THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1891.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8668, 10 September 1891, Page 4

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1891.

Having now grave domestic difficulties, the Russian Government find it neces Gary to please their public by strong and attractive foreign action and they have piled the pressure at Constantinople with so much effect, that it has taken a flood of telegrams to inform us of the results. We are told the Sultan has conceded all the Muscovite demands about the passage of the Dardanelles; and that notwithstanding his explanations on the subject, most of the other Great Powers have already protested' against that concession of peculiar privileges. We are also told that the Subime Porte has undergone a complete change of Ministry as well as of policy, the new statesmen being favourable to the Muscovite interest and there is the further news that the Sultan has entered into a secret treaty to make Austria evacuate Bosnia, and to get England to withraw from Egypt. It 1 is added that he is much impressed by the close understanding now arrived at between France and the Czar, which last intelligence, however, may be doubted, as he knows that on a former occasion, that of 1854, Russia had only two of the other Great Powers against her, whereas in a struggle now she would probably have four. Of the next war between Great Powers the one tiling, and perhaps, the only one, of which we can be certain, is that it will be a peculiarly hideous affair. Among the many new inventions, some still kept secret, that of smokeless powder is we hear being generally adopted. It is described as quite noiseless as well as smokeless, and as giving such penetrating power, that during a late riot in a Continental town, a ball thus propelled from a soldier's rifle went through the bodies of three men, and then struck deep into the, wooden front of a house behind. And this is but one of the new sweeping means of destruction.

The menace of the Russian to Constantinople is more than a thing of to-day or yesterday. Eight hundred years ago his hordes boated down the great rivers to the Euxine, and marched upon that wonderful city at the conjunction of seas and of continents. But it was not the dream of Empire that yet possessed the rude soul of the Muscovite. Like the tree in his forests, he was merely struggling into the sun. He failed that time, however, and had to go back to his frozen winters and gloomy pine woods. The day was nob yet at hand when he could reign over lands of the olive and the vine.

It was the Turk who was destined to wrest Constantinople from the enervated grasp of the Byzantine Emperors, and after entering Europe he soon be came the terror of Christendom. His dominion spread beyond the Danube, and his armies were seen even at the gates of Vienna. But he had not the faculty to organise and consolidate, what he acquired, and so the moment he ceased to conquer his decline began. Not until Czar Peter made Russia a new Power in Europe did she become the rival and constant antagonist of the Ottoman, whose strength was then already degenerating. His Black Sea provinces were gradually lopped off, and over Constantinople itself the Muscovite standard would long since have been planted if it were not for the intervention of the other Great Powers. This has been repeatedly witnessed in the present century—as, in 1828, when the generals of Czar Nicholas forced the passes of the Balkan and captured Adrianople, and their light horse even swarmed on the plains fronting the metropolis, when a further advance was barred by the other Governments interfering. Again, in 1854, this now hereditary policy of the Czars had to be checked on the Danube and in the Crimea by the Western Powers. Still later, a Russian army, after hard fighting, was once more across the Balkan, and was close on Constantinople when the Sultan and the headquarters of his Empire were saved by what was almost a European combination.

The Turkish Empire has long been falling to pieces, and the Sultan's throne now only stands by outside help. And that help is sometimes required against internal as well as external foes. "Fifty years ago European Governments had to forcibly prevent Mehemet Ali, a rebellious vassal, wresting the sceptre from the descendants of Othnian. The Sultan cannot to-day maintain order, because the local Pashas and Beys may choose to wink at the atrocities of the Koords in ravaging Armenia, or of brigands in Albania or Macedonia, who carry off travellers to exact a ransom. What sort of order would the Turkish officials maintain in Egypt, if England were now to consent to withdraw from what, the Suez Canal has made indispensable to her enormous commerce and Indian dominion? Her interests there would then be at the mercy of fanatic Dervishes and the intrigues of any rival Power. It used to be -metaphorically said that the Turkish Empire rested on four pedestals, in allusion to the four great mountain ranges—the Balkan, the Taurus, the Caucasus, and the Atlas. Three of the four props are gone, for France holds the Atlas, Russia tho Caucasus, and the Balkan is enclosed by the tributary but practically independent Bulgarian State. What will be the fate of Constantinople? Will Russia seize it, or will it start war again—-war which might now have European dimensions ?

