The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1883-08-20

here sand there from starvation.
She Cannot enter on a contest with a
first rate power" The man of fact
once more makes answer, 81 can
show no reason for the warlike
feeling that would satisfy the maker
of logic books; | may, however, say
in passing that, if nations reasoned,
there is not a leading statesman in
in Europe whose neck would be safe.
The Russian people in the present
case are not moved by reason at all,
but only by emotion" What has
raised the present feeling in Russia
we do not know; we only know that
a blind, violent hatred of Germany
has become the ruling passion in
Russian society of all grades, and
that Skobeloff spoke with the voice
Of national majority when he de-
clared that the Slav must crush the
Teuton. Reason and foresight are
put aside, and eager ferocity has
taken their place. When Skobeloff
made his tour, the official classes
were in doubt as to what steps they
should take. 1t was after the young
general was attacked by confusion
of the heart" that the men of the
sections and the Cabinet saw where
to go. A curious position has now
arisen. The figure heads of the
departments and the leaders of the
revolution are both pushing towards
one end. Terrorism has ceased for
a time because the acute man who
handles the vast and murderous Rus
sian caucus thinks proper TO leave the
ruling classes alone. The more the
men who WELD the power and finance
of Russia choose to prepare for war
the more the revolutlonists encour-
age them, SO that the national ten
dency is not being stayed by the
slightest drag. If a Russian of the
advanced school hears war men
toned, he only says, '' The sooner
the better for u.s." The ruler hopes
for a prolonged lease of power: the
conspirator hope to get rid of the
Germans, and to cause regenera-
tive anarchy. Thus 1t is that war
is impending. The newspaper man
in a foreign capital goes about gad-
ding with junior diplomatists and
with other newspaper men; then he
telegraphs home and informs us that
''the clouds have passed." and then
the writer of leading articles tells us
in slipshod English the glad tidings
of great joy. Neither the cores
pondent nor the scribbling para
graph-monger knows anything about
the matter. They guess before the
event and prophesy after the event,
while the STRINGS and advances of
national feeling are totally darkened
to them.
No one can say with an approach
to nearness at what time the war will
break out, but it is rapidly coming,
and any morning may bring news of
the final and momentous step. The
Russians fully expect to be defeated
heavily at first, but they are strangely
confident. When reminded of the
way in which the Prussian hosts
moved upon Paris they smile. They
say, "The cases are altogether differ
ent. You crush Paris and you
paralyse the central ganglion of
France. But Russia is, as it were,
creature of another organisation.
Crush one ganglion and there are
still a hundred national nervecentres
unharmed." The geological simile
is perfectly apt and true, and no one
knows better than Prince Bismarck
what task Germany has before her.
But at any rate it is to be feared
that nothing can now avert the cata-
strophe, and we can only await the
events which are marching towards
us so qnickly.