Graham guardian., 1898-05-20
France To Be Warned.

dor Porter will be directed to lodge
very strong remonstrance with
the French Government relative to
the matter in which important of
fetal dispatches were delayed in
transmission by the French West
Indian Gable Company last week.
They were held up twenty.four
hours at st. Pierre, Martinique for
no reason at all that Admiral Samp-
son can discern. If IL happens
again, the American officer will
seize the cable line and cut it. He
will be justified as Dewey VAS,
when he seized and cut the cable
fifteen miles from Manila.
Under the usages governing the
control of submarine telegraph
lines in war times, and as the Ber-
lin conference IN 1879 decided, q
commander at land or at sea, may
under certain conditions, seize tele
graphic communications belonging
to a neutral and friendly power,
when the line may be used to his
detriment, or in way that would
iimperil his safety or that of his
command.
"No principle can be clearer than
this" said the British Secretary of
En- bassy, the Hon. Charles Fred
rick Adam. Lord Beaconsfie d
proposed it at the Berlin confer
ence, and Prince Gortchakofi, the
Russian representative, seconded
him. There was strong senti.
ment against it, led by Prince Won
Bismarck. The Turkish repre-
sentative voted with England, Rus
sia and Italy and thus it was car
ried.
Sinking of Spanish Trap.
Key West, May 18-The U. S
gunboat Wilmington, ,CammanderC
G. Todd, when about thirty miles
east of Havana fired four shots into
a Spanish trap in the shape OF q
derellct, sinking it and thus doing
away with another piece of Span
: ish trickery.
The commander of the Whining
ton had been warned by the dis
patch boats that some dangerous
wreckage was drifting about the
spot mentioned and the gunboat
steamed in that direction to iuves
tigate the reports.
An old Spanish schooner with
her deck loaded to the rails with
rusty iron, car wheels, etc., closely
packed together was found float
ing in the track Of the torpedo
and dispatch boats. The iron
laden schooner had evidently been
sent out Of Havana harbor in the
hope that the torpedo boats OF
some craft of the blockading fleet
would crash into it and be so, dam
aged as to sink.
| Movements of Dewey.
Hong Kong, May lS-The
steamer Rsmeralda from Manila
with 400 refugees reports the Unit
ed States cruisers Concord and
Boston are going to IloiIo, where
they expect prompt capitnlation
and the recapture Of the Ameri.
can ship Saranac, with q cargo OF
coal. The rebels are useless as
allies of Admiral Dewey. They
are utterly disunited, quite half of
them being in favor of Spain.
Pending the arrival of troops from
the United States the Americans
defer hoStilitles ashore.
Still Making A Bluff.
New York, May 18.-A special
copy, right from Santa Lucia, w.
l. to the World says: A large
strange warship was sighted last
night lying off the east coast of this
island. Others were also seen to
the northwest of of St. Lucia.
These vessels are believed here to
be of the Spanish squadron watch
ing for the battleship Oregon which
may pass close to this island on its
way to Key West.
Spanish Boats at Ecuador.
San Diego, May 17-Captain
Lentz of the q. S. steamer Alert,
new in this harbor, which sails
tonight for San Francisco, reports
there are two Spanish gunboats of
about $50 tons at Guayaquil, Ecua-
dor, and they have been there some
time, much longer than the neut-
rality law allows. This is the first
news received of any Spanish war.
ships being on the west coast of
America.
Alabama Launched.
Philadelphia, May lS.--The
battle ship Alabama was launched
at 1850 p. m. today. Marie
MOrrop dau.rhtar nF Snnatpr