FOREIGN NEWS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 57, 30 November 1907, Page 12

FOREIGN NEWS.

FRENCH ARMY SCANDALS. Paris, October 17. M. Charles Humbert, the chairman of the Committee on the War Budget, is publishing n sonsational work under the title, "Arc we in a State of Defence?" which will probably give rise to a good many interpellations jind question when the Budget comes up for discussion. He reviews the whole system cf national defence very unfavourably, but nis most damaging criticism is contained in the chapters on mitrailleuses, and 011 the state of the fortresses, particularly those on the .Eastern frontier, whore he himself has served. In the first of theso, M. Humbert asserts that for nine years the French anny was prevented from being armed with a gun of the Hotchkiss type, in spite of eVery proof-of its superiority and of the wishes of the Ministers themselves, simply by a small clique of officers at the head of the Artillery Department af, tho War Ministry. He does not call in question the honour of the officers concerned, but accuses them of being blinded by a false estimate of their own rights and privileges to the extent of opposing the weight of opinion and depriving the army of a mitrailleuse merely because the Puteaux factory was not capable of constructing one. On the whole of this affair M. Humbert gives facts and dates, and is evidently prepared with names to prove his statements. His description of the state of the forts is a most serious charge brought against all who are in any degree responsible for tho building and keeping up of these defensive works, which, by M. Humbert's showing, ara for tile most part rather a source of weakness than protection. The book will be published to-morrow, but M, Humbert showed some advance proofs to the "Echo -de* Paris,'' in which ho goes into circumstantial details: on the defects of the Eastern ring of fortresses round Toul, and, if even half of what he reports is true, the gravest responsibility hangs '■ over the officers ;n oharge. As a sample may be quoted his assertion that in June, 1905, when everybody believed war was imminent, all the range-finding marks had been removed with a view, to being replaced by new range finders, l>ut, instead of waiting till the now finders were supplied, the marks were taken away long before, thus leaving tho guns practically useless. This fact was only found out by accident through the careless questions of. an infantry officer and it took weeks and cost thousands to remedy the error. < Furthermore, the shells for Toul were on Juno 16 1905, still at. Bourgcs, and not" yet charged with explosives. 111 Fort No.'B, at Toul, the walls are so shaky that the Minister of War would not allow tho guns to be fired for tear of risking tho lives of the gunners, and in Fort No. 10 tho guns are placed- so low they cannot fire at anything over 100 yards distant. At fipinal, Belfort, and Verdun, similar defects oxist as at Toul, and none of these, forts are yet furnished with search lights. Following upon a series of regrettable incidonts in the navy, revelations, if such they can he called, on the state of tho army, hare not come too soon. RUSSIA AND FRANCE. Paris, October 17; The "Gaillois" states that tho visit to Paris of M. Izvolsky, Russian Minister for Foreign Alfairs, will assumo an official character during the whole of next week. Several dinnors will bo given in honour of the distinguished visitor, and important political conversations will take place. The "Gil Bias" asserts that M. Kokovtself, Russian Minister, of Finance, on the occasion of. his recent visit to Paris, succeeded in obtaining the support of tho French Government for the issue of the .next Russian loan. The journal adds: — '

"M. CJlemenceau decided that nothing would coruo i>f these pourparlers, so. long >is the Russia ii Minister of Foreign Affairs did not give him certain assurances and'positively define certain points in the Dual Al,Jjpce.".,-. M. Izvolsky will therefore confer with M. Clenienceau, and the discussions will deal principally with the following points:— 1. The issue of a Russian loan in France. 2. The revision of the Franco-Russian military convention. ' 3. The publication of the diplomatic part of the Franco-Russian treaty. 4. The intervention of the Duma in the evont of a loan boing authorised in France. SANTOS-DUMONT FALLS. • Paris, C)ctobor 17. M. Santos-Dumont had an unfortunato experience in the sliapo of a. fall into the. Seine this morning whilst he was experimenting with the new 120-horsepow,er 16-cylinder motor on his hydroplano. A large crowd had assembled to see him try to win his bet i'f £2000 that he would drive his hydroplane at the rate of 60 miles an hour. M. SantosDumont had the hydroplano placed well in tho centre of the river, with its nose pointing towards Suresnes. He was in his place and ready to start, when he slipped and fell into tho river. The consequences might havo been serious, for M. Sautos-Dumont was dressed in a thick and heavy leather suit, but a rope was promptly tlirowu to him, and he got out safely, saying that he intended to try again in the afternoon. Rain, : however, commenced to fall in torrents, and the river was whipped waves by a gale of-wind which would havo been dangorous to the hydroplane, so tho trial was put off . to another day. NEUTRALITY o*' DENMARK. Copenhagen, October 17. In the course of tho Budget debate