The Great Round World and What Is Going On In It, Vol. 2, No. 10, March 10, 1898 | Page 7

was highly esteemed for her fine character and abilities. She soon became known for her great love of the sea, and she is said to be the only woman in any navy in the world who holds a commission as admiral.
When, about a year ago, King George defied Turkey and the great powers of Europe in his brave defence of Crete, and actually went to war with a power vastly stronger than his own little kingdom, he was applauded for his courage in nearly every country of the civilized world. It was even thought that Greece was on the verge of winning back her old glory.
But the result proved to be a bitter disappointment. The Greeks were utterly routed, and King George and Crown Prince Constantine, his son, were accused of having shamefully mismanaged the war. At one time it looked as if the royal family would be driven from Greece. It was reported also that King George intended to abdicate.
Since the close of the war, however, the King has appeared in some measure to have strengthened his position in Athens. The attempt on his life, however, suggests that the feeling against him among his people must still be strong. It is reported that during the last few months his life has been repeatedly threatened.
Two days after the attack was made on the King, one of his assailants, while being searched for, gave himself up.
He proved to be an ignorant man named Karditza. It is thought that his mind had been inflamed against King George by the severe criticisms made on the King by some of the more violent newspapers in Athens. He has made a confession showing that a conspiracy was formed by a political society against the King's life.
A dynamite-bomb was discovered by the police near the spot where the shooting took place.
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England has maintained her firm position with regard to her claims in Western Africa. She has informed France most emphatically that she does not propose to be interfered with there as she was by the French colonists in Madagascar.
She has practically persuaded France to agree that she shall have absolute control of the Niger River. This means that the river will be kept open to the commerce of the whole world.
It is said that at first Monsieur Hanotaux, the French foreign minister, did not believe that Lord Salisbury would maintain his position in the matter, and that this belief encouraged him to send the French troops into Western Africa. But, with the assistance of Mr. Chamberlain, who is a shrewd diplomatist as well as a man of nerve, Lord Salisbury held firmly to his point.
It is now known that the difficulties have been practically settled, and that France, though she has secured some concessions, has practically backed down in favor of England.
Nothing pleases the English more than to have their own way against the French. The English and the French have been natural enemies for generations. The feeling of the French toward the English is even more bitter than their hostility to the Germans.
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The Chinese loan, about which we have heard so many different reports, has at last been definitely granted by a combination of English and German capital. The loan has been described as "semi-private," but this does not prevent it from being considered a distinct success for Lord Salisbury's negotiations, though regret is naturally felt in England that Germany should have a share in it. As a result of the loan, England has secured new concessions from China, which greatly strengthen her influence in Chinese territory and place her in a stronger position from which to insist upon her policy of open ports.
The news comes by cable that China has agreed to allow the control of the imperial maritime customs to be placed in the hands of a British subject "so long as the British trade with China exceeds that of any other powers." As the British trade is now reported to be nearly ten times as great as that of any other power, there is no immediate prospect of a change.
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The sentence of Zola to a year's imprisonment and to the payment of a fine of $600 has been only the beginning of extraordinary proceedings in France, resulting from his trial.
Colonel Picquart, who has been a strong champion of ex-Captain Dreyfus, has been expelled from the French army without a pension, and he is also for three years to be constantly watched by the police.
Furthermore, the papers and the public men who have been conspicuous in their defence of Zola and of Dreyfus have been warned to cease their agitation. Even some of the foreign correspondents have received hints from the governmental authorities that if they are not more careful in