1894

The red hand of war, disorder and disaster dropped blood upon the pages of the record of 1894. Chief among the conflicts was a sanguinary struggle between Japan and China, On June 30 Korea declared its independence of China and invoked Japanese aid. On July 2 insurgents defeated the Korean Government troops, and war between Japan and War was finally China was imminent, Japan having insisted on needed reforms in Korea. There was a great declared July 27. and the King of Korea was held a prisoner by Japan. battle at Ping Yang between the Japanese forces and the Chinese September 15: 16.000 Chinese troops were killed, wounded and captured, while the Japanese losses were trifling. On November 21 there was an awful massacre of Chinese by the Japanese troops at Port Arthur. This was raging as the year closed. In Russia. January 2, Catholics were masA Sicilian revolution was crushed sacred at Krosche by Cossack soldiers, 100 being killed.

by government troops January 15. The Umzizi tribe near Cape Town, Africa, killed 250 blacks in battle January 15. Pillaging and rioting followed the destruction of Jeremie, Hayti, by fire January 20. The United States flag was fired on in Rio harbor by the insurgents engaged in the Brazilian war January 30; prompt satisfaction was exacted by Admiral Benham. Information was received February 3 of the slaughter of French troops At Yuzzat, Turkey, 125 Armenians were killed by Africans near Timbuctoo, in the Soudan.

and 340 were wounded February 14. Many British sailors and marines were killed by native tribes on the West Coast of Africa February 24. On the same day the war in Honduras ended, when the capital city, Tegucigalpa, capitulated to the Nicaraguans. A British The war force of thirty-four men was slain by Abor tribesmen in Assam, India, March 9. in Brazil was ended March 13 by the final surrender of the rebel forces to President Peixoto, who extended executive clemency to the Rio rebels. Hundreds were killed and thousands were wounded in a battle at Bornu, in the Central Soudan, April 2. Diplomatic relations between Brazil and Portugal were broken off May 14, war being threatened. In the defeat of the government troops in Salvador 600 men were slain June 3. President Carnot, of France, was assassinated while driving through the streets of Lyons June 4 by one Santo, More than 6,000 Armenian Christians were maswho was captured and later beheaded.

The sacred by Turks in Kurdistan November 16. The great disasters in 1894 were: World's Fair buildings in Chicago were burned, with $2,000,000 loss, January 8; the famous Mosque of Damascus was destroyed by fire January 15; on the same day was received news of the loss of the lives of 300 women and children by fire in the Ningpoo Temple, China; the Cauca valley, South America, was inundated by the most destructive flood of the century January 25; on the same day came information of the complete annihilation by earthquake of the town of Kuchan, Persia, 12,000 persons being killed and 20,000 cattle being destroyed; the wrecking of the bark Port Yarrock, in Brandon Bay, Ireland, drowned twenty-five men January 29; the United States warship Kearsarge, famous as the destroyer of the Alabama, was wrecked on Roncador Reef February 2; thirteen miners were entombed in the shattered Gaylord mine, Plymouth, Pa., February 13; forty German sailors were killed by a boiler explosion on the cruiser Bradenburg at Kiel February 16; eighteen persons were killed and seven injured by a dynamite explosion at Santander, Spain, March 23; more than 1,000 buildings were destroyed by fire in Shanghai, China, by fire April 4, and 1,000 persons were drowned in a rising of the Han River. China, April 21: an earthquake near Athens, Greece, killed 227 persons April 23; thirty-seven miners were killed at Franklin, Wash., April 24; fifty pleasure seekers were drowned by a crowded pier giving way at Brohilov, Roumania, April 30; Merida, Egido and several villages in Venezuela were destroyed by earthquake, and about 11,000 persons were killed May 9: 2,000 persons were made homeless by fire in Boston, which burned over twenty acres and destroyed 177 buildings, May 15; at Karwin, Silesia 200 miners were killed January 15; an attempt was made to assassinate Premier Crispi, of Italy. June 21; on the same day many persons were killed by an earthquake at Yokohama and Tokio, Japan; about 250 miners were killed at Cardiff, Wales, June 28; by the foundering of the tugboat Nichol off Sandy Hook, N. J.. forty-two Dersons were drowned; nearly 200 persons were drowned by a ferryboat accident at Budapest, Hungary, July 4; Constantinople was shaken by an earthquake July 10, more than 1,000 persons being killed; many negro miners in Alabama were slaughtered by strikers July 16; great fires in Wisconsin killed many persons July 28; a disastrous fire in Chicago