in the I'olkothing to-day, Count Raben-Levetzau, Minister for. Foreign Affairs, replying to a question, said that in tho newspapers recently suspicion had frequently been cast °'i • ii f° re 'Sn policy of tho Government;, winch had been misrepresented, tendencies and aims boing attributed to its conduct which it did not possess. The result of this had made itself apparent in a regrettable manner m the foreign Press. Tho Minister continued: — "As regards our foreign policy, it is quite wrong to assume that it alters from day to day, or that any individual change in tlm Ministry has a great influence on it. The reel line which has run through our foreign policy for many years is the wish to preserve our neutrality. This lino has beon followed by _thc present Government as 1 strictly as by their predecessors. It has been our endeavour to be on a good footing with other btatcs, and to create good'relations with our neighbours while preserving fully our independenco of action. in my opinion, is the only policy which a Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs can pursue; the only policy which finds an echo in the. people. To attain this object, however, it is necessary that tho defences of the shall, so far as our resources permit, he in such an up-to-dato condition that we may show the world that wo havo tho power and the will, to speak.a. weightyword ill any decision regarding the future of our land. I hope that wo shall shortly, havo the question of national defenco before us. and that the whole Danish people will cous, and that the whole Danish peoplo will cosolution of this matter, which is so important. for our country." NORWAY AND SWEDEN. Stockholm, October 17. General Tingsten, Swedish Minister of War, 'has been interviewed by tho "Stockholm Tidningen" with reference to tho fears expressed in Norwegian nowspapers that (-he proposals for tlio reform of Swedish defences contain measures directed against Norway. His Excellency declared that the newBill to be placed before tho Riksdag contained no defence monsures which wcro not under consideration before the dissolution nf the Union. It was the very same system of army organisation which v.as planned in 1875 which it was now proposed to carry into effcct. Tho Bill providing for twenty-four new battalions dated back to 1901, but had beon postponed. " Tlio oxcitement of tho Norwegian newspapers," declared General Tingsten, " over the alloged building of new Swedish fortresses is entirely unfounded. Sweden has not not the slightest intention of building now forts.'' His Exoellenoy went on to express surprise

and regret at the Norwegian agitation, saylnS J lO regarded it as curious that people had suddenly taken it into their heads to discuss warlike preparations" with no.'' other Foundation than a Bill that was fourteen months old. Sweden," said the Minister, in conclusion, "desires to livo in 'peace with iSonvay, and lias 110 reason to increaso her armaments against that country. It Is, nevertheless the duty of Sweden'to be prepared for all eventualities and. to keep her defences in an effective state." THE SOAP BOX SERMON. D . . , New York, Octobor 15. ■ll ]a of London furnished New York "L.. a esh sensation to-day, says the uaily Mail correspondent, when, stand-*-nig on a soap-hox in the middle of Wall otreet, his preached an open-air sermon on numiiity to a huge throng, composed of millionaires, day labourers, sandwichmen, stockjobbers, clergymen, and ladies. 4.1. 11 U P P os 'tion on the steps of the old Custom House an hour before the amval of the bishop I could not repress a smile at the motley character of the rapidlvsj\ clung crowd. _ Walking advertisements for chiropodists, suit cleaners, and emigration agonts Ipstled sprucely dressed "bulls" and bears, Consul-Generals, American bishops, and girl stenographers. Suddenly a .gay automobile rushed with a deafening din round the corner, and a moment later the athletic figure of Dr. Ingram ascended the soap-box. He bowed acknowledgments to the plaudits of the crowd, and then the voice of the Rev. William Wilkinson, a rough-and-ready evangelist who regularly preaches at these Wall Street meetings, rang out in humorous welcome to the fortunate bishop who could afford an automobile. The bishop clapped him on the back. "It isn't my automobile, old chap," he said, "but a rich New Yorker's." Hie Apostles' Creed was recited by the bareheaded crowd, and the bishop began his sermon, taking as his text the tale of a London fog, in which a boy standing flying a kite was asked, "How do you know there's a Into up there?" , "Because I feel it pulling,"., was the answer. On this the bishop built up a plain sermon which appealed to the hearts of everyone presont. Incidentally he was presented with a beautifully-ornamented book of prayers, which he assured his hearers he would place ill tho drawing-room at Fulham Palace beside the gift which of all things ho ever received 110 most cherished—a cabinet given him by a working man in London at the close of nine years' Oxford Mission work. The strange congregation fairly mobbed the bishop at the end of tho sermon. Men and women insisted on shaking his hand. Escaping at last ■ with the aid of Mr. Christophorson and two constables, Dr. Ingram, amid resounding cheers, drove away to a mission hall, where, in the company of many of the most noted and most insignificant inhabitants of tho city, he partook of a dish