The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-05-20
Plum FOR THE PREMIER
RELIEF OF MAFEKING SAID TO BE
A SAVER FOR LORD SAL
ISBURY
HE WAS IN BAD REPUTE
Russia's Defiant Actions Anger Brit
Ons Into Charging the Premier
With Inability to Protect
Eastern Interests.
Copyrighted by the Associated Press.

Copyrighted by the Associated Press.
LONDON, May 19-Mafeking, the splen-
did stand of its heroic defenders and
their timely relief, formed the sole topic
of conversation here, the other events of
the week being entirely swept out of the
memory of the people of England. In
fact, they have well nigh forgotten Lord
Roberts and the main object of the war,
so overwhelming is their rejoicing over
the deliverance of the garrison of the
little African village. Neither Kimber-
ley nor Ladysmith appealed to their
sympathies as did Mafeking, ana it will
probably be days before the country will
settle down to a sober appreciation of
the struggle still going on on the African
plains, and which still presents serious
military problems.
There is a great demand for the car
tOon published in Punch entitled 1.-The
Eleventh Hour" in which Col. Baden
Powell is drawing the attention of Ma
feking, depicted as a wan-faced woman
to a telegram posted on wall, and read
ing:
Hold on until the 1Sth-ROberts'
Col Baden-PoweIl is represented as
saying:
"All right Cheer up. Roberts is a
man of his word"
FORTUNATE FOR PREMIER.
The successful turn that affairs have
taken in South Africa is most fortunate
for Lord Salisbury, as his weakest point
his foreign administration, had threaten
ed to become an all too prominent topic.
The news that Russia had secured a coal
depot in Corea, as announced May IS in
a dispatch to the Times from Pekin.
has raised storm of indignation, and
many of the Conservative organs have
declared that is another unfortunate in
stance of the premiers utter incapability
to protect British interests in the
far East. Among those who study
Chinese questions the belief Cb-
tains that Russia's latest move is
direct breach Of contract with another
power, and against Great Britain and
Japan which brings these nations face
to face with a grave crisis which pusil-
Luminous diplomacy will neither end nor
mend
The Globe, for instance, openly advo-
Gates Immediately sending a powerful
fleet to Corea, and bluntly demanding
that Russia forego the advantages she
is alleged to have secured in contraven-
ton with the agreements of 1881. How
ever, though the important organs are
In bad hUmor over the matter, it is
said on good authority that Lord Sails
bury has much too keen an appreciation
of Great Britan's present trouble to
take any alarming action in the imme-
date future, and that he only contem-
plates diplomatic inquiries and passive
aid to Japan in the protests she will
doubtless make.
INDIAN FAMINE
The secretary of state for India, Lord
George Hamilton, has granted the Asso-
ciated Press permission to inspect the
unpublished official correspondence re-
ceived up to date in his department deal
ing with the Indian famine. The mass Of
reports that came in by the last mail
alone from the hosts of civil servants
who are now striving desperately to stay
the onward march of the devastating
evils that threaten to sap the life of
India almost battles condensation. Yet
now and again there is revealed mas
sages very strong in verbiage and
wealth Of pathos and mountaineering
which columns of vivid description could
scarcely convey.
What, for instance, could better tell
the tale of sorrow than the following re-
port of the commissioner of Kerowa in
Rajpotna. With careful regard for the
regulations governing communications he
brusquely commences: ''KherWerea-
Crops practically nil. Water-Hardly
any. Cattle-All dead. Fodder-Nil. Peo-
ple-Thriftless class dead; people with
small means at the end of their resources
and either on relief works or dying.
Crime-Abnormal."
With a pathetic frankness found in few
CT these grewsome documents submitted
to the Associated Press he continues:
81 have tried to keep the &herwera ba-
zaar open to ALL but as 1 have only 5000
rupees lent by the Mewara at Darba
with which to purchase grain, have mis-
erably failed, and hundreds come to me
daily for permission to buy and have to
be refused.
One resident of Rajapootna reports that
the residents of Selma, a state with a pop
ulation of about $4,000, tells him that
only 1SS persons died of starvation in
March.
THOUSANDS FAMISH.
In the course of a CHEEKY report the
resident of Western Rajapootna expresses
regrets that he is obliged to record 3,O67
deaths as occurring in the famine camps,
hospitals and poorhouses in the COMPARE
lively small state of MarWar during
March, while another resident supple
ments this CHASTITY record of wholesale
mortality by remarking that at Dhauler,
out of 10000 persons congregated around
the relief works, LIS have died between
Feb. % and March Is, and this has no
bearing on the inroads of the plague or
cholera. Glamour reports that 179 died
at Naghpoor during March.
Capt. Grant, on famine duty at Marwar,
reports that the majority of fatalities
were not preceded by any acute illness.
Old persons, weak with woe begone looks,
sit at the relief works all day long, draw
their pay, eat full meal and die during
the night. Nothing can be done for them.
They will not go to a hospital.
~ IT,, oh, = 4 fl1,
evils of the famine, there are still other
evils frequently mentioned in the dis
patches. These consist chiefly of the Da-
colts, who are raiding what few cattle are
left, and the refugees, who, to quote the
commissioner of Aswerda, are often from
the far distant states, have abandoned
their children.