The times., 1898-04-04
ECHOES FROM ABROAD.

Many Americans. as we'll as thousands
of Englishmen. will be glad to hear that
the total destruction of the picturesque
beauties of Henley-on-Thames by
threatened railway Improvement has been
averted. The Great Western Railway
proposed to build a line from NARROW to
Henley, which, after roughly following
the course of the river from NARROW,
should cross a spur of Remenham Hill
into the Henley valley. and traverse it's
entire length along a high embankment.
A two-spanned viaduct was to cross the
river at the Eyot, and station was to
be built at Thamesfield. The scheme was
no sooner announced than it excited the
most vigorous opposition. The Thames
Conservancy Board joined hands with the
Henley Corporation. Rowing clubs raj
lied to the side of the local landowners,
and countless sympathizers were found
among the multitudes to whom Henley Is
almost a sacred name. Itris now stated
that the company has quailed before the
storm, and is willing to produce an alter
native scheme This does away with the
embankmens which would have been the
most fatal Disagreement. 1t is proposed
that the town shall be reached by a tun-
mel running tmnasr the Buckinghamshire
shore, and That the contemplated new
station shall be. erected on the Berks
side. The railway viaduct at the Eyot is
still part of the scheme, and it is diff
cult to see how it can be got rid Of, if
there is to be a railroad at all.
AT recent sitting of the Academy of
Sciences in Paris, NJ Mascart presented
a series of photographs in colors, taken
by M. Auguste and NJ. Louis Lumiere of
Lyons. According to a correspondent of
London newspaper. these photographs,
though not absolutely perfect seem to
show that the problem of color phOtogra-
ply, if not already solved. is coming
nearer and nearer to solution. Among
the specimens shown at the Academy of
Sciences We're basket of cut flowers, a
lady wearing an elegant costume of ten
der colored silk. bed of flowers a jewel
er's show window. a group of officers in
|. bright colored uniforms. etc. NJ. Mascart
explained the process used in the prepar-
alton of the pictures. 1t is a perfection
of the indirect method indicated by NJ
Cros and NJ. Ducos du Hauron. Several
negatives are employed. The length of
exposure no longer exceeds one minute.
simultaneously with the withdrawal of
the German forces from Crete, the
Cologne Gazette, in a plainly inspired
article, expressed the official and i'm
perial German sentiment with regard to
the suggested appointment of Prince
George of Greece as the ruler of the ISL
and. After declaring that such an ap-
pointment would be contrary to the
logic of events, it goes on to ask whether
tranquility and permanent peace can be
expected to return to that Sorely af-
fiicted island in the train of a Greek
! regent who is essentially an abomination
to all Cretan Mohammedans and TURKS.
This, it says, can hardly be believed
''even by those foreign personages who
work in secret behind the scenes of the
| political stage, and on whom must be laid
| the responsibility for this most unhappy
| ending of the Cretan question" Prince
| George is described as "a representative
| ef the hated race whom the Turks have
| vanquished " and as a naval officer,
| who made himself Immortality ridiculous
| by an expedition to Crete, where he
| meant TO destroy the Turkish vessels
! with unIoaded torpedoes" His nomina-
| those half-measures which have been
| the prolific offspring of the weak vaciI-
| lation of the great powers in this
| wretched question" The article closes
| with the intimation that Germany has
no longer sufficient interest in the isl
and to justify her in interfering with the
| plans of the powers more. directly con,
cerned, especially as she foresees that
both men and money will be needed be.
fore the tranquility of the island is re-
| stored.
AS the question of the explosive quail
fty of the Dum-Dum bullet, now in use
in the British army has been raised il
| Parliament and in the French Chambers
1t may be well TO repeat the description
of this missile and it's origin, of which al
| account was published in this journa
| some months ago. In the struggle t
, produce rife with the longest and mos
| accurate range, the diameter of the bul
| let has been gradually reduced. TO Civ,
| it a greater penetrating power and I
| more accurate flight, its substance OF
outer coating has been made harder, un
| til in the British army the pencil-like
| metal-coated Lee-Metford bullet with
| diameter of 0.303 inch has been evolved
| This bullet at short ranges may produce
| terrible effects If ii strikes a hard bone
but passes clean through soft parts with
| out causing any material shock to th
| system 1t thus allows a wounded mai
to charge home, and has consequent!
been found to be ineffective in stopping
| rushes of such determined fighters as ar
to be met with in both India and Egypt
To end this difficulty the Dum-Dum buI
let was introduced; il is precisely simi
| lar to the Lee-Metford bullet, eXcep
that the cupro-nickel covering is not con
tinued over its pointed end. The conse
quence is that when it comes into con
tact with the body the softer lead AM
antimony core which is exposed ''set
up into a broader mushroom-like end
which infiicts greater damage than tn
hard metal-eoated point of the Lee
Metford bullet. All the older British bul
let's including the Martini-Henry, whcl
is still exclusively used by native troop
in India "set up in precisely the sam
wav as the Dum-Dum bullet, and tn
more severe injuries produced by tn
latter are due to the greater velocit
| with which they are discharged.
The Russian plans for trade develop
ment in the far East appear to be of tn
most comprehensive character. Accord
ing to correspondent of the Londol
Standard, it is proposed to establish n
fewer than eight Independent STEAMSHIP
services at VIadivostok. "a A weekly ser
vice OF steamers to Hong Kong, vi
Nagasaki, Shanghai and Canton: (2)
service to the Korean ports, Newchwane
Cheefoo. Tientsin and Shanghai, thes
steamers to connect with the Russo-Chi
nese Railway and the regular boats o
the Sungari River; (3) a line on tn
Yangtze, between Shanghai and HunkoN
| Ca Japanese company started a servic
between these two ports few month