Bank Moratorium, and furious fighting at Ojinaga, the issue for several
days being in doubt. On January 11 it was reported that the Federal
Army, which numbered 4,000 but had sustained heavy loss, had abandoned
the town, crossed the Rio Grande and been disarmed by the United States
authorities. General Villa took possession of Ojinaga, and his star
was in the ascendant. The Government defaulted in the payments of the
National Debt, and the Moratorium was extended to March 31. A plot
against the Government was discovered in the capital and there were
many arrests of prominent citizens. On February 4 President Wilson
issued a Proclamation raising the embargo on the exportation of arms
and ammunition to Mexico. Keen resentment was exhibited by the Huerta
party, and General Villa, who had been inactive after Ojinaga except
for the execution of "bandits," resumed his campaign. British marines
and machine guns were sent from Vera Cruz to guard the Legation. On
February 20 news came that an Englishman, Mr. William A. Benton, an
extensive ranch-owner in the North, had been shot at El Paso by order
of General Villa. He had lived in Mexico for twenty-five years and knew
Villa personally. It was stated that damage having been done by Villa's
men to his property, he had gone to Villa and had remonstrated with
him. There was an altercation between the two. By Villa's orders Benton
was tried by court martial and shot out of hand. The United States,
having undertaken the obligation of protecting British subjects in
places where we had no Consular representative, pressed for an inquiry.
The "official" record of the court martial alleged that Mr. Benton
was condemned for attempting armed violence against General Villa,
and for assisting General Huerta; but the friends of the murdered man
alleged that he did not carry arms and had none when he entered Villa's
quarters. Sir Edward Grey sent Mr. Perceval, the British Consul at
Galveston, to El Paso to investigate the crime. Yielding to United
States representations, Villa allowed the body to be exhumed. Sir
Edward Grey had meanwhile made a statement (1) reserving the right to
secure reparation "whenever there is an opportunity" should United
States action fail or not be proceeded with further; (2) dismissing
the idea of a British punitive expedition to Mexico, on the ground
that it would be worse than futile, seeing that it would "positively
help those from whom we demand reparation, simply for the sake of
appearing to do something"; and, (3) the matter would not be allowed to
rest, "and as soon as, by any change of circumstances, it is in our
power to carry the matter further we shall take whatever steps may be
practicable." Villa telegraphed that "Benton was tried by Council of
War and found guilty and shot for having tried to assassinate me." Mr.
Consul Percival arrived at El Paso and an Anglo-American Commission met
to investigate the crime. General Carranza also appointed a Commission
of his own. But by this time Benton had been buried three weeks. Mr.
Percival and the Anglo-American Commission were refused facilities to
cross the frontier, and Sir Edward Grey therefore found it necessary,
on Mr. Percival's advice, to drop the question of an examination of
the body. There the matter had to be left, nor had any reparation been
obtained by the end of the year.
Meanwhile General Huerta protested against the cancellation of the
embargo on arms, and relations with the United States became more
strained. On April 21, in view of the outrage on the United States
flag at Tampico (April 10, p. 456), the American Admiral at Vera
Cruz, on instructions from Washington, seized the Customs House, and
intervention on a great scale seemed inevitable. Steps were taken for
the protection of foreign residents in Mexico city and British subjects
elsewhere had been ordered to seek safety at once.
There was, however, a lull and diplomacy was active with the object
of inducing the various parties in Mexico to arrange an armistice
between the Federalist and Constitutional or "rebel" forces as a step
to agreement on a Provisional Government, the assumption being that
Huerta would be eliminated, by consent or otherwise. General Carranza,
for the Constitutionalists, accepted this idea, or was reported
to have done so at first. After confusing negotiations the facts
emerged that Huerta had no intention of resigning, and that Generals
Carranza and Villa would not agree to an armistice. A Conference was
arranged to meet at Niagara Falls, on the Canadian side, in May, and
Huerta despatched his Commissioners. The Constitutionalists resumed
operations and drove the Federalists out of Tampico with ease, the
Federalists taking to flight when cannon and machine guns were brought
into position, commanding the town and harbour. There were other
rebel successes. Simultaneously the Mediation Conference, consisting
of representatives of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, the United States,
and the Mexican Commissioners, began their work at Niagara and after
eloquent opening speeches sat in private. The Constitutionalists then
decided to send a representative to Niagara, but General Carranza
stoutly refused an armistice. In the early part of June it became
evident that his military position was such that General Huerta's
dictatorship had almost disappeared. In this situation General Huerta
let it be known at Niagara that he was willing to resign if at the time
of withdrawal the country was "politically pacified." A scheme was
mooted by a provisional Government nominated and agreed upon by both
parties in Mexico, and it was in principle accepted by General Huerta.
But General Carranza still declined the terms on which the Conference
would admit his delegate, and he acted with rigour towards Federalists
in his power. Many executions were reported. General Villa quarrelled
with him and the Constitutionalists thus broke into two military
parties. The cause of the rupture was obscure, but it was alleged that
General Villa had demanded full control of the Army in return for his
recognition of Carranza as dictator. The feud still further diminished
the already slender chances of success at the "A.B.C," Conference
at Niagara. Affairs in the Republic fell into worse chaos, and thus
they continued until mid-July when the name of Francisco Carbajal,
Foreign Minister in the Huerta regime in succession to Señor Rojas, was
discussed as that of a suitable Provisional President. At this time the
Constitutionalists under General Carranza were threatening to descend
on Mexico city and the situation seemed desperate. On July 16 it was
announced that General Huerta, with other officials, had left Mexico
city for Puerto Mexico, and that Señor Carbajal had taken the oath
before Congress as Provisional President. General Huerta's resignation
was presented to Congress and accepted by a vote of 121 to 17. In his
message of resignation, he reviewed his assumption of office at the
call of Congress. He recalled his efforts to bring about peace, noting
that in seventeen months he had formed an army to carry out his promise
of peace. He reviewed the difficulties of the Government in doing this,
"owing to scarcity of funds as well as to the manifest and decided
protection which a Great Power in this continent has afforded to the
rebels," and which culminated "in the outrage committed at Vera Cruz by
the American Fleet" at the moment "when the revolution had been broken
up" by the division among its leaders. He also recounted the success of
the mediation negotiations, adjusting the Tampico incident, but noted
that "the revolution continued, with the support of whom we all know."
Rebutting the allegations that his personal interest was predominant,
he offered his resignation as a proof that interest in the Republic was
his chief thought. The message aroused prolonged applause, and General
Huerta had a hearty popular farewell. He left for Europe, _via_ Havana,
landing at Avonmouth and proceeding to Spain.
The new President had been a Judge of the Supreme Court under Diaz,
Minister in London under Huerta, and then Foreign Minister. He had the
reputation of being a man of peace and distinction of mind,--qualities
that made him unacceptable to General Carranza. Negotiations between
the two chiefs broke down over the question of the punishment of the
Huertist leaders, and ultimately Señor Carbajal fled to Vera Cruz, and
the Carranzists entered Mexico city on August 20. The United States
Government in September began to contemplate withdrawing its troops
from Vera Cruz, but it demanded (1) that the Customs duties and taxes
collected by it on Mexican account during the occupation should not be
required a second time from the payers; (2) that Mexicans employed by
it should not suffer in consequence; (3) that United States citizens
and priests and members of religious orders should be protected from
harm by the Mexican Government. General Carranza would not give
definite assurances to this effect. Villa, whose allegiance to Carranza
had long been doubtful, broke with him early in October, ostensibly
because Carranza was supposed to be delaying agrarian reform, and a
Peace Conference was summoned at Aguas Calientes (364 miles north of
the capital on the line to El Paso), which was intended to eliminate
both Villa and Carranza and to substitute a Provisional President.
Carranza, backed by some of his subordinate Generals in Southern
Mexico, refused to attend the Conference, but offered to resign if
a Provisional Government were set up and Villa and Zapata would
retire also. Villa had come to terms with Zapata, and controlled the
Conference; and on October 31 it deposed both Carranza and Villa from
their commands--Villa's deposition, however, being only nominal--and
elected General Carlos Gutierrez Provisional President (Nov. 2) for
twenty days, subject to renewal. It then declared Carranza to be a
rebel. President Wilson now decided to withdraw the United States
troops in order to leave Mexico free to settle her own affairs, and
they left Vera Cruz on November 23, taking with them the Customs duties
they had collected, to hold till a stable Government was established,
and also some clerical refugees. It was occupied by a Carranzist force
under General Aguilar. Villa, however, suspected Gutierrez, and the
capital was occupied early in December by a Zapatist force. Carranza
had offered to confer with Villa at Havana, but the year ended amid a
fresh civil war. A tramway strike in the capital and a dearth of food
in Northern Mexico also marked the end of the year.
An agreement was arrived at in June between Great Britain, the United
States and Holland to withhold support from any of their respective
nationals claiming, directly or indirectly, "any right or title or
interest in oil properties acquired since April 24 by reason of the
cancellation of contracts or leases, or by reason of the confiscation
by _de facto_ authorities of properties on the ground of default of
contractual obligations or non-compliance with legal requirements,
provided that such default or non-compliance is unavoidable because of
military operations or political disturbances."
In _Panama_ the Canal was unofficially opened for general traffic
on August 15, the United States War Department steamer _Ancon_, of
6,000 tons net, going through the locks at the head of a procession
of vessels. Barge traffic had passed through earlier, and a number of
ocean steamers did so later, but a landslide in October blocked the
waterway for a few days and other interruptions occurred in November
and December. A report on the work of the Sanitation Department
showed a steady improvement in the sickness and death rates among the
employees on the Canal and the Panama Railway. Yellow fever and plague
had disappeared, malaria had diminished greatly. The death rate of the
whole population of the zone, including the towns of Colon and Panama,
was 49.94 per 1,000 in 1905, and was reduced to 20.49 in 1912 and
23.57 in 1913. The expenditure on the Canal by the end of 1913 stood
at 65,000,000_l._ In November rules were promulgated on the use of the
Canal by belligerents.
In his Message to the Assembly of _Guatemala_, in March, President
Estrada Cabrera announced that the Government had replied to the
representations of the British Foreign Office, requesting the
restoration of the revenue given as a guarantee for the service of
the 4 per cent. external debt, by an agreement made direct with the
representatives of the bond-holders.
A treaty between _Nicaragua_ and the United States was before the
U.S. Senate at the close of the year (p. 461). The other Central
American Republics had little history except that of financial distress
consequent upon the war.
V. WEST INDIES AND THE GUIANAS.
The West India Islands and British Guiana had an uneventful and fairly
prosperous year until the outbreak of war, nor do their commercial
interests seem since then to have been materially affected. The war
stimulated the loyalty of the people and caused less apprehension than
might have been expected, having regard to the concentration of the
Fleet in home waters and the defenceless condition of the archipelago,
in which there were German cruisers late in July, which are believed to
have cut the cable on August 3. It was at first thought that the cable
had broken owing to an earthquake at Jamaica on that day, but the view
of the repairers was that it had undoubtedly been cut. On the defect
being remedied the West Indies learned that war had been declared. On
October 20 the Governor of Jamaica was able to report that matters
had proceeded normally. That had been the case elsewhere. There had
been no excitement and no unrest; the bank returns showed an increase
of deposits since the opening of hostilities,--one of many signs that
the island was recovering from the depression of 1913. The people
had displayed a spirit of the greatest loyalty and he had received a
large number of offers of personal service. His language is applicable
to other islands and the mainland colony. Many West Indians came to
England and enlisted in the new army. Though the tide of war did not
reach our possessions in the Caribbean and the Guianas, the fact
that Germany was at war with France and Great Britain opened up new
possibilities in the Western world south of the United States, in the
event of German success. So far as can be judged the normal life of the
colonies was pursued, but the war checked development projects. Thus no
progress has been made with the scheme for opening up the hinterland of
British Guiana by a railway. The proposal of the Governor, Sir Walter
Egerton, awaits the decision of the Colonial Office. A loan would be
required and the chances of such legislation in the Imperial Parliament
at an early date may have diminished to vanishing point since August.
The need of railway enterprise in this long-neglected colony--the El
Dorado of Raleigh--was illustrated during the year by the authenticated
discovery of a new gold area between the head waters of the Takutu
River and the Tucurutu Mountains. The British route to the field
would be partly by existing steamboat and railway services and thence
by canoe, with many portages past rapids, then across the Savannah
and again by canoe. The journey is commercially impracticable unless
the deposits are exceptionally rich. The new gold area is sparsely
inhabited by Macusi Indians, who speak the Carib language but are not
pure Caribs, and there is no food in the region other than what the
aborigines grow for themselves. On this account and because of the long
and difficult journey the Government issued a warning notice to those
fitting out expeditions. The discovery greatly strengthens Sir Walter
Egerton's case for a hinterland railway, without which "the largest
undeveloped auriferous area in the world"--to quote the Government
expert--cannot be developed.
