The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-08-22

except, OF course, the French Minister and his
Belgian colleague and ~protege. Chinese eyes,
however. were too much dazZlcd by Russian
muninccnce to note such paltry details. The
presents OF which Prince oukhtomsky has been
the bearer are stated to have boon as costly as
they were numerous, and scarcely q single Inn
portant official Of the Palace or of the great
public departments would appear to have gone
away empty.handed,
Among the gifts presented to the Emperor
there is q group OF statuary In silver which,
from the vicissitudes II has undergone before
finding a home in the Forbidden City, deserves
special mention. II is an allegorical represen-
tation Of the emancipation-of Bulgaria. 1t was
originally intended as q present from the late
Car to the then reigning Prince Of Bulgaria.
But while the artist was at work history was
being made, and progressed more quickly than
the work OF art. By the time the latter was An
ished Prince Alexander of Battenberg had for
feited the Cars favor, and the gift never
reached its destination. The group Is now In
Pekin, n slight alteration OF the accessories hav-
ing changed the emancipation Of Bulgaria from
the Turk into tho emancipation OF tho Leao.
tong peninsula from the Japanese. The Son
of Heaven is stated to have been delighted
with this present above all Others.
Speculation is naturally rife in Pekir. and
indeed throughout tho far East, as to the real
meaning OF tnese singular ADMINISTRATIONS.
Prince o~ukhtomsky's prolonged ~sojourn in
Pekin and his repeated conferences with the
Tsung-li- Yamen and Ii Hung Chang and other
high officials of tho capital exclude the idea OF a
mere ceremonial visit, Nothing definite is or Is
likely as yet TO be known with regard to the ne
gotiations which have been taking place. but
there is good reason to believe that they mark n
further stage in the development Of those rela-
tions between China and Russia OF which tho
so-called Cassini convention furnished. in a per-
haps fictitious shape. n fairly accurate outline
and forecast. In Pekin it seems to DO generally
believed that a large part OF the provisions men.
toned in that convention have now been con-
irmed, while others have been modified, but
modified still further in favor Of Russia
The Manchurian Railway. for instance, is to
cross from Chita. via Nertchinsk, to Tsitsihar,
and not from Blagovestchensk. although a
branch line from Blagovestchensk to Tsitsihar
may be subsequently built. The immensely
difficult section from Nertchinsk to Blagovest-
chcnsk will thus be avoided. Another railway
project under negotiation is said to be q limo
branching Off from the Siberian Railway at
Irkutsk to cross the Chinese frontier at KiAhta,
and thence to follow the main caravan route
through Urga and Kslgan to Pekin. 1t is also as
serted in well-intormed quarters that China has
definitely undertaken to restore the Notifications
of Port Arthur and strengthen Talien. wan, and to
hold these places. together with the contem-
plated new naval base In kiao-chau Bay. at the
disposal of Russia lin case Of emergency"
Considerable activity has been displayed lately.
in Kiao-chau Bay especially, which has been
visited repeatedlyiby Russian men-of.war. while
on land surveying parties sent by the Viceroy
OF Chill have been at work Under the guidance
of Russian officers. Although some Of these
statements are. of course. vigorously denied In
10th Cb;paac md Rnss,ap circlea thay roet ppnp
much too good authority in the present, and
have been foreshadowed by much too significant
indications in the past, for them to be lightly
dismissed"
A series OF sad stories OF hunger. destitution,
and death Is now coming almost daily from
Greece. Never was there n more striking cN-
ample of the terrible effects OF war undertaken
blindly in response to an outbreak Of unreason-
ing. popular demand. Many letters from public
and private sources are printed, in which har-
rowing accounts are given Of the suffering
among refugees and the peasant class in various
localities. The situation is most clearly out
lined, after careful investigation, by q corre-
%spondent of the Times, who, In the course OF a
long article. says:
The almost total stoppage OF trade and COM
merce for a period Of four or five months has
not only diminished the customs receipts by
more than a half, but has brought impoverish-
ment to the large class Of operatives, mechanics.
day laborers. porters, pilots, and boatmen who
depend on the progress of business in the mer-
camille centres. There is no professional mendi-
cant class in Greece, and begging is compare
lively rare; but Athens. Pireus. and Patras
now swarm with persons asking for aims, and IL
Is painful to reflect that most OF these have hith.
crto been earning an honest livelihood, or-in
the case OF the refugees-been the possessors OF
comfortable homesteads and farms. which in
many instances have been plundered or de.
stroyed.
Apart from the distress and suffering which
are necessarily entailed even by a successful
war, there is a special feature in the situation
which urgently demands the attention Of the
charitable and humane, the enforced congrega.
ton OF tens OF thousands of refugees from Crete.
Epirus, and Thessaly. A considerable proper
ton of the Cretan refugees has been at Athens
since the outbreak of the insurrection in the
spring of last year; the remainder came over from
| Crete last February. when the resistance OF the
Mohammedan population to tho reforms
ordained by the powers-a resistance in.
stigated and fomented by secret ~instruc-
tions from Constantinople-led TO the re-
newal OF internecine warfare in the island.
They number In all some $4,000. the bulk being
Inhabitants Of Canes, Retimo. and Gambia.
whose houses arc now OcCuplcu Dy the 91ubSul-
man immigrants. 1t is difficult to estimate the
number Of refugees from Epirus, most OF whom
are scattered in western Greece. According To
information received from an official source
they exceed Is, 900. or the Thessalian refugees
only some 10. 1000 or 10000 are in Athens. The
rest OF these unfortunate people, who number
some 1OO.O 900 in all. are TO be found in Eubea
in the smaller islands, and on the northern Greek
mainland.
How to provide food for such multitude
Is a difficult problem for q Governmen,
with a depleted exchequer. The families Of
the reserve men and Of those who have
been killed or wounded in the war have
doubtless the first claim to attention, and
their wants have been to some extent supplied
by a committee of ladies at Athens. acting in
concert with local committees in the provinces
The refugees at Athens receive each from the
Government a loaf OF bread per diem and a
penny. with which they can procure nourishinG