THIRD LETTER
WRITTEN AT YOKOHAMA
Mr. Thomas Cook writes to us from Yokohama under date November 28, 1872: –
In crossing the Pacific from San Francisco to Japan we are almost assured that we shall meet one of the Pacific mail steamers in mid-ocean, when mail bags will be transferred and we may be able to communicate once or more during the voyage with friends at home. But in our voyage of this month, from the 1st to the 26th, three of the company’s steamers passed eastward and were not seen. I had written at sea a letter to The Times on railroad, hotel, and other accommodation, of interest to travellers crossing the American continent, but that letter is quietly reposing in the American post-office here, waiting for the next steamer, on the 7th or 8th of December, and, as there is a chance of the Sierra Nevada and the Rocky Mountains being snow-blocked in mid winter, it is probable that this communication by the English mail of the 3d proximo may reach you before my letter from the sea. But, as this is a point of great interest in a tour around the world, I presume to trouble you with another letter.
I believe we are now about midway on our tour, unless Shanghai should prove to be the culminating point. The distance we have come has been about 12,000 miles, 8,500 by sea, and 3,500 by land. A voyage across the Pacific from San Francisco to Yokohama by the direct line is about 4,700 or 4,800 miles; but at this season our captain steered southerly some 10 or 12 degrees of latitude to avoid northern storms, and the ship’s log showed a total distance of 5,250 miles, which occupied 24 days and four hours from port to port.
A fraction over nine miles an hour on a Pacific sea is slow progress as compared with Atlantic voyages between Liverpool and New York; but the economy of coal for a voyage of over 5,000 miles is a serious consideration when at least 1,400 tons have to be provided for the voyage, and if by any accident or detention the supply should run short there is no intermediate coaling station. Over that vast expanse of waters we never caught sight of a sail or craft of any description, and for 580 hours the engines never stopped or lost a single revolution; and we made our best progress when the sea was most disturbed, although the wind could seldom be called ‘fair.’ When the Colorado (our steamer) made the pioneer trip of the company, in 1866, on arrival at the port of Yokohama British sailors exclaimed ‘What a mountain!’ Her bulwarks, 18ft. or 20ft. above the water, with huge paddle-boxes, and the great works of the engine high over all, like those of the New York ferry steamers, contrasted strangely with the steamers of the Peninsular and Oriental Company, and a steamer so bulky had not before been seen in the Gulf of Yedo, and old salts wondered how such a mountain had been sustained in her passage over so wide a sea. But seven or eight similar craft have continued to cross the Pacific twice a month each way with very great regularity, and the impression of ‘slow and sure’ reconciled our voyagers to the moderate speed of 200 to 280 miles a day. Had not American navigation been clogged by laws of ‘protection’ our naturally fast neighbours would long before now have had not one fleet only of iron screw boats, but would have run sharp races over this and other seas with their elder brother east of the Atlantic. But light is breaking in upon the Legislature of the United States, and their free trade in tea is teaching an invaluable lesson. The chief traffic of the Americans with the East is in tea, the cargoes of which, with silk, fill these great ships from hold to cabin. Tea, silks, and coolies constitute the chief imports of this Pacific line. Of the latter we had about 550 returning to their country to live on their 300 or 400 dollars that they had earned by various industries in the States; and thus it is with most west-bound steamers, while those going east frequently carry nearer 1,000 than 500 steerage passengers. These Chinese coolies are so patriotically and reverentially attached to their fatherland that they try in every conceivable way to get the bones of their relatives carried back, and a case was discovered in our ship in which a Chinese coolie was conveying his father’s bones in a bag which he used as a pillow. Of course this scheme was frustrated when discovered, but what became of the bones I cannot say. Should a Chinese passenger, however poor, die in the passage, provision is made by a Chinese organization to provide a coffin and for the embalming of the body, so that not one is thrown into the deep. It was rumoured on board that there were many embalmed bodies being conveyed from California in the hold of the Colorado. Thus it is seen that ‘celestials’ appreciate the dollars, but will not leave their relatives and countrymen to mingle with the ‘sordid dust’ of a ‘barbarian’ land.
