The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1885-04-19
THE SITUATION.
Gladstone's Policy, Outlined
and Commented On.
PLAYING A WAITING GAME
Money Has Manufactured Most of the
Wa News of the Past
Fortnight.
OF the Situation.

LONDON, April 18.-The prospect OF
peace may be delusiye.s Many expert
enced diplomats entertain firm con-
viction that the apparent truce is
taken by England merely to get a
proper breach for effective action. The
very frmness with which Gladstone
makes his public statements, and the
! cold, calculating exactness with which
he phrases his utterances, all tend to
convince those who know the Premier
well, that he has determined upon a
policy which, no matter how surprising
it may be, when announced, 1t will by
no means be one of retrogression.
Gladstone has made some retreats dur
ing his ministry, but he has always, on
these occasions, betrayed himself by in
decision and evasiVenesS in his Parlia-
mentary statements. It's quite differ
ent with him now To all interroga-
tories in the House of Commons during
the past week, the Premier has pre-
sented the very perfection of firmness
in his reply, where the questioner de-
sired to know something which the gov
eminent were not ready to confide
to the public. Gladstone has straight
forwardly refused to give information,
and has plainly based his refusal upon
public policy. In nearly every other
case, the Liberal leader has been frank
to his constituents. fair to his opponents
and unimpassioned and truthful to the
Russians. Gladstone appears to have
his entire casein hand; seems to be un-
embarrassed by theprospects, and un-
doubtedly has the full sympathy and
A.
a sporting man states, Gladstone is
playing waiting game and knows all
the cards." 1t would appear from all
this that the Premier has another coup
de theatre prepared Tor next weeks vote
OF credit day. Hence, although all the
surface indications warrant the state
ment that the prospect is one of peace,
the only description of the actual situa
ton which can be given as literally &C
curate is contained in the statement:
"The situation is practically I'M
changed" of course, such a state
ment is rather oracular; but SO is the
situation, for no one outside the Cabs
net seems to know just what it is. nv
1t may be set down as absolutely true
that the rise and fall of the war talk
during the ten days past has been
largely due to the speculative money
interested in making sales or purchases.
Never In the history of modern times
has such a vast amount of money
been interested in the change of
public, opinion of single nation.
The enormous sums invested by Berlin,
Vienna, Paris and London capitalists in
Russian securities and British consols
have compelled vast and powerful in
terest to maintain and spread the good
news. The owners of millions of idle
money in London and in the continen-
tai bourses, seeking Investments, con-
stitutes on the other hand an equal
powerful class. whose interest is to
break the values by securing and circu-
lating bad news. This struggle to re-
tain, against this battle to get, has been
largely responsible for most of the war
news given to the public during the past
emanated in any form from either
the Russians or English govern
ment. The Russians generals are
poor and ambitious I for fame.
but no one supposes they are market
spectators. England never had min
istry purer than the present Cabinet. 1t
is not only above suspicion, but out of
suspicious reach. r. In Paris and Berlin
the spectators hold large amounts of
Egyptian stock. These holders fear that
crash would ensue in all these stocks,
if England should be compelled to evac-
uate Egypt in order to measure her
strength with Russia. Russia has been
making the strongest possible efforts to
maintain her financial credit in Europe.
She has recently announced that the
new tax on coupons will be collected
from Russian holders only. The foreign
holders of Russian bonds haze.
therefore, nothing to do to escape
this coupon tax, but to make
affidavit to their nationality. The
announcement of this peculiar distinc-
ton among the investors in Russian
bonds has both created surprise and
helped the Russian credit abroad. The
imperial council, which has this entire
matter under present consideration, has
made haste to relieve the foreign
holders of alarm by making them
acquainted with their exemption from
this coupon tax, and will soon make
known other important results of the
discussion, which the council is now
devoting to the whole subject of Russian
credit. 1t is not yet definitely known
what the result has been of the efforts
of the Russian government to negotiate
lOdu WILL Int IsOtuSCu1luS- IL 1o
believed. however, that the Rothschilds
have declined Russia's terms This
belief is fortified by reports that
a number of contracts for the
Russian government, the conelu
sion of which were based or
the success of the negotiations, have re-
Gently been abandoned, because of the
alleged refusal by the Rothschilds to
make the requested loan.
General Vannorski, Russian Miaister
of War, it is stated, is suffering from
ill-health. and desires to retire. General
Obroutcheff is named as his successor.
Vannorski, belongs to the peace party
in st. Petersburg. 1t is not generally
believed that he is really i'll. 1t is
suspected that if he retires it will be In
Difference to the war party, which seems
to be getting control of the Russian
government. Obroutcheff is thoroughly
in sympathy with the war party, and
his assumption of the control OF the
war Office would undoubtedly be indi-
cative of the adoption or a warlike
policy by the Car.
The Statist advocates the formation OF