Ashburton Guardian Maqna est Veritas et Prævalebit. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1904. THE PAST YEAR.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume xxii, Issue 6459, 31 December 1904, Page 2

Ashburton Guardian Maqna est Veritas et Prævalebit. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1904. THE PAST YEAR.

I Befoiih many more hours fire over, 1904. will have glided into the past, and we shall have entered on the first day of a new year. .The past year has beou of an unusually eventful character, and the list of moving accidents by flood and field is a lengthy one. The event which of course over--1 shadows all the rest is the long predicted outbreak of hostilities between Russia and Japan. The memorable siege of Port Arth- ; ur will always be remembered as one of the tno3t remarkable incidonts connected with the war. Tlioconflict began on the night of February 9th, when a Japanese squadron under Admiral Togo unexpected iy attacked .thff Russian warships in Port Arthur. The prioress of the war aud the siege need not be delated at present; suflice it to say tint the struggle shows every prospect of con- ' fcinuicg *'or a lon £ while yet. Another event of military importance, more uspeciallv to Britain, was the expedition to 'Tibet and its successful termination under the aMe leadership .<>•? Brigadier General MaoDonald. Th» result did much towards reestablishing British prestige in the minds of Orientals, and the object of the Tndian C-i'ovevnmeni in despatching the expedition, naimeJy, to provide for the better security of the 'Indian frontiers, was pretty well attained. One outstanding feature ot tho year was thy number of arbitration treaties signed , between various, Powers, tho first pair to lead tho way beiug Britain and France. The pare played by France in this matter is one that i 3 highly creditable alike to the good feeling and to the intelligence of the ; French nation, and the example thus set to th» civilised world is likely to bsar good ! fruit. „ , Early in April the " Discovery" returned £mm her .long sojourn amid the Antarctic

snows, and was accorded an enthusiastic reception at Lyttelton. Captain Scott and his intrepid comrades had graphic accounts to give of their experiences in the realms of the ice king. Tho amount of scientific knowledge which the expedition collected will prove of much value to scientists, and the honours which were showered : on the commander, the officers, and the crew of tho " Discovery " on her return to England wore well deserved. In the early portion of September a sad tragedy was reported from the German Islands of New Britain. The nativas there attaoked the Roman Oafholie mission stat ons, and murdered the prie.-ta aad sisters of the mission under v>ry revolting circumstances. Exemplary punishment was ic.flicted on the native tribe to which the perpetrators of the massacre belonged. In October the world was startled by the outrage committed on the Hull fishermen by ibe Baltic Fleet in the North Sea. The outlook appeared very black for a while and the war clouds were gathering fast; but happily the threatened complications were averted, and the matter wus submitted to arbitration. In such cases a« this the process of settlement is always 11 somewhat protracted one, and the Commission of Inquiry will apparontly not d>> anything definite before the New Year holidays are over. What the finul rinding of ctiH Commissioners will be, it is impossible to predict; but from appearances th» compensation that Britain will be awarded will be fairly substantial. Whether any pumVhment will be inflicted on the officers re?p >nsible for the occurren c is auothur question; bub on the whole that does not saem likely. In ecclesiastical circles the absorbing topic of discussion for some time past has bean the remarkable issue of the Scottish Church d spate. The two churches which joined to form the United Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland, have all along contained a small minority who opposed the union, and that minority, consisting of a number of members of the United Prosbytprian Church, succeeded in having the union annulled Hy the highest tribunal in Britain, imd at the same time had the vftst property of the Free Church— the other members in the union—made over to rheinsulves. The point on which the "We Kirk," ns it is called, won the day, was a question of modification of doctrine. The House of Lords held that the Free Church having modified its doctrine of predestinatiou, could no longer hold the properties that had been made over to it before that modification was adopted. The ridiculous situation to which that decision has given rise will doubtless be met by a special Act of Parliament. The United Church who now possess the right to administer the valuable endowments of the Free Church are^admittedly not capable of grappling with the task chat has devolved on them. In the colony the most interesting event that marked the closing weeks of the year wa3 the now famous Seddon-Taylor slander case. Although another trial has been set down for hearing early in the coming year, tbo defendant distinctly scored first blood, which is a considerable advantage equally in a legal contest as in any other. Possible not much more may be heard of the case. The most noteworthy events of tha year in America were the return of Mr Theodore Roosevelt to the Presidency of the United States and the remarkable success that attended the St Louis Exhibition. Mr Roosevelt's ivictory was an easy one, and the honour of a second election by such a majority as he received is one that any statesman in the world might justly feel proud of. Among the millions who[ visited Ht Louis rere included representatives of every nationality. New Zotland made an excellent display, which must have served to bring the oolony under the notice of several thousands who had previously had but a dim idea of what it produced or contained. The last days of the year have witnessed an emphatic demand its Rusda among the middle and lower classes in favour of altering the constitution in the direction of greater freedom. The system of oppression and dospotism which has prevailed so long in the Czar's dominions is destined sooner or later to come to a violent end, and when the Russian populace become more enlighteaed than they are at present, the world may see something like a repetition of the French revolution. In Australian politics the most notable development was the sudden rise to power of the Labour'party under Mr Watson, and their equally sudden fall not long after.wards. The short-lived Watson Ministry went out of office on the preference to Unionists clause in the Arbitration Billi, a measure which has brought about the downfall cf several governments during its long discussion. In New Zealand politics the event which excited most interest was> the celebration of the Premier's jubilee as a member of the House. Tho completion of such a lengthy period of active political servico as a quarter of a century is in itself a. remarkable achievement j but when the politician in question is >v man of Mr Seddon's cilibre, the occasion becomes a memorable one. Political friends and foes alike joined in congratulating the Premier on the event, and he carried with him when he went to visit the West Coast for the celebration the good wishes of the colony as a whole.

Among events which deserve to be recalled to mind are the visit of the British Football team in August, and ifcs de"eat by a N T9w Zealand fifteen; tho smallpox scare in Christcjiurch in the early part of the year; tho Privy Counail 1!? decision in the Newtown Licensing Appeal case; and the rebellion of tho Heroro natives in German South West Africa. The year has not been free from accidents and disasters, the most serious being the explosion on the warship " Wallaroo "on the Australian station last January, the landslip at Bruuner in May, and the " General Sloeum " disaster in June, whereby six hundred picnickers perished through a fire on a ferry steamer on the ,Eas{; River near New York. The chief death of Colonial interest that occurred during the year was that of the [lon. W. C. Walker, Minister for Education. Among men of world-wide fame who died in the twelvemonths just passed may be mentioned the Duke of Cambridge, cousin of-theJata Queen Victoria and formerly Commander-an-Chief of the British Army ; Sir Edwin Arnold, poet and journalist, well known in connection with the '■ Daily Telegraph " ; and Paul Kruger, ex.-Presi-dent of the Trun3vaal Eepublic. To the list of those who perished by the assassin's hand Kussia contributed two notable cases in General BobrikolF, Governor of Finland, aad M. I'lehvo, Minister for the Interior. Tho year as a whole has been a prosperous one for the Colony, and for the Empire generally it has not been a bad one. All the f Colonies are progressing on the even tenor of their way, except possibly South Africa where the Chinose Labour question and the settlement of Boe? grievances disturb the serenity of the political atmosphere. By the time our next issue is published, 1905 will have been ushered in with the usual rejoicing?, and we wish our readers " A Happy and Prosperous New Year."