dialects in India,4 do. do. in Persia and the Caucasian countries,5 do. in China and the Indo-Chinese countries,4 do. in Polynesia.The translations consist of the whole or portions of the Scriptures; books on religious or moral subjects; elementary works on Science, popular Histories, geography, &c. Elementary books in the several departments of Science and History constitute the greater variety, though of the whole number of works distributed, the Bible and Testament constitute by far the greatest part. For example, the English Baptist Missionary Society printed and issued in the year ending March 1845, fifty-five thousand copies of the Bible and Testament in the Sanscrit, Bengali, Hindostani, and Armenian languages. The number of books printed and distributed in India by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions was as follows.Madras Mission. In the Tamil and English languages: The Scriptures or portions of them – books of a religious character – elementary school books – tracts – periodicals and reports of benevolent associations bearing on the cause of Christianity and the social and intellectual improvement of the population of India, there were printed at this single establishment, within a fraction of twenty-seven millions of pages – or, if in volumes of two hundred and seventy pages each, one hundred thousand volumes; but as there were many tracts, the number was doubtless double or treble. Besides this there are six other large establishments in Southern India, where books in the Tamil language are printed, all under the control of Missionary Societies.Ceylon Mission. In the Tamil and English languages were printed during the year, twenty-three thousand seven hundred and forty-four volumes, and one hundred and forty-five thousand tracts, amounting to six million one hundred and fifty-six thousand pages.Siam Mission. In the Siamese language were printed in two years two million four hundred and sixty-two thousand pages.When so much is accomplished by one Society, how vast must be the influence exerted by the various Missionary and Tract Societies engaged in the same cause.]

But it is not merely in the translation and distribution of these books, that the missionaries have rendered so much service. In this labor it is true they have contributed greatly towards disseminating Christian truth and useful knowledge among a large class of people, and have improved their religious, their moral and their social condition. But to Europe and to the learned world they have also furnished a vast deal of philological knowledge, elucidating and developing languages scarcely known beyond the precincts of the several countries in which they were spoken. Many of these languages, too, were previously unwritten; and from this rude state the missionaries have trained and moulded them into forms adapted to written speech.

While speaking of the labors of the missionaries in the East, I should do great injustice to Catholics not to speak of their efforts to improve the moral and religious condition of the people in these distant countries. In the most barbarous and secluded portions of the earth do we find these devoted men diligently laboring to elevate the condition of the natives. In many do we see a zeal and devotedness, an endurance of hardships, of the most severe privations, and often martyrdom itself, which has never been surpassed in the annals of missionary enterprise. Neither François Xavier, nor Ignatius Loyola, so famous among the pioneers of the Eastern missions, ever exhibited a greater zeal or devotedness than we now witness among the Catholic missionaries in Thibet, China, Corea, the islands of the Eastern Archipelago and Oceanica. They too have added much to our stock of knowledge of the inhabitants, their manners and customs, and their languages. Their narratives give us particular accounts of the productions of the countries in which they reside, their trade, commerce, and all that interests us.

Siam. An interesting fact connected with the progress of European civilization, and the extension of Christianity in the kingdom of Siam, seems deserving of notice in this place. It was communicated by the American Mission in that country.

"The king of Siam despatched one of his ships to Ceylon about the close of last year, to carry back some Ceylonese Boodhists whom he had invited to Siam, two or three years before, and also to send a fresh ecclesiastical embassy to that island – regarded by all Boodhists as very sacred – to make further religious researches in the primitive nursery of their faith. That embassy fulfilled its mission, and returned to Siam in June, bringing a letter to his Majesty from a high priest of Boodh in Ceylon, written in English, and stating in substance, that the religion of Boodh had become almost extinct in Ceylon, chiefly through the influence of the Christian religion, and the schools and seminaries of the missionaries and English residents in that part of the world; and that, if some aid from abroad could not be obtained to prop up crumbling Boodhism in that island, it must soon become utterly extinct. The writer expressed much pain at the thought, that the very birth place of his religion should not have some permanent witness of it; and requested that his Majesty, in his pious zeal for Boodhism, would send him funds, with which he might build a Wat (Religious house) and support priests in honor of his god. He suggested that this would be a noble work for a great king, and one that would confer upon him the highest honors of Boodhism."[101 - Missionary Herald, Vol. XLV. p. 47.]

The following list embraces the recent works on India.

