to
December 24, 1909.]
HONGKONG AND WIRELESS
TELEGRAPHY.
17
CHINA CVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
543
THE BALKANS AND THE PEACE difficulty, and mainly through the influence
44
OF EUROPE.
of Russia, that the aggressive attitude of Servia was calmed down without an appeal
to arms.
present time having the consideration discovered that she could not rely on her of the Government an application troops, and that to a man the feeling of her having been received from an American entire Slavic population, which numerically (Daily Press, December 22nd.)
firm for leave to erect a station with outweighed both German and Magyar, The adoption by the Chinese Government monopoly rights for a period of twenty- would have been exercised in favour of the of the suggestion made by His Excel-five years. The Imperial Government has enemy. Now it so happens that the one lency Sir FREDERICK LUGARD, through a voice in the matter; and the question is bond between Magyar and German, which His Majesty's Minister at Peking, that one therefore which cannot be settled has been instrumental in conserving for the China should establish on the Pratas off-hand by the Colonial Government. last two hundred years the Austro-Hungarian Island EL wireless telegraphi station It may be that the Imperial Government Empire, has been the consciousness that much for the purpose of furnishing meteor will view the project for wireless communi- as both Magyar and Austrian fretted over ological data so that the information .cation between British Colonies as one of the unnatural tie that held the two peoples supplied to shipping in this part of the more than local concern, and think it together almost against their wills, it was world, especially during the typhoon season, inadvisable to allow the Crown Colonies to the only alternative to anarchy. In respect may be as complete and accurate as it is grant monopolies to private firms. More of culture both the ruling races stood on a Rossible to have it, is a decision on which over, the Eastern Telegraph Co. will prob- platform immeasureably higher than the the Chinese Government is to be cordially bly want to be heard on the subject of the others, and conscious of this both united in congratulated. The Viceroy of Kwangtung threatened competition. A definite decision a policy of keeping down the Slavic peoples. has been instructed by the Imperial Govern- however, cannot, be long delayed, for With the gradual decay of Turkey, and the ment to at once take steps to establish the now that the Chinese Government has necessary enfranchisement of the Slavic and station. We may therefore hope to see decided to establish a wireless station on Bulgarian peoples in the Balkan lands, the the station opened some time next year. the Pratas Island, and the Philippine Gov. spread of a higher civilisation could no The Canton authorities, we do not doubt, are ernment has promised to erect a station longer be arrested, and both nations at- quite in sympathy with the idea, for after on one of the out-lying islands of the archi- tempted to direct the new movement into the typhoon of last year which did con- pelago in both instances at the solicita congenial channels. Naturally the know- iderable damage to the small craft in the tion of the Government of Hongkong ledge gained made the Slavic populations Canton delta, H. E. Viceroy CHANG JEN a permanent station becomes an
im-the more conscious of the state of dependency CHUN, in a dispatch to the Commis- perative need of the Colony, apart altogether in which they had been kept, and the less sioner of Customs, "showed a strong wish from considerations connected. with its use inclined to be coerced into hostile steps
with such calamities in the future,' cope
for commercial purposes.
