THE New Otago Herland AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSE. SATURDAY, MAY 23, 1886.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIII, Issue 7644, 22 May 1886, Page 4

THE New Otago Herland AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSE. SATURDAY, MAY 23, 1886.

To-day appears a startling telegram from St. Petersburg, which shows that the plot which has for some time been hatching on the Black Sea shores, is < rapidly approaching maturity. The Czar of Russia has issued an order i commanding all the officers and men belonging to the Black Sea fleet to join their vessels forthwith. No one who ; has observed the progress of events can ■ be at any loss to know the purport of i this Imperial instruction. He would ' interpret it to signify that, in the opinion of the Russian Court, war is inevitable, and the necessity of being < prepared for it imperative. But strange ] to say, the Russian statesmen think to i impose on the world by trying to make 1 it believe that Russia is in danger of in- 1 vasion. Professing a desire for the peace- ! ful development of the Empire, the Czar 1 yet affects to apprehend that cir- l cumstances may arise demanding i for it an armed defence, and i therefore deems it necessary for its s security as well as its dignity to take 1 such precautions as his proclamation t indicates. It will be news to most c people to learn that Russia is in such j danger of being attacked in the Black Sea as to require her fleet there to be i in immediate readiness. The only t Powers that could menace her in that t quarter are England and France ; and, 1 as the latter is in alliance with Russia n while the former is exerting all her T influence to preserve the peace in all , that region, it is difficult to see why g the Czar should be apprehensive of a t naval attack. To assign such a reason F for this Imperial order is, however, 11 only meant as a blind. The real rea- * son is to be found in the fact that 1; what the Czar calls the peaceful c developement of Russia cannot be car- n ried out as he desires. That is, he sees o that despite all his finessing he will J not be allowed by the others Powers of Europe quietly to occupy Bulgaria, ° with the view of ultimately command- j. ing all the Balkan Peninsula, and his t order to the fleet means that he in- g tends to take possession of it by force a if he can. We have before pointed out 0 that, as Russian troops would not now ® be allowed to cross Roumania, the t agents of Russia have for some months a past been securing a large number of a swift steamers of light draught to I convey her forces, now massed at the a Crimea and in Bessarabia, either up n the Danube or to Varna, and thus take J sudden of Bulgaria on both sides of lier territory. At the same time the t means for protecting these transports p

