Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1898-07-21

les. British recruiting officers COM
plain that it is almost impossible to
get recruits of English blood up to the
physical standard.
In regard TO Great Britain's mer-
chant marine. which is the training
school for her navy, some figures pub
lished in the Contemporary ReUie'C are
significant. From the data brought
out by Admiral Bosanquet, B. N, it
appears that in 1891 the number OF
British lads under the age of twenty in
her merchant marine was 1000; it
fell to 4.735 in 1896, and to ASP in
1897. This does not include midship-
men and officer apprentices, OF whom
there were 1894 in sea-going vessels
March %, 1896 These figures seem
British merchant marine will soon be
made up of men who are not British
seamen. Commander w. Dawson, b.
N. calls attention to the fact that the
place formerly taken by British-born
able seamen is now occupied by for
eigrers and Asiatics-each of these
elements contributing about 10000
men. To British ships Scandinavian
peoples furnish 10. 900 sailors, Germany
5000, and Russia 1000. Mr.. Dawson
shows that a large number of the white
men-officers. engineers, firemen, etc.
are not really English seamen. Eng
lish naval officers look with alarm at
the figures which show that foreigners
constitute the bulk Of the British mer-
chant marine, from whence the En- glish
navy must be recruited.
We take it that Mr.. Theo Mayor will
not deny that the great bulk of Eng
lands imports consists of food products
and raw materials. The total imports
into the United Kingdom in 1896 from
all of the British possessions were
SO, POS, 029 pounds sterling, while i'm
ports from the United States were
9106, 347, $40; that is to say. the United
sixty-five million dollars than from all
of her own possessions. This includes
three-fourths of her flour and two
thirds OF her bacon. 1t looks like
some one would go hungry in the
tight little island" if she depended
entirely upon her own colonies to fur
nish her with food.
The claim that India, Australia,
Canada, South and Central Africa are
integral parts of the Empire, and can
be reckoned upon as certainly as the
so-called home counties of the mother
country ITSELF" will hardly hear in
spection. The Spectator calls atten-
ton to the fact that the fifty millions
of the fighting races of northern India
are on the verge of insurrection. The
Spectator has information that it claims
is reliable, and we take it to be repu-
table journal. The truth is, that In
dia has been pinned to Great Britain
with bayonet and will remain an in
tegral part of the Empire so long as
the bayonet holds. English African
possessions are 10 nearly the same con-
dition. Canada will slip her cable
whenever imperial policy makes it to
her interest to do so. Mr.. Theo May
or will scarcely contend that should
British Imperial policy seriously inter-
fere with Australia's interests in the
great South Sea, that that continent
would patiently submit.
Mr.. Thomas Hodgkin, the historian
who drew parallel in the Contempt
rary ReUiew last winter between the
Roman and the British Empire, does
not take the optimistic view of British
prospects entertained by by Mr.. Theo
Mayor. He claims that when it be-
came cheaper to import corn from
Egypt tLan to raise it on the plains of
Italy, thereby causing the Roman
peasant, from whose ranks Rome had
recruited her armies, to disappear from
the soil, the Roman Empire began to
fall to pieces. We believe the same
thing will happen to the British En-
pire if it continues to pursue its pres
eut course.
MIR. Theo Mayors contention that
the cause of the decadence of agricul-
ture in Great Britain is due to the fact
that British lands are too valuable to
farm, is an entirely new idea. 1t is a
remarkable fact that Royal Commits
sion sat for four years for the purpose
of ascertaining why British lands were
not farmed, without making this dis
covery: what asses they must have
been not to have seen an explanation
that all intelligent people must have
known! How ridiculous it was to ap-
point such a commission, in the first
place. when there was nothing to in
vestigate! How could they expect
lands to be cultivated that were too
valuable to cultivate? Notwithstand
ing the crudity of our attachments, and
the impotence of our conclusions, we
respectfully suggest to Mr.. Frederick
Theo Mayor that he increase his stock