destroyed $3,000,000 worth of property August 1; 100,000 people were killed by a storm along the coast of the Sea of Azov, Russia, August 26; a great fire raged among the flowerboats on the Canton River, China, and 1,000 natives perished August 31; at Hinckley and other Minnesota towns 500 perished in an awful conflagration September 2: by the wreck of the steamer Wairarapa off the New Zealand coast 134 persons were drowned November 1; an earthquake in Southern Italy and Sicily cost many lives November 16; at a Christmas festival at Silver Lake, Ore., forty persons perished by fire December 29; the Delevan House, Albany, N. Y., was burned December 30 and sixteen lives were lost.

General events abroad which excited worldwide interest were: The Manchester Ship Canal, England, was opened to traffic January 1; Emperor William of Germany became reconciled to Prince Bismarck, and there was great rejoicing in Berlin and elsewhere January 26; Russia yielded to England in the Pamir dispute January 31; Prudente Moraes was elected President of Brazil March 1; Mr. Gladstone resigned as Prime Minister of England March 2, and Lord Rosebery was appointed Premier March 3; Labouchere's motion to abrogate the veto power of the House of Lords was adopted in the House of Commons March 13; a funeral procession five mites long followed the body of Louis Kossuth, the patriot, to his grave in Budapest, Hungary, April 1; announcement was made April 20 of the betrothal * of Grand Duke Nicholas, Czarewitch of Russia, to the Princess Alix of Hesse; President Gonzales, of Paraguay, was deposed and banished June 9; M. Casimir-Perler was elected President of France June 27; the Hawaiian Republic was proclaimed July 4: the French Senate passed the Anti-Anarchist bill by a vote of 205 to 35 July 27; the new serum cure, antitoxine, for diphtheria, was announced by Dr. Roux, of Paris, November 1; Nicholas II. was proclaimed Emperor of Russia November 2, succeeding Alexander III., who died November 1; a financial panic in Newfoundland December 10 paralyzed the business interests of the colony and caused the resignation of the Government; Sir John Thompson. Premier of Canada, died suddenly while a guest of Queen Victoria, and Mackenzie Bowell was appointed in his stead December 12. In the United States in 1894 labor troubles were frequent and serious. At Columbus, O., 136,000 coal miners were ordered to strike for more wages April 20. Coxey's "army" of unemployed invaded Washington, D. C., on April 20. A boycott was declared June 25 by the American Railway Union against the Pullman Palace Car Company, which resulted in the stopping of railroad traffic in the West and affected nearly 50,000 miles of railroads; the United States Court issued an injunction to prevent interference with railroad trains by strikers July 2. On July 6 United States deputy marshals, at Kensington, Ill., near Chicago, fired on strikers, killing two and injuring others; much railroad property was burned by mobs in Chicago. The American Railway Union strike was declared off July 13. Sixty-eight factories closed at Fall River, Mass., August 13, and more than 22,000 were made idle thereby. In New York City 12,000 tailors struck against the taskwork system September 4. Eugene V. Debs, the labor leader, was sentenced to six months' imprisonment for contempt of court during the great railroad strike December 4. In New York City Police Captain Schmittberger testified, before the Lexow Investigating Committee, of great corruption in the New York Police Department; Captain Stephenson, of the police, had already been convicted of receiving a bribe, and Captain Creedon testified to paying $15,000 for a police captaincy. Captains Stephenson, Cross, Doherty and Devery were dismissed from the force. Politically, at home, the principal events of interest included the passing of the Wilson Tariff and Income Tax bills by the House of Representatives; the passing of the Bland Coinage bill by the United States Senate, 44 to 31; a legislative deadlock in New Jersey from January 9 to March 21, with two Senates, both Democrats and Republicans, claiming legal organization, until the United States Supreme Court decided in favor of the Republicans; the Greater New York bill was signed by the Governor, making it the second largest city on earth, February 28; the New York and New Jersey Bridge bill was signed by President Cleveland June 8; the United States Government obtained proofs of armor-plate frauds June 29; President Cleveland signed the Enabling act, making Utah a State, July 17; Senator Gorman assailed the President in a speech, impugning the President's honor, July 23; the Hawaiian Republic was officially recognized by the United States Government August 9; the new tariff law became a law without President Cleveland's signature August 27; a new treaty between the United States and Japan was proclaimed December 9. A noted defalcation of the year was that of Samuel C. Seeley, a bookkeeper of the National Shoe and Leather Bank of New York, who robbed the institution named of $354,000,

