The Gisborne Standard AND COOK COUNTY GAZETTE. Published every Tuesday, Thursday, And Saturday Morning. Saturday, March 29, 1890. THE PORTUGAL DIFFICULTY.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume III, Issue 435, 29 March 1890, Page 2

The Gisborne Standard AND COOK COUNTY GAZETTE. Published every Tuesday, Thursday, And Saturday Morning.

Saturday, March 29, 1890. THE PORTUGAL DIFFICULTY.

Be just and fear not; Let all the ends thou aim’st at be thy country’s, Thy God’s, and truth’s.

The information that officials in the Portuguese service have refused supplies to a British man-of-war, and insulted its officers, is a further indication that the trouble with Portugal is not so near a settlement as was hoped. The conduct of the Portuguese has been most puerile and rancorous all through this dispute. One Lisbon paper, referring to the ultimatum, ends a tirade of scurrilous abuse by the following howl: —“ Down with the Monarchy ! Down with the robbers 1 Down with infamy I Revolt and revolution are necessary, and cannot be delayed. We confide in the people, and the force of the people.” Indeed every journal in Portugal contains the most insulting references to Great Britain, and some of the French papers have taken the opportunity to show the antagonism existing between French and English. The “ Boulangist Pays ” says:—

England is threatened in India by Russia, in Canada by the United States, in Africa by Germany. England, at the height of her greatness, beginning to lean, to decline, has scarcely an army, and her Navy is balanced by rival navies. The English people, succumbing more than any other under the weight of material riches, and, having lost the taste, the very feeling, of military life, need to be able, in order to defend themselves against future conquerors, to invoke the justice of their cause, vested interests, and the faith of treaties. Lord Salisbury has just shown that England is heedless of [all these things. Washington, Berlin, and St. Petersburg have taken note of it, and at the proper moment the English nation will be sharply reminded that every right of complaint is henceforth forfeited.

The “ Nationalist ’’ also has the following :—

The English, so arrogant towards the weak, are always deliciously submissive towards the strong, and it may be assumed that the ultimatum, under which they have so heroically overwhelmed Portugal, they never would have dreamt of addressing in any circumstances to a nation able to bring into line a fleet of armor-clads in opposition to their own, and able to pursue their merchant ships. . . What is impor tantte Europe, and what ought to serve as instruction to her is that, thanks to the reign of force, which continues to encroach more and more, things have arrived at such a point that the law no longer counts for anything ininternationaldisput.es, and that when a Great Power comes into collision with a feeble nation it can pass brutally over the latter without giving attention to the protests of public opinion.

The “ London Times ” urges the most vigorous treatment of Portugal, which has mistaken leniency in the past for fear on the part of the British, and has presumed too much upon the greater latitude allowed to a weak nation. The Times says that the Portugal Goverment first sent out a notorious firebrand, and then audaciously endeavored to defend and profit by his brutal and unprovoked attack upon a peaceful and friendly Power. The journal quoted from also points out the fallacy of the arguments in the “ Pays,” and adds that France has more reason to have fear in that respect, threatened by Italy in the Mediterranean, by Germany on her north-eastern border, and by China in Tonquin. And it further points out the different action of France, when the Portuguese captured a French ship, supposed to be engaged in unlawful practices. The Portuguese had to choose on the spot between giving up the ship and making an apology with /’ 1 4.030 damages, or taking the consequences of war with France. The British Government has all through been very considerate to Portugal, but the Portuguese officials have acted in such an unreasonable and insulting manner throughout, that nothing but firmness on the part of the British Government will enable the difficulty to be solved in a manner honorable to Great Britain.