NOTES AND COMMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 11010, 14 March 1899, Page 4

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

The London correspondent of the Melbourne Argus writes as follows : —" Si* William Macgregor's friends think (mat the Colonial Office have dealt rather hardly with the late Lieutenant-Governor of New Guinea in compelling him to accept the Governorship of Lagos, which, though it carries a salary of £3000 and £500 for table allowance, is a post which necessitates considerable expenditure, besides being exceptionally trying for climatic reasons. From a public point of view, it is recognised that the appointment is an excellent one." The reason this appointment is regarded as an excellent one from a public point of view is not far to seek. It is recognised that the rare administrative ability of the late Lieutenant-Governor of New Guinea may be of great service to the Empire in the future management of Great Britain's African minor possessions. For it is reported that t change is contemplated in the administration of these portions of the Empire. .Sir Charles Dilke, in bis interesting little book, entitled "The British Empire," just published, refers to this matter, " Our

relations," he says, " with the French or« our supposed sphere of influence on tt» White/Nile, which connects itself with our Uganda and British East African Protectorates are inextricably entwined with our relations with the French in the back com. try of Lagos, and the Niger sphere in tie direction of Lake Tchad." "In Uganda, the Foreign Office has had to deal witfc questions of administration with risings, and with the conduct of wars for which it is not organised, and which distract it from its diplomatic work. The Niger Company and the Oil Rivers Protectorate have hitherto been under the Foreign Office, while Lagos, which is mixed up with them in its interests, has been undei the Colonial Of. fice. It is understood that in recent militan- operations the sphere of the Niger Company has l>»Ai virtually removed to Colonial Office control. Negotiations are on foot, though this was denied in the Houss of Commons as late as April, for the nurchase of the territorial and administrative rights of the Niger Company; and when tuc purchase has been carried through no doubt the whole of the district, including the Oil Rivers Protectorate, will be transferrcd to the Colonial Oliice. and possibly even brought undei a single administration with the colony of Lagos."

The Times recently published a rathe} remarkable paper by a Carlist on the chances of Don Carlos in Spain. He declares that a feeling that Carlism is the only solution has spread rapidly through all classes in Spain, especially in the North, and that if the Pretender crossed the frontier he would be joined by two-thirds of the army. The arrival of the repatriados, or soldiers from the colonies, with their; enormous sick-lists and bitter complaints of betrayal, is spreading discontent everywhere, which is increased by the fact that no trouble is taken to house or provide for the men, thousands of whom are visible in the streets of Barcelona in insufficient clothing. An invasion is expected shortly but in .Spain tire expected happens less frequently than elsewhere." We believe this account is substantially true (remarks the Spectator); but the writer should have added that the confidence in Don Carlos personally is very slight, that he has no adviser or adlatus in whom Spaniards trust, and that the generals, who must combine to give him victory, are evidently at sixes and sevens, one strong party desiring a military dictator under the present dynasty, There will be an explosion in the end, but the hesitating indecision just now marked in all the Latin races is strongest of all in Spain. .

M. Jules Roche has been preaching peace in the Figaro by means of doctrines far more likely tc appeal to the French economical soul than any Russian rescripts, Taking the known basis of 8f 80c in the Franco-German war as the cost of each soldier per diem, he shows that the French army has grown from 600,000 then to 2,000,000 in the first line of active combatants, and 1,800,000 in the territorial army. Even these totals are reduced from official figures, and are further taken as no more than 3,000,000 in all, for the sake of easier argument, the German estimate of French military forces being considerably over 4,250,000. Un the basis of 8f 80c, this army would cost nearly 26,500,000f (£1.040.000) a day: or. taking the most favourable possibilities, sav, only 20,000,000f (£800,000). This means that after hostilities have fairly begun a constant drain of £24,000,000 sterling per month would have to be faced by France, In addition to the £70,000.000 or so cost by mobilisation, horses and equipment, before the fighting began at all, twice that amount would be needed to provide for the withdrawal of public money from the savings banks. In other words, a sum equivalent to a fifth part of the gigantic national debt of France would have to be found during the first two or three months of a war— at a time when the borrowing power of the State would not be at its best. The German Emperor would not have so many difficulties to face; for one thing, there is the immense accumulation of goldthe famous " War Treasure"— Spandau; but even he would find immediate expenses so heavy that his determination to be prepared fa one crushing blow is perfectly intelligible, Modern wars must inevitably be short, o the combatants must bleed to death.

Dealing wiui the question of submarine boats the Army and .Navy Gazette states : —" The enthusiasm which has been aroused in France by the successful trials of the new submarine boat, the Uustave Zede, will hardly find an echo on this side of the Channel, where, in regard to their offensive weapons, the people are much more inclined to leave details in the hands of the qualified authorities. It is perhaps, just as well, however, to point out that, as regards these trials, they neither teach us anything new, nor do they in lue slightest degree affect the part which submarine craft may possibly play in naval warfare. That which has now been done in France had previously been done in the United States, in Spain, and even in this country. Some 12 years ago Mr. Nordenfedlt exhibited a boat at Southampton which performed all the feats now performed by the Gustave Zede. tie aid more, because he led the way in demonstrating that if submarine warfare was to become possible it must be by means of a vessel generally navigable above water, but capable of being submerged for it short period. Moreover, and this was a very important part of his scheme, he made it clear that if anything went wrong with his boat it must come to the top of the water, and thus afford an opportunity for the crew to escape, whereas, in all previous boats once they had become submerged they must have gone to the bottom if their machinery failed them. It was the advent of his boat also which gave the keynote to the system of tactics now 80 much vaunted i: connection with the Gus. tave Zede, and the submarine vessels which have been tried elsewhere."

The speech made bv Sir Michael Hick* Beach at Bristol in January contained *o* wards the end a passage of great weight and importance. Referring to Lord Salisbury's words, he urged that we could not appropriate the whole world to ourselves. "It was of no use for us to add to our territories more territory than we could digest. We could not do everything at once, and in his opinion we should be wiser for the moment if we attempted rather to devoJop what we had already acquired, than to add still further to the extent of our Empire. That was the direction in which our energies, to his mind, ought now to be devoted, lhat is, according to the Spectator, at present, the true formula for the wise Imperialist. We have had a hearty meal, and one which will no doubt give us strength and power. But now let us digest it, and so turn it to use, not go on eating feverishly for fear we may be hungry to-morrow. The Queen met with a cordial and respectful welcome at Boulogne. At Toulon Her Majesty expressed sympathy with the authorities regarding the recent disaster, and promised a donation to the relief fund. At Nioe the Queen was greeted with great enthusiasm by the people. The Spectator advocates a conference of European Powers to deal with the partition of China as the only preventative of constant and dangerous conflicts. A French naval expert has expressed the opinion that Britain is now able to resist the combined fleets of France, Russia, and Germany* The new battleship Implacable has be*"'

launched at Devonport. Mr. Cecil Rhodes has had an audience with the Kaiser regarding the Cape to Cairo railway scheme. An Anglo-German syndicate- is considered probahje. The death of Sir Julius Vogel is announced.