News and Notes

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Mar 24, 1898

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 24, No. 12.

FOREIGN.

—Another bread riot is reported from Spain, this time in the village of Pobladura del Valle, in the province of Zamora.

—It is reported that France intends to occupy Lei Chow, in the Chinese peninsula of Quang Tung, north of Hai-Nan, as a naval base.

—A report from Paris states that the French fleet is being prepared for mobilization in the Orient, with a view to backing Russia against Japan.

—The agrarian revolt in Hungary is spreading. In a conflict between the peasants and gendarmerie on March 13 two peasants were killed and forty wounded.

—During the week 3,300 fresh Spanish troops have arrived in Cuba. Most of these are green peasant boys, to whom the on-coming rainy season will most surely prove fatal.

—A squadron of Spanish war ships sailed from Cadiz, Spain, on March 14. It is understood that the squadron will proceed to Porto Rico and await the orders of Captain General Blanco.

—Emperor Nicholas of Russia has issued an imperial ukase appropriating the vast sum of 90,000,000 rubles ($64,800,000) for the construction of war ships. No loan will be raised to provide the money, but it will be disbursed from the imperial treasury.

—It is expected that the fatal wounding of a famous Mexican bull-fighter at Monterey, Mexico, on March 13, will result in the prohibition of the sport in that republic. It is reported that President Diaz will himself take some action looking to this end.

—It is proposed to send an expedition to the north polar regions in June or July to search for Herr Andree. A number of Swedes from the north of Sweden will accompany the expedition, which will be in charge of Walter B. Wellman, an American explorer.

—It is reported that an earthquake has destroyed the town of Amboina, capital of Amboina Island, one of the Malacca group. Many houses were swallowed up before the occupants could get out. The despatch states that “hundreds were killed and 200 injured.”

—It is stated that Japan has warned Russia that if the latter retains Port Arthur, Japan will retain Weihai-wei and the islands adjacent. The Japanese Government has ordered the cruisers building abroad to be hurried, and has refused to sell those building in America.

—The British minister to China has lodged a forcible protest at the Chinese foreign office against the cession of Port Arthur to Russia, saying that it would destroy the balance of power in China. The Chinese officials, however, have declared their inability to withstand Russia’s demands.

—An English steamer has successfully ascended the Yang-tse rapids as far as Chung Kiang, province of Sze Chwen, at the juncture of the Kia Lin Kiang with the Yang-tse-kiang, thus opening to navigation the most fertile tract of the Yang-tse valley. The Chinese officials have decided to remove all obstacles with dynamite.

—In view of the recent enormous appropriation of Russia for naval expenditure, the press of England is urging the government to keep pace with Russia, and if necessary assert its right of preemption over ships now building in England for foreign governments, and also to fit out the old battle-ships which are sound in hull.

—Despatches from Western Ontario tell of the overflowing of the Grand and Thames Rivers, causing serious damage along their valleys. Sections of London, Brantford, and Galt are submerged to a depth of from five to seven feet. At London, Ontario, 1,500 persons are homeless, and bridges and buildings have been swept away by the raging waters.

—It has been ascertained that the natives of Bombay had planned a general massacre of all Europeans in the city on March 11. The prompt action of the military frustrated the scheme, and the work of searching out victims of the plague still goes on in spite of the open opposition of the Hindus and Mohammedans. Two soldiers and twenty natives were killed during the rioting.

—The revolution against Spanish rule in the Philippines is again progressing with renewed vigor. The whole of the northern province has revolted and the inhabitants have refused to pay taxes. They have destroyed the telegraph lines and captured Atarri and Camarag, important towns connected with Manila by railroad. It is thought that the prospect of trouble between the United States and Spain has caused the increased activity of the rebels, who are now well supplied with arms and ammunition. A recent engagement is reported in which it is said the rebels lost 500 killed. The loss of the other side is not given.

—Orders have been issued from the British War Office for all army reserve men to immediately present themselves for re-enlistment in their regiments. It is stated that this is a precautionary measure taken in view of possible hostilities between the United States and Spain.

—An unknown steamer was struck by the British bark Princess off the coast of England on March 16, and went down immediately with all on board. The force of the collision was such that the unknown vessel was cut completely in two, and she went down before her name could be discovered.

—Bishop Hartzell, of Liberia, Africa, has been accredited a special confidential emissary to Lord Salisbury and President McKinley, to secure protection for Liberia against France and Germany. It is stated that the German encroachments especially are threatening the integrity of the republic.

—The special agent appointed to investigate the genuineness of the signatures to the petition of native Hawaiians against annexation to the United States has developed the fact that a large portion of the names are forgeries, many others are names of individuals from two to fourteen years of age, while several thousand others are signatures of persons under twenty years of age.

—The debt of the Spanish nation at the present time is $2,014,000,000, or about $115 for every man, woman, and child under the Spanish flag. The annual charge on this debt is $63,000,000, or 41 per cent of the total expense of the government. The greater part of the external debt is held in France, and for this reason the French Government is loath to see Spain go to war with the United States.