Our cable messages this morning do not disclose any new phase of the European situation. The claim set up by Russia to an exclusive right to the passage of the Dardanelles is denied by Lord Salisbury, and is now qualified by Russia as applying to volunteer fleets and merchantmen only. The diplomatic victory which the St. Petersburg press claimed had been obtained had evidently reference to the passage of Russian war vessels through the Dardanelles. Had this concession been obtained by Russia from the Porte it would beyond question have been an infraction of the Treaty of Paris, which, however, is now littlo more than a dead letter. The Powers which formerly were so earnest in their determination to maintain the integrity of the Turkish Empire have for . a long time past shown themselves unwilling to fulfil their obligations, and in these circumstances ib is hardly to be wondered at that the Porte should . have sought new alliances . an- i tagonistic to its old allies. The Paris polico J

dences of interested in the Ul ' reaiof the Panama Canal obtain documentary evidence W *i prosecution of M. de Lessem and hi, 11,0 which has been instituted. It j K in £ • otl suracd that the authorities L° n ' b °"V grounds for the course which th« g °° <l taking, but at the same time it is ineyr^ 9 sibly sad that . the closing vea ' ?'T" most distinguished engineer which the has produced, and whose >erviL h" been of so much benefit to the ! merce of the world should be 1 , m ; by a criminal prosecution fan ? s J'JV*. tl,e \ failure of his i-!!r ,lk : laudable efforts to accomplish the or, a 'i ton of (ho Panama Canal Jt£,.fc e J * democracy, however, have no bou'.i 1(1 compassion, and it is by no in*... • of bible that M. do Le*2J SZT^ 0 ' virtuous life will be ended prison The Herald monthly summary will hft published to-morrow, and will be of un 'L , , interest to Home reader™ A- ""usual unable to personally mail the sum.n'arV * r# shall be happy to do so for £To V? receipt of 3d and address. e We print in the present issue a renm* n the speeches at the banquet to Air R r last Saturday evening. They are of JI: interest, especially the clear ■■ „ t .uemcm made by Mr. Bryce of the circumMance attending his censure by the House, and the rem» ,of Mr. Scobie Mackenzie on £ conduct ot .ho Speaker..

The English mails by the direct stealer Ruapehu, which bear London date- t July 25, are expected to come forward her* by the s.s. Taknpuna, which is due at 0,,/ hunga on Saturday. e " It is probable that the incoming mail steamer from San Francisco, the R jj, Alameda, Captain H. (i. Morse, will -,rri"v" to-night, though she is not due till J morrow, having left on August 2l- ,i,' late. She will bring London corresoun dence up to August S. * Amongst the passengers by the *. ' Richmond, from Tahiti last night, were the officers of the French war vox-el Vol™* lost in July last in the Paumotu Grouu' They are en route for France, via Sydney Mr. Jorss, the German and Swedish Consul at Tahiti, also came down by the Rich mond for a trip to the Lake district here or his health.

We would again remind the burn-esses of the municipal elections which takeplace to-day in City North Ward and City South The candidates for City North are the V retiring councillor, . Mr. W. H. Smith (of \ the firm of Smith and Caughey), who has ' proved an excellent city representative, and Mr. Luks, licensee of the Victoria Hotel Victoria-street. In the South Ward the candidates are the retiring Councillor, Mr. R. Farrell, who has a useful record as «i councillor, and Mr. -Pricker, of Pietonstreet, Ponsonby. The addresses of Messrs W. H. Smith, R. Farrell, and Lnl;* have been ; already ".published. Mr. Fricker's address will be found in our advertisina columns. He states that although for several years a resident in City South Ward he may not be well known to'the majority of the electors, and thcietoro begs to state that " for some years lie occupied a prominent position in public affairs at the Thames." The polling (which is from nine a.m. to six p.m.) for City North takes place at the \ .M.C.A. Rooms, and for City South at the Catholic Institute, Welling-ton-street. 0

" Coming l events cast their shadows before." In the early part of the week we recorded that some of the younger members of the Federated Bootmakers' Union on strike, seeing no prospect of a settlement of the trade dispute and the resumption of work, were going to the gumfields. It seems that some of tho strikers are not anxious to go to the gumfields if work can be got in town, and consequently are apply ing to tho factories connected with tin Boot Manufacturers' Association for work. Mr. Hodgson, manager of the Northern Boot Company, has during this week had a number of personal applications for work, and seven of the old hands have been engaged on the Association's new statement, which has been in use for several months past. Owing to the prominent part Mr. Hodgson has taken in the strike as secretary 10 the Manufacturers' Association he has been threatened with the application of the boycott by some of the strikers, and it says much for the tact and judgment which he has displayed throughout, that these applications for employment should have been made to him. In this connection it may be stated that Mr. Hodgson has during the past few weeks had curried out considerable alterations to the Northern Boot Company's stock and work-rooms in anticipation of an increasing trade in boots, leather, and grindery, and two travellers have started on their northern and southern tours respectively with more varied samples than hitherto, and orders are being executed with special despatch even tc " the far South."

