Nelson Evening Mail. TUEBDAY, MAY, 5, ]903. DEVELOPMENTS IN THE FAR EAST.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXXVII, Issue 93, 5 May 1903, Page 2

Nelson Evening Mail. TUEBDAY, MAY, 5, ]903. DEVELOPMENTS IN THE FAR EAST.

HEADERS have probably wondered why Russia has taken the Balkans outbreak so calmly, and even in* attentively ; but the developments in Manchuria explain much of her attitude in the Danubian provinces. Newspaper correspondents in the capitals of Europe have hinted more than once that Russia was devoting naval and military activity and all her powers of " diplomacy," in other words, duplicity, to rendering the Manchurian convention a dead letter, and the truth. 'of these hints is made manifest by every cable received in reference to developments in China. In spite of all disclaimers and the Manchurian Convention of 6th April, 1902, Rus&ia apparently has no mind to relax her grip on the famous dynastic province of China which came to her as the " pickings " of the Japo-Chinese war and the march of the Powers on Pekin some years later, The short-sightedness and unwisdom of the British policy at the end of the war between China and Japan, when Japan was so unjustly deprived of her spoils of victory and forced to accept Formosa in lieu of an occupation of the Liantung Gulf country, are being manifested with more and more force •arith. each phase of developments in China, .* » » • In regard to the Manchurian Convention Niuchwang and the two Manchurian provinces of Kirin and Mukden should now be evacuated, Russia, however, has formulated a new set of demands as conditions precedent to withdrawal of her forces. These demands would, if

granted, convert Manchuria into a 1 close. Russian preserve. No new! treaty ports would be opened, no new Consulates other than Russian would be established, and the Customs and other foreign administrative officials would all be Russian. In short, China would still retain' the nominal sovereignty of the I country and foreign nations would still have their very limited existing treaty rights, while the actual commercial and strategic control would be in Russian hands. Moreover, further trade concessions to other Powers would be barred unless Russia agreed to further concessions for individual Powers as hinted in Count Cassini's communication to Colonel Hay. • * • • ew Great Britain and America, and of course Japan, have protested against these demands, while Germany stands aloof. The German Government would probably not be averse from Russian annexation of Manchuria, since it would pave the way fcr German aggrandisement in Shantung. Russia is naturally impatient of her undefined status in the province her superior diplomatic skill has wrested from China, Japan and the European Rowers/ alike, and she seems determined to take full jossession. Had England stood by her ally, however, Japan would have held the whole of Manchuria as a buffer state between China and both Corea and! Russia till the war indemnity had been paid by China, and the complications of to-day would have been avoided, or at least have been indefinitely postponed. The question now is : What will be done if Russia refuses to accede to the request that she should abide by the Manchurian Convention ? Will Britain and America join with Japan in the War that may be t}ie outcome of Russian breach of faith ? Presuming that America stands out, will England make common cause with Japan, the alliance with which has been so highly flaunted, or is that alliance a mere empty phrase ? IsEngland waiting till France declares herself on Russia's side, when there will be no other course open except to join Japan ? Or is the significant visit of King Edward to Paris an intimation to Russia that she must not depend too much en French co-operation against Bri- ■ tain ? * * * * Now that Russiia is in possession ■ the next question that arises is why should Russia evacuate Manchuria at all. As it was not deemed expedient that Japan should have "the territory it> an indefinite occupation and as the enfeebled grasp of China on the great wool-producing district of the Far East can make only for retrogression, is it worth while to leave the finest province in China a kind of no-man's-land merely because one Power is jealous of another ? To us at a distance, uninfluenced by considerations Which weigh in London, Paris, St Petersburg or Tokio, it seems that it woul3 be expedient to frankly recofv ; nise . that Russia has .taken Man- i churia. to stay there, and to devote j all pressure to securing in Manchu- i ria the open door of international j trade. Once again Japari would be j between the hammer of diplomacy j and the anvil of expediency, as she was at the conclusion of the Japo- » Chinese war. But the little "Britain of the Easit" must be content, for a generation or two at least, to j merely play at being a Great Power j —while Tn reality the actually Great , Powers just make use of her as a . pawn on their diplomatic chess- { board. J