—The Korean Government in seeking to release herself from the grasp of Russia, has requested that government to withdraw its representative now officiating in the Korean customs office, and also the Russian military instructors. The Korean foreign minister, contending that the national integrity was only possible with Russia’s assistance, dissented from the decision of the Korean cabinet and resigned.

DOMESTIC.

—The number of patents issued by the patent office at Washington during the year 1897 was 23,729.

—Prince Albert, of Flanders, heir-presumptive to the Belgian throne, was received by the President at the White House on March 11.

—A bill was passed in the Senate on March 14 authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to have constructed eight vessels for the revenue cutter service.

—A report comes from Rome to the effect that the United States Government has purchased the completed war ship Carlo Alberto from an Italian ship-building firm.

—The American war vessels Helena and Bancroft sailed from Lisbon on March 14, and are expected at Key West in about two weeks, to join the squadron of Admiral Sicard.

—The battle-ship Oregon has been ordered to sail from San Francisco, and it is supposed that her destination is the Atlantic Coast. She will touch at Valparaiso, Chile, to communicate with the Secretary of the Navy.

—The American medical mission in the suburbs of Chung Kingfu, province of Szo Chwan, on the Yang-tse-Kiang, has been attacked by a mob of Chinese. One of the native medical attendants was murdered and several of them were maltreated.

—A furious fire occurred in a six-story brick building in Chicago on March 16, reducing the structure in about half an hour, maiming thirty people, and resulting in a considerable loss of life. It is estimated that fifteen perished in the building.

—The House Naval Committee has decided to recommend an appropriation for the construction of three first-class battle-ships. One of these will be specially constructed to take the place of the Maine, and will receive her name in case that vessel is not raised.

—Captain William G. Randle, of the American liner St. Louis, has been decorated by Queen Wilhelmina of Holland with the order of Orange-Nassau, for rescuing the passengers and crew of the sinking Holland-American liner Veendam on the morning of February 7.

—The three-masted ship New York went ashore at Half Moon Bay, California, on the night of March 13, and it is pronounced that the ship and her cargo will be a complete loss. The cargo was composed of tea and rice, and is valued at over $100,000. No lives were lost.

—By the action of the Cabinet, on March 15, $2,500,000 was placed at the disposal of the Ordnance Bureau for the purchase of powder and projectiles. It is expected that much of this will be purchased abroad, and arrangements are progressing for its importation free of duty.

—The Printers’ Union of San Francisco has asked for a nine-hour day with the same pay that they receive now, and threaten a general strike on April 4 if their demands are not complied with. As it is altogether unlikely that the employers will agree to this arrangement, a strike is expected on that date.

—On March 16 the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations recommended to the Senate that the Hawaiian Islands be annexed by legislation in open session, and agreed upon a joint resolution for the accomplishment of this purpose. The resolution was presented by Chairman Davis, of Minnesota.

—The court of inquiry into the cause of the Maine disaster in Havana harbor has completed its work in Havana, and has returned to Key West, from which place its report will be compiled and sent on to Washington. The only American vessel in Havana harbor at the present time is the despatch boat Fern.

—The United States despatch boat Fern arrived at Key West from Matanzas, Cuba, on March 14, having landed her store of provisions for the starving Cuban pacificos at the two ports of Matanzas and Sagua la Grande. Consul Barker at the latter port stated that there were about 25,000 starving reconcentrados in his district.

—Mrs. Thurston, wife of Senator Thurston, of Nebraska, died on board the yacht Anita at Sagua la Grande, Cuba, on March 13, while on a tour of investigation with her husband and other senators. Mrs. Thurston was a staunch advocate of Cuban liberty, and had gone to Cuba that she might speak from experience in regard to the suffering island.

—The United States Government has completed the purchase of the two Brazilian war ships, now nearly completed in England, viz., the Amazonas and Abroual. The Spanish Government has been anxious to secure these cruisers, but her finances were in such a condition that she was unable to do so. The two ships cost this government $850,000.

—Senator Perkins, of California, has introduced in the Senate an amendment to the Naval Appropriation Bill, setting aside $100,000 for the erection of buildings on Goat Island, in San Francisco Bay, for the naval training school, which it is proposed to establish on that island. The Navy and War Departments have agreed upon joint jurisdiction over the island, and the obstacle which has thus stood in the way of such an undertaking has thus been removed.

—The British minister at Washington has notified the Canadian Ministry that he has arranged a convention with the United States whereby the Alaskan boundary dispute has been settled. Under the terms of the convention the British Government has conceded the claim of the United States that the ten marine leagues should be measured from the shore of the mainland. Both the British and Canadian Governments have hitherto claimed that the ten-league limit should begin on the ocean side of the islands. The report states that the Canadian Government is not at all pleased with the decision, as, according to the claims of the Canadian Government, Juneau would be a Canadian city.