FOREIGN NEWS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 69, 14 December 1907, Page 12

FOREIGN NEWS.

RUSSIAN AFFAIRS. St. Petersburg, October 28. M. Khomiakoff, the Moscow Octobrist, is the most probable president of tho now Duma. M. Chclnokoff, also of Moscow, who was tho secretary of tho last Duma, is tho only prominent Cadet to bo reelected. The ex-Captain Gustav Schmidt has been chosen by the Minsk clergy and tho Reactionary landlords theer. One of the Octobrists, who wa3 elected at tho same timo, refused to serve with a "man who was convicted of selling military plans to a foreign Power." As to tho future of Russian constitutionalism, it is supposed that tho Octobrists will accept the Government's reforms, and that thoir interpretation of the Constitution will not particularly offend the supporters' of_the autocracy. M. Maximovsky,. head of tho prison administration of the Department of Justice, was shot and mortally wounded in his office horo at 4 o'clock this afternoon by a fashionably dressed woman, who had procured admittance in the guise of a petitioner. She discharged the contents of a revolver at the official, all the bullets taking effect. Maximovsky was takon to the hospital in a dying condition. He has since died. His murderess quietly submitted to arrest. She declared that she belonged to the northern flying column of tho social revolutionaries, who nave recently killed General Borbdulin, head a*. the Akatueff Penal Minos, and M. Ivanoff, chief warder of tho principal St. Petersburg prison. All these are blamed for tho supposedly .harsher treatment of political prisoners and suspects. St. Petersburg, October 29. An extraordinary discovery has been made in connection with the murderess of M. Maximovsky, head of the prison administration of the Department of Justice, who was fatally shot yesterday afternoon.- When the police searched tho assassin they found a cord in her pocket which appeared to be connected with some object beneath her corset. Thoy asked what it was. "Pull, "and you will solve the mystery," she replied, 'smiling. They cut the'cord, and'on carefully undressing the girl found thirteen pounds of high oxplosives in a wrappor of rubber next her skin. Tho police concluded from the fact that she had not exploded her. deadly package that she had hoped to have been taken to the Department of Public Surety, which she would then, with herself, have blown to atoms. The secret police have recognised her as Mile'. Ragoginnikoff, an old acquaintance, and tho daughter of a comparatively humblo' family at Porm, who recently escaped from the hospital whore she had been under observation respecting her sanity. She had been arrosted for complicity in political crimps. _ .."._' .. The most striking feature hitherto of the elections to tho Duma is the large number of marshals of tho nobility and other officials who have been chosen. The "Rech" states that ex-Captain Schmidt sold to Austria for £1000 a plan of the mines in tho harbour of Kronstadt, but slightly altered tho data in such a way that any one with a key could reestablish the true dispositions. Schmidt confessed this to tho Court, before which he was tried, saying, " I admit that I cheated, but I am not a traitor," hence his light sentence and subsoquent pardon. The " Novoo Vrbmya " has begun a campaign for the construction of a railway from Krasnovodsk, on tho east coast of the Gas-, pian Sea, to Karachi, thus connecting the Russian and Indian systems and anticipating tho Bagdad line. By this ; moans, It is argued, Gormany's plans would be rendered abortive. i > HUNGARIAN TRAGEDY. ' Budapest, October 28. The Slovak agitation in Hungary, which commands the. sympathy, amongst others, of Bjornson, the well-known writer, was demonstrated in a singular manner _at the ( village of Czernova yesterday, resulting in a collision between gendarmes and the villagers, in which 11 of the latter .wore killed and 12 seriously injured. Tho trouble had its origin in the neighbouring village of Rosahegy. Here a ,new Roman Catholic church had been built, and was awaiting consecration, hut the priest, 'a Pan-Slavist named Hlinka, had been removedJrom the parish owing to the political propaganda which he had cairied on. Though Hlinka had been expelled the country, his influence was still strong enough to rouse his former flock to oppose any atto arouse his former flock to oppose any attempt to have the. church consecrated hy a strange priest. To hinder any attempt in this direction, tho vestments and other fur,niture which would have been used in the consecration ceremony, valued at £24, were stolon from tho church. Tho culprit was arrested and admitted that he had been incited to the deed by Hlinka. ; The consecration ceremony was fixed for Sunday, but in view of the excitement prevailing amongst tho people, it was decided that the officiating priest and his attendants should be protected by gendarmes. A magistrate, with 15 gendarmes, accompanied the. priests, but on their reaching the village of Czernova, they found further progress barred by an infuriated mob. Howls and txecrations greeted tho intruders, and women attempted to pour boiling water on the gendarmes, whilst stones flew thick arid fast. A shot' was also fired, and then the crowd rushed forward. The magistrate and ; the officer commanding the geiidarmes woro thrown down and were in danger of maltreatment. The officer drew his revolver and fired, and the gendarmes then delivered a volley, with the result that, as stated above, 11 persons were killed, including four women. In addition to the 12 who wore badly hurt, many recoived slight injuries. The volley, however, checked the, advance of the mob, and turned it into a stampede. The loador of, the demonstration was arrested.

