National Republican., 1873-04-08

last ten or fitecn years, has shown q disposi- |
ton to couiIbl, ralhcr than h expand, her |
empire. Hero and ILcro she haa sought TO |
acquire an Island of a tortrcts that would |
pom. yalushieto lItf as q eoaiing staiion u
N ifHtcgicai poIni bud N euncSskl klhlu.
she has shovn desife d bring N s6ir< 4
within llmits hich be cen ntnoI VI & - 4
To osaada ~ sayk you csn ~ y =
son dsem n hest ior your interds 70, II ) !
Austfalia nc Is equally Indifferent. but ~
British India she elings with hooks Of steel.
II Is bound to her by thousand memories Of
the greatest and ablest Of her statesmen. That
portion Of her territory embraces one thou |
sand Ave hundred million square miles, with |
apopulation of nearly ono hundred and ninety |
four millions Of people. To keep this Immense |
populatisp In subsection aho supports q
standlnt army Of q quarter Of q million Of
men, uf whom one hundred and twenty |
thousand arc natives. The English invest !
monts In that country arc enormous. The
bonds and Government securities amount to
six hundred million dohars. Two hundred
and nifty million dollars arc invested In rail- |
roads, and one hundred millions In banks
and jolnt-stock companies. 1n addition TO
this vast amount, millions Of dollars are In
vested In tolegraphs, canals, roads and other
improvements. Englands connection with
India IL 90 close and intimate, all her great
financial interests arc 30 deeply identified
with II, that che can only rclinauish Il with
her life.
The conquost Of British India on the one
hand and Of Turkey on tho other has boon
the dream Of Russian monarchs aud Of Rus
slan statesmen for more thaa half q century.
This Khiyau campaign Is the last move On
the political choss-board In pursuit of this
traditional policy. When that country is
conquered by Russia, as II undoubtedly win
be, the standard Of st. George aud the Rus
Sian eagle will meet each other In the heart
Of Central Asia. A struggle between the two
countries Is, in tho very nature Of things, In
cvitablc. Russian aggression must advance.
Khlya Is nothing 70 the Gar except as the
stcpping-sto to the rich and fertile provinces
beyond II. Some weeks ago II looked "a Il
England would anticipate the struggle and
help the Khan Of Khlya TO maintain hls indie
pondencc, but hor statesmen would seem TO
have thought better of II and 10 have post
poned the contest, The entire question Ia
one Of the greatest aud most important of
modern times, and will be watched with the
most intense interest by the whole world,
and especially by Europe, which II may at
any moment involve In general war.
STRIKE OF THE NRw YORK GAS MEN.
At noon on Saturday one hundred and
Twenty-Five men, the employees Of tho New
York Gasllght Company, struck work on ac-
count Of the refusal Of the company to re-
duco their hours Of daily labor from twelve
to eight. The company ut once sent 10 Wards
Island and secured . lot Of Italians and Ger
mans, most Of whom could speak little or no
English, to take the place Of the strikers but
as the manufacture Of gas requires consider
able skill and experience, and as these quail.
ncations were entirely wanting In tho new
employees, the latter very naturally met with
poor success In their efforts TO produce the
Illuminating nuld, aud, rs q consequence, the
lower part Of the city, from Grand street to
the Battery, which depends on this particular
company for It's supplies, was left In dark
ness, or at best In q state Of very dim and
feeble Illumination.
| An inconvenience so universally felt by all
classes-by worklngmen as we'll as by capt.
talists, by the poorest even more than by the
richest-ls likely to create bias unfayorablc
| TO the strikers. This, however, would be
unfair, unless the men had violated some
agreement In striking, and had thus failed TO
give the company fair opportunity TO sup
ply their places. II does not seem however,
that they arc liable TO this charge being en-
ployed by the day, aud therefore each man,
as IN individual, being free 10 terminate his
contract at most at the cnd Of any woek.
Moreover, the subject Of a strike has been
agitated and noticed In the newspapers for
como timo past, so that the company were
not without due notice Of the impending
trouble. And II ID devolyed on either party
70 sec that New York was duly Illuminated,
and to think Of the inconyenicnces and even
dangers to which the public would be ex-
posed by leaving the city In darkness, this
responsibility rested upon the company, with
whom the public made their contracts and II
was their duty to make temporary sacrifice
Of their interests, II such d sacrifice was
needed, rather than fall TO make good their
engagements.
The action Of the men, therefore, must be
Judged Us that Of any other strikers would
be, aud not with reference 10 the special In
conyeniences arising from their peculiar rela-
tion TO the question Of the gas supply Of the
city.
The New York Herald Of yesterday says
that the trouble was originated by the COM
pany with view to the reduction Of expenses.
Il states that since the strike Of last season
three separate gangs have been employed,
working eight hours each. The other gas
companies were working two gangs twelve
hours each, but were paying for the extra
time. The New York Company induced their
men TO accept the Same arrangement, but
afterwards cut OF the extra pay, which, &C.
cording to the Herald, Is the cause Of the
present strike. The wages paid Is s3.25 q
day to hremcn and s2.50 day TO helpers,
while the Mutual Company pays ~ u day to
the former and 90 day TO tho latter.
| Considering the natnrc Of the employment
the demand for eight hours really does not
seem unreasonable, that being, as II would
secm to US, long enough for men 10 lnhaie
the odors familiar 10 all who ever approached
within stones throw Of . gas-house. Tho
president Of the company says ''men get
used TO this work NJ they do 10 kindred en-.
pioyments, aud claims that the reports that
the retorts are kept at whitehead are
grossly exaggerated" Perhaps so; but at
best II does not seem probable 10 US that the
breathing Of such an atmosphere as Is found
In gas-works for twelyo hours out OF every
twcnty-four can be conducive either to health,
happiness or longevity. And as 10 the wages,
II the men have families 10 provide for we
should say that IL would require something
Ike third Of their earnings 10 procure even
decent house room In New York city, to soy
nothing Of food, cISthing and incldentals,
The Chesspeake snd Obis Canal.
The long and severe wintor, that seemed 50