The Great Round World and What Is Going On In It, Vol. 1, No. 46, September 23, 1897

The promoters of the scheme look for great assistance from England, and have approached Lord Salisbury in the hope of gaining his friendship.

Europe would of course have a great deal to say about the establishment of an enlightened and progressive race on the borders of the Red Sea, and the new nation could not be established without the consent of the Powers.

Russia is about building a new canal, which, when finished, will be one of the greatest works ever undertaken.

It is to connect the Baltic Sea with the Black Sea, and is to be one thousand miles in length.

It is to start from Riga on the Baltic, and run to Kherson at the mouth of the Dneiper River, where that river empties itself into the Black Sea.

The advantages of this canal will be very great.

At the present time a vessel voyaging from the Baltic to the Black Sea has to go all round Europe before it reaches its destination. Take your map and follow out the course a ship must take. It must skirt Denmark and pass into the North Sea, then go through the Straits of Dover, down the coast of France, across the Bay of Biscay, and down the coast of Portugal until the Straits of Gibraltar are reached. Here the vessel must pass into the beautiful Mediterranean Sea, and follow it along through the Grecian Archipelago, through the Dardanelles into the Sea of Marmora, and passing through the Bosporus, it at last finds itself in the Black Sea.

The time required to make such a long voyage is a great loss to merchants, and the vessel has to pass through so many narrow straits and past so many strategic points that the voyage could hardly be undertaken if Russia were at war with any foreign nation.

The canal is to be 213 feet wide at the surface, 115 feet at the base, and to have a depth of 27 feet.

It should, therefore, be a very fine canal.

Germany and the United States are both very pleased about this great work, for both nations see in it an opportunity to sell their iron and steel manufactures.

The Czar of Russia has issued an order that there is to be no more exiling to Siberia except for certain very serious crimes.

Instead, large prisons are to be built in Central Russia for the political criminals. The change is to go into effect in one year's time, when it is supposed that the new prisons will be in readiness.

It seems almost too good to be true that the terrors of Siberian exile are to be abolished. To most of the unfortunate prisoners who were interviewed by Mr. George Kennan when he visited the Siberian convict settlements, even the horrors of the exile were as nothing compared to the awful journey on foot across the desolate steppes of Russia.

All this will soon be at an end, and the nearness of the prisons to civilization will perhaps remove some of the abuses and ill-treatment of the prisoners now practised in the far-away Siberian prisons.

If the young Czar Nicholas continues his kindly and humane methods of government it is likely that he will soon need very few political prisons.

He has shown much kindness and clemency to his people since he came to the throne, and there is little doubt that his subjects will soon learn to love him and trust him in return.

The relations between the Transvaal and England are again being brought prominently before the world.

Early in the spring, when it was rumored that Germany was taking too friendly an interest in the affairs of the Transvaal, Mr. Chamberlain, the Colonial Secretary of England, sent a very stormy letter to the Boers, saying that England insisted that the Transvaal should not make any foreign alliances without her consent, and that the treaty between the Transvaal and Great Britain, which is known as the "London Treaty," must be very closely observed.

To this the Boer Government replied that it would be glad to arbitrate that point as well as the amount of the payment to be made for the Jameson raid; and the various other points on which the two governments were at issue.

Soon after this Dr. Leyds, President Krüger's confidential agent, arrived in England, and had a conference with Mr. Chamberlain. They appeared to come to satisfactory understanding, and there was every prospect of a peaceful settlement to the dispute.

Some weeks after this conversation with Dr. Leyds, Mr. Chamberlain was asked by the House of Commons whether he had consented to arbitrate with the Transvaal.

Mr. Chamberlain answered that some points would certainly be submitted to arbitration, but the question, of the Transvaal's right to allow a foreign country to befriend her could not be so treated, because it was expressly stated in the London convention that England had sovereign rights in the Transvaal, and could therefore insist on her wishes being carried out.

When the news of Mr. Chamberlain's speech reached Pretoria, the capital of the Transvaal, there was great indignation among the Boers. The matter was debated by the Volksraad or Parliament, and several members declared that Great Britain must be shown that she no longer had any sovereign rights in the Transvaal.

Meetings were held denouncing Mr. Chamberlain's remarks, and finally President Krüger delivered a speech before the Volksraad which caused considerable excitement, as its meaning was an open defiance of England.

In this speech President Krüger stated that the Boers were perfectly willing to abide by the London convention, but he stated emphatically that the convention did not contain a word about the sovereign rights of England, and since it had been made, all such rights had ceased to exist.