The Autumn Flower Show and Competition Fair will be held at the Bishop's School to-morrow afternoon and evening. The entries promise to be large and varied and plenty of attractions will be provided, including a concert in the evening. Those who attend in the afternoon can procure passes for the evening also by payment of 6d extra. Those takingpart in the concert in the evening are Misses Fell, Leggatt (2), Buchanan, and Kempthorne, Messrs Coney, Selwyn Kompthome, and the glee party The show will be opened by Colonel Pitt, M.L.C. To-day, on the application of Mr Harley, letters of administration de bonis non of Gcorg-o Tarr, deceased, were granted to George William Taylor. Probate of the will of Eliza Robson was grante d to Willi am John Robson, the sole executor. Probate of the will of Willi am Northam was granted to George Dodson, Arthur Dodson, and Arthur Nicholas Batchelor, the executors named in the will. Those interested in the Lyell speak hopefully of the immediate future. When the present line of stone is opened up it is expectd that there will be at least j five months' work in sight, and that the , good and inferior stone can all be put through together. It is claimed that if 5i dwt is yielded all expenses will be paid, and that anything abpve will be profit. In the Supreme Court, in Chambers, this morning, on the motion-of Mr E. B. Moore, the Registrar granted probate of the will of Hannah Broom Sherwood, late of Nelson, deceased, to Jesse Ernest Hounsell, the sole executor named in the will. Colonel Bell, formerly a very popular United States Consul at Sydney, and a well-known literary man and lecturer, is at present on a lecture tonr of New Zealand. Ho is now in Nelson, and he intends to speak here in an evening or two. It is understood that a public reception will be accorded to Colonel Bell to-morrow afternoon, the matter being in process of arrangement by the Mayor and the Town Clerk. Mr Bet.be is Colonel Bell's touring agent, and accompanies him. In introducing Colonel Bell to those attending a public reception of him at Wellington, the Mayor said that Colonel Bell's life in New South Wales had been a series of successes. He had held a position there of very great importance, and had always filled it in the highest possible way. Mr Aitken, in his own name and in the name of the people of Wellington, offered Colonel Bell a hearty welcome, and trusted that his visit would bring not only benefit to himself, but pleasure to the people of the city. Arrangements are being made probably for two lectures, on Thursday and 'Friday evenings, but the dates and the "hall will be decided upon and announced to-morrpw. Our Appleby correspondent writes i — At a meeting of householders held in the local schoolroom, those present numbered eight all told, four out of the number being members of the out going school Committee. The question of a new Committee came up, and some discussion ensued as to whether it was worth while to elect one as there were no funds in hand to pay bills owing, or to buy firewood, At last it was resolved to elect a Committee and apply to the Board for a grant to carry on for the next year. The Committee consist of Messrs Challies, Hammond, Avery, Turner, Bright, ! O'Connor, and O'Connell, Mr O'Connor was elected Secretary and Treasurer, and Mr Turner, Chairman. The following have been selected to represent the A & B teams of the Maitai Hockey Club to play to-morrow afterj noon .• — A team — C. Graham, A. Webb, { E. Rudman, J. Hill, J. Wallace, B. Tasker, A. Dee, H. Sherwood, P. Aydon, W. Dee, W. Browne, and Tonkinson. B. team — J. Starr, W. Lucre, L. Wimsett, A. Kragahen, C. Sherwood, A. Croudis, R. Toms, W. Batchelor, L. Jackson, J, McGoldriok, R. Neale and Fitzeimmons. Readers of the New Zealand "Farmer" of April, will notice that the Colonial Executive have received from the Marion branch a request that the farmers in that district be urged not to sell oats for less than 2/3 per bushel, and wheat not less than 4/6 sack extra, as a report has been received of a shortage of thes.e crops in Southland and Canterbury. Our Appleby j correspondent suggests that Nelson I 1 farmers might consider this question • before it is too late.

