brutality of the Turkish garrisons," and their "unbridled license." About a month later, Druse messengers reached the Lebanon with news of the capture by the Druses of Suadet, capital of the Hauran, after a siege of several days. The insurgents maddened by their loss of 600 men in forcing their entrance into the citadel, put the whole Turkish garrison of 1,200 to 1,600 men to the sword.

Dispatches dated July 28 showed the revolt declining in strength, the Druses having suffered severe reverses. The conflicts, however, were still fearfully sanguinary. On August 4, Reuter's agent, writing from Beyrout, reported a suspension of hostilities, and an appeal by the Druse leaders for the intervention of the consuls-general of France and Russia to obtain redress for their grievances. The consuls received permission to mediate.

International Bearings.-The brief review preceding shows that the Ottoman crisis is regarded by Western nations as of European concern, and yet as one not to be safely dealt with by any one nation or selected group of nations, except on some non-essential points and in some indirect way. All the great powers alike are waiting for some development, none knows what; but their attitudes in waiting have thus far not been alike. Divergent or antagonist interests decide their several relations to the case; whence arises the distressing feature of the situation, that no practicable line of settlement appears. To apply a barbarism in speech to an abhorrent international condition-the case has been for many months a "hold-up," by a brigand and semi-barbarian Asiatic encampment on the furthest shore of Europe, of the five mightiest and most civilized nations on the earth. The brigand, of whom they have not the slightest fear, keeps his grip by skilfully playing on their fears of one another. Armenia is his visible victim, but they all are morally his victims.

Britain is waiting with deep and undisguised sympathy, in which, previously to the months now in review, she seemed alone in Europe: her position has been that of readiness to act, but of conscious inability to apply the requisite force in Turkey if Russia, Germany, and France, and now Austria-Hungary, were to stand armed in her path. A portion of the British people are so moved with indignation and horror as to fail to appreciate the facts which restrain the government from intervention. Mr. Gladstone came forth from his retirement; and in Liverpool, on September 24, with an eloquence peculiarly his own, denounced the sultan as "the great assassin," and

urged the government to take action in the direction of coercion, even without the other powers.

He denied that Britain's coercion of the Turk would necessarily involve war in Europe, if the action were accompanied by England's disclaimer of all advantage for herself. His plan of action practically amounted to nothing more than a stern protest with proposals for reform, emphasized first by recall of the British ambassador from Constantinople and dismissal of the Turkish ambassador from London; secondly, by a" peremptory demand" on Turkey for compliance with the proposals; and lastly, by an energetic threat of coercion. His concession, however, that prudence would finally forbid plunging Europe into war, reduced his whole plan to a protest and a threat in words. The Turk yields to nothing but force.

Britain, as already noted in this volume (p. 103), now shows less solicitude than formerly to keep Russia out of Constantinople and to uphold Turkey as a bulwark against Russia's advance into Southern Asia. Indeed, there are acute observers who consider that Britain has let the time pass for holding back Russia from the Bosphorus and Asia Minor; and whispers are heard-mere conjectures as yet— of England's modified policy in the direction of accord with Russia and France.

In the meantime Russia is waiting easily. She is not in the least impatient. A year of Armenian horrors brought from her no word of sympathy: the Armenians are not in the parish of the Orthodox Greeks; they uphold heresy and dissent; it is indeed sad that such multitudes should be killed, but equally sad that they probably deserve their fate. Moreover, Armenians, being the bankers and chief merchants of Asia Minor, hold much of the wealth of the bankrupt Turkish empire. The more quickly this element of financial strength is cut off, the sooner will the armies unpaid dissolve, and the sooner will the general disorder permit and compel Russia to throw in her troops on pretext of humanity. The territory can be practically held with or without formal annexation. This cynical policy may, with probability, be ascribed to Russia for many months previous to the middle of the present year: it is pleasant to note that as the young czar takes fuller observation and firmer grasp of affairs, he seems to show a capability of human sympathy and a sense of justice which give a faint color of truth to the theory that Britain may be able to approach him with proposals of at least some little joint action of the powers for Turkish reform. This again, however, is conjecture. What is certain is that England and Russia, united, would hold the key to the situation. The death of Prince Lobanof, Russian

foreign minister, has removed a consummate diplomatist, powerful and persistent, the personal embodiment of the harsh relentless Russian policy. The czar's recent visit to the czarina's grandmother, Queen Victoria, at Balmoral, and his interview there with Lord Salisbury, are believed, though not positively known, to have borne good fruit. The queen, who, like most persons who know how to keep silence, knows when and how to speak, is said to have used plain speech.

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France (again we are in the field of conjecture) was reported upon semi-official authority" on September 29, to have declared to the sultan through M. Cambon, French ambassador, that repetition of recent disorders would lead to European intervention, and to have demanded that clemency be exercised toward the Armenians now in prison, and that the reforms long promised should be put into effect. If this be true, it would point toward the theory of a Russo-French accord with Great Britain in applying some degree of check to the Turkish atrocities. France is well known to be felicitating herself on the hopefulness of a Russian alliance; and the French press has within a few weeks shown a new sympathy with England's horror at the Armenian outrages. The air of Europe, however, is full of rumors that claim "semi-official origin-those of one week contradicting those of the week preceding.

