Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-08-22

A story comes from France which shows
what field may yet await American enter
prise and ingenuity in the Old World. AT
Benegarde on the Valserine, near Nant1a,
the Rhone disappears under the calcareous
rocks In manner highly interesting to
geologists. The Perte du Rhone has been
not less interesting to artists BY reason Of
the wild and picturesque beauty OF the sur
rounding scenery. New We learn that an
American has been buying up all the land
in the neighborhood of Bellegarde through
which the Rhone runs subterraneousl7,
and that the river, by his ingenuity being
diverted from its underground passage, is
by means Of channel turned on into q
new direction, where its power can be used
Tor working any amount OF machinery.
Already mechanics are beginning TO flock In
from various parts of Europe, and the inhab-
itsnts OF the place are of opinion that ere
long Bellegarde will become thriving
town. It Is now q mere village and COM
mune Of the Department Of the Ain.
The rapid destruction of our forests has
become matter of national, or, we may
say, international concern. The American
Forestry Association has for its object the
checking of this wholesale humiliation by
existing forests and the propagation Of
others. The annual congress Of this asso-
citation will be held at Montreal, Canada,
August 81 and %. The Hon. George
B. Lor ng, United States Commission
er OF Agriculture, is President Of
the congress, and the governments OF On
tario and Quebec have appointed special
representatives to attend the meetings of
the congress. The Canadian and many
-
delegates, and large attendance from both
countries is anticipated. The protection of
forests from fires, roadside planting in coun-
try and town, fruit tree cultivation, and the
best methods of working timber land In the
interests of the holders, of the public, and
of the revenue, are among the questions as
signed for discussion at this congress.
While England is preparing for decisive
blow at her Egyptian enemies, Russia is
said to be also showing signs Of warllke &C
tivity. The rumored concentration of 80, 900
men in the Caucasus is, indeed, officially
denied, nor does 1t seem probable that
Russia really contemplates so audacious a
venture as an advance through Asia
Minor to the Bosphorus at this IN
healthy season, especially as she has
Just lost the only General who could
have attempted it with any hope of success.
But the assumption by Russia Of menacing
attitude in order to wiring some further con-
cession from Turkey, by bringing pressure
to bear upon the latter while hampered by
her strained relations with England. would
be quite in the traditional style OF Russian
diplomacy. II was by eXerttng a pressure
OF this kind upon China in 1860, when the
Anglo French troops were at the gates OF
Pekin, that Russia added large slice of
Manchuria to her Asiatie dominions, and
the revolution which has just broken out in
Corea may offer her an opportunity OF exc
cutting a second stroke Of the same kind in
the far East.
New York Times: '1t is becoming appa-
rent that the unprecedentedly harsh
sentence of Mr.. Edmund Dryer Gray, edi-
tor of the Freenaan'S Journal, ex.Lord Mayor
of Dublin, member of Parliament, and High
Sheriff, has hindered rather than helped the
pacifcation of Ireland. Mr.. Gray's offense
consisted in printing a criticism Of jury
and preferriDg q charge OF drunkenness
against the iurymen in terms that would not
be considered as seditious or incendiary in
the United States even IL the midst of a
civil war. A heavy fine and term OF i'm
prisonment, imposed after a trial that was
lndeceRtly hurried, constitute a punish
ment which even conservative Eng
lish newspapers describe as excessive and |
worthy of condemnation. Mr.. Gray is made |
q martyr, whether he will or no. From his |
prison he sends contribution for one OF the |
Irish relief funds with the message that he |
bears his incarceration cheerfnlly, with the !
hope that his punishment might help the |
general cause. The arrest of Messrs. Henry |
George and s. J. Meanys and the unexam- |
pied severity Of Mr.. GraY's sentence, how |
ever, are all within the limits Of the extra |
ordinary measures permitted for the repres-
sion OF violence and agitation IN Ireland. |
These acts, tyrsnnical as they appear, are |
a part of the new system adopted by the |
British Government in Ireland"