The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1898-01-16
Brought About by the Inquiry Into the Sen.
tence Of Dreyfus.
A Change in the Government May
be One Of the Near Future
Events-Serious Riots May be
the Sequel to the Affair-Move-
Upper Nile Becoming Unpleas-
antly Prominent in British Cir
cles.

1898. by the Associated Press. 1.-The
new phase into which the Dreyfus case
has entered is distinct advance. The
era of secret court-martialS is over, and
civil and public court will have to
investigate Emile Zola's charges of per-
sistent distortion of justice. The be-
havior of military authorities in "burk-
ing" the inquiry casts the graveSt re-
Elections upon the oft-asserted honor of
the French army, which has shown an
obstinate determination to stick togeth-
er, right or wrong. Outside of France,
all Europe believes Dreyfus is the VIC
tim of a conspiracy, and the prosecution
of lola has broadened the question, for
the whole French army is now virtually
placed on trial.
The gravity Of the situation is en-
HANGED because the whole of France is
in state of growing hysterical excite
ment. Temporarily the republic is gen.
orally supported throughout the coun-
try, but history shows that similar hys-
terra has frequently led to violence and
chaos. When France is able to analyZe
the situation, and should the suspicious
prove that the honor of the army is real
~ affected, the consequences to the re-
public might be Of the most serious de-
scription.
The Panama scandals have defied po-
Etical life, and the law courts have been
discredited. Therefore, if respect for
the army also be surrendered, the de-
sire to change the Government may be
irrepressible, in which case the tempta-
ton for the leaders to divert the atten-
tion of the country to a foreign war will
be well nigh irresistible. Hence, the
deep interest of Frances neighbors.
For the moment the intense excite
ment will probably find an outlet in the
renewal of the spectacle presented dur
ing the last days of Boulangism. Hot
alterations in the streets, leading to as
ssults, are frequent; the police are
guarding the houses of prominent Drey-
fusians, and it is impossible to foreSee
where the arrests will end. SANDER and
denunciation are so rampant that the
authorities are taking special precau-
ton to prevent the illuminated from
taking the law itno their own hands.
Duels have already resulted. A monster
manifestation is preparing in Paris for
Sunday. Allegedly, it is anti-Dreyfu-
sian. Really, it is anti-semitic, and un-=
less prohibited it is feared serious riots
may be the sequel
Temporarily overshadowed, the move
ments of the French on the upper Nile
are again becoming unpleasantly prom
inent among those who imagined that
England had undisputed claims upon
those regions 1t is immaterial to dis
cuss the exact whereabouts of the
French expeditions. 1t suffices that, ac-
cording to the bulk of evidence, they
have penetrated to Bahr- Ghazal, the
. L
Soudan, with the distinct mandate of
their Government. If this is true, and
the declarations of successive British
Cabinets mean anything, NJ. Hanotaux
has brought about a casus belli.
Thus far M. Hanotaux seems TO have
The advantage; but the game is danger
Gus. Fear of war with France will not
stop Great Britain from recovering the
whole Egyptian Soudan, and driving out
any French expeditions which may be
found there when, in the opinion of the
Marquis of Salisbury, the proper time
has arrived.
In the meantime, Prince Henry of
Orleans is fitting out at Marseilles, and
evidently with the approval of the
Government, an armed expedition to
subdue the equatorial provinces which
the Negus presented, claiming they had
belonged to Abyssinia in prehistoric
times; but in reality these provinces are
identical with those Great Britain is
seeking to restore TO Egypt. So, per-
haps, there is some truth in the story
that the activity of the British is due
10 the Egyptian intelligence department
learning that the French Abyssinian
troops have reached Fashoda; that King
Menelik is preparing reinforcement
with the intention of following up this
success. and that n common policy,
which is morally supported by Russia,
unites France and Abyssina.
There are persistent reports of grave
troubles threatening Persia. The Shahs
sovereignty has always been shaky, and
it is now affirmed to be rapidly slipping
away from his grasp. Indeed, the situa-
ton at Teheran is described as being
so precarious that a coup d'etat may be
precipitated at any moment.
Probably the murder of Greaves, the
English telegraph operator and the
outbreak at Mekran are connected with
the tendency to revolt in Persia
1t is believed in well-informed circles
that the dispatch of India troops to the
Persian Gulf is due to general unrest
The news that Sir William Lockhart
the commander OF the BritlSn FORCES
on the Indian frontier, has postponed
his journey homeward, in the expecta-
ton of a settlement with the Afrids,
who are seemingly DESTROYS of submit
ting, points to the early conclusion of
the most serious of the quartet of 'lit-
tie wars in which Great Britain is
engaged, and will probably absorb the
whole of the budget surplus.
Influenza has penetrated to the sacred
college at Rome. But few Cardinals
are exempt. and the condition OF Mgrs.
Parochi. Agliardi. O-gelia and Mertel
IS grave. The Pope thus far has es-
capped
The scandalous debauchery in Regent
street and Piccadilly, this city, has led
10 the preparation of two bills for pre-
sentiment to Parliament. One of them
makes it a crime for a man or woman
10 live on prostitution of women In
the case of foreigners. the bill provides
for the repatriation Of the guilty
parties. The other bill provides pun
isbment for soliciting. Those who are
responsible for these two bills point 10
the condition of the West End of Lon
don az being unbearable The foreign
"bullies" living on women's prostitution