FOREIGN AFFAIRS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 9, 5 October 1907, Page 4

FOREIGN AFFAIRS.

NEW FRENCH BATTLESHIPS. ■ (From Our Own Correspondent.) Paris, August 20. Four of the six new Frcncli battleships will be built in private yards, the Condorcet, and Diderot at St. Kaxairo, the Voltaire at La Seyne, and the Vergniaud at Bordeaux, whilst tho Miniboau and Danton will come from the arsenals of Lcricnt and Brest, These ships will be of 18,350 tons, and 145 metres, or 470 feet long, with turbines of 22,500 horse power, driving four screws, making a speed of 1 ( J knots. Their armament consists of four guns of 305 millimetres (about 12 inches), 12 guns of 240 millimetres, 16 of 75 millimetres, and eight of 47 millimetres, with two torpedo tubes. The substitution of turbines for triple expansion horizontal machinery modifies considerably the internal architecture, and the Gavrq Commission is about to conduct a series of experiments with a view to ascertaining the most effective protection against torpedo attacks. Tho armour at present consists of 270 millimetre plates down to a few inches below water, but the rest of the 8.45 metres submerged arc unprotected. It is proposed to surround tho ship with a succession of watertight armoured compartments below the waterlino, as a protection to the boilers and machinery—which are called the "live works" of the ship. Behind the watertight compartments will bo madb by exploding a torpedo steel wall, which it' is believed would effectually prevent damage from any torpedo which may have penetrated and smashed up one of the watertight compartments. The trials at Gavro will be mado by the inner "earene." fully charged against one or two of theso compartments backed up by the inner "earene." It .is found, as hoped and oxpected, that tho damage is cir■cumscribccl to the "end caisson," or compartment, attacked, all tho now battleships will be built surrounded by a bolt of "caissons" below their water lino. A ROYALIST EMBLEM. Paris, August 20. During tho luncheon at Marienbad, 51. Clomenceau was decorated by King •Edward. According to a trustworthy account, His Majesty twitted the French Prime Minister for paying a visit with no ribbon or blossom in his buttonhole, and thereupon took a (lower from the luncheon table and pinned it in his guest's coat. The flower chosen was a white carnation, and Frenchmen will now bo able to discuss whether the King's.choice was deliberate or othorwiso for tho "oeillet Wane" has a special significance in Franco. It is tho flower of the Royalists, and to niako M. Clomenceau wear the Royalist badge was a masterpiece of royal wit if really intentional.'' Tho incident is not likely to be so much noticed to-day as it would have been ten or twenty years ago, for fe\y in Franco to-day connect the v.'hito carnation with the Royalists, or the blue cornflower.with the house of Orleans. This is probably because the woaring of the flowers is no longer forbidden. In tho days of tho Convention to wear one was to court death, and it was in 1860 that, a play of Alphons'c Baudot's turning on this point 2avo tho whito carnation renewed popularity, and-.helped to lend a fillip to Monai'chism, tho effect of which lasted until quite recent years. ROOSEVELT AND THE STOCK EXCHANGE. New York, August 22. Newspaper rejoindors to 51 r. Roosevelt's. auti-Trust speech at Provincetown are now more, moderate. At the ■ outset the New York journals, led '. by the "New York World," raised a chorus of condemnation''of the President's denunciation of the Stock Exchange as unnecessary and ill-tiraed. The exceptions to this remonstrance were tho "Journal of Commerce," representative of general business, and (ho "New York Tribune," tho mouthpiece of tho Administration. Mr. Roosevelt's promise' to "punish ' certain malefactors of great wealth," and his hint that the Street slump was designed by a certain group for the purpose of damaging his Administration, are taken as a Rooseveltian "big stick" flourish, which will not' displease the great mass of hia political supporters in tho rest of tho country . Nevertheless, the most friendly critics now' urge that, tho President should call a halt if serious material injury to the business of the nation and suffering to many small' stockholders arc to ho avoided It is generally agreed that the country needs quiet and confidence to meet the, prolonged period of "tight" money, which European countries feel equally with America. < "Mr. Jacob Schiff, the well-known financier, who has been interviewed, 'thinks it is unjust to blame President Roosevelt for the present monetary difficulties, which are rather the result of insufficient capital and Europe's