BRITISH AND FOREIGN NEWS.

Evening Post, Volume LIV, Issue 20, 23 July 1897, Page 2

BRITISH AND FOREIGN NEWS.

[spectator summary.] London, sth June. THE COXDITION OF OBETE, The condition of Crete is deplorable. Mr. Balfour on Thursday declared pessimistic fears about the island to be unwarranted, but there exißts in it no effective government whatever The Mahommedans make raids on the insurgents, the insurgents make reprisals, and then the squadrons open fire lest tlje insurgents should win. The responsible Governor, Mr. Balfour explains, is the Turkish Vali, and the, Pashas at Constantinople" are demanding that the " autonomous " Governor-General should be appointed by tl]e Sultan, while Berlin wishes the Powers to we Turkish troops in " pacisring" the island. It is even reported with many details that the Turks offer to exchange Crete for Thessaly, and propose to locate all Cretan Mussulmans in that province, and expatriate all Thesealian malcontents to Crete. It. is not probable that even the Imperial Powers will consent to this arJrangement, but its discussion in Constantinople, which seems to be certain, sufficiently indicates the tone there prevalent. THE COLONIES AND THE EMPIRE. The desire of the great colonies for closer connection with the Empire appears to increase. • The Canadians openly avow it, jind their new preferential tariff is in actual operation, while the Cape Parliament agreed on 2nd June to propose to pay a contribution towards 4he Imperial Navy. Similar feelings are expressed m Australia, and Mr. Seddon, Premier of New Zealand, also avows them, adding, however, that the colonies wish for more influence over the foreign policy of Great Britain. There in the long run will b.e the crucial difficulty of Imperial Federation. People here welcome every sign of colonial frendship, but they will not willinglysurrender their own perfect inde- « pendence of action. They will, we fancy, for the present at all events, prefer to bear the whole expense of Imperial defence, even though it tends to increase to an unprecedented height. The present situation in Europe, which is no doubt unusual in that we are apparently left without an ally, will not last for ever. THE AGE OF THE WORLD. Lord' Kelvin has a feud with the older geologists for insisting on such a vast number of years as they demand for the geological changes through which the eajth has passed. Lord Kelvin is quite sure tl»at this globe cannot have been habitable by living creatures for more than thirty millions of years, which he evidently considers a very moderate age for the duration of life on thp globe. Considering how very minute a proportion of that vast period can be included within the range of anything like historical or traditional records, and how impossible it seems to look forward to anything like such a period in the future, we can hardly think that Lord Kelvin is a minimiser. His reason for beating down the duration of life on the earth to this short period of between twenty and thirty millions of years appears to be that, judging by the properties of rocks and by underground temperatures, the earth could hardly have been solidified sooner than thirty millions of years ago. And according to the latest geological'calculations the time needed for the formation of all the later strata between the first Cambrian rocks and those of the present order of things, would be about seventeen millions of year*. Lord Kelvin, therefore, inclines to regard our earth as a comparatively infant world, aged not more than about a score, or at most a score and a half, of millions of years. Londok, 12th June. ' THE COMBINATIONS OF ETTBOPE. The change which is passing over the combinations of Europe is curiously indicated by an article in The Times of Friday. That journal is seldom misinformed as to the to£e, at all events, of the Foreign Office, and onJFriday its conductors accepted the alliance between France and Russia as distinctly beneficial to Eu rope. The writer is speaking of the visit which M. Faure is topay to St. Petersburg in July, aud he says : — " A broad and intelligent conception of our national intetests may well dispose us to look favourably upon a combination which has hitherto operated to steady the course of European poetics, and to promote that general tranquillity which is one of this country's first preoccupations." Unless we are greatly mfyfelcen, those words imply a possible rappfochement between this country and the Franco-Russian alliance which will materially aff&f; the Eastern question, and will be recejvlgd in Berlin with angry consternation. They have been trying