IN DAYS THAT HAVE GONE.

Otago Witness, Issue 3101, 20 August 1913, Page 74

IN DAYS THAT HAVE GONE.

THE WEEK’S ANNIVERSARIES. August 17—Admiral Blake died, 1557. Frederick the Great died, 17£6. Battle of Roiioa, 1808. Trial of Queen Caroline begun, 1.820. Professor Drummond born, 1851. North Sea Fisheries Act passed,

tsgs. August 18—Edmund Dudley executed, 1510. Lord- John Russell born, 1792. Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria born, 1830. Houore Balzac died, 1850. Formation of Otago Agricultural Society, 1860. Battle of Gravelotte, 1870. Royal yacht Alberta collided with yacht Mistletoe, 1875. Mulai Hafid proclaimed Sultan of Morocco, 1908. August 19 —Beranger born, 1780. Lady Sherbrooke wrecked near Cape Ray, 1831., Hartley and Riley reveal the source of their gold discoveries, 1862. Bombardment of Strasburg,

1870. Foundation of new’ Eddystonc Lighthouse, 1879. August 20—Julius Cfcsar invaded Britain, b. 0., 55. Cardinal dc Granvella born, 1517. Lord Herbert of Chorburg died, 1648. —* First town board for Dunedin v elected, 1855. Wreck of Dunbar off Sydney Heads, 1857. Burke and Wills’s party loft Melbourne. 1860. Prince of Wales and Lord Roberts invested with Order

of St. Patrick at Dublin, 1897. August 21 —King William IV born, 1765. Captain Cook took possession cast coast of Australia, 1770. Battle of Vimiera, 1808. Taku forts captured by British and French, 1860. First gold escort reached Dunedin, 1861. Ex-Queen Christina of Spain died, 1878. Prince Alexander of Bulgaria abducted, 1886. Battle of 'Aconcagua, 1891. August 22 —Battle of the Standard, 1138. Battle of Bosworth Field, 1485. West India Docks opened, 1802. Venice capitulated, 1849. Independence of Servia proclaimed, 1878. Irish Land Bid passed, 1881. Marquis of Salisbury died, 1903. August 23—Wallace executed, 1305. Duke of Buckingham assassinated, 1628. Sir William Herschel died, 1822. Treaty of peace between Austria and Russia, 1863. Behring Sea dispute award issued, 1893. The battle of Rolica is notable as the first action fought by the British in the Peninsular war. On August 5, 1808, Sir Arthur Wellesley landed his troops at Mondogo Bay, and with 13,000 men began his march towards Lisbon. Upon receiving intelligence of Sir Arthur’s landing. Marshal Junot sent Labordc, one of the ablest of the French generals, with 3000 foot and 500 horse to check the progress of the British; and, calling in his various detachments, ho ordered them severally to effect their junction with Laborde. In these circumstances the English commander’s object was to prevent the junction of the several detachments —an object which the skill and celerity of his movements enabled him, in the most important instances, to effect. Wellesley was thus enabled to attack Laborde at Rolica on August 17 with groat numerical superiority. He drove him from his position with comparative case; but Labordc fell back a mile to much stronger ground, whore he again awaited the English, and hero the battle was sanguinary. Laborde, after displaying both skill and intrepidity, abandoned the contest, retreating in good order. . Three days later Wellesley was at Vimiera, having been joined n the meantime by Anstruthers and Acland s corps. Francis Joseph I, Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, and Apostolic King of Hungary, was the eldest eon of the reigning Emperor Francis I, being born on August 18, 1830. He was proclaimed Emperor in 1848, and during the first years of his reign was completely in the hands of Prince Schwarzcnberg. Generally, it may bo said, however, that throughout his long reign Francis Joseph has been the real ruler of his dominions. His great knowledge of affairs, his unremitting diligence and dearness of apprehension have enabled him to keep a very real control even of the details of Government. llis reputation as a consistent moderating influence in European policy, and ono of the chief guarantors of European x> pacc > was rudely shaken in October, 1908. the year in which he celebrated his 60 years’ jubilee as Emperor, by the issue of the Imperial rescript annexing Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Habsburg dominions, in violation of the terms of the Treaty of Berlin. But his opportunism was justified by the result. Europe lost an ideal; but Austria gained two provinces. In his private life the Emperor has been the victim of terrible catastrophes —his wife, his brother, and his only son having been destroyed by sudden and violent deaths. Alexander of Battenborg. first Prince of Bulgaria was a nephew of Tsar Alexander 11. When Bulgaria, under the Berlin Treaty, was constituted an autonomous principality, under the suzerainty of Turkey, the Tsar recommended his nephew to the Bulgarians as a candidate for the newly-created throne, and Prince Alexander was elected Prince of Bulgaria by a unanimous vote of the Grand Sobrange in April, 1879. At the conclusion of the campaign, which he successfully conducted against Servia in 1886, certain of his officers formed a military conspiracy against him; and on the night of August 20*thc Prince was seized in his Palace at Sofia and compelled to sign his abduction. He was then hurried to the Danube, transported on his yacht to Rcni, and handed over to the Russian authorities, by whom ho was allowed to proceed to Lemberg. He returned later to Bulgaria, but his position becoming untenable, ho 1 resigned the throne, and left the country

on September 8. The remainder of his life, which ended in October, 1893, was spent in private. The Chilian civil war grew out of political dissentions between the President of Chili (-T. M. Balmaceda) and his Congress, and began in January, 1891. In August the Congressional forces undertook an expedition by sea and occupied Quinteros, north of Valparaiso, and not many miles out of range of its batteries. On the 20th Balmaceda was surprised, but acted promptly. The first battle was fought on the Aconcagua, at Concon, on the 21st. The eager infantry of the Congressional army forced the passage of the river, and stormed tre heights held by the Gobernistas, capturing 36 guns. The killed a.nd wounded of the Ba'macedista numbered 1600, and nearly all the prisoners, about 1500 men, enrolled themselves in the rebel army, which thus more than made good its loss of 1000 killed and wounded. The victors pressed onwards towards Valparaiso, and a week later the decisive battle of La Placilla gave them possession of the capital, and practically ended the war. In April, 1881, the British Government of the day introduced a Land Bill intended to redress the most conspicuous Irish grievance by establishing an authoritative tribunal for the determination of rents, and by aiding and facilitating the purchase of small 'holdings by the peasants The Land Bill became law in August, but it failed to satisfy the demands of the Land League or to produce a more orderly state of feelinn- in Ireland. Severe measures wore then decided upon by the Government. What was known as the Coercion Act was put into operation, and as a result ]Mr Parnell. Mr Sexton, Mr Dillon, Mr O’Kelly, and other prominent leaders of the agitation, were arrested.