Manawatu Herald TUESDAY, NOV. 15, 1898. Lord Salisbury's Speech.

Manawatu Herald, 15 November 1898, Page 2

Manawatu Herald TUESDAY, NOV. 15, 1898. Lord Salisbury's Speech.

As is customary at the dinner given by the new Lord Mayor of London after he has been sworn in, the Premier made a speech, which, while clear to a oertain point on the Egyptian question, was carefully guarded in references to the need of the state of preparedness for war which Great Britain has been brought to. Referring to the Upper Nile question Lud Salisbury remarked 'hat France, by withdrawing from Fashoda, had relieved Europe from a very dangerous and threatening storm. Great Britain had taken the ueceetary precautions, the immediate necessity for which, however, was now over, but as to what would occur as to the annexation of Egypt if others forced Great Britain into a position which she did not at present occupy he did not state. The Government were for the present satis fi«d as to the position, but he pointed out that a? the battle of Tf>l-sl.Kebir in 1868, (which dissolved the joint oontiol with France) had altered G« - eat Britain's position in Eeypt so had the defeat of the Khalif* by General Kitchener altered matters. We take these remarks to have been made to let the other Powers know that no interference will be allowed in Egypt, and that its practical annexation is only a question of time which will be fixed according to the amount of interference offered to her projects in the full developement of uhat country. We learn that the French press express a relief that Lord Salisbury made no direct pro clamation of a protectorate, and the language cho3en wa? no doubt moderate but at the same time firm and unmistakable, thus giving France an opportunity to back down grace fully from the mistaken attitude she attempted on the Fashoda incident. Why then, becomes a natural question, docs arming and mobilising the forces still keep on ? It is evident that the supplier of new 3 to this colony has not got the grip on the subjedt, and possibly only the members of tho Cabinet and tho leading Opposition leaders of Eog land know the reason. That there must be an excellent one is evident f'om the very satisfactory agree ment by the leaders of both parties that the Empire should be prepared for the worst of possible combina tions. The Duke of Devonshire, in a late speech, alluded to the present outlook in foreign affairs and has helped to open our eyes a bit as he is reported to have said that the difficulties in connection with Fashoda were only a subordinate incident in a much larger question ! If this is so, and everything points to the Duke talking about what he knew, then it is evident that the opportunity of the ona Frenchman in Fashoda has been used as an excuse to arm the Empire without letting other Powers into the intentions of the British government as to the ♦• larger question " of which Fashoda played only a subordinate part. If we take our eyes off the map of Africa we must look up China as being the next likely seat of war, and the movements in that part of the world have lately been very peculiar to us, to whom the reasons

have not been given. Pekin is situated in the far north of China and news does not travel to the ont> aide world quickly, and possibly not without examination by those in authority. All that we have been able to . gather has been that the Chinese Emperor ia particularly weak in authority over his subjects, that he has a rebellion in the south, and has been bullied and worried by Russia, France, Germany and Great Britain, with no doubt some strong representations from the United States and Japan. Owing to the Russian policy of bribing the high officials oi the Flowery Land all con cessions went to Russia, but on Gr«?at Britain resenting this, some were cancelled, which again annoyed Russia, and the land looked very much as though it was being parcelled out by degress, by its Emperor, to those who shouted loudest. The Emperor was again bothered about instituting reforms in his administration which, it is said, he assented to, and this proved the last straw which the Dowager Empress and the high officials ware unable to bear. It was reported that be became suddenly ill, a matter not co be eurprised at, when those interested in the state of his health provided his food, and he at; list found himself a prisoner in his own palace grounds, and the enei-gotie I)owager-Einpresß practically rn'er •f China. Thi3 lady acted as ruler during the minority of the preseni Ernpnror and only resigned it on hi« arriving at the age of 16 in 1887 The idea h abroad that the D >wagerEmpress is favourable to Rissia, and she did bar best on ih* deposition of th) Emperor to again concvoV all that bad been promised to i.hit country, and Jthe reason <lb s not appear far to seek Li-hung Chang has been acting with ti 3 r for many years, and he hid \na-.n >p ; nly accused of accepting bribes from Ru3?ia, and was reinov.d from his office, but bobbed up seren'y again as soon as the Emperor was under charge. It is not the fkat -,ime this excellent man ha 3 been d poised, as in 1884 he was deprived )f hi 3 highest offices, bat it does n->t ippear a matter which troubles him much. If the Vice-roy was bribed there ij very little doubt but that the Dowager-Empress would be so, if she would accept it, and we see no reason from her point of view why ■ha should not. The capital, Pekin, h situated in the province adjoining .Vlaochuria, and is not far inland of ha Gulf of Pochili, at the north of which Part Arthur i 3 sittnted. Jbin 1 in 1896 itf recognition of the friendly attitude obssrved by R-issia luring and after the war with Japan printed to Rassii the right of building and condoling railways through Manchuria, connecting Vandivostock and the Siberian frontier with Kirin, Mukden and Pekiu ; liberty to expoit foe mineral wealth in Manchuria, and on demand, a lease for 15 years f the port of Kian-chan in Shantung and in case of war the right of using P>rS Arthur as a base for military •parationa. Russia, for the purpose oi •• controlling"' the railway, is to b<? permitted to employ her military force**. Corea, the peninsula stretchiug out of the gulf of Pechili toward* Jap in, has been virtually taken over by Russia and Japan. What British statesman have ■innouoced as theic policy in China is that there mus" be an open door for all countries, and though R*nsin <ays that is her policy too, her action belie her words. The possibility that this opan door is to be a fact and not 1 fiction is what may be the " larger q leation " referred to by the Dake of Devonshire, and the other items from the Far East help to point in his direction, as Lord Charles B^resford finds that the principal -ca p >rt of Manchuria is completely dominated by Russia ; and the British, American, and Japanese co opeiathn in Asia i 3 anticipa'ed. Wih Russia the trouble will arise and either one of the last mentioned three Powers will have to declare war as she will go quietly her own way in >pite of all treaties or promises, and "he will rely on France doing the figh ing in the West whilst she will •I) h?r share in the East and on the Indian frontier. Most possible the J'pioeae will be used a3 the cats* piw in this chestnut business, as she naturally has a dread of Russia •iccuping the Corean peninsula, and the position both occupy in that c >untry would enable a row to be got up at the most convenient moment. The position is very easily gathered by a glance at a good map of China.

