NEWS OF THE WEEK.
DURING the whole of the past week the country has been deeply moved in regard to the news from West Africa. On the night of Friday, February 18th, as the House of Commons was about to rise, the debate on the Address having ended, Mr. Chamberlain, in answer to a question by Sir Charles Dilke, read out two telegrams of great import- ance. The first was from the Governor of Lagos, and stated that on February 9th thirty Senegalese (French) arrived at a place called Borea, which was occupied by a British Haussa guard on February 6th, and ordered the non-commissioned officer in command to haul down the British flag. When the demand was refused the Senegalese retired, but camped three miles from the town. The second telegram was from the Governor of the Gold Coast, inclosing a telegram from Major Northcote, which states that the French have established posts at Wa, and had protested against our occupation of a post at Nassa,—both places being in the Gold Coast Hinter- land. The excitement caused by these telegrams was on Monday further increased by the report that two French expeditions had crossed the Niger and were advancing to Sokoto, and that six officers with two hundred men had arrived at Arungu, a place a long way on the east side of the Niger, and well below the Say-Barna line. This news, if true, involved so serious a violation of our rights that Sir Edmund Monson was at once instructed to protest. This he did, and Lord Salisbury was able on Tuesday to announce in the House of Lords that M. Hanotaux had disavowed any knowledge of the alleged proceedings. If anything of the kind had occurred it could have been done not only without orders, but against the wishes and instructions of the French Govern- ment. He also added an assurance, communicated by the Colonial Minister, to the effect that there were no French troops in that region.
Though this communication to some extent relieved the tension, it must not be supposed that the situation is otherwise than most serious. We have dealt with the whole matter in detail elsewhere, and will only add here that we advise our readers not to allow their attention to be distracted by the telegrams about Wa or Nassa or Arungu or Tagga, but to keep their eyes on the main Object, which is Boussa,—a place on the west bank of the Niger. Boussa and the territories that belong to it are well within the British Protectorate proclaimed by us in January, 1895 ; but it has also a much older connection with 08, as we made treaties with its ruler in 1885 and in 1890. The French, however, consider the possession of Boussa essential to the success of their West African Empire, have 'seized it, and mean to keep it if they can. In order to strengthen their claim to retain Boussa at a general settle- ment and compromise, it is by no means impossible that they Blay now be seizing places elsewhere which they do not want Per re. In any case Bonus is the crucial point of the situation.
In the House of Commons on Thursday Mr. Chamberlain, in answer to a somewhat futile and irrelevant speech by Mr. Labouchere on the Colonial vote, made some remarks on the West African situation which, though perfectly friendly and courteous to France, were most significant and important. He pointed out how our Colonies of Gambia and Sierra Leone had been throttled, and so destroyed, by having their Hinterlands cut off by a lateral French advance. The Hinterlands of Lagos and of the Gold Coast were now threatened by similar action. The right of these Colonies to expand inland had not, however, yet been destroyed, and must be preserved. Meantime, a Conference was sitting at Paris to settle the disputed points, and it was to be hoped that an agreement would be reached. Mr. Chamberlain ended his speech by a denial so strong and so specific of the insinua- tions that the Cabinet was disunited on the subject, that we may hope these mischievous and unpatriotic assertions will now cease. Sir Edward Grey, in a speech which deserves the warmest praise, supported Mr. Chamberlain, and declared that the country as well as the Ministry was united and in earnest on the West African question. In the end Mr. Labouchere only got twenty-seven Members to join him in his Motion to strike out the vote for the West African Frontier Force, and the Government received a majority of 207,- 234 to 27.