Travels in the Kashmir and the Punjab; containing a particular account of the Sikhs. From the German of Baron Hugel, with notes by Major Jervis, royal 8vo. London, 1846.

The Punjaub; being a brief account of the country of the Sikhs, its extent, history, commerce, productions, religion, &c., to the recent campaign of the Sutelege. By Lt. Col. Steinbach, post, 8vo. London, 1846.

A Peep into Turkistan; by Capt. R. Burslem, 8vo. London, 1846.

Travels in the Punjab, Affghanistan and Turkistan, to Balk, Bokhara and Herat, by Mohan Lal, 8vo. London, 1846.

History of the Punjab, and of the rise, progress and present condition of the Sikhs, 2 vols. post, 8vo. London, 1846.

The history of the Sikhs, with a personal narrative of the war between the British and the Sikhs. By W.L. McGregor, 2 vols. 8vo. London, 1847.

The Sikhs and Affghans, immediately before and after the death of Runjeet Singh. By Shahamat Ali, post, 8vo. London, 1847.

The Hindoo Castes; or history, manners and customs of the 42 castes or sects of the Brahmins of British India, with highly colored plates: By E.A. Rodriguez, 24 numbers.

COCHIN-CHINA, CHINA, MANCHURIA, COREA, AND JAPAN

Cochin-China. M. Hedde has published a few notices of a visit to Turon in Annam in 1844, on his passage from Singapore to Macao.[102 - Chinese Repository. Vol. XV. p. 113.] He represents the country as altogether in a wretched, declining condition, misgoverned and beggared by despotic officers, presenting a painful contrast in its general prosperity with the Chinese empire. The present monarch is named Thieufri (or Yuen-fuh-siuen in Chinese) and succeeded his father Ming-ming or Minh-menh in 1841, but no improvement in the domestic or foreign administration of the government has taken place. Several Cochin-Chinese youth have been educated at Singapore, and the king purchased two steamers several years ago from the Dutch, but the natives probably were too little acquainted with the machinery and motive power to make the least use of them, as nothing has since been heard of them. The country is highly favored by its natural advantages and navigable rivers for maintaining a large population, but oppression on the part of the rulers and ignorance among the people, vitiate the sources of national prosperity. The port of Turon alone, is open in Annam for foreign trade, but no American vessels have been there for a cargo since Lieut. White's unsuccessful voyage in the Franklin in 1804. Capt. Percival of the U.S. ship Constitution anchored there in May, 1845, but no official account of his visit has been published, which if the rumors of his firing upon the town are true, is not strange. The Peacock and Enterprize also anchored there in 1836, but Mr. Roberts, the American diplomatic agent, was too ill to have any communications with the authorities.

China. The late war between England and China has directed the attention of other nations towards that empire in an unusual degree. Except the immediate details of the contest and the personal incidents connected with it, however, the works of those officers who have written upon that war, have not contained so much information as was expected by some, but quite as much as could be collected under the circumstances. The war was almost wholly a maritime one, confined to attacks upon cities and forts upon the coast and rivers, by both the army and navy, and few or none of the officers were acquainted with the language of the people, so that little information could be obtained from those natives whom suspicion or terror did not drive away. The region around Ningpo, Chusan and the mouth of the Yangtsz kiang, has been described with more minuteness than any other part of the maritime provinces; and the careful survey of the coast from Amoy to Shanghai, with the Chusan and Pescadore archipelagoes by Captains Collinson, and Kellet and others, has left little to be done for the navigator's benefit, in making known the hydrography of this part of China. The general topography of China is, however, but little better known now than it was at the close of the general survey of the Jesuits in 1714, and their maps form the basis of the best extant.

