NOTES AND COMMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10084, 20 March 1896, Page 4

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

It is a curious fact, which has nob boon satisfactorily accounted for so far as we hate observed, that at the present moment Endland is the host hated nation in Europe The latest) instance of this hostile fealing 15 supplied by the St. Petersburg correspondent of the London Times. He stated that public opinion, as expressed in the Russia" newspapers and in the gossip of officii socibty, is characterised by unfriendliness to England. This unfriendliness, tie »»)'•*

' ttled diste to British 9roa Tv in every part of the for Id, though ,CtlT nrole«3 to admiri Englishmen TCify "™* L distinction indl l ft v 3 put forward by fenoral Skobo- ;; 8 The military men apU to bo the , bitter to their expraUn °> AntiSi, sentiments. mi alll Rowan En i however !l,e,o»(l!lu«bbl. over n .r« unfflimoua in workbon,e,"i'll feoliug against E |land. This has '"L on with only occasional abatement ?U I J ® since the Pamir arranpmenb, in which ia thinks Engird ha&e best o her, iMiiecially since Engla.ll declined to join ifwet / principal popular rnal9 ' llke the Li,* C.i/ette, tho Ncfoß AM " emy!> ' the 0 ~i t the St. Petersburg* Viedomosti, "'no :1 somewhat less the Novosti, ""'hnl thcmo-t uncotufomising hostility " aril." F.nfflrtml in all the questions that h°ve recently agitated Europe. Some of t hf. c newspapers liav< * üblislle(l such . r iv.i-':»nt remarks tlifc it) is difficult to 1• e I hem seriously. Intact on such occa- * he r.u-'Un pre. l ) should be read '. fi . v , interesting curiosity than as a 'j-i . . ,1-mire instjution. for'"

w■. never, the tyvosti joins in the

~'i.irus like the rest of its con--1 f ,„ : ,'ie< although "On somewhat less tern, • i - ,v -" ° ~ •■(■ .locs nub slut) its eyes to the ... power of Eigland is not to bo ).•: , . -ii y bv other lations. It points . ■ ,r '.ions have ofion paid very dear, .... i-upltf, Ru.«ia ft 1854, and France •„ p-,i ;t their illusions concerning the .. l weakness 0! their adversaries, ....< that tin same result might . ~ . «■ in me cfce of Germany if that ', ... ,A. >s■:e 1 sinilar illusions with v j M Great Britain. Tho Novosti . \ \\> ree.'girse the enormous real . c: lire.lt Uriwin, who with her pos- '. f.. • i 1 vers .1 surface of 20,000.000 ...... oiiKtres, and numbers 373 „. ..« uf subjects. It is true that . , -,i ihv dispose in time of war of ~ ...v ot I,OIXI men; but her t'eo ~. 1] p.>ition, on the other hand, . ft:- fewer defenders than aro r „' .i iy the Continental Powers cf [•. - .Moreover, Great Britain has a

■ ... ,i;.j lint of 747 vessels, unrivalled [ v .r" :!-et of any other State. In fact, 1.:,: tin, with her high standard of c .ft':-.x '.he great energy of her people, ,-:i ii:-: :::iir.en«o wealth, commands such

v - - ir.'t-- ft? to render her a most forim. • ' Mi->iiont for the Power which pro-

j. -. . e ,ur into a conflict with her under c .illusion of her real strength."

*■ . , i.l wind, says the old proverb, C v h- nobody good, and it seams

,t the unfriendly feeling which tho G;.Kaiser has succeeded in stirring L-: i !■!• v*nd, will leal to the ousting of

:: .i wares from the English markets,

: _-rc.it advantage of the English x Ji'i'iurers, and as a matter of course,

v !'.">_'li-h workmen. Say? the Home X.-n?" Made in Germany," wnieh has be-:, 'ii-j bugbear of British trades, in the it-- -.»!i or fifteen years, has apparently been .... • le:i!y converted into a boon. For soma th.t past, it is declared, British manufacture: lure been waking up to the necessity of grappling seriously with the question of Otman competition. Germany has insinuate,l herself to such an extent into markets which Britons created, that new enterprise, new vigilance, and adaptability to ne-v conditions were demanded, and, i! report speaks true, the struggle was already beginning to go in our favour when