After fifteen days of exciting scenes the Zola Trial came to an end on Wednesday. The principal counsel for the defence, Maitre Labori, made a most powerful defence for the accused novelist, in which be showed almost conclusively that Captain Dreyfus had been condemned on evidence never re- vealed to him ; but as M. Zola had no proofs of his own to produce, and as the Judge refused to allow witnesses to say anything which might have told in his favour, but one ver- dict could be expected. The jury, who feared lynching if they voted for acquittal, and had also been threatened by the Generals in Paris with a disorganisation of the Army, found the accused guilty on all counts, and the Judge condemned him in the maximum penalty, one year's imprisonment and a fine of £120, a trifle in comparison with the costs which he will have to pay. The news flew in an instant all over Paris, producing everywhere scenes of rapturous exultation, and cries in favour of the Army. We have commented on the most serious feature of the case else- where, but may mention here that throughout the Conti- nent, especially in Germany, the trial is held to prove that France is under a military dictatorship, and is therefore " dangerous." Note the sudden and complete extinction of M. Faure.
After the trial there was of course a debate in the Chamber, the Radicals very justly raising the question whether the Army was or was not subordinate to the civil power. M. Meline, the Premier, replied by declaring that the Dreyfus incident, the Esterhazy incident, the Zola incident, were all at an end, that the Army obeyed the nation, and that every- body must revert to the " admirable situation" of the last two years. From to-morrow the Government will apply to those who continue the agitation "all the severities of the laws," and if needful, will make them still more severe. General Billot then made a speech of self-defence and self-gloriflea- tion, and the Chamber voted "approval of the declara- tions of the Government" by the enormous majority of 416 votes to 41. It is said that the Deputies are afraid of their constituents dismissing them at the coming elections as friends of the Jews, but it is difficult not to believe that the fear of the Army had its influence. That Army is deeply irritated, and the common people have got it into their heads that the Army alone protects them against Jew dominance as well as against the foreigner. There are not quite a hundred thousand Jews in France, and not one of them has any visible motive for betraying the country to Germany or any other Power.
Lord Salisbury has achieved a triumph in China. The £16,000.000 necessary to pay off Japan is to be lent by an Anglo-German syndicate at 41 per cent., the loan being issued at 88 per cent. Germany, therefore, which will make about a million by the transaction, is in high glee, and pats England on the back in quite a demonstrative and friendly manner. The Chinese Government in return for this relief— which was of more serious importance than has been noticed, as Japan might have renewed the war—has, according to a Memorandum issued by our own Foreign Office, opened to trade all her internal waters, has promised to leave the con- trol of the Customs in British hands so long as British trade is the most important, and has pledged herself not to cede, mortgage, or lease any territory in the valley of the Yangtse to any Power. The intention of that last clause is to enable us to protect a native dynasty in the grand revenue-pro- ducing and industrious centre of China occupied by more than a hundred millions of people. It is of importance even now in view both of German and Japanese ambitions, and may hereafter become the very pivot of the Chinese question. China will not be eaten like a cake, but like a crumpet,—from the edges.
A Parliamentary paper issued on Thursday contains correspondence between the Colonial Office, the Chartered Company, Sir Alfred Milner, and the Cape Ministry in re- gard to the future administration of Rhodesia. The chief local features of the scheme are the establishment of an Administrative Council, which is to have an elective element, and the appointment of an Imperial officer called the Resident Commissioner, paid by the Crown, who is to have sole control of the armed forces, and to act for the High Commissioner. The commandant of the forces is also to be paid for and appointed by the Crown. At home the status of the Board of Directors is considerably altered. The life directorships are to be abolished, and the whole Board of Directors is in future to be elected by the shareholders,— any official or director removed by the Secretary of State not being eligible without his consent. The Board of Directors is further to communicate all minutes, &c., to the Secretary of State, and he is to have the power of veto or suspension. Finally, the Secretary of State is to have fall powers to in- spect and examine all documents ; Colonial Office officials named by him are, in effect, to exercise powers like those of the old Indian Board of Control. Without a minute exami- nation of the details of the scheme, it would be impossible to declare the exact effect of the proposals, but prima fade they seeya to put the Company very effectively under the control of the Colonial Office. We confess we should have liked to see the Company abolished altogether, but since that was apparently impossible without compensating the shareholders for imaginary assets, there was, we suppose, nothing for it but to put the Board in a strait-waistcoat.