The embassy sent by the French government in 1844, under M. Th. de Lagrené, to form a commercial treaty with China, was furnished on a most liberal scale with everything necessary to make the greatest improvement of the opportunities offered to examine into the mechanical arts and productions of the land. Four gentlemen were attached to the ambassador's suite, to make inquiries into the various agricultural and mechanical arts of the Chinese, one of whom, M. Isidore Hedde, was especially designated to investigate everything relating to the growth and preparation of silk. In pursuance of this object, he visited the city of Tuchan fu, which lies a few miles northwest of Shanghai, and is the capital of the province of Kiangsu. This place is probably the second or third city in the empire, Canton or Hangchau fu being the only ones which can compete with it for wealth and beautiful manufactures. It lies in a highly cultivated region, and is connected with Peking and other large places, through the Grand canal and the Yangtsz kiang. M. Hedde went in a Chinese dress, and succeeded in visiting the principal buildings in the city, such as the provincial mint, the hall of examination, an establishment for the education of unhappy females destined for sale for the amusement of the opulent, and some manufactories. The suburbs of Suchau, as is the case with most Chinese cities, exceed that part within the walls, and here he found most of the craftsmen in iron, ivory, gold, silver, wood, bone, horn, glass, earth, paper, cotton and silk. His errand being chiefly to examine the silken fabrics, he noticed whatever was peculiar in spinning, dyeing and weaving, in the shops he entered. The Chinese have no such immense establishments as are found in this country, where large buildings accommodate an immense quantity of machinery and numerous workmen, but all their products are made by manual labor in small establishments. M. Hedde was struck with the immense population of the city and its environs, including a floating suburb of great extent, the whole comprising a population of not far from two millions. The Chinese census gives an average of over nine hundred souls to a square mile in the province of Kiangsu, and every opportunity which has been offered for examining it, has added new evidence to the truth of this statement, though closer investigation and further travel is necessary before we can give implicit reliance to the assertions made on this subject.

Two English missionaries have lately gone long journeys into the interior, but as Protestants have no coadjutors among the people away from the ports, who would be willing to receive and conceal them; and as their system of operations aims rather to impart a true knowledge of Christianity than to make many converts to a form of worship, these excursions have not been frequently made. One of the two here referred to, was across the country from Ningpo to Canton, by the same route Lord Macartney came, and the other was up the Yangtsz kiang. Two American missionaries visited the large city of Changchau fu near Amoy in 1844, where they were received with civility though not with kindness.

Mr. Robert Fortune, sent out to China by the Horticultural Society, has lately returned to England, with new plants of great beauty, and a large collection of botanical and ornithological specimens, among which are doubtless many not heretofore described. Mr. Fortune visited all the ports, and made excursions in their neighborhoods, and his reception among the people was generally kind. The people in the cities of Ningpo and Shanghai, and their vicinities, compare favorably for their kindness and general courtesy, with the coarse mannered natives of Canton.

The opening of this great empire to the commercial enterprise of western nations, has given rise to anticipations of an extensive trade, and the importation of cotton and woolen fabrics during the last few years has been increasing; and if it was not for the abominable traffic in opium, which is both impoverishing and destroying the Chinese, there would be every reason for believing the commerce with China would soon be one of the largest branches of trade. The principal articles in which it is most likely to increase are tea and silk, but there is a great assortment of other productions, which can be taken in exchange for the cloths, metals and wares of the west. Mr. Montgomery Martin for a short time colonial treasurer of Hongkong, has collected all the statistics bearing on this subject in his work, which will aid in forming an opinion on this point. Commercially, politically and religiously, the Chinese empire now presents a most interesting spectacle, and the experiment of regenerating it and introducing it into the family of nations, without completely disorganizing its present form of government and society, will constantly go on and attract still more and more the notice of Christendom. The probabilities at present are in favor of a successful issue, but it is impossible to contemplate the desolating effects of the use of opium, brought to the people in such quantities, without great apprehension as to the result. The lava like progress of the power of Great Britain in Asia, has just commenced on the borders of China, and when the country is drained of specie in payment for this drug, there is reason to fear that the native government will be unable to carry on its operations and maintain its authority.

Corea. Since the extermination of the Catholic priests from Corea in 1839, the most rigid measures have been adopted to exclude all foreigners; in fact, the determination on the part of the government of Corea to prevent all intercourse between its people and those of other countries seems to have been adopted from its neighbor of Japan. These measures are even extended to the Chinese, against whom a strong natural antipathy exists, growing out of the persecutions formerly inflicted on the Coreans by them. Accurate descriptions of Europeans are kept at the various posts on the frontier, and from their well known characteristics they are easily distinguished. The Coreans themselves on leaving their country for China for purposes of trade, receive a passport, which on returning must be given back or they are not permitted to enter. Many Christians still remain in Corea, and though they are subject to persecution, the minds of the people are well disposed towards the Christian religion. The literary class hold it in the highest estimation, and seem only to be waiting for the moment when they will be free to declare in its favor.[103 - Annals of the Propaganda for 1846. p. 55.]

