Omaha daily bee., 1890-12-06
OTHER LANDS THAN OURS.

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OTHER LANDS THAN OURS.
M. Crispi, the brilliant italian premier, Ler-
| haps today the ablest man charged with the
| conduct of national affairs in Europe, has
| won brilliant and overwhelming victory in
the Italian election For years, having
gained power by coalition he has carried
on his government by playing one party
| against another and seeking support as un-
| hesitatingly from conservatives as from the
| liberals. The constituents of his majority
have been perpetually changing, and it is
only by unexampled skill as a politician and
| amazing force of character as a man that he
has kept at his back a score or more votes
than bare majority in q chamber of up
wards of five hundred members. The cleo
| tions which have been held however, give
| Crispi's government solid support OF 400
members, or nearly four-ffths of the cham
Der. The radicals, from whom the principal
| assaults on M. Crispi have come, have dropped
| to a bare twenty-seven, and the great con-
servative strength, which it has always been
felt might divide the ministerial party, has
| cast its lot in with the youthful follower of
Mazzini who in his old age has become the
steadfast support of crown, law and settled
| order Such IA result is little short of po-
litical revolution 1t gives M. Crispi an as
sured position such as no Italian premier has
had in twenty years. 1t greatly strengthens
the position of the triple alliance, of which M.
| Crlspi is the uncompromising supporter. 1t
| ends the dream of the irredentist party, that
its members might, by agitation. intrigue and
network Of secret societies, foment trouble
| between Austria and Italy over the frag-
ments of italian territory the former still
holds about Trieste. 1t stamps with perma-
| nency the policy of italian expansion in the
| Red Sea and Abyssinia. Unfortunately, also,
| it continues in Italy the wasteful and extrav-
agant armaments which have brought its
treasury to the edge of bankruptcy, vastly
| added to taxation, and postponed the devel-
| opment of material wealth. ....
~
| The future OF Holland may be said to de-
| pend upon the life of frail and delicate girl
| of ten. Little Princess Wlhelmina is far
from beng strong child and in tho event
| of her death the crown will pass to her
| fathers only sister, the wife of the regning
grand duke of Saxo-Weimar, and subse-
| quently to the latter's sons, who, like their
| father, are German princes and officers to the
| V cry core. Although the Dutch constitution
| of october IA, 1S4S, provides that the crown
| shall not be held coucurrently with the
actual rulership of any foreign country, yet
| there is nothing in this clause to prevent the
| grand duchess Of SAKE Weimar from exercis-
| ing the soveignJy of the Netherlands while
| her husband continues to exercise that of his
grand duchy. 1t will be seen, therefore, that
| in the event Of little Queen Wihelmina's
| death, Holland, with all its vast colonial
possessions and enormous trade, will become,
| if not dc 1ure, at any rate de facto, part
! and pare Of the German empire This
| is result which, although awaited with ill
| disguised impatience at Berlin, is regarded
| in the light of a terrible nightmare by the
| Hollanders, who arc fonder of success in
commerce than Of military glory; who prefer
| hiring mercenaries to fight instead OF doing
| their fighting themselves, and who are con-
| vinced that any union with Germany will in
| volve the disappearance of their ancient lib
| critics, of their trade, and of the peaceful
| and easy-going existence to which they have
been so long ccustomed. Indeed, there are
| many who assert that sooner than submit to
| German mastery they will rise and proclaim
| the abolition of monarchy and the restoration
| of the ancient Dutch republic under a stadt-
| holder or president, elected by the states
general. 1t will be seen, therefore, that not
i in Servia and Spain, but also in the Neither
| lands, do vast interests, both dynastc and
| national, domestic and foreign, depend upon
| the precarious lives of infant sovereigns.
-.
The cordial relations which have hitherto
| been maintained between England and Italy
| seem likely to bo impaired by the rupture OF
| the negotiations regarding the boundaries Of
| Abys5inia The Italians insisted that for the
! defense of their Abyssinian protectorate an
| occupation of Kassala either by an Anglo
| Egyptian or an Italian force was indispens-
| able. The attitude of the British foreign
| Office, on the other hand, is precisely that Of
| the dog in the manger 1t will neither take
Kassala itself nor permit Italy to do So That
adds to the uneasiness of the Italians at
| finding their hands tied in the matter of Kas-
sala is the reflection that, at best, their
| policy Of annexation in Abyssinia is Of ques-
tionable expedency. The acquisition of Mas
sowah, tho occupation of the high tableland
of Keren and Asmara and the assumption Of
a prote ctorate over lAbyssinia are moves an
alogous to the French adventures in Tonquin
and Anam, which ruined the ministry Of M.
| Jules Ferry. Italy is far less able than was
| France to afford such ambitious and expen-
| sive demonstrations Nor were they, in
deed, ever deliberately sactioned by
the Italian people or its legislature.
| Only when they were presented
| as accomplished facts was the reluctant ac-
| quescence of the chamber Of deputies OBJ
tanned. The cost of maintaining standing
army in readiness for European contingent
| cies Is out of all proportion to Italy's finan-
| cial resources, and the country cannot bear
| the additional burden that would be i'm
| posed by war for the defense Of Abyssinia
Where Lord Wolseley failed it is improbable
that the Italians would succeed without an
exhausting outpour of men and money
Speaking on this subject some months ago.
an influential Italian statesman, Marquis
Alheri, said that the uncertainties of the