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FRENCH INDO-CHINA
World Journey
Phnom Penh. May 14 1935
Left at 6, misty, saw roof of the palace over dead dog,
prisoners and soldiers, peasants, banana trees, birds, blue darting swallow
like birds, maize being planted along the road and ponds with masses of
Lotus.
Crossed very wide river by ferry, came to Douanes. We
were in Cochin China. Differences, women all in black, grass in squares with
tiny towers, end of Siamese influence, Annamites.
End of Indian influence and beginning of China. Strange
headgear, cloth rolled around head. Tombstones and temples differ.
Shocked by the French papers attack on the Governor
General M. Died recently, savage gutter attack on a dead man. He ran away
after bomb had been thrown at dinner in his honour in Canton.
British Consul
"French are making great mistakes, they are closing this
entirely to themselves. All goods must be French at the expense of the
population. Hence terrifying experience, highest cost of living in the world
probably. Hence revolts, dissatisfaction. Japanese goods (few) come in;
Beer, few textiles."
"We can hardly get foreign goods, whisky I can only get
through a club or a hotel.
"The French are forcing their goods upon these people."
"The French would do much better if they let other goods
and people in. Look at Java, there they encourage the British etc. and they
flourish. But here they jealously guard everything. It’s a rich country,
fertile, with coal in the North but undeveloped."
"Trouble here comes from anti European and nationalists.
They are people who are educated and have no jobs, just as In India.
But the French are ruthless. They
suppress it at once. Not
long ago in Tonkin a French Officer was killed in a small revolt, the French
shot 14 Annamites.
Northcliffe came here was mad, said that the French could
teach us a lot!
The French are bad colonists, they just come out here to
make money and then rush back again. It’s almost a bit of a disgrace to the
colonies.
Then there’s the battle between the French producers and
the home producers.
There’s the general revolt here against the white race.
Disgraceful press here. How can natives have respect for
the white’s when they accuse each other of all crimes?"
The duty against whisky is due to the Brandy interests of
France in the battle.
*Shrieking, shots, angry voice, went to see, it was a
cinema just behind the Continental palace.
Le Populare
Price : - piatre
1930 - before
stabilisation we received 4 piatres (p =
Hong kong S) but now the p. Indo China is twice as expensive, so if we
receive 4 Hong Kong S. we receive half.
1,200,000 tons of rice exported per year. We sell all and
we have no money, because of piatre.
All Annamites want the devaluation, everywhere, no
exception. The financiers only want high piatre.
Tariffs up to 2,000% everything to smash foreign goods,
but smugglers - Baie de Kompong Som - only two boats to look after them.
Terrible cost of living, suffering.
Smuggling on the backs of elephants, arrested elephant
from Siam.
Gulf of Siam, arriving from Singapore, Hong Kong and
China.
Cambodians are fierce bandits and smugglers. They shoot.
Annamites are mild.
Annamites are not communists, they love family, land etc.
Here at Saigon they’ve elected 4 municipal councillors.
Communists.
People not satisfied. Great tariff barriers between China
and Indo-China.
In France there’s been a great propaganda on the increase
of sales of rice to France, went up from 250,000 to about 750,000.
In France the wheat producers out roupete against the
rice and wanted to make a quota of 500,000 tons, but haven’t done it. But
they did something worse.
The Government said :-
"We’ll give you millions of francs to denature the wheat, they put blue
stuff in it (blen de metilere), this denatured wheat and it sold at 3Ofr
(instead of 45fr) but the producers get l5fr from the government.
(The rice in France is for the cattle, the French eat
little rice).
"I’m a farmer - "I
find wheat at 3Ofr. Rice is thus toc expensive, I don’t buy it". Thus little
rice is sold. (Perhaps half of formerly).
"But now they won’t buy our maize either because of
overproduction".
"Revolts in Tonkin. The Communists are very subtle. They
knob they can’t go straight to Communism so they mix it with Nationalism".