Our cabin passengers consisted of about 50, representatives of I can scarcely tell how many nationalities. We had with us a Japanese prince, with eight or ten attendants and friends, returning from a sojourn of several years in England and America, where they have been studying the English language and social and political constitution and habits. My own little party of ten included four from Great Britain, one Russian, one Greek, and four Americans. We were also accompanied by two missionaries and their wives, returning to spheres of honoured labours, one of whom was a coadjutor with Dr. Judson in Burmah, and the other a talented translator of the Scriptures into the Assam language. The latter gentleman preached on three Sundays, and on two evenings lectured on Indian mythology, customs, and habits. In many ways the monotony of a voyage of nearly a month was relieved of weariness and rendered interesting and profitable. The actual loss of a day in the middle of the Pacific has puzzled many travellers, but it is a bon fide [sic] fact that the 16th November was dropped from our calendar. It is in this way. On reaching the 180th degree of longitude we are at the antipodes of Greenwich, and London time is 12 hours in advance. We then take a leap of 24 hours, leaving Greenwich 12 hours in our rear; but crossing the meridian line we put back our time an hour for every 15 degrees, and by the time we reach London the clocks and time will have righted themselves. The steamers of the line, on their return trip, get two days of the same date, and thus regain their loss. It certainly was curious that we should turn into our berths on Friday night, November 15, and all wake up on Sunday morning, the 17th. But it is more curious still, and a study for Sabbatarians, that on one of the Pacific islands Saturday is observed as the Christian Sabbath, and on another island, on the opposite side of the Line, Monday is kept as the Lord’s day, Sunday being the dropped day. I quote this on the authority of Dr. Prime, of New York, as stated in his Voyage Around the World, recently published.
But enough of this steamboat trip across the Pacific. We are glad to find ourselves in a land of extraordinary interest, natural, historical, political, and social. All that has been told us recently of Japan is abundantly confirmed by observation and experience. The land is one of great beauty and rich fertility. The inhabitants and the Government are rapidly transforming into enlightened, peaceful, and cordial citizens. The Mikado has emerged from seclusion, and the day before we arrived here showed himself openly on sea and on land at a naval and military review in honour of the visit of the Russian Prince Alexis, and on other occasions he has mingled with his people. The recent visit to Europe of Japanese Embassies and Princes, and of Government enquirers, all have a serious purpose for political and social objects. The railway and the telegraph are teaching the people great lessons of social reform. The two-sworded warriors are scarcely to be seen, and there are substituted for these desperadoes an improved system of police. It is encouraging to read Government notifications like the following: –
Trafficking in human bodies, or entering on employment; in which the master’s will is absolutely submitted to, either for a lifetime or for a period of years, being a wrong thing, and contrary to the principles by which the social relations are regulated, has from ancient times been prohibited. The practice of forcing individuals to go into service under such names as ‘service for a period of years,’ &c., which has hitherto existed, being an abominable thing, which amounts to trafficking, is henceforth rigidly interdicted.
It is freely permitted to take pupil-servants (apprentices) to be instructed in farming, or in any trade or handiwor
k, but the period must not exceed seven years. The period may, however, be extended by mutual agreement.
Ordinary servants shall be engaged for one year, and if a person continues for a longer term, the agreement must be renewed.
Prostitutes, singing and dancing girls, and all other persons engaged for a term of years shall be set free, and no complaints about money lent or borrowed will be entertained.
The above having been determined must be rigidly obeyed.
Notified from the Council of State, November 2, 1872.
The following statistics will show how the foreign element is appreciated in the government of the country: –
In the department of the Imperial Government proper 214 foreigners are employed, on salaries ranging from 480 dollars to 16,000 dollars per annum. Perhaps the rumours of such salaries as 36,000 dollars may be true, but the statement does not appear in the Japanese official print. The nationality of the employ s referred to is as follows: – English 119; French, 50; American, 16; Dutch, 2; Prussian, 8; Chinese, 9; Indian, 2; Danish, 1; Italian, 1; Manillan, 4; Portuguese, 1; Paraguayan, 1. In the Fu, or Imperial cities, and in the Kens, provincial local authorities, in all, 164 foreigners are employed. Of these, 50 are English, 19 French, 25 American, 9 Prussian, 15 Dutch, 3 Manillan, 42 Chinese, and 3 Arabian (as sailors). It would appear from the record that there are over 100 foreigners living in the interior, as teachers, surgeons, engineers, &c., &c.
