SAN FRANCISCO MAIL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 4773, 13 October 1893, Page 1

SAN FRANCISCO MAIL.

(Pei b.B. Alameada, ab Auckland.) [Pcs Pbess Association.! The tvrenty-aixth. anaual congress o£ the Tradeß of Great Britain and Ireland was opened at Belfast on Sept. 4. Fotr. hundred delegates were present, estimated to represent 1,250,000 working men, Sept. 5, Mr Samuel Mootrey, the new President, Baid Trades Unionism wa^ destined to be an honoured instrument in freeing Ireland from the terrible incubus of teligious bigotry and "political intolerance. He denounced Btrikeß a 3 criminal folly in all cases where the resources of "civilisation have not been exhausted in efforts to avoid the use of such extreme (measures. The Pall Mall Gazette gives much space to an article in regard to the recent •attempt to secure the release from prison of Dr Gallagher, the convicted dynamiter. It speaks sneeringly of the efforts made by President Harrison and President Cleveland to secure Gallagher's release, and says the object wsb to curry favour with the Irish voters. English naval men ore -beginning to doubt the usefulness in warfare of ironclad rams. When the Campsrdown ran down the Victoria, the former's ram was bo seriously damaged thatthe ship's safety was endangered. A cruiser's ram recently sunk a merchant vessel near the lale of Wight, and the damage to the warship's ram was "very serioua, though the collision was slight. In the recent -French naval manoeuvres the big battleship Formidable ran down an Engliflh cargo beat:, and her ram was badly twisted. Theße fewta have given navil constructors a panic. The Ris;ht Hon Henry Chapiin, in a. letter to the London Times defending hia attitude upon the Indian currency question, declares that when England sanctioned the closing of the mints in India she inflicted gross injury upon the native population. Mr Chaplin holds [that the English Government is mainly responsible for the failure of the Brussels Monetary Conference, and for wilfully throwing away an opportunity to settle the silver question. The estimates for new vessels aa announced in the House of Commons on Sept. 7 were— England £3,988,000 sterling, France £2,298,000, Eus3ia .£1,692,000, Germany £9,471,000, Italy £1,000,000. The gathering of the harveat in England •was practically finished on Sept. 4. With scarcely an exception it is the worst known. As a result; of the defeat of the Home Bule Bill in the House of Lords the London Radical papers all unite in calling for the abolition of the Upper legislative body. . The London Daily Telegraph, on Sept. 6, commenting upon the approaching visit of a Eußsian squadron to Toulon, expresses some alarm at this renewed rapprochement between Fiance and Russia, and declares that it is necessary for Great Britain to zeview her position, and possibly to revise her policy. A bronze statue of Abraham Lincoln, erected as a memorial to Scottish-American soldiers 08 the American Civil War, was unveiled in Edinburgh, in the cemetery set apart for the burial of ScottishAmerican soldiers. The municipal authorities, many distinguished guests and a detachment of the Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders (the Louise's regiment) were present. . . : When Daisy Montague, a ballet girl at the London Empire Theatre, left there on the morning of Sept. 21 she was joined by a man. When -near King's Gross the pair were Btopped by a second man. What passed between the three is not known, but they talked in loud and angry tones, and attracted the attention of passers-by. • Suddenly one of them shot the woman, killing 'her instantly, shot the other "man dead and then turned the weapon on himself. When the police arrived they found three dead bodies. After serious consideration and consultation between coal owners and experts, Sir George Elliott, the originator of the scheme, published in London on Sept. 21 the proposal that the coal lessees of the United Kingdom shall form an immense co-operative union, charged with, the entire working of the coal deposits. He proposes that after 5 per cent has been paid on debenture shares and 10 per cent on ordinary stock, the ntxb 5 per cent shall be divided among the shareholders. All profits beyond this will be divided among the lessees and the workmen. The Lord Chief Justice will be entrusted with fixing the price of coal. The scheme is based on an estimated annual output of 145,000,000 tons, and the capitalised interest of the lesßeea at £100,000,000.

THE HOME RULE ;BILL.

The House of Commons met on August 30 to consider the Home Rule BilJ. There was an exceptionally large attendance, and Meßsrs Gladstone and Morley- were enthusiastically cheered as they entered. After a number of amendments had been disposed of without debate, Mr Gladstone, amid a storm of cheers, rose to move the third reading of the Bill. He began hiß speech with references to the criticisms made by Unionist leaders on the historical precedents that lie had cited oa a former occasion. He contended that in no other country eonld analogies be found for changing the union between Great Britain and Ireland. In Austria, iHungary, Norway aad Sweden, in the United States, and in the British Colonies were to be found abundant proofs that it was altogether desirable to separate local from Imperial affairs. Throughout European and American literature it was not possible to find a writer entitled to consideration wuo toad approved of tfae conduct of England towards Ireland, or attempted to apologise for the- grievous, shameful history which since the Union they had felt compelled to deplore. Mr (Gladstone, continuing, said he had regarded >tae closure as an evil that ought to he tolerated only for the avoidance of a sraeh greater evil. Those opposed totthe Bill had adopted a course never before adopted, partly to attempt deliberately to destroy the measure by a mass of amendments, and partly to try to take back in morsels the boon granted on principle. It waa not the complexity of the Bill, feutthe complexity of the amendments which consumed the time. It was contended that the ' Bill would separate th^-lalands, destroy the Constitution, break up the Empire and make (Irishmen supreme in British affairs. Suppote the falsehoods to ba true, had they not then a terrible hold upon ourselves? Must we not admit that of our seven hundred years of British conneotion with Ireland the result of 'our treatment 'Was that we had brought her to such a .-atate that she could not, withont. danger of ruin, undertake responsibilities which in every otfter country were found to be within the capacity of the people and fraught with the richest benefits? (Prolonged Nationalise cheers.) "We deny," he said, " that incapacity has been laid by the Almighty upon any particular branch of our race." Mr Gladstone closed his address as follows.:— "We have faith in national liberty, faith in its efficacy as fin instalment of national education. We believe that experience well spread over the whole vast field encourages us to ©*r work at every point. Finally, we feel that the passing of this great measure after more than eighty days debate, does, will and muat constitute the greatest among all the steps hitherto taken towards the attainment of a certain and early triumph." Prolonged cheers followed from the Irish and Ministerial benches, and Mr Leonard Courtney, Unionist, then bw&y moved tbe rejection of the Bill.

■Mr Jofca Redmond, tho leader of the Par- | nellit?6, who followed Mr Courtney, \ defended hia attitude towards the Bill. He said it was defective in some respects, and disappointing in others. Nobody in •his'Senßes could regard the Bill as a final and satisfactory settlement of the great pquestiou at issue. : THE LORDS BEJECT THE BILL. A significant feature in the Home Rule discussion in tho House of Lords on Sept. 8 waa the fact that special police were | ordered to report for duty in the police I yard in front of the House of Parliament, in order to be ready for immediate action in case of a hostile demonstration against the Lords when "the latter left the building after the division on the Home Rule Bili. The House presented a brilliant and almost unprecedented spectacle when, at 10 p.m., Lord Salisbury rose to deliver the last speech in opposition to the Bill. The House wa3 crowded, as well as all the approaches. Lord Salisbury was loudly cheered when he arose. In the course of his speech he said the proposed retention of Irish members in the Commons was an outrage so enormous and grotesque that he was surprised any responsible Government dared to suggest it. (Cheers.) All the arguments of the Government showed that its policy was one of despair. It had no right to take a step which endangered the existence, happiness and prosperity of the, Irish people. The men who would govern Ireland, should the Bill pass, were those who had been found guilty of criminal conspiracy. " Should we not be in an infinitely worse position than at present if wd entrusted Ireland to such men in the event of trouble with the United States or any other foreign. Power ? (Loud cheers.) If you allow this atrocious, treacherous Bill to pass, you would be untrue to the duty which has descended to you from a splendid ancestry." The Earl of Eimberley spoke for the Bill on bahalf of the Government, and a division was then taken, resulting in 419 against the Bill and 41 for it. In the street an immense crowd awaited the announcement of the result, and received it with vociferous cheering. An analysis of the voting shows that twenty-five bishops and archbishops all voted with, the majority. The vote was the largest ever recorded in the House of Lords. The National Federation issued a circular, on Sept. 12, against the House of Lords. In this circular the Federation declares that seven years of discussion and eighty-two days of consideration by the House of Commons definitely ascertained the wishes of 2,000,000 of electors, "yet this counts for nothing when, opposed to the view of four hundred Conservative Peers." Continuing, the circular declares that "the mending of the House of Lords is now in the' front rank of the Liberal programme." In accordance with Mr Gladstone's declaration at Newcastle, the circular concludes that as Home Rule was passed by the House of Commons and was rejected by +he House of Lords, it is doubly certain to become law. It also saya that not only will the Irish question be settled, but that a real era of reform is dawning for the democracy of the United Kingdom.

RUSSIA AND FRANCE.

ix is omciaiiy oemea, says a ot; jreierebnrg despatch, dated Sept. 18, that. Russia intends to issue a 4 per cent loan in France about the time that a Russian fleet -visitß 'Toulon. There are people who claim that the official denial of the Russian Government's intention to issue a new loan is due to an outcry against the loan, reminding the | people that a similar financial effort was I attempted when the French were worked I up to a pitch of enthusiasm by the visit of I a French squadron to Cronstadt, and that this killed all chance of the loan being successfully floated. This has created a coolness in certain 'quarters, and is said has also had an influence in causing I Russia to refuse an offer of France to give her coaling and repairing stations at Obock and Sargou, for Russia is not willing to be indebted to Fiance to any greater extent than at present. The acceptance of too many concessions from France would place Russia in the position of almost being obliged to support the former country in caae of war. This, it ia understood, Russia is not prepared to do. It is only under certain circumstances that Russia would side with France, and it is claimed that Russia desires this to be known as the real state of affairs. - The^ topic absorbing public attention in Paris' on Sept. 16 was the visit of a Russian fleet to Toulon on Oct. 13. French enthusiasm is unbounded, and the opportunity will be seized for a great national Russbphile manifestation. All the large towns are arranging to participate in the demonstration. The reception of the Russian officers and sailors will be on a magnificent scale. It is proposed toy flag the whole railway line from Toulon to Paris.

CONSPIRACY TO ASSASSINATE THE i • AUSTRIAN EMPEROR.

i The following details of a plot to I assassinate the Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria are communicated by a telegram from Vienna. The story is to the effect that a Roman boy overheard two men dißCuesing a plot they were arranging tohave the spikes removed from the rails at a certain point on the road over which the -Emperor was to travel on his way to the army manoeuvres, thus wrecking the train, when in the confusion the conspirators would kill the Emperor and his suite. Having heard so much, the boy became frightened, ran away and told his parents. They, after consulting, informed the police, and investigations developed the fact thafc the spikes tad recently been loosened. The toad was carefully inspected and guarded, and arrangements were made to send a private engine in advance of every train. The boy and his parentß were arrested and held as witnesses; •One theory of the plot is that it was hatched by a local paper of the village in Transylvania, in which the boy and his parents reside, where the inhabitants are mostly Roumanians and are oppressed. Another theory ia that it is the result of the recent agitation of young Czechs, who ihave worked up an anti-German feeling and epread revolutionary ideas.