TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 9816, 27 August 1897, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Tbb efforts which we were told France were to be made by the Russian

and authorities to prevent the welRiusaia. come accorded to the President

of the French Republic on his visit to St. Petersburg exceeding in warmth that given to the Emperor William seem to have completely failed. There is evidently no comparison between the friendly feelings entertained by the Russian people towards France and Germany respectively, and fpr once in a way the Russian public appear to have triumphed over Russian officialism. The latter has had to give way to the wave of popular enthusiasm, and will have to square matters with the Kaiser the best it may. If the wild acclamations with, which M. Faure has been greeted do nothing else, it is probable that they, will settle, for a time at all events, any chance of a Franco-German-Russian alliance against England, even if such an extraordinary combination had ever really entered into the region of possibility. Well-informed authorities state that the opinion of the Ruseian educated classes is unfavourable to an anti-English alliance, holding that though, to their thinking, they have often been duped by the English, there is no reason why they should lend themselves to be duped by Germany. The departure of M. Faure from France took place under not very auspicious circumstances. The vote of 500,000 fmm» (£20,000) to pay for his expenses during his visit to Russia was passed in the Chamber by a large majority, it is true, but only iti the face of the most determined opposition by the Socialists. One speaker declared that the Republic was not proclaimed in France in order to pay homage to tyranny, but, on the contrary, to teach, oppressed people how to free themselves from tyranny. The only excuse, he said, for ft vote of 600,000 francs would be to give it to the Nihilists, or employ it in a republican propaganda in the Czar's dominions. Other speakers were almost equally violent. Then there was the incident of the break down of one o£ the warships which was escorting the President to Cronstadfc. This I caused a great outcry on the parb of the Press and the jrubiio. The resignation of Admiral Besnard, Minister of Marine, who is just now enjoying the Cfcar'a hospitality, was loudly demanded, and it is very probable that when the Minister returns to France be will hear more of it. The accident to the warehip was probably one which might have happened in any navy. but the French h»vo

the Spithead review in their mind's eye and are indignant at so publican exposure of the' weakness of ono of their navy. French Governments have been turned out of office for far less important matters than this, but it would bo odd, as a contemporary remarks if the great n.ival display at Spithead were to he the indirect cause of a .change of Ministry in .France.

For the first tweuty. Diuners four hours after the I** to don papers announced London's Poor, that an anonymous don© had given £25,000 to the Princess of Wales's fund for giving the poo » of London a good dinner the identity of the generous unknown was the subject of much conjecture. Then public opinion settled it that Mr T. J. Lipton, » millionaire contractor and wholesale pro . vision dealer, was the individual, and the guess proved to be correct. Mr Lipton hge business in many parts of the globe, including New York, and when on a recent visit to that city he told an interviewer all about his gift. He was charmed with the thoughtfulness of the Princess in remembering the poor while everyone else was think, ing of entertaining foreign and colonial notabilities, and was grieved because money came in co slowly in answer to her appeal. "One day," he said, "I was taking a cup of tea with the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, and the Lord Mayor spoke of the fund. * How is it getting on T I asked, ' Slowly,' lie said. ' We have only £<JOOOop £5000.' 'It won't do,' said I, 'to have this thing fall through.' Then I said, 'You find out how much the banquete to the London poor will cost and let mo know. .

' It will cost £25,000 to carry through the Princess's plan,' he said. I sat down right then and wrote my cheque for that amount—l2s,ooo dole. 'If that is not enough,' I said, 'let mc know and I shall send you another cheque." , Mr Lipton declared that lie had never got so much enjoyment out of £25,000 as he did on that occasiou. He saw 310,000 of the poor fed sumptuously. Altogether 360,000 participated in the dinners, but the 310,000 came all on one day. Two shillings worth of provisions was sent to each of those who could not leave their homes. Mr Lipton went round, as did the Princess, to the various halls where the poor were being feasted, and tho experience was one he will never forget. There was a ludiorously pathetic side to the affair, caused by the spectacle of these armies of poor people flocking into the halls, each carrying a knife aud fork. This was done by the request-of the Committee, as the task of providing table cutlery for such, a vast throng was too great. The guests did not know to whose generosity the means of providing the dinners were mainly due, or no doubt he would have shared with the Princess, the originator of the idea, the enthusiastically expressed thanks o£ the diners, but as there seems no doubt that lie really wished hie gift to be an anonymoue one, he would nob regret this. He had the satisfaction of knowing that he had done his share that day in conferring the greatest good upon the greatest number. ■