Farther accounts from this country have lately appeared in the Annals of the Propaganda Society,[104 - Ibid. July, 1846.] in a letter from Keemay Kim a native of Corea, and a Christian, who had just completed his studies at Macao in China. He was sent on a mission to the Christians in Corea, but owing to the vigilance observed on the frontiers of that country, was unable to enter it. Determined to persevere in the attempt, he posted on to Hoong-tchoong, a small frontier town near the mouth of a river which separates Corea from Manchuria, where he waited until the period arrived when the great fair was to take place at Kee-eu-Wen, the nearest town in Corea, four leagues distant. "They supply the Coreans with dogs, cats, pipes, leather, stag's horns, copper, horses, mules and asses; and receive in exchange, baskets, kitchen utensils, rice, corn, swine, paper, mats, oxen, furs and small horses." A few officers are permitted to trade every year, but they are closely guarded. All others who pass the frontier are made slaves or massacred at once. Our traveller here met a few Corean Christians in the immense crowd which had come to traffic, and whom he recognised by a badge previously agreed upon; but so great was the confusion and hurry on the occasion, added to the fear of being recognized, that the interview does not seem to have been productive of good, or increased our information of the people or country. Since the great persecution a few years since, the church had been at rest; and though a few converts had been made, the faithful had retired to the southern provinces for better security. They still entertained the idea of introducing a European missionary through the north, though with the knowledge that if discovered by the authorities, instant death would follow. Such is the zeal and perseverance with which these men pursue their philanthropic and Christian labors.

The fair to which allusion has been made, is thus described by our Corean. The traders cannot begin their operations until a signal is given, by hoisting a flag and beating the gong, "when the immense and densely packed crowd rush to the market place; Coreans, Chinese, and Manchus, are all mingled together. Each speaks in his own tongue, and so great is the uproar produced by this mass of people, that the echoes of the neighboring mountains repeat their discordant shouts."

"Four or five hours is the whole time allowed for buying and selling; consequently, the tumult which takes place, the quarrels which arise, the blows which are exchanged, and the plundering which goes on, give the place more the look of a city taken by storm and given up to pillage, than that of a fair." At evening, when the signal is given, the strangers are driven out by the soldiers with the points of their lances.

Manchuria. The vast regions of Manchuria, lying north of Corea to the Hing-an or Yablonoi mountains, and east of the Sialkoi to the ocean, are inhabited by various tribes speaking different dialects and subsisting principally by hunting and fishing. The Manchus are now the dominant race, but some of the tribes near the sea and in Taraka island, bear no tributary relations to them, if indeed they are much acquainted. Since the conquest of China, the Manchus have gone on steadily improving this part of their possessions by stationing agricultural troops at the principal ports of observation, and collecting the hunters around these points as much as possible. Criminals are also constantly banished there, who carry with them their arts, and by their industry both maintain themselves and set an example to the nomads. The southern part called Shingking, has become well cultivated in many parts, and considerable trade is carried on at Kinchau with other parts of China.

Manchuria produces pulse, maize, (Indian corn), millet, barley and buckwheat; pulse, drugs and cattle, form the leading articles of trade. The climate of this country is so inhospitable, as to prove a serious obstacle in the way of its settlement and cultivation.

The Manchus have no national literature; all the books written in their language are translations of Chinese works, made under the superintendence of the Academies at Moukden and Peking. Their written characters are derived from the Mongols, but have undergone many changes. The emperors have taken great pains to elevate their countrymen by providing them with the best books in Chinese literature, and compelling them to go through the same examinations before they can attain any office; but the numerical superiority of the Chinese and their active habits, give them so much the advantage, that except in their own country, the Manchus find it difficult to preserve their native tongue to the second generation.

Mongolia. The last volume of the Annals of the Propaganda Society contains an interesting narrative of a journey into Mongolia, by the Rev. Mr. Huc.[105 - Annals of the Propaganda for September, 1845.] This vast country, covering a million of square miles, consists of barren deserts and boundless steppes. In the limits allotted each corps, there is seldom more than one town, where the chief resides. The people live in tents, without any permanent residence. They move from place to place, with the changes of the seasons, or when their immense herds of oxen, camels and horses have exhausted the grass around their encampment. To-day presents an animated scene of hundreds of tents, filled with an active population; the children playing as happy and contented as though surrounded with every luxury a civilized life affords; the women cooking their food and drawing water from a well just dug; and the men, mounted on horseback, are galloping over the plain, keeping their countless herds from straying away. To-morrow, this picturesque and animated scene will be changed to a dreary and forbidding desert. Men, flocks, and tents have vanished, and nought remains to mark the visit of this wandering race, but the curling smoke of their unquenched fires, or the birds of prey hovering over the carcase of some dying camel, or feeding on the remains of their late repast. The Mongols are irreclaimable nomads, though some tribes of them, as the Tsakhars, Ortous, and Solous, cultivate the soil. The four khanates of the Kalkas are called Outer Mongolia, and comprise within their borders, several well built towns, though none of any size, compared with the cities in China. Few Chinese have settled among the Mongols, except near the Great Wall, nor will they allow them to do so, as there is a deep antipathy between the two races. The Mongols of the present day have probably made no advances in civilization over their ancestors in the days of Genghis and Kublai.

