THE WEEK.

Observer, Volume 7, Issue 347, 1 August 1885, Page 12

THE WEEK.

The Mahdi is dead. So at least report which is generally credited in England, aud I presume in Egypt, which is more to the purpose, confidently asserts. It is said that the great successor of the prophet died of smallpox, and if true, it is rather an ignoble end of a very extraordinary career. The position of Mahornmedanism is at the present time something worse ,;than precarious. Nothing, it would seem, can save it from rapid decay, both as a political or a religious power, but a reformation which shall re-galvanise the almost dead body of Islamism into something like its original vigour. There are, it is said, some 200,000,000 professing followers of the prophet, and perhaps twenty different soveraign states profess his religion. But at present the whole thing seems to be effete aud decaying. It is said that a devout Mahommedan is a rare phenomenon in any community w r hich is even partially civilized, and so far as States are concerned there is hardly one which is not overshadowed by the superior influence and vitality of Christianity. The Mahdi, foretold by Mahomet himself as the great reformer who should come after him, holds iv the imagination of the devout Mahommedan something of the position which the Messiah held in that of the devout Hebrew. He is to restore the glory of Islam. He is to secure \he victory of the Faithful over the Gaiour, and to restore, amid modem civilisation, all the j)i*e-eminence accorded to the votaries of the prophet as the result of the great Arab conquests of the 7th and Bth centuries. It is not surprising that such a dream should prove attractive to ignorant, yet excitable, tribes like these of Northern Africa. It is no wonder that the reputed Mahdi was eagerly believed in. and enthusiastically followed. His death, if indeed he is dead, will prove a serious blow to the enthusiasm and ought to render the pacification of the Soudan a comparatively easy task. It is scarcely possible £to k e ]p feeling that it is a pity he lived so long. How many valuable lives have been sacrificed in consequence of his pretentions, which appear to have led to nothing but loss to his supporters, as well as to his opponents. That other Mahdis will arise may be taken for granted. It is a trade clearly worth follow-

ing amongst a people like the half-Arab trib.es of Northern Africa ; but it is not likely that any other Mahcli will combine the enthusiasm of the people like the first one. It is said that already a successor has appeared, but it is impossible he can have the x^ositi 011 or influence of the first. Mahomet predicted the arrival of but one Mahcli, and if the first one was but a bogus article, some suspicion must attach to his successors. The Afghan question has made a considerable advance during the "week. The news that the Ameer has agreed to the cantonment of 10,000 British troops at Candahar marks a new stage in the development of the question. Practically, such an agreement restores the scientific frontier advocated by Lord Beaconsfield and abandoned by Mr Gladstone. As it stands, it must not be looked upon chiefly as a means of defending India. For this purpose the Ameer and his people would not, we feel sure, have consented to the occupation of part of Afghanistan by any force, however friendly. Their object is, of course, a more selfish one than this. They are willing that their territory should be occupied by a friendly force, in the hope that it may guarantee them against invasion by an unfriendly force. And in this light, of course, it must be looked at by us. Just at present the defence of India is to be secured in Afghanistan, and the present move appears more likely than any otherto secure, it. With Herat properly fortified and well garrisoned, and with England's troops around Candahar, it will be a daring step, indeed, for Russia to make any attack. She must see that the promise made in the name of the late Government to the Ameer is really about to be carried out by the present Government, and that to assail Afghanistan will now mean war instead of only meaning diplomatic remonstrances. Matters at "Wellington are as mixed as ever. The sensation of the week has been the East and West Coast railroad difficulty. On this subject rumour has been rife, and all kinds of insinuations have been flying about to the discredit of everybody in any way connected with the project. The feeling of the House has been suspicious. As things stand suspicion may be regarded as the prominent characteristic of the majority of the House on every question. For some reason, not easy to comprehend, it is evident that the House is now afraid of the Treasurer. Any proposal he makes is regarded as containing more in the direction of expense then meets the eye ; indeed, a large number of the members are ready at once to condemn anything which he supports, on the ground that although they can't see | how it comes about, yet any proposal of Vogel's must somehow involve borrowing. The East and West Coast Eailway difficulty is not exactly one of borrowing, but in principle it comes very near it. The House j last year agreed to give one and a- half j millions of acres of land on the railway route to the contractors who would make j the line. A particular firm has now offered J to do it for this, with the addition of a guarantee that the line will yield 2-h per cent j for twenty years to the extent of £97,000 a year. The, Government, it is understood, are favorable tc the offer being accepted, but the proposal has met with great opposition in the House. My own impression is that it cannot possibly be carried. Even should the contractors reduce their demand for a guarantee to a much smaller sum, I believe, in the present temper of the House, it will be refused. This will be a great disappointment to Canterbury, Westland, and Nelson settlers, all of whom appear to think that the railroad holds out great prospects for them in the future. They will no doubt feel aggrieved if it is rejected altogether, and in view of this the Government shows wisdom in proposing a committee to consider and report upon the question. This is the only reasonable hope of carrying the scheme in any shape, and it is also the only way in which the Government can vindicate their support of the additional concessions asked for. A discussion in the House at present means nothing but the enunciation of foregone conclusions by the members. The work of a committee may possibly throw light on the question enough to justify action in one or other direction. ______ ____ * /*)* — — — — ~ — — ■ The resolution for the continuance of the San Francisco Mail Service was carried by a more substantial majority than I had ventured to expect. The Wellington merchants worked hard, and most of the members from the Wellington district did their best to veto the resolution and put an end to this service. This was, of course, to be expected ; but the real danger lay in the risk of Canterbury and Westland members trying to make Auckland support their railway project the condition of their vote in favor of the resolution. Had they, as a body, done this, the service must have been lost. It must be admitted that there was some temptation, as a considerable section of the Press of Canterbury shamelessly urged a bargain by which they should sell their votes on the resolution for support on the railway question. In all my experience of the New Zealand Press I never before saw anything quite so bad as this, andat appears to me to indicate more than anything I have yet heard or seen that the depression in that district^ is of a most crushing kind. For-

tunately the resolution has passed, and, although possible, it is not likely that anything will be done to upset it. — — — — _ — . ' Ci* —————— The proposed Bill to extend the operation of the Police Offences Act was thrown out, as was also Sir George Grey's Bill to provide for single voting at. elections. The first Bill is no loss. The disorders intended to be provided against are no doubt real enough at times, but they are of a kind which no legislation, however severe, has ever reached in any part of the world. Vice cannot be put down by Act of Parliament, but the attempt to do so by placing great powers in the hands of a police force is at all times a dangerous one. The objection that the police could not effectually suppress it by the temptation to wink at it from other considerations than those of public duty, must always be a most serious one. I cannot but regret that Sir George Grey's Bill was thrown out. The arguments against it were the same old and worn-out arguments which have done duty so often before. That they are so does not, it may be supposed, vex the opponents of the measure greatly, so long as they succeed. On this occasion they only did so by the Speaker's casting vote, which was no doubt constitutionally given against a change in the existing law, and the Bill was shelved for another year. Its promoter may have the comfort of knowing, however, that it must succeed — probably next year — certainly after one or two more attempts.