New-York tribune., 1901-01-13
NEWS OF TWO CAPITALS.
LONDON.
roG TYPICAL OF ENGLISH BEWILDER-
MENT OVER SOUTH AFRICA.

Il
TO COME BEFORE THE CABINET THIS
wEEK-INTEREST IN THE LON
DON AND GLOBE COMPANY
Copyright: 1901: BY The New-Eork T-ibune1
LBy TO rRIBUNEJ
1ondon Jan 12.-The single week of wintry
,nestber after a mild and debilitating season is
,o11owed this morning by one Of the densest and
blackest fogs ever known in London. From
westminster Bridge there are no Turneresque
tones Of gray, golden pink, but only the
blackness Of night. and in the streets there is
neither color nor poetry in the fog. and naught
hut stern. dismal prose. All the street lamps are
1,qbted Wagoners lead their horses; hansoms
and omnibuses crawl foot by foot, and men are
seen as trees walking This fog, which is as
dense indoors as without, and as depressing as
a wet blanket wrapped tightly around London.
svrbolizes English ignorance Of what is going
on in Darkest Africa. After fifteen months of
srduous and wearisome campaigning. so COM
nlete is this bewilderment that men have lost
their courage and nerve, and are well nigh
persuaded that an army of over two hundred
thousand veterans in complete possession Of the
two Dutch States has been held up by scat
tered bands of raiders, and that Cape Town is
protected only by the guns Of the fleet from
capture by Hertzog with seven hundred follow
ers and a pair of MaXims. There is no clear
ness Of vision, sense Of proportion. or So
briefly Of judgment. The situation in South
Africa is a mystery Of great darkness, and the
outcries of timorous journals for the dispatch
NJ thirty thousand reinforcements and the
warnings Of pro-Boer sympathzers that peace
must be made while there is time, are like the
excited shrieBs of the wagoners and cabdrivers
in to-day's fog Indeed there are unmistakable
signs that the English people, like their own
army in the field have grown stale. Like the
soldiers, they are weary of war in which there
Is neither prestige nor advantage, and are over
strained by the prolonged period Of nervous ten
sion. They in a fighty state Of mind and
are prone TO overestimate the dangers of the SIT
uation in Cape Colony where Hertzog and his
desperadoes in reality are pushing south at a
safe distance from the British lines. with some
thing Of the staggering air of Falstaff and his
followers. While they are stale they have not
lost their grit but are determined that the war
shall end in the complete subjugation Of the
Beers The weary, homesick soldiers in the
Transvaal have repulsed every attack with their
oldtime vigilance and valor; and the English
people depressed as they may be at times, have
the same infiexible temper. The white mans
burden is not yet too heavy to be borne.
The Cabinet meeting next Friday will be the
first sign Of revival of the sense Of ministerial
responsibility since the adjournment Of Par
lament. Lord Salisbury, Mr.. Chamberlain,
Lord Lansdowne. Mr.. Arthur Balfour and their
colleagues have been spending the midwinter
holidays in the country; and, while their secre-
taries are with them to answer letters, little
work is done. Several questions will come up
at the Cabinet meeting Lord Kitchener's de-
mand for twenty thousand additional mounted
force will be brought up afresh, with Earl Rob
erts's advice as reported by Mr.. Brodrick. Lord
Lansdowne will have the last bitches in the
China tangle 10 unravel, and the text Of the
Senate amendments to the Hay-Pauncefote
Treaty to submit to the judgment Of his col
leagues It is not likely tn he will refer to the
Duke Of Norfolk's attack upon the Italian mon
archy and nation, as it was simply an evidence
Of the individual loyalty to the Vatican of a
powerful nobleman who had been Minister Of
the Crown.
The China settlement, which is satisfactory in
Berlin, will be sanctioned by the Foreign Of
flee. If Russia persists in holding territories
through which the Continental Railway must
run 10 the open ports, and if Germany also in
creases her holdings the mainland, England
will acquiesce. Already Americans are rated
by the weekly journals for their simplicity in
supposing that Russia would stand by profess
sions which were at variance with her am
bitons and settled policies.
The fate of the Canal Treaty still hangs in
the balance There is a hopeful feeling the
American Embassy that the amendments may
be accepted but there is no sign from Lord
Lansdowne as TO the ultimate action Of the
British Government.
Despite street rumors, it is probable that the
Chancellor of the Exchequer will delay the is
sue OF the new Government loan until the middle
of February. The > per cent rate, which the
Bank is gradually enforcing by extensive bor-
rowings, and the dearness of money tend to
strengthen this impression. Revenue receipts
are advancing by leaps and bounds every week,
and gold is returning from the Continent and
may be attracted from America. Sir Michael
Hicks-Beach will prefer to put out the loan
when the Bank is strong and the money market
has been eased. Flnancers are hoping that
dearer money will bring a good many millions
in American gold to swell the reduced revenues
of the Bank. ana for this reason regret the con-
tinuance Of Wall Street speculation large
scale.
Interest on Change centres upon Mondays
meeting of the London and Globe shareholders.
at which Mr. Whitaker Wright, who is Lord
Dufferin's working director. has promised to
make the declaration that the embarrassed
company's debts have been paid. While he has
advanced f250.O00 for that purpose. and needs
much more TO satisfy the claims of creditors
IL is probable that the shareholders will be as
sessed FIVE shilings a share. which with the
capital Of f2 100000 will yield enough clear
of the arrears. This may involve an increase
in the capital Of 100000 for In the new order
Of stock promoting finance assessments do not
sound well as fresh investments. The COM
rany has valuable properties. which under good