The approaches of the British power up the valley of the Sutlej, into the regions lying along the base of the western Himalayas, are such that they will ere long come in contact with Tibet through Ladak, and with Yarkand through Badakshan. But there is probably more geographical than ethnological information to be gained by traversing these elevated regions, where stupendous mountains and arid deserts offer nothing to tempt man from the fertile plains of India and China. Two Romish missionaries have lately arrived in Canton from H'lassa in Tibet, by the overland route through Patang in Sz'chuen to the capital of Kwangsi, and thence to Canton. This route has never been described by any traveller.

Lewchew Islands. This group of islands, including the Madjico sima, lying between it and Formosa, form a dependency of the principality of Satzuma, in the southwest of Japan, though the rulers are allowed a limited intercourse with China through Fuhchau fu. During the late war between England and China, the transport Indian Oak was lost on Lewchew,[106 - Chinese Repository, Vol. xii. p. 78.] August 14, 1840, and the crew were treated with great kindness, and provided with a vessel, in which they returned to Chusan. Every effort was made by the authorities to prevent the officers and men from examining the island, but their kindness to the unfortunate people thus cast on their shores, made such an impression, that a mission to the islanders was determined upon in London, by some naval gentlemen connected with the expedition, and a society formed. The Rev. B.J. Bettelheim was appointed to the post, and had reached Canton in March, 1846. He afterwards proceeded on his voyage, and his journal received at Hongkong, from Napa, contains a few details of interest, but shows plainly that the authorities are decided in refusing to allow foreigners to settle in their territories.

An attempt has been made by the Romish missionaries to establish a mission in this group.[107 - Annales de la Propagation de la Foi, July, 1846.] The Rev. W. Forcade and an associate were left on Lewchew in May, 1844, and after a residence of fifteen months were able to transmit some notices of their treatment to the directors, through Sir Edward Belcher, R.N. who stopped at Napa in August, 1845. On their arrival, M. Forcade and his companion were conducted to their dwelling, where they were surrounded by a numerous guard under the control of officers, and attended by domestics, as they were told, "to charm their leisure moments." Their table was bountifully supplied, and everything they could ask to make them comfortable was granted them, except their liberty. Whenever they went abroad, they were accompanied by a guard, but allowed to hold no intercourse with the natives; they had not been able to proceed beyond twelve miles into the interior, but as far as they had opportunities of conversing with the natives, found them simple and courteous in their manners, and disposed to talk when not under surveillance. It is probable, however, that under such restraint as these gentlemen were placed, it is not likely that they had attained to such fluency in the language as to be able to hold very ready communication with natives met in this hasty manner. The intentions of the government were plain, however, not to allow them to disseminate their doctrines, (if it had learned their real object), nor, by intercourse with the people, become acquainted with their character, or the state of the country. No assistance was granted them in learning the language, and they were forbidden to adopt the native costume. Notwithstanding this opposition, they had been able to acquire a partial knowledge of the language, and to compile a vocabulary of six thousand words. Permission to preach the Christian religion was not granted them, lest, as the authorities said, the Chinese, to whom they are tributary, would break off all intercourse; but the real reason was doubtless their fear of the Japanese. Yet these obstacles did not dishearten them, and they seem determined to persevere in their attempts, though it is not unlikely that when Mr. Bettelheim arrives, the authorities will take measures for deporting them all.

