Untitled

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10020, 6 January 1896, Page 4

The United Statea are rapidly coming to tho front and running Great Britain hard for first place as coal producers, as their output in 1894 was 105,000,000 tons, this total being GO por cent, greater than ten years previously. In fact the Americans have now passed the point of supplying their own vast population, and are rapidly increasing their exports. The Australasian colonies have, become important factors in supplying coal to the southern and eastern portions of tho world. Now South Wales, Queensland, and New Zealand now produce between them somo fivo million tons annually. The most astonishing additions to the world's supply are, however, those of India and Japan. Assam coal is ranked almost as high as the best Cardiff, and Bengal coal only a little inferior. All the steamers in the Indian tradeand their name is legion— burn Indian coal for coastal and homeward runs, and tho intermediate coaling stations on the Eastern trunk lines of ocean traffic are now stocked from India, Australia, and Japan. It is known also that China is very rich in coalfields yet awaiting development. The mines of Japan are now turning out about four million tons por annum, and it cannot be doubted that the industrial development of this remarkable people will witness a very rapid expansion of coal production. The mines of South Africa are also being very actively developed in Cape Colony, Natal, and the Transvaal. The annual coal production of the world is now estimated at 518,000,000 tons, so that Europe (330,000,000 tons) only supplies three-fifths. [Of tho total Great Britain contributes beyond her own borders only 30 million.,tons to foreigners, that being the amount of her exports.

A very important Wesleyan deputation waitod on Lord Salisbury a few days ago to impress upon him tha wrongs which Wesloyan children suffer in the denominational schools of tho Church of Englaud, where thoy must) either renounce all religious teaching, or accept that of Anglican teachers, who sometimes insist) on teaching as Anglicanism what is really sectarian sacerdotalism, embodied in very narrow doctrine, and noc embodied in the Church Catechism. Tho substantial difficulty is that, as Lord Salisbury said, the Wesleyans are nob contented that) Church-schools should really bo church schools in the same sense in which Wesleyan schools are really Wosleyan schools; thoy want a truncated Anglicanism, or, as Lord Salisbury called it, a torso of the Anglican creed, to be substituted for the complete form, because it might suit Wesloyan children and perhaps Congregational children a little better; and yet thoy do nob choose to avail themselves of the conscience clause, and keep their children away from the religious teaching altogether.

The extraordinary hatred of the Jews, which is developing into a passion both in Germany and Austria, was fully expressed lately in «wo speeches in the Austrian Reichsrath. In one of them Dr. Luegor, who, ib must bo remembered, was elected Lord Mayor of Vienna by a two-thirds majority, declared that the property of the Jews did nob rightfully belong to them, bub had been stolen from the people, and should be ..by the State, and then re distributed. If the present system continued all the wealtlr'of Europe would soon belong to the Rothschilds, while not only the great landlords,' bubtio very peasants, were injewishhands. Herr Schneider, in the same debate, went further, declaring that the Jews were a curse to'the land which they "unjustifiably" and demanding in so many words their expulsion from Austro-Hungary—a demand ' in : which he is supported, ib is said; by rapidlyincreasing associations all over the Empire, lb is very doubtful whether, if the Russians, Germans, Hungarians, and Austrian were appealed to by plebiscite, they would tolerate the Jews, or whether, when they -V-;'v.' •

-*-■ expelled them, the would Buffer them to remove or sell theii Property. There is a growingfeeling of t s kind in France also, and eve* in Londo the agltatioryagainab " pauper aliens" is chiefly aupp/rted by hatred of,the Jews. Whatever tone merits of demociacy, its cr fd is not a religion of love. * \ I \ / A correspondent ofVhe D% News, in A corresjondent of-the DAly News, in whom thab\ journal Vidatly confides, draws an ali'rming picture / the condition of Syria. ' Tie Druses arf said to be in revolt, and tht Sultan basPHed out a kind of levee en mass) to put tip down. Some sixty thousand Mussulm»s are, therefore, in arms, in Syrii, with fr officers and no discipline—they cannotfven march—and tho Christians dread thy 1 grand massacre is intended. Tlioy imaf>e that the Sultan intends to proclaim I Holy War, and ask why all the new Igiments carry the green flag, instead pf the usual red flag, which marks rurkish domination. Jerusalem is crowdep'ith rough soldiers, as is also Beyrout.f'here credit is buspended, and the with population waits in four, It is quite pofble that the Reserves, who only get half tin pay, and aro under strong religious a clement, may break loose, in which case Hopshed on a great scale would be near!' ertain. A " restoration of order" in Jeualem, after the Turkish fashion, wouldttate Russian and French resentment be-nulling else would, and would bring te vholo Jewish population of the Empirento line with the Armenian. The latest jessages in reference to the Transvaal afft show that the fighting has been much use sovere than the first news led us to ex let. Seventy men are ascertained to hai been killed, and additional bodies are sti-being found. It is said that 600 prisoners fave been taken. What will be done witjthe prisoners is not) stated, but as theyjwere fighting without recognised nabnal authority, they are all liable to be bob as filibusters. It is to be hoped tht President Kruger will not proceed to lis extreme. Germany has acted an unenerous part. The Emperor hastened tocngratulate President Kruger on the ene|etic action taken to secure the indepedenco of the Transvaal, while tho Berli newspapers ridicule Mr. Chamberlai's " assumed ignorance," and urge ;tho Boers to wreak vengeance on the captives. The French nowspapei are almost as bad. In all probability this unfortunate affair will lead to the cancellation of the charter of the British SUth African Company. The London Tues has not a high opinion of tho United Sites Commission appointed to consider tfe Venezuelan boundary dispute. It does think the decision of the Commission wll exert much influence outside the UnitecStatos. In New York commercial circlet President Cleveland's action is strongly ensured.