1895

The civilized world stood aghast through 1895 at the flow of blood of Armenian Christians, it being estimated that the Turks and Kurds massacred 30,000 and plundered and rendered homeless more than 200,000 Armenians; the humanity of nations was shocked, but interference was slight. China and Japan continued their warfare. The Japanese captured Wel-Hai-Wei January 31; on March 5 they captured New-chwang, after a thirteen hours' battle; the Chinese Government notified Japan of its wish to treat for peace March 10; on March 14 the Chinese peace envoy embarked for Japan, and the conferences were begun at Shimonoseki March 21; on March 24 a Japanese attempted to assassinate Li Hung Chang, the Chinese envoy, at Shimonoseki; a cessation of hostilities between Japan and China was ordered by the Mikado March 29; on April 24 the Russian, French and German governments protested against the acquisition of Chinese territory by Japan; a treaty of peace between Japan and China, concluded April 17, was ratified at Chefoo May 8, thus ending Other nations, too, had their troubles. A Royalist the war of nearly ten months' duration. outbreak at Honolulu was suppressed by the Dole Government, and the leaders were arrested January 8; ex-Queen Lilioukalani formally renounced her right to the throne of Hawaii; on February 28 she was sentenced by the Dole Government to five years' imprisonment for conspiring against the Republic. The boundary dispute between Brazil and the Argentine On February Republic was settled by President Cleveland, in favor of Brazil, February 6. 20 was begun the Cuban revolution, by simultaneous risings in different parts of the island, and from which developed the Spanish-American war and Cuban independence, a topic exhaustively treated elsewhere on these pages. In April the British expedition to Chitral gained several victories over the natives. On April 28 the British naval forces took possession of the Nicaraguan custom-house at Corinto; the forces were withdrawn upon the agreement of the Nicaraguan Government to pay indemnity. A revolt in the island of Formosa broke out and a so-called republic was set up May 15; the British Government announced a protectorate for Uganda, Central Africa, June 13; the Chinese massacred English missionaries at Whasang August 1; a revolution in Ecuador terminated August 27 by the triumph of Gen. Elvy Alfaro; the French army, under General Duchesne, captured Antananarivo, Madagascar, and the Queen and her husband fled, September 27; the Queen of Korea was murdered in her palace at Seoul October 1. Less warlike incidents than the foregoing abroad were: Casimir-Perier resigned the Presidency of the French Republic January 15, and on January 17 Felix Faure was elected to succeed him by the National Assembly at Versailles. The North German Lloyd steamship Elbe was sunk by collision in the English Channel and more than 300 lives were lost January 30. William Court Gully, the Liberal candidate, was elected Speaker of the House of Commons April 10. The opening of the Baltic Canal was celebrated by the Germans, with the warships of all maritime nations as guests, June 19. The Rosebery Liberal ministry in England resigned, having been defeated in the House of Commons on the war estimates by a vote of 132 to 125 June 22; the Marquis of Salisbury accepted the British Premiership and formed a Conservative ministry June 24; the British Parliamentary elections, June 12-August 10, resulted in the return of 338 Conservatives, 177 Liberals, 73 Unionists, 70 McCarthyites and 12 Parnellites. On August 16 Viscount Wolseley succeeded the Duke of Cambridge as Commander-in-Chief of the British Army. The twenty-fifth anniversary of the entrance of Garibaldi into Rome was celebrated by the Italians September 20, and a statue of Garibaldi was unveiled at Rome. The Peary Arctic relief expedition left St. Johns, N. F., on its return home, September 21. The Ribot ministry in France resigned October 28, and the Bourgeois ministry succeeded November 1. The bronze group, "Washington and Lafayette," by Bartholdi, presented to the city of Paris by Joseph Pulitzer, was unveiled in the Rue des Etats Unis with appropriate ceremonies December 2.

