Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-02-17

ing the eddies that in no way delay its
course"
Origin of the war.
And having said that he Esketched how
the war came about. 1t wasn't what had
taken place in 1896 or 1881. The root of
the matter was long before that the inten-
ton of the Beers to get rid of the British
supremacy. The history of our relation
with the Boers.'' he said, lis history of
them trying to- get out of the obligations
they had accepted The late liberal gov
eminent had recognized the trouble. and
t .! remedy was five years franchise.
1T was a remedy We borrowed from Them
he said He riddled the critics of the gov
eminent Yes. put all pressure on Kru-
ger, they argued, "to get the grievances
OF the Outlsnders remedied." But what if
pressure failed-if Kruger showed he was
not afraid? Then" said the critics. you
should have scuttled, you should have sur
rendered. Pshaw! it was absurd. And
then the ridiculous position in which the
opposition had placed themselves in regard
to this vote of censure on the government
me majority supporting the vote were say
ing the war was unjust, unrighteous, and
unnecessary. and yet they would vote for
its vigorous prosecution Then the mi
norlty OF the opposition agreeing with the
government said the war could not have
been avoided. except by the absolute sur
render OF Great Britain and yet they were
going to vote for an amendment which said
RidicuIe and Eloquence.
So he poured ridicule on his foes. Turning
to the future. he indicated that the gov
eminent proposed defensive force of vol
unteers, the greatest defensive force the
world has ever seen, to act on permanent
duty. As to the settlement of the war
he declared, it would only be by the ac-
knOwledged paramountcy of Great Britain.
Never again would Englishmen be treated
as II belonging to an inferior race. And
then he wound up with dazzling. brilliant
peroration, giving glory to the colonies that
had rallied to Britain's aid. In that he
saw some compensation for the disasters.
The war had consolidated the unity of the
empire; 1t was the federation of our race.
so ne sat down and the cheers made the
roof ring again Then the night slipped
back to the ordinary and the duel was
over.
A British Victory.
Partly owing to the cutlery made because
bridge contracts for Egypt and India were
sent to America. the government of Natal
has now awarded the contract for a heavy
bridge over the Tugela river at Colenso to
replace the one blown up by the Beers to
an English firm. They have promised the
bridge in good time and it is stated that
the contract was secured against American
makers in open competition. The bridge is
to weigh 800 tons, against 400 tons the
Weight of the other. The Natal govern
ment gave out the order on December 81
stipulating that the first span of 1u5 tons
should be finished by February l. Beginning
from the crude pig, the contractors turned
ii out in sixteen working days, ie., by Jan
uary E'-a' tons of plates, IL tons of bars
" tons of angles and II tons of tees. in
which parts there are 5000 rivetS. The
remaining four spans would, it was thought
be added at the rate of one a week making
seven weeks for the whole structure, ard
the Frere bridge of 30 tons will then fol-
low. Each span has to bear a test load of
261 tons, for the bridges, which have a
width of sixteen feet, are to carry foot and
vehicular traffic. besides "a single line of
railway This is considered a great victory
over American companies. and Is duiv
lauded by the English press.
Coal Mine on Exhibition.
Glasgow proposes, at it's great inter-
national exhibition next. year, Ito strike
quite Il new line in one of its special fea-
lures or side shows. Big wheels and cap
tive balloons have become comparatively
common adjuncts to exhibits, and they are
consequently losing their popular attrac-
ton So the executive of the Glasgow ex-
hibition have hit upon the idea of giving a
practical illustration of coal getting one of
the most important industries of the king
dom. For this purpose they have under
taken to make a boring to the depth of
about Seventy-five feet in the grounds of
the exhibition. where they expect to come
across seam of coal, in which case they
will formulate definite scheme for work.
ing 1t IN such way that all visitors to the
exhibition may, if they desire to do so, have
an opportunity of seeing the practical op-
eratfOns of coal mining. OF course the mine
will be- working in such a way as to make
1t easy and convenient for the public to in
spect it. and the experiment should be
equally interesting and instructive
The Income Tax.
hear that the chancellor of the ex-
chequer Will ask parliament for a vote of
f200Oo,000 for the war. There is also a
strong conviction that he will ask for a
shilling income tax. If that be so, it be-
tokens an earnest intention to pay the
whole cost of the war out of revenue, ex-
cept, Of course, such proportion as can be
recovered from the conquered provinces
The income tax is now eghtpence in the
pound. and an addition of fourpence would
produce 100000 sterling, and this amount
would pay off the war debt in two or three
years. The product of the tax per penny
has nearly doubled since 1864.
There is no more grievous tax in the
country than this, nor one which is more
often evaded I am at present going
through the tolls of the income tax sur
veyors net. My experience in this line has
been rather peculiar, and Is, 1 imagine, of
some interest. Let 1t serve as an awful ex-
ample to other Americans intending resi-
dence in this country.
An Americans Experience.
For some years, by reason of living in
hotels and lodgings, escaped the polite at
tentions of the department., but finally a
document that claimed my direct notice
turned up at my office Thinking that for
eigners We're probably exempt, 1 promptly
put 1t IN the waste paper basket, and 50
treated a number Of its successors. These
were mostly on yellow or buff paper, and
were somewhat voluminous and bulky. One
day. some six months after, there arrived
what may call, perhaps. petit bleu.'' It
was single small sheet of blue paper,
warning me that If did not make return
within seven days l would be fined ESQ. and
threatening other dire penalties. In evil
moment put the petit bleu" in my pocket
and called on the surveyors to explain that
l was an American, drawing my income
from the United States, and so complete his
discontinue and achieve my own freedom.
He, however. quickly undeceived me, and
informed me that everybody with taxable
income had to pay, nc. matter where his
money came from. This was unpleasant,
but as soon as 1 had grasped the situation
l tried on him what learn has since been
called a Yankee dodge (as 1t established
a nrecedept The beauty of 1t is that the