Birmingham state herald., 1897-02-28
RUSSIA AIMS AT ENGLAND Semi-oficiaI Communication in Print from St. Petersburg. WILL JOHN BULL WEAKEN Or Still Remain Firm in His Attitude Toward
 Greece2 PUBLIC INDIGNATION INCREASES Throughout Brittany and Nothing but Abso- lute Autonomy Is the Sentimenti-
 ment-Sultan's Army in Rags
 Cuban Comment.
PUBLIC INDIGNATION INCREASES

London, Feb. 27-(Copyrlght s97, by the Sun Printing and Publishing asso- ciaton )-The Greece-Cretan situation is in it's larger aspects less hopeful. The announcement of the agreement of the powers for its final settlement was to say the least, premature There exists at the present moment serious irritation between Russia and Great Britain, which has provoked the former power to adopt an attitude that can hardly be described in milder term than threatening. l do not pretend to know the exact cause of the trouble. It was discussed at a hasti- ly summoned meeting of the British cabi- net this afternoon, with what result, is, of course, impossible to say. A singu- lar semi-official communique from St. Petersburg is published today in which i. is set forth 'in the event of Greece, with blind apprehension of our own ad- vantage, offering further opposition to the we'll meant advice of Russia and of the powers in alliance with her, or ere ating difficulties, or in the event of her allowing herself to be encouraged in her present attitude by self-seeking friends, perhaps on the false supposition of lack
 
 because one or the other powers did not support it at the outset, the proposals of Russia, who is in perfect agreement with Germany and France, Russia in such an emergency is determined upon her course of action. Conscious of her unity with France, and of her absolute agreement with Germany, and also with Austria, even if isolated powers should not as- sociate themselves in the steps she is resolved to take Russia will be in po- A<< 11s...v of Europe to be endangered by events in Crete"
 This is the tone which Russia has not adopted towards any power within living memory. England, of course, is the country meant. and the words employed suggest some exceedingly grave suspic- kens. It may be, however, that this lan- Guage was used in the interval between tHs reception of Lord Salisbury's note saying in effect that England would do nothing in regard to Greece until the fate of Crete was decided and before Russas proposal for solving the diffi- culty. That proposal, although agreed to in principle by the six powers, will not be enforced in the form interpreted by Lord Salisbury in the house of lords on Thursday Neither England nor Italy nor France will fire a gun to drive the Greeks from Crete in order that the is- land be delivered to Turkish troops for police purposes.
 Public opinion in all three countries would put an absolute veto on the prop osition. Every dispa tch received from Greece and Crete makes it perfectly clear that such an arrangement would never be sumbitted to. In fact the reply of Greece to Lord Salisbury's discourag- ing speech Thursday night has been a summons to two more divisions of re- serves to mobolize. Nothing but abso- hte autonomy for Crete will be accepted by public opinion in this country, and Lord Salisbury is fully aware of this fact by this time. His unfortunate al- fusion to the use of Turkish troops as police in Crete has added much to the popular indignation. Public anger is slow to kindle in England. Cause and effect in this. IS in all things, are sep arated by wider interval than in almost any other country. Public opinion Is fully aroused now. It did not need an- other of William Watsons lyrics and a series of Gladstone notes to inf1ame it. Watson's lyrics are sufficiently savage This is one of his verses, addressed to Greece:
 "Who are these would bind thy hands?
 Knaves and dastards none beside. All the just in all the lands
 Hail thee blest and sanctifiec
 Curst who would stop thy trump march,
 Be he kaiser, be he czar."
 No news has yet been received of the
 
 the powers to Greece. but 1t is generally expected that 1t will be sent today It's terms and the number of signatures 1t has will signify much. There is no real reason, however, for thinking the Greek government will change its attitude or it's purpose in response to a demand on the lines of Lord Salisbury's speech. All accounts agree that 1t is not within the power of the king or government of Greece to change it's policy at such bid i. ding. Quite aside, therefore, from the question of the unanimity of the powers, the situation is still one of the greatest difficulty. The financial side of the sit- uation just now is interesting It is possible to insure almost anything in London, and great many persons to whose ventures war would be dangerous have been taking out pollces against sqch a contingency at Lloyds during the past few days. These are the latest rates to pay in the event of war between England and France, Germany or Rus sia:s
 ,s Within one year. four per cent. of the amount of the insured policy. against a war between any of the six great powers before August 20, costs eight and a half per cent, and against war between En- gland and any European country. except Turkey, five and a quarter per cent. It is something that policy against war between England and the TransvaaI re- public within the next year costs five and a quarter per cent.
 An Englishman who passed through Salenica at the beginning of this week writes that nobody seeing the Turkish recruits arriving there would suppose they would be able to make much of a fight against the well-fed and well-clothed Grerk soldiers. The newly mobilized redifs in particular who have been called from their homes and families for the third time within twelve months are ragged, hungry-lool<ing and depressed. Many of them have served since the be- ginning of last year in Armenia and Crete but they have not received a single pias- tre of the pay due them and are not like ly to get anything but hard knocks in the coming campaign, if indeed there Is to be a war.
 The porte has announced blithely It's intention to put a hundred and ten thousand men on the Thessalian frontier.