In the United States the year 1895 was comparatively quiet. President Cleveland, on January 28, sent a message to Congress on the financial affairs of the Government, and asked authority to issue gold bonds; on February 8 he informed Congress of arrangements made with the bankers' syndicate to take an issue of $62,400,000 government bonds. On May 20 the Supreme Court of the United States, by a vote of 5 to 4, declared the whole Income Tax law null and void. Secretary Carlisle spoke against the free coinage of silver

at the Sound Money Convention at Memphis May 23. A monument to the Confederate dead was dedicated in Oakwoods Cemetery, Chicago, May 30. The Harlem Ship Canal, New York City, was opened with ceremonies July 17. The Cotton States and International Exposition at Atlanta was opened, President Cleveland setting the machinery in motion by wire from Gray Gables, his summer home, in Massachusetts; the exposition closed December 31. The National Park, on the site of the Chickamauga battle ground, Tennessee, was dedicated by a great gathering of Union and Confederate veterans September 19. At Chicago, on September 27, was organized the Irish National Convention, to free Ireland from Great Britain by physical force. Major-General Miles assumed command of the United States Army October 5, succeeding Lieutenant-General Schofield, who retired because of having reached the age limit,

/ 1896

The year 1896 brought to the people of the United States another lively Presidential campaign. The Republican National Convention at St. Louis, June 18, nominated William McKinley, of Ohio, for President on the first ballot, he receiving 6611⁄2 votes out of 922, the rest being given to Thomas B. Reed, of Maine; Senator Quay, of Pennsylvania; Levi P. Morton, of New York, and Senator Allison, of Iowa. For Vice-President, Garret A. Hobart, of New Jersey, was nominated on the first ballot. The Democratic National Convention at Chicago, July 10, nominated William J. Bryan, of Nebraska, on the fifth ballot, his leading opponents being: Bland, Missouri; Boies, Iowa; Pattison, Pennsylvania, and Blackburn, Kentucky. The Vice-Presidential nomination went on the fifth ballot to Arthur Sewall, of Maine. The People's Party National Convention at St. Louis indorsed Bryan, but Gold Democrats, under the title of the National Democracy, met at Indianapolis, September 3, and nominated Senator John M. Palmer for President and Gen. Simon B. Buckner, of Kentucky, for Vice-President. The Bryanites fought hard for the free coinage of silver at the ratio of 16 to 1, while the Republicans battled for the maintenance of the gold standard. McKinley won a signal victory, receiving 601,854 popular votes over Bryan and 286,452 over all. McKinley's electoral vote over Bryan was 95. The total popular vote of 1896 was 13,923,102. The final year of President Cleveland's administration was marked by his announcement of the members of the Venezuelan Boundary Commission January 1; a call by Secretary Carlisle, January 6, for bids for $100,000,000 bonds as a popular loan; the making public of the Venezuelan Arbitration correspondence between Secretary Olney and the Marquis of Salisbury July 17; the President's proclamation of warning to Cuban filibusters July 30; the reception of Li Hung Chang, the Chinese statesman, by President Cleveland August 29. Abroad, apart from the stirring revolution in Cuba, a notable incident was the raiding of the Transvaal Republic by the British under Dr. Jameson, the invaders being defeated in battle January 1, upon which the German Emperor congratulated President Kruger; on January 5 Cecil Rhodes resigned the Premiership of Cape Colony; on April 28 John Hays Hammond and other Johannesburg reformers were convicted of high treason in the Transvaal Republic and sentenced to death, but they were subsequently banished.

In other nations, noteworthy happenings of 1896 were: The formal annexation of Madagascar by France was announced January 23; ex-Queen Liliuokalani, of Hawall, was pardoned by the Government February 5; Ballington Booth, who was displaced from the command of the American Salvation Army, declared his independence February 24; mobs assailed the United States Consulate at Barcelona, Spain, March 2; on the same day the Italian army was disastrously defeated by the King of Abyssinia; the Bourgeois ministry in Paris resigned April 23 and was succeeded by the Meline ministry April 28; the Persian Shah, Nasir-ed-Din, was assassinated at Teheran May 1; on the same date the new Canadian ministry, under Sir Charles Tupper, assumed office; on May 26 the Emperor and Empress of Russia were crowned at Moscow; on May 29 2,000 people were killed at Moscow during coronation festivities by a disaster; the Cape Colony steamship Drummond Castle was wrecked on the French coast, with a loss of 250 lives, June 16; England gave a warm welcome to the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Boston July 8; Porfirio Diaz, of Mexico, was re-elected President of Mexico without opposition July 13; an attempt was made to assassinate President Faure, of France, in Paris July 14; the trial of Dr. Jameson and his fellow raiders in the Transvaal was begun in London July 20; they were convicted

