Omaha daily bee., 1881-07-02

eTs VI tle TdSe, W.T. OlduSIOHe Sbdiiut
almost alone; and yet his services arc
devoted to his country and to hi
party. The unwillingness of the lat
ter to think the great thoughts enun.
GATED by the peerless m is the
surest indication of a political change
which will restore the tories nee NOR
to power over the British empire, ant
this change might occur before the enc
of the present year, we're it not thai
the tories are without q real leader
such as the liberals have in Mr.,
Gladstone.
The public temper in both France
and Italy is growing warm over the
complications which have resulted
from the Marseilles trouble. The at.
tack on the Italian club house in Mar.
settles is followed by similar disturb.
ances in Naples, Genoa and other
cities of Italy. Even the members OF
the Italian legislature make an exhi.
bition of feeling, for when the conduct
of their consul at Marseilles and that
of the French authorities were de-
clared proper by the minister the an
nouncement was received with ironi-
cal jeers. If such be the conduct OF
high dignitaries what but riot and tu-
multi can be expected of the rabblei
The cause of all this feeling is the as
sumption by France of a protectorate
over Tunis. The port of Bizerta is
considered an excellent base of naval
operations in the Mediterranean
and in the possession of a strong
power, a fleet in its waters would men,
ace the opposite Italian coast. The
projecting points of Tunis and Sicily
approach so near as to leave but a
mere strait between them, which
would be easily commanded by the
power in possession of Tunis. But as
a matter of fact this move of France
is more of q menace to the commerce
of Great Britain by way of the Med
iterranean and Suez canal to and from
India than to any interest of Italy.
And yet England takes the matter
good-natnredly while Italy is all strut
and bravado. The situation shows
that the temper of nations is as ca
PRECIOUS as hat of individuals. 1t
seems but yesterday since France and
Sardinia were marching shoulder to
shoulder to victory at Magenta and
Solferino. Italy has grown great
since that time, but it does not fol-
low that France has grown small.
Bismarck is credited with devising
the plan by which an ill feeling has
been stirred up in France and italy.
1t is said that at the Berlin conference
he c%raftily suggested the acquisition
of Tunis to Warrington, ~foreseeing that
it would arouse the jealousy of Italy,
and breed a disturbance between the
two countries. But Bismarck has the
misfortune now of being charged with
nearly all the mischief brewing on
the continent. The fact is the Mar
queis of Salisbury, at the conference,
favored the idea of the acquisition of
Tunis by France, and gave M. Wad-
dington to understand that England
would approve of it. Probably Meth
er he nor Bismarck had any malevo-
lent intentions in thus suggesting the
scheme to the French representative.
Neither England nor Germany would
be benefited by a broil between their
southern neighbors.
According to the Statesman's Year
Book the Russian military expendi-
ture is only 1S1, O0O, 900 roubles, and
it is therefore hard to see how q re-
duction of between LOO, 000, 900 and
zoe, 900 900 can be made by General
Ignatiett. The first named enormous
sum represents some $145, 900, 900,
which is worth mentioning as a fresh
illustration of the vast expenditure in
Europe for standing armies, that of
England being $75, DOC 900. But any
reduction of the military tax in Rus.
STA is a step forward, as it is now
nearly SO a head a year for every
man, woman and child in the great
empire. No one knows better what
to lop off than General Ignatietf, and
the announcement that he intends tc
reduce expenditures shows that he
knows where to begin first, and that
his administration may be marked by
a series of vigorous reforms for the
good of all Russia.
The electric light is not without its
dangers and disadvantages. A few
weeks ago the ~janitor of the German