Part 7 (1/2)
In 1653 Don Pantaleon Sa, the brother of the Portuguese amba.s.sador in London and a member of his suite, killed an Englishman named Greenway.
He was arrested by the English authorities, tried, found guilty, and executed.
86. _A Detained Steamer._
In 1904, during the Russo-j.a.panese war, the _Captain W. Menzel_, a German steamer, took in Welsh coal at Cardiff, with the intention of carrying it to the Russian fleet en route for the Far East. The English government detained the steamer. Could Germany have complained and asked for damages?
87. _Prussia and the Poles._
The following appeared in the _Times_ of Dec. 2nd, 1907, dated Vienna, Dec. 1st and 2nd respectively:
”A ma.s.s meeting took place to-day at Lemberg, the capital of Galicia, to protest against the Polish policy of Prussia and Prince Bulow's Expropriation Bill. Some 10,000 persons were present. In a much applauded address, the vice-burgomaster condemned Prince Bulow's action and called upon the Polish representatives in the forthcoming Austro-Hungarian Delegations to vote against the Foreign Office estimates. After the meeting, the police prevented an attempt to make a demonstration against the German Imperial Consulate. The demonstrators carried large caricatures of the Emperor William, Prince Bulow, and Baron von Aehrenthal.”
”To-day's reports show yesterday's anti-Prussian demonstration at Lemberg to have been accompanied by some excesses. After the meeting a number of demonstrators succeeded in breaking through the cordon of police and in reaching the hotel where the German Consul has. .h.i.therto lived. Several windows were smashed, and, in order to avoid an attack upon the hotel, the hotel-keeper declared that he had already given the Consul notice to quit and that the Consul had departed. The proposal of a student that no inhabitant of Lemberg should give the German Consul shelter on pain of being considered a traitor to the Polish cause was enthusiastically acclaimed. A caricature of the Emperor William was attached to the end of a rod and burned.”
88. _A Charmed Life._
The following appeared in a London evening paper:
”In the list dealt with by Mr Plowden yesterday at Marylebone was a charge against an Italian footman named Pito Conziani, aged twenty-four, giving an address in Grosvenor-square, who was accused of being found drunk and disorderly and using bad language the previous night in Old Quebec-street.
”When the case was reached the accused came forward from a seat at the back of the Court and was placed in front of the dock.
”A consultation immediately took place between the clerk and the magistrate, and as a result Mr Plowden inquired who the accused was.
”Inspector Grace replied that he was, as he represented, in the service of the Italian Amba.s.sador, and he claimed privilege.
”Mr Plowden told the accused he bore a charmed life in this country in certain respects, and ordered him to be discharged.”
SECTION XXIII
89. _A Daring Robbery._
On July 15th, 1907, the papers published the following:
”Last night the steamer _Sophia_ was seized by armed robbers 16 miles from Odessa, while on a voyage from this port to Korthion. At 11 o'clock three young men appeared on the deck, where the captain and the pa.s.sengers were at supper, and held them in check while two others seized the man at the wheel and ordered him, under threat of death, to set the s.h.i.+p's course for Odessa. Some of the robbers, who appear to have numbered 18 in all, then went into the first-cla.s.s saloon, where they took possession of an iron cash-box containing 50,000 roubles (5,000), which was in charge of a cas.h.i.+er of the Russian Bank for Foreign Trade. They also took 1,000 roubles (100) belonging to the pa.s.sengers. The robbers then proceeded to disable the engines, and let off all the steam, and finally made their escape in two of the _Sophia_'s boats after destroying the third. The police are seeking to trace the band, but hitherto without success.”
90. _The Fall of Abdul Hamid._
On April 29th, 1909, after the fall of Abdul Hamid and the enthronement of Mohammed V, the President of the United States of America sent the following telegram to the new ruler of Turkey:
”I offer your Majesty my congratulations on your accession to the Throne with such universal acclaim voiced by the people's representatives and at a time so propitious to the highest aspirations of the great nation over which you rule as the august head of a const.i.tutional Government. I a.s.sure you of the friends.h.i.+p of the Government and people of the United States, who earnestly wish for your Majesty's happiness and for that of the people within your dominions, and I add my own wishes for your Majesty's health and welfare.”