::.r i.-nnan Emperor sent his telegram to I'rc-: lent Kruger. As by a flash of lightning ;;.e p'.-ition was absolutely changed, and c.- r iers for and sale of poods " Made in c ::;:..:iy' decreased at a pace which has C..J-4 hlai til to German houses in England, -I -j,; "—writes the representative of one Be: ,:m house, whose experience is that of

. v uher*—"in articles which lately c sanded a good trade in England, each it v , i'i conformity with the Merciiandise Hart" Aft, tearing the inscription, ' Made in Germany,' and that fact has been sufficient n spoil the best part of my busing. ' Even though natire traders are prepare 1 to put German goods forward, :r.ey are comparatively unsaleable. Among :r,u benent* v hich German hostility has rmitired upon Great Britain must therefore bi inc.uitsd an excellent opportunity 'or pushing Hii'.iih wares in British marif.?.

Tne Jeci«'in come to by tho British ruerament to despatch a military expedi:io:, t) ilie Soudan for the purpose of reI.analog from anarchy and barbarism some |«>r:io!i at least of that vast and fertile ternary i? one the importance of which it i< i'n[).'iible to exaggerate. The osten?,:i e ri.i«ons put forward in justification of (Hi- g.ave resolve are twofold. loe peace a' i -e-urity nf Lower Egypt are said to be er. labeled by the state of things existing in tin: .Soudan, while the British GovernDen', are desirous, i:i the interests of L'.'yjt. to ,-itlord assistance to Italy in . ! r -err. ion of her East African

:■ ■■ .'■•■ ii. :i scheme. That there are ;,.-r V"! deeper reasons than these we :!j ; . . int. The whole matter is full of grave •i.'Y.fi-nnce, and the stop which the (>'ntrvi.-v have determined to take may r. : at. iV:>- y >.vl to very important and as j'fM L i' :,-i) y foreseen results. The Soudan is an enormous tract of territory. It is as ar;'c- ,i» India. It stretches 1 GOO miles in Jus direction and 1300 in another. It •xte:i is from Egypt on the north to the Nyaiiza Lakes on the south, and from the Ke 1 sea on the east to the western boundary of Darfur on the west. Much of the Lad within this vast area is, of course, worthless, but it is admitted by all competent authorities that if the Soudan were pi perly developed, it is capable of producing inexhaustible supplies of sugar and cotton.

Tue negotiations which have been pas'ing between the President of the Transvaal and Mr. Chamberlain have not 30 far resulted in any settlement of the matter" in dispute between the two coun:w. The Boer Government are apparently Je-irous that the clause in the Conventii'i restricting their right to deal n.t'i foreign Powers except with tho •i'l'nval of England should be abroi'l- I. Mr. Chamberlain, however, refuses to alter the clause. Tho police and military forces of the Chartered Company havo been placed under Imperial control. S:a'in Bey has joined the expedition to the Lilian, lb is suggested that Indian oop? should be employed in the camP 4 The French Government view with ? r:iT e dissatisfaction the forward movement in the Soudan, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, has addressed a Note on tne subject to the British Ambassador at i ari«, in which he calls attention to the gravity of the results likely to ensue from the decision of the British Government I he I'arig correspondent of the London limes characterises the action of tho Minister as imprudent and likely to weaken the influence of France. The Minister, however, subsequently explained that his note was not intended to bear the construction put upon it, and further stated that tho relations between France »nd England were of the most friendly character. The members of the Triplo Alliance, ilint i«, i.erinany, Austria, and I 1"' ) -! -in) atiiecalile that the Egyptian R«erve Fund should be used for the

purpose of defraying the co)b of the expedition 1 to the Soudan. The situation at Kassala is said to be very critical. In the event of anything serious happening to the Italian garrison, the Soudan would be in a blaze, and would very materially affect the position of Egypt. It is therefore the duty, says the Times, of the British authorities to provide against such a contingency. According to tho New York Herald the American Commission on the Venezuelan question considers the British claim to territory untenable, and the British caso generally as weak.