NEWS BY THE MAIL.

Globe, Volume XX, Issue 1561, 19 February 1879, Page 3

NEWS BY THE MAIL.

[From the " Times," January 2nd.] ELECTION OF PRINCE OF BULGARIA. A Vienna telegram of January Ist states : As the time for the election of the Prince of Bulgaria approaches fresh candidates make their appearance. To-day Prince Vogorides is mentioned, for whom the Mahomedans and Greeks are said to be ngitating. Prince Vogorides, although belonging to one of the Greek families of the Fanar, claims Bulgarian descent, and when first Bulgaria wes spoken of as an autonomous or semi-independent Stale, the name of Vogorides was put forward as one of the candidates. As he is connected with all the leading Greek families in Turkish employment, and has himself occupied various high offices, the last being that of Ambassador in Vienna, it would not be surpricing if there was an attempt ma"de on the part of tho Porte and of the Greeks in Constantinople to set up Prince Vogorides as a counter-candidate to the Russian nominee. But although the Porte may command the vote of the Mahomedans in the Bulgarian Assembly, and although Greek influence may be brought to bear on the Black Sea Coast, Varna, und some of the Danube towns, Prince Dondoukoff - Korsakoff, according to all accounts, has taken care to be master in the Assembly and mp.ke it elect whom he pleases. The Asienbly has not elected by a direct vote of the population, but by indirect election, and care has been taken that a large proportion of the members |of the Assembly should be officials. Princo Battenberg is said to be the candidate now put forward by Russia, but there are those who believe that there i? «orae one else kept in reserro. LBO TJfin. ON THE "EVILB OF SOCIETY." The full text of the allocution delivered by his Holiness Pope Leo XIII., and addressed to the members of the Sacred College of Cardinals on Christmas Eve, is being officially forwarded to their Eminencies. After some allusions to the religious aspect of Christmas, his Holiness refers at length to the present condition of civilised Bociety, and says:— "Whenever in former times society has, through its own faults, permitted itself to fall from the dignity it had attained into misery and depravity, the Church has saved it by the supernatural power of the Redeemer. The present age, in which all truth is full of tribulation, possesses no other means of escaping those evils than by returning to Christ and to peaoe with the Church. The spirit of pride and so-called independence which now troubles society and overthrows social order,' gives no sign of safety except in submission and Christian obedience. No more salutary remedy for the unquenchable lust of gold and terrestial pleasure can be found than the temperate self-abnegation and self-sacrifice of the faithful Christian. Real peace «an only be given to society by the extension of a purely Christian spirit--for real peace is based on order, and cannot be found in the man whose senses are not fully subject to reason and whose reason is not submissive to the Almighty. It cannot be found in society if the authority and laws which rule society are not entirely in consonance with the unchangeable principles of truth and justice, of which the Church is the guardian. Knowing that it has been left open to the nations to be redeemed, and that by the Infinite Wisdom objects are often attained by hidden and unexpected methods we have no doubt, that even now the world will bo again pacified and rehabilitated by the power of the Church, and that the ruin to the verge of which it has been brought will tend to make its security greater and the triumph of the Church ail the more glorious." SOUTH AFRICAN FOLK LORE. "Nature" draws attention to a society recently formed at Cape Town for the collection of" South African folk lore. An explanatory circular says :—"The existence among tho aboriginal nations of South Africa of a very extensive traditioaary literature is a wellknown fact. Not a few storios forming part of this literature have been written down ; and as in some of them terms occur which no longer appear to be used in colonial language, and the meaning of whioh are, in many instances, not fully understood, there is no doubt, that we meet in tbem with literary productions of great antiquity, handed down to the present generation in a somewhat similar manner to that in which the Homeric poems reached the age of Pisistratus. But European civilization is gaining ground among the natives, and within a few years the opportunities for collecting South African folk lore will be, if not altogether lost, at least far less frequent than they are now. This would be a great loss to 'the science of man,' particularly as there is much which is exceptionally primitive in the languages and ideas of the South African aboriginal races. There are not a few missionarhs and other Europeans in South Africa who have ample opportunities for collecting South African folk lore. Some of these, however, are not aware of the importance of such collections, and those who ar? would be greatly encouraged in the task of making them if a channel for their speedy publication exist ed. In the hope of contributing towards the collection of South African traditionary literature, a Folk-Lore Society is in course of formation at Cape Town, which already includes members in distant parts of South Africa. The publication of a Bmall periodical every Becond month is also proposed by the society." TnE SLAVS OF AUSTRIA. The Russian " St. Petersburg Gazette," in an article on the Slavs in Austria, observes that while they remain loyal to the Hapsburg dynasty, they can have no hope of securing their national rights. The Magyars and the Germans now oppress the Slavs as tho Turks did formerly, and Count Andrassy and M. Tisza openly proclaim their hostility to Panslavism. Moreover, the Austrian Slavs are divided among themselves. While the Czechs are laboring to overthrow Count Andrassy, the Croats abandon the Slavonic cause for the sake of tho autonomy which is given them by the Magyars. Not a single Slovak or Ruthenian sits in the Hungarian Parliament, and only three of its members are Servians, who stoutly defend their national rights. But even the Servians are gradually losing ground; their schools are either closed or under Magyar iniluence, and their ablest men have either become Government functionaries or been thrown into prison. Croatia, too, in spite of her autonomy, has not obtained what she hoped for. D.Jmatia still belongs to Cislcithaiiia ; the military frontier has _ no political rights and cannot elect deputies; and, what is motit important, neither Fiume nor Bosnia can belong to Croatia. Notwithstanding the energetic rrsisrance of tho Slavs, their Germanisation makes ustoribhing progress. The chief cause of their failure, proceds the writer, is, selling aside foreign influencrs, their want of union and unity : they cannot give up their ideas of local patriotism. Tie Poles are against the Rutheriuris, tho Grouts against the Servians, and so on. Tho Croats v»ould agree that Bosnia should become an Austrian province rather than that it should be annexed to Servia; while the Servians would proier that

80-nia should remain under the Turkish . ule rather than Lhut it should beoome part of Crouton. "Tho only hope of the Austrian Slavs," concludes the arti. le, "is in the support of Russia. If they would unite to seek such support they would certainly gain the upper hand over the Germans and Magyars."