Great Britain holds an enviable position in this category of officials, and British influence is seen all around. Many official notices are published in English, and the English language predominates on the new railway. I travelled yesterday with a polite conductor of a train who came from Devonshire, and a friend of mine from Iona, in Scotland, holds a high position as a Government engineer. Until very recently it was not permitted for foreigners to enter the precincts of the Temple of Shiba and the surrounding and gorgeous tombs of Tycoons and their wives of the past 250 years. Yesterday my party walked freely through and round about these indescribable buildings at Yedo, which for richness in carving, gilding, and decoration surpass all that I have seen in any land. Only a year ago an escort would have been required to conduct a party like mine through Yedo. Yesterday in 13 Gin-rick-shas we were drawn by two coolies to each machine through miles of streets, the people laughing and cheering us as we rattled through the great thorough-fares, and crowding around us when we stopped at a shop, an exhibition, or a temple. Not a solitary unfriendly disposition was manifested in that great city of nearly a million of inhabitants. I was astonished to see the great number of book and picture shops in the best business quarters, and I was told that the Japanese are a great reading people, and fond especially of story. It is easy to see that they are very sagacious, and ready to adopt whatever is likely to contribute to their interest. It is quite expected that an ordinance of religious toleration will soon be published.
In coming over the Pacific I had a report of a most interesting lecture on the great changes in Japan, delivered in Dr. Landell’s chapel, Regent’s Park. I lent the report to an intelligent attendant on the Prince, and he kept it till the very last hour before landing, and, in thanking me for the loan of it, said how interested the party had been. The Prince and his party sat to hear one of Dr. Ward’s lectures on India and Indian Missions.
We are really all delighted with Japan, and 12,000 miles from London, surrounded with endless foreign objects of interest, has in it so much of home life that it is almost like being at home. Permit me, in conclusion, to acknowledge the great kindness of one well known in military, naval, and diplomatic circles, Mr. W. H. Smith, manager of the Yokohama Club, who has been my ‘guide, philosopher, and friend’ in our pursuits of pleasure in Japan.
To-morrow we embark for Shanghai, going through the inland sea of Japan, which is said to combine all the beauties of all the English and Scotch lakes. Then we go to Hongkong, Canton, and other Chinese cities, after which our programme includes Singapore, Penang, Galle, and parts of Ceylon, Calcutta, and a run over 2,000 miles of Indian railways to Benares, Agra, Cawnpore, Lucknow, Delhi, and thence to Bombay, where we embark for Egypt, the Nile and Palestine, from some of which places I may again trouble you.
Notes
One: Religion, Railways and Respectability
1. Robert Ingle’s excellent Thomas Cook of Leicester (Bangor, Headstart History, 1991) is only 67 pages long (hereafter referred to as Ingle). Piers Brendon’s Thomas Cook: 150 Years of Popular Tourism (London, Secker & Warburg, 1991) (hereafter referred to as Brendon), published on the 150th anniversary of the firm, gives a detailed account of Cook, his son John, and the progress of the firm. Edmund Swinglehurst’s illustrated The Romantic Journey: The Story of Thomas Cook and Victorian Travel (London, Pica Editions, 1974) (hereafter referred to as Swinglehurst) gives detail about the firm right into the twentieth century, with emphasis on the places they visited. John Pudney’s The Thomas Cook Story (London, Michael Joseph, 1953) (hereafter referred to as Pudney) again tells the extraordinary story of the man and the firm.
2. Albert Bishop’s notes of memories of Thomas Cook sent to Thomas Budge in 1952.
3. Brendon quotes J.C. Parkinson’s article in ‘Tripping It Lightly’, Temple Bar, 12 August 1864.
4. Owen Chadwick, The Victorian Church (London, Adam & Charles Black, 1971).
5. Max Weber’s treatise The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (German edn 1904–5, English trans. Talcott Parsons, New York, Allen & Unwin, 1930) describes the relationship between religion and economic forces – that the doctrines of Calvinism resulted in socio-psychological responses that pushed forward ‘the Protestant work ethic’. It would be appropriate if it was known as the ‘the Nonconformist work ethic’.