_Hayti_ and _Santo Domingo_ had another revolutionary year, tempered
by the occasional intervention of United States warships for the
protection of foreign property.
VI. SOUTH AMERICA.
A commercial crisis occurred in _Brazil_ early in the year, owing
to the fall in the prices of rubber and coffee, and it culminated
on the outbreak of war in a general default. It was complicated in
February by a rebellion in the State of Ceara, which started among
rubber collectors who could no longer get employment. It was led by an
ex-priest, Padre Cicero, and quickly reached proportions beyond the
resisting power of the State authorities, the political opponents of
the President of Ceara, Colonel Rabello, apparently using the movement
to get rid of him. In this they succeeded, the Federal authorities
failing to respond to his requests for support. The rising, however,
being economic rather than political in origin, became so extensive
and so menacing to the Republic that the Federal Government had to
proclaim martial law and reinforce the Federal troops at Fortaleza, the
State capital. The administration of the State was taken over by the
Federal Government and a military officer, Colonel Setembrino, put in
charge. This meant the elimination of Colonel Rabello and an easement
of the political tension. The disarmament of rioters was proceeded with
and the State thus quieted. Meanwhile there had been ominous signs
of trouble in Rio Janeiro, but these were promptly suppressed by the
Government, by the usual methods of arrest and control of the Press.
A leading paper at Rio gave an indication of the acuteness of this
crisis by publishing in the place of its leading articles the story
of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. But the trouble in the Federal
capital--a week's journey from Ceara by sea--passed off. As fears of a
revolution diminished the financial situation became more acute. The
Budget law for 1914 put the expenditure at 435,773 contos of reis paper
and 95,469 contos gold and the estimated revenue at 130,219 contos
gold and 367,571 paper, leaving a deficit of 9,621 contos paper. In
June Congress authorised the Government to contract a loan to enable
Treasury obligations to be met, and passed resolutions prohibiting
expenditure not yet entered upon though lawfully authorised. Whatever
effects this belated zeal for economy may have had, a heavy deficit on
the Budget proposals put before Congress in July was not avoided, and
when war broke out in Europe the Republic defaulted. In October the
Brazilian Government promulgated a Funding Scheme by which interest
on all the foreign loans, except the Funding Bonds of the 1903 loan,
became payable in scrip for three years, while the redemption of nearly
all securities was postponed for thirteen years. The Budget estimates
for 1915 were dislocated by the effects of the war.
Mr. Theodore Roosevelt published in December a volume under the
title of "Through the Brazilian Wilderness," in which he described
his travels with Colonel Rondon and other Brazilian officers in the
hinterland of the Republic, and gave an account of the previously
unexplored tributary of the Madeira River--an affluent of the
Amazon--which is now officially known as Rio Teodoro or Roosevelt
River. Mr. Roosevelt gives the credit for the discovery to Colonel
Rondon and his associates of the Telegraph Commission during six years'
work in the interior prior to his own journey. "It was their scientific
exploration of the Chapado, their mapping of the basin of the Juruena,
and their descent of the Gy-Parana that rendered it possible for us to
solve the mystery of the River of Doubt"--a river some 1,500 kilometres
in length, of which the upper course was utterly unknown, and the lower
course, though used by rubber collectors, unknown to cartographers (see
_post_, Science, Part II., p. 54).
The new President of Brazil is Dr. Wenceslao Braz and the
Vice-President Señor Urbano Dos Santos. The President was
Vice-President under Marshal Hermes da Fonseca.
The economic condition of _Argentina_ was unsatisfactory in the
early months of the year and the effects of the war were severe. The
Presidential Message at the opening of Congress on May 27 stated
that the expenditure for 1913 had amounted to 39,128,000_l._ and the
Treasury receipts to 34,897,000_l._ The total external and internal
debts of the National Government amounted to 108,800,000_l._ Drastic
economies had to be made in the Budget for 1914 owing to the decrease
of customs. It was claimed that the unfavourable state of business
could not affect the stability of the country, seeing that agriculture
continued to expand. Weather conditions proved to be bad and an
immense area of the country was waterlogged in July. The financial
and agricultural outlook was unfavourable at the outbreak of the
war, which produced an economic crisis in the Argentina as elsewhere
in Latin America. In presenting the Budget for 1915 a Presidential
message forecasted a saving in the 1914 Budget of 5,000,000_l._ and
prophesied the subsidence of the economic troubles before the new
year--calculations dissipated by the war.
In _Peru_ the political disorders of 1913 resulted in February in the
downfall of President Billinghurst, who had attempted to break down the
rule of the ring of governing families, much as Balmaceda had in Chile
in 1891. On the 4th of that month Colonel Benavides, with a body of
infantry, seized the palace at Lima and made the President prisoner.
The immediate issue which produced this _coup d'état_ was an attempt
by the President to bring about a general election on the plea that
the existing Congress was invalid because of illegalities. Colonel
Benavides acted as the instrument of Congress, which represented that
it had acted constitutionally in deposing a President who had himself
contumaciously violated the Constitution. An aspect of legality was
thus given to the movement. The affair at the Palace was bloodless, but
General Farela, Prime Minister and Minister of War, was killed at Santa
Catalina arsenal "while endeavouring to impose his authority" on the
troops, and there were other casualties. The ex-President was lodged in
jail and political offenders he had himself imprisoned set free. Lima
was reported quiet the next day, a provisional government having been
formed with Colonel Benavides in control. The official account said
that "public opinion and the patriotism of the Army having enforced
respect for the Constitution, President Billinghurst resigned." The
Government was being "carried on under normal conditions and in the
enjoyment of general confidence." On February 18 Señor Billinghurst was
escorted from prison to a cruiser and exiled with his son George, and
one of his Ministers. Many weeks passed in controversy and manoeuvres
on the issue whether Señor Roberto Leguia, as first Vice-President,
had the right to succeed ex-President Billinghurst, or whether there
should be a general election. Señor Leguia's party was on one occasion
forcibly excluded from Congress and on another the Opposition absented
themselves, the effect being that Señor Leguia's claim could not
receive Congressional sanction. The Provisional Government used the
military in the interests of the opponents of Señor Leguia. Señor
Don Augusto B. Leguia, a former President of Peru, was then in London
and gave an account of the matter favourable to Señor Roberto Leguia.
The Junta under Colonel Benavides, he pointed out, was called into
existence to exercise authority until Congress met and decided what
was to be done. Their conduct was that of a dictatorship, masked by
the vote of a minority in Congress--a party which came to be known
as the Bloquistas. Attempts to compose the differences failed. Señor
Roberto Leguia appears to have been willing to resign if the Junta
also resigned, and there was a general election, by which, according
to the Constitution, a President is elected. On May 18 it was reported
that a majority of the Congress had met at Señor Leguia's house and
accepted his oath as President by virtue of his right as Vice-President
to succeed Señor Billinghurst. The acceptance was by a legal quorum of
the Congress. A manifesto was issued to the nation and Señor Leguia
invited the diplomatic body to recognise his status. There were thus
two Presidents of Peru; but Señor Benavides also claimed to have been
duly elected by Congress, and his election was eventually confirmed by
the Supreme Court.
_Uruguay_ shared to the full the economic misfortunes of the larger
Republics. The year opened with a monetary crisis, attributed by
the Minister of Finance to depletion in the stock of gold and the
difficulty of borrowing in Europe. The Bank of the Republic restricted
credit. President Batlle y Ordoñez, in opening the Legislature in
February, asserted that notwithstanding the monetary crisis the
country had made substantial progress and was on the road to recovery.
The imports for 1913 amounted to 9,600,000_l._ and the exports to
12,600,000_l._ Of the Public Debt 609,517_l._ had been redeemed and
1,210,260_l._ of the Internal debt issued. The annual statement
on the Public Debt showed the total on December 31, 1913, to be
28,999,737_l._--an increase of 639,088_l._ The Budget for 1914-15
showed an expenditure of 6,976,526_l._; the revenue was estimated to
be in excess. A new loan of 2,000,000_l._ was issued and further loans
were sought. The project of a "Pan-American" railway, which was to
give a direct route from Buenos Ayres to the Brazilian system, did not
materialise. The Uruguayan Government rescinded its concession and in
April initiated a policy of new State lines to link up the Brazilian
system. The principle was to secure the economic independence of the
Republic in railway matters and it was officially denied that there was
any hostility towards the Central Uruguay Railway Company.
Except for commercial depression and the effects of the war the affairs
of _Paraguay_ were uneventful.
The war brought about the like financial crisis in _Chile_ as elsewhere
in Latin America. Early in the year it was announced by the President
that having regard to economies then effected, the expenditure for
1914 would be covered by the revenue. The Legislature passed a
Bill for reorganising and extending the railway system at a cost of
4,710,000_l._ A proposal to convert the paper peso at the rate of
twelve pence gold met with much obstruction and the war came before
it could be carried through the Senate. At the time of the war Chile
had a warship of the Dreadnought class building in England. In view of
rumours that warships building would be sold, the Chilian Government
formally declared that they would not cede the vessels, which were
contracted for "solely to fulfil the exigencies of Chile's geographical
position and of her international rank. The said units will only
leave British waters to be incorporated into the Chilian navy." The
Anglo-German naval engagement off the coast of Chile is narrated
elsewhere (p. 227). It was reported from Santiago after the loss of
H.M.S. _Good Hope_ that German merchant vessels had misused Chilian
territorial waters for the supply of stores and sending wireless
messages to German warships. The Chilian Government authorised the
statement that from the first Chile had strictly carried out her
neutrality and had effectively used her warships for convoying within
territorial waters merchant vessels threatened by cruisers. Regulations
were cited to show that not only was the taking of abnormal stores by
belligerent merchantmen prohibited but that vessels carrying wireless
had to dismantle the installation. In the Chilian Parliament the
Minister for Foreign Affairs made an elaborate statement showing that
there was no ground for the insinuation that there had been a departure
from neutrality. Incidentally he stated that the action in which H.M.S.
_Good Hope_ was lost (Nov. 1) took place at "a very considerable
distance outside the territorial limit." The British Government was
satisfied that there had been no lack of good faith or vigilance by
Chile and that reports to the contrary were "not in accordance with
the facts and do not in any way represent the opinion of His Majesty's
Government." An anti-German outbreak was reported from Valparaiso in
December owing to the German controllers of the tramways raising the
passenger rates.
Mr. and Mrs. Scoresby Routledge left the Chilian coast in the yacht
_Maria_ in January for Easter Island, where they are making a study of
the gigantic stone figures and other antiquities.
_Bolivia_--the land-locked Republic of South America--has maintained
good relations with her neighbours and her record until the war was
one of economic progress. Her external debt in March, 1913, amounted
to 3,000,000_l._ only, nearly all contracted with the Credit Mobilier
Français, and her productiveness was increasing. A thorough study
of this Republic by M. Paul Wallé on the instructions of the French
Ministry of Commerce is embodied in his book "Bolivia, its People and
its Resources, its Railways, Mines and Rubber Forests" (T. Fisher
Unwin, 1914). New railway schemes were projected during the year for
regions still dependent on mule transport. A decree was issued from La
Paz requiring the registration of labour contracts for the interior and
making provisions, under penalties, for the prevention of abuses of the
peonage system, common throughout Latin America and not infrequently
resulting in the practical enslavement of the labourer. There had
been scandals in Bolivia affecting Colombian nationals in the Beni
rubber region; and perhaps no rubber-producing area on the continent
is free from them. Since the exposure of the horrors in the Putumayo
region Governmental opinion in other Republics has been stimulated
to take corrective action where conditions more or less comparable
had arisen, and the action of Bolivia is indicative of a desire to
protect the forest worker. In this connexion it should be observed
that the Foreign Office has sent a Circular despatch [Cd. 7148] to
its consular officers, calling attention to the Putumayo report and
giving directions for more energetic action in cases of maltreatment of
natives where British subjects and companies are responsible. They are
to make themselves cognisant of labour conditions in concessions partly
or wholly controlled by British subjects, and to embody in their annual
reports the result of their studies, besides making special reports in
serious cases, thus enabling the Foreign Office to warn the persons
and companies concerned. Following the precedent of the Putumayo case
the policy of the British Foreign Office is to encourage consular
vigilance, and on the receipt of reports of serious ill-treatment of
natives where British subjects may be held to account, to authorise
special consular journeys of investigation.
