NEWS OF THE WEEK.
THEEBAII has cast the javelin. After a solemn conference with his counsellors, he replied to the-Ultimatum of the Indian Viceroy that he would concede nothing. He should go on suing the Bombay traders, whom, under that pretext, he is depriving of their whole capital. He would only receive a Resident on the old terms; and as for confining his foreign relations to India, he must, first of all, consult his allies—France, Italy, and Germany. It was understood at once that this was a polite defiance, and on the following day the King made his meaning still more clear by a proclamation to his subjects announcing that the British demands were" ridiculous," that the barbarians intended to destroy the Burmese religion, and that consequently he him- self would lead his people to war. The steamer Doowoon,' sent up with the Ultimatum, was also forcibly detained. This is, of course, war; and it is a matter of carious speculation to discover on what the Burmese King relies. We should ourselves fancy, from the reference to religion, that the King had been deceived by discontented or servile Burmese in the British provinces, and really expected them all to rise. He will be dis- appointed. Buddhists are not fanatics; and these particular Buddhists know perfectly well that the British interfere with nobody's creed. Indeed, as it happens, Buddhism is the only Asiatic creed which they take an intelligent interest in, and consequently rather admire.
