The Hastings Standard Published Daily. FRIDAY, SEPT. 4, 1896. FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE.

Hastings Standard, Issue 112, 4 September 1896, Page 2

The Hastings Standard Published Daily.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 4, 1896. FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE.

For the cause that lacks assistance, For the wrongs that need resistance, For the future in the distance, And the good that we can do.

The cablegrams of the past few days have been of more than passing interest. From all points of the compass the intelligence has been of a character that betokens unrest, so much so that indications are not wanting that the peace of the world hangs in the balance, and modern diplomacy may not be able to stem the tide which threatens disaster. The political situation in every part of the world is charged with explosive elements. The centre of the dangerous circle is in the effete and crumbling Turkish Dominion. The tyranny of the Turk appears to have gone beyond the endurance of the much-butchered Armenians, and the recent rioting in the streets of Constantinople with its accompanying slaughter indicates that the apathy of the Great Powers must cease, and active measures adopted to bring the Sultan to a just sense of his responsibilities. The Eastern question is the bugbear of European statesmen ; its solution is fraught with immense risks, and there is courage wanting to face the danger. It would be impossible for any single power to attempt the solution in the present inflammable state of Europe. The wily Turk, taking advantage of the inscrutable jealousy exhibited towards Great Britain by certain of the Continental nations, has been playing off "one against the other. In the midst of these gambols the chief figure in the drama, Prince Lobanoff, the Russian Foreign Minister, has crossed the border line, and his death may, and probably will, give a new face to the Eastern question. Prince Lobanoff has exercised a marvellous power in the world's politics. His achievements have been summed up thus tersely : " Since his accession to power Prince Lobanoff has interposed an imperative veto upon the realisation of the ambitions of Japan in the Far East, and upon the aspirations of the Armenians in the Levant. And as a calculated consequence of his veto he has constituted Russia patron protector and virtual overlord of the Ottoman and Chinese Empires."

Every nation seems to have some entanglement more" or less serious. Great Britain has the Soudan campaign in full swing, opening many possibilities. South Africa is seething still, and the Transvaal threatens mischief at any moment. The illiterate Kruger has outgeneralled the Hon. J. Chamberlain, and his success may at any moment lead him to play for larger stakes. The despatch of reinforcements to the Cape is a sinister sign. The suddenness of the Zanzibar affair will not readily be forgotten, and although quietness was quickly restored, the complications that it engendered may lead to further hostilities, for we are told that the arrogant German Government refuses to give up Abdul Kbaled, the usurper of the bultanate, and the immediate cause of the recent bombardment. Italy has her hands full with Abyssinia, and to add to her troubles Brazil has given her cause to withdraw her Legation and to despatch cruisers to Brazilian waters. Spain has a very tough contract with Cuba, and an additional source of anxiety is found in the revolt in the Philippine Islands. Portugal has not yet got clear of the disturbance in Goa, in India, and there is the firing upon the Boers at Lorenzo Marquez to be explained. France has the Madagascar trouble still to settle, while every move of Great Britain, more particularly in Egypt, give the French statesmen the cold shivers. To maintain the friendship of Russia on the one hand, and to outwit England and Germany on the other gives a dangerous variability to French politics. Germany is endeavoring with much care to flout England in South Africa, and the breach caused by German interference at tbe time of the Jameson raid has not been healed, and not likely to be if we take into consideration her present attitude with regard to the Zanzibar affair. America has the Presidential election to distract her attention from foreign affairs, but the Cuban rebellion and the Venezuela affair bring the United States within the volcanic sphere. In the Far East the political horizon is unusually cloudy. The Premier of Japan, the Marquis Ito, has resigned, and although we are not informed as to the cause of his resignation we may be sure that polities have reached an acute stage in that progressive land. China has her internal troubles, and the revolting Chinamen have expressed a determination to drive the white devils out of the country, and with that end in view have commenced business on the mission stations of French ownership. Persia has not recovered from the effects of the assassination of the late Shah, and in Afghanistan the steady march of the Muscovite is a never ending source of anxiety to the Ameer and his ally Great Britain. In Australasia the humdrum of life is undisturbed, despatch of H.M.S. Tribune to increase the Naval squadron would seem to show that we are not beyond the sphere of possible danger. It will be seen that literally at every point of the compass danger threatens, and the question is how long will the position remain one of threatened danger only. The Investors Review for July devotes its first article to warning investors of the risks they run through the political unrest of the nations. It says " Everywhere social and political conditions, either on the surface of affairs or immediately below the surface, are Calculated to warn us of the extreme instability of our civilisation. Are there still among us | minds sane enough to be impressed by the contemplation of the dangers which surround us ? It is from a political side, rather than the merely credit or financial one, that disturb- | ance is likely to come, and no prudent man can afford to shut his eyes to_ the dangers of that descriptions which lie all about us and under our very feet. Speculate, gamble if you will, but remember that the ' wealth' the gambling seems to produce is mostly of a kind which would disappear like guncotton in a fire at the sound of the first cannon shot discharged in a war between two great European Powers."