The London convention was made in 1884.

In 1881, after the British forces had been beaten by the Boers, a treaty was made by which peace was restored, and the Transvaal recognized as a semi-independent republic, under the sovereignty of England.

In this treaty it was understood that the Boers would have freedom of government as far as their home affairs went, but that no friendships or alliances could be made with foreign powers. The British Government reserved for itself the right of managing the foreign affairs of the Transvaal.

This was in 1881.

In 1884 a new agreement was entered into which expressly stated that England no longer wanted these rights, and that the Transvaal was free to govern the country without interference, and to manage its own foreign affairs as it pleased. One right only did England demand, and that was that the Transvaal should not make any treaty with a foreign country without the approval of the Queen.

It stated that the Transvaal Government must send her Majesty a copy of any treaty it desired to make, and that if England notified the Boers within six months that the proposed treaty interfered with her rights in South Africa, it must be abandoned. Nothing was said in this agreement which prevented the Transvaal from having friendly dealings with foreign powers.

Mr. Chamberlain seems to have become confused about the contents of the London convention of 1884, and to have got it mixed with the treaty of 1881. The brave old President of the Transvaal has, however, determined to refresh his memory.

In his speech before the Volksraad he stated grimly that the Boers would oppose to the last any attempt on the part of England to enforce her fancied rights, and having declared himself emphatically for war, he concluded with one of his quaint, pious remarks. He said the Boers wished to preserve peaceful and friendly relations with the whole world, because wherever love dwelt the blessing of God was sure to follow.

President Krüger's defiance was regarded by the British Government as mere speech-making. The Government refused to believe that the old man wished his words to be taken seriously, and so passed the whole affair over as unworthy of notice.

Mr. Chamberlain has been instructed to enforce Great Britain's sovereign rights in the Transvaal, and notwithstanding the fact that several of the London newspapers are calling attention to the treaty of 1884, he is determined to insist on these rights.

It was rumored some time ago that as soon as the Greek troubles were out of the way, Germany, France, and Russia would take up the Transvaal question.

This may perhaps be the reason why the Boer President so bravely defies the British Government, and if Mr. Chamberlain tries to force the Transvaal to submit, he may find that he has to reckon with these three powerful countries as well as the handful of Dutchmen in the South African Republic.

A terrible tragedy has occurred in Pennsylvania at a place called Hazleton, about twenty-five miles from Wilkesbarre.

Some miners were shot and killed by order of the sheriff of the county.

These miners were out on strike, their strike, however, not being in any way connected with the great coal strike of which we have told you in previous numbers.

These men were dissatisfied because an extra two-hours' work was forced upon them every day without extra pay.

Some mules which had formerly been stationed in another colliery were changed over to the one at which these men were employed, and the care of these animals occupied the drivers an extra hour morning and night, which the miners resented. They therefore struck work.

Two of the drivers did not wish to join in the strike, and the superintendent, seeing this, did his best to persuade all the men to go to work. Upon this the strikers became angry, and bitter words and hard feeling resulted.

Thinking themselves badly used, the men resolved to try and make the strike general in the neighborhood, and began marching from colliery to colliery, urging the men at work to lay down their picks and join them.

The strikers have been very orderly, and have made no disturbance of any kind, but as they were principally foreigners who are ignorant of our laws and customs, it was thought best to have men on hand ready to check them if they attempted any lawless act. The sheriff of Luzerne County, in which Hazleton is situated, was therefore notified to be on the alert, and in his turn sent word to his deputies to be ready for action.

The sheriff of a county is a very important officer. It is his duty to see that law and order are preserved within the limits of his county, that the penalties ordered by the judges are carried out, and to suppress all riots and uprisings in his district.

To assist him in this work he has the right to call on as many citizens as he needs for the business in hand. These men he binds by an oath to aid him in the discharge of his duty and to help him to preserve the peace. They compose what is known as the sheriff's posse, and are a body of men who accompany him and help him to do his duty.

Sheriff Martin, of Luzerne County, called out about ninety deputies for his posse, and had them in the vicinity of Hazleton for over a week before the shooting occurred.

On the day of the tragedy a body of the strikers had determined to march to Lattimer, a village not very far away from Hazleton. They desired to persuade the miners there to join their ranks, and started out about two hundred and fifty strong, marching in a peaceable and orderly manner along the road. None of them were armed, and none showed the slightest desire for violence or riot.