there to divide Erigland and Russia, and the papers actually publish statements that England is trying to brihe the Turkish Ministers with cash to opppse Russia. '* 'OUR AMBASSADOB IN TURKEY. Sir 1 Philip Currie seems to be well hated in Berlin. The story there, and in those papers of Vienna which obey a German inspiration, is that the British Ambassador at Constantinople is a brute, that he always affronts the Sultan, and that he stated at the Conference of Tuesday that England would not surrender Christians to be governed by Mahommedans. What he did say, we doubt not, was that, the Turks had sp governed Christians of late that it was impossible to place more Christians under their control. It was time that should be said, and we greatly doubt whether a brusque truthfulness is a bad quality in dealing with Orientals, who suspect all who are suave of sinister designs. Sir William White, who was of herculean build, who could not moderate his voice, and who had a habit of "speaking out," had immense influence with the Sultan, who hears lies with the incredulity of the Scotchman who remarked after listening with apathy to some "tall" story, "I'm a leear masel." Asiatics reverence truth as Europeans do diamonds, on account, first of all, of the scarcity of the precious commodity. KAISEB WILLIAM AND HIS SECBET POLICE. The trial of Herr yon Tausch, head of the secret political police of Berlin, ended in a verdict of acquittal. He was not tried, of course, the country being Prussia, for abuse of his powers, but for perjury in certain evidence which he had given against a creature of his own, one Yon Liitzow, who has already been punished, and of this offence there was no suißoient, proof. The facts which came out in the trial were very curious, the aiain one being that the secret policy which surrounded the Emperor himself with a network pf spies, made great efforts, in the interest, it is' believed, of a reactionary party, to prejudice the Emperor, as absolute master of -the Executive, against • his Ministers. Oue' of those Ministers, , Baron Marshall yon Bieberstein, the Fpreign Secretary^ was the real prosecutor, and as the JEmperot considers the prosecution ill-advised, and a? it has failed, it is doubted ,»f be will be permitted to retain office. He has already revived three months' leave of , absence, aud iti is said the High Conservative Party is in great exultation at his approach- ■ ing fall. .There seems to be no intention of abolishing the secret police, and very little hope that it will confine itself to its proper of ferreting out crime. It is, in truth, an institution almost essential to .autocraqy, and reappears in every country > where tout system prevails, always performing tlw same double function of protecting ( and alarming the Sovereign who trusts it. THE POLICE AND THE JUBILEE. The police regulations for the Jubilee day, 22nd June, appear to have been studied with much care. Their central idea is evidently to diminish the pressure of the vast multitude expected, and to avoid the risk of the usual rash from south to north, by cutting London sharply in two. The passage of vehicles across the bridges is prohibited

between 7.30 a.m. and 3.0 p.m., and of pedestrians between 9.30 a.m. and the same hour, and neither glass is allowed on any pretence to stop on a bridge. We fancy that is wise, and it is quite fair, a? the procession is to move through both Novth and South London. Vehicle*, moreover, and horsemen are forbidden to approach within one hundred yards of the route of the procession after, 7.30 a.m., an exception being made for carriages carrying sightseers, with, tickets for seats, who are allowed to traverse the reserved streets i until. 10.30 a.m., .Progress* however, will be i so slow that the seat-holders and windowowners will do well to be in their places before 9 a.m., and will be fortunate if they get away by 4 p.m. Scrambling for coppers is forbidden, lest it should cause rushes ; but the police seem to have shrunk' from the equally necessary order forbidding smoking, and the consequent casing away of halfextinguished matches. It must be remembered, too, by all classes, and especially all who wish, to pass through the Green Park, that it is' forbidden to break lines' of troops, an etiquette which often causes unexpected delays. The most real danger* that of stampedes from frjght or from horses getting unruly, cannot be prevented by anj r regulations, and although there is no reason to expect any catastrophe or any accident, we fancy Sir E. Bradford will be heartily glad wheu the day is over. His responsibilities would crush many men.