When the District Court met yesterday 1 Messrs Pitt and Maginmfcy did not appear \ in the customary robes. Mr Pitt explained that the Income Tax officer who was in I Nelson had put his books and papers in ' part of the law library room, which was ; the robing room for local members of the j bar, and locked it up. His Honor, Judge Robinson, said that the business of the Court could not be stopped through this, but he would see what could be done for the Income Tax officer to make other arrangements. _ The prospectus of the Waimea Plains ; Coal Prospecting Company is now out. rhe nominal capital of the Company is £10,000, divided into 1000 shares of £10 each. Of these 150 fully paid-up shares are to be allotted to the vendors, Messrs Wm. Haddow, A. A. Grace, and W. Bettany jr., in consideration of rights transferred and work done, and of the balance 400 shares are now under offer to the public, £2 on application and allotment, and the balance in monthly 10s ;calls. Should it be necessary to issue "more shares the vendors will participate pro rata. The object of the Company is to further prospect the coal-bearing areas of the district, and attention will be particularly paid to the area at Brightwater over which the Company already holds rights. When this property is fully prospected, operations will be extended to other parts of the Waimea Plains. It is proposed to put down up to three bores at Brightwater to a depth of 1000 feet if necessary, one bore being already down 290 feet, but it is not proposed to continue this bore unless specially advised to do so. The cost of a diamond drill will be about £1500, and that of boring is estimated at about 8s a foot. One-fifth of the present issue of shares has already been applied for, and the vendors do not ask cash. The prospectus, in addition to giving abundant details, points out the immense value the discovery of good coal measures would be to the city and district. The site of the 800 feet bore is only^a comparatively short distance from the Brightwater railway station and adjacent to the Wairoa River, on Mr Murcotfs property. Mr J. G. Gow, Government Commercial Agent in South Africa, advises the Industries and Commerce Pep.' riuieri; by cable, dated Capetown, tbe 27 Ji ult., tbat prime table potatoes are worth £11 a ton ex ship's slings at Durban, Poit Elizabeth, and Capeiown. Tho appended details will enable readers to follow the narrative of the Moat Farm murder mystery frequently referred to in recent cables .- — At Saffron Walden, on March 19th, Samuel Herbert Dougal, an army pensioner, was charged ' with the forgery of a cheque, purporting | to be signed by Miss Cannlle C. Holland, on August 28th 1902. Mystery surrounded the fate of Miss Camille Holland, She was a lady, possessed of some wealth and belonging to a well-known family residing at Liverpool and Maida Vale, London, who disappeared from Clavering, in Essex, four years ago. She had lived j at an isolated moated farmhouse with Dougal. Miss Holland, who was a woman of about sixty, is said to have possessed between £5000 and £6000. Until early in 1899 she maintained frequent correspondence with her relatives and friends, but since March, 1899, nothing whatever has been heard of her by any of them, and all efforts on the part of the police to trace her had been unsuccessful. Since that date, however, it is alleged, her money has been drawn from the band. The police suspected that Miss Holland had been murdered, and began investigations at tho Moat Farm. Dougal, during his tenure on the farm. ! had put corn land into grass, planted ; trees, kept poultry, and stocked the moat | j with rainbow trout. . A ]Jolice officer who j .wont to the farm on March 20th. declared, j • that it would be impossible to drag this I j piece of water, so full of holes was it- It | is about 32 feet broad, and entirely sur- | rounds the house, which, therefore, stands . upon a little island, the solo means of ap- » proaeh to which is a brick bridge. The j farm stands alone, with no neighbours j nearer than a farmhouse at Hickling, while Clavering Village is three miles j off, and Newport, the nearest station is • half an hour's drive. The corpse just ! discovered may possibly prove to be that jof the missing woman. Since DougaFs j arrest bones, and a skull have been found in tho moat and on an island in the moat. j A general meeting of the Nelson Poultry ' Association will be held to-night for the ; purpose of appointing judges for the forth- ' coming show. i I ! A convocation of tho Royal Arch Chapter ' will be held in tho Masonic Hall this eveni ing at 71 5 sharp. J The house at Richmond destroyed by fire ' on Sunday evening was insured in the ; Commercial Union Office for £100. Mr T. ; Gappcr, the owner of the dwelling, estil mates his loss at about £150. A meeting of the combined committees of the Oddfellows' Lodges was held last evening, when satisfactory arrangements 1 were made fyr the ball next month, The gathering promises to be a ' successful one. j Mr Lock announce that the sale of the ' " Little Dustpan " stock will close on SatJ urday next, and on that date a large j consignment of gold and silver jewellery, I from Messrs Abraham & Co., Birming- | ham will be on sale. The Wakapuaka cable staff's Musical and Dramatic Club provided a most enjoyable entertainment on Saturday evening to a large audience, which included a number of city folk. The arrangements were splendid, and there was not a dull . moment throughout the whole of the performance. The first part of the programme consisted of the " burnt cork " entertainment, to which the following were