6. Peter T. Marsh, Joseph Chamberlain, Entrepreneur in Politics (New Haven, Yale University Press, 1994).
Two: A Nonconformist Childhood
1. G.E. Mingay, Rural Life in Victorian England (London, Futura, 1977).
2. The Oxford Companion to British History, ed. John Cannon (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1997), states that more than 4,000 enclosure acts were passed through parliament in those 80 years, affecting roughly 21 per cent of the land area of Britain. The process continued throughout the nineteenth century.
3. John Cook was born in 1785.
4. The Marriage Act of 1753.
5. Derek Beales, From Castlereagh to Gladstone (New York, Nelson, 1969).
6. Thomas Cook, in Birthday Reminiscences, said that his mother ‘lived to the age of 64 and died in 1854’, so she would have been born in 1789 or 1790. Pudney contradicts: she ‘could not have been more than five or six years old’ at the time of her father’s death in 1792, implying that she was born between 1785 and 1787.
7. Dictionary of National Biography, quoted by Brendon.
8. France declared war on England on 1 February 1793.
9. According to the historian and soldier Sir Archibald Alison, the French Government never sent any money to maintain these prisoners, leaving them ‘to starve or be a burden on the British Government, which, on the contrary, regularly remitted the whole cost of the support of the English captives in France to the imperial authorities’. At least 10,000 French out of the whole 122,000 died. Between April 1814 and the end of August 1814, about 67,000 of the French prisoners crossed the Channel back to France.
10. The south coast was dotted with seventy-four circular Martello towers, each with walls 9 feet deep, armed with swivel guns and howitzers.
11. Charles Dickens’s description of a death in Dombey and Son (London, Bradbury & Evans, 1858).
12. Brendon.
Three: The Protestant Ethic
1. There is now a Baptist chapel on the site.
2. The Baptists split in 1633 when a number of members withdrew and formed the Particular or Strict Baptists. The remainder became known as General Baptists.
3. The Roman Catholic Church did not encourage people to read the Bible themselves until
1944 and then not fully until Vatican II in the 1960s.
4. One drawback was that if one monitor taught incorrectly, so did their ‘students’ who in turn became teachers. Errors snowballed.
5. Carl Stephenson and Frederick George Marcham, Sources of English Constitutional History (New York & London, Harper & Brothers, 1937).
6. The Congregationalist Union of England and Wales was established later, in 1831, although they date back to a sect called the Brownists (also known as Independents) who began in 1580.
7. An earlier group, the Independents, later boasted Cromwell as a member, but they were absorbed by the Congregationalists, and in a similar way many Presbyterians became Unitarians.
8. Howard Brinton, Friends of 300 Years: Beliefs and Practice of the Society of Friends since George Fox Started the Quaker Movement (London, George Allen & Unwin, 1953).
9. Chadwick, The Victorian Church.
10. William also laid the foundation for the Bank of England and Lloyd’s Insurance.
11. This reform was necessary because the new king was a Calvinist from Holland.
12. Lord Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, 6 vols (London, Longman, 1849–51 [1913–15]). Unitarians and Quakers were excluded as they did not accept thirty-four of the Thirty-Nine Articles which had been in force since 1571.
13. England became a ‘confessional state’; those who wanted any office, civil or military jobs had to take the oaths of allegiance to the established church.
14. W.J. Reader, Victorian England (London, Batsford, 1964).
15. Benjamin Disraeli, Sybil, or the Two Nations (London, Henry Coburn, 1845, repr. 1925).
16. G.M. Trevelyan, Illustrated English Social History (London, Penguin, 1964).
17. R.H. Tawney, Religion and the Rise of Capitalism (London, Pelican Books, 1938).
18. Reports of the Leicester Domestic Mission in Leicester City Reference Library, quoted in Jack Simmons, Leicester Past and Present (London, Eyre Methuen, 1974), vol. 1: Ancient Borough to 1860.
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