It seems to be quite certain that the Government of Washington, whether moved by information from Europe, or only desirous of peace, is anxious to avoid a war with Spain on account of Cuba. There is, however, a certain uneasiness on the subject still perceptible in official circles, arising, we are informed, from two causes. One is a lingering doubt whether the ' Maine' was not blown up by a torpedo in the harbour of Havana, the explosive being tired either accidentally or by some isolated fanatic. In this case compensation would be demanded from Spain, which she might be unwilling to pay. Some Consular Reports, moreover, are about to be published, revealing a state of things in Cuba so " harrowing " that the Americans may take fire and insist upon their Government putting an end to such miseries " within American waters." The Navy De- partment is, therefore, gathering its ships from the ends of the earth, and preparing coast defences and harbour defences with an energy which Jingoes think auspicious. The Governors of States have been asked also whether they could provide soldiers if required, and have answered, as might have been expected, that any number of men are at the service of their country. Commercial men in New York do not quite like the symptoms, and on Thursday there was a heavy fall in stocks, but grave persons all over the Union are waiting for evidence, and disinclined for war, unless the honour or the policy of the country really requires it.
Lord Cromer deserves once again the congratulations of England and of Egypt. In spite of an opposition—physical, political, and financial—which seemed absolutely irresistible, he has carried his project for a Nile reservoir. After the urgent need arose for devoting to the Soudan all the money that could be got out of the Caisse, it seemed absurd even to talk about making a dam at Assouan. But Lord Cromer was working quietly while other people were despairing ; and on Sunday last the Khedive in Council approved a contract concluded with Messrs. John Aird and Co., under which a dam will be made across the Nile at Assonan, drowning the cataracts, and turning the river above into a vast, if very narrow, storage reservoir. There is also to be a Barrage at Assiont, which will be of great value for the irrigation of Middle Egypt and the Fayum. The two dams are to be begun at once, and will take five years to com- plete. The contractors will get nothing till the works are finished. After that they will be paid £160,000 a year for thirty years,—a very good bargain for Egypt considering everything, for she will not have to pay out anything till she has extra water, which can be sold to the cultivators for a far- larger sum than that required to meet the annual payment. No doubt it would have been more economical to have used the surplus in the Caisse, but as France would not allow this it was necessary to take the next best plan. One convenience of the Assouan dam will be that locks will be built, and so
steamers will be able to pass up the Nile without hindrance. While expressing our satisfaction at the scheme, we must not forget to give credit to Sir Elwin Palmer and Sir W. Garatin for their share in bringing about so happy a result.
Lord Lansdowne's Memorandum relating to the Army Estimates was issued on Monday. The proposals for 1896- 1899 are as follows. The Army is to be increased by 25,000 men, of whom about 1,000 are to be West Indian Regiment men, and 1,000 Maltese Militia. The cavalry is to have a slight addition. The artillery is to be increased by fifteen batteries or ninety guns, which will give a proportion of five guns to a thousand bayonets and something over. This in- crease will, however, take three years to accomplish. The total infantry increase will be in all about 15,000 men, but it too will be spread over several years. As to pay and enlist- ment, a certain number of men will in future be enlisted for three years' service with the colours, with option to extend to seven. The soldier is to have an extra threepence a day, which will give him a clear shilling, but this is not to accrue to the three-year men, or to any man who is not nineteen, and has not rendered himself efficient. Deferred pay is to be abolished, but instead each man is to get on his discharge £1 for every year he has served,—up to £12. As to the Reserve, a special class is to be established, who during their first year in the Reserve will be liable to be individually recalled to the colours. We shall not criticise these pro- posals in detail at present, but shall wait for the full state- ment to be made in Parliament. It is clear, however, that what is intended is patching, not a wise and comprehensive attempt to place the Army on a really sound footing.