against their own close relations in the and in referring to the system obtaining in
Balkan States; but it was with some Hongkong with regard to ascertaining the probable direction and force of coming winds and the issuing of warnings, decided to introduce a similar system at Canton. Consequently Canton will derive benefit from the erection of a wireless station on Pratas Islands. Wireless telegraph stations, as many of our readers know, have existed in the neighbourhood of Canton since 1907; the West River patrol boats are equipped with installations, and there is a Wire less School at Canton with about thirty pupils under a German instructor. Pre- sumably the apparatus to be installed at the Pratas will be powerful enough to com- municate with Canton direct. The an- nouncement that this station is to be estab- lished at once serves, however, to emphasise Hongkong's need of a permanent wireless station: On the Empress steamers now it ap- pears that a little daily newspaper is publish ed consisting of Marconigrams received on board, and a Yokohama contemporary in commenting on a specimen copy makes the following observations:- The messages are all evidently received from Japan or places west of Japan. The area between Australia and Japan to the east is quite unrepresented. This is natural for boats coming from the west, but it appears that the west-bound boats are worse off: though equipped with wireless apparatus they can- not receive any commercial messages until they come within range of Japan. It would appear incredible that the important British port of Hongkong, the entrepot of so much trade and the distributing centre of so much important commercial intelligence, should not yet possess a single commercial wireless station; but such is the fact. Japan, with characteristic enterprise, has gone ahead and established wireless stations, for commercial purposes, all along her coasts, and in For- mosa, and still the great Eastern port of her ally, Hongkong, while possessing the necessary Naval wireless stations, has not yet thought it necessary to instal even one commercial wireless station. When it is considered how useful and interesting these Marconigrams are to passengers by the Empresses and other boats, it may be hoped that Hongkong will soon awake to the desirability of not lagging behind the times, and will establish one or more wireless com- mercial stations without delay." Our readers will be aware that the matter is at the
(Daily Press December 23rd.)" Ten years ago the Balkan States, Roumania, Bulgaria, and Servia, could scarcely be con- sidered substantive Powers in any discussion respecting the balance of power in Europe. Of importance they were, of course, but merely as pawns to be moved about at the discretion of the greater Powers as suited their own individual parts in the screaming farce of Europe at Peace," and questions connected with their position on the chess board were from time to time bandied about between the players. What the governments and people of the States themselves thought of these affairs was a matter entering very little into these discussions; the weight of Servia or Bulgaria thrown into one cup or another was really a matter of so little con- sequence that not one of the assembled diplomatists gathered together to discuss the affairs of the Balkan Peninsula ever thought of pausing for a moment to con- sider the private opinions or predilections of the States themselves; they had been freed from Turkish interference, but King Loo had never dreamt that this implied that they had title to act as independent States; and insisted that all such pretensions must be at once dismissed as quite irrelevant to the situation. Probably the most unexpected result of Austria's last move of formally annexing the Principalities has been that it has aroused on the part of the hitherto but semi-independent States of the Peninsula an ambition of entire independence. What was lawful for Austro-Hungary to do could not be unlawful for the States themselves to do; and Austria, in objecting to this, found that the hitherto despised Balkan States had become a formidable power with which for all future time she had to reckon. In fact she had unconsciously touched the raw point in her own internal constitution, and her own internal Slavic populations showed openly that they were prepared, in case Austro-Hungary proceeded to coercive mea- sures against their kinsmen abroad, that she would at home have to reckon with intense dissatisfaction, if not open revolt. Compared with the military power of the Austro- Hungarian Empire, that of the Balkan States, even if united, was a thing almost insignificant; but in such a war Austria soon
.
The effect has, however, been very marked, not only in Austria, but throughout the Continent, and its one immediate effect has been towards pace. Those who re- member the condition of Europe during the last twenty years of the Nineteenth Century will have a vivid recollection of the anxieties brought about by the military aspirations of Russia. The undisguised aim of Russia of the day was to encourage a general policy of Pan-Slavism, and to such a degree was this policy carried that it seemed likely to become a political danger. As a counter- acting element, under the influences of BISMARCK was founded a close alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary, to which it was even sought to attach Great Britain. Great Britain, while quite pre- pared to act in accord with the others should the need arise to restrain Russia, was un- willing to hamper herself with hard and fast stipulations, the result of which was by no means self-evident, and contented herself with the expression of her sympathies with the movement so far as they were merely defensive. Finally, however, Italy who had always since the times of the Holy Alliance," and the entrance of the Russian armies into Hungary for the.
•purpose of re-establishing a military despotism, looked with suspicion on Russian ways, was per- suaded into joining the Alliance, which now from the fact began to be known by the name of the " Triplice."
Had the Alliance confined itself to its first promises, and preserved its entirely defensive character, it would have continued, as it certainly had at first, to have the sympathies of Europe generally. Unfortunately, in imitation probably of Russia, it became more and more permeated with Pan- Germanic, as the other had been with Pan-Slavonic ideas. Russia, however, not without the but-slightly-disguised approba tion of Germany, had been wasting her energies in unprofitable conquests in Asia. A jealousy of England which had become chronic was undoubtedly one of the predis. posing motives, and Germany was by no means indisposed to favour her projects in this direction, the more so that they removed to a distance her possible activities. Russia's
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