BRITISH AND FOREIGN NEWS

Evening Post, Volume LXXIV, Issue 78, 28 September 1907, Page 17

BRITISH AND FOREIGN NEWS

SPECTATOR SUMMARY (For week ending Saturday, 3rd August). THE MOROCCAN OUTBREAK. The most impoitant news of the week comes from Morocca, and is of a very serious character. On. Tuesday the tribesmen in the. neighbourhood of the port of Casablanca, on the Atlantic coast, joined by the mob in the town, attacked the- European workmen engaged oii the new harbour and killed eight of them. Tho victims were stoned and horribly mutilated by the crowd in full view of other Europeans, who were powerless to help them; while, says Tho Times correspondent at Tangier, tho Moorish women on the housetops uttered cries of joy. Many of tho Moors concerned in the outbreak appear to have ridden through the town declaring that tho Holy War had begun. The immediate cause- of the attacks seems to have been, however, tho harbour works, partly because these works are believed to be signs of increasing Christian power, ond partly because they will interfere with the profits of boatmen and others in the town. The animosity of the ciowd was specially directed towards the French. Ths French Consul appears to have b-ahaved with great coolness and courage. THE "UNDESIRABLES" TRIUMPH. The result of ths trial at Boise of Hayrvood, the Secretary-treasurer of the Western Federation of Miners, for complicity in the murder of Mr. Sbsun'enberg, Governor of Idaho, was a unanimous acquittal on Sunday morning last, after the jury had deliberated twentyone hours. Four members of th© jury are said to have wished to return a verdict of "some degree of murder," but were won over to th© majority during tho night. It was understood before tho trial began that the evidence against Haywood was stronger than that against Moyor and Pettibone, other members of tho Western Federation. In spite of the acquittal of Haywood, it is announced that Moyer and Pettibone will bo brought to trial. Tho' verdict of the jury, according to the New York correspondent of The Times, means that in their opinion the fact that Orchard, when he set forth to commit any one of the series of ghastly crimes to which ho has confessed, always started from Denver (the headquarters of the Federation) and always returned there afterwards was a coincidence, and that Haywood, though intimate with Orchard, never knew his real character. On Monday Mr. Roosevelt published without comment tho following telegram which he has received: — "Undesirable citizens victorious. Rejoice. — Signed Emma Goldman, Alexander Berkman, Hippolyte Hav«l." All the signatories are notorious anarchists. Mr. Roosevelt was, of course, quite right not to criticise the verdict of the jury, but his action in publishing tho telegram is significant of his feelings. • ANARCHY IN MACEDONIA. The Times of Monday publishes from its Vienna correspondent a very distressing account of th 9 interracial conflicts of Greek, Bulgarian, and Servian bands in Macedonia. The authority whom the correspondent quotes a& "unimpeachable" thinks that Sir Edward Grey cannot know the truth, and doubts whether any one but the Italian gendarmerie officers has the opportunity of knowing it. Ths worst districts flow ar-e those round Knstoria and Blonastir. In the Kastoria district tho Greeks hove four hundred men engaged in nushing forward ths ethnographical boundary which divides them from the Macedonian Bulgara. Tho Greek bands aye supported by' -wealthy Greeks in Greece, and have the clandestine protection of tho Greek Government. Near Kastoria tho Bulgar population is being gradually but pitilessly exterminated. At first the men were- cut up ao they went to work in the fields. At length tho Bulgar men decided to emigrate to America, and they left their women and children bshind 'in the villages. A-» tho women continued to- work in tho fields, the Greek bands decided to eliminate them also. Village after village was burned, and the women and children massacred. The complaisance of Turkish officers who are sent to prevent such horrors is easily bought. All tho bands are guilty of barbarous atrocities, but ths narrative states that the Greeks are oven worse than the Serbs and Bulgars. In the ' opinion of the • writer, something must be done, quickly, or a worse situation than that which led to the GrecoTurkish War of 1097 will confront the Powers. THE CROMER GRANT. . On Tuesday in the House of Commons Sir Henry Cafnpbell-Bannennan moved that £50,000 bo granted to Lord Cromor in recognition of his eminent services as. Ajjent and" Consul-General in Egypt. Hitherto such grants had been made only to feoldiem, but he recommended to tho House "the lees resound ing but not less deserving services of a great administrator." Lord -Croiner was foremost for "courage, wisdom, patience, and resource." During Lord Cromcr's services in Egypt the population had incrcassd by three millions, tho burden of taxation had boon reduced by nearly twenty-live- per cent., and the charge for interest on tho ,Dpbt had been reduced by a sum of £890,000 a year. He had not attempted to force the Egyptian people into a Western mould, but had stucfiod their character, their grievances and 'needs. Had ho cared for dramatic results, he could have made a new Egypt on a Western model -with tho h°lp of capitalists, whoss money was alwaya at his disposal ; but he had regenerated the Egyptian people through themselves. Sir Henry Campbell-Ban-nerman's tribute could not have been better or more wisely conceived, and it proves what wo have said several tiraea that the present Cabinet, not only accopted Lord Cramer's policy, but accepted it wholeheartedly. ITS OPPONENTS. Mr.' Balfour ardently supported the resolution, It was opposed by Mr. W Redmond in an utterly wrong-headed and unfair speech, which who listened to on both sides of thp House with impatience. Mr. Grayson, tho new Socialist member, also opposed the grant. Sir Edward Grey pointed out tho particual unfairness of tho attacks on Lord Cromor in reference to tho Denshawi incident. Lord Croiner was not in Egypt at the time, and did not oven hear of it till tho news had already reached the Government. The resolution wns carried by 254 votes to 107 On tile sam-c- day in tho House of Lords Lord Ripon moved a resolution declaring concurrence, with the olhor House in the grant, and this was carried with acclamation. OPEN TO CONVICTION. The National Service League has taken a very wiso and a very interesting ittep. It is conding a representative committee to Switzerland to study the Swiss military 6ysteni. Among those who have joined tho committee we are glad to note are several Labour members, — Mr .1. Wilson, Mr. Rowlands, Mr. Ward, Mr. Macpheison, Mr- T. Richards, Mr. O'Grady, Mr. D. Kelly, and Mr. W. C. Stcadman. Tho committee also includes Lord Newton, Lord Anipthill, and Lord Tumour. Mr. George Shee»- the secre-toi-v of tha National Service Leanuo. .