FRANCO-SPANISH CONCORD. Paris, Octobor 30. The Spanish Foreign Minister, having accompanied the. King and Queen of Spain to Cherbourg, has returned to Paris, where he remains till to-morrow evening. This afternoon he had a second long conversation at the Quai d'Orsay with M. Pichon, the Minister for Foreign Affairs. It is scarcely necessary , to: emphasise the significance of Senior Allendesalazar's journey to Paris; and ho himself has explained it to a correspondent of the "Temps"' as follows. "Although the royal visit was called'incognito in principle, the dirinor given to their Majesties at the Elyseo stripped it of that character in part, and it was thought better, therefore, that I should accompany them here. I did not go to England, because the stay of/the King and Queen in London is for the sako of a family matter and quite private. 0.-i tho ether hand, it was only natural that I should profit by tho agreeable opportunity given me to enter into personal relations with my colleague M. Pichon." He went on to say that on all points, great and small, tho most complete harmony already reignod before his visit. This harmony was based not only on the. identity of interests, but also on the solidarity which was daily growing more pronounced between French and Spanish policy, as was seen in the "declaration"'made jointly to thg Powers last May. <? 4

ENGLISH CHANNEL FERRY. Paris, October 30. The deputation which awaited on M. Clemonceau (the Premier) and M. Caillaux (the Minister of Finance) this morning to obtain Ministerial approval of the Channel Ferry scheme is woll pleased with the Premier's assurances, which are scarcely less explicit and favourable than those already received from Sir. Lloyd-Georgo (President of the Board of Trade). The deputation, which consisted of Lord Weardalo, Sir Charles Rivers Wilson, Admiral Sir Cyprian Bridge, and Admiral Brown do Colston, laid their case before the two Ministers through the agency of Lord Weardalo. Bringing forward tin 1 same arguments as those which he addressed to Mr. Lloyd-Georgo last week, his lordship also quoted from the speech which he received in reply from the President of the Board of Trade. Tho proposal to construct a tunnel, he said, had been vetoed by both parties in Parliament; and, in these circumstances, he thought that a Channel Ferry— which ho could prove quite feasible by referring the Ministers to many cases in wliie.lt a ferry was working under much severer i conditions than those which would be im--1 .posed hy oue between Dover and Calais—

would be welcome for many reasons, and would also help to make the relations between France and England oven more cordial. Lord Weardalo remarked that the. existing harbour arrangements at Calais would quite meet tho needs of the forry. M. Clomenceau, in reply, said the Ministry would take tho proposals unto serious consideration, and that thoy agreod outirely with tho opinions expressed by tho British Government. "In this case, that which can be dono should be done," M. Clomenceau said as he took leave of tho deputation.

MOROCCO. Paris, October 31. Tho "Matin" correspondent, who is about to leave Marrakosh, gives some interesting details of tho situation there on tho 24th, when nows of tho support givon by Franco to Abd-el-Assiz had reached Mulai Hand. Tho immediate consequence was somewhat doprossing, but Mulai Hafid soon dotermincd to continue to assert his claim as Sultan. In addition.to reinforcing by 500 men the "mahalla" of 2000 that left tho previous Saturday for Mogador, ho despatched an emissary with 4000 gold pieces- to bribe Ben 'i'abib, tho commandor of tho Imperial troops. Tho whole town was full of recruits of all ages, who kept defiling by fives past the paymasters to give tho'nainos of themselves and tribes and receive a peseta (lOd.) each. The wretched condition of many of those old meu and. boys produced an unfavourable impression on the correspondent)' who said that, instead of being ready \ to fight, thoir only caro was to make sure tliat tho coin they recoived was not false. In this connection ho says that large quantities of gold coins are circulating, which confirms tho story of Hafid having found buried treasure. Most of them bear tho inscription oh one side:—"Carol D, G. R. Hisp. efc Ind. 1793," and on tho other:— "Nomina Magna. Sequor," and are of a dull colour, and the sizo of five-franc pieces. Jews change them for 80 francs, or £3 4s. Nobody knows how great was tho treasure, which is said to havo been revealed to Mulai Hafid by an old woman who knew tho plaoe in tho palace where it was burie'd by Mulai Hand's father. The French Consular agent, an Arab, was leaving 'Marrakesh with tho correspondent, who hints that Marrakosh is in danger of sharing the fate of Casa Blanoa and of being looted byi unruly tribes, who would find there riches beyond their wildest dreams, and very different booty from that of Casa Blanca.