The Lewchewans are intimately connected with the Japanese. The language is the same, with unimportant dialectical variations, and Chinese letters and literature are in like manner cultivated by both. In personal appearance, however, the two people are very unlike. The Lewchewans are not on an average over five feet four inches high, slightly built, and approach the Malayan cast of features more than the Chinese. They are darker than the Chinese, and their mild traits of character, unwarlike habits, and general personal appearance, suggests the idea that they are akin to the aborigines of Formosa and Luçonia by descent, while their proximity and subjugation to their powerful neighbors on the north and west, have taught them a higher civilization, and introduced arts and sciences unknown to their early conquerors. When Lewchew was subjugated by the Japanese, it was agreed that embassies with tribute might be sent to Peking, and according to the Chinese account, they come to that court twice in three years.[108 - Chinese Repository, Vol. xiv. p. 155.] The secretary or deputy embassador in 1841, was drowned in his passage from Peking to Fuhchau. This embassy is a source of considerable profit to the Lewchewans, for their junks, which are built on the Chinese model, have free entrance to Fuhchau, and all the goods they import and export, are passed without duty. The travelling expenses of the embassy to and from the capital are also defrayed, and permission is given them to study Chinese when in the country. This intercourse is therefore both honorable and profitable to the Lewchewans, but the Chinese are not allowed to trade there, and the only act of sovereignty the emperor exercises, according to M. Forcade, is to send a delegate to sanction the accession of a new incumbent of the throne – whom, however, it would be ridiculous for him to refuse. He adds, "In conversation, if one is a stranger, the Lewchewans will be continually dwelling on China, they will boast about it, they will relate its history, they will describe its provinces and its cities; but Japan is never mentioned! Such are the words, but the facts are quite another thing."

The real character of the connection between Lewchew and Japan is not well ascertained. No Japanese officers are seen on landing, and the officers appointed to attend the people of the Indian Oak, exhibited the greatest alarm when a few were seen at a distance, while the party were taking a walk. The trade between the two countries is confined to the ports of Napa and Kagosima, between which the vessels of both nations pass; the junks from other parts of Japan are not permitted to resort to Napa, but it is not probable that the prince of Satzuma has the right of appointing the residents, or whatever authorities are sent thither. M. Forcade says there were from ten to fifteen Japanese vessels in the port, but when the American ship Morrison was there, in 1837, there were only five. Lackered-ware, grass cloth, sugar, and earthen-ware, are exported to Kagosima, and a great assortment of metallic articles, cloths, provisions, and stationery taken in exchange. The country in the vicinity of Napa, and towards Shudi, the capital, is highly cultivated, and the people appear to be as well clothed, and possess as many of the comforts and elegancies of life as their neighbors. They still retain enough of their own customs, however, to distinguish them from the Japanese, even if their physical appearance did not point them out as distinct. M. Forcade says that there is reason for supposing Christianity to have been implanted in Lewchew at the same time it was introduced into Japan, but Lewchew at that time seems to have been much less dependant upon Japan than subsequently; and it is not probable that much was done to proselyte its inhabitants. He mentions that a cross is cut on the end of the rampart where foreigners land, who are thus obliged to trample on this symbol; but no other visitors mention any such sculpture or custom. The landing place at Napa is a long stone jetty, stretching across the beach, which at low tide, prevents boats approaching the shore.

