NEWS OF THE WEEK.
THE news from Siam has become more serious this week. The French, moving from the Tonquin aide, have occupied Khong, an island in the Mekong, below the rapids of the same name; and have fortified it so as to command the river. 'Orders have also been issued to the Fleet in Asia to concen- trate off the Siamese coast, and it has been strengthened—or is to be strengthened—by two powerful vessels. The Siamese, on their side, are both alarmed and awake. According to a letter in the Times from Bangkok, they are importing muni- tions from Singapore, and erecting a new fort to protect the Paknam, the channel which gives access to the capital, and which is already protected by some Armstrong guns. The queen and the Foreign Minister are said to be at the head of the war party, and the conscription is being enforced with such rigour that in certain districts there are not strong men enough left to cultivate the land. An army of thirty thousand men is to be sent forward to the Mekong; and if the French continue to advance, we may shortly hear of a serious collision. We have tried elsewhere to explain how the news affects us, and do not greatly envy Lord Rosebery his position.
