uary 17; Queen Victoria died at Osborne House, Isle of Wight, January 22, and King Edward VII. of Great Britain and Ireland, Emperor of India, was proclaimed January 24; after many honors, the final ceremonies of the entombment of Queen Victoria were held at Frogmore Mausoleum, Windsor, February 4; Queen Wilhelmina of Holland wedded Duke Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin February 7; the Italian Ministry resigned February, and the Zanardelli ministry was formed February 14; General Weyler, as CaptainGeneral, proclaimed martial law in Madrid February 13; King Edward VII, opened Parliament February 14; Russia retaliated on the advance of the United States duty on Russian beet sugar by adopting additional duties on certain American goods February 16; the Cuban Constitution was signed by the delegates in the convention at Havana February 21; Count Tolstoi was excommunicated by the Orthodox Greek Church March 9; Great Britain declined to accept the Senate amendments to the Hay-Pauncefote treaty March 11; the Spanish Cabinet approved of a treaty of friendship with the United States April 3; the Glasgow International Exposition was opened May 2; a protest was made by foreign representatives at Constantinople against the alleged tampering with the mails by the Porte May 8; the British Government pardoned Arabi Pacha, the Egyptian rebel, May 22; Bresci, the assassin of King Humbert of Italy, committed suicide at San Stefano prison, Rome, May 22; a volcanic eruption at Keloet, Japan, caused great loss of life May 23; the franchise was conferred on women taxpayers by the Norwegian Parliament May 25; Scotch universities received a gift of $10,000,000 in steel bonds from Andrew Carnegie June 7; a monument to Commodore Matthew C. Perry, U. S. N., was unveiled at Kurihama, Japan, June 14; the Arctic exploring expedition of Baldwin and Ziegler sailed from Tromso, Norway, July 17; the British House of Lords arraigned and sentenced Earl Russell to three months' imprisonment, on his pleading guilty to a charge of bigamy, July 18; the International Tuberculosis Congress was opened in London July 22; Dr. Snering Berson, of Berlin, Germany, made a balloon ascension of 33,500 feet August 1; France and Turkey severed diplomatic relations owing to differences over quay concessions August 21; the release of Miss Ellen M. Stone, an American missionary, and her companion, captured by brigands in Bulgaria, was ordered by the Sultan; she was still in imprisonment, waiting to be ransomed, at the close of the year, although $56,000 was raised in the United States in October to pay the ransom; the steamer Erik brought news to North Sydney, Cape Breton Island, of Lieutenant Peary's Arctic discoveries September 13; the British torpedo-boat Cobra buckled and sank off the Lincolnshire coast and carried down sixty-seven men September 19; the statue of King Alfred the Great was unveiled by Lord Rosebery at Winchester, England, during the millenary celebration September 20; the King Alfred, the largest cruiser in the world, was launched in England October 28; the French fleet seized three Turkish ports, which were held until the Porte settled the French claims, November 5; the Colombian Liberal troops surrendered at Colon November 28.

1902

The strenuous career of President Roosevelt was well under way when 1902 opened. On January 20 he sent to Congress the report of the Isthmian Canal Commission, recommending the purchase of the Panama Canal Company rights for $40,000,000. On February 19 he refused to reopen the Sampson-Schley controversy.. On July 4 he issued orders establishing civil government in the Philippines and granting amnesty for political prisoners. On September 3 he narrowly escaped being killed near Pittsfield, Mass., his coach being struck by a trolley car; the President was slightly injured, and Secret Service Agent Craig was killed. On October 16 he appointed a commission to investigate and settle questions involved in the coal strike. It was in 1902 that the question of the annexation of the Danish West Indian islands of St. Thomas, St. Johns and St. Croix to the United States aroused international attention. A treaty with Denmark for the purchase of these islands was ratified by the United States Senate February 17, after a plebiscite showed a large majority of the islands to be in favor of annexation. The Danish Upper House, however, on October 2. refused, by one majority, to cede the islands to the United States. Other events of special interest in the United States were: The visit of Prince Henry of Prussia February 23-March 11 to attend the launching of Emperor William's yacht Meteor, which was christened by Miss Alice Roosevelt, the President's daughter, at Shooter's Island, New York Bay, February 25; the provisions of the will of

Cecil Rhodes relating to scholarships for American and German students at Oxford were made public April 4; a great strike of anthracite coal workers in the Pennsylvania region begun May 12; the Rochambeau Statue was dedicated at Washington, D. C., a delegation of French notables being present, May 24; three days later the Rochambeau delegation from France was received in New York by a great military parade and dined with the Society of the Cincinnati; the celebration of the centennial anniversary of West Point Academy was begun June 9; the Vatican answered the note of Governor Taft concerning the friars in the Philippines July 9, and negotiations between the Vaticar and the United States Government in regard to the question were abandoned, the Pope being unable to consider the sale of friars' lands, July 16; troops were ordered out to put down rioting at Shenandoah, Pa., among anthracite coal miners July 30; United States naval manoeuvres off the New England coast began and continued three weeks August 20; McKinley memorial services were held in many places throughout the United States September 14; Speaker Henderson refused to accept renomination to Congress because he disagreed with his constituents on the tariff question September 16; Secretary Hay addressed a note to the Powers signatory to the Berlin treaty, urging relief for the Roumanian Jews, September 17; Lieutenant Peary, American Arctic explorer, arrived at Sydney, C. B., having penetrated as far north as 84° 17', northwest of Cape Hecla; a stampede at the National Negro Baptist Convention at Birmingham, Ala.. resulted in the death of more than 10 persons September 19; Admiral Casey refused to permit the transportation of soldiers across the Isthmus of Panama, and the Colombian Government formally protested against his action October 10; the decision of The Hague tribunal in the Pious Fund case, adverse to Mexico and in favor of the United States, was announced October 14; the great strike in the Pennsylvania coal region was declared off October 21; the Samoan controversy was decided adversely to the United States by King Oscar of Sweden and in favor of Germany October 21; Wu Ting-fang, Chinese Minister at Washington, was recalled October 27; the reciprocity treaty between the United States and Newfoundland was signed November 8; the United States Supreme Court denied a petition for an injunction against the State Board of Canvassers of Virginia on behalf of negroes disfranchised by the new State Constitution November 29; the United States Navy manoeuvres in the Caribbean resulted in the success of the "White Squadron" representing the enemy December 9. The Venezuelan Government appealed, through the United States, for arbitration of European claims December 15. This was the result of several warlike incidents in Venezuela, On November 4 a revolution ended, General Mendoza having been defeated with a loss of 3,100 killed and wounded, and President Castro re-entered Caracas November 10 and issued a bombastic proclamation. On November 26 England and Germany united to press their claims against the republic, and presented an ultimatum on December 9, seizing the Venezuelan fleet the same day. On December 10 the British and German fleets landed marines at La Guayra, Venezuela, and seized the custom house. On December 14 the same fleets bombarded and demolished a Venezuelan fort at Puerto Cabello.

One of the most terrible disasters in the world's history marked 1902, when, on May 7, an eruption of Mont La Soufriere, St. Vincent, British West Indies, destroyed 2,000 lives and laid two-thirds of the island in waste. The next day, early in the morning. Mont Pelee, Martinique, destroyed the city of St. Pierre, with 30,000 people. All civilization shuddered at the tragedy, and the United States was the first to afford relief. A second violent eruption of Mont Pelee, August 30-September 4, killed 2,000 more persons in a vicinity not devastated by the first great outbreak of the volcano.

Other events abroad were: The Emperor and Empress Dowager of China re-entered Peking January 7; a British-Japanese alliance to preserve the integrity of China and Korea was announced February 12; about 2,000 persons were killed by an earthquake around Shamaka, Trans-Caucasia, February 16; rioting in Barcelona, Spain, led to the killing of 500 people February 20; Miss Ellen M. Stone and her companion, Mme. Tsilka, were released by the Macedonian brigands February 23; a five days' celebration of the centenary of Victor Hugo's birth was begun in Paris February 26; a convention was signed at Peking between China and Russia, the latter agreeing to evacuate Manchuria, April 8; revolutionists in Santo Domingo deposed President Jimenez May 5; the first Congress of the Cuban Republic met in Havana May 5; the coronation of King Alfonso of Spain took place at Madrid May 17; Tomas Estrada Palma was inaugurated as first President of Cuba May 20; Waldeck-Rousseau, Premier of France, resigned May 23, and M. Combes

formed a new French Ministry June 6; Lord Kitchener announced that a peace treaty had been signed between England and the Boers May 21; King Edward VII submitted to an operation for appendicitis June 24, and the coronation, set for June 26, was postponed, finally taking place August 9, when he, with Queen Alexandra, were crowned in Westminster Abbey; General Kitchener received a hearty welcome on his return to England after the Boer war and was decorated with the new Order of Merit by the King July 12; the famous Campanile at Venice, Italy, fell July 14; the Marquis of Salisbury resigned as Premier of England, and Arthur J. Balfour succeeded him, July 14; a decree for closing certain religious schools was signed by President Loubet, and there was great excitement throughout France, July 25, followed by Socialist demonstrations in Paris August 3, in support of the Government's attitude on the school question; the Boer Generals Botha, DeWet and Delarey received a cordial welcome in England August 16; the German gunboat Panther sank the Haytian gunboat Crete-a-Pierrot, flagship of Admiral Killick, who went down with his ship September 7; Captain Sverdrup, Arctic explorer, returned to Christiana, Norway, in his vessel, the Fram, September 28; Zola, the novelist, died by accidental asphyxiation in Paris September 29; a typhoon at Yokohama, Japan, drove a battleship ashore and cost 500 lives September 29; the Canadian-Australian cable was completed from Vancouver to Fanning Island, a distance of 3,455 miles, October 6; French coal miners, to the number of 25,000, went out on strike October 6; the French Chamber of Deputies sustained the ministry on the question of the enforcement of the associations law October 17; General Uribe-Uribe, leader of the insurgents in Colombia, surrendered to the Government October 28; about 1,600 Doukbouhors marched into Yorktown, Northwest Territory, Canada, demanding food October 28; the volcano Santa Maria, in Guatemala, was active and a large district was disturbed October 30; an attempt upon the life of King Leopold of Belgium was unsuccessful November 15; the reputed ashes of Christopher Columbus were deposited in a special mausoleum in the cathedral of Seville, Spain, November 17; the civil war in Colombia was ended by the signing of a treaty of peace between the Government and the insurgents November 22; labor riots in Havana resulted in the killing of two strikers and in the injury of eighty-two other persons November 24; Joseph Chamberlain, British Colