Thus spoke Marquis Yamagata have seen the Oshi dori. Japan's drake of gorgeous colors, Rainbow tinted and Goop golden, Blazoned purple as the skies are When the crimson sun is setting, Mingled green and red and yellow, With its fan-shaped feathers stretching Upward from its wings of brilliance Ihave seen the sands of silver Glittering where the Tonegawa Inundstes the fair Shimosa Temples rising as Zojoji [nave sean the gorgeous Buddhist Rises in its jewelled splendor T have seen the gold of Oda Flash its yellow radiance over Hill and dale and rolling river, And Tsushima's silver burnished T have seen reflecting arrows Like the midday's dazzling sumbeams I have seen the polished lacquer Glowing like a burning mirror, Rich Satsuma, rare Kioto, Wondrous bits of old Owari. Many-coloured, strangely figured, Wrought in flowers and birds and dragons steamers of 1,800 tons each in Osaka Shoshen Kaisha has bought four gland, and the Kwansai S.S. Ca. of Osaka has agreed to buy seven steamers now at or near Hongkong of 231 to 530 tons.—It is reported that Count Inouye is to be made Minister of Foreign Affairs.—Cholera is reported to have broken out in several parts of Japan.—The nests of the large Australian snipe have been found in the lower plains of Fojisan.—2 payable gold mine has been discovered near Kobe.—The N.Y.K. is arranging to connect its intended trans. Pacific line with the Great Northern Railway Ca. of amer as ace telegram From Pel king states:—The Tsungli na cular pay ye the following Yamen has intimated to Baron Hayashi its desire to speedily conclude the negotiations on the treaty of commerce, excluding the terms relative to manufacture.
A Frencu missionary, the Rev. Father Rispal, who was visiting the town of Kamaishi, lost his life in the earthquake wave disaster. According to the Nagasuki Shipping List of the 26th, the total number of deaths by this catastrophe was given by the authorities as 27,875. Many thousands were left destitute and homeless.
Howstrong the sense of duty is in japanese officials is shown by the following translation by the Japan Mail from the Hochi Shimbun:—The director of the Kamaishi Tele-
Pulsory as well as': free, which niay help to explain the concluding' sentence of the Hes:
teh, which states that the situation at ul is tranquil.' "Of course the opening of this school does not mark an epoch, - but it is one more straw which indicates' that j the Russian wind is'still blowing seaward."
Ly a leading' article on the Coronation of the Czar the Daily Chronicle says:—The Czar's manifesto to his people is generous to all who have fallen wider the ban of the law, and to all who are helpless debtors of the State. All arrears of taxes are swept away. Most of them would probably never have been paid, and it is therefore prudent as well as generous to recognise the fact that payment should not be demanded, The land-tax is reduced by one-half for a period of ten years—most needed boon to the class of noble land-owners, who have more than once before been saved from ruin by Imperial benevolence, and have been eagerly looking for some time for fresh help in their distressed position, Of fines and punishments for minor offences, none are left, and serious punishments are in most cases'greatly reduced. Even the terrors of Siberia are much mitigated, The cases of political offenders may be dealt vith even more leniently at the'will ut the Minister of the Interior, and we hope the Czar intends this permission to be genetously interpreted by the official to whom. it is addressed. The whole manifesto is a have seen the cherry blossoms Filling all the land with glory, Filling all the land with fragrance Cherry blossoms, pink resplendence OF tie Japan sunshine captured T have seen the silks and satins Gamishing our lovely maiden Ina wealth of folded rainbows T have seen the glittering sword blades, Sword blades fashioned at Haruna, At Idzumo and Iwami But, so help me mighty Shinto In all my life I never yet saw Anything could hold " candle To the staff of Governor Morton For true gorgeousness and glitter, simply is a loo loo And tite entire stale had hus spoke Marquis Yamagata, Eighteen fits of rapturous pleasure And of drinks quite six and thirty We have received Japan papers with dates from Yokohama to the 24th, Kobe the 25th, and Nagasaki the 27th ult.—The Hashidate Kan ran aground on the 17th while manceuvring off Miyadzu Bay, but was refloated.—The projected electric rail-authorities number 52.—The Naltonene ways awaiting sanction by the Japanese Maru collided with the Masayoshi Maru off Sumaon the 18th and was beached to prevent her sinking. One person was killed.—The Japan Mazine Insurance Ca. lost $45,300 by the Hozui Maru which lies sunk in futhoms.—According to a vernacular paper, Mr. Waeber was to return home from Seoul very shortly.—The Corean Banking Cor-$100,000. Foreigners, excluding Japanese, poration is to be started with a capital of are to be allowed to hold shares.—The Japanese labourers sent to Guadaloupe, in the French West Indies, in 1894, are reported to have revoiced in consequence of unjust treatment by their employers.—abolished in Corea, and two ministers, Left The post. of Prime Minister. has been and Right, have been appointed in his place.—There was severe storm at the Loochoos on the 2nd ult., in which hundreds of houses and junks were destroyed.—Tha American yacht Coronet arrived at haman the 22nd, with the American eclipse party on board. The Balmoral was to hav been the fourth steamer on the N.Y.K. she fas thres baller Gri beast poems European line, but she cannot <0 because Senjio woollen mill, and the only crane in Betbre his eyes. In spite of his sad misph Office saw his family swept away fortune, he at once went in search of the telegraphic instruments that had been washed away, and as soon as possible restored them to proper order. To his self-sacrificing zeal the public is indebted for the speedy re-establishing of communications.
Tae two following extracts show how watchful an eye is kept on Russia's action in the Far East by Mr. Astor's paper, the Pall Mail "Alliances may come and alliances may g0, but Russia's certitude as to her aims goes on for ever; and the steady persistence with which she keeps pegging away at them is enough to turn the faithful ally of the moment green wi envy if she ever troubles to think what it all means. Take any date in any year at random and note where Russian influence stands. Skip six months and you will find that it is always half a verst, half a_verst, half verst, or more, onward. 'Take railway extension, for instance. 'The impression is growing in St. Petersburg, we learn this morning, that Li Hung-chang is negotiating very rapidly with Prince Lobanoff about the line to Port Arthur. And simultaneously the Times' correspondent telegraphs that the announcement of a forthcoming railway from Merv towards Herat, made in the Times of the 29th of April, and contradicted semi-ofticially—or officiously (Times joke)—by Reuter on the Ist of May, has been expressly confirmed in General Komaroff's brother's paper, the Stet. It is to be completed in two years, and will run from Merv along the left bank of the Kushk river to the Kushk post, only 140 versts (90 odd miles) from Herat. It will have economic as well as military significance.' Quite so. It would not be a Russian railway if itchd not; and a Russian railway with a terminus less than six miles from an Afghan post is rather more significant than usual.
"The Noroye Vremya states that a school for the teaching of the Russian language has been opened at Seoul. Pity the poor Coreans Just as if Japanese and Chinese were not enough for one little nation to have to bother itself with! That is the worst of living where so many spheres of influence get themselves mixed up together. The instruction is gratuitous, which is well, as far as it gues, and perhaps explains why the echod master, ous Birukom hae proof of the new Czar's kindly nature, and of his desire that the memories of conflicts between ruler and people shall. be erased as far as possible, After the Imperial words to the -emstovs, no announcement of any step in the direction of greater representation of the people in the government was to be expected. Russia is to remain an unimpaired autocracy and theocracy.
We know very well that the anti-English feeling shown so markedly by the-German Press, is not shared by Germans who have resided in or traded with British Colonies and we see with pleasure that Herr Isidor Adler, a retired South African merchant, has contributed to the Bursenhalle, of Ham: burg, a letter in which he deplores the by the German Press during the past four strange and ly mage antagonism shown, months to British policy in South Africa," His experience is that German commercial interests in British possessions require no better protection than that already accord. ed under the British flag to every trader, irrespective of nationality, creed, or colour, built up the South African colonies and English blood, enterprise, and capital have opened the resources of that vast territory, in which German traders, side by side with Englishmen, have reaped the benefit. Herr Adler says the origin of the recent troubles in the Transvaal rests entirely with its own Government. He reviews the past history of the Transvaal to establish this assertion, and observes that the Jameson raid was as foolish as it was criminal but it is well known that the Boors were informed of what was contemplated, and could have stopped the expedition by apprising the British Government. He con. cludes by asserting that the commercial interests of Germany and Great Britain in the Transvaal are identical in every respect, and that there is no cause, as regards. the Transvaal question, for misunderstanding between the two nations, Tsingkiangpu correspondent recently made undeniable fun of the way in which the Chinese there, officials and all, were attempting to persuade the gods to send them rain; but, as the following ex. tract from the N.Y. Nation shows, similar superstitions are still found in operation in Europe To people who ask what is the matter with Spain, why she fell from the pric macy of Europe, why her government is so inefficient, and all that, a vary good an-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.