The Manawatu Herald will not be published next Thursday. Messrs James Grace and Co. publish as an inset an invitation to view their stock of pianos and organs in Palmerston. To-night the comedy of "My Mother-in-law" will be repeated at the Public Hall. We trust that there will be a good attendance as a pleasant and amusing evening can be looked forward to. The Admiralty has given orders to store 13,000 tons of Westport steam coal at Sydney. The Pukahi is now on her way with 1600 tons, and the Kini was to leave on Monday. Fossils of gigantic extinct animals are being continually unearthed by miners along the Cunningham Creek (New South Wales). The position of the remains indicates that they have perished where found.

A chemist has discovered that the eggs of certain species of fish are enveloped in veritable silk cocoons. He farther claims to have found several different species of fish that produce eggs fro. n which a fine quality of silk may bo \voven. Private advices received in New Plymouth from Mr Margoliouth state that the neg tiations for floating a company to woj 1 '; the Taranaki ironsand are being e:irried on in London, and a satisfactory issue is expected. King Menelik of Abyssinia claims to be dire.'tly descended from the Queen of Sheba, being, he asserts, the g7th ih descent from the famous queen. The Melbourne, Board of Health learned that a Warnambool doctor had imported bubonic plague germs (torn Colombo for experimental purposes. They sent an officer to secure the destruction of the germs, but' the doctor refussed unless paid £300. A Customs detective has been sent, and instructed to seize them, as the gelatine in which the germs were packed had not passed the Customs. The Persians in 516 b.c. invented a transparent glass varnish which they laid over sculptured rocks to preserve them from bad weather. This coating has lasted to our day, while the rocks beneath are honeycombed. The N. Z. "Times" says:— The Court of Appeal dealt with the case of W. R. Franklin, of Otaki, a solicitor of the Court. Mr Richmond appeared for the Wellington District Law Society, and Sir Robert Stout, with j him, Mr Skerrett, for the solicitor. Mr Richmond said that in this case an order had been made by the Chief Justice suspending the solicitor pending the decision of the Court of Appeal. The rule nisi was granted upon the grounds that the solicitor hnd misappropriated moneys in i 833, i33q:ind 1890, whilst practising in Auckland. The Court, taking into account Mr Franklyn's age, and the time that had elapsed since the acts complained of took place, suspended him from practice for 18 months, and fixed the costs at £15 15s. The sale of intoxicating drinks at the Anckland Exhibition next month has been prohibited by the Licensing. Committee, who refused an application for a license on the casting vote of the chairman. Mr Henniker Heaton is urging the establishment of an Imperial cable rate of one penny per word. tSermany is expelling Danes from North Seliieswig. The action is being taken, it is-feefieved, owing to the ad' verse result of the elections. The silks from which British flags are made are all woven in Switzerland. Scientists predict that in a century there will be no disease not curable. The negro race embraces about onetenth of the world's population, 150,---000,000 persons. The elections to the United States Congress have taken place, and have resulted in favour of the Republicans, who have been in power for some years past. The party has secured a small majority in the House of Representatives and a strong majority in the Senate. The trial of Luccheni, the Italian Anarchist, for the assassination of the Empress of Austria, has concluded. He was found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment for life. The oyster is one of the strongest of creatures, and the force required to open it is more than 1,300 times its own weight. Colonel Roosevelt, who took a prominent part in the Cuban campaign as head of the regiment of Rough Riders, has been elected Government of New York State. The defeated candidate was Judge Van Wyck, Mayor of Greater New York, who ran as the Tammany Hall candidate. During a gale near Norsewood recently, a whirlwind caused a waterspout to rise from the Mangatera river, and it reached a height of something like 60ft, a sight rarely witnessed except at sea. Two ceremonies in Burmah mark the period when childhood ends and manhood or womanhood begins. The boys have their legs tattooed in brilliant blue and red patterns, and the girls their ears bored. It is reported in Paris that Major Marchand will- traverse Abyssinia on his way from Fashoda to Jibutil. Some years ago some interesting experiments in the application of solar heat were made by M. Mouchot, at Algier, where the climate is more temperate than in Egypt. With reflectors several yards square, he focused the heat of the sun on boilers and worked a variety of machines, including pumps all day long, in spite of passing clouds and high winds, besides performing a number of chemical operations, such as distilling, carbonising wood, subliming sulphur, and evaporating liquids. Horribly suggestive. A correspondent writes about the battle of Omdur-man:-^To all appearance they were thoroughly disorganised by the terrible slaughter of their comrades, whose corpses were strewn in the plain below. Some of the Sirdar's Soudanese were cautiously making their way across the field of battle, their duty being one which, however hateful it may seem to the theoretical humanitarian, warfare against a savage horde like the followers of the Khalifa makes imperative. There is no need to dwell on such incidents. It is enough to say that, as 1 everyone with experience of fighting in the Soudan knows too well, a wounded Baggara may otten be a more dangerous foe than a Baggara without a scratch on him. Concealing his agony and feigning death, he can still deal a fatal blow at his unwary enemy. So the Sirdar's black troops were doing what had to be done to make a safe path across the scene of conflict.