The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1887-12-31 00:00:00

FOREIGN AND COLONIAL.

Foreign affairs during 1887 have been peculiarly
peaceful, while nothing of a distracting sort has
taken place in any of our Colonies. No wars have
occurred anywhere, if we except the conflicts between
the dacoits of Burmah and the Government troops,
the troubles which the Afghan Ameer has had
with insurgents, and some guerilla fighting in Tonquin
in January, with occasional outbreaks by native rebels
in Upper Egypt. In India and, indeed, everywhere else
throughout Greater Britain, the only events out of
ordinary note during the year have been those in con-
nection with the enthusiastic celebration of the Queen's
Jubilee. On the continent of Europe international
concord has on the whole remained undisturbed, while
the various States have experienced comparatively
little internal trouble. Prince Bismarck was in
January at cross-purposes with the German
Reichstag, which resented his heavy money require-
ments for military purposes, and rejected the Govern-
ment Army Bill. A new Parliament, however, shortly
afterwards acceded to the Iron Chancellor's demands.
Belgium was exercised by some serious strike riots
among her mining population early in the year, and
simultaneously some 20,000 wharf hands left their
employment in New York, and for some little time
occasioned anxiety. At the end of January
Mr. If. M. Stanley started on an expedition
to Central Africa, taking 1200 men and a supply of
stores with him, to endeavour to effect the relief of
Emin Bey. The absence of news of the explorer's
party in the middle of the year caused some suspense
but ultimately intelligence of the safety of Stanley
reached this country. In the beginning of February
there were grave alarms of impending war between
France and Germany, and for awhile military arma-
ment was general in Europe, bat the rumours of
coining hostilities proved happily unfounded, though
from time to time the newspapers made much of
passing diplomatic incidents and the utterances of
rash or jealous public men, and occasionally real
danger of a rupture seemed apparent. In March a
diabolical plot to assassinate the Czar of Russia with
dynamite bombs met with timely discovery, and several
would-be regicides were later on executed in connection
therewith. Kaiser William celebrated his 90th birth-
day on the 22nd of March, and received the con-
gratulations of over eighty princes of various
European countries, the festivities in honour of the oc-
casion being most brilliant. The 2nd of the follow-
ing month was Prince Bismarck's 72nd birthday,
when the Chancellor's admirers sent him many
presents and expressions of goodwill. Bulgaria, still
in an unsettled state, vas distracted by a military
revolt in March, and some 14 officers were executed
on the 11th of that month at Rustchuk for complicity
in the rising. It was not until the 7th of July that
Bulgaria suited herself with a sovereign acceptable to
interested Powers, and on that date Prince Ferdinand
of Saxe-Coburg was elected by the Sobranje to the
vacant throne, of which he shortly afterwards took
possession. In the middle of March the Ameer of
Afghanistan began to gather his available forces,
and shortly afterwards declared war against
Russia; but in April he found he had his hands
full at home in suppressing insurrections against
his rule. The Shinwarris in May defeated
the Royal troops, and at various times since
rebellion has broken out in different parts of the
Anieer's domain. On the lst of April it was
announced from Germany that something was
seriously amiss with the Crown Prince's throat, and
when he came over later on to attend the Jubilee of
his royal mother-in-law, the illustrious visitor's
health was the subject of much solicitation. An
operation was performed by Sir Morel! Mackenzie
(who owes his title to the incident) an English
surgeon, and for some time the mischief seemed
mastered; but in November the Prince's case, which
had been proved to be one of cancer, shewed most
alarming symptoms, and the gravest reports were
issued from San Remo, where the Imperial Family
were located. Ex-Marshal Bazaine narrowly escaped
assassination on the 18th of April, and on the same date
M. Schnabele, a,Freneh Comissary of:police was arrested
on the frontier at Pagny by the German authorities,
and the incident went at one moment near to pro-
voking hostilities between the two neighbour
nations, a calamity which was prevented by an altera-
tion in the attitude of Germany in the matter. Mr.
William O'Brien, who later on became even more
notorious in connection with the Irish agitation, con-
ducted a "no rent" lecturing campaign in Canada,
where he had a varying reception, being enthusiasti-
cally welcomed in some places and mobbed in others.
An Anglo-Turkish Convention was concluded in May,
in which month also France experienced a political
crisis, the Goblet Ministry giving place to that of M.
Bouvier. The Emperor and Emr rase of Russia went
into the Cossack country in the middle of the month.
On June 22nd the dacoits of Burmah met with a
severe defeat from the military, over 200 of the rebels
being taken prisoners. The Afghan Boundary diffi-
culty was finally brought to an end a month later.
Sir 11. Drummond Wolff was recalled from Constanti-
nople on the 15th of July, the Egyptian Convention
not having been ratified. Violent quarrels occurred
between Belgian and English trawlers in August at
Ostend; and from America a great wages dispute was
reported early the same month, some 5000 Pennsyl-
vanian miners being thrown thereby out of employ-
ment.

The Yaw distrlcts of Burmah were very much dis-
turbed by Dacoits once more early in September, but
on the 2nd of October the English forces ender Major
Harvey, gained a decisive victory over the rebels,
killing Bosh Shway, the robber insurgent chief. On
the 24th of the latter month a strong body of der-
vishes, numbering 700 or 800, attacked Wady Haifa,
but were disastrously defeated. France finished her
mobilisation experiments in September, and on the 14th
of that month the Comte de Paris sent out a manifesto
to his friends which made some stir. An outrage by
brigands was reported from Smyrna on the 24th of
September, four English visitors being captured near
that place, and only ransomed on payment of
a large sum of money by their friends. Towards the
end of October it was that France was convulsed with
a crisis arising from the discovery of scandal in high
places. Insignia of honour were found to have been
corruptly trafficked in, and the nephew of the Presi-
dent, M. Gr4vy, was charged with complicity in the
sale of decorations. General Boulanger, then extremely
popular with the people, was mixed up with the
matter, and underwent a short disciplinary arrest for
attacking the War Minister, while General Caffarel
was acquitted after an exciting Arial in which
many disgraceful disclosures were made. Then
the Cabinet resigned, and the crisis con-
tinued until finally the President had to quit office in
consequence of a strong feeling against him in the
country. On the 3rd of December M. Sadi Carnot
was elected President in his stead. An attempt
was made to assassinate M. Ferry, the ex-Premier,
in the French Chamber on the 10th. The execution of
the Chicago anarchists in whose cells dynamite
bomb were found, and one of whom, in fact, desperately
destroyed himself with an explosive, took place
in November, during which month Mr. J. Chamberlain
arrived in the United States to act as a British Coin-
mi,i.ioner in an endeavour which was to be made to
seta, the Fishery Rasputes between Canada, the
mot lier country, and America. Mr. Chamberlain was
well received in New York and elsewhere. On the
Il h of December Pres:dent Cleveland delivered his
Message to Congress, and created a great deal of
political feeling by making fiscal proposals involving
a departure from the protective policy. The close of
the year witnessed prosperity in all our colonies, and
concord throughout the Indian empire, where the
Viceroy's visitation passed off amicably. In Australia
two teams of English cricketers were playing, having
gene to the Antipodes from this country in September,
and a return visit of an Aus,ralian eleven t our shores
was being looked forward to. The Colonial Conference
held in London in the summer had served to produce
solidity and a stronger feeling of devotion to the
empire throughout Britain's dependencies, and many
cf our colonists, as well as a number of native Indian

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