THE CZAR ON TOUR

Otago Witness, Issue 2892, 11 August 1909, Page 29

THE CZAR ON TOUR

VISIT TO FRANCE AND ENGLAND. I WELCOMED BY THE KING.

PARIS, August 2. Twenty suspects, including two Russian Anarch ifct 5, were arrested at Cherbourg. The Czar had a long audience with M. Pichon, Minibter of Foreign Affair.-. The Temps comments upon the fact that the Czar and President Fallieres did not refer to the French and Russian friendships with Great Britain, and suggests it was because of some hallucinations about Harting that are hardly yet di>sipated. M. Pichon, interviewed regarding the Czar's meeting with King Edward, de- | clared that it would excite sufcpickm in no quarter. The Czar received a party of French Crimean veterans, and presented them 1 with the gold medals which are gr»uited to the Rup.-ian soldiery for bravery. The French fleet then escorted the Royal yacht Standart to Spithead. LONDON, August 2. King Edward welcomed the Czar and Czaritna, and subsequently an inspection of the fleet was held. August 3. The Czir was. waimly cheered when p«fsin^ through the lines of tho fleet. Mr Asquith, Sir Edward Grey, and Mr M'Kenna had l^ng conservation^ ■with the C'-car and M. I<voKky (the Foreign MinK tei). At the banquet aboaid the Victoiia ai d Albert King Edwaid cordi.illy qieeted the Cz'ir. ITe al^-o ret erred to the recent viMt 'of the Duma delepites. Th n fleet ■»;•.- tJie ,-ymbol not of war but of peace. The Czar, in a sympathetic reply, expre^ed hi< deep appreciation of the cordiality of th<» welcinif acc'iidcd to the Emr-rp=« and imn-oh 1 Mr Keir Uaidic, M.P # r-\ c .king at Sut-

ton, said that the Czar's yacht was being guarded like a plague-boat. The precautions, he thought, should have been to guard us against the contamination of his presence. The Czar and impress of Russia, along vith King Edward and Queen Alexandra, had a cruise in the yacht Britannia, and watched Mr Miles Kennedy's Whiteheath v-in the King's Cup, beating, the Kaiser's yacht Meteor and the Prince of Wales" s Corisandre. A state banquet was given aboai'd the Standart in the evening. TII9 Czar's children landed at East Cowes, and seven policemen followed them , during a drive. I A steam pinnace patrols round the Standart in order to prevent excursion craft coming close. An open, letter addressed to Sir Edward Grey (Foreign Secretary), signed by the Bishops of Birmingham and Hereford, several deans, pastors, three peers, 73 members of Parliament., and a number of authors, editor*, and professors, urges him to exercise his friendly influence on humanitarian grounds in order to secure a relaxation of the severity of the methods of repression in Russia. August 5. King Edward and the Czar landed quietly, and visited the Naval College at Osborne and Osborne House. King Edward banqueted the Royal , Yacht Squadron in honour of the Czar's election to membership. August 6. The Standart has sailed, escorted by H.M.S. Inflexible, Indomitable, and Invincible. i The Czar, in a farewell message, says that he has been deeply impressed by the affectionate welcome accorded him by the Royal Family and the attitude of British statesman, the people, and the press, all of which he declares are happy auguries for the future. Before the Czar left Cowes the Lord Mayor presented him with the City of I London's address in a golden casket. The London and Liverpool Chambers of Commerce also presented addresses. The reactionaries in the Duma resent ) the cordiality -shown in connection with the Czar's visit. Their newspapers fear j that it will lead to the encouragement of Liberal ideas. , ST. PETERSBURG, August 4. I The Bourse Gazette of this city says that although the word " treaty " was not mentioned in King Edward's and the Czar's toasts, the understanding between Russia, Gi'eat Britain, and France has evidently taken deep root. i -