A VOICE FROM CALIFORNIA.
tTo THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTAT014."3 Sin,—Anyone who lives in California and attempts to write of the future in America (see Spectator, Dec. 10th) can hardly fail to quote Bishop Berkeley's lines:— "Westward the course of empire takes its way,
The first four acts already passed,
A fifth shall close the drama with the day ; Time's noblest offspring is his last."
for, 'rarely, California is the last outpost of the white man in his Westward migration. Like Xenophon's Greeks, we have rolled down to the sea, and perceive that the lands beyond are held by peoples with whom there is no common tie of blood, or history, or religion.
For those who see no continuity of Divine purpose in the course of history the situation is one that may well lead to pessimism and despair, for the white man in California is not holding his own. The population is increasing, to be sure, but
only by immigration, the birth-rate being just about equal to the death-rate, say 14 per year per thousand. People still marry, but children have gone out of fashion. Religion is languishing as a real force in the community, and many are turning towards the beautiful mirage of Socialism, while over the western horizon looms big and black the cloud of im-
pending war with Japan. When that war comes it will not be a farce, like our Spanish promenade in arms in 1898, but a real heart-stirring and even heart-breaking contest, which, in my
opinion at least, will awaken the sentiment of patriotism all over the country, and weld the heterogeneous elements of our population into a solid coherent mass, from which will spring the real American nation of the twentieth century—a nation which will speak English but will have too large an admixture of Latin, Celtic, and Slav blood, to be any longer called Anglo- Saxon.
Of course we are unprepared for war, as has always been the case in every emergency in our history, and therefore it is probable that the Japanese will do about as they please for the first six months, taking Manilla and all our Pacific islands, and even landing an army on our Pacific. coast ; and I think that the Japanese plan contemplates some such result, with the expectation of making peace after exacting a huge indemnity for evacuating our mainland, much as they terminated their struggle with Russia ; but, if such be their forecast, I think it will turn out to be erroneous, for the American people, when fully aroused, will refuse to listen to any humiliating proposals of peace, even though there should be some among us, like the Copperheads of 1862-63, to cry for peace at any price ; but our people will rather insist on carrying the conflict through to its only definite conclusion—the expulsion of the invader from every corner of American soil.
Let Mr. Carnegie push his peace propaganda with all the millions he can muster, but no enduring peace can come until it has been decided who shall be the ruler of the Pacific Ocean, and that is a question beyond the purview of The Hague Tribunal. Further, our work must be done alone, for we have foolishly alienated Russia, the best we can expect from England is neutrality, France is of small account in this case, and Germany would hardly grant aid except at the price of some too onerous concession on our part.
It is not for mortals to fathom the deep designs of Divine Providence, but for my part I hope that the tragedy of the war that is impending may purge the nation of the vices due to ease and prosperity, and give us that new birth which must come, if Berkeley's words are to be realised in fact.—I am,
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