Omaha daily bee., 1896-04-04
OTHER LANDS THAN Guns.


to have Port Arthur and all Manchuria, and
the report that China has ceded the former
to the car Is probably only premature, II
Incorrect. Surveys for a branch OF the ST.
berian railroad to several points on the
gulf Of Pe-chi-li, were made long ago, and
part OF the work on the line across Man
churia was done before the war between
China and Japan. The only question from
the Russian standpoint has been where the
terminus and the winter harbor should be,
and that Port Arthur would be chosen has
admitted Of little doubt. This purpose was
behind the Russian protest which prevented
japanese occupation OF this port and
prompted Russian aid to China in paying
the indemnity her defeat cost. Europe was
not deceived by these Russian protestations
of friendship for China, and Russian pro-
tests against the division of Chinese terri
tory. Germany and France fell in line be-
hind the former and Joined in compelling
Japan to relinquish her booty, but 1t must
have been known both at Paris and Berlin
that 1t was Russia's interests and not China's
which they were serving. 1t is impossible
to tell how inclusive are the Russian plans
for the Incorporation of Chinese territory.
Port Arthur is nominally wanted as a rail-
road terminus. and a naval station which
is open and accessible all the year round.
which is not the case at Vladivostock, and
not always the case at Port Lazareff on the
north coast of Corea. Back of Port Arthur
Is Manchuria surrounded on two sides by
Siberia, while a little way off is Corea, and
In front the Yellow sea. Russia at Port
Arthur means Russia within easy distance
OF Pekin, and near enough to be a menace
to the coast adjacent to Shanghai and the
British protectorate. Russia firmly in
trenched at Port Arthur means Russian SUI
zerainty over all the country back to the
Siberian line, and no one can predict the
extent of Russian influence at Pekin.
sh
The indications are now strong that. in
spite OF the immense sums which Great
Britain proposes to eXpend in strengthening
and increasing her navy. Germany will not.
as 1t was thought she would, attempt to
build up a navy. All that has been obtained
from the Reichstag is a grant Of $500, 900,
with which to begin the construction of one
battleship, which is not to be finished until
1900. There was even some opposition to
this slight increase in the German navy, and
1t was only silenced by assurances on the
part of the government that it was not in
tended to build up a great fleet like that Of
France or England. This opposition was
probably partly caused by the rumor that the
emperor was to do the planning Of the ship.
There are few things which he does not
think he is capable of accomplishing. He has
painted pictures, written poetry, given hints
to artists and composers and shown the
of the army how to conduct
great musical W0rkS. NOW ne proposes tnal
the battleship in question shall be con-
| structed with its guns in tiers, one above
the other, in a central tower-l,ke structure.
Persons who are fond Of picturesque excite
ment will doubtless wish that they may see
such a battleship in a real fight and in a
heavy sea.
Matabeleland, it is to be borne in mind, is
a country quite detached from any existing
British possessions, though it adjoins upon
the east Bechuanaland, which at present,
though nominally a protectorate, is in fact
little more than a zone of influence"
What is more to the purpose is that 1t lies
just north of the South African republic,
and that by an effective British possession
the Beers would be hemmed in by the Brit
ish on every side, except upon the east,
where thus far the Portuguese hold the coun-
try between them and Delagoa. 1t is the
wilderness to which they would retreat If
they were crowded out of their own land
once more, and British acquisition of it would
compel the Beers to remain where they are
ON the north. The progress of British
settlement has been very rapid. Already
1,070 farms, aggregating 6,400 900 acres,
have been registered, or, as we would say,
pre-empted. The secure possession of the
country would form a very important link
in the chain of British dependencies. Ly-
ing as 1t does almost midway between Cape
Colony and the Soudan, the acquisition of
all three would go far toward painting the
map Of the dark continent red. That Is the
avowed ambition of Cecil Rhodes, and there
Is every reason to believe that it will have
sympathizers in Downing street.
According to reports from Budapest, the
Hungarian government has prepared a bill
for increasing the present strength Of the
Honved troops by the addition of artillery.
In the course of the debate on the Honved
army estimates Baron Fejervary, the Hon
we'd minister, will lay the government pro-
posals before Parliament. The formation of
Honved artillery is advocated on two Diff
ferent grounds. In the first place, it APP
pears that various far-reaching changes in
the military laws are planned, in conform
ity with which neither the strength of the
army on a peace or a war footing nor the
annual number of men to be enlisted Will
be fixed beforehand, but, as in Germany
and France, the laws relating to compul-
sorry service will be extended so as to in
Guide every man passing the necessary med
ical examination. In this way the numer-
ical strength of the Austro-Hungarian army
will be raised from about 1880 900 to about
2, 400, 900 men. The second reason Is the
necessity of increasing the number of field
guns at the disposal of the Austro-Hun-
garian military authorities. At present
Russia has 1900, France $500, Germany
300, Austria-Hungary Ito and Italy 1920
field guns. Thus, in proportion to It's size, /
the dual monarchy possesses the smallest
number of arms of this class, and 1t is to
remedy the deficiency that the formation
of Honved artillery is proposed. The or
ganizatlon of a Honved artillery corps has
long been desired by the Hungarian ma
ton, and it is expected that the proposal
will meet with no opposition in Parliament.
HAE
Russia, after forty years of wandering
IN the wilderness of insolvency. in which
her people have enjoyed the delights which
inhere in the issue II legal tender paper
money, has taken the initiatory steps toward
putting her finances upon a gold basis. The
Russian silver ruble, which circulates at a
par Of IA cents, ia worth about As cents.
1t will be retained as a part OF the metallic
circulation, with a limited legal tender
quality. But the paper money will be- grad
ually redeemed and displaced with gold. For
this purpose the government has accumulated
a very large gold reserve, and it is expected
that the redemption of payments in gold
will have the most stimulating and healthy
effect in promoting the industrial and com
mercial interests of the empire. Specie pay
mults have been suspended In Russia since
1865, the vast expenditure involved in the
Crimean war having forced the government
- AL-a taa.aiA NOVA hno hhtln Ra 1