JAPAN

This country has recently attracted increased attention on the part of commercial nations, and several foreign ships have lately appeared on the coasts, whose reception has only shown the vigilance of the authorities in taking every precaution neither to offend nor receive their unwelcome visitors. The Dutch and Chinese are still the only nations allowed to trade with the Japanese, and the news brought by the latter people of the troubles they have lately gone through with their foreign customers, has probably only more strongly convinced the siogoun and his ministers of the propriety of their seclusive policy. Nor is there much reason to doubt that the Chinese and Japanese have avoided the fate of the natives of Luçonia, Java, and India, by shutting out foreigners from free access and intercourse with their people, and owing to their seclusion, have remained independent to this day. The works of Siebold upon the natural history and political condition of the country and its inhabitants, are now slowly publishing in Paris, but with such luxury of execution as to place them beyond the reach of most persons who might be desirous to examine them. The visits of two American ships to the bay of Yedo, has directed the public eye again to the empire. The first was that of the whaler Manhattan, Captain Cooper, who was led to think of going into the port by having taken eleven shipwrecked men off a small island near the Bonin islands, in April, 1845, lying southeast of Nippon. As he was going north, he fell in with a water-logged junk from Nambu, laden with rice and fish, from which he received eleven more, and soon after made the eastern coast in the principality of Simosa. Here he landed two men, and proceeding towards Cape King, landed two more, who made their way to Yedo. Owing to north winds, he was blown off the coast twice, and when he approached the estuary leading to the capital, he was taken in tow and carried up to the anchorage. Interpreters came off to the vessel, who could speak English sufficiently well to carry on an imperfect communication, who informed Captain Cooper that his wants would be supplied, but none of his company allowed to land. A triple cordon of boats was placed around the ship, consisting of upwards of a thousand small boats, displaying numerous flags, and containing as many armed men as if the country was in danger of attack. The ship was visited by crowds of natives of all ranks, who behaved with great decorum while gratifying their curiosity, but no trade was allowed. Many officers of high rank came on board and examined the ship, and took an inventory of every article belonging to the rescued seamen, before they were allowed to land. The ship was gratuitously supplied with provisions and a few spars, to the value of about $500, but the captain was again and again enjoined not to return there on any account. When he inquired what he should do if he again came across the siogoun's subjects in like distress, and exposed to a cruel death, he was told, "leave them to their fate, or take them where the Dutch can get them." The men rescued from starvation and death, were, however, deeply sensible of the kindness which had been shown them. After a stay of eight or ten days, Captain Cooper was towed out of the port, and down the bay to the coast, and the last injunction was only a repetition of the first order, not to come again. This reception, though it presents no encouragement to hope for a relaxation of the policy, deemed by the siogoun at once his safety and his profit, is less likely to call for summary chastisement than the rude repulse the American ship Morrison received in 1837, when she entered the bay of Yedo on the same errand, and was driven away by cannon balls and armed gunboats.

Captain Cooper represents the country in this portion of it as clothed with verdure, and under a high state of cultivation. The proximity of the mountains in Idzu, produces constant showers, which covers the highest peaks with forests and shrubbery. Terrace cultivation is extensively practiced, and constant labor is demanded to supply subsistence to the dense population, who still at times suffer severely for want of food. The capital could not well be seen from the ship, and its enceinte was so filled with trees, that its dimensions could not accurately be defined. No towers or pagodas were seen elevating themselves above the dull monotony of the buildings. The harbor was covered with vessels, at anchor and moving about; some of them unwieldy, open-stern junks, designed for the coast trade, others light skiffs and boats, used for communicating with vessels in the harbor and the shore. The greatest part of the coasting trade centres at Yedo, owing to the large amount of taxes paid the siogoun in kind, and the supplies the princes receive from their possessions while they reside in the capital, both of which causes operate to develope the maritime skill of the people, and increase the amount of tonnage. The shortsighted policy which confines the energies and capital of a seagoing people like the Japanese, within their own shores is, however, less a matter of wonder than the despotic power which could compel them to stay at home two centuries ago, at a time when their merchants and agents were found from Acapulco to Bangkok.

The Japanese empire presents the greatest feudal government now existing, and on that account is peculiarly interesting to the student of political science. In some respects, the people are superior to the Chinese, but are inferior in the elements of national wealth and progress. They belong to the Mongolian race, but are darker than the Chinese, and not as tall, though superior in stature to the Lewchewans. They approximate to the Kamtschatdales in their square build, short necks, large heads, and short lower limbs. They are of a light olive complexion, but seldom exhibit a florid, ruddy countenance.

Among the articles obtained from the junk by Captain Cooper, was a map of Japan, including part of Yesso. It is four feet square, drawn on the proportion of less than one degree to two inches, and contains the names of all the places there is room for. It is cut on wood, and painted to show the outlines of the chief principalities; the relative importance of the places is shown by writing their names in different shaped cartouches, but from the space occupied by the Chinese characters, there is probably not one-tenth of all the towns inserted. The distances between the principal points along the coast are stated, and on some of the leading thoroughfares inland. The map is evidently the original of Krusenstern's "Carte de Nippon," published by the Russian Board of Longitude, and is drawn up from trigonometrical surveys. The degrees of latitude bear the same numbers as upon European maps; the meridians are reckoned from Yedo. The existence of such maps among the people indicates that a good knowledge of their own country is far more extensively diffused than among the Chinese, whose common maps are a standing reproach to them, while they have others so much more accurate. The coast from Cape King northward to Simosa, for the space of two degrees, was found by captain Cooper to be better delineated upon this map than upon his own charts. These seas present a fine field for hydrographic surveys, and it would greatly advance the security of navigation on the eastern shores of Asia, and redound to the honor of our own land, if the American government would despatch two small vessels to survey the seas and shores between Luçonia and Kamtschatka.