In _Ecuador_ there was a revolutionary movement in the north, under
the leadership of Colonel Concha, who was credited with a desire to
overthrow President Plaza, who himself gained office by expelling
General Alfaro from the Presidency. Colonel Concha held the port
of Esmeraldas, which was shelled by Government war craft. The
revolutionary movement was officially represented to be unimportant.
Breaches of neutrality in the German interest were alleged also
against Ecuador, which with Colombia was called to account by the
British and French Governments (p. 237). The Ecuadorean Government
issued an absolute denial of this and of the charge that the wireless
installations had been allowed to be used by Germany. The charges were
"pure inventions concocted in the United States." It is noticeable that
both in the case of Colombia and Ecuador the representations of the
Allied Powers were made through and by the United States Government.
In _Colombia_ Don José Vicente Concha, a Clerical and Conservative, and
former Financial Agent of the Republic in Paris, was elected President
for four years from July. The country was in the proud position
of being able to announce that, notwithstanding the dislocation
of business caused by the war, the interest on her external debt
was being and would be punctually paid. The gold industry of this
Republic is progressing. As in the case of Chile, but apparently
with more justification, complaints were made (p. 237) that Colombia
had permitted acts in assistance of the Germans and had violated
her neutrality. Colombia denied the charges, through the _Chargé
d'Affaires_ at the Legation in London, who cited a decree of September
1, "enforcing" all measures required to safeguard the neutrality of
the Republic in connexion with the operations of the wireless stations
at Cartagena and Santa Maria, the only two wireless stations in the
country. A decree of September 11 was quoted to the effect that in the
absence, of properly qualified experts who could satisfy the Government
as to the way in which the censorship and transmission of messages
would be conducted, the station at Cartagena "should be closed." There
were also decrees of August 12 and 22 to ensure strict observance of
neutrality rules by shipping and users of ports. The existence of
these decrees was not in dispute. Later on the _Chargé d'Affaires_
reported that official cables from Colombia of November 19 stated that
the French Minister at Bogota and His Majesty's Naval _Attaché_ in
Washington had expressed their thanks to the Colombian Government and
their satisfaction with the action taken to carry out the requests of
the Allied Governments. The representations of the latter had, in fact,
been effective. A treaty was under consideration by the United States
Congress for the payment to Colombia of 5,000,000_l._ as indemnity for
the loss of Panama territory by the revolution of 1903. The treaty had
not been ratified by the United States Senate at the close of the year.
From _Venezuela_ there is nothing more novel to record than a frontier
raiding difficulty with Colombia.
FOOTNOTES:
[29] It reopened for general business on December 12, and for dealings
in bonds a fortnight earlier.
CHAPTER IX.
AUSTRALASIA.
I. AUSTRALIA.
Had it not been for the dominating influence of the war the year in
Australia would have been memorable for the unfortunate consequences
attendant upon a season of short rainfall. The absence of rain was
felt early in the year, and by mid-winter it was clear that both
small and large holders would suffer severely. The lambing, which,
in a great pastoral country like Australia, makes such a notable
addition to the national income, was a partial failure, and over wide
areas, particularly in the south of the continent, stock owners had
considerable trouble to keep their flocks and herds intact. Among the
farmers, the wheat growers were the main sufferers. The 1913-14 harvest
exceeded 100,000,000 bushels, and was the largest the Commonwealth
had produced. The crop which was being garnered at the close of 1914
produced only 26,500,000 bushels. With the single exception of New
South Wales, which had a small quantity of wheat available for export,
none of the States grew enough grain for their own flour necessities.
The partial failure of the rainfall was the more serious because, as
a great pastoral and a considerable agricultural community, Australia
must otherwise have made very substantial gains out of the high prices
for foodstuffs established by the war. At the same time, however, too
much attention must never be paid to one season of bad rainfall in
Australia. Previous to 1914 the Commonwealth enjoyed an almost unbroken
run of exceptional prosperity for ten or eleven years, and there had
in that time not only been remarkable development in all primary and
secondary industries, but also a very considerable accumulation of
wealth by all classes. Fortunately, as the year closed there were heavy
and widespread rains, and with excellent prospects of a return to
happier conditions in 1915.
The declaration of war against Germany was not taken quite so calmly
by the Australian people as by the people of the United Kingdom. The
Australians, as a youthful community, naturally exercise less restraint
in a time of Imperial stress than the experienced veterans of the
Mother Country. Then the high feeling which prevailed in Australia was
accentuated by the sense of isolation from other parts of the Empire,
and particularly from the seat of war; while the news service dealing
with the war was, particularly in the early stages, far less satisfying
in the Commonwealth than it was in London. All cable communications
were severely censored both before they left the United Kingdom and
in many cases again after they reached Australia, and the consequence
was that the Australian people were apprehensive lest they should be
receiving only information which was favourable to the British cause.
It is necessary to mention these facts in order to understand the
marked contrast presented by the British people at home and those of
the self-governing Dominions in the early stages of the war. The scenes
of enthusiasm which attended the departure of the first contingents
from Australia found no parallel in the United Kingdom, and the
Australian people were at the same time far more anxious and "jumpy."
The Australians are made up to the extent of 97 per cent. of
Anglo-Saxon blood, and so there was nothing remarkable in the immediate
response to the Empire's call to arms. The young manhood of the
Commonwealth fell into line just as naturally and spontaneously as
the manhood of London or Edinburgh. Within two or three days of the
declaration of war the Commonwealth Government had offered 20,000
troops for service in any part of the world. This offer was immediately
accepted by the Imperial Administration, and from that moment until the
year closed volunteers came eagerly from every class and every portion
of the Commonwealth. The people of Australia entered with special
enjoyment into the task of the destruction of Germany's ambitions and
the acquisition of her territory in the South-West Pacific. It had
always been felt that some of these territories, and especially German
New Guinea, were too close to the Commonwealth, and the time might
come when they would be the cause of serious trouble between the two
peoples. Moreover the flying expeditions which the Imperial Government
ordered or sanctioned for the conquest of these enemy colonies, gave an
opportunity to the young Australian Navy to demonstrate its seamanship
and fighting capacity. Before the war was many days old, the first
Expeditionary force, with Colonel Holmes in command, was on its way,
under Navy protection, towards the North, and a week or two later the
whole Empire was delighting in its initial successes. The operations
of this Force were of historic interest, because they marked the
first occasion upon which Australians engaged in warfare without the
co-operation and support of other British troops.
The rapidity with which the men under Colonel Holmes' command were
enrolled and despatched showed the general efficiency of the Australian
Defence Force. Recruits were called for on August 9, and by August
18 the Force was embarked under sealed orders "For the Tropics."
After a fortnight's training on the Queensland coast, the expedition
proceeded direct for the German headquarters at Simpsonshafen, in New
Pomerania, or, as the island is more familiarly known, New Britain.
It was from Simpsonshafen that German New Guinea and other territory
in the vicinity was governed, and the first aim of the Australians
was to locate and destroy a wireless station known to be at work upon
the island. A small German force supported by a number of natives
offered sharp resistance to the advance towards the station, and before
the Australians carried the position they lost seven men, including
Lieutenant-Commander Elwell, R.N., and Captain Bryan Pockley, of the
Australian Army Medical Corps. All resistance fizzled out within
a few days, and on September 12 the British flag was hoisted, and
possession taken of the Island. Before the end of the month a landing
had been effected at Friedrich-Wilhelmshafen, the chief German station
upon the mainland of German New Guinea, which capitulated without
resistance. Meanwhile other units of the Australian Navy convoyed the
little New Zealand Force which took possession of German Samoa; and
the Bismarck Archipelago and other islands were captured at about the
same time. Then the Japanese took the Marshall Islands, which they
have since graciously handed over to the keeping and administration of
the Commonwealth. Had the conquest of these Pacific Islands not been
overshadowed by the fateful struggle in Europe, more would have been
heard doubtless of the extent and richness of Germany's lost colonies.
Sufficient for the present to say that they make up a wide area of
land teeming with qualities capable of great wealth production. At
present the new territory is being administered by resident officials
specially appointed by the Commonwealth.
When war was declared there were a considerable number of German
vessels of importance in Australian waters or about the coast, and
few if any of these escaped the activities of the local Navy. The
entry of these ocean captives to the various ports was the signal for
outbursts of enthusiasm among the people, who were making prisoners
of war for the first time in their history. Australia's first serious
mishap occurred in the loss of Submarine A.E.I., which disappeared
mysteriously between August 14 and 19 in the Pacific close to the
Australian coast. The total crew, made up of thirty-five officers and
men, were drowned. It is believed that the submarine foundered owing to
an accident.
Meanwhile recruiting was proceeding vigorously for the main
Expeditionary Force, intended ultimately for service on the Continent,
but subsequently diverted, temporarily at least, to Egypt. In the
South African War the Australian troops were made up almost entirely
of Mounted Infantry, and a preference was consequently given to young
countrymen. In the present campaign, however, the call was chiefly
for Infantry, and so the men of the cities had equal opportunity. The
response was of the best kind; it was common for remote stockmen to
present themselves to the recruiting officers after an overland journey
of many hundreds of miles. The first Force to embark represented a
complete fighting unit of upwards of 22,000 men, with its proper
complement of Cavalry and Artillery and fully equipped in all its
branches. Many of the men had seen service in the South African War; a
large number were drawn from the oldest of the Cadets, and so were the
first-fruits of Australia's system of compulsory military training. As
a whole, however, it was necessary that the Force should undergo a few
months' training before entering upon active service in Europe, and
this training was carried out in Egypt, while the men were at the same
time available for the defence of that territory against the Turks.
It was during the transport of the Expeditionary Force to Egypt that
H.M.A.S. _Sydney_ had the dramatic encounter with the notorious
_Emden_. The _Sydney_ was part of the convoy of the transports, and
early one morning there came a wireless call from Cocos Island that a
foreign warship was approaching. The _Sydney_ responded immediately,
and a few hours later sighted the _Emden_, and forced her to accept
battle. In the opening round the duel was fairly even, and the _Emden_
gunners, shooting with great precision, got two or three shots home,
without, however, causing the _Sydney_ much damage. Thenceforward, the
_Sydney_ showed her superiority, and after a short fight, the _Emden_,
very badly, damaged and after suffering terrible casualties among her
crew, was broken and beached upon one of the islands of the group. The
Australian flagship was at about this time co-operating with Japanese
and French battleships in scouring the Pacific in search of the German
squadron which had destroyed the _Monmouth_ and the _Good Hope_, and
so contributed indirectly to Admiral Sturdee's great victory at the
Falklands.
The response to the various patriotic funds was similar to that in
other parts of the Empire. Money and comforts of diverse kinds flowed
in on a most generous scale. By the end of the year upwards of a
million sterling had been contributed; the Commonwealth Parliament
voted 100,000_l._ to the relief of distressed Belgians, and the State
Governments and a large number of Municipalities also contributed
handsomely to the same cause.
_The Commonwealth._--Early in the year Lord Denman resigned the
Governor-Generalship owing to ill-health, and was succeeded by Sir
Ronald Munro Ferguson, who arrived in Australia in May. Almost the
new Governor's first act, and one which led to much controversy, was
the granting of a double dissolution to the Federal Parliament at the
request of the Prime Minister, Mr. Joseph Cook. Mr. Cook's aim was to
put an end to the stultifying deadlock which existed between the House
of Representatives, in which the Government had a slender majority, and
the Senate, where the Labour Opposition was overwhelmingly dominant.
The elections were arranged for September, but immediately upon the
declaration of war the Labour party, led by Mr. Fisher, urged that an
appeal to the country under the circumstances was undesirable, and that
the Government should continue to carry on until a more favourable
season for party controversy. This course, however, was not deemed
practicable, and the elections were held. The returns gave Labour a
majority of 41 to 33 in the House of Representatives, and 31 to 5 in
the Senate. Mr. Cook resigned, and a Labour Cabinet was formed as
follows: Prime Minister and Treasurer, Mr. Fisher; Attorney-General,
Mr. Hughes; Minister for Defence, Mr. Pearce; Trade and Customs, Mr.
Tudor; External Affairs, Mr. Arthur; Home Affairs, Mr. Archibald;
Postmaster-General, Mr. Spence; Vice-President of the Council, Mr.
Gardiner; Honorary Ministers, Messrs. Jenson, Mahon and Russell. Mr.
