Evening star., 1896-12-31

The one desire of the people here is for fair
play, the maintenance of their indepen-
aence and the preservation of those public
iiberties without. which life Is not worth
hFing. The government denies these things
ana violates the national sense of English
men at every turn. Should a dis
turbance arise here the circumstances are
SO extreme that We cannot but believe that
you and the men under you will not fail to
ccme to the rescue of people who will be Sc
situated He was assured that only ths
sternest necessity prompted the appeal. DIR.
Jameson, with 100 men. drawn from the
fcrces of the South Africa Company, a;
once started to march to Johannesburg
They were constantly attacked by the
Boers. who fired from cover. but pushed on
20 win six miles of johannesburg. There
they made their final stand and their am
munition exhausted and no sign OF help
coming from their friends at Johannesburg
they surrendered and were taken to Pre-
tor1a- Meanwhile the agitation a. Johan-
nesourg had teen Quieted by promises of
concessions to the Uitlanders. Great Bri-
tam promptly disavowed the expedition
the colonial office, on the receipt of news
tHat Jameson had started, having sent or
ders for him to return
Inc British South Africa Company, of
which Cecil Rhodes was managing director
stated that DIR. Jameson had acted without
authority. Rhodes. who was premier of
the cape Colony, resigned. Over 80 arrests
were made at Johannesburg of members Of
the Reform Committee. John HAYS Ham,
mono, consulting mining engineer of the
south Africa Company. being the most
PIomineht American of the several that
were arrested. DR.. Jameson and his force
were sent to England for trial Great ex-
citement was caused at about this time by
the publication of a message of consratula-
non from the German emperor to Pres sident
Kruger of the Transvaal. the English re-
garding 1t as an ignoring of the British
citims OF suzerainty and q virtual proclama-
lion OF the independence of the Transvaal
ra1
1orelSn intervention in South Africa appro-
priating bodily the Monroe doctrine. II
was explained that no indignity toward
england was intended. and the incident
was closed. The leaders of the reform
committee were heavily fined and the 9TH
ers required to swear they would never
again interfere in the affairs of the repub-
nc; ;is Inc Iransvaal government then pub
lshed series of cipher dispatches passing
between Johannesburg and Cecil Rhodes
south Africa Company, showing beyond a
doubt that Cecil Rhodes was at the head of
the movement to invade the Transyaal
President Kruger asked. Indignantly
nat must be thought of a person who
eggec on the dogs to fight while he was
setting quietly and unpunished? He the
man who had caused all the trouble was
free DR.. Jameson was sentenced TO fif
teen months Imprisonment and mis- asso-
clates were given shorter terms.
DIR. NANsEN's ACHIEVEMENT.
Although it was in 1895 that DR.. Fridiof
Nansen penetrated northward to latitude
Sc degrees 15 minutes, nearly 200 miles
nearer the north pole than any previous
explorer, the fact was not known until this
year. and his achievement can properly be
recorded among the great events of the
year. August 13 DR.. Nansen arrived at
"ardo, Norway, after an absence of over
three years In the polar regions July 81
1888, he had sailed fr. m the same port on
the snip Fran to seek the current which
he believed would carry his ship from north
OF the siberian coast across the pole to
Greenland. In his statement of his expe-
rience he says: LAS anticipated, our drift
northwestward was most rapid during the
WINTER and spring, while the northerly
WINDS stopped or drifted us backward dur
ing the summer" DIR. Nansen and Lieut..
Dohansen left the Fran March Ia. lS95 at
81 deg % min. north and 1O2 deg % min.
east Their purpose was to explore the sea
to; 70 .ne nortn, reach the highest latitude at
talnable and go to Spitzbergen via Franz
JOSEF Land, where they felt sure of finding
snip. They took twenty-eight dogs.two
siedses and two kayaks or skin boats. The
ooG t; 1000 was for thirty days, and they
took provisions for one hundred davs
FINALLY, April Z, he concluded on account
OF the exceeding roughness of the ice n
would be unwise to continue the march
hummock beyond hummock of ice. They
saw no sign of land. April s they began
their march toward Franz Josef Land Land
was finally reached August 6. and it was
decided to stop and prepare for winter as
II was too late to make the voyage to Spitz-
bergen. A hut was built of stones earth
and moss, and roof of walrus hide
thrown over and tied down. Bears and
wairus were shot, and both enjoyed good
health throughout the winter. Nav 10
1896, they were ready to start south. June
u they met Mr.. Jackson of the Jackson
Harmsworth expedition. who had wintered
and
piorers left on the Windward, belonging to
that expedition, and reached Vardo, as al
ready stated. August 20 the Fran reached
Norway, not having lost a single person
ana every one in good health. The geo.
graphical results of the expedition have
Deen summed up to consist in the deterni-
nation of the non-existence of land In an
area OF jo,oo square miles, and in the dis
covefy OF q deep sea to the north of the
G9th parallel. While the question of a nolar
current was not settled, it was found that
the Ice dr:fted according to the direction of
the winds. 1t was settled that the currant
If it existed, could not be relied nnon 70
carry a ship to the pole
DISCOVERY OF x RAYS,
The discovery Of a peculiar light raw by
froi. Wm- honrad Roentgen of the Uni
Versity OF Wurzburg, Bavaria attracted
the attention of the civilized world and has
made the discoverer's name immortal in
science. The discoverer modestly refused
to call the new ray the Roentgen raw"
but insisted on calling it, for brevity. the
X or unknown ray, or exactly what IT
is he does not know. Its properties have
been attentively studied ever since Profess
sor Roentgen described 1t before the Berlin
Physical Society in January last Nearly
every one is now familiar with the pictures
made by the new rays-silhouettes of diff
ferent degrees of shading of hands, coins.
books and other bodies opaque to the or,
dinary light ray. Rays that would pene-
trate metal and other bodies were known
before Roentgens discovery. Hertz Le-
nard, Sanford and Schmidt had all made
discoveries and paved the way for Roent-
gen. But the rays he discovered have a