The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-09-18

London. Sept. 17.-(Copyright, 1898, by
the Associated Press).-Three or four
black thunder clouds are overhanging
the political horizon Of Europe. The
Drevfus. Cretan and Egyptian ques-
tions have become more acute, and it
is difficult at present to forecast the
outcome in either case.
An indication of the activity in the
official world is found in the fact that
the Marquis of Salisbury, who went for
a quiet holiday to take the waters Of
Contreville, has had a special telegraph
Office established at his hotel this week,
in order to deal with the mass of Of
fetal kilograms pouring in and out 1t
is understood that the British premier
has ordered that the most stringent
measures be taken at Gambia, Island of
Crete. where British troops were re-
Gently fired upon by Mussulmans. the
execution of which only awaits the
arrival of sufficient reinforcements OF
her majesty's soldiers. who now num-
ber 1000 there, while another battalion
is on its way to Gambia from Egypt.
The most recent adViceS tend to show
that the powers are disposed TO give
Great Britain a free hand to obtain
reparation for the massacre of Chris
tians and the insults to British arms.
Admiral Noel. the British naval COM
mander of Cretan waters, has ar
ranged with the other admiralS for the
Immediate withdrawal of the military
contingents. The British squadron now
lying before Gambia is powerful enough
to raze that place in a few hours
The Turkish authorities at Gambia
are playing their old game of surren-
dering a number of nobodies as the
ringleaders of the massacres, while a
number of beys who are known to be
the real instigators OF the trouble are
still at liberty and are likely to remain
so unless considerable further pressure
is brought TO bear upon the Turks.
A SCARED SULTAN.
AS it is, the prompt action of the
British admiral gave the sultan a bad
fright He sent his foreign minister
to arouse the ambassadors from their
beds in an endeavor to persuade them
to put bride upon Admiral Noel, but
he received cold comfort from the rep
resentatives of the powers. The Brit
ish charge d'affaires replied to the
Turkish representations in the strong
est terms He said the Mussulmans
were .'unprovoked murderers of British
Sailors and that the British govern
ment took the most serious view of
the matter.
Meanwhile the situation at Gambia is
critical Thousands OF the most motor
iOus Bashi Bazouks have now left the
town and fortified themselves just in
side the military Gordon while outside
the Gordon a body of Christian insur-
gents is gathering. They are like
spiders watching their prey, eager to
spring forward If the Bashi Bazouks at !
tempt to leave the town. The chances /
OF bloody fighting hinge upon the Turk !
ish government and Edhem Pasha, /
the Turkish governor, who has asked /
for instructions, after having been no /
titled by Admiral Noel that the Mus /
sulman population must be disarmed. /
The British admiral is apparently de-
termined to enforce the disarmament !
of the Bash Bazouks. whether it is
agreeable to the sultan or not.
OCCUPATION OF FASHODA.
The absence of news from Fashoda,
the important place about 400 miles
south of Khartoum, which is reported /
to have been occupied by a French
force, has put the British upon tenter-
hooks, but they have implicit faith in
the British commander, General Sir
Herbert Kitchener, and have cheerful
ly assumed that the British and Egyp-
tian flags are already flying there,