will accompany the commilUw, and tho Swiss authorities uro nffordlUK fcyeiy facility for tho etutly of th« work done by thVir citizen soldiorn. Wo cannot, of couiso, say what will bo tho eiim upon the minds of the Labour members of what they will two in Switzerland, but at uny ratu they uro to bo congratulated upon tlmii- opcMDiindcdnt'SH in joining tho Committee, and upon not being afraid lcat, when they know the facts, thoy bhnll bo converted <o proposals which, no doubt, ninny of them have condemned in tho abstract. EXAMPLES TO BE AVOIDED. Such a dread of convolution in spite of one's self ia by no means uncommon and often operates very powerfully to prevent full and honest cncjuiiy. Our readers may remember Pepys s querulous objections to «. very moving Quaker tract. Tho diarist evidently thought there was it real danger of his being converted if ho were rash enough to read such literature. But, as Stevenson says in his inimitable es.«ay, if by ill luck such a thing had happened, whero would have been poor Popys's cakes and ale, "his fiddhngs on tho tilos," and his pleasant life? Tho Labour mombers, as wo havo said, arc content to be converted if the work can bo honestly done, though, doubtless, they now think that impossible. Tho National SsrvicD League is in any case going to show thsm that tho model it wants fol-' lowed by Britain is to bo found in S,wit7-erl&nd. We wish there were time tp thow thorn also the modal which it does not want followed by taking them to a German garrison town. But oven if this cannot be, tho Labour members may be asked to remember that, if tho object of tha National Service League had really been conscription or military service of a Continental kind, as its detractors so unfairly, nay, unveraciously, insist, they %vould have invited the committee to visit Potsdam, not Thun or Zurich, or wherever this year's manoeuvres are to be caried out. DESERVED RECOGNITION. - We are glad to see in the political notes in Tuesday's Times that a movement is on foot to pay a personal tribute to Sir Horace Plnnkett in recognition of the work he has accomplished in Ireland during tha past eighteen years, and that a committee, has been formed to ra'iso a presentation fund. Among those who hava joined the presentation committee are Lrord Monteaglo, Lord Ivor, Mr. T. Sinclair, Mr. Butchei, M.P., and Mr. Field, M.P. Ths movement is ono which will have, wo are sure, the heartiest sympathy of all, whether Irishmen, Scotchmen, or Englishmen, who desire tho welfaie of Ireland. 'When ' the present Government yielded to the Nationalist demand to get rid of Sir Horace Plunkett they committed a very foolish as well as a very cowardly act, and we should think there must hs> many Ministerialists who would be glad to atone for it. . METROPOLITAN "IMPROVEMENT." Tuesday's Times contains a letter from Mr. Mark Judge making a further appeal that tho great street improvement in the Strand shall not be ruined by the London County Council insisting on a lin3 of frontage which will in effect run out thsir new buildings at a hideous angle into what ought to bs ono of th« finest thoroughfares in the world. No doubt a certain amount of money will be. gained by the 'plan which now holds the field ; but this scsms to us exactly on& of the coses where it is sound policy to spend a little money in order to increase tha spaciousness and brauty of ths capital. We sincerely wish the Strand Improvement Committee success in their crusade. No doubt they aro asking for the expenditure of public money ; but at any rate it Js expsnditure which will pauperise no and lead to no unusual charge, and will increase tha "lung 'space" of Central London as well as add to its beauty. THE UNIONIST BLUNDER. Each by-election convinces us more (strongly than ths last that the Unionist party v. ill never return to power till it has dropped Protection and Preference, and reunited on the old basis. If only it could get rid of the terrible handicap imposed by Mr. Chamberlain, ths recovoiy of tha paity would be immediate. A largo portion of the electors are seriously alarmed at Socialism, md at ths encouragement given thereto by the Lib?rals. Such men feel, however, that to voto for Protection is only to jumo from the fryingpan into the file. I'hus the Unionists as a party aro losing the benefits of tho anti-Socialist reaction wmcTi is so marked just now. As Unionists anxious for tho return of our party to sanity and power, we cannot profess to bo anything but profoundly . depressed by the way in which a threat opportunity is being deliberately lost. THE MYSTERY OF ETHER. The British Association began its meetings at Leicester on Wednesday, and on Thursday all tho sections sat to hear tho presidential nddressss. Unfortunately, we cannot find space this week to deal with any of the papers in detail, but must be con- j tent with a bar© mention of Lord Kelvin's speech on tho subject of ether and electrons, "which appears to have been of unusual intere&t. "It scans to ms," tsaid Lord Kelvin, "that in reality ether is structureless, which means that every portion of ether, however email, has the pame electric properties as any portion, however great. There is no difficulty in this conception of something utterly homogeneous and elastic, occupying tho whole of space from infinity to infinity in every direction."

