BRITISH AND FOREIGN NEWS. SPECTATOR SUMMARY.

Evening Post, Volume LXXV, Issue 45, 22 February 1908, Page 13

BRITISH AND FOREIGN NEWS. SPECTATOR SUMMARY.

(For week ending, Saturday, 28th December. 1807.) THE FOREIGNER. Mr. Dcoley's monologue, "The Japanese Scare," printed in last week's Evening Standard and St. James's Gazette, is a shrewd pr well as entertaining commentary on the responsibilities of^Amorica as a world-Power : — "In th' good old days we- wuddou't have thought lifewas worth livin' if we cudden't insult a foreigner. That's what they were f'r. When I was sthrong, before, old age deprived me iv most iv me pathritif-m ;m' other infantile disordhers, I never saw a Swede, a Hun, an Eyetalian, a Boohlgaryan, a German, a Fr-rinchman that I didn't give- him th' shouldher. If 'twas an Englishman I give him th' foot too. Thieaty rights, says ye? We givo him th 1 same threaty rights he'd give us, a dhrink, and a whack on th' head. It seemed proper to us. If 'twas right to belong to wan nuytionality, 'twas wrong to belong to another. If 'twas a man's proud boast to be an American, it was a disgrace to be a German an' a joko to be a Fr-rinchman. An' that goes now. Yo can bump any foreigner ye meet but a Jap. Don't touch him. He's a live wire. . . . Why, be niVens it won't be long till we'll have to bo threatin' th' Chinese daeint."' This state of affairs causes ,Mr. l)ooley to sigh for the good old days "befoie wo became a wurruld Power." "There are no frinds at cards or wurruld polly ticks." The Japanese, he notes, "is most to be feared because iv his love iv home an' his almost akel love iv death. H© is so happy in Japan that he would rather dio somewhere else." You must be polite to them just because they are little : "A big man knows lie don't have to fight, but whin a man is little an' knows he's little, an' is thinkiD' all th' time he's little, an' feels that ivrybody else is thinkin' he's little, look out f'r him." THE AMERICAN NAVY. .McClure's Magazine for January contains an article dn the needs of the United States Navy by Mr. Henry Reuterdahl, Associate of the United ■ States Naval Institute and American editor of Mr. Jane's "Fighting Ships," ! which is bound to attract a great deal of atention, both here and in America, on account of the. very serious allegations it contains. The lirat is thai the American Fleet is a Fleet with "its main armour under water." Owing to faulty design, most of the American ships are asserted to bo in the- condition in which 'tha- overloaded Russian battleships and cruisers were at the battJo of Tsushima. If they were hit just above the water-line, instead of the shells finding a thick belt of armour to resist them, they would pierce an unarmoured surface and make a hole into which at every rol' of tho vessel the sea would pour. According to tho above-named writer, tho United States has five big battleships .ow building, not one of them with its main belt above the water-line. The next allegation is that tho American ships lie bo low in the water that when they move in a- heavy sea "they take in over their low bows solid water, which slaps up over their forward turrets." This means that one-third of the guns would bo useless in rough weather. Foreign' battleships, however, which are built with high bows, could, under the same conditions, fire their forward turret guns with ease. ALLEGED BLUNDER. The defect of the United Slates armoured cruisers is aileged to be as great, while- of tho .broadside guns of the Amciican ships it is said that they are even morn unsatisfactory as regards position than those in the forward turrets. Tho third allegation is even more alarmist. It deals with the "open shaft to the magazine." This "open shaft" is declared to bo a cause of terrible danger, and to have already led to several serious explosions. Tho poor protection afforded for the guns' rrewa in tho c;iso of the American battleships, the insufficient ammunition hoists, and the lack of torpedoes and destroyers aro other allegations contained in this, most pessimistic article. Complaints, moreover, is not confined to matter of construction. It is declared that tho commanding officers are much too old, and that the crews of the ships are given no adequate training. I' or instance, ifc is asserted that tho American ships have only had ten days of battle drill in nine years ! Again, we are told that "the bureau management of the Navy" is very much in fault, resists reform, and repels tho inventor. THE REMEDY. We do not profess to bo able- to judge whether there is anything substantial in these aJlegations, but afc any ratethey are serious enough to demand tho attention of the American public. If thoy are true, or only partially true, the sooner they are faced and a remedy found tho better. Assuming the indictment to be well founded, we should attribute the evils disclosed in no small measure to the absence of outside oriticism in the past. There is no section of the general public in America which is keenly alive to naval needs and able to make itself felt in political circles. Here we suffer, no doubt, also from want of adequate criticism ; but at any rate the public is never indiffeient to naval questions, and, though it may be perplexed by the multitude of counsellors, ifc is always anxious as to tho condition of the Navy. Ib knows that upon tho Navy our national safety and welfare opened. BRITAIN IN EGYPT. It was announced on Tuesday that, with the consent of the British Government, the Egyptian authorities havo decided to pardon all the Denshawi prisoners, and that they would be jpleased on the Khedive's accession day. There are, adds tho Times correspondent, good reasons for hoping that this act of clemency will not be misinterpreted, save by a few extremist-?, whose influence lately has nuch declined. We trust that this will be the case. If tho decision come to was reached on its merits, and not in any degree owing to political pressure, wo may express our satisfaction that tho authorities, British and Egyptian, havo seen their way to exercise that right of clemency which fhould exist in every executive Government for tempering in exceptional circumstances the cour&e of justice. At the same time, we cannot pretend to think that tho crime for which tho prisoners wero sentenced was anything but participation in a murder of a particularly b/utal kind. We do not forget that the assailants of the British officers dragged them out of the carriages in which they had taken refuge, beat them when they lay on the ground, and, further, robbed their bodies. None of these acls are consistent with tho theory that the ollkcrs wero Killed or injured in the coin so of the natural and legitimate olfort of the peasant.-- to prevent their pigeons being shot by trespassers on the village lands. 'JLho officers were no doubt in tho yvropjg,, though they^ were

