The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1896-01-30

of the Colonial association will be pre-
scented to the chancellor and to the reich
stag. 1t will contain the request that
3OO,OOOOOO marks, about $75,000,000 be
appropriated to increase the navy. An in
structive contrast to these demands is fur
nished in the official report of the colo
les, which has just been published. From
this document it appears that out of the
thousands of Germans to whom the en-
peror referred only 700 have apparently
elected to take up their residence in
Greater Germany, and of this number
800 are military and civil authorities
These figures do not include Southwest
Africa, for which no statistics are given
The trade of German colonies, the re-
port also shows, is steadily decreasing,
necessitating an increase of imperial sub
ventions by 100000 marks, making
total cost of over 100000 marks.
Striking testimony of the miltarism of
the colonial government is shown in the
fact that the report Jumps negroes, don,
keys and oxen together, under the head
of ''beasts of burden" in East Africa.
Emperor Williams birthday on Mon
day next will be celebrated in the usual
way. Among the princes present will be
the king of SaXony, the Grand Duke of
Baden and others of almost equal rank.
Prince Hohenlohe will give a banquet
to the foreign ministers in honor of the
occasion. An heroic size monument of
Prince Bismarck is to be erected on the
northwest point of Germany's frontier,
on the summit of the Kinisberg, Schles-
wig-Holstein.
A Berlin engineer Paul Brans, has
invented n new military rifle, which is
worked by compressed air. Its maya
zine contains a great number of bullets
nd hn nrfn inc
force of 145 per cent higher than those
of Mauser rifles.
A military commission is now studying
the new weapon. In order to save the
Holligan chain of islands, lying off the
Schleswig coast, from destruction the
Prussian government has asked the diet
for a large grant of money. These ISL
ands were partly submerged during the
recent storm and there was heavy loss
of life among the inhabitants.
The amnesty decree which emperor
William issued on January Is was so
indefinitely worded that the courts
doubt how to apply it. In Hamburg and
Altoona 800 prisoners were released, but
of this number 164 had to be reincarcer-
ated the following day.
The imperial court at Leipsic on Mon
day last ruled on a case which affected
oiS lIShto VI many Observation-Disclosures
+. w. Boehine, of Brooklyn, was fined
in September last in the sum of 200
marks for evading military service by
emigrating. The court quashed the
sentence as not being in accordance with
treaty rights.
The secretary of the interior Herr
Won Riecke, is drafting new regulations
for the purpose of rendering the petrole-
UNI monopoly held in Germany. A new
system of tariff rates will put the Ger
man refners upon equal terms with the
foreign refiners, and especially with their
American competitors.
Her Knebel-Doebritz, a high official of
the ministry of the interior, who drafted
the regulation excluding the American
insurance companies from doing business
in Germany, has received q. high decora-
ton from Emperor William. The gov
eminent architect, Herr Hans Zopke,
has. accepted the post of professor Of
engineering at Columbia university,
Washington.
DR.. Ahlwardt has written to friends
here stating that it is his intention tc
remain in the United States as editor
of Western newspaper.
The United States ambassador, Mr..
Theodore Runyon, and Mrs. Runyon din
ed on Tuesday with the ex-Empress
Frederick and on Thursday Mr.. Runyon
was present at Emperor Williams diplo-
matte dinner at the palace. His majesty
was very pleasant to the United States
ambassador and referred jokingly to the
Venezuelan question as "the late I'M
pleasantness."