July 28 and sentenced to various terms of imprisonment; a commercial treaty between China and Japan was signed July 21; on the same date the one hundredth anniversary of the death of Robert Burns was celebrated at Dumfries, Scotland, where he is buried; Rev. Sebastian Martinelli was appointed Papal Delegate in the United States by the Pope July 30; Nansen, Arctic explorer, arrived at Vordoe, Norway, on return, August 13; the German Emperor's yacht Meteor collided with the yacht Isolde at the South Sea regatta, England, and the owner of the Isolde was killed August 18; the rebellious Matabeles in South Africa submitted to the British August 22; the British fleet bombarded Zanzibar and deposed the usurping Sultan August 27; P. J. P. Tynan, the Fenian agitator, known as "No. 1," was arrested at Boulogne September 12; Dongola, in the Soudan, was captured by the AngloEgyptian expedition September 19; the Russian Emperor and Empress visited Scotland and France in September and October; the Peary expedition arrived at Sydney, C. B., from Greenland September 26; the Earl of Rosebery resigned the leadership of the Liberal party October 7. In the United States the Confederate States' Museum at Richmond, Va., was dedicated February 22; receivers for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad were appointed February 29; Earl Dunraven was expelled from the New York Yacht Club February 27, after the club's investigating committee had declared unfounded his charges of unfairness against the owners of the yacht Defender; the International Arbitration Congress met at Washington April 22; the centenary of the settlement of Cleveland, O., was celebrated July 22; a hurricane across Florida destroyed many lives and much property October 22.

1897

While the Spanish-American war cloud was beginning to cast its shadow over the United States in 1897, and American sympathy with Cuba was becoming daily more apparent, other events attracted a full share of public interest. Congress counted the electoral vote on February 10, formally choosing McKinley and Hobart President and Vice-President, respectively, and they were inaugurated March 4. Previous to that, a treaty of arbitration between the United States and Great Britain was signed at Washington by Secretary Olney and Ambassador Pauncefote January 11; the National Monetary Conference met at Indianapolis January 12; the bill to regulate immigration was passed by the United States House of Representatives, 217 to 37, on February 9, but was vetoed by President Cleveland. The new Corcoran Art Gallery at Washington, D. C., was opened to the public February 22; Mayor Strong vetoed the Greater New York Charter bill April 9; notwithstanding this veto, it passed the New York State Senate April 13, by a vote of 34 to 10, the Assembly having previously passed it, 106 to 32. Memorial services at the dedication of the new tomb of General Grant, New York, were accompanied by a great military and naval display April 27. The Tennessee Centennial Exposition was formally opened May 1. The Congress of the Universal Postal Union opened at Washington, D. C., May 2. Fire at Pittsburgh, Pa., destroyed $3,000,000 worth of property May 3. The United States Senate rejected the treaty of arbitration with Great Britain May 5. The bi-centennial jubilee of Trinity Church, New York, was celebrated May 6. The United States Supreme Court decided the Berliner patent case in favor of the Bell Telephone Company May 10. The Washington statuary of the Pennsylvania Society of the Cincinnati was unveiled by the President amid extensive ceremonies May 15. A chess match was played by telegraph between members of the United States House of Representatives and British House of Commons May 31. The International Commercial Conference at Philadelphia was opened by President McKinley June 2. The Venezuela boundary treaty between Great Britain and Venezuela was ratified at Washington June 14. President McKinley signed the new tariff act July 24. Wheat touched the dollar mark at the Produce Exchange, New York, and went above, August 20. A treaty of annexation to the United States was unanimously ratified by the Hawaiian Senate September 14. Secretary of State Sherman and Lord Salisbury, British Foreign Minister, held correspondence over the Behring Sea seal question October 4-12. The Yerkes telescope was formally dedicated to science at Lake Geneva, Wis., October 21. A treaty to protect the seals in Behring Sea was signed at Washington by representatives of the United States, Russia and Japan. President McKinley signed the treaty adopted by the Universal Postal Congress November 16. Yellow fever returns to the Surgeon-General of the Marine Hospital Service at Washington showed that since the epidemic broke out on the Mississippi coast