International

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jan 18, 1899

International.—Alarming reports come from the Upper Yang-tse-Kiang region of China. The rebellion is increasing in the provinces of Sze-Chuan, Hunan, and Hupe. Troops sent to subdue the rebellion have been defeated and fled……Strengthened by the protests of the English and American ministers, the viceroy of Nanking, China, has refused to accede to the demands of the French. It is reported that the French are contemplating hostilities, and the French consul has left Nanking on a French war ship. It is also reported that the Russian representatives have been ordered to support French interests in China as energetically as tho they were Russian……The new Japanese administration is confronted with a national deficit of about $37,000,000, and in consequence is planning to increase the internal taxation, while her people are already groaning under the heavy burden of her increasing navy. A heavy tax is to be imposed upon foreign banks, which will result in the failure or closing of many of them. In consequence of this it is predicted that many foreign firms doing business in Japan will be driven to the wall.

Russian activity is being renewed in Persia upon so large a scale that fears are entertained of a clash between Russia and England. Persia has served as a sort of buffer State between these two countries. Russia is demanding a concession to build a railroad through Persia to the Indian Ocean. This would be resisted by England by force of arms; and yet, if Persia refuses the concession, it is feared that Russia will regard the refusal as cause for a declaration of war against Persia, which would set the entire East ablaze. In diplomatic circles a compact for the partition of Persia between England and Russia is a subject of discussion. ……A correspondent of the London Times, who has taken a two-months' tour through Russia for the purpose of discovering evidence on the part of Russia to give effect to the disarmament proposals of the emperor, reports that all his observations were quite to the contrary. Feverish activity was manifest at all the naval dockyards; the ministers of war and marine are thoroughly inspecting important military and naval stations, urging an acceleration of the preparations for defense; the number of men enrolled in the army and navy during the past two months is larger than ever; re-enforcements are being sent to the East and to the Russo-Turkish frontier……England has decided to follow the lead of the German and French Governments, and rearm her field artillery with rapid-fire guns. As fast as possible new guns will be substituted for those now in use. When England's plans are adopted, Russia will be the only great nation without quick-firing artillery. It is thought there may be in this one of the reasons for the Russian ruler's disarmament congress.

The leader of the Dervishes, who was recently defeated by the Anglo-Egyptians at Omdurman, is now making war on the local tribesmen of Darfur. General Lord Kitchener has decided to send a large expedition against the Dervishes……A Dervish chief, Emir Amhed Fedil, was attacked and defeated at Roseres, on the Blue Nile, by the Anglo-Egyptian forces under Colonel Lewis, on December 26. It is reported that 1,500 of the Dervishes were captured and 500 killed. The victors lost twenty-seven killed and twenty-five wounded……England's representative in the Soudan has announced that hereafter the Soudanese will be governed by the queen and the khedive, whose sole representative will be Lord Kitchener, and that no attempt will be made to govern the country from either Cairo or London. This announcement, which is virtually the announcement of the English protectorate over Egypt and the Soudan, is very displeasing to France……On January 5 Lord Cromer, in the name of the queen, laid the corner-stone of the Gordon Memorial College, at Khartoum, Egypt. The school is to be wholly undenominational, and is to be conducted in the Arabic language.

In view of friction between German traders and inhabitants of the Tongan Islands, the German Government has threatened to seize the most fertile island of the group. The king of the islands has appealed to England, France, and the United States for protection……Mataafa has been chosen king of Samoa, and the election is regarded as satisfactory to all concerned.

A battle has occurred between the troops of the Kongo Free State and a force of rebellious natives, in which the former were defeated with considerable loss……The rebellion in Bolivia is still unsuppressed, and a battle is expected at almost any time. ……War is now on between the forces of Emperor Menelik and the ruler of one of his provinces. The emperor has written a friendly letter to the king of Italy, in which he offers to do all in his power to arrange the boundary question and to maintain a durable peace……It is reported that Count Leo Tolstoi is about to be banished from Russia. His offense is the championing of the cause of those outside of the national church……A commission has been appointed, consisting of representatives of France, England, and Germany, to settle the claim of the Italian Government against Colombia in the famous Cerruti case……The Spanish colonel San Martin, who evacuated Ponce, Porto Rico, without offering resistance to General Miles, has been sentenced to imprisonment for life in Ceuta, the Spanish penal colony in Morocco, opposite Gibraltar……The Spanish transport Notre Dame, which sailed from Havana on December 19 with 1,100 Spanish soldiers, arrived at Barcelona, Spain, on January 9. Thirty-three of the soldiers died on the voyage. The crowds which assembled to welcome the troops were horrified at the pitiable sights presented by the men, and wept and cursed the mismanagement of the officials……Part of an overhanging mountain plunged into the Fraser River at Spence's Bridge, on the Canadian Pacific Railway, January 8, completely changing the course of the river at that place, and flooding thousands of acres of valuable land, which can be reclaimed only at great cost.

Domestic.—The revenue cutter McCulloch, which took part in Dewey's victory at Manila on May 1, arrived in San Francisco harbor on January 10, with trophies from the sunken ships and from the forts around Manila Bay, one of the latter being a four-inch muzzle-loading bronze cannon made in the time of Isabella II……President McKinley has designated Charlemagne Tower, the present U. S. Ambassador at Vienna, to be Ambassador at the court of St. Petersburg, and Addison C. Harris, of Indiana, will succeed Mr. Tower at Vienna……An American syndicate has obtained the right to build a railroad in Ecuador, connecting the coast belt with the interior……The government has made public the text of the treaty between the United States and Spain which was signed at Paris December 10. By this treaty Spain relinquishes Cuba, cedes to the United States Porto Rico, the island of Guam, in the Ladrones, and the entire Philippine archipelago, the United States paying to Spain $20,000,000. For the period of ten years Spanish shipping is to be admitted to the ports of the Philippines on the same terms as the shipping of the United States; the United States sends back to Spain at its own cost the Spanish soldiers taken at the surrender of Manila; the two governments mutually relinquish all claims for indemnity, national or individual; the inhabitants of the territory which Spain cedes or relinquishes are to be secured in the free exercise of their religion……A bill has been introduced in the Senate authorizing the Postmaster-General to make a contract with a Pacific Cable Company for a submarine cable to the Philippines, via Honolulu and the Ladrones.

The Philippines.—It is believed by the Administration that some strong power is backing Aguinaldo and his followers in their opposition to the United States. No clash has yet occurred between the American forces despatched to Iloilo and the insurgents who are holding the city. They have refused to surrender the town to the Americans, and an attempt to take it will almost certainly result in a serious battle. A conference is being held between representatives of the Filippinos and American officials with a view to reaching an amicable understanding.

Cuba.—The report of the late Colonel Waring upon the sanitary condition of Havana has been made public. It shows the city to be in the most unsanitary condition possible, and predicts a serious epidemic the coming summer unless the entire city is given a thorough cleaning. A complete system of sewerage must be installed and street-cleaning departments established. The necessary public works of this character will call for an outlay of $10,000,000……The government is planning for a material reduction of the public taxation of the people of Cuba, and an equitable distribution of the receipts of customs for improvements in the island. ……General Gomez is reported to be seeking a guarantee from the Government of the United States that the Cuban troops be paid for services in the war against Spain……General Ludlow, the military governor of Havana, has issued a proclamation calling for the immediate surrender of firearms in possession of the inhabitants.