i, if necessary have been eagerly pushed |j forward, of which the launching of a three ironclads at Sebastopol reported ° in yesterday's cables is the evidence, 1 All this shows that it is a preparation for aggressive action and not for an armed defence that has been going forward. The order to the officers and man of the Black Sea fleet means, therefore, that Russia's or- • rangeinents for invading Bulgaria are about complete, and that any day a * movement in that direction may now r be made. That it is so understood at Vienna and Berlin is demonstrated by the fall in stocks which it has caused ' in both those capitals. The lull which has for some days prevailed in the I news about Greece may now be accounted for by the fact that some of the Powers who had combined to coerce that little State have been preparing to fly at each other's throats, f _______ ' It will be pleasing to many to see that initial steps have been taken in the House of Representatives towards keeping the jubilee year of the accession to the throne of Her Gracious 1 Majesty the Queen. The Premier has given notice of his intention of moving ' the appointment of a Select Committee, to make arrangements for New Zealand ' joining in the rejoicings and congratulations which will be cordially shared in every part of her wide dominions on the occasion of her entering on the > fiftieth year of her reign on the 20th I of June, and there is not any doubt i that the proposal will meet with the hearty approval of the Assembly, and that whatever form the celebration takes it will elicit the loyal sympathy of every colonist in New Zealand. The event is one of no ordinary significance. Other monarchs have reigned as long. George the Third ' reigned for fifty-two years, but no monarch in the annals of England, no ' monarch in the annals of the world, has covered a period so fraught with the blessings of peace, progress, and prosperity to his subjects, or of advancement in science and art to the r world. Perhaps there is a tendency in our minds to unduly magnify present i things and to think that nothing like (■ them has been known before; but a rapid glance at the achievements of the last fifty years, the progress of steam, whether on sea or land, the telegraph, telephone, manufacture, commerce, the Colonial Empire, and a hundred things besides, must convince anyone that such a brilliant period in any nation's history has never been known before, as that which we enjoyed during the last half century under the benign reign of our beloved Queen. We have had our wars, and such glory as military successes briug, but it has been eminently a reign of peace ; and the triumphs in the arts of peace, the wealth that has been won, and the power that has been built up in the prosecution of them, have thrown utterly into shadow all the acquisitions that were made by the most brilliant warriors in the history of the nation. And over all this, the Royal Lady, guiding the destinies of the nation, has been tfc i pattern of all that is pure, and womanly, and good. In all the fierce light that has beaten on the throne for fifty years, not even a shadow has fallen on the spotless purity of her character, not even a whisper of suspicion has been heard. In all the domestic virtues as wife and mother and friend, in the unchanging constancy of her affection as a widow, she has touched the tenderest chords of her people's sympathy, and the influence of her pure and perfect life has not only pervaded and controlled the courtly circles immediately surrounding her, but has descended in its hallowing influence down into the humblest homes of the people. And abroad, far beyond the limits of the empire, not only in the royal and imperial circles of Europe is the Queen of England regarded with affection and respect such as no other monarch enjoys, but throughout the republics of America, Switzerland and France, and among the populations of every civilised race, the name of Queen Victoria is familiar as that of one whom elevation has not spoiled, but who has all the natural and kindly sympathies that make the whole world kin ; and it is even said that among Socialists and Nihilists the name of Victoria is reverently spoken of as that of the only ruler that would reconcile them to authority. It is something for Englishman to know that they have a Sovereign to whom the whole world looks up—one that reigns not only in the hearts of her own people but exercises a sway over the hearts of all civilised peoples on the earth as no monarch ever did before ; and there is not a doubt that the universal feeling of respect and confidence for the Queen has been a patent factor in giving that sense of security, which, despite all that may be said to the contrary, the nations of the earth have in the integrity of the British nation. That is the monarch whose jubilee of benefieient government we are about to celebrate ; and never has one common sentiment pervaded so large a portion of the earth's surface, or found a response of absolute unison in so many hearts as will this desire to cordially congratulate our beloved Queen on her year of jubilee. Among' the Bills already introduced in the House is one by Sir George Grey for the purchase or other acquisition of private lands for the purposes of settlement. The subject with which this Bill deals was brought under the notice of Parliament by Sir George in the course of last session ; but, owing to a variety of causes, 1 no special action thereon was taken. Its purpose was, indeed, not then very well . understood; but, during the recess, it ! received more or less considerate n from , the Press, and attracted the attention of not a few of the more thoughtful of the i colonists, while special mention was 1 made of its aim by some members of the Ministry, and notably by Sir Julius Vogel in his Auckland ad- ! dress. All this shows that the principle of the Bill has to some extent commended ' itself to the public, as indicating a way 1 by which the land might be so occupied as ' to louder rural life attractive to the general population. Thi% as most people ; are now beginning to see, is becoming one j of the most important questions that can ( engage the Legislature of any State. Of , this fact no better proof could be had | than the general discussion that, shortly after the introduction of Sir George's Bill, , arose incidentally on an inquiry made by t Mr. Montgomery about the extent of land , available for settlement. The number of i members who spoke, and the favourable ] manner in which they referred to the homestead system, showed that they are * as a rule impressed with the conviction i that the secret of the colony's real y prosperity is to be found in an extensive I a

and increasing occupation of the soil by industrious settlers, under conditions favourable to their success. This circumstance augurs well for a careful and intelligent discussion of the provisions of Sir George Grey's measure, such as could not have been anticipated for it on the occasion of its first introduction to the House. The probabilities now are, not only that its main features will be adopted, but also that it will be regarded as one of the most important Bills dealt with during the session, and an essential factor in the creation of a peasant population, which is, and must always be, the backbone of a nation's power.