The Great Round World and What Is Going On In It, Vol. 1, No. 54, November 18, 1897

When Sir William Lockhart took command of the force which was sent out to punish the Afridis, he issued a proclamation ordering the tribesmen to submit immediately, stating that he would severely punish any attempt to oppose the advance of his army.

Now the Afridis have opposed his advance, and opposed it very severely, and they have not submitted to him.

It is a question whether he will not be obliged to disregard the Ameer's request for peace, and punish the Afridis, so that they may show more respect for the British rule in the future.

The complaint of the Government against the Afridis is so serious that they ought not to be allowed to escape without a severe lesson.

Wishing to live at peace with this tribe, England made an agreement some time ago with them whereby some of the British forts in the hill country were put under the care of the Afridis. Money was paid to the tribe, and arms given out to the men, so that they might be strong enough to protect the British interests.

In defiance of this agreement the Afridis broke their alliance with the English, and attacked and destroyed forts which they had agreed to guard.

The present indications are that the war in India will soon be over.

It is said that this will not put an end to England's troubles in Hindustan, as the expense of the war, combined with the money spent to stamp out the plague, has so exhausted the treasury of India that funds will have to be supplied very soon to keep the country going.

The council of India is considering the best means to raise the money needed.

The Sultan of Turkey has once more been heard from on the subject of Crete.

This time he is objecting to the commissioner appointed by the Powers to take charge of Cretan affairs.

It is said that the German Government is in sympathy with the Sultan in this matter, and has also signified its disapproval of the commissioner.

The uneasy feeling in regard to Turkey is increasing, and trouble is expected before the winter is over.

The news of Andrée brought by the whalers turns out to be somewhat indefinite.

They say that they sighted an object which they are quite sure was the great balloon.

They state further that they heard strange cries coming across the ice-fields, which sounded to them like human voices, and they believe that Andrée and his party are stranded somewhere on an ice-floe.

Captain Sverdrup, who commanded the Fram, in which Dr. Nansen made his famous Arctic voyage, says that it is his belief that the sounds heard were made by birds or else by the packing of the ice.

In the hope that Andrée may still be alive, a relief expedition has started off from the northern coast of Norway in search of the adventurer and his companions.

There is a very interesting article in this month's Scribner's Magazine, which tells about the starting of the balloon. You should read it.

The fur seal conference has been in session in Washington for nearly two weeks.

England's representative, of course, was not present. You will remember that after several refusals and acceptances she finally decided to meet the United States in a conference to be held separately from the one which is now taking place.

Russia and Japan are well represented in this conference. Out of compliment to Mr. Foster, of the United States, who travelled to England, Russia, and Japan to obtain the consent of these various countries to the meeting, the attending delegates made him chairman of the conference.

The result of the discussions so far has been most gratifying to this country.

The Russian and Japanese commissioners are as fully convinced that the seal herd is decreasing as the Americans are, and all three countries have come to an agreement on the matter.

It has been decided to draw up a treaty between the three countries mentioned, whereby each agrees to prevent her own hunters and those of other nations from indulging in deep-sea sealing.

As soon as this document is fully prepared the conference will adjourn.

The result of the forthcoming British conference is awaited with considerable interest.

It is openly stated that there would be no trouble at all with England if it were not for the interference of Canada and the determination of the mother country to bow to the wishes of her colony.

It is indeed reported that Lord Salisbury has at last been convinced that the seals are diminishing.

Last week he sent for several of the leading fur merchants in London, and asked them to tell him the true state of the case.

According to the accounts that have reached us, one and all of these men assured him that the reports of Dr. Jordan were strictly correct, and that beyond any doubt the seals were being killed off.

Even then the Prime Minister doubted, and thinking that the merchants might be in league with the Americans, he asked suspiciously:

"If this is true, how is it that the price of sealskin is no higher now than it was when the supply of seals was abundant?"

It was not till he had been convinced that sealskin was no longer the fashionable fur, and that astrakhan had largely taken its place, that he was willing to believe them.

It is reported that Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the Premier of Canada, is coming here to be present at the next conference.

It is to be hoped that Lord Salisbury's eyes may now be opened to the true state of the case, and that he may be able to convince Sir Wilfrid that common sense demands that England and Canada shall make a similar agreement with us to that which is just being prepared with Russia and Japan.

The engineers' strike in England has not yet come to an end.

A special cablegram reports that the situation is unchanged. The Society of Engineers insists on the eight-hour day, and the masters refuse to discuss the subject until this point has been abandoned.

The chances of reaching an understanding are more remote than ever.

In the mean while there is trouble in the cotton trade.

The state of the cotton market is such that the manufacturers can no longer pay the wages they have been paying, and they have had to give notice to their hands that they must either close their mills or reduce wages.

At first it was decided that ten per cent. must be taken off the pay of the workers.

The trades unions discussed the matter with the employers, and refused to listen to such a reduction of wages.

The masters then declared that they could not continue to pay the present rate, as they would be losing money. They finally decided to give their workers a month's notice that they were going to reduce their wages five per cent.

Every one is anxiously waiting to see what the factory hands will do at the end of the month.

It is hoped that the time that will intervene before the reduction takes place will give them an opportunity to think matters over, and so avoid a strike.

Should the cotton-workers decide to strike, two hundred thousand operatives may be thrown out of work.

The manufacture of cotton goods in one of the greatest of the English industries.

Over a million men, women, and children are employed in Great Britain and Ireland, and nearly five million people are dependent for their daily bread on the wages earned in the factories.

The centre of this great industry is the city of Manchester. Here the greatest number of factories are built, and all matters concerning the cotton market are discussed and settled. Manchester—dirty, smoky Manchester, with its forest of tall chimneys pouring forth volumes of black, sulphurous smoke, holds the fate of the cotton trade in its hands.