not aware of the fact, in interfering with the property of the natives. We cannot, however, hold thai so mild a violation nf the rights of property gives either block men or white men the right to kill without being held responsible for their acts. We should say exactly the same ii in similar circumstances an Englishm;^ beat a native to death who entered nis garden, trampled down his flower-beds, and destroyed his vegetables. THE VETERANS. The banquet to the veterans of the Indian Mutiny successfully organised by the proprietors of tho Daily Telegraph was held in the Albert Hall on Monday. Of tho eleven hundred survivors of the campaigns of 1857-58, upwards of five hundred officers and men were present, and Christmas hampers were sent to those who from age or infirmity were undble to attend. Lord Roberts, who presided, road a cordial message from the King, and congratulatory messages were sent by Lord Minto and Lord Kitchener. The toast of "The Survivors of the Indian Mutiny" was proposed by Lord Curzon, who described the banquet as the natural sequel to the memorable entry of the veterans of the Mutiny at the ' Delhi Durbar of 1902; and Lord Roberts in reply made feeling reference to tho heroes, long since passed away, on whom the burden of tho crisis feU. After the "Last Post" had been sounded, Mr. Lewis Waller recited the following deeply movfltg verses, written by Mr. Eudyard Kipling, and admirably reflecting the spirit of a memorable and affecting celebration : — 1857—1907. To-day, across our father's graves, The astonished years reveal The remnant of that desperate host Which cleansed our East with steel.' Hail and farewell! We greet you here, With tears that none will scorn— O keepers of the house oi old, Or ever wo weie born! One service more wo dare to ask ; Pray for us, heroes, pray, That when Fate lays on us our Task, We do not shame the day." We congratulate the Daily Telegraph on the admirable manner in which its patriotic and kindly scheme vas carvied out. A GRAND BEQUEST. Sir William Pearee, the late chairman of the Fairfield Shipping Company, who died on 2nd November last, left the bulk of his property, subject to his wife's life interest, to Trinity College, Cambridge. By the death of Lady Pearee, which took place on Tuesday, Trinity College now benefits to tho extent of over £400,000. It is invidious to criticise go splendid a gift, especially when, unlike the case of America, the instances of this form of munificence- are so uncommon in this country; but we cannot refrain from' expressing the regret that a portion at least was not specifically allotted to university needs. As, however, there is apparently no restriction in tlie bequest, it may be reasonably expected that Trinity College will contribute generously to the requirements set forth in the recent appeal. ROMAN ANTIQUITIES. Wo have littlo sympathy with those Englishmen who seem to think they have a right to dictate to tho people of Italy how they should manage their affairs and lay out their cities because Italy showered on the world in tho past tho magnilicont treasures of her art. When, however, Italians are themselves protesting against some act of vandalism, Englishmen will do no harm in joining the right side and expressing their sympathy with those who desire to save the relics of the old world from destruction. 