The Crown prosecutions in the Criminal Court are now drawing to a close, there being only one other indictment on the calendar before the charges of libel come up for hearing 1 . At the sittings, yesterday, George Waters, who was convicted on the second count of an indictment for receiving a cheque knowing it to be stolen, was sentenced to IS months'imprisonment. He had previously undergone two sentences for larceny. William Middleton was charged with' arson by setting fire to a quantity of tow at a flaxinill in Pinko, with intent, to set lire to the buii-ltnjf. The evidence not being very conclusive, the jury gave the prisoner the benefit of the doubt, and acquitted him. In discharging him, the learned judge gave him some wholesome advice as to his future conduct. Two Waikato natives, lvaraka and Nerai, wers indicted for horse-stealing, but after hearing the evidence for the prosecution, it was left to the jury to say whether they considered there was a sufficient case to call on the accused to answer. They agreed that there was not, and tho prisoners were discharged. The Court was adjourned at six o'clock until ten o'clock this morning, when the charge of larceny from the person preferred against Wilcox and Donovan will betaken.

Tho Engineers and Royal Irish Rifle' assembled for inspection and drill at the Drill-shed last night, and had very fair musters under the circumstances. Major Anderson was in command of tho Engl* neers, and had 34 men on parade, and the Royal Irish were under the command of Captain Tobin and Lieutenant Caul'on with a muster of 38 in the ranks. In the absence of Major Goring the inspection was made by the company officers, after which tho parade was handed over to Ser-geant-Major Scully, who, besides giving instructive lecture, elucidated his instruction by putting the parade through an admirable course of drill.

The City Council are losing no time in carrying out the resolution arrived at for extending the Art Gallery. The Town Clerk, by advertisement elsewhere, invites architects to send in competitive designs for the extension until the Ist proximo. J. is stated that the competitor win bo entrusted with the erection of the build* ing. The conditions and particulars ate obtainable from the City Engineer at Corporation Offices. The public (or truant) school, Clmpelstreet, is now completed, and the coiitrac tor, Mr. J. J. Holland, is ready to hand 10 over to the Board of Education. It vi prove a great improvement on the P rose " premises in point of conveniences for carry ing out educational training. Considerable interest is felt in the meeting of the Anti-Poverty Society this evening from. the fact that both the lcct (Mr. > Ewington) and the chairman (ur. Laishley) are strongly opposed » tno society's platform. The land question unmistakeably the question of the day, a nothing but good can result from its _ and free discussion. . Audi alteram p> , is a wise and prudent maxim. Some ' ri ® have volunteered to enliven the procee » with a little music, and a most interes „ evening is expected. It is notified in district orders that »u. persons having possession of arms; °' ? iune »' trements, on issue to the late 0 Rifle Volunteers, are required to rctu them to Mr. J. E. Leahy, of Onehung under pain of prosecution by the J-«- . authorities. . The lecture by Mr. R. J. Cox, J- •> „ East Clare, on "Irish Eviction Seen V in St. James's Hall to-morrow evening, «■ no doubt be well attended, Mr. • thoroughly conversant with his j which he intends illustrating «!.. light views.. Mr. Cox has the fi a uen ft dence of his party, and is said to be a flu and foroiblo speaker.

