Evening star., 1899-03-18

dur Jisseh, acting on the instructions. Of the
Indian government, dropped down to MUS
cat on board a war vessel, ana commanded
that the concession should be. annulled
Thereupon the Imaum asked France to re-
turn the concession. The French aMho1a-
ties declined to do so, and thereupon the
Imaum, knowing a good deal about Great
Britain and probably not Knowing mueh
about France, made virtue OF the mo mo
ment's necessity and himself abrogated the
new contract Negotiations were then enter
ed upon and Great Britain admitted that tine
republic had a right to a coailng slauon'
though she maintained her original and sole
contention in behalf of the territorial IN
yiotability of MuScat. This is only the end
of the first round between the two coun-
tries There is sure sooner or later to be
a collision between them over matters III
the Persian gulf.
The leasing of the harbor of Jisseh to the
French government would have been very
serious matter. At Muscat, as In the semi
independent Indian states, British poiltl-
cal officer is posted for the express purpose
of keeping the sultan out of mlscnef, ana
a British gunboat generally lies In the PIC
turesque little land-locked harbor. with It's
guns commanding the town, which is built
on the waters edge, and is backed by pre-
capitous rocks There is no accredited
French representative at Muscat
Russia's Position.
The danger of the situation lies in the
fact that there have been of late undoubted
indications that Russia is determined
in the near future to secure for herself
port on the Persian Gulf. and 1t is even
possible that she may have already won
the shahs consent to her design. The F'a-
shoda incident has shown England that
Russia Is disinclined to assist France
against England, unless her own interests
are directly threatened. If, however, Rus
sia and France are now acting IN concert,
and have combined ports for themselves
on the Persian gulf or in its close vicinity,
England stood a serious chance, 1t would
seem, of being checkmated, and of having
TO accept the situation with folded hands,
much as the French had to do when they
were driven out of Fashoda- That Russia
intends to occupy port on the Persian
gulf in the near future is unQuestlonable
The matter is indeed no secret In Russian
official circles, and only lately was an
nounced in a recently inspired article In the
semi-oficial st. Petersburg Herald. This
article was thought so valuable that it has
since been embodied in series of essays
published in book form and entitled Rus
sia's Hand Over Asia" In 1t the writer
means to insist that If Russia means to Sc
cure the future of the true center of her
empire--that Is, western Siberia and CEN
trail Asia-she must above all things have
an open road to the Indian ocean and OBJ
tain possession Of Bandar Abbas, to which
a branch of the Transcaspian railway can
be constructed by way of Meshed, Birjand
and Kirman. Persia he says, will soon
much sooner than anticipated-enter into
nese emperor now enjoys" Russian en-
gineers have within the last five years sur
veyed every inch of the country through
which the line would pass, and have most
certainty pronounced 1t, as far south as
kirman at all events, eminently practicable
for railway.
kipIing's Family.
There are some little known facts about
Rudyard Kiphng, accounts of whose nl-
ness have filled columns In the English
newspapers lately. Mr.. Rudyard Kipling
about whose health the entire English
speaking world has been so much con-
cerned, belongs on the paternal side to
Yorkshire, and Miss Kipding, aunt of the
afflicted 'litterateur." has just been inter
viewed at her residence, a snug villa stand
ing in its own grounds In a pleasant suburb
of a Yorkshire town. Miss kipling said:
my father was a Wesleyan minister, the,
Rev. Joseph Kipling. who spent the greater
part of his life in Yorkshire circuits He
died at Skipton. His family consisted of
two sons and four daughters. Rudyard's
father. John Lockwood, was born at
Pickering. He was sent to- Woodhouse
Grove School, where, as you know, many
of the sons of Wesleyan ministers are edu-
Gated My brother had strong leaning
toward art, and after leaving school he
went into the Potteries, and whilst there