non-investments in American - securities. The only remedy possible is a temporary reduction of activities. Though the country undoubtedly suffers from the -President's uncompro,mising attitude, posterity will- certainly profit thereby. Mr. Schiff thinks 'it is regrettable that tho Government so far have not mado any efforts to cease prosecutions on the understanding that for tho future established cincerns shall not bo molested, whilst illegal corporations aro to be rigorously dealt with. GERMAN BANK IN PERSIA. London, August 21. Router's Agency has received a copy of the concession granted by the Persian Government to Herr Gutmann, director of the Deutsche Orient -Rank, for tho establishment of a bank with itr, headquarters in THcran and with branches throughout Persia. The negotiations for this concession wore protracted, and though it was on July 1, 1900, that tho preliminary agreement with regard to the concession was reached,' the actual concession was not signed until July 23, 1907. On July-5 of the present year the pronosnlr, of tho German Bank, after having been accepted by the Persian Council of Ministers, were referred to a secret parliamentary committee. Th» concosion, as it then stood, contained a number of extremely valuable c-Uuscs. There were concessions for plots of land for the buiUing of tho bank's offices, for all mines and narrow gauge railways, and for preferential rights, ceteris paribus as regarded concessions for a mortgage bank, for irrigation schemes ,watcrworks, and other undertakings. A further clause provided for the forcible collection, by the Persian authorities, of all debts due to the bank two months after the (late on which they became duo. In the concessions as finally signed, however, the last clause alono remains, a:« ' in iau amended form; that is to say, it provides for tho forcible collection of debts six months after thoy fall due. It is believed that further amendment of this passage is possible. It will thus be seen that the advantages obtained by the German Bank exceed by little those enjoyed by the subjects of other Powers under existing treaties. BOMB OUTRAGE, ETC.. For some time past there has been considerable political unrest in Portugal, and the affairs of tin- country aro at present being administered by

an absolutist Government, whoso head is Senhor Franco, owing to the intransigent attitudo adopted by the parliamentary Opposition. One point of dill'orenco between the Opposition and the Government was respecting a proposed increase in the King's civil list, but no personal element entered into the dispute, and the King's popularity was unimpaired thereby. During the recent visits of King Carlos to various places in the provinces, and also at other towns where his Majesty has called when yachting, his reception has invariably been of an enthusiastic character. There is no reason to suppose that the outrage contemplated was in any respect the outcome of the present political trouble. Senhor Franco's programme as Prime Minister contains drastic reforms in the civil and financial administration of the country. lie has complained bitteny, however, of the organised opposition ho is meeting with in his endeavour to carry out his ideas. AN ICE-CREAM RIOT. New YorK, August 22. Extraordinary scenes of riot were yesterday witnessed at Long Island in connection with a picnic which Had been arranged there for a New York political club by the district Tammany leaders. Over' ten thousand members took part in the outing, the rendezvous of which was Witzcl's Point. As the restaurant there is only capable of accommodating 2500 at a time, the party dined in relays. All went well until the fourth party sat down. A man named Jordan asked for a second helping of ice cream, whereupon AYitzol, the proprietor, told him to wait until all had beon served. Jordan broke a water jug over Witzel's head, and was in turn seized by the waiters and carried into the kitchen, where he was dropped into a vat full of potatoes bein<; cooked, and fearfully scalded. Jordan's screams quickly brought his friends to his assistance. They charged into the kitchen, breaking down flic door and a partition, and a fight ensued between them and the waiters, knives, chairs, and other handy restaurant appointments being used as weapons. The Waiters, boing few in number, were quickly put to flight, and then the picnic party, which had previously laid the beer supplies under heavy contribution, Degan to fight with oho another. The police wore summoned, and hundreds hurried to the scene, but even with vigorous use of their batons it took them about an hour to restore some semblance of order. Eventually tliey drove the quarrelsome mob