Uxlwss Mr Goschen is one of Cape the most cool blooded of men Colony's ho must have felt rather imGift. patient during the first part of | the banquet given by the St. j George's Club to come of the Premiers on ' July 10th. He was down on the toast Hat to respond to the toast of the Navy, and he knew that one announcement lie would | make would be.the hit of the evening. After that any other speech would fall ftfttly. t'lufrefoee ehoae- to jfltraduife ii* - v • with no oratorical fights. " To-day I have participated," he said, "in an interesting scenej a simple scene, but one which will coma home to you all. I have received the present of an ironclad at the handa of a British oolony. (Loud and pro* , longed cheers.) There was no ceremony'); there was no great ueoeptfon, there w<w no I flourish of trumpets ; but Sir Gordon Sjnigg ■ i simply came to the l'irsl Lord of - the Admiralty and. told him that the Capo | Colony was prepared to plaoe an ironclad j of the first-Glass—(loud applause)—at the ' j disposal of the Empire. I thank him on i behalf of the English nation, I thank him A on behalf of the Government, and I thank him also ou bshalf of the nation at large, i of which the Capo Colony is so distinguished a part.. (Cheers.) That offer of a first. ■' class battleship is accompanied by no conditions, and it is proposed that the. i ship shall take its pjace aide by side with those Bister shipa paid for by the British taxpayer which many of you have v I seen at Spithead. (Hear, hear,) No condi* tionrattaoh to it. It is a free gift, intended to ad<l to the power of the British Empirtj (Applause.)" . In thus expreiwing his plea Biue at the offer, Mr Goaohen said he did not wish to be considered as saying a>p» . thing which wna ungracious to those Australian colonies who were the pioneers in the now principle of contribution from the colonies to Imperial defence. "They had," he continued, " a most difficult task. ' One colony can act perhaps more easily thaa a combination of colonies, but the patriotism of the Australasian colonies got the better of any intercolonial difficulties or prejudices, arid they inaugurated a system under which | for the first time the colonies contributed to Imperial defence."

Mr GdscHEir said he valued Some the gift of the Cape Colony Telling especially for two roaaons, Passages, one political and the other strategical The first be. cause it acknowledged the community of interests between the Mother Country and the colonies. The* wae the . real point, whether tlje contributions were large or small. He pointed out that to-day the colonies had neighbours. The days when no flag but that of Britain was to be seen near the colonies had gone, and delicate questions of foreign policy clustered round most of the outlying parts of the Empire.. " Wβ dp not wish to turn the enthufiii»« of the Jubilee into cash, 1, said Mr Goschen, " bub we welcome the acknowledgment o* ' the principle that the colonies, like ottrselvee, ere interested not only in the com' meroe which clusters around their ovn» , islands, but that they are interested in the nation being strong, and they recognise that their foreign policy must be backed by *• power of the Imperial Navy." He plac*» special value on the manner of the gift tw* Cape Colony—that there was to be no oondition as to local defence. "It is most im« portant that the colonies nhoxild acknowledge as we do the duties of local defence; but wo must hot weaken our navy by telling off ships to defend every port. Our chips must have freedom, so to gather together a* - to seek out the enemy, and by strategic ß * combination not only tp retain, but *° enforce, that supremacy of the sea which «c claim to bo the heritage of this country-, (Cheers.) Ami sol value this circumstance which attends the gilt—H may say so* the historical 8J ttr ~* this ironclad to the British uftvy." Wβ fear the hint contained in Mr Ooschen* words to o6hei- colonies, who fetter thetf , contributions to the Navy with conditions which ma,y some day rob the Austral** 0 , squadron of much of it* nsetulnesu, «*• entirely thrown away. It ie ™ *? n ?*f '* that M-c Geaehen's speech was concltKWJ amid tremendous cheering- and th* » lB 8"J* of " Stale Britannia." «* *** k the * nUW

p-,, of the country joinrd with amazing U r»n"''nity in prAi'ae of the generous action of Cnpo Colony. It is gratifying to gather Hint it > s greatly due to a newspaper that tho of fur of a warship w&a made. The Oape i'inus had for soma mouths been urg'f'S "" t ' u * l n,u ''° °* tne t^ ol, ) , t ne P , ' o, po*d adopted by Sir J. Gordon tSpriijg. Tin piper evon went ftra* to givo the proits uainu and there can be little j ol ,i,i tiiiit when it is built it will be approprulf'.v chrifteued "H.M.S. Afrikander."