1930 - Sudden Cochin
shine, not much nationalism. Nationalism will grow with growing youth.
At Siamese frontier, very careful about importing
weapons.
Eden Cinema. Saigon
Lac aux Dame.
"Femmes ravissantes, of f rant aux caresses du soleil
leurs corps elances et fins, jeune flues dont les sens s’eveillent doucement
en presence de l’amour desire ordets sentiments tendres on passlonnes, jeuns
toujours voila "Lac aux Dames".
Editor - "They admire
Japan, think it fine that she’s got on sc quickly without Western help.
Tanfleld
Prices terrible, most expensive country in the world. A
handbag in the Philippines cost 20 cents, here 2 piatres. Tariffs terrific,
they ruin the country; leads to great suffering.
We can hardly buy anything here, too expensive.
"They’re terribly jealous of keeping everything for the
French. They won’t have foreigners working here."
"If I go on leave, or a subordinate goes on leave, I have
to have special permission from the Governor General to get a substitute."
"The fight between home producers against the Indo
Chinese is bad. It’ll lead to a lower standard of living. Japanese cannot do
much business here."
"Yokohama Special Bank had to close it’s doors here a few
years ago, not enough business".
Japanese competing a lot in cement.
Fear here that Japan will want to conquer. Many Annamites
say that they prefer the French. Great Britain has sent a number of
battleships to visit here. Perhaps that is to warn the Japanese.
America
Quotas on Japanese yarns and cotton piece goods.
Indo-China in Tonkin is producing cotton piece goods.
Huge enterprise in Nam Dinh (Town) and also in Haiphon, working night and
day, thousands working there.
Le Probleme Econ. Indo -
Paul Bernard (1934)
Gold Prices 1913 = 100
Jan 1935 Wholesale Retail
Indochina 77
Hanoi 98
Saigon 107
France 71 92
U. K. 60 74
Germany(?) 101
US 67 69
Calcutta 63
China 61
Japan 49
Cost of living in Gold
Nov 1934
Hanoi nations middle class 112
Saigon Eur 103
France (Bru) 102
U.K 88
US. 78
Bombay 68
1914 = 100 (first 6
months)
60% of imports come from France.
A high protective tariff has kept Japan from developing
its trade with French Indo China. Japanese cotton yarns and textiles are
subject to quota restrictions. The bulk of business is in fresh fruit and
vegetables, dried fish, glassware, enamel ware and asphalt.
English products, cigarettes, whisky, coal, biscuits,
emery, tin plate, chemicals.
Tariffs on Textiles
Specific tariffs. Thus when price went down it was not
necessary to raise the tariff. So much per length and weight, not ad
valoreum.
Textiles bleached or cotton goods, manufactured and
bleached yarns. 1933
Milligrams
France 79,168,000 francs
total 79,657,000
Japan 5,000 francs
Gt Britain 22,000 francs
Quota
Roughly 1200 metric tons per year; total quota for all
foreign
cotton goods coming in.
Roughly 70,000 metric tons of cotton goods imported in
1933.
Roughly quota only allowing 1200 metric tons per year.
Japanese vice Consul
Tea offered, cost of tea
Forman - l0 yen packet
Forman Lee 40cents
Imports nearly stopped, 800 francs duty in 5 kilos.
Japanese imports about 2% of the total.
Chamber
of Commerce
Sec. - "We had great
difficulties with maize, due to the refusal of French to buy maize, because
of the over production of wheat in France.
Rice - "Luckily China
stepped in and by the first 6 months about
our annual export of rice had been sold, 1,200,000. We
cannot sell all our rice.
Difficulties with the farmers in France.
"If we could import Japanese goods then the cost of many
goods would go down 20 - 30%."
"We are importing cement from Japan, but a lot smuggled
in, Japanese influence almost nil".
Loret, Lyceum Paul Doumis.