Germany has, through the voice of its press for several months, been derisive and even bitter in its criticisms of British sympathy with the Armenians as either a silly sentiment or a piece of display intended to cover some plan to advance British interests in the East. Quite recently, this disagreeable tone has been modified, and the horror of the Armenian situation is beginning to be felt.

Austria-Hungary has large interests in the Balkan states, and is watching for gain of territory southward to the sea when a partition of the Turkish empire is made. Her chief effort now is to avert the final struggle which would necessarily rage in her immediate neighborhood. It is considered probable that the dual monarchy will pursue a policy on the Eastern question in general accord with Russia and France.

Italy, though a member of the Dreibund, is likely to stand with Great Britain in regard to the Ottoman problem. (See article below on the "General European Situation").

THE SOUTH AFRICAN SITUATION.

The Troubles in Rhodesia. The embers of the Matabele insurrection (p. 322) were still aglow in the beginning of the quarter, and there were frequent encounters between bands of natives and detachments of the chartered company's troops. On July 5 a considerable force of Matabeles, holding a strong position in the Intaba Mamba hills near Inyati, was attacked at daylight by Colonel Plumer, commanding a mixed force of soldiers white and black, the latter being native "boys" from Cape Colony. The Matabeles were taken by surprise; and 200 of their women and children, together with a number of wagons and some horses, were captured. The warriors, retiring, took up a position on a high hill, and were there attacked by the Cape boys, but these were compelled to retreat with heavy loss. It was then seen that the insurgents could not be dislodged save at too heavy cost; and Colonel Plumer, after capturing the rest of the cattle of the Matabeles, ordered his column to retire. Five whites were killed and six were wounded. About the same date an insurgent force was beaten at Briscoe's farm, near Fort Salisbury, with a loss of twenty-five men. There was no loss on the side of the British. The rebels in this affair were Mashonas. Reports were frequent, of men of the native Mashona police joining the revolt after killing their officers. But the strength of the rebellion was believed to be broken, in token of which the commander-in-chief, in the beginning of July, formally disbanded the Buluwayo field force. Still, the hopes of the natives were not quite extinguished, as shown by the reported choice by the Matabeles, of Nyamanda, Lobengula's son, for their king. From Delagoa bay, also, reports were received of restlessness among the natives, especially in the north and northwest. The Matoppo hills still continued to be a stronghold of the Matabeles; and a determined effort was made to clear the rebels out. General Carrington, at the head of 1,600 men of the native contingent and 300 white soldiers, set out from Buluwayo July 17, and on the morning of July 20 confronted the rebel force under the chief Babyan. He shelled the enemy and compelled him to retreat precipitately to his fastness in a mass of hills with numerous caves at the source of the Tuli river. The Matabeles found safety in the caves; their kraals were burnt; fighting continued from daybreak to 2 P. M. General Carrington's loss was three killed, eleven wounded; rebel loss, estimated

at sixty. The result was not very satisfactory, the moral effect of the victory being questionable. It was believed that General Carrington would not enter the hill region again, but would content himself with building forts around it. At the end of July the few white settlers left in Buluwayo were preparing to go away, in view of the probability of war continuing. Complaint was made by newspaper correspondents, of the suppression by the military authorities of the details of engagements with the rebels.

Telegrams from Buluwayo, August 22, announced the surrender of the principal Matabele chiefs to the British forces. This intelligence was fully confirmed the following day. Mr. Cecil Rhodes in person received from the indunas of the native forces in the Matoppo hills their formal surrender. Secombo, their principal chief, promised to bring his people out of the hills and into the open country within a few days. This surrender tended strongly to discourage and dispirit the natives who were still in arms. As was to be expected, the agreement between the chiefs and Mr. Rhodes gave dissatisfaction in both camps, the rebels denouncing the act of their chiefs as treason, the white settlers and soldiers denouncing the terms given to the insurgents as an encouragement to rebellion and outrage. At a second conference with the rebel chiefs, Mr. Rhodes and his associates were treated with scant courtesy by the younger braves. Several of them demanded for their people the right to bear arms for the chase, which was of course denied. One great chief, Makoni, openly declared for war, and proclaimed his purpose of killing all small parties. He was speedily captured by the British and shot to death, September 8. In these dealings with the rebels, Mr. Rhodes overrode the military authorities, and General Carrington repudiated Rhodes's convention with the chiefs. In this state of affairs tranquillity was not to be expected. Again the rebels attacked the feeble British outposts: again the British troops made forays against the rebels' kraals. But the last days of September saw the rebellion surely collapsing, the natives rebuilding their kraals and tilling the ground in the Matoppo hills, and confidence in the future of Rhodesia reviving. An evidence of this is seen in the price paid (£2,000) for a site for a club-house in Buluwayo, eight times as great as the same ground sold for a year previously.

Dr. Jameson Convicted.-The trial of Dr. L. S. Jameson (p. 321) and his associates in the Transvaal raid began in the queen's bench division of the high court of