responsible for much mirth .;— M. Webb-Bowen J. Heron, H. Twyford, Kempthorne, Eeed, Bourke, Hume, Hanron, and Topliss. An amusing farce entitled " The Haunted House," was admirably portrayed by Messrs A. R. Luckie, Heron, and Reid, Misses M. WebbBowen and G. Beauchamp, gave a club exhibition, and the performance concluded with the production of a farce entitled "Fun in a Registry Office." The parts were filled by Messrs A. M. Burns, Luckie, Hanron, Beauchamp, Hume, Topliss, Bourke, and Reid. Much praise ia duo to Mr C. White, the musical conductor, who was mainly responsible for the success of the evening. Praise is also due to the advance agent, Mr M. ' Webb-Bowon. j A remarkable case of sheep-worrying is reported from Banbury. Two dogs chased a flock of about 200 sheep into several fields. The majority of the frightened animals tood refuge in a stream, where they huddled together so closely (says the "Oaniaru Mail") as to dam up the water, which rose so high as to drowij a number of sheep as they stood. Others were suffocated by the wet fleeces of the live and dead. When the sheep were found no fewer than 55 were dragged out of the watercourse dead. Six others were discovered mangled to death by dogs. The Westport « News n of Saturday last saya :— Messrs John Munro and Co,, limited, ,are in receipt of a cable from , London informing them that the Hon. i Mr Cadman has succosssfully placed the I Waimangaroa coal lease in connection with his ironsand scheme. Everything is setttled, and the property will be taken over after inspection by the company's engineer. The lease stands in the name of F. F. Munro, and he has associated with him Dr McKenzie and Mr U. F. Mullan." The annual tea and the welcome social to the Rev. Mr. Jory will be held in connection with the Hope Wesleyaa Church to-morrow afternoon and evening. An excellent programme has been arranged, and a good number of visitors from Nelson are expected. Messrs J. H. fidmendson and W. H. Roberts, who have carried on the business of the Palace ears, have dissolved partnership, and Mr Edmondson continues the service. Estates of deceased persona in Nelscm, were proved last month at the following amQunta > — Mary ' Hursthouse, £2210 j Arthur S. Atkinson, £4717 ; Richmond Hursthouse, £2285 ; Margaret R. Stowell, £6279 ; Stephen Avery, .£1425. The ground value of residential ali^tmenta in Gore is enormously on the increase, if the figures secured 1 at a recent sale oj; education and municipal reserves are to be taken as a criterion. One allotment, says the " Southern Standard," carrying £370 worth of uni-Qvements, and the upset price of whioh was £4, realised £14 10s — a ground rental which, in the 14 years, will total up to the tidy little sum of £203. ■'"'.,

1 'A wedding that attracted oonsd--1 derable attention was solemnised at | the Wesley Church, Blenheim, says j the local paper, between Miss Amy • Lucas, Opawa Farm, Lower Wairau, ; and Mr James Henry Holdaway, third son of Mr James Holdaiway, Lowlands Farm. The officiating minister was the Rev G. W. J. Spence, and the Church was filled with a large number of relatives and close friends of the couple. The bride (who was given away by her father) looked charming in a handsome white silk dress, 'trimmed with silk embroidered lace (the gift of her uncle in Sydney), witli the usual veil and orange blossoms ; she also carried a lovely shower bouquet of white chrysanthemums, j Miss B. El beck officiated as chief bridesmaid, and was attired in a cream silk dress, with left hat to match. The other bridesmaids were Mls9 Q. Lucas (sister of the I bride)) and Miss Lettie Holdaway sister of the bridegroom), who were becomingly dressed in pale peacock j velvet, with white felt hatei; also I two little dots— Nancy Cranston and Eunice Holdaway— in Kate Greenaway dresses of cream velvet, 1 and' carrying wands decorated with chrysanthemums and cream ribbon. All the bridesmaids carried beautiful shower bouquets of chrysanthemums, and were the recipients of handsome gpld brooches, gifts from the bridegroom. The bridegroom's present to the bride was a lovely gold bangile, set with pearls and ' sapphires. Mr Harold Lucas, brother of the bride, acted as "best man." As the happy couple left the Church the "Wedding March" was played by the organist (Miss Elbeck), and showers of flower petals and rice were thrown. The wedding party and guests then adjourned 1 to the residence of the bride's parents, where under the sna'ue oi a targe nia-iijucu, mio pon>/ partook of a sumptuous repast. Several congratulatory speeches were made, and the health of the happy couple, bridesmaids, and parents of the bride and bridegroom were proposed. A four-tier bride cake of massive proportions was provided All the proceedings passed off with a heartiness and enthusiasm which bore eloquent testimony tc the popularity and esteem in which the bride and bridegroom and their relatives are held. The presents, which more than filled a large dining table, were quite a treat to behold, many of them being of .great value. Among them was a bicycle from the bride's parents ; and a handsome clock, a gilt from the bridegroom's former comrades of the Garrison Band, who were present at the festive proceedings, and rendered great assistance with their music. At 6.15 the bride and bri'degrooom took their departure for a holiday trip in the North Island, the captain of the Opawa obligingly stopping the steamer to take them on board, whilst the band played a parting air. The bride's travelling dress was navy cloth, beautifully strapped, with cream lace collarette, and pretty toque of black and white silk.