FRENCH NAVAL PROGRAMME. Paris, October 27., In the penultimate sitting of the Technical Committee of the Ministry of Marino, hold yesterday, undor the presidency of M. Thomson, Minister of Marino, it is bolioved that a decision, was taken concerning the typo and armament of'the battleships to be laid down in 1909-1910. In 1909, sis battleships aro contemplated, which are to beat any produced by Eugland' or Germany, and suporior in the mattor of guns to tho Dreadnought or the new Baycrn. The choice is now said to lio between homogeneous armament of twelve guns, as against ten of tho Dreadnought size (12in.), or eight 12in. and eight guns of 9jin. Whilst tho first typo would offer great advantages in the matter of aiming, firing, and stocking ammunition, the second would give more rapidity and a continuous hail of projectiles. To defend against torpedo boat attacks, after a long discussion, a gun of about 4in. seems likely to' be chosen as being easiest to change its range and quickest in service. Those gun's will bo protected, so as not to bo put out of action towards the end of tho battle when torpedo attacks aro most to be feared. All this heavy arroamont will raise the tonnage to about 21,000, and none of the six new battleships is likely to be less than 20,000. ,

AMERICAN FINANCIAL CRISIS. Paris,, October 31. In the 'course of two long interviews published in the "Gaulois" and tho "Liberto" to-day, Mr. Perry Belmont, the well-known American financier, passes several severe criticisms on Mr. Roosevelt, for'the part ho is alleged to have played in provoking the financial crisis. Mr.'Perry Belmont is an ex-president of tho Committee of Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, and-was some time American. Minister at Madrid before becoming Presidont Cleveland's unofficial lieutenant at White House. It is not necessary to add that ho is' a Democrat. Summarised, ( Mr. Perry Belmont's remarks are as follows:—Mr. Roosevelt, when ho succeeded to the Presidency, proclaimed his adherence to opinions which Air. M'Kinley expressed, in his last speech, which ho dolivered at Buffalo, and which, was an outspoken address in favour of' the diminution of i tariff ' rates. Seven _ years havo passed, and the tariff is still unchanged. Tho present high tariff—"excessively high tariff," Mr. Belmont calls it —is, ho says, the cause of the evil.' It favours tho formation of trusts and financial . combines, and they in ''turn foster corruption. Mr. Belmont differentiates between industrial, trusts and financial combines, and says that it is finance and not industry that Mr. Roosevelt is attacking. He also affirms that tho committees that supported Mr. Roosevelt's re-election to tho Presidency received large funds from assurance companies and others, and, says ho believes that this fact will prevent Mr. Roosevelt from going'too far. Nevertheless, ho said, uneasjnoss would exist a 6 long as the present tariff rate continued. Mr. Taft's promises in this connection ho describes as promises, and nothing more. On another point, Mr. Belmont gave somo information about the leaguo which he helped to found, which aims at compelling all electioneering organisations to publish tho origins of all their funds. The State of New York has already made a law to this effect, and ho hoped that Congress would soon show its agreement with tho idea. As for tho supposition of war with Japan, Mr. Belmont says that if such a thing is projected, it is "pure folly." Tho President was hot justified in incurring tho risk'and expense to satisfy the inhabitants of a single State. , , '

TO FIGHT CONSUMPTION..' : Berlin, October 30. Mr. Nathan Straus, the American millionaire, will to-morrow open his now laboratory at Heidolberg, where he has erected a facsimilo of the apparatus which ho uses in his depots in New York and other American cities, in order that. German medical men,, officers of health, municipal reformers, and philanthropists may see how infantile mortal is in the United' States. This is the beginning of a crusade against consumption which Mr. Straus, who has' long preached the dangers of raw milk in America, intends to conduct in Europe, and especially in Germany. ( During the next fow months thero will bo, a pilgrimage to Heidelberg of German doctors, professors, municipal politicians, and so forth, who desire to inspect the Straus plant. Besides his big plant employed in the j public depots in New York, Mr. Straus, is exhibiting at Heidelberg specimens of his household apparatus for' pasteurising milk, a simple contrivance, which every mother can buy for six or eight shillings, and by this modest expenditure _ provide herself with an effective protection against the communication of tubercnlos germs to her children from raw milk. Mr. Straus, in his cnisado against consumption, hopes to educate public opinion sufficiently to bring about the goncral adoption of the housohold pasteurising apparatus. One feature of the crusade is a gonoral offer to present a big pasteurising plant to any town in Europe whero infant mortality is exceptionally high, and whore the money for the plant cannot be raised by local effort. In consequence of this offer, Mr. Straus will shortly present his plant to Liverpool and Dublin, and to Munich, Ifrussols, and Ostond. The results obtained in America justify the hopes placed in the general use of tho Straus system. Mr. Straus has established soventeon milk dopots in New York, and tho output of pasteurised milk was 3,140,252 bottles arid 1,078,105 glasses in 1906. Coincident with the increased use of pasteurised milk, infant mortality in New York decreased from 96 per thousand in 1802 to 55 per thousand in 1906. Nine milk depots are established in Philadelphia, from which noarly one million bottles or pasteurised mills were distributed last year. Coincident with the increased use of pastouriscd milk in Philadelphia, the infantile death rate diminished as fifteen per cent, in five years. ,!