of soup before engaging in a slumming expedition in darkest New York. , , FLOODS IN FRANCE. Paris, October 16. In addition to the sum of £240,000 voted by tl\e Council of Ministers yesterday (subject to the approval of the Chamber) for alleviating the distress occasioned by this Hoods, the Cabinet has agreed to sanction any lotteries which might be instituted to this end up to £400,000. Though the. first violence of tho ■ swollen rivers seems to be over/ local, storms and inundations continue to be reported from all the southern departments. At Mendo, for instance, inhabitants have thrice abandoned and returned to their homes, and are - not yet sure whether tho treacherous river Lot, whose reputation is of the worst, can be finally trusted. The bed and course of the river Tech is strewn with debris and desolation, and remnants of the ill-fated villas from Amelie-les-Bains have been picked up on the shores of > the Mediterranean. From Hendaye it is telegraphed that the southern express, which left Paris at noon yesterday, was still at San Sebastian 'this morning, and that the stormy sea. rendered, all maritime traffic in tho neighbourhood •impossible.;' The railway j and,.Andoroa'i£ (l ljlocked by trunks of'trees'uprooted' and"thrown across by the gales of wind. POWDER MILLS EXPLOSION . , New York, October 15. ' A terrific shock was felt to-day at Terre Haute (Indiana)due to an explosion |at the Dupont Blasting Powder Mills, Fontanel, 25 miles away, where every building within a radius of. half a mile was wreclied, while practically every person in Fontanet was more or less hurt. Tho first shock was distinctly heard in Indianapolis, 65 miles distant-. It was also, felt at Cincinnati, where it was thought to be a slight earthquake. Tho first explosion occurred in the . Dupont Glazing Mill, a mile sotith of Fontanet, and killed many of the employees. Two other mills then blew up at intervals of a few moments, but on the first explosion the workmen at the other mills had fled for their lives. Several of. them, however, wore injured by flying wreckage. The first explosion also caused the inhabitants ,of tho town to flee from their homes, arid they thus saved themselves from being buried in the debris of their dwellings. Nobody was killed in the .town, though the buildings, in the vicinity of the powder mills were all destroyed. ' At 10.45, an hour and a-half aftor the first explosion, a great powder magazine situated in a hollow several hundred' yards from tho mills, blew up, injuring several of those working among the dead and dying in that locality. The concussion of this explosion was even greater than that caused by any of tho preceding explosions. A goods train which was standing on a siding near the powder mills took fire, and the heat from tho burning wreckage of the mills and the train was so great that it was impossible tb recover many bodies from the debris. Eighteen mangled bodies are in the mortuary awaiting identification. Injured people are lying everywhere, and aro being collected and relieved as quickly as possible. The fronts, roofs, sides ,and even the foundations of many residences were blown away, and household goods were scattered in all directions. It was the explosion of tho magazine that caused-the greatest damage to the town. A brick school building, a quarter of a mile from tho mills, was wrecked, and about 50 children were injured. They had just answered tho roll call when the build-: ing collapsed as a result of the first oxplosion. The latest ostimates put the number of the dead and dying at from 25 to 40.' Six hundred persons are more or loss seriously injured, and 1200 have been rendered homeless. THE LIEBKNECHT TRIAL. , Berlin, October 13. Dr. Carl Liebknecht, the Young Social Democratic barrister, tried before tho Supreme Court at Leipzig last week on tho charge of high treason, was yesterday sentenced to eighteen months' imprisonment in a fortress for propagating anti-militarism. Tho court rejected iho Public Prosecutor's plea for a sentence of two years in gaol, five years' loss of civil rights, and immediate arrest, having found Herr Liobknecht guilty merely of advocating his honest political conviction, which was held, however, tb bo an "act preparatory to high treason." When Dr. Liebknecht emerged from the courthouso with his wife on his arm he was wildly greeted by an enthusiastic throng of 6000"working men and women, who nearly pulled him to pieces. Hundreds insisted on kissing his hands'. Then tho mob formed in triumphal procession bohind his cab, and to the accompaniment of tumultuous shouts escorted him to his hotel. Public opinion justifies Horr Liebknecht's conviction, especially as his anti-militarist crusade was always combated by his own party leaders as dangerous and inopportune. Fortress- imprisonment involves no disgraco. Tho "prisoner" may choose his own timo to begin his sentence, may carry on his private business while serving it, and-may oven obtain occasional leave of absence. I had an apportunity to-day to speak with Dr. Liobknecht regarding tho result of his trial. "My conviction," ho said, "was, of courso, no surpriso. It has had. this 0110 positivo and unmistakable result- —namely, seriously and widely to undermino publio confidence in tho administration of justice in Germany. I have been overwhelmed with messages of congratulation and sympathy from all parts of tho world, especially from England* 1 '