On Tuesday evening Sir William Harcourt delivered an address to his followers at Bury, which was boisterous and bombastic even for him. "All this pessimism," he said, never affected him. He observed that we still had an army capable of very valiant deeds, and when he was at Spithead last June he noticed that we had still a few men-of-war. As for the Liberal party, that unhappy corpse was not only alive but kicking. " Our friends, real or pretended, who are holding 3 wake over our coffins, are extremely surprised when the corpse jumps up and knocks them on the head, as it did the other day, I think at Middleton." Towards the end of his speech Sir William Harcourt praised Lord Salisbury for his wise and patriotic attitude in regard to foreign affairs. But his words were not addressed to the Liberals who agreed with them, " but to the rash and reckless men who sat behind him and around him, and above all by his side. I need not name them. I hope Vt7,1 –rill listen to his voice." The
innuendo is, of course, that Lord Salisbury is being pushed into violent courses by his colleagues. We do not believe one word of it. Lord Salisbury is absolutely supreme in the matter of foreign affairs, for he possesses the entire con- fidence of his colleagues, and is both Premier and Foreign .Secretary.
The Bill for the establishment of local self-government in :Ireland was brought in on Monday by Mr. Gerald Balfour, and excited some surprise by the democratic character of its provisions. The Grand Juries are swept away, their criminal powers going to the County Courts, and all local powers are transferred to County Councils, Urban Councils, Rural .Councils, and Boards of Guardians, all of which bodies will be -elected by Parliamentary electors. Es-officio Guardians are abolished, the vital principle of the Bill being that everybody -with power shall be chosen by the people. The Councils will -control the highways, raise all rates, and provide for all public works not directly chargeable to the public at large. The occupier will be responsible for the rate, but half the -county tees and half the Poor-rate will be paid from the Im- perial Exchequer. The Bill, in fact, establishes in Ireland a system more democratic than that in force in Great Britain,— in fact, as democratic a system as a Home-rule Parliament in Dublin would be likely to sanction. That body, if it were -ever established, would have a good many reasons for not establishing manhood suffrage, and being mainly Catholic,
• would never give the suffrage to women.
The Bill was received in a way to make one rub one's eyes. Mr. J. Morley, who followed Mr. Balfour, said that while he preferred Home-rule, he welcomed the present set of proposals. Mr. Dillon promised "a frank and friendly reception" at the bands of his party to this "large and valuable measure." Mr. Redmond believed that all sections of Nationalists might agree in supporting it; and Mr. Healy actually described it as "the shadow of a great rock in a weary land." The only -discordant note came from Mr. Devitt, who foresaw that landlords would get something out of the Bill, and therefore ." dissociated himself " from the provisions which he thought secured that result. For all this unanimity there will be plenty of debate in Committee, especially on finance, but the Bill as a whole pleases all parties. We object to only one provision,—that which excludes men in holy orders from the ^Councils. What possible harm can they do inside which they cannot do outside ?
In the House of Lords on Friday, February 18th, Lord 'Wemyss spoiled what might have been a very interesting and -useful discussion on the state of the Militia. He made the whole thing unpractical by dragging across the scent the red- herring of compulsory service,—a red-herring over which the Peers were soon in full cry, to the rain of the debate. The Militia, as all the speakers agreed, is at present a very useful and fine force, but it wants more men and more and better efficers, for the younger officers are too apt to be birds of passage. Still, all things considered, many, or rather most, Militia regiments are extremely valuable from the military point of view. It is nonsense to say that the Militia could not be enlarged and improved. It is simply a question of money and of the War Office devoting care and attention to 'the force. By increasing the attractions offered to Militia- men, and by making the advantages of Militia service more 'widely known, we do not see why the full quota of one hundred and twenty thousand men should not be reached. As to the officers, the Horse Guards should make them feel that the Militia is not a slighted force. This would soon have its effect.