The Communists are very strong but it1s a
strange Communism. It’s a mixture of Nationalism and Communism. It’s
directed from Canton and Canton is directed by Moscow.
"We’ve had a lot of trouble here. They’ve tried to form
cells here and are trying to win the youth.
All around this district there are communist cells and
they work very hard indeed. But the population is too soft. Le Chinos, C’est
rien sen homme, but the Annamite is weak, backboneless. The Cambodian is
stronger. I know of one French inspector who drove away 400 Annamites.
China would be a magnificent country if they could only
have order.
We want relations to improve with Siam. Japanese
influence is increasing in Bangkok but here it is nil.
Some of the youngsters think that the Japs have done well
by example, but they do not think often of Japan.
M. Dukson took me for a ride, out into the country, flat,
palm leave shacks, beautiful scene, river Saigon, palms, moonlight.
Walked. "Don’t step on those leaves because of the small
snakes. They are dangerous!" - We talked
"Ah Pruvier! Sole; choosing menu." "Ah! Ah! Then the sole for the dinner."
"Ah! do you know. (Make good scene.)
La Patisserie Perigourdene
Talk about food. Then he said "N’en parlez plus"
That’s the fault of the French, they’re always thinking
of Paris.
They have no affection or loyalty to the colonies. They
want to come out, make a lot of money and return quickly.
"Then they are weak here. They smoke too much opium,
especially the women. Nine out of Ten women smoke. Nearly all. It gets a
grip.
I had a petite amle, I took her for a journey, I did not
know she smoked. First day nothing happened. Second day she was nervous and
irritable. "whats the matter?" "Nothing".
In the middle of the night she woke me yelling "I must
have opium". We rushed to a little village and went to a rough place and she
smoked.
Opium calms the sexual desire of a man, but increases
that of a woman. It makes the women here mad about men. That’s what smashes
so many marriages here in Saigon. The husband and the wife smoke, the
husband loses desire but the wife increases her desire, she must have a man
and finds a lover.
Often the women have a pipe and have men there to enjoy
between the smokes. It’s the women who make the men smoke, about 7 out of 10
men smoke.
"I like the atmosphere of a fumerie. It’s like a club,
talk, gay".
We went to dinner at a restaurant, chic, good dinner.
A man passed, young. "He smokes 50 to 60 pipes a day,
he’s doomed. He’s a pilot, he’s going upstairs. There’s an opium room above
the restaurant. He’s a pilot."
A woman, chic in blue, fair hair, about 40, passed. "she
smokes but only 10 to 15 pipes a day. A pipe lasts about 40 seconds, then
they relax for about 10 minutes.
"They’ve got to have it regularly, some go mad".
A pipe costs 10 sous, so a man who smokes 50 spends 5
piastres a day.
"It wrecks character. It makes men steal and murder and
do anything for opium."
They smoke cigarettes to give patience between the
smokes.
"Prices are terrible. Japanese import beer, price of
entry 5 piastres, but they put 11 piastres duty, making it 16 piastres."
"We’re keeping the market for France."
"I had a terrifying experience, went in car with friend
in Annam; slept in the car in forest. Next morning read that Mois had
attacked a camp of French troops to rescue some prisoners and had killed a
French officer. We had a narrow escape."
The Mois are primitive, still use poisoned arrows.
The Tonkinois have more life and energy, that’s where the
trouble is with the Communism.
The government is terrible here, the papers live by
blackmail, eg. the government gives a subsidy to a company of a million
piastres, when only 200,000 piastres is necessary, a lot goes into private
hands. Newspaper begins a campaign of scandal etc.
Suddenly "Hush! Not a sound!" Why? "Because the company
has given a bribe to an editor."
"Two women in this restaurant have made hundreds of
coins, because husbands smoked opium and lost desire."
We motored past a building where the soldiers had risen a
long time ago and killed officers. We dashed full speed through the town,
nearly knocking down people, to Cholon. After dinner:
Chinese woman selling medicine on street, crowds, dancing
places, lights etc. Along the river brilliant lights.
