Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-04-20
FACES 4 BIG PROBLEM
Natal Issues Before the British
Government.
FEELING IN SOUTH AFRICA
London County Affords distressing
Finances.
KAISER's MAEIA FOR CASTLES
Nev Members Of Parliament Seeking
Membership In Exclusive Reform
Club-Notable Blackballing.
.AISER'S MANIA FOR CASTLES
Special Correspondence of The Star.

| Special Correspondence of The Star
LONDON. April 5. 1906.
i The resignation of the Natal ministry,
! giving rise, as 1t does. to constitutional
] crisis of the first magnitude, has created
profound impression here. and it is felt
| that the government is faced with prob
! lem that may have the most far-reaching
consequences unless 1t is handled with
| consumate skill and care.
In the house of commons the issues were
discussed with great concern, and the grav-
ity of the situation may be deduced from
the hopes that were expressed on all sides
that the question might be regarded as
above party polemcs and maneuyers. The
exercise of the veto possessed by the i'm
perial government over the acts of colonial
governments has been so rare that its use
on this occasion is attended with the great
er significance.
The position taken up by the government
was that the condemned natives should be
tried by the ordinary original law and be
given the right of calling witnesses in their
own defense They were tried by court
martial and the government felt bound to
| uphold the elementary rights of all British
subjects as against the colonial opinion or
summary Jurisdiction for suspected natives
and ordered postponement Of the execu-
d.
count of the proceedings, which were found
| to be satisfactory to justice
Although the feeling in South Africa is
very high over the matter and all sorts of
threats have been made, including that of
cutting the painter 1t is believed that the
| Mutations will. now that the imperial gov
eminent has given it's consent to the exc
cutlon, hold future trials of natives under
the criminal law of the colony.
! Two papers of great interest dealing with
| Its finances. have just been submitted to
| the London county council. One gave de-
| tails Of the capital comm tments the other
| contained the annual estimates. The figures
| are enormous. The councils gross debt Is
| close upon $4,000 600 Against this huge
total there are assets in cash and surplus
lands OF nearly S145,OO0.0OO leaving the net
| liability over S23D,0e0.0O0. OF this some
$So.OOO.OCO Is In respect of revenue pro-
| duclng undertakings the list including
WORKING class dwellings. tramways and
STEAMBOATS, In the case of the latter the
| revenue is non-extstent, as the boats have
! never paid. but represent loss of many
thousands. Revenue Is produced by their
existence for somebody. certainly, but not
Tor the council or the rate payers. This
| great debt has not deferred the council
| from heavily mortgaging the future. The
expenditure to which 1t is committed
amounts to over $l05, 10000. Sixty million
dollars of this has actually been voted and
Is In process of being spent. The balance
| has been definitely approved by the council.
though not yet voted In detail
The council has also approved of Dro-
posals-for which powers are to be sought
| from parliament in the present session-in-
volving, If parliament gives its consent a
further outlay of $4,000 eco The estimates
for the year Of the councils own expendf-
ture amount to $4,000, 600. The fact that
| S2,500,000 is added for contingencies helms
one TO realize the scale on which London
VIC he -c+it, 80, ext~z
ing committees were revised by the finance
committee, which in some cases made
wholesale reductions. Education expenses
| IN London, for instance, were cut down to
| S3,00o,000, which fancy would compare I'M
faVorably with an American city.
hear the German emperor is about to
purchase a castle at Georgenboru on the
Rhine from its owner, Baron Won Krauskour
for $l25,000. His majesty seems to have a
perfect mania for acquiring castles What
he wants another for is a mystery He
cannot even attempt to live in half of those
sesses two-the Royal Castle and the
kaiserliche Palais. where the old Emperor
William lived, in which, however his
grandson never sets foot Then at Potsdam
he has no fewer than three-the Old PaIais
or Stadtschloss, in the town itself, and the
New Palace and the Marble Palace in the
enyirons. Next to the Royal Castle in Ber-
lin, the New Castle at Potsdam is his chief
residence. Some years ago he purchased
Urville Castle in Alsace, where he generally
passed q couple of weeks year This.
from a political point of view, was a good
move, as was his resolution to spend So
100000 in building a palace in Posen the
capital of Prussian Poland. Though the
reichstag voted the money for this some
years ago, the building seems to be MAX
ing slow progress.
Some of the gentlemen who entered par
lament for the first time at the recent
general election were already members of
the exclusive and expensive reform club.
but the bulk of them were not, and. as 1t
Is still the ambition of the average liberal
to have the entree to this establishment.
more than one special meeting has had to
be held to deal with the cases of those can
didates who come under the rule providing
that peers. heirs-apparent to peerage and
members of the house of commons may be
balloted for Immediately after nofr,ina ton.
without waiting for vacancies to occur
through the total membership falling below
the prescribed limit. At such a gathering
on Thursday last some excitement occurred
when 1t became known that member OF
family whose name has become familiar
of late had been piled"
or late there has been very little black
balling at the reform. When the home rule
split divided the old liberal party into two
hostile camps. the Gladstonian section
seemed at first to think that they could
carry matters with a high hand and In
consequence several liberal unionist candi-
dates failed to obtain admission to the
club. Reprisals promptly followed, how
ever; they were carried out so effectively
that the Gladstonians soon realized the ex-
pediency of a compromise on the basis OF
mutual forbearance.
The most noteworthy case of blackballing
in the leading Pail Mall c0tpriaa
cent years was. OF course, that of the late
Mr.. Cecil Rhodes. the rejection of whom
by the Travellers Club I'm 1896 led to the
retirement from that establishment of the
king 0hen Prince of Wales), the Duke of
Fife. the Duke OF Abercorn and Earl
Grey.
L. H. MOORE.