The Washington times., 1901-09-29
FOREIGN TOPICS.

coast of Siberia. This covers an extent
of over 1900 miles of coast. reaching from
Behring Straits to Vladivostok. At vari-
Gus points along the coast gold deposits
are already being worked by foreign capi-
tai. while the petroleum wells on the ISL
and of Sakhalin are practically foreign
enterprise. The law does not In so many
words refer to the foreigner, and the
whole measure seems to be dictated by
reasons of coast defence, and to be a
regulation similar to that which forbids
foreigner to hold land in the neighbor-
hood of the Russian frontiers.
AS special permissions have already been
accorded to certain foreigners to work the
mineral wealth of this region. and much
foreign capital has been invested one way
or another in that country without the
necessary permits, considerable amount
of loss will result from the new law. AS
foreigners must enter all such undertak.
ings subject to Russian law, they VIII
have no redress for any loss they may ex-
perience from the decree The position or
affairs in China and possible complica tions
in the East are doubtless the motives for
the new decree. Ii is hard to see. how
ever. how the conduct of mining enter
prises on or near the coast could provo
dangerous in case of war.
Letters from the British Mediterranean
feet give a piece of news that Is not
altogether pleasant reading in certain
lights. During the recent maneuvres the
destroyers We're sent out six hours be-
fore the fleet. They were given two days
at sea to find the fleet, which TOOK an
unknown course. They did find 1t, and
claimed to have sunk every one of the
fourteen vessels engaged. In four cases
the claim was disputed; in the other ten
the battleships themselves acknowledged
that they were "bagged without loss to
the attack If a battleship admits her
self sunk" 1t Is abundantly clear that
everyone on board is firmly convinced
that the torpedo is victorious. Probably,
therefore, the claim for fourteen vessels
Is nearer the probabilities of real war
than the admitted ten, though whichever
Is accepted the main result is the same.
few years since the maximum tor
pedo range was 500 yards: with the .'gyro"
loo yards Is easy, and 1000 not impos-
sible. In torpedo practice the equivalent
to hit is often secured at that range,
and before now even the tiny target buoy
has been actually hit. Now at night 1900
yards Is the average maximum distance
at which a destroyer can be sighted, and
this means that a torpedo may be the
hrst intimation of her presence.
There are fifteen institutions for the blind
in the kingdom of Prussia-one State,
one municipal, nine provincial and four
supported by societies. Bavaria has five
institutions. The best care is taken of
the blind in the kingdom of Saxony. OF
the f2,000 blind living in Germany, only
about 5000 are inmates of blind institu-
tfons, which fact urgently pleads for the
immediate improvement of the facilities
for taking care Of these unfortunates.
An international office of weights and
measures is to be established in Sevres,
France, by the decision of an interna-
tional convention which had for its OBJ
tect the establishment and verifcation
and preservation of the international
prototypes tmodels). and also the man
ufacture of copies of the prototypes
for the of nations represented
in the convention. This office has been
declared neutral and shall be charged
with the verification of the standard
weights and measures for the benefit of
scientific societies or persons interested in
the matter.
England was not willing at first to join
the convention. but is now one of the
foremost in it. The entire board of trade
has received three standards-two metric
and one kilogramme standard. The two
standard metres are made of iritiio-plati-
NUM-. e.. an alloy of 80 per cent plati-
mum and 10 per cent iridium. In cross
section the metres are like an X. This
form has been selected not only because
1t Is the most economical. but because it
is the least affected by changes in tenn
perature. Iridio-platinum has been given
the preference over proposed materials.
such as rock crystal. gold. etc. because
of its natural ductibility. which is well
adapted for the engraving Of fine lines.
A letter in one of the chief journals of
Vienna gives some account of the recent
incident in Arabia. when a detachment of
British troops ejected a handful of Turks
from a fort in the neighborhood of Alden. |
For some years the Porte has been labor |
ing to extend its authority in this district. |
On the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb is aSsmail |
bay suitable for a harbor. and immedi- |
ately adjoining it the little rocky penin- |
sula of Sheikh Said. In October 1868, a |
MarseiIles firm purchased from its Arab |
ian owners los. 900 hectares of land lying |
at the foot of a ruined fortress on this |
peninsula. In August. 1870. the French |
abandoned it, Since then the Porte has |
quest ioned the right of the French pur-
chasers. In 1872 Turkey succeeded in seiZ |
ing the fortress on Sheikh Said. which |
was speedily repaired, armed with three |
21-cm guns, and garrisoned by a small |
infantry detachment. 1t Is only about |
! 800 metres from the British island of |
Perrin, which II completely dominates |
France iately has made several attempts |
to induce the Porte to recognize her al |
legged proprietary rights, but without sue |
cess. About eighteen months ago great |
anxiety was occasioned at Constantinople |
in the Hinterland of Alden, had declared |
that IL the Turks advanced any farther |
he would invite the English to occupy |
his territory, and that the majority. OF /
posed to follow his example. II was the |
attempt Of the Turks to re-establish au- |
thority over some of these tribes. which
are under British protection, that led to
the conflict with the British.
Among the many inventions for the |
of life for divers at the bot
tom of the sea and for workmen who are
to labor in deep tunnels and in
sewers, where the air is unfit for health
ful inhalation, the one recently COM
mended by the Academy of Science in
Paris seems to be the most practicable.
1t is the contrivance of Messrs. Chau-
veau and Tissot, naval engineers.
The new apparatus In the first place
does away with the bulky and unsightly
divers suits and helmets. which prove
such an encumbrance in the work of ex-
ploring the sea bottom. In the second
place it has a nasal inhaler attached. con-
sisting of two rubber tubes, which are
pressed into the nostril.
Both the material and construction of |
the apparatus are such that accidents, |
generally caused by the constant ex-
poSure to humidity, are rendered impoSSi-
BILE The Minister of Marine of France
has expressed his approval of the inven-
ton, and. it Is reported, will recommend
It's introduction into the French navy.
After the relief of the Peking legations
he Japanese troops found themselves in
.harge of the district where the temple
If Lamaism stands. The Lama himself
lad sought safet; IN flight. and the fine
with their contents. were at the
mercy of the victors. The Japanese treat
d the place with veneration, guarded it