The Ashburton Guardian. Magna Est Veritas et Prevalebit. TUESDAY, JANUARY 2, 1883. The Past Year.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 831, 2 January 1883, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna Est Veritas et Prevalebit. TUESDAY, JANUARY 2, 1883. The Past Year.

The year which has just passed away will be long remembered in the future history of the world as an eventful one. Three occurrences such as the war in Egypt, the narrow escape of the Queen of England from assassination and the? foul murder of the Secretary and Under-Secretary of State for Ireland, are sufficient to render it memorable, while within the last decade in no one year have so many great men been cajled away. In summarising the events of the year, it will, perhaps, be more convenient to speak first of the most important—namely, the war in Egypt. Affairs in that country had begun to assume a threatening aspect before the close of iBBr, and in January of the present year, England and France, the European countries most nearly interested in Egypt, issued an identical note guaranteeing support to the Khedive, and stating they would prevent the interference of Turkey. But it was not till May that an actual rebellion was threatened, and it was on the 30th of that month that Arabi Pasha, who had attained great power as leader of the “ nationalist ” party, declared that the Khedive Tewfik should be deposed and his brother Prince Halim placed on the throne. Ten days later, on June lolh, serious disturbances took place in Alexandria, which resulted in the massacre of a large number of European residents in the city. Matters had assumed such a serious aspect that it was seen that a war was inevitable, and it was expected that France and England, whose interests were identical, would be allies in crushing the rebellion. The former country, however, was unwilling to join in the war, and on a credit vote being asked for in the Chamber, it was negatived. Turkey was also looked to for assistance, but the conduct of her plenipotentiary at the conference of the Powers that had been assembled at Constantinople, showed that the Porte was unwilling to interfere, and that her sympathies were with Arabi rather than otherwise. The result was that England had to do the work single-handed, and Admiral Sir Beauchamp Seymour was ordered to proceed to Alexandria. Arabi appears to have had great belief in his ultimate success, and as he still continued to erect fortifications, the Admiral on July Bth gave the insurgent chief twenty-four hours’ notice that unless the works were stopped the city of Alexandria would be bombarded. At five o’clock on the morning of the iotli the bombardment was commenced, and was continued for several hours, the forts being ultimately silenced and a party of Marines and Blue Jackets landed. The troops were then on their way from England, but it was some time before they arrived, and it was not till the 18th of August that Sir Garnet Wolseley took personal command of the forces. Even then that able general showed no inclination to hurry on events. His object was evidently to crush Arabi with one tremendous blow, and on the 13th of September the only important battle of the campaign was fought, at Tel-cl-Kebir, where the enemy held a strong position. The management of this battle was a masterpiece of strategy, and showed that Sir Garnet had .practically made failure impossible. Afabi’s troops were thoroughly defeated, anti. fled in all directions, and

Wo days later the arch-rebel jhimselli jj was taken prisoner and the insurrection. ■ eritffely quelled.JJhe ofthqL drama has just been concluded, with the banishment of Arab] and other prominent leaders in the rebellion to. ,the island d’f Ceylon; How far England was justified in entering upon this war must be left to posterity to decide, but considering the pledges that had been given to the Khedive, it was impossible to prevent the conflict when Arab! ami those who were working with him deposed Tewfik. We can only hope now that the reforms which are admittedly required in the country will be carried out. Turning from this foreign trouble of England to affairs nearer home, there comes the remembrance of the dastardly crime that was committed in Phoenix Park, Dublin, on the evening of the sth of May, when Lord Frederick Cavendish and Mr T. PI. Burke were foully murdered. The former had just been elected Chief Secretary for Ireland in place of Mr W. E. Forster, and had been in the Capital but a few hours when, while walking in the Park with the Undersecretary, he and his companion were assassinated- No clue lias yet been obtained either to the motive or to the perpetrators of this horrible deed, and it will probably remain a mystery to the end of time. The news of this crime caused a thrill of horror throughout the whole world, and the Home Eulers in the House of Commons were not slow in expressing their abhorrence of what had occurred. Still, although it would be absurd to suppose that Mr Parnell and his followers could do anything to instigate such an assassination, it is impossible to close our eyes to the fact that tbs many inflammatory speeches that had been delivered had tended to excite the minds of the Irish people, and cause a state of anarchy throughout the country. Several agrarian outrages of peculiar atrocity hare taken place in Ireland sincet hat time; but the people have of, late shown a disposition to abide by the , laws. The Arrears of Rent Bill, which became law during the year, promises to do much good in satisfying the people, and Mr Parnell has declared his satisfaction with the measure. It was in March that the Queen, while leaving Windsor station, was fired at by a man in the crowd. The author of this act was named Roderick Maclean, and he was immediately seized by the bystanders. Maclean was tried subsequently by a Royal Commission; but it was shown that he was insane, and he was sentenced to be detained aaring Her Majesty’s pleasure. .. Coming so sooti after the assassination r of the President of the United Slates, and with the memory of the murder of the Czar of Russia still in the minds of the people, it cannot be wondered at that the news of the attempt on the Queen’s life was considered to be the result of some organisation. It was' a relief therefore to find that it was after all only the, act ,of a lunatic who was suffering from some imaginary wrong. Concerning the events in Europe proper during the past year little need be said. In France she short-lived Ministry of M. Gambetta resigned on January 26, being defeated on a Constitution Bill by a majority of 188, and M. de Freycinet then came into office. The latter was in his turn defeated on the motion for a war credit vote in connection with Egypt, on July 29, and M. Duclerc then entered into power. The progress of France has been satisfactory, and she appears to have chiefly confined herself to internal reforms, and to have taken but little interest in foreign affairs. Evidence is not wanting to show that the power of that once allpowerful statesman, Prince Bismarck, is on the wane. The Radical party in Germany is evidently grooving in strength, and although the “ man of blood and iron ” will not easily admit defeat, it is plain that much of the influence he had has departed. Austria, in the early part of the year, was engaged in putting down a rebellion in Herzegovina, which promised at one time to be serious, but after one or two skirmishes nothing more was heard of the insurrection. Nihilism still appears to be a great power in Russia, and, what is worse, seems to be spreading in other countries, notably in France and Italy. The Czar of Russia was crowned secretly in Moscow, and the reign of terror which commenced when the late Emperor was assassinated has not yet ended. Of the other European countries little need be said. Turkey and Greece have had a petty squabble over a frontier line, but besides our own war in Egypt, no hostilities of any importance have taken place, while numerous messages of peace have passed between the chief Powers. So far as the Australasian colonies are concerned, 1882 will be remembered as a prosperous if not, on the whole, an eventful year. The establishment of the frozen meat trade is now an accomplished fact, and the cargoes sent from New Zealand and Australia have realised satisfactory prices. It need not be said that the successful prosecution of such' a trade as this will do great good to the colony, and now that there is every reason to believe that ere long we shall have direct steam communication between this colony and England, this trade will be largely increased. There has been much complaint during the year of the tightness of money, but when we receive the new loan no doubt all will go well. With the promise of a bountiful harvest, we have a right to expect that, prosperous as the year which has just closed has been, 1883 will show even a better record.