'Ihe proposal to complete the overthrow of that tplondid monument of antiquity, tho Wall of Aurelian, ono of tho most beautiful as well as one of the most interesting lemains in Rome, is a case in point. Already tho Itoman Municipality has mado four unnecessary breaches in the proud line of defence behind which Bclisarius defended the Imperial city, and they now piopof>e to add three more breaches, which will destroy the continuity of the wall and leave mere sections standing up like forlorn icebergs. Tho next step will, of course, be to demand tho demolition of these jagged and ugly pieces of masonry, and then the Wall of Aurelian will only be a memory. One of /the most striking things about the wall is the grantleur of its proportions and the excellence of its workmanship. Tho masonry has nothing feeble or decadent about ifc, and serves to remind us how slowly tho Empire died, and what strength and ciyilisaiion it showed oven in an age which wo are too apt to think of as hopelessly efl'eto and impotent. Tho Wall of Aurelian is a standing protest against the sweeping generalisations of hasty historians. THE RINGLEADER. Mf. Ginnell, M.P., was charged yesterday -week with contempt ot court in having advocated cattle-driving on an estato under the control of the Land Court, and sontenced to six months' imprisonment by Mr. Justice Ross. As Mr. Ginnell did not appear in court, or enter any defence, a warrant was immediately issued for his arrest. This he evaded until Monday afternoon, when he appeared in disguise at a demonstration at Killucan organised to welcome live released cattle-drivers. # lfter re\ealing his identity to the police, and promising to surrender if he was granted a few minutes to address the meeting, Mr. Ginnoll resumed his disguise and contrived to slip away, but was run to earth ten miles oft' later in the day, brought by train under a strong constabulary escort to Dublin, and lodged iv Kilmainham Gaol. Perhaps the best comment on this episode is to be found in Mr. Bin-ell's speech at Belfast on the 22nd November : — "My fingers are itching to p'rosacute him' (Mr. Ginnell) but it "is my business .to put some restraint upon myself. .. . The passion of Mr. Ginnell's life is to go to prison, and if ho were there for four of six weeks he would come out all the more powerful and influential to engage in this kind of work." It is stated that Mr. Justice Ross has in this matter acted entirely on his own initiative and without any suggestion from tho Government. If that is so, and his action proves effectual, the words we havo quoted show how impossible it will be to assign tho credit to Mr. Birroll.

The Windsor (S. and W. Mackay) is one of the best of tho sixpenny magazines, and the January number keeps up its lepulation. It contains a complete story, "Tho Lord of the Manor," occupying foriy closely-printed pages, by Fred. M. White ; and Gilbert Parker, 1?. Marion Crawford, Justus Mile 3 Forman, Robert Barr, Barry Pain, and Sir It. H. Johnston are a few only of tho litelary contributors. "Photographing Speech," by Frederick Lees', is an account of a 'seientiffci invention of great interest and importance by ])r. Marfage, of Pam, and in connection therewith arc shown examples of a Tcmarkable and legible telegraph script produced directly from typewritten pevfomtions by means of the Pollak and Virag telegraph machine. Tho art section contains moio pii turns by Frank DickssC? and another collection of Joan of Ate paintings by I [ English, and French. 'artii to.