The Washington times., 1901-07-27
FOREIGN TOPICS.

iis'HeuNFtS, the channel and Meditcrra-
mean fleets are to have fortnight's cruise
together in the Atlantic
The Channel squadron will assemble at
Berehaven on the suspension of the forth
coming mimic war, and on August % it
viii proceed to Gibraltar to join the Medi-
terranean fleet, under Vice Admiral Sir
John Fisher. The two fleets, numbering
eighteen battleships. will then steam well
out into the Atlantic and for fourteen
tions- Subsequently Vice Admiral A. X
wilson command will assemble at Vigo
whiie the Mediterranean fleet will return
to Malta.
British firm is Offering for sale at
its rooms. in Leicester Square, prac-
tically unique record of the siege of Mafe-
King, consisting OF complete set of gem
eral orders and official communiques from
Baden-Powell to his garrison from Sep
tember =. 1899, to August %, 1900, md
signed either by himself or Lord Edward
Cecil. In addition to these documei.ts
there are a number of official copies of
letters which passed between the besieged
and besiegers. and complete sets of Mafe-
king siege notes, soup tickets, railway.
camp, and other passes, and pr. gramines
of concerts. dinners, and gymkhA 1as, IN
Guiding the menu of a dinner giveI on st.
Patrick S Day, also of one given by Col.
-
memorate the one hundredth day o. tss
siege, and last, but not1east, an orisiaa
postcard sent to Baden-Powell by a fri d
in Cape Town with water-color sketc.
on the back of an Arab sheik en- ro ite
from Cairo to the Cape. The following is
the text of two letters out of this interest
ing collection.
ITO Colonel Baden-Powell, Mafeking:
Dear Sir: / see in the .Bulawayo
Chronicle that your men in Mafeking
nj frir rkat on q nd Sfv NJ
certs and balls on Sunday evenings. In
case you will allow my men to join in 1t
would be very agreeable to me, as here,
outside Mafeking. there are seldom any
of the fair sex and there can be no mer-
riment without their being present. In
case you would allow this we could spend
some of the Sundays which we still have
to get through round Mafeking, and of
which there will probably be several in
friendship and unity. During the coming
course of the week you can let us know If
you accept my proposition and / shall
then with my men be on the cricket field
and at the ballroom at the time to be ap-
pointed by you. Wishing you and all of
yours a pleasant day. l remain your obe-
dent friend, S. ELOFF,
"Commdt Jobsdal Commando"
..AIafeking. April 30, 1900.
ITO Commandant C. E1off:
Sir: | beg to thank you for your letter
of yesterday, in which you propose that
your men should come and play cricket
after the match in which we are at pres
ent engaged Is over. But just now We are
having our innings and have so far scored
2J days not out against the bowling of
Cronje, Snyman, Botha and Eloff, and we
are having a very enjoyable game. | re-
main yours truly, BADEN-POWELL."
Owing to the unusually large amount of
passenger traffic this season between
Paris and London, an effort has been
made by the English press, seconded only
by a certain section of the Paris press, to
have quicker means of transportation and
better travelling accommodations between
the two capitals. The effort, in a meas
ure, has been successful. The othei day
the Nord, running between Calais and
Dover, made the record run across the
channel in fifty-three minutes forty sec
onds. a feat which the Pas de Calais is
now trying to excel. The French North
ern Railway is also introducing vastibule
cars for second-class coaches on al. ex-
press trains from Paris. A change, too,
has been made in the time table. The
express train which formerly left the Care
du Nord, in Paris. at 1884 in the afternoon
with passengers for England. via Bou-
logne and Folkstone, now starts five min
utes earlier, the passengers arriving at
the Victoria and Hoiborn Vladuct Stations
at l:5U at night, while the train which
formerly left Paris for Calais at 11:50 now
starts at 11:20 a. m, and succeeds in hay-
ing its passengers alight in London at
D. m. instead of 7:35, as formerly. To
make this possible the customs author
tiles have lent their cordial cooperation,
and the electric cranes at Calais and Do
Yer ere now SO operated that baggage
can be loaded or unloaded in twenty
five minutes. Other time saving devices
will shortly be introduced. and the French
vestibule cars for third-class passengers
will soon be run on afternoon and night |
trains.
From a report that has been received
from the Belgian Consul General at Pre-
toria it would appear that, in spite of the
fact that the war has not yet finished,
speculation has already commenced in the
Transvaal.
II is expected that as soon as hostilities
are ended numerous companies will be
floated for the exploitation of gold. dia-
mond. and coal mines According to the
report the moment is favorable for
the formation of syndicates with the OBJ
ject of buying or securing an option upon
farms or mining concessions in districts |
favorably situated.
Diamond mining would appear to have
an important future in the Transvaal.
John Brown Scotchman, is Just now |
making a tour of the rivers of France in |
to cover 4.e00 miles on water before re-
turning to his native land. Mr.. Brown |
cooks and sleeps In his diminutive vessel |
and has no travelling companio /. His |
craft measures fifteen feet in length, is |
a little over three feet wide, and nearly |
two feet in depth. How anyone can take |
pleasure in keeping house in such cramp- |
ed quarters and find rest at night in such |
an uncomfortable couch is hard to under |
stand, but Brown assures his French in |
terviewers that he thoroughly enjoys his |
outing. which. he says. will keep him |
from home more than year.
He began his trip on the Seine end he is |
now on the Marne. He will sail down the |
Yanne. the Saone. the Rhone, and its |
ranean. Then he will go on the Loire
and end his voyage through France on
the Rance. which will conduct him to
Saint Malo, where he will take a steam
boat to Jersey. The name of his canoe
is Oithona, and it is so constructed that
it can be wheeled on terra firma whenever
its occupant gets tired of being on the
water.
Australians have some queer nicknames
for different States, and for one another
The Queenslanders are dubbed banana
landers;" Western Australians. now alb
breviated into Westralians, are known as
''sandgropers' or 'gropers" The Wes-
tralians class the whole of the other
States in one group and call them ''t'other
side" and the inhabitants ''t;other siders"
Tasmania, much like England in eli
mate and other characteristics, is usually
as a little behind the times and
referred to as the land of lots o. time"
the land of sleep a lot" and so on. Tas- |
manians are called Tasses, also jam
eaters" jam being one of the chief pro-
luctions of the tight little island" Tas-