The Washington times., 1901-09-05
FOREIGN TOPICS.


An extraordinary document printed II
lie Matin'' OF Paris has been followe,
by the revelation that French syndi
cate has been formed with large capita
to put upon the high seas armed vessel
Tying the flags of the defunct Boer Re
publics. provided Mr.. Kruger can be in
duced to issue letters OF marque. Alread!
it Is said that the syndicate has acquire,
several swift and stanch steamers, which
unknown to the authorities of the port
where they happen to be harbored, car
easily put to sea without exciting sus
picion The document. which is now IL
Mr.. krugers hands. awaiting his sigma
| ture, reads as follows:
Monsieur: We accept your offer to or
ganize "A voluntary fleet, and 1t is to b,
understood that you are to arm at you
own risks and perils ships against Eng
land, and that, in order to remuneratt
you for the said risks and perils you viii
be allowed by the Government of the
South African Republic and the Orang.
Free State, If these preserve their indie
pendence. 800 per ton of displacement foi
English warships and 500 per ton of net
| registered tonnage for English CONNER
| clal vessels captured or sunk.
| 1t is to be agreed that you warn the
| trade OF neutrals of the danger to be in
CURED by English ships. and that you
are navigating at the time that the warn
ing is given. Payment will be effected on
the signing of peace out Of the indem-
| nifty exacted from the English Govern
| ment a fortnight after such signature.
| In the event that after the notice given
| OF the dangers ahead for English vessels,
such notice being equivalent to placing
| the English fleet under an interdict, peace
shall be signed and the independence of
| the two States recognized, your expendi-
| ture viii be reimbursed to you, and a
n at
tion.
AS regards the vessels sunk, in the
| event of your being unable to furnish any
material proofs that they have been sunk
by your ships, IT will suffice that you no.
tify in advance that such vessels We're TO
| be attacked by you for their destruction
| TO be credited subsequently to attacks on
| the part Of your ships Barring the oblf-
CATION by which you will be bound, firstly,
| to warn neutral trading vessels, and Sec
ondiy. to respect vessels not having re-
celVed notice Of danger, you will be en-
| powered to employ every means which
you may deem serviceable for the attain
ment of your ends. You will be invested
| with full powers to sign contracts with
agents on what terms you may think best.
| providing you do not overstep the con-
! ditions laid down for yourself in the pres
ent letters of marque. The operations
| conducted by you will cease on peace be-
| ing signed armistices not being notified
| to you Disputes concerning the present
| agreement viii be referred to arbitration
two referees being appointed by you and
! two by us, and there will be no appeal
| against their decision
/ Belgium owes its very existence as a
nation to Great Britain, and yet the Bel
gians of all peoples on the Continent, have
been most virulent in their abuse of the
British on account of the Boer war Brit
ish citizens in Belgium have been assault
| ed. One English lady in Antwerp was
I hGa anil tod
daily in the cafes and streets. In coise-
| quence British tourists have fought shy
| of Belgium and the hotels are on the
verge of bankruptcy. The Englishman II
and his money have gone to other lands,
and the Belgian feels his empty pockets
and wonders what is the matter.
| The agrarians say that they can feed
/ the German nation if the Government will
only give them an opportunity and pro-
| tect them against foreign imports. How
! they propose to do this Is difficult to un-
derstand in the face of the figures just
issued by the statistical bureau at Berlin.
| These figures show that of the $50. 000, 900
acres, S. 900. 900 acres are available for cul-
tivation, including forestry. vineyards.
pastures and gardening. Compared with
1893 this Is loss to agriculture of 100000
acres in favor of residence lands, streets,
roads, parks, and cemeteries. which the
natural increase of population. which is
T.,
over. the remarkable increase of 105.oCl
acres of waste lands, the total of which
is now ), 300. 900 acres, does not indicate
that Germany is soon to be self-support-
ing.
The principal japanese officers connect
ed with the recent campaign in China
have been rewarded for their services by
receiving the next higher class of the or
ders already held by them. Vice Admiral
Togo and Lieutenant Colonel Shiba, how
ever. treated exceptionally. being
raised two ranks. Colonel Shiba thus be-
comes holder of the Third Glass Order
of the Rising Sun and the Third Class
Order of the Kite. 1t is difficult to arrive
at an accurate estimate of the value of
these decorations from a foreign point of
view. Perhaps the best comparison Is to
say that a third class in Japan corre-
spends with an English companionship,
second class with commandership, and
a first class with grand cross. A sec
ond class is comparatively difficult to OBJ
tain, the theory being that some special
ly signal service must be performed to
establish title TO it. Major General Fu-
kushima. TO the surprise of foreigners
generally, has been raised only one
step. ascending from the third to
the second of the Rising Sun, and from
the fourth to the third of the Golden Kite.
He has. in fact. become possessed of
X. C. b. in place of a C. B., though the
parallel Is not quite accurate, since the
Japanese order does not carry any title
of nobility. 1t must be confessed that
this reward seems inadequate
Sir Charles Eliot. who recently return
ed to London from East Africa af-
ter completing his mission of investiga-
ton in the British protectorate there, has
presented his report to the Foreign Of
flee. Among the tribes chiefly studied
was the Nasal people. who have tradi-
tions which seem to show that at some
remote period they dwet in the Nile
Valley and had advanced considerably In
civilization. Some of the characteristics,
hitherto unreported, Sir Charles sets
down:
They do not till the soil. out possess
large herds of cattle; their food consists
entirely of meat and their drink of milk
or blood. Formerly they were a cons:d-
cradle power in East Africa and a for
midable obstacle for the earlier explorers
The spread of law and order has some
what curtailed their exploits, but the
men are still all warriors by profession.
When youths they serve as pages, and
from seventeen to twenty-five they are
considered as elmorans or warriors after |
which age they are allowed to marry and |
settle down. All the work. except fight |
ing, is done entirely by the women. The |
Nasal have an elaborate military organ |
ization and the chief. lebon, exercises |
absolute authority over them. His DOW