The herald., 1897-12-12
MUCH WORRY
For the Leaders of English
Politics
FRANCE SLICING UP AFRICA
GERMANY LOOSING ALBION'S
ORIENTAL CINCH
FRANCE SLICING UP AFRICA
Arctic Explorer Peary Is Received
With Honor and Minister Hay
Is Making Himself Famous
Associated Press Special Wire.

AssoclatcH FEeSS opeclai W"e'
LONDON, Dec 11.-(Copyright 1879
-Four cabinet councils in week are
calculated to arouse comment, but IT
must be admitted that the Marquis OF
Salisbury and his colleagues have null
tipllcity Of matters more or less urgently
calling for q settlement. With France
trying to filch slices Of African territory
which Great Britain is in the habit of
calling her own, and Germany loosening
the "cinch" Albion has always claimed
to have in China. while Great Britain
| herself Is trying to grab a little more
country at various other points, and
with the preparation of the legislative
program, the ministry has no lack of
worries.
The announcement which the st.
James Gazette made on Wednesday
last "authoritatively" that the British
government does not expect any fur-
ther trouble with France regarding the
Upper Nile regions, France agreeing to
accept the situation, is unconfirmed,
and probably unfounded. as there Is no
lack Of evidence that France is deliber-
ately pursuing the task of selling the
upper waters of the Nile above Khar-
toum, thus cutting the British line of
communication between Capetown and
the Suez, and the powerful colonial par
ty in France threatens to upset the Me-
line cable cabinet should 1t recede from
this enterprise.
INDIAN AFFAIRS
| All the force of General Sir William
| Lockhart, the British commander on
the Indian frontier. have been with
drawn to the Bara valley for the win
ter. Thus the largest and best equip
ped force ever assembled in India has
failed, and the whole work will have to
be repeated in the spring. About 1400
officers and men either killed or wounded
and three millions of rupees spent In
loss, and British prestige weakened on
the frontier, are the debts against
which a few mud huts and sangers
blown up, and probably several thou
sand natives killed, are the only appar-
ent credits.
CABINET CHANGES
Rumors, too precise to be guesswork,
are current to the effect that the earl of
Elgin early next year Will retire from
the vice royalty, and be succeeded by
Lord George Hamilton, whose Indian
secretaryship will be filled by Lord
Lansdowne, the present secretary of
state for war. This would be good
party move for it would enable the Mar
Guis Of Salisbury to place at the head OF
the war Office a skilled man of business.
who would satisfy the taxpayers, as we'll
as the army, and materially smooth the
path for the intended popular demand
for military reform. 1t is intimated
that Joseph Chamberlain may be trans
ferred from the colonial to the war office,
his place being given as sop to the
Marquis of Londonderry, whose "kick-
ing" qualities are not appreciated by the
ministry.
PEARY'S WELCOME
Lieutenant r. L. Peary, the American
explorer, has taken the town by storm,
though he arrived here unheralded. The
newspapers, geographers and scientists
are at his disposal. AS a leading geo.
grapher said to representative of the
Associated Press, Lieutenant Peary has
won all our hearts by his modesty, cour-.
tesy and learning. We put him on the
same plane as DR.. Nansen, and have the
utmost confidence in his plans.
On Tuesday Lieut.. and Mrs. Peary
dined with the Harmsworths, and on
Wednesday the United States ambassa-
dor Col. John Hay, and Mrs. Hay gave
a dinner in their honor. The lieutenant
lectured at Newcastle on Thursday, and
on Friday he lectured at Edinburgh.
There he met with an enthusiastic re-
ception from the Royal Scottish Geo
graphical society and was presented
with it's medal.
Sir Clement Markham, president of
the Royal Geographical society, will
give a banquet in Lieut.. Peary's honor
on December 14th.
The Saturday Review says: There is
a tinge of hero worship in the reception
accorded to Lieut.. Peary which sur
Is as it should be. Peary is of our race
and speaks our tongue, and it is only
fitting that we should feel more warmly
for him than for foreigner. Moreover,
the desperate courage shown by Lieut.
Peary is almost unparalleled in the
splendid record of Arctic exploration"
HAYS GOOD WORK.
"Col. Hay has done great deal more
here than people think" said one of his
friends recently. "He has declined over
fifty invitations to make public speeches
since he arrived in England"
Judging from the praise lavished on
his purely literary speech at the Omar
Khayyam club on Wednesday he will
find it more difficult than ever to de-
cline these invitations.
On Friday afternoon Col. Hay had a
long conference with the Marquis Of
Salisbury at the foreign office on the
subject of Bering sea. The interview
was amicable in both sides, but moth
ing definite was arrived at. Later in
the afternoon Col. and Mrs. Hay pro-
ceeded to Windsor, where they received
special marks Of attention. The United
States ambassador and his wife dined
at the queens table, Col. Hay sitting
next to her majesty. She was most
kind and cordial, the conversation last
ing an hour. After dinner the queen
conversed with Mrs. Hay in the same
cordial manner.
THE KODAK FIEND,
A snap shot of the family group while
the czar and czarina were at Darn
stadt, showing Emperor William with
his arm resting affectionately on the
czars shoulder, has furnished a German
photographer with a picture which is
selling freely. The Berlin photographer
has skillfully detached the German en-
peror and the czar from their surruond-