From the Continental Palace to the boat in Mr Duksons
car.
D’Artagnon, big cabin, but bare, 2nd class. We sailed at
2
O’clock, but I was asleep.
Thursday.
Woke up late, 10 o’clock, walked in saw Ella Millbank and
Carolyne Saltus. Lunched at 11 o’clock. French chic woman in pink, fat witty
Frenchman, (Vaseille), American Lieutenant and his wife.
After lunch, discussed Saigon with the French, as the
most immoral place in the world, "It’s dangerous to ask ‘hows your wife?’
because probably recently divorced". The climate affects the women and there
are so few that they are spoilt.
Vaseille and Mine Andrefouette
(Lieutenant and Mrs Irens) discuss women all day long.
"Lots of them smoke opium. The women have nothing to do
all day long, so they smoke.
"You invite someone to dinner. At a certain hour, he (or
she) gets irritable, shuffles on the seat and face twitches. They just have
to get their opium."
"There’s an aviator who is a great smoker, he’ll smoke
all night, lighting one from another.
"Snobbery" of opium smokers
Buddhism - The Message
Subhadra Bhikkhu
Existence is not a blessing.
It is unworthy to pursue sensual pleasures.
Doctrine of rebirth rests on true justice. Death is
merely transition from one perishable from to another. To him, however, who
is earnestly weary of constantly renewed existence with its sorrows and
joys, the way to deliverance is open, Ic. individuality will dissolve into
Nirvana.
Buddha gave up princely fortune, left wife and children.
Mara (Salan) tempted him In the wilderness.
Buddhism does not deny gods. nor does it attribute to
them any special importance.
It is very probable that Jesus was a pupil of Buddhist
monks from his 12th to his 30th year, at which time the gospels have nothing
to report about him.
There are no divine revelations.
The cause of birth, suffering, death and re-birth is the
all pervading wrong desire, the craving for sensate existence in this or
another world.
The Four Noble Truths:
About Suffering,
Cause of suffering
Cessation of Suffering
About path to cessation of Suffering.
Path - Eightfold
Right views, Right aspirations, Right speech, Right
actions, Right livelihood, Right effort, Right mindfulness, Right
meditation.
Nirvana - Is a state
of mind and heart in which all desire for sensate life, all egoistic
craving, has become extinct and with it every passion, every grasping
desire, every fear, all ill will and every sorrow. It is a state of perfect
inward peace.
Most men have so defective ~a mental and moral nature, as
the result of their deeds in former lives, that they require many rebirths
before they can gain release.
Nirvana - blown out is
the "I".
Then when he dies he passes on to the Eternal Peace, to
the Parinirvana.
Our re—birth depends solely upon ourselves, our will.
The nature of our re-birth depends on our ‘Karma’. Karma
is our action, merit and guilt. If our merit preponderates, we are reborn in
a higher scale of living.
We are exactly what we have made ourselves and we enjoy
and suffer only what we deserve, strict justice.
"Not in the boundless distances of space, not in the
midst of the sea, not in the deepest mountain chasms, is there a spot where
one can escape the result of one’s evil deed."
Only the ignorance of man has invented a personal god
- creator.
The Buddha taught nothing of the beginning or end of the
universe, because this knowledge transcends the power of the human
intellect.
Five vows of Upasaka or lay followers :-
1) Not to kill or injure any living being.
2) Not to take anything which does not belong to me.
3) Abstain from all sexual excess
4) Not to lie, deceive or slander.
5) To abstain from all intoxicants and excitants.
8 vows . 5+
6) Not to take solid food after mid
- day.
7) Abstain from dancing, worldly songs, from attending
plays or musical performances, to abstain from all worldly and
distracting amusements.
8) Avoid use of ornaments, perfumes or anything that
tends to vanity.