Id yesterday's issue, in the Parliamentary rre L,ndenco, it, Was stated that Mr. £ khincl had asked the Minister of Mines {on K. Seddon) respecting the protection "be'irrnnted to certain Tokatea mines at roromandol. The Minister replied that xtr Witheford, who applied for protection, tfitod ho would find £15,000 within six months, nd float a company to carry on f i ul work in the mines. That gentleman ' informed that ho must deposit a security of £100 with tho Warden, that amount la bo forfeited if the £15,000 were not found- The payment of the deposit of 100 rvjuirod by the Mines Department before , r! {ntinK six months' protection to the ji'okalea group of mines was drawn out bv cheque by Mr. Witheford in the following terms and handed to tho Warden " Coroinandel, 25th August, 1891. Bank of Now Zealand: Pay Her Most Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria, vmuress of India, etc., or bearer, one hundred pounds (£IOO).—J. 11. Withkfokd." The receipt of tho cheque by the Warden elicited the following receipt" Warden's Office. Coroinandel, August 25, 1891. Received from Mr. J. H. Witheford, the sura 0 f Quo hundred pounds as instructed by tho Under-Secretary for Mines in his letter. Mines, !Htoo —557 of 11th August, IS9I. |_jf, W. ohthcropt, Warden." Mr. Witheford contemplated making thechequo oaynble only to Her Majesty "or order," tut. it was pointed out by tho Warden that if tho cheque was so drawn out it w011 !ii necessitate tho presentation of tho cheque to Her Majesty tho Queen for endorsement, who would naturally feel nuzzled at receiving such a document from one of her loyal subjects in Maoriland. Though tho amount is to bo forfeited to Queen Victoria if tho company is nob formed, it was thought undesirable to allow this sum to go direct into the hands of Her .Most Gracious Majesty, who might not understand under what Act of the Realm such tine was inflicted on anyone enterprising enough to attempt the introduction of foreign capital into New Zealand. At tho Wellington Supremo Court yesterday the case of Hanson, charged with set[tins; tire to tho Island Bay Hotel, the defence of insanity was set up. After three Ways' trial the prisoner was convicted, and yeraanded for sentence.

Owing -to tho fresh breeze yesterday, ib Lis necessary to bring out the water-carts n to some of the loading thoroughfares to ;) y the dust which was being driven in ilouds over the wares which tradesmen had fexposed for sale. f On Tuesday last Mr. E. Laxon, farmer, (of East Tamaki, had a narrow escape of being seriously if nob dangerously inliurecT. He was working with the steam chafT-cutter when he was caught by the straps and dragged into the machinery, when lie was rescued by one of his men. Further than tho shock to the system, and some lacerations and bruises, he sustained no serious injury. Dr. Bewes attended to the injured man as speedily as possible.

On Tuesday night there was a glare of fire for seme "time in the direction of the Manukrtu, It proved to be the burning of a huge heap of refuse near Ihumatao, adjacent to tho Mangcre district. Last evening there was a similar glare on the horizon in the direction of Swanson, on lie Kaipara Railway, or at the foot of the Waitakerei ranges. It lasted for a considerable time.

On Tuesday evening a concert was givon to the inmates of the Costley Home by several kind friends. Mr. Cox, dentist, sang several songs, and Mr. Cox, jun., played several violin selections. Misses Maxwell and Cox, and Mrs. Moss, manageress of the Home, contributed vocal items.

The concert of the Auckland Orchestral Union in the Choral Hall to-night promises to fully maintain the reputation of this society. The orchestral pieces comprise numerous sterling, yet popular selections, whilst several deservedly favourite vocalists, including - the talented young Norwegian soprano, -Miss Nielsen, will take part.

It was announced that the sacred cantata, "Christian Graces," would bo given in the Alexandra - street Primitive Methodist Church Inst evening, buv the event was postponed.

A harmony meeting of the Star of Auckland Lodge, 1.0.0.i., A.C., will be held this evening. An emergency meeting of Lodge Ara will ie held i\i the Freemasons' Hull, Princesitreet, this evening.

The evangelistic service will not be held this evening at the Y.M.C.A. on account of Professor Thomas's lecture.

Entries will he received for the Newmarket Camellia Show, as notified in adver;isenient elsewhere, up till five o'clock this (veiling.

The third concert of the season of the 3neiiun«a Musical Society will take place in :he Good Templar Hail, this evening, when Beethoven's" p]ngedi," and Barnby's "Rebekah" will be performed. Professor Thomas lectures in the Y.M.C.A. this evening on " Why Flowers are Beautiful," The attractiveness of tho subject and the ability of the lecturer should ensure a large audience and an instructive evening. The lecture commences at a quarter to eight. The annual meeting of the West End Rowin;' Club will be held on Saturday evening next in the, club-room, Suffolk Hotel. Numerous indications of an active season are being manifested by our local oarsmen, who ..re now waking up after their winter rest.