Recent events in the Far East have ox-cited a great deal-of interest here. The occupation of Kisochou by Germany, the arrival of the Russian squadron at Port Arthur and. the, Bri at Port Hamilton, have created. a belief that the break-up of China has at last come within the range of practical politics. People here are asking when France is to take a hand-and what she is to get for her support of Russia. The assertion of the Daily Mai: that the French flags had been hoisted on Hainan was officially denied yesterday but in such a very guarded way. that I for one am quite prepared to seo the news confirm. ed in a few days. There is not the least doubt that the annexation of Hainan would be welcomed by public opinion. Apart from the value of the island, its acquisition would gratify French national pride by showing that France is strong enough to join in the colossal game of grip which seems to be beginning. Germany's action has been taken very quietly here, been use it has been confined to the north coast of China, where: France hus little or no interests. There is nothing whatever to denote the existence of an understanding between France, Russia, and Germany.
'The newspapers' have got off some wonderfal opinions on the Chinese. The Figaro, for instance, says it is absurd to suppose China cannot oppose an effective resistance to a European fleet. Whenever the Chinese feel themselves threatened by Europe they will unite against the invader, and if need be the Japanese will help em The jury decided that Arton did not corrupt anyone and, necessarily, that his fellow prisoners did not allow themselves to be corrupted. The verdict of course does not apply to Alfred Naquet, the ingenuous old gentleman who wrote from London that he really. could not stabil the strain of a trial at this time of the year, but that he should be de-Tighted to come and be tried next June. The evidence against some of the accused politicians was certainly thin, and after the Advocate-general's announcement that he did n t intend to proceed further ayainst four of them, it was hardly likely that the others would be convicted. Hal Artou been man of unblemished charter the jury might have had more difficulty in arriving at their decision. Paris papers, however, told them plainly (while the case was in progress) that th y ought to take Arton's word in preference to that "f any Of the bons pres de famille in the dock and the jury acted "accordingly. Arton has been detained all through the long investigation as a first-class misdemeanant, and as every day counts towards the term of penal servitude to which he was sentence +d for swindling the Dynamite Company, the delay has been very agreeable to him. Nobody would be surprised to hear that he had some fresh "revelations" to make, but it is to be hoped that we have heard the last of the Panama scandal. The country is sick of the unlucky isthmus and everything connected with it.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.