Arthur died before the end of the year, and was succeeded as Minister
for External Affairs by Mr. Mahon. Mr. McDonald became Speaker in the
House of Representatives, and Mr. Givens President of the Senate.
Mr. Fisher in his Budget, presented on December 3, estimated the
expenditure for 1914-15 at 37,500,000_l._, which included nearly
12,000,000_l._ to cover the local cost of the war. The revenue was
estimated at 23,273,000_l._, and the deficit of 13,000,000_l._ was
provided for by a loan of 10,500,000_l._ by the British Government,
and Treasury Bills to the extent of 2,588,000_l._ Much gratitude was
expressed towards the Home Government for the generous manner in which
they came to the financial assistance of the Commonwealth. A loan of
18,000,000_l._ was granted to the Commonwealth for re-loan to the
States. Much of this money was required to meet old loans falling due,
while the balance was wanted for the vigorous prosecution of railway
construction and other public works. In view of the considerable
dislocation in private industry owing to the war, especially in mining,
it was deemed desirable that both the Federal and State Governments
should continue development works during the war, and so avoid
unemployment and distress. The Government proposed a slight increase
of the Land Tax and a revision of the tariff, with still further
preference to British as against foreign goods. Probate and succession
duties were for the first time imposed by the Commonwealth. During
the year Sir George Reid, the High Commissioner in London, visited
Australia, and made a number of notable Imperial speeches, and was
everywhere received with enthusiasm. His term of office, which was
to have expired early in 1915, was extended for one year. Earl Grey,
and Sir Hartmann Just of the Colonial Office, made notable visits to
Australia. The tour and Conference of the British Association, which
had been so keenly anticipated by the people, were in a large measure
circumscribed by the outbreak of the war. A little event of much
significance was the launch from the Government docks in Sydney Harbour
of a torpedo destroyer which had been built entirely by Australian
labour, and, with the exception of the plates, of local materials.
At the same time, it was announced that a cruiser and a number of
other destroyers were in the course of construction. Following upon
the excellent reports which Royal Navy officials in command of the
Commonwealth Navy gave of the young native-born Australians who made
up the larger part of their crews, this first successful essay into
the building of a warship was regarded with the utmost satisfaction.
It seemed to have established conclusively that the young Anglo-Saxon
in Australia had fully inherited the genius of his forefathers for
shipbuilding and seamanship. In a modification of the initial Navy
programme laid down a few years ago by Admiral Henderson, provision
was made for the construction of two light cruisers and two improved
submarines, instead of torpedo destroyers. Considerable progress was
made with the various training colleges, naval bases and other matters
dealing with the defence system. Sir Ian Hamilton, in his special
report upon Commonwealth forces, congratulated the Government upon
the fitness of its land defences. He expressed the opinion that the
whole of the regular Force and 75 per cent. of the Militia serving at
any particular time were sufficiently trained and equipped to engage
in modern warfare at forty-eight hours notice, while within another
fortnight the balance of the Militia, together with 20,000 members of
rifle clubs, could be put into the fighting line.
In _New South Wales_ the drought was not so severe as in Victoria and
South Australia. In the wide Riverina district the pinch was severely
felt, but on the dairying areas, especially along the North Coast, the
season was more favourable and productive than any previously enjoyed,
while much of the pastoral country had a fair season. The Labour
Ministry continued in office, and having a sound working majority
pushed on actively with legislation. In January a new Ministry was
formed as follows: Premier and Treasurer, Mr. Holman; Chief Secretary
and Minister for Mines, Mr. Cann; Attorney-General and Minister for
Justice, Mr. Hall; Lands, Mr. Trefle; Works, Mr. Griffiths; Public
Instruction, Mr. Carmichael; Agriculture, Mr. Ashford; Labour and
Industry, Mr. Estell; Vice-President of Executive Council, Mr. Flowers;
Honorary Minister, Mr. Hoyle. The Treasury estimated the revenue for
the financial year at 18,380,000_l._, an increase of 2,120,000_l._, and
the expenditure at 18,342,000_l._ In October, however, Mr. Holman, in
the course of his Budget speech, estimated that owing to the reduced
earnings in consequence of the war, there would be a shortage on the
year of 340,000_l._ To overcome this he proposed a temporary supertax
on incomes and a tax on motor cars. The Government awakened much
controversy by its decisive actions in connexion with the war. As a
precaution against the operation of market manipulators, the whole of
the available wheat supply was seized. The Government also announced
its intention and provided the necessary purchasing machinery to take
over the whole of the wheat crop then ripening at an arbitrary price of
5_s._ a bushel. The Government also took active steps to encourage the
cultivation of a large wheat crop for the ensuing season. Towards this
end farmers were guaranteed a minimum price of 4_s._ a bushel for their
grain, and it is expected that as a result of this measure the area
sown will show an increase of 1,000,000 acres, and that the crop, given
a moderate season, will exceed 60,000,000 bushels. The best record to
date is 37,000,000 bushels for 1913-14.
In _Victoria_ the chief political event was the unexpected resignation
of Mr. Watt as Premier in favour of Sir Alexander Peacock. Mr. Watt
at once announced his intention of taking an active part in Federal
politics, and entered the House of Representatives at the general
election. Sir Arthur Stanley was sworn in as State Governor in
February. The Premier announced a definite sustained policy of railway
construction at a cost of from 600,000_l._ to 700,000_l._ a year. At
the general elections in November the Liberals retained office with a
majority of 43 to 22 over the Labour Opposition, all Ministers being
re-elected. The Treasurer in his Budget Speech in December estimated
the revenue at 10,600,000_l._ which was an increase of 3,000,000_l._
within twelve years. He pointed out that the total loans of the State
amounted to 66,000,000_l._ of which no less than 27,000,000_l._ were
now held by the Victorian people themselves. There was no increase
in taxation for the present year, but income and stamp duties would
be slightly raised within the next four years. It was claimed that
the State shipbuilding yards and coal mines had paid their way, and
justified the policy which led to their establishment. The season
was extremely unfavourable, probably the worst Victoria had ever
experienced. The shining exception was upon the great irrigation
districts in the north, where the settlers, with their unfailing supply
of river water, had a year of very heavy production, and reaped the
full advantage of the high prices prevailing for all kinds of produce;
in fact, the great illustration afforded of the value of irrigation
was a big compensation for the failure elsewhere, as Victoria still
has available wide areas of irrigable land, and further supplies of
water which can be conserved. The appreciation of irrigation was shown
by the fact that even before the season closed there was a rush for
the possession of the watered lands still in the possession of the
Government.
_Queensland._--Major Sir Hamilton Goold-Adams succeeded Sir William
MacGregor as Governor. Queensland enjoyed a remarkably good season,
quite escaping the shortage of rainfall in the South. The pastoral
industry was particularly prosperous, and as the war enhanced wool
values and promised also to increase the price of meat, the State
never had a brighter financial aspect. Early in the year, Mr. Denham,
the Premier, visited England, where he arranged for the conversion of
maturing loans, and was gratified at the confidence the London money
market displayed about Queensland's national assets. During the year
no less than 9,000,000 acres of land were taken up by new settlers, an
increase of 2,000,000 acres over the previous year. Nearly 4,000,000
bushels of maize were raised, and the sugar product reached 2,420,000
tons. Altogether the outlook in the big tropical State could scarcely
be brighter.
_South Australia_, like Victoria, was seriously affected by the
drought, and the wheat crop, which is so important in the State, was
very light indeed, while many settlers had great trouble to avert
serious losses among their live-stock. Sir Lionel Galway succeeded
Sir Day Bosanquet as Governor. Mr. A. A. Kirkpatrick retired from the
position of Agent-General in London after some years of successful
work, and was followed in that position by Mr. F. W. Young. The
Treasurer, Mr. Peake, in his Budget Speech in October, estimated a
surplus of 4,000_l._, and indicated that should there be a deficit in
consequence of the drought and the war, it need cause no concern, as
there was on hand an accrued surplus from the recent good years of
upwards of 1,000,000_l._ As in New South Wales, Victoria, and Western
Australia, there was every indication of farmers extending their wheat
areas in the ensuing year in anticipation of high prices.
_Western Australia._--A general election in October resulted in Labour
being again returned to office. Mr. Scaddan again became Premier,
Treasurer, and Minister for Railways; Mr. Collins, Minister for Mines
and Water; Mr. Joseph, Minister for Lands; Mr. Walker, Attorney-General
and Minister for Education; Mr. Drew, Colonial Secretary; Mr. Angwin,
Minister for Public Works; Mr. Jabez Dodd and Mr. R. H. Underwood,
Honorary Ministers. Nearly 300 miles of new State-owned railways
were opened for traffic in December, and at the same time there was
a similar length in course of construction. In every direction the
Government pursued an active policy of development works. Western
Australia has an area of nearly 1,000,000 square miles, and at
present the population is only a little more than 300,000. The season
was against agricultural production, and the wheat crop was only a
little above one-third of that of the previous year, when it reached
13,500,000 bushels. As a rule, however, Western Australia enjoys a
very regular rainfall, and the settlers, undeterred by the set-back,
pushed on vigorously with their clearing and other pioneering. Mr.
Justice McMillan was appointed Chief Justice in succession to Sir Henry
Parker, and the Very Rev. Cyril Golding Bird, Dean of Newcastle, was
consecrated Bishop of Kalgoorlie.
_Tasmania_ enjoyed a fairly good season. Substantial headway was made
in production, especially in orcharding, which industry continues to
thrive because of the keen demand which awaits its produce in the
United Kingdom, and other parts of the Old World. There was keen
political fighting, in consequence of the rival parties being almost
equal in strength. The Liberals under Mr. Solomon were defeated in the
Legislative Assembly by one vote in April on a No-Confidence motion
by Mr. Earle, the Labour leader. Mr. Solomon asked for a dissolution,
which was refused by the Governor, and he then resigned in favour of
Mr. Earle, who formed a Cabinet as follows: Prime Minister and Minister
for Justice, Mr. Earle; Chief Secretary and Minister for Mines and
Labour, Mr. Ogden; Minister for Lands, Public Works, and Agriculture,
Mr. Belton; Treasurer and Minister for Education and Railways, Mr.
Lyons; Mr. Justice Nicholls became Chief Justice in succession to the
late Sir John Dodds; and the Very Rev. R. Stephen, Dean of Melbourne,
was consecrated Bishop of Tasmania.
_Northern Territory and Papua._--Interest in the development of these
two great new possessions was largely suspended on the outbreak of
war. The failure of the first attempt of the Federal Government to
settle the Northern Territory in small areas has not yet been succeeded
by any new scheme. It is now generally recognised that there will
be very little farm settlement until the country is better served
with railways and marketing facilities. Towards this end railway
construction was proceeded with upon a small scale, and the proposal to
connect the Territory by an overland line with Southern Australia was
farther advanced. It is now fairly certain that this railway will be
constructed in the course of a few years. The few stock owners who now
occupy the richest portions of the country with great grazing stations
were favoured as usual by a good rainfall and abundant pastures. Some
of these pastoralists possess from 35,000 to 70,000 head of cattle, and
with meat at its present price they are enjoying excellent returns.
In _Papua_ the proximity to German territory caused much excitement
among the new planters, although between the German and the Australian
settlements there lies a wide and almost impassable area, made up
of mountain and tropical jungle. Considerable stretches of land
were cleared and added to the area under cultivation, and a number
of the settlements are now approaching the period of productivity.
The Administration continued its well-established policy of dealing
generously with the settlers, and kindly but firmly with the natives;
indeed the colonisation of British Papua, so far as it has gone,
is proving an interesting exception to most of the settlement in
Australasia, inasmuch as good feeling is being maintained with the
natives, while substantial headway is being made with the pioneering.
The commencement of railway buildings gave a new note of civilisation
to this grand tropical domain.
II. NEW ZEALAND.
Up to the outbreak of war New Zealand was passing through one of the
most satisfactory years in its history. For instance, Customs returns
had never been so high as during the six months which ended in June,
while the Minister for Finance was able to announce a surplus of
427,000_l._ The overflowing Treasury encouraged the Government to grant
still easier terms to new settlers, so as to bring the possession of
farms within the reach of farmers' sons and industrious labourers who
had accumulated savings. The construction of new railways and other
public works was actively promoted. An interesting political event was
the re-entry of Sir Joseph Ward into party leadership. He attempted in
July to oust the Government on a No-confidence vote, but the Cabinet
retained office by a fair majority. The general elections were held in
December, and the new Parliament found parties equally divided, the
Government having forty seats, and the same number being held by the
Opposition, comprised of the Liberals and Labour members. In December,
Mr. Fisher, the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth, visited the New
Zealand Dominion, and conferred with the Government upon Imperial
Defence, so far as it affected the two Dominions, and the question
of a reciprocal commercial agreement. Mr. Fisher thought (and this
opinion was heartily endorsed by the great majority of the people of
New Zealand and Australia) it would be unwise to build too confidently
upon a long era of peace at the conclusion of the present war. He urged
that Australia and New Zealand should make it clear to the Mother
Country that they were ready and determined to take up the burden of
Empire Defence in their part of the world. It was quite unreasonable
to expect the Mother Country, with the enemy at her gates, to devote
her attention to the defence of the distant dominions, whose strength
enabled them to act upon their own behalf. "The national development of
Australia and New Zealand," said Mr. Fisher, "would be stimulated if
they relied on their own resources by maintaining a naval force which
was a direct part of the British Navy, but was under local executive
control. Experience showed that local control was the best and probably
the only practicable method. The day had already come when self-respect
should persuade Australia and New Zealand to abandon their policy of
reliance upon the British taxpayer."
New Zealand's co-operation in the war was marked by great eagerness and
enthusiasm. The New Zealanders are just as British in their breeding
as the people of the Mother Country itself, and their response was
just as ready and whole-hearted. From every portion of the island
came young volunteers of the finest physique; many of them were South
African veterans, and all were excellent rifle shots and splendid
natural soldiers. A few months after war was declared some 10,000 of
these men had been transported to Egypt, but long before then a small
flying expedition had proceeded to German Samoa, and put an end to the
Kaiser's colony in that portion of the Pacific. Like the Commonwealth,
the despatch of the first little army to Egypt was only the beginning
of New Zealand's support. Since then many additional thousands of young
men of the best quality have been enrolled at the training camps. These
will be sent to the front as they are trained and required, and their
numbers would gladly be quadrupled at the request of the Imperial
Government. New Zealand has also given handsomely to the patriotic
funds, and subscribed a large amount of money to the relief of the
Belgians. Indeed, as in the South African War, the practical loyalty of
this little island people could not have been exceeded.
III. POLYNESIA.
Up to the outbreak of war little occurred to mark the year in these
islands. For several weeks after the beginning of August, however,
there was unprecedented excitement in the various white settlements.
The possibility of a visit from an enemy war vessel and the eager
anticipation of a call from ships flying the Union Jack with tidings of
the great campaign, kept these lonely dwellers in a state of constant
unrest. Generally speaking there was no trouble with the natives, and
fair headway was made in planting and in trade. Some notable instances
of individual patriotism were reported in the case of young planters
and others, who at great material sacrifice and the exercise of much
resource, travelled many thousands of miles in order to return to
England and participate in the fighting.
PART II.
CHRONICLE OF EVENTS
IN 1914.
JANUARY.
1. The official list of New Year Honours comprised one new Viscount
(the Rt. Hon. James Bryce, who took the title of Lord Bryce of
Dechmont), four new Barons (Sir Rufus Isaacs, Lord Strathclyde--the
Scottish judge, Mr. Alexander Ure,--Sir C. A. Cripps, and Sir Harold
Harmsworth, whose titles were respectively Lord Reading, Lord
Strathclyde, Lord Parmoor of Frieth, and Lord Rothermere), and five new
Privy Councillors (Lord Colebrooke, Sir Guy Fleetwood Wilson, the Hon.
William F. Massey, Premier of New Zealand, Mr. W. H. Dickinson, M.P.,
and Sir Christopher Nixon, Bt.). There were six new Baronets, among
them Sir Gerard Lowther, G.C.M.G., lately Ambassador at Constantinople,
and Colonel Sir Edward Ward, K.C.B., Permanent Under-Secretary at the
War Office. Among the twenty-two new Knights were Mr. Owen Seaman,
Editor of _Punch_ since 1906; Judge Lumley Smith, late Judge of the
City of London Court; Mr. W. E. Garforth, an inventor of safety
appliances in coal mines; and Mr. Ernest Rutherford, F.R.S. The Order
of Merit was conferred on Sir Archibald Geikie, President of the Royal
Society.
--Mr. Llewelyn Archer Atherley Jones, K.C., appointed a Judge of the
City of London Court, _vice_ Judge Lumley Smith, retired.
--At Paris, in a Rugby international football match, Ireland beat
France by eight points to six.
3. The Home Secretary refused to reconsider the sentence of four
months' imprisonment passed at the Stafford Assizes on Thomas William
Stewart, a Rationalist lecturer. The reasons for the refusal were, in
substance, that the prisoner was punished, not for holding opinions
or arguing in support of them, but for utterances designed to wound
the feelings of his hearers, and that his speeches on religion were
intended to advertise, for his own profit, his lectures on other
subjects and certain appliances sold by him, in respect of which he was
accused of indecency.
3-4. Further severe storms on the New Jersey coast, doing much damage
at Atlantic City and Seabright.
5. Final abandonment announced of "The Romance of India," a spectacle
projected at Earl's Court, and designed by a well-known artist, Mr.
R. Caton Woodville, but objected to by the India Office and Indian
residents in London as likely to give offence to Hindus and others.
Several hundred performers were left destitute.
--The tank steamer _Oklahoma_ was broken in two by a wave fifty miles
off Sandy Hook and sunk; seven lives saved, about thirty-two lost.
--At Johannesburg, the third Cricket Test Match was won by England by
ninety-one runs. England had now won the first three.
7. Announcement that Sir R. H. Brade had been appointed Secretary of
the War Office and the Army Council _vice_ Colonel Sir Edward Ward,
retired.
--Announcement that Mr. Joseph Chamberlain would retire from Parliament
at the next general election.
--Railway strike in South Africa. (See _post_, For. and Col. Hist., Pt.
I., Chap. VII.)
--At the King's Hall, Covent Garden, a mock trial was held of John
Jasper for the murder of Edwin Drood, the hero of Dickens' last and
unfinished novel. The literary problem involved in the book, the
subject of much speculation, was not solved. Mr. G. K. Chesterton was
Judge, Mr. George Bernard Shaw foreman of the Jury. The verdict was
manslaughter, but the Judge committed all those present for contempt.
--Attempt to blow up Territorial barracks at Leeds, temporarily used as
police quarters; damage slight.
8. Fire at St. Paul's Training College, Cheltenham; damage over
5,000_l._
9. At Cambridge, Dr. Henry Frederick Baker, D.Sc., F.R.S., Fellow
and Tutor of St. John's College, was elected Lowndean Professor of
Astronomy and Geometry, _vice_ Sir Robert Ball, deceased.
9-10. Severe snowstorm in North-West Russia.
9-11. Severe floods on the German Baltic coast, owing to storms and
the bursting of dykes; floods also in Würtemberg, the Rhine Valley,
Switzerland and Belgium.
10. Barton Hall, near Bury St. Edmunds, burnt down in the early
morning; most of the art treasures saved.
11. The Chinese Parliament formally dissolved.
12. At Pretoria, the return match between the M.C.C. and the Transvaal
cricket eleven was drawn.
12-15. Severe winter weather in England.
13. Volcanic eruption near Kagoshima, Japan; about 200 lives lost.
--Martial law proclaimed in South Africa.
--The Royal Mail Company's Steamer _Cobequid_ (late _Goth_), from the
West Indies to St. John, N.B., went ashore on the Trinity Ledges,
near the entrance of the Bay of Fundy; the passengers and crew were
saved after severe sufferings. The Board of Inquiry (Feb. 2) severely
censured the captain, but in view of his subsequent exertions for the
safety of those aboard it did not deal with his certificate.
13. Extreme cold in Ontario; at Toronto 54 degrees of frost were
registered, at Ottawa 60 degrees, and at White River 80 degrees.
14. At King's College, London, Lord Rayleigh unveiled a memorial tablet
to Lord Lister, the founder of antiseptic surgery.
--The inquest on the victims of the Senghenydd Colliery accident (A.R.,
1913, Chron., Oct. 14) resulted in a verdict of "Accidental Death."
The jury found that there was no neglect, and that the fire probably
originated with a naked light at the lamp station.
15. The Special Committee for promoting English representation at the
Olympic Games in Berlin retired. (See A.R., 1913, Chron., Dec. 31.)
--Announcement that Sir E. Hildred Carlisle, M.P., had given
105,000_l._ to Bedford College, as a memorial to his mother.
--Surrender of the Johannesburg Unionists besieged in the Trades Hall.
(See _post_, For. and Col. Hist., Chap. VII., 1.)
16. Submarine A 7 disappeared in Whitesand Bay, near Plymouth, during
exercises; her officers and men, numbering eleven, were lost. She was
located on January 21, but attempts to raise her were abandoned at the
end of February, and the mystery of her loss was unsolved. A memorial
service was held on March 5 at the spot where she lay.
--Under the Ancient Monuments Act of 1913 the destruction of a Georgian
house, 75 Dean Street, Soho, London, was forbidden by the Office of
Works.
17. At Twickenham, England beat Wales in an International Rugby
football match by ten points to nine.
--At Frankfort-On-Main, Karl Hopf was convicted of murdering his first
wife by poison, and attempting to murder his second and third wives and
his two children, and was sentenced to death. He had purchased and used
typhoid and cholera bacilli.
19. Final collapse of the Dublin strike. (See Eng. Hist., Chap. VI.)
--At Kimberley, South Africa, the M.C.C. cricket eleven beat Griqualand
West by an innings and 101 runs.
--At McAlister, Oklahoma, three convicts escaped from the State
penitentiary, but were ultimately shot after a fight; in all seven men
were killed and two men and one woman wounded.
20. The dead body of Thomas Kent Reekes, an Australian and a marine
engineer, was found in a disused pit shaft at Ettingshall, near
Wolverhampton. Death was due to gunshot wounds. Efforts to account for
his presence in the district and to trace an alleged companion failed.
21. The King in Council ratified the Orders defining the boundaries of
the new sees of Chelmsford, St. Edmundsbury, and Ipswich.
--Lieut. Seddon, R.N., flew from Sheerness to Plymouth (down the
Channel) on a Maurice biplane--nearly 350 miles in 5 hrs. 35 min.,
exclusive of a stop.
21-28. Strike of 7,000 London coal porters, (See Eng. Hist., Chap. I.)
23. At Brussels, Princess Victor Napoleon, before her marriage Princess
Clementine of Belgium, gave birth to a son, the direct heir to the
Bonaparte dynasty.
25. At the Hendon aerodrome, George Lee Temple, an airman, was killed
while flying.
26. On Salisbury Plain, Mr. Gibb, an airman, was killed while flying
and a passenger injured.
--An explosion took place aboard the Cunarder _Mauretania_ among men
engaged in brazing the turbine blades; three men killed, six seriously
injured.
--An equestrian statue of King Edward VII., by Landowzki, was unveiled
in the Rue Edouard VII., Paris.
27. Announcement that Mr. Arthur Jacob Ashton, K.C., had been appointed
Recorder of Manchester _vice_ Sir Joseph Leese, Bart., resigned.
--Announcement that Lord Denman had resigned the post of
Governor-General of New South Wales through ill-health.
--Mr. F. W. Vanderbilt's steam yacht _Warrior_ stranded off the
Colombian coast; all on board saved.
--An Interim Report of the Dominions Royal Commission dealing with
the needs of Australia condemned the methods of recruiting immigrants
in Great Britain, recommended reduction in cable rates, and held that
the existing postal service was inadequate, but that it would be
inadvisable to bind the State to a new contract by the Brindisi and
Suez Canal route.
--Narrow escape of St. Petersburg from serious flooding after a great
storm.
28. Labour leaders deported from South Africa. (See Eng. Hist., Chaps.
I. and II., and For. and Col. Hist., Chap. VII.)
29. Announcement that Mr. John Horace Round, D.L., LL.D., had been
appointed by the Attorney-General honorary adviser to the Crown in
Peerage Cases.
30. Announcement that the Archbishops of Canterbury and York had
appointed a Committee on the relations of Church and State. The Earl of
Selborne was chairman and Mr. Balfour one of the members.
--At the Parliamentary bye-election for North-West Durham, due to the
retirement of Mr. Lt. Atherley Jones, K.C. (see Jan. 1), Mr. Aneurin
Williams (L.) was returned by 7,241 votes; Mr. J. O. Hardicker (U.)
obtained 5,564 and Mr. G. H. Stuart (Lab.) 5,026.
--The liner _Monroe_, plying between New York and Norfolk, Va., was run
down by the s.s. _Nantucket_; forty-one persons in all were drowned.
--Explosion in a coal mine at Achenbach, Westphalia; twenty-two men
killed, seventeen injured.
31. The German sailing ship _Hera_ was wrecked off Falmouth; of the
crew of twenty-four nineteen were drowned.
--Strike of elementary school teachers in Herefordshire; it was settled
February 25.
31. The official return of pauperism for January, 1914, showed that
the total number of paupers had dropped from 33.8 per 1,000 in 1874
to 17.5 in 1914, and that of outdoor paupers from 27.5 to 10.3 per
1,000. Indoor pauperism, however, had risen since 1874 from 6.3 to
7.2 per 1,000, this being due largely to the greater use of workhouse
infirmaries. Between 1906 and 1913 the total number of paupers over
seventy had fallen nearly 75 per cent., and of outdoor paupers over
seventy nearly 95 per cent., owing mainly to old-age pensions.
FEBRUARY.
2. First performance in England of Wagner's _Parsifal_ at Covent Garden
Opera House. (See _post_, Pt. II., Music.)
--Announcement that the anonymous lady who had promised 25,000_l._
to lay out Shadwell Park in memory of King Edward was precluded from
giving it by "severe and sudden financial misfortunes."
--At Windsor Castle, Gustav Hamel "looped the loop" before the King and
Queen fourteen times in 17 minutes.
4. Influential meeting at the Mansion House to explain the plans
for celebrating the Hundred Years' Peace between Great Britain and
the United States; among the speakers were the Prime Minister, the
Archbishop of Canterbury, and Lord Bryce.
--Announcement that the King had approved the appointment of Mr.
William Warwick Buckland, M.A., Senior Tutor of Caius College, to be
Professor of Civil Law in the University of Cambridge, _vice_ Dr. E. C.
Clark, resigned.
--At Sheffield, during an Association Football Cup-tie Match, a wall
collapsed owing to the pressure of the crowd on its base at a corner;
about seventy persons were injured, three very seriously.
--At Christie's, a James I. silver-gilt cup and cover was sold for
4,500_l._
5. At the Liverpool Assizes, George Ball, _alias_ Sumner, was found
guilty of the murder of Miss Christina Bradfield (Chron., 1913, Dec.
11) and sentenced to death, and Samuel Eltoft convicted as an accessory
after the fact, and sentenced to four years' penal servitude. An appeal
by Ball failed, and he was executed on February 26.
6. Announcement that the King had approved the appointments to the
new Sees created under the Bishoprics Act, 1913, as follows: to the
Bishopric of Sheffield, the Rt. Rev. L. H. Burrows, Bishop Suffragan of
Lewes; to the Bishopric of Chelmsford, the Rev. J. E. Watts-Ditchfield,
Vicar of St. James the Less, Bethnal Green; and to the Bishopric of
St. Edmundsbury and Ipswich, the Ven. H. B. Hodgson, Archdeacon of
Lindisfarne.
--Mr. R. C. Munro-Ferguson, M.P. for Leith, appointed Governor-General
of the Australian Commonwealth, _vice_ Lord Denman, retired.
7. At Cardiff, in an International Rugby Football Match, Wales beat
Scotland by twenty-four points to five.--At Queen's Club, West London,
in the Inter-University Association Football Match, Cambridge beat
Oxford by two goals to one.
9. Announcement that the "Panshanger Madonna" (Chron., 1913, Nov. 26)
had been sold to Mr. P. A. Widener, of Philadelphia.
--Announcement that Lord Justice Cherry was appointed Lord Chief
Justice of Ireland, _vice_ Lord O'Brien resigned.
--Before a court-martial at Chatham, Fleet Paymaster J. A. Lowry, of
H.M.S. _Ganges_, pleaded guilty to desertion and embezzlement, and was
sentenced to three years' penal servitude.
10. Sir Laurence Gomme resigned his office as clerk of the London
County Council, owing to ill-health.
--Meeting of Parliament. (See Eng. Hist., Chap. II.)
--At Durban, the M.C.C. cricket eleven were defeated by Natal by ten
wickets.
11. Announcement that Lord Gladstone had resigned the office of
Governor-General of South Africa. (For the consequent Ministerial
changes, see Pt. I., p. 27.)
--The Mont Blanc range crossed by the airman Parmelin in a flight from
Geneva to Turin. Fog compelled him to descend at Aosta.
13. Announcement at the annual meeting of the Great Eastern Railway
shareholders that Mr. Henry W. Thornton, general superintendent of the
Long Island Railroad (New York), had been appointed as General Manager
of the Great Eastern Railway in succession to Mr. Walter Hyde. He had
special experience with heavy suburban traffic.
14[missing period] At Rochdale a tramcar was derailed; eighteen persons
were injured.
--At Twickenham, in an International Rugby Football Match, England beat
Ireland by seventeen points to twelve.
15. At Lyndhurst, Hants, a madman named Lee Bond was arrested after
a thirty hours' motor drive through Dorset, Wilts, and Hants; he
compelled the chauffeur to drive under threat of shooting him, and
requisitioned petrol by like means. He attempted suicide next day.
17. At Durban the Fourth Test Match between the M.C.C. and South Africa
resulted in a draw.
18. In the Upper House of the Convocation of Canterbury, the Bishop
of London presented a petition signed by 676 priests in the diocese
of London, expressing anxiety at the unchecked denial of fundamental
Christian truths by office-holders in the Church, and at the tendency
to approach the problem of reunion in a way inconsistent with the
recognition of the necessity of episcopal ordination.
--At the Parliamentary bye-election in Bucks (Wycombe) due to the
elevation to the Peerage of Sir A. Cripps (U.), Mr. W. B. Du Pré (U.)
was returned, obtaining 9,044 votes; Mr. Tonman Morley (L.) obtained
6,713.
19. At the Parliamentary bye-election for South-West Bethnal Green, due
to the appointment of Mr. C. F. G. Masterman (L.) to the Chancellorship
of the Duchy of Lancaster, Sir Matthew Wilson (U.) was returned by
2,828 votes; Mr. C. F. G. Masterman (L.) receiving 2,804, and Mr. John
Scurr (Soc. and Lab.) 316. (See Eng. Hist., Chap. II.)
19. At Cradley Heath, Staffs, owing to a subsidence caused by old
colliery workings, some forty houses in the High Street were cracked
and injured.
--Near Birmingham, Ala., a mail train was held up by three men, and
robbed of $40,000; they then detached the locomotive and escaped on it.
--In the King's Bench Division, before Mr. Justice Darling and a
special jury, the six days' trial was concluded of a libel action
brought by Major W. A. Adam, sometime 5th Lancers and late Unionist
M.P. for Woolwich, against Sir Edward Ward, recently Permanent
Secretary for the War Department. The plaintiff complained of the
publication of a letter addressed officially by the defendant to
Major-General Scobell in August, 1910, declaring that the charge
brought against the latter by the plaintiff was unfounded and
containing words which the plaintiff regarded as a reflection on his
character. The defendant denied publication, and alleged that the
words were privileged. The charge in question had been debated in the
Commons (A.R., 1910, p. 150). The jury found for the plaintiff; damages
2,000_l._
20. At the Parliamentary bye-election for Tower Hamlets (Poplar), due
to the appointment of the Rt. Hon. Sydney Buxton to be Governor of
South Australia, Mr. A. W. Yeo (L.) was returned by 3,548 votes; Mr. R.
Kerr Clark (U.) received 3,270, and Mr. J. Jones (Lab. and Soc.) 893.
--In the final heat of the Waterloo Cup, Messrs. Dennis's hound Dilwyn
beat the Duke of Leeds's Leucoryx, nominated by Major McCalmont.
--At Messrs. Nobel's factory of explosives at Ardeer, Ayrshire, an
explosion killed seven men and injured two, one fatally.
--On the Wexford coast, near Kerrig Island, the Fethard lifeboat was
wrecked while assisting the Norwegian schooner _Mexico_; five of the
lifeboatmen and nine of the schooner's crew were rescued on February
22, after sixty hours on the island; nine lifeboatmen were drowned; one
of the crew had died of exhaustion.
21. At Challapata, Bolivia, a magazine containing 3,500 tons of
dynamite exploded; the town was destroyed, with great loss of life.
--Count Mielzynski acquitted of the murder of his wife and her nephew
at his castle in Poland (A.R., 1913, Chron., Dec. 20). The trial was
_in camera_, but it was stated that the Countess had been unfaithful.
22. Severe storm in Switzerland. On the Lötschberg railway, a train
was partly derailed by wind on emerging from a tunnel; one passenger
killed, several injured.
23. At Debreczin, Hungary, a bomb sent by post to the Greek Catholic
Bishop Miklossy exploded and killed the episcopal vicar and the
secretary. The outrage was ascribed to Roumanian resentment at the
creation of a Greek diocese of Hajdudorog, severing 12,000 Roumanians
from the Roumanian branch of the same Church.
26. At the Parliamentary bye-election at Leith, due to the appointment
to be Governor-General of Australia of Sir R. Munro-Ferguson (L.),
Mr. G. W. Currie (U.) was returned by 5,159 votes; Mr. M. Smith (L.)
received 5,143, and Mr. J. N. Bell (Lab.) 3,346.
--Announcement that Mr. Otto Beit had offered a South African Research
Fellowship for two years at Oxford, for the collection of the South
African history preserved by memory and oral tradition.
26. Announcement that Sir Hugh Lane was appointed Director of the
National Gallery of Ireland, _vice_ Sir Walter Armstrong, resigned.
--At Chelsea, in a baseball match between two American teams, the New
York Giants and the Chicago White Sox, the latter won by five runs to
four. The King was present.
--In a duel near Metz a German officer, Lieut. Haase, was shot dead
by a brother officer, Lieut. von Lavallette St. George, who had shown
undue attention to his adversary's wife.
28. At Dublin, Ireland beat Scotland at Rugby football by six points to
_nil_.
--At Samar, near the Sea of Galilee, the Turkish military airmen Fethi
Bey and Sadik Bey, while flying from Damascus to Jerusalem, were killed
by the fall of their aeroplane.
MARCH.
1. Announcement that the King would offer a cup of the value of 100_l._
for an international yacht race at Panama in 1915.
1, 2. Severe snowstorms in the Eastern United States.
2. At Swansea, Wales beat France at Rugby football by thirty-one points
to _nil_.
3. In the fifth and final South African Test Match, at Port Elizabeth,
England beat South Africa by ten wickets.
--The Admiralty issued a return giving particulars of the strength
of the eight chief naval Powers on January 1, 1914, omitting such
battleships, battle cruisers, and cruisers, as had been launched more
than twenty years. Vessels built are given first; vessels building, if
any, are added after a plus sign. The British figures included Dominion
ships. The number of submarines given for Germany was admittedly too
low.
+------------------+------------+-----------+-----------+----------+
| | Britain. | Germany. | France. | Russia. |
| +------------+-----------+-----------+----------+
| Battleships | 58 + 14 | 35 + 6 | 21 + 10 | 8 + 7 |
| Cruisers | 47 | 9 | 24 | 12 |
| Light Cruisers | 65 + 20 | 43 + 6 | 8 | 2 + 8 |
| Torpedo Vessels | 25 + 1 | --- | 3 | --- |
| Destroyers | 201 + 36 | 132 + 12 | 80 + 7 | 95 + 45 |
| Torpedo Boats | 70 | 80 | 153 | 25 |
| Submarines | 69 + 29 | 24 + 14 | 50 + 26 | 25 + 18 |
+------------------+------------+-----------+-----------+----------+
+------------------+------------+-----------+-----------+----------+
| | Italy. | Austria. | U.S.A. | Japan. |
| +------------+-----------+-----------+----------+
| Battleships | 9 + 5 | 14 + 2 | 30 + 6 | 17 + 2 |
| Cruisers | 9 | 2 | 17 | 15 |
| Light Cruisers | 14 + 4 | 9 + 3 | 18 | 19 |
| Torpedo Vessels | 3 | 11 | 2 + 2 | 3 |
| Destroyers | 30 + 16 | 15 + 3 | 52 + 9 | 51 + 2 |
| Torpedo Boats | 94 + 1 | 58 + 27 | 21 | 33 |
| Submarines | 18 + 2 | 6 + 5 | 29 + 21 | 13 + 2 |
+------------------+------------+-----------+-----------+----------+
4. On the Ortler Spitz, Tyrol, a patrol of twenty soldiers under
instruction in ski-running were caught by an avalanche; fourteen were
killed.
6. In Birmingham, a statue was unveiled of Bishop Gore, first Bishop of
the diocese, as a memorial of his connexion with it.
--At Boulogne-sur-Seine the Penitentiary Convent School was attacked by
a band of fifteen "Apaches," who rescued three girls; these, and seven
of the band, were eventually arrested.
9. In the House of Commons, the Prime Minister gave particulars of the
proposed permissive exclusion of the Ulster counties from the Home Rule
Bill.
--At St. Louis, Mo., the Missouri Athletic Club was burnt; about thirty
lives were lost.
10. The Rokeby Venus in the National Gallery damaged by a militant
suffragist.
--At Upavon, Captain C. P. Downer, Northamptonshire Regiment, was
killed while flying in a BE biplane.
--Ceiba, Honduras, was burnt down; estimated damage $10,000,000.
--In the Convocation of Oxford University a statute throwing open
the eighteen seats of the Hebdomadal Council (hitherto elected from
Professors, Heads, and Masters of Arts equally) was rejected by 97 to
83.
11. On Salisbury Plain, Captain Clement Allan, Welsh Regiment, and
Lieut. James E. G. Burroughs, Wiltshire Regiment, were killed by a fall
from an aeroplane, the only one of its type.
--At Eastchurch, Engineer-Lieut. Briggs, R.N., Royal Flying Corps,
reached a height of 15,000 ft. on a biplane; he was frostbitten, the
temperature falling to -38° Fahr.
12. At the annual dinner of the Association of Chambers of Commerce,
the Prime Minister, after mentioning the development of Inter-Imperial
trade through Trade Commissioners and local correspondents in the
Dominions, said that 1913 had been a record year in trade and
employment; there were signs of slackening, but little reason to
anticipate any serious impression. The character of the Labour unrest,
however, was disquieting.
--The training ship _Wellesley_, on the Tyne, was burnt; no lives lost.
13. At Exeter, N.S.W., between Sydney and Melbourne, a mail train ran
past signals in a fog into a cattle train shunting; fourteen killed,
fifteen injured.
13-14. Great storm on the Sea of Azof. The coast was flooded, the Kuban
railway (under construction) was wrecked, and there was heavy loss of
life.
14. At Belfast, Wales beat Ireland at Rugby football by eleven points
to three.
15-16. Heavy gales and rains; five men were drowned through the
foundering of a tug off Greenhithe. The Swedish barque _Trifolium_ was
wrecked in Sennen Cove, Cornwall; five drowned.
16. At Cardiff, England beat Wales at Association football by two goals
to none.
16. _The Times_ appeared for the first time at the price of 1_d._
--At Paris, M. Gaston Calmette, editor of the _Figaro_, was fatally
shot by Mme. Caillaux, wife of the Finance Minister. (See _post_, July
28.)
17. At Wellesley College (for women), Wellesley, Mass., the College
Hall was burnt down; no lives lost.
18. Birth of a son and heir to the Duke of Brunswick, whose wife was
the daughter of the German Emperor. This was the first Guelph Prince
born in Germany for nearly a century.
--The World's Tennis Championship was won in Philadelphia by Mr. Jay
Gould, who defeated G. F. Covey by seven sets to one.
19. The King and Queen visited the National Institute for the Blind in
Great Portland Street and opened the new buildings.
--At Upavon, Lieut. H. F. Treeby, West Riding Regiment, was killed by a
fall of his biplane into a wood while descending.
--At Stockholm, the Council of State dissolved the marriage of Prince
William of Sweden and his wife, Princess Marie Pavlovna of Russia.
--At Venice, a ferry steamer was run down by a torpedo boat; about
fifty persons were killed.
20-21. Ulster military crisis. (See Eng. Hist., Chap. II.)
21. At Inverleith, England beat Scotland at Rugby football by 16 points
to 15, winning the International Championship and the Calcutta Cup.
24. At the sale of the collection of silver formed by the Earl of
Ashburnham, a Henry VII. silver-gilt standing salt-cellar weighing 30
oz. realised 5,600_l._; a George I. silver-gilt toilet service (626
oz.) 6,100_l._
--At Johannistal, Herr Otto Linnekogel, flying with a passenger,
reached a height of 5,500 metres or nearly 3-1/2 miles--a record.
24-26. The King and Queen at Knowsley, and in Cheshire. (See Eng.
Hist., Chap. II.)
27. At the Oxford and Cambridge University Sports at Queen's Club,
West London, Cambridge won six events--the Hundred Yards' Race, High
Jump, Half Mile, Quarter Mile, Putting Weight, and Long Jump; Oxford
four--Throwing the Hammer, the Mile Race, the 120 Yards Hurdle Race,
and the Three Mile Race. In the last-named G. M. Sproule beat the
record for the Sports, his time being 14 min. 34-4/5 sec. In the Long
Jump H. O. Ashington made a record--23 ft. 6-1/4 in.
--The Grand National Steeplechase was won by Mr. T. Tyler's Sunloch,
Mr. H. de Mumm's Trianon III. being second and Mr. J. Hennessy's
Lutteur III. third. Won by eight lengths; time, 9 min. 58-4/5 sec.
28. The University Boat Race from Putney to Mortlake was won by
Cambridge by 4-1/2 lengths; time, 20 min. 23 sec.
29. The Report of the Departmental Committee on Local Taxation
(Chairman, Sir John Kempe) recommended a large increase in State
subventions to local authorities, a system of direct grants being
substituted for that of assigned revenues. But grants should only be
given for semi-national services, _e.g._, education, poor relief, main
roads, public health, criminal prosecutions, and provision for mental
deficiency. Under these heads a revised and simplified system of grants
was recommended. The total increase would be 4,700,000_l._ annually,
of which nearly 2,500,000_l._ would be spent on elementary education.
30. The Premier announced the resignation of Sir John French, Sir J.
S. Ewart, and Colonel Seely, and his own assumption of the post of
Minister of War. (See Eng. Hist., Chap. II.)
31. Great disaster to the Newfoundland sealing fleet. (See For. and
Col. Hist., Chap. VIII., 3.)
--In the King's Bench Division, the libel action Adam v. Hayes
Fisher was settled. The defendant, the Unionist M.P. for Fulham, had
recommended that the plaintiff should not be selected as Unionist
Parliamentary candidate for Woolwich, and the plaintiff now withdrew
the charge that he had been actuated by express malice.
APRIL.
1. In the Central Criminal Court, the trial of John Starchfield, a
newsvendor, for the murder in a North London train on January 8 of his
son Willie, aged seven, was stopped after the close of the case for the
prosecution, the Judge suggesting that the evidence of identification
was insufficient, and the prisoner was formally acquitted. The child
lived with his mother, the parents being separated.
2. Announcement that General Sir Charles Douglas had been appointed to
succeed Field-Marshal Sir John French as Chief of the General Staff.
3. At the Central Criminal Court Frederick Augustus Gould or Schroeder
was convicted of espionage under the Official Secrets Act and sentenced
to six years' penal servitude.
4. At Glasgow, at an International (Association) Football Match,
Scotland beat England by three goals to one.
5. First opening of the Bisley rifle ranges for shooting on Sunday.
6. Explosion in H.M.S. destroyer _Albacore_, at Chatham; three stokers
killed.
7. At Little Chesterford, Essex, nine cottages, two public-houses, and
other buildings were burnt; no lives lost.
--Completion of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. (See For. and Col.
Hist., Chap. VIII., 2.)
8. The Prime Minister was returned unopposed to Parliament for East
Fife on his appointment as Secretary for War.
--Announcement of the appointment of Lieut.-General Sir H. Sclater,
K.C.B., to be Adjutant-General of the Forces, _vice_ Lieut.-General Sir
J. S. Ewart, resigned.
9. The King of Sweden underwent a successful operation for gastric
ulcer.
13. (Easter Monday). At Paris, in an International (Rugby) Football
Match, England beat France by thirty-nine points to thirteen.
14. In the early morning, the East Coast Express from London to
Aberdeen collided with a goods train near Burntisland and was partly
derailed; the driver and fireman were killed and ten persons injured.
14. The fourth Report of the Civil Service Commission (A.R., 1912,
Chron., March 14) made ninety-seven recommendations as to reforms in
the constitution, appointment, and system of promotion of the service.
It found that the basis of the service was sound and its organisation
efficient, and it proposed certain reclassifications, harmonising them
with the educational system; recommended (with certain reservations and
some dissentients) the permission of transfer from one department to
another, and made a number of recommendations as to women, favouring
compulsory retirement of most grades on marriage.
15. The Yorkshire coal strike virtually closed by a ballot of the
miners, in which 27,259 voted for returning to work and 11,393 against.
18. Death of King Edward's well-known wire-haired terrier Cæsar while
under an operation.
20. Announcement that Mr. Justice Pickford had been appointed a Lord
Justice of Appeal, _vice_ Sir R. Vaughan-Williams, resigned.
21. Announcement of the appointment of Mr. Montague Shearman, K.C., and
Mr. John Sankey, K.C., as Judges of the King's Bench Division, and of
Mr. Justice Channell's resignation.
--At Köslin, Pomerania, the second Burgomaster Heinrich Thormann, was
arrested as a savings-bank clerk convicted of embezzlement in 1910. He
had escaped from custody, fabricated a diploma giving him the degree of
Doctor of Laws, entered the Civil Service, and married a wealthy wife.
21-24. Visit of the King and Queen to Paris. (See Eng. Hist., Chap.
III.)
23. Celebration of Shakespeare's birthday at Stratford-on-Avon; the
American Ambassador proposed the toast to the memory of the poet at the
luncheon. The German Shakespeare Society also celebrated at Weimar the
poet's birthday and its own jubilee.
24-25. Gun-running in Ulster. (See Eng. Hist., Chap. III.)
25. At the Crystal Palace, in the final contest for the Football
Association Cup, Burnley defeated Liverpool by one goal to none. The
King was present and presented the Cup to the victors.
26. The Russian tank steamer _Kometa_ was burnt off the Algerian coast;
thirty of the crew were saved by various steamers; sixteen were lost.
--On the Great Central Railway, near Finchley Road Station, a light
engine ran into an excursion train; about eighteen passengers injured.
--At Hendon aerodrome, the airman Marty was fatally injured by the fall
of his aeroplane.
28. At Eccles, West Virginia, an explosion in a coal·mine entombed 178
men; all were lost.
29. At Newmarket, the Two Thousand Guineas Stakes resulted as follows:
Sir John Thursby's Kennymore, 1; the Marquess of Londonderry's Corcyra,
2; Mr. J. B. Joel's Black Jester, 3; time, 1 min. 38 sec.
30. The King opened new buildings at the Leys School, Cambridge.
--The Upper House of Convocation adopted the resolutions presented
by the Bishop of London on the questions of Faith and of Church
Order raised in the memorial presented February 18 (see that date).
These resolutions reaffirmed that of May 10, 1905, asserting the
determination of the House to maintain unimpaired the faith in the
Trinity and Incarnation contained in the three Creeds, and that of
the Lambeth Conference in 1908, affirming the historical facts stated
in the Creeds to be part of the Doctrine of the Church. They also
reaffirmed the principle that no man should be suffered to perform
priestly functions without Episcopal ordination.
MAY.
1. Off Aldeburgh, Suffolk, five Coastguardmen were drowned by the
upsetting of their boat.
2. Announcement that the Rt. Rev. George Nickson, D.D., Bishop
Suffragan of Jarrow, was appointed Bishop of Bristol in succession to
the Rt. Rev. George Forrest Browne, D.D., resigned.
--At Pershore, the Bishop of Worcester dedicated the House of St.
Benedict (Caldey Island) for the remaining members of the Benedictine
House at Caldey Island, Pembrokeshire, after the secession of the main
body to the Roman Catholic Church. (Chron., 1913, March 5, July 31.)
--Royal Academy Banquet. The Duke of Connaught adversely criticised
certain "fantastic vagaries" of current art [presumably "Futurism" and
"Cubism"]; Sir Evelyn Wood defended the action of the army officers
in the recent Ulster crisis; the Lord Chancellor defended party
government, and advocated better industrial education; and Sir Edward
Poynter, P.R.A., expressed the regret of artists at the refusal of the
Government to take part in the Panama Exhibition.
3. The Leyland liner _Colombian_, from Antwerp to New York, took fire
and blew up off Sable Island; of the crew of forty-nine eighteen lives
were lost; one boat, with four survivors, was not picked up till May
16. There were no passengers.
--Near Paris, a troop of Boy Scouts was stoned by roughs and defended
themselves with sticks, beating off their assailants, who replied with
revolvers; one scout was wounded.
4. On the first public day at the Royal Academy, Mr. Sargent's portrait
of Mr. Henry James was damaged with a chopper by a militant suffragist.
--_The Times_ published newly discovered fragments of a poem by Sappho.
5. The Report of a Committee of clergy and medical men, formed in 1910
to investigate "faith-healing," declared that the results did not
differ essentially from those of "healing by suggestion," and could be
expected to be effective only in "functional," and not in "organic"
disorders. It proposed to continue its investigations.
7. Marriage of President Woodrow Wilson's daughter Eleanor at the White
House to Mr. W. G. McAdoo, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury.
--The King opened the Edward VII. Galleries at the British Museum.
8. Announcement that Prince Alexander of Teck would succeed the Duke of
Connaught in October as Governor-General of Canada.
--At Bedford College, Regent's Park, Mr. Balfour delivered his
address as President of the English Association. His subject was the
comparative value of prose and verse as vehicles of didactic argument.
8. An earthquake took place in the district S.E. of Mount Etna, between
Catania and Mangano; Linera was destroyed and several other villages
suffered seriously; about 150 people were killed and 500 injured.
10. Special services were held in many churches and chapels throughout
Great Britain by way of thanksgiving for the gift of sight, in
connexion with a movement to extend the provision of books for the
blind in Braille type.
11. Funeral ceremony at Brooklyn of seventeen marines and bluejackets
killed in the operations at Vera Cruz; President Wilson delivered an
address.
12. At the Parliamentary bye-election at Grimsby, due to the death of
Sir George Doughty (U.), Mr. T. G. Tickler (U.) was returned by 8,471
votes; Mr. A. Bannister (L.) received 8,193.
--At the Royal Academy a militant suffragist, Mary Ansell, injured
Herkomer's portrait of the Duke of Wellington.
--The King and Queen of Denmark were entertained by the City
Corporation at luncheon at the Guildhall.
--At Farnborough, Captain E. V. Anderson, of the Black Watch and the
Flying Corps, and Air Mechanic Carter were killed in a collision
between aeroplanes, and Lieut. Wilson, Special Reserve, seriously
injured.
13. The steamer _Turret Hill_ foundered off Lowestoft; of fourteen
persons on board twelve were drowned.
--Five pilots were drowned in Bristol Channel through a collision of
their pilot cutter with a steamer.
--The Derby favourite, Captain McCalmont's Tetrarch, was scratched,
having gone lame.
15. While flying in fog in a flight of ten army aeroplanes from
Montrose to Salisbury Plain, Lieut. John Empson, Royal Flying Corps,
and George Cudmore, air mechanic, were killed in landing near
Northallerton.
18. _The Times_ published two previously unprinted sonnets by Keats.
20. At the bye-election in N.E. Derbyshire, due to the death of Mr.
W. E. Harvey (Lab. and L.), Major Harland Bowden (U.) was returned
by 6,469 votes; Mr. J. P. Houfton (L.) received 6,155; Mr. J. Martin
(Lab.) 3,669.
21. Grave disorder in the Commons. (See Eng. Hist., Chap. III.)
--Suffragist riot outside Buckingham Palace. (See Eng. Hist., Chap.
III.)
23. At the Parliamentary bye-election at Ipswich, due to the death of
Mr. Silvester Horne (L.), Mr. F. J. C. Ganzoni (U.) was returned by
6,406 votes, Mr. C. F. G. Masterman (L.), Chancellor of the Duchy of
Lancaster, receiving 5,874, and Mr. John Scurr (Soc.) 395.
--At Sheerness H. G. Hatton, a naval signalman, was found guilty on
charges arising out of the loss of a signal-book of H.M.S. _Queen_, and
sentenced to four years' penal servitude.
--Mr. Gustav Hamel, while flying from Paris to Hendon, disappeared, and
was drowned in the Channel.
23. At Sandwich, Mr. J. L. C. Jenkins, of Troon, beat Mr. C. O. Hezlet,
of Portrush, in the final round of the Amateur Golf Championship by
three holes up and two to play. (Mr. Travers and Mr. Ouimet were beaten
at an early stage in the contest.)
--A lightship built in Scotland for service on the Sambro Ledges, Nova
Scotia, was lost with all hands (fifteen in number) in fog off Lipscomb
Harbour, Nova Scotia.
--Heavy storm on the North Sea and Baltic, with some loss of life.
--Arrival at Port Jackson of submarines from Great Britain after a
voyage of 12,500 miles under their own steam.
25. Empire Day was celebrated by a review in Hyde Park of upwards of
6,000 boys belonging to naval brigades, scout patrols and cadet corps,
with 1,500 members of the National Reserve. The Lord Mayor of London
was present, with many representatives of the Dominions.
--In the King's Bench Division, after three days' trial, the libel case
of Kemp _v._ Yexley resulted in a verdict for the plaintiff; damages,
3,000_l._ The suit was brought by the captain of H.M.S. _London_
against the editor of a paper for naval men, for libel in criticisms
reflecting on his action as captain of the ship.
--At the Central Criminal Court Charles Edwin Fenner, a stockbroker,
pleaded guilty to fraudulent conversion of securities entrusted to him
and was sentenced to four years' penal servitude. Sixteen of the counts
of the indictment had reference to his dealings with Lord Murray of
Elibank.
26. Announcement that Prince Oscar of Prussia, fifth son of the German
Emperor, was betrothed to Countess Ida Bassewitz. (The marriage took
place on August 1.)
27. At the Central Criminal Court, before Mr. Justice Darling,
Colonel Whitaker, sometime commanding the Yorkshire Light Infantry,
and Archibald Minto, one of the employees of Liptons, Limited, were
convicted of conspiring that money should be given to Colonel Whitaker
to induce him to favour the company in certain catering contracts,
and six other employees of Liptons and eight military officers were
charged with kindred offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act
in connexion with contracts for the supply of Army canteens. Colonel
Whitaker was sentenced to six months' imprisonment; the other civilian
defendants, save one, were fined from 50_l._ to 500_l._; the remaining
civilian and the military defendants were bound over to come up
for judgment when called on. The trials, collectively known as the
"Canteens Case," had occupied nine days in all. An appeal by Colonel
Whitaker was unsuccessful (July 2), but his sentence was eventually
reduced to two months. (See _post_, July 1.)
--At Epsom, the Derby resulted as follows: Mr. H. B. Duryea's Durbar
II., 1; Sir E. Cassel's Hapsburg, 2; Mr. H. J. King's Peter the Hermit,
3. Won by three lengths; time, 2 min. 38-2/5 sec. The winner (who
started at 20 to 1 against) was owned by an American, and trained in
France. Sir J. Thursby's Kennymore, the favourite after the scratching
of Tetrarch (see _ante_, May 13), was eleventh.
--Announcement that a balloon discovered in a forest in Siberia was
believed to be that in which the missing explorer Andrée had left for
the North Pole in 1897.
29. The Canadian Pacific steamer _Empress of Ireland_, from Quebec
to Liverpool, was run down in fog off Father Point by the Norwegian
collier _Storstad_ at 1.52 A.M., and sunk in 17 min.; of the 1,467
persons aboard 1,023 were lost, among them Sir H. Seton-Karr and Mr.
and Mrs. Laurence Irving, the well-known actors. (See _post_, July 11.)
--At Epsom, the Oaks resulted as follows: Mr. J. B. Joel's Princess
Dorrie, 1; the Earl of Carnarvon's Wassilissa, 2; Sir J. Thursby's
Torchlight, 3; time, 2 min. 38-1/5 sec.
30. At the Wharncliffe Silkstone colliery, Barnsley, eleven men were
killed and two injured by an explosion.
JUNE.
1. Wargrave Church, Henley, was burnt down by militants; no arrests.
--At Somerleyton, near Lowestoft, four out of a party of five Boy
Scouts, with their instructor and their scoutmaster, Mr. T. W. Lory, a
local solicitor, were drowned by the capsizing of a small sailboat.
--The Co-operative Congress opened at Dublin. The delegates numbered
over 1,300, representing over 3,000,000 members. The volume of their
trade for 1913 exceeded 130,000,000_l._, and the profits 14,260,000_l._
The employees numbered 145,774, and the wages bill exceeded
8,490,000_l._
2. At Oneglia, Italy, Signora Oggioni, wife of an Italian officer,
was acquitted of the murder of her husband's orderly. The prosecution
alleged an intrigue with him; she claimed to have shot him in defence
of her honour.
--At Weymouth Mrs. Joseph Chamberlain (_née_ Endicott), accompanied by
Mr. Austen Chamberlain, M.P., unveiled a memorial to Richard Clerk and
John Endicott, who sailed from the harbour to assist in founding the
colony of Massachusetts, of which Endicott became governor.
--Mr. B. W. Leader, the artist, received the freedom of Worcester.
3. The King's Birthday. A number of elementary school children sent
letters of greeting in their own words. A selection was published.
4. Suffragist appeal to the King at his Court by Miss Mary Blomfield,
granddaughter of a former Bishop of London.
--In Southampton Water, Lieut. T. S. Cresswell, R.M.L.I., and Commander
A. Rice, R.N., were drowned through the fall of their aeroplane.
5. At Florence, Vicenzo Peruggia, who stole "La Joconde" from the
Louvre, was convicted and sentenced to one year and fifteen days'
imprisonment with payment of costs. (See Chron., 1913, Dec. 12.)
--Volcanic eruptions in the Sangir Islands, Dutch East Indies; much
damage to villages and plantations.
5-6. Great storm off the northern coast of New Brunswick; about fifty
fishermen drowned.
6. The "Aerial Derby," round London, was won by W. L. Brock; distance,
94-1/2 miles; time, 1 hr. 18 min. 54 sec. Only four competitors
completed the course, owing to fog.
6. Failure of Chaplin, Milne, Grenfell & Co., Limited, a London banking
and financial house; liabilities estimated at 1,965,761_l._ gross.
7. At Buckingham Palace, a man who had succeeded in entering was
arrested as a burglar; the crime was apparently the result of a drunken
freak.
--At Sezanne (Marne) a balloon just about to ascend exploded; the pilot
and a child were killed, and 106 persons injured.
9. At Cambridge, the new physiological laboratories, given to the
University by the Drapers' Company, were opened by Prince Arthur of
Connaught.
10. At Oxford in commemoration of the seventh centenary of the death of
Roger Bacon, a statue of him was unveiled in the University Museum by
Sir A. Geikie, O.M. The centenary was celebrated by a banquet at Merton
College on June 25.
--Peace Centenary Costume Ball at the Albert Hall in honour of the
100th anniversary of peace between Great Britain and the United States.
11. Bomb outrage by militant suffragists in Edward the Confessor's
Chapel in Westminster Abbey; the Coronation Chair and Stone were
slightly injured.
--Salvation Army Congress; reception of international delegates in the
Albert Hall. A cordial message of greeting was sent by the King. The
Congress sat in a temporary hall between the Strand and Aldwych, June
12-20.
13. The Prince of Wales laid the foundation stone of St. Anselm's
Church, Kennington, on the Duchy of Cornwall Estate--his first public
function.
--Inspection of 10,000 Boy Scouts on the Horse Guards' Parade by Queen
Alexandra, accompanied by the Empress Marie of Russia.
--The American liner _New York_ and the Hamburg-American steamer
_Pretoria_ were in collision 400 miles east of Sandy Hook at 3.20 A.M.;
the _New York_ was badly damaged; no lives lost.
--The German army airship Z 1 was wrecked in bad weather at
Diedenhofen; no lives lost.
--At Meadowbrook, Long Island, England beat the United States in the
first Test Polo Match by eight and a half points to three.
14. A heavy storm passed over South London about 1 P.M. Three children
were killed by lightning on Wandsworth Common, and two adults and
a child in the neighbourhood, while sheltering under trees. In the
suburbs roads were flooded, and birds were killed by large hailstones.
In less than two hours 1.23 in. of rain fell in Wandsworth, and by 5.30
1.88 in.
15. Heavy storms in Paris from 3 to 7.30 P.M. The sewers burst, and
there were subsidences owing to the flooding of unfinished workings of
the Metropolitan Railway, notably in the Boulevard Haussman, Avenue
d'Antin, and Place St. Philippe du Roule. A taxicab containing a lady
was engulfed. About twenty-five lives were lost. The rainfall was 59
millimetres or about 2-3/8 in.
16. At Oxford, a statute for the reform of Responsions was rejected in
Congregation by 110 to 73.
16. In the second International Polo Test Match at Meadowbrook, Long
Island, England beat the United States by four goals to two and
three-quarters.