The Commissioners appointed to inquire into the actual -working of the Irish Land Acts have returned a Report which is rather too technical and minute for treatment in our columns. We must, however, quote its final sentence, because it embodies in the form of a suggestion the policy which we have defended for thirty years :—" We have, during the course of our investigations, been deeply impressed by the weight of that burthen which is laid upon the country by the existence of the great staff of officials employed under the Land Acts, and of the great body of solicitors and valuators who gather around them : and not less by the evil wrought by that unrest which is generated by the periodical settlement
of rents. To pursue these subjects would be to go beyond the limits placed on our enquiry. But we venture to submit that if by an automatic adjustment of rents or by their con- version into rent charges or by other means which the wisdom of the Legislature may devise, this unrest could be stayed, and this burthen of a perpetually recurring litigation cast off, a great boon would be bestowed on your Majesty's subjects in Ireland." Turn the tenants into freeholders subject to a quit rent, and there will be agrarian peace in Ireland, for "the Consols and the bayonets will be in the same hands." Schemes involving litigation may secure prosperity. They will never secure political quiet.
The nominations for the London County Council elections took place on Wednesday. There are 118 seats and 240 com- petitors, and therefore there will be a contest in most con- stituencies. The Moderates have 114 candidates standing, and the Progressives 112, while there are 5 Independents, 4 representatives of the "Labour party," 3 members of the "Independent Labour party," and 2 Socialists. This varied nomenclature does not, however, represent any very great diversity of opinion. Practically, the issue is between those who wish to see London administered on Socialist principles and those who do not. Personally, we would always judge men rather by their acts than their opinions, and we have no abstract dread or horror of a man because he calls himself a Socialist, remembering that men are often far more sensible than the creeds they profess. Collectivism is pure folly, but Collectivists are not all fools. But in spite of this we would on the present occasion advise no one to vote for a candidate who does not make it clear that he has no wish to turn the County Council into a sort of gigantic builder, pur- veyor, and general producer rolled into one. A municipality must do some work directly, but it should be as little, not as much, as possible. Administration conducted on the opposite principle always has ended, and always will end, in scandals like that of the Works Department. We are dead against London being broken up into ten cities, but voters need not imagine that by voting for the Moderates they will produce such a result. It is now clear that all the Government intend by their new Bill is glorification of the Vestries, not dis- integration. But Vestry glorification is per se not only harmless, but may actually prove beneficial.
A case of great importance to shareholders in industrial companies came to an end on Saturday. It is believed that in an immense number of such companies, and especially in hotel companies, building companies, land companies, and finance companies, there is some one man or small syndicate of men who make profits which they say nothing about, and which are made in fact, if not in appearance, to the detriment of the shareholders. In the present instance, a Mr. R. C. Drew, a large butcher, held a great number of shares in the Grosvenor Hotel, and appointed friends of his own on the direction. He then became in different capacities chief purveyor to the hotel. Charging his own prices, he naturally made much money, more, it was alleged, than he would have made had the shareholders received the fall dividends they ought to have earned. The case was tried before Mr. Justice Ridley and a special jury, which found that Mr. Drew had conspired with others, chiefly directors, "to defraud the Grosvenor Hotel Company," that the directors had failed in their duty, and that Mr. Drew had had " improper dealings " in the matter, though there was no proof that he had "falsified weights." The Judge ordered an account to be taken, which means that Mr. Drew will have to refund any profits he cannot justify, but he refused to appoint a Receiver and Manager, saying there was no precedent for such a course. In other words, the directors aspersed by the jury will remain in office, surely a curious failure in the law. We begin to believe as we read cases like this, and the more frequent ones brought against building societies, that no scheme short of official audit for every limited company will ever protect shareholders. Perhaps a permanent committee of shareholders could, but then able men would never sit on directing boards to be worried out of their lives by suspicious cross-examiners.
Bank Rate, 3 per cent.
New Consols (24) were on Friday, 1121.