Higher merit is attained by carrying out the eight vows
at least on the "sabbath", which corresponds to the four phases of the moon,
new moon, first quarter, the full and the last quarter.
That the guiltless should be able to take on himself the
sins of the guilty Is foolish.
Merit depends on the inner motive, on the purity of
thought.
"To shun evil, to do good, to purify the heart from
passions, that Is the teaching of all the Buddhas. Not to blame anybody, not
to injure anybody, to practice abstemiousness accordling to the Doctrine, to
be moderate in eating and in drinking, to turn one’s thoughts to the
highest, that is the teaching of all the Buddhas’.
"Overcome the angry by gentleness, the wicked by
kindness, the miser by liberality, the liar by truth."
No temporal guilt can bring on everlasting punishment.
There is no heaven or hell. The iniquity of parents is
not visited upon children. No - one need
suffer for the guilt of others.
When we see the good suffer, it is based on the actions
of a former life.
Buddhism is pervaded by the spirit of perfect toleration,
never has blood been shed for its propagation.
Prayers, sacrifices and the observance of rites and
ceremonies are not necessary for the attainment of Nirvana, earnest
meditation takes the place of prayer.
"Happy are those who do not hate. Let us live happily
then, free from hatred among those who hate.
Happy are the pure, let us live happily then, pure
amongst impure.
Happy are they who are free from desires, let us live
happily then, free from desires among the desiring.
Happy are those who call nothing their own."
Paul Eaken
Siamese Buddhism
HInayana Buddhism firmly established throughout Indo - China by the 5th century AD.
Siam claims to be the only true Buddhist state left,
being the only independent state free to nurture and propagate the true
faith. The King is the actual head of Buddhism in Siam.
1929 - 30 there were
16,132 Buddhist temples in Siam with 132,041 monks, 50,030 novitiates and
98,902 temple attendants. One out of 36 of Siam’s ten million people must be
supported by the public, great strain.
Out of a group of over 10,000 monks who have left the
buddhist priesthood, only 17 have been sentenced to imprisonment for crimes
committed, and of these only two were of a serious nature.
The Buddhist teaching to the effect that responsibility
rests solely on oneself and that if one does good he will have reward and
evil he will suffer, incubates fear of evil action.
There are deep stirrings at the very heart of Siamese
Buddhism.
1) Increased interest in religious training work.
2) More emphasis is being placed on the preaching
ministry of the Buddhist monks on making sincere desire to win men to
upright living.
3) Tendency to minimize the externals of religion and
emphasize the inner spirit.
4) Change in the doctrines. The idea of the individual as
a water - tight
compartment, isolated from all others, deserving all that comes to him, because he alone is responsible,
is passing. More feeling for society.
5) Among country people a real feeling of dependence on a
supreme personal being.
6) Tendency to elevate Buddha to the position of God.
7) Modern Buddhism In Siam will deny that Buddha taught
the men to eliminate all desires. Not desire but evil desires are
the chains that hold us to the wheel of existence.
Curse of Buddhism, no initiative. Pass by on the other
side, because suffering Is deserved, no pity.
Angkor Wat
Villes d’art celebres George Groslier
Angkor est le mot sanserit -
nagara - capitale. Une extraordina
germination des religious indiennes, s’est en effet produlte entre les neuf
et 13 sleds de notre ere dans les ramparts d’A. D’interminables chausses
ayant Angkor pour centre se deploient en etoile a travers un pays se pare
lul meme de plus de 800 temples et chapelles, on creuse en terre de vasts
reservoirs, utilitaires et des milliers d’etange sacre’s, centain de ponts
massifs; on se bat sur toutes les frontiers, on prie plusiers dieux a la
fois, l’ar et le bronze coulent a f lots et peuplant d’idols les sanctuaires.
Le peuple khmer et le peuple cambodge unite nationale du
cambodge, s’eta but an plus tard vers 802-69 AD.
yes les iv - v an plus
tardes.
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