The first number (for July) of the new issue of tho Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society (6, Hope-place, Liverpool) ha 3 come to hand, and the revival of this magazine, vhioh was dropped somo years ago after four volumes had > been issued, •will, we think, be -\vel- , qomed by all students of philology, eth- j nology, and folk-lore. The articles are . by such authorities as J. H. Yoxall, - M.P., and the lato C. Godfrey Leland (from au unpublished manuscript). In a ' prospectus enclosed, tho author, Mr. I Scott Macfie, points out and deplores the fact that opportunities of study of this interesting race will soon bo gono for ever. "What centuries of persecution could not destroy is succumbing to a peaceful but insidious attack." Race purity that was only conserved by oppression is disappearing with toleration ; mixed marriages are fairly common; and tho board school its obliterating the language and the distinctive customs at the same' time. A little-known fact, which deserves to be included in the Curiogities of Litcratme, is mentioned. Five yearn ago, Mr. John Sampson publiahed a Romani translation of tweoty-two quatrains of Omar-Fitzgerald, and Principal M'Alister has just published twen--ty-two more in the same tongue. One of these quatrains, used as a bookmotto some yeavs ago, puzzled the lute Richnrd G.irnett and all the linguists of tho' British Museum. "I don't knov, Mr. Duff," said Mr. Garnett, "I really don't know -what language your dedication is written in. All our Museum staff have been trying in vain to lind out for me ; but if it's a language you liavc invented yoursnlf, all I can say is that it is an exquisitely 6onorous one." Tho subscription to tho magazine is £1 v. year, and it should commend itself to . «H students of lousuase^ ,