, 1894-09-12
Spectator, Aug. 1lth.)

Anew York telegram of Thursday gives an
extraordinarily vivid picture of the destruc-
ton of the "Ragnvald Jarl, ;" the vessel which
conveyed the Wellman Arctic Expedition.
CAPTAIN Bottolfsen, whose statement has been
cabled to America from Spitzbergen, says that
the expedition reached Walden Island on
Nav 18th. son the oath, Mr.. Wellman and
his party started ~northwards, and, four days
later, the "screwing'' Of the Toe COM
menced in real earnest, the icebergS towering
on every side of the vessel yard arm high
On the Same day. while the crew were drink
ing their afternoon coffee, the ice suddenly
closed in, and the "Ragnvald Jarl' was crush
cd like a match bsx. The water rushed IN
with terrific force, and all fed ashore. Tbs
entire catastrophe occupied but four or five
minutes. Ultimately, Captain BOttolfSen and
two other mon went south to report the tate
Of she ship. They took with them a small
aluminium boat. This, owing t. its strength
and lightneSs. proved of the greatest use
The party Of six left on Walden Island will,
it is hoped, be rescued by one of the %sealers,
IS the weather conditions have improved,
In the Times of Tuesday, Lord Brassey
makes a moderate and not ineqnitablS propo-
sal in regard to the British East Africa Com
pany. He pleads for reasonable oonsldera-
ton towards a body of shareholder OF whom
it may with confidence be said that their
Leading motive was not the hope of gam, but
the desire to help forward the work OF civil
sation in Africa" Lord Brassey thinks that
in order to compensate the Shareholders,
they should be given an annuity "chargeable
in tho first instance on local revenues, Dut
guaranteed by the Imperial Government"
The amount might, he thinks, be sufficient
'to pay 2 per cent. OIL the amount which has
been expended We nave never liked the
colonial development by chartered companies,
foresesing that while success would pre-
vent proper home supervision, failure
would mean compensation by the taxpayer.
Still, under the circumstance and consider
ing that the East Africa Company kept clear
of financing, put it's money bona fds into
Mombassa, and also made permanent and
unexhausted improvements, we cannot oppose
the proposal for compensation.
On Monday the trial of thirty Anarchists Of
the reflective and philosophical kind, s%elected
out Of three hundred arrested as belonging to
an association of malefaotors, was begun at
the Paris Assize Courts, but with closed
doors, or rather with closed lips. Reporters
were allowed to be present and to take notes
but they were forbidden to publish what they
heard on tho frat day-i.e. the Interrogation
of the prisoners Grave and Faure-the object
OF course, being to prevent propaganda by
means Of 'the speech from the dock" That
is probably wise, but it would be far better to
suppress the sensationalism and notoristy
with which the authorities insist on investing
the Anarchist criminals. The indictment 10,
as usual, q rhetorical rather than a plain
and businessliks document. Grave is des-
Cribsd az Of humble origin, but "a man Of
letters, of real ability" aud is said to have
conceived the plan for developing the Anarch-
ist movement. He wrote a pamphlet in which,
like the Irish extremists, he declared that
the open propaganda should serve as a cloak
to secret acts Faure is described as be-
longing to a well-to-do family, and "a really
good speaker" He is chief of the Lyons
group, and a friend of Paul Reclus. Grave.
Faure and Reclua. are indeed, described as
forming a sort of Anarchist triangle. Round
them were grouped alike the P~ropagandists
and the men of action. 1t is also alleged by
the prosecution that the thirty had relations
with men who were actual thieves aud cri-
~ = IL