back to the excursion steamers which had brought them to the island, but even on board ,thc fighting continued, and hostilities wore resumed on shore when the boat docked. Over 500 persons had their heads broken in tho melee, and there were scores of cases of broken bones, bitten fingers, etc. In two cases the injuries wcro so serious that life is despaired of. The hospitals wero kept busy for somo time dressing tho injuries of the combatants. An impn; feet list of injured shows that tbu Polish, Italian, German, Russian, and English nationalities wero represented in the indiscriminate scrimmage. GENERAL STOESSEL'S DIARY. Moscow, August 15. A Moscow newspaper has secured for publication General Stoessel's 'Diary of the Siege of IVprt Arthur," and gives its readers an instalment of about two columns. The diary opens with tho name-day of Mmo. Stark, wife of tho Admiral of the Pacific Fleet, passes lightly over the opening of hostilities by the Japanese torpedo attack tho same night, and recounts the ."hurrahs I"'raised by various arms as Goncral Stoessel rode past on nis way to sco the Viceroy of the Far ' East, Admiral Alcxieff.' The latter is described as "astounded at. what had happened, but he was making dispositions. Ho asked me what dispositions I had made," and then follows the reply of General Stoessel, which amounts to a belief that the Japanese might have walked into Port Arthur at once, but "God has saved'us!" General Stoessel complains that his yoteran troops who had been months in Port Arthur, and Knew every, inch of tho intricato paths and covered ways, had been taken off to the Yalu, and ho had been supplied with drafts from various parts of Russia newly arrived. As to the state of preparation for defence, Stoessel says "more than two-thirds of the fortress were not only not in a state of readiness, but had not .oven yet begun building." The rest of this instalment is occupied with a visit of Stoessel's to a batery which was receiving tho fire of tho Japanese warships, and put one out of action. Ho recounts how for this feat he, intended recommending the officer in command of the battery for the "George for Valour," and actually decorated one of tho men who had beon knocked down unhurt by the wind- of a 12-inch shell whizzing" past Jiis head. According to General Stoessel, this bombardment lasted about an hour, and a single lucky hit of the Russian big guns, after half an hour's firing, struck tho second' Japanese ship from the head of tho column; sho was covered with steam. The other ships "crowded round hor, and began to draw off. to retreat, to the south." MADAME CURIE ON RADIUM. Paris, August 15. Tho "Figaro" prints a letter from. Mine. Curie written to answer a demand for her. opinion on the recent discussion—in' French eyes it was a dispute—about radium, in which Mr. Soddy, Lord Kelvin, and Sir Oliver Lodge took part at meetings of the British Association.- To begin with, Mine, Curie says.she shares tho opinions of. Sir William Ramsay, Professor Ruthorfurd, and Mr. Soddy in believing that radium is an unstable clement, of which the atoms are spantan-. eously transformed, and that helium is one of tho products of the transformation. The alternative theory which Mmo. Curio gives as a mere possibility is that helium is produced by tho agency of gases which suround radium, no matter what stops bo taken to place it in a perfect vacuum. In both cases, says Mine. Curie, there would bo atomic transformation, hut in the second tbu radium would not disappear, as its radio-action would alone determino the transformation. And Mine. Curio ends the letter hy declaring she did not, think it'useful to combat Lord Kelvin's ■ theory—that radium is a salt. But tho. stin2 of a letter is often concealed in tho postscript,, and hero is tho postscript of Mmo. Curie:— o "At all events, radium is a distinct chemical element in tho sense given to the word in chemistry. _ H is scarcely likely that Lord Kelvin thinks radium a compound analogous to other molecular compounds, and it is possible that the discussion was a matter of words rather than ideas, for it is likely (vraiscmblablc) that atoms are all compounds, and are formed of simpler elcmonts, the nature of which has hardly been discovered." THE BOMB OUTRAGE AT LISBON. Lisbon, Aug. 22. A bomb exploded yesterday in the working classes' quarter of the city. It is alleged that investigation his. shown the existence of a plot to assassinate King Carlos and the Premier, Senhor Franco. Documents comprimising many people were' found in tho apartments of a student named Bettenconrt, who was engaged in preparing the bombs when the explosion took place, and who was the ringleader of the conspiracy.