The Star. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 1895. To-Day.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5212, 20 March 1895, Page 2

The Star. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 1895. To-Day.

» That knocking by Russia at the gates of India is heard once more. According to semi-official utterance, "Russia mußt possess the Pamirs'," and moreover, the area of the great plateaux and valleys collectively known as "the roof of the world/' must be so extended that the possessing Power would dominate not only the direct approaches to India, bat also those leading into China and Afghanistan. China has heretofore regarded her interest in this mountain territory as pre-eminent ; but Chins, just now, has something of quicker concern to think about, and her parlous condition may seem to Kuesia to make nice opportunity for once more urging a grasping claim. But it is a claim that England cannot afford to regard lightly, and it seems possible that much of the tedious diplomacy of 1894. may have to be repeated. In the course of those negotiations, it may be remembered, the Chinese envoy was enabled to depart from St Petersburg with a fairly satisfactory assurance that all waa well, and that later on both Russian and Afghan troops had retired from the debatable land. Sebiotts trouble, we are told by cable message to-day, 19 feared in Chifcral, the country which liea between two rivers of farther India, the Oxus and Cabul, and some hundred and fifty miles beyond England's frostier garrison at Gilgifc. Chitral has always been a country of turmoil and bloodshed, the fierce Border tribes tbereabonts having almost invariably some deadly fend to engage their attention. The caueea that have led up to tho serious trouble now anticipated, are matters of modern history. When, a few years ago, the then ruler (or Mehtar), Aman-ul'Mulk, a man fall of cunning and deceit, wan gathered to his fathers, the youngest son, Afzul, aspired to the throne, and, to clear the way, murdered three of hia brothers and tried to kill the fourth. Afzul was murdered in turn by an uncle who had been a refugee, and who usurped the throne. The usurper, who came from Badakhs~han, was regarded — no doubt with reason — as being peculiarly predisposed to Busßian intrigue, and immediately on hia appearance a corps of observation was sent out from Gilgit to watch the course of events, while almost simultaneously Russian military explorers showed themselves in various parts cf Chitral, and within a few miles of Gilgit. The waiting and watching has resulted in a mandate by England that the usurper must quit forthwith, and this mandate, it is implied, will be resisted by an immense body of fighting men. It has an ugly look. In order that our readers may the better be enabled to understand the position, and j appreciate such developments as may come, we add information that was furnished at I the beginning of 1893 by an Indian correspondent, and which was to the following effect :— Chitral, situated in the centre of j independent territory, offers only too j favourable a position for intrigue and re- j bellioD. Moreover its strategic and commercial position is highly important. It stands on the banks of the Kunar or Kashgar River, and alongside this valley lies the great natural highway from the plains of the Punjab to the Upper Oxua. Chitral also occupies a position at the foot of several converging valleys, which give acces3 to more or lees accessible passes over the Hindu Kush, the chief physical bulwark of Northern India. We are reminded by the aotion of Lord Hosebery and Mr Asqnitb, in refusing to receive a deputation in favour o* an Eight Hours law for miners, that tho Liberal Party in England is very far from being the party of the labouring classes. It is, to a large extent, the party of the middle clashes, the shopkeeping bourgeoisie, j the employers of labour and. so forth. It 1 likes to patronise the working man, but it declines to receive political guidance or dictation from him. Two years ago, Mr Gladstone took the very same position as is now assumed by his successors in office —obstinately declining to receive a deputation of miners, who went straightway to Lord Salisbury, and were sympathetically received. The labouring classes in Great Britain would be loyal to the Liberals, but the Liberals are persistently driving them out and forcing them to form a separate party. The natural, outcome is the Independent Labour Party, led by Mr Keir Hardie, which has now over 50,000 members and an annual income of £32,500. Its programme is as follows : — 1. Restriction by law of the working day to eight hours. 2. Abolition of overtime, piece work and the prohibition of the employment of children under the age of fourteen years. 3. Provision for the sick, disabled, aged, widows and orphans, the necessary funds to be obtained by a tax upon unearned incomes. 4. Free, unaectafian, primary, secondary and university education. 5. Bemunerative work for the unemployed. 6. Taxation to extinction of unearned incomes. 7. The substitution of arbitration for war, and the consequent disarmament of all nations. As this party haa been only a year in existence all estimates of its influence must be conjectural ; but some indication is to be found in the record of 130 municipal elections at which labour candidates were voted for. The figures ' were— Liberals

92,972, Tories 79,535, and Independent 1 Labour 56,420. Thus, over 25 per cent of ' the total poll were labour votes, and it is • plain that auuh a party wonld strongly influence the Parliamentary elections. The , tactita of this organisation are to vote only ! < for labour candidatea, and when no labour ' candidate is in the field to abstain from I voting. The result of thiß policy must be | to give the Conservative Party a large | majority at the general election which is ! believed to fee imminent. For such an nn- ' toward resnlt the English Liberal leaders j will have themselves to blame, as their ! contemptuous treatment of the labouring ' class in the matter of the eight hours legislation is responsible for the new cleavage in parties. j