ABYSSINIA'S THREATENED DISRUPTION.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXIX, Issue 10764, 11 May 1911, Page 6

ABYSSINIA'S THREATENED DISRUPTION.

' MENELIK DYLNGf AGAIN.

Mehelik, alleged descendant of Solomon, Emperor of Abyssinia; can live but a- little while. <W-hen he dies his dusky Empress- will face a rebellion amoiig the tribes. Perhaps a condition of anarchv will result, which may call for interference on • the part of some European power. .' Mr F. Marquardt;, '"who has just been in' Abyssinia, says: Meuelik is as good as dead. For many years he has been the victim of an insidious disease, which has plaved havoc with his mental faculties: Menelik at his best was probably never anything more than a somewhat astute aborigine and, unfettered by illhealth domestic millstones about his neck, he might have carried through the task of reclaiming -the country from savageiv. Now it. is too late. "When the Emperor dies the ma-iority.of-the tribes in the kingdom will instinctively rise in revolt against "the Abyssinian section, numbering about one-tenth of the population and ajuw form of Government will be estao"At any moment Menelik 11. may succumb to his malady.. He has been at death's door many times in recent years, and on each occasion one has -cleaned something of the remarkable precaution taken by his Empress to regain one of the dominating powers m -the "land. The Emperor, a tall, haidfaeed, hilt decrepit figure, played his cards well until the Empress crossed--lU"Shehi's one of the wiliest. women I have ever met. Add to her cunning, the whole gamut of unscrupulous devices and you will get-somewhere near-, an approximate estimate of her chaiac- : tor For diabolical subtlety the Emperor cannot compare with her She _-s----neither young nor pretty. 'Before she cast tlie -bewitching spell of her dusk> personality over the Emperor she had been married some nine times, even according to her own reckoning. Mom the moment of this singular combination Menclik's power waned. "The Abyssinian court at one time was located"- at Antoto, but the desire to bask in the sunshine of his Maiestjs smiles led to over-crowding, and the Imperial palace was removed to ArlisAbaba, .which is situated about 1.0,000 feet above sea level. The air is very thin, but for the rest the place is <iuite acceptable. The new capital is about three miles in diameter, and contains three circular stone walls, the intervening section being given up to native houses and so-called streets. The heartof the city, called the' Gibe, is occupied bv the Emperor and his -somewhat mi- : merouslsuite. I lived close to one of; the roval-palaces, and enjoyed the protection of some twenty or more soldiers,; whose most irksome task was to prove; that they could be'trusted: The ca- : pacity for thieving is the Abyssinian, hall-mark: ■' -The Abyssimans-are degenerates of an extreme type. lne.King apparently enjoys the privilege; of being able to dishonor his own obli-gations,-and, the Queen invariably tries: to go one better. Love of gold is one of his weaknesses. I have seen ittlm treasure-house-no fewer Ah/an thirty bags' of goldji each -bag '< sufficiently capacious to hold a couple of lmndreclweigluKof ;coal. Tho gold was probably worth- millions. "• ,- '-' ~' ".' "The'iriorals of the Abyssinians are extremely low, and the influence of the Coptic church is practically negligible. At the age of twelve boys and girls get married. Maybe in the. icourse of aweek or two they get' tired of wedded life and part. At intervals, more or less brief, they, form new alliances right through their lifetime. "When I (resolved to quit the country a.plot .was formed by the-court to have me assassinated, and only the great-firmness of Sir John Harrington, the British consul, prevented it being ca'tied' out: - On.-, the assumption that when Menelik dies there will certainly he a revolution, the ambassadors have ■had their residences constructed us miniature forts, and the Europeans have received specific instructions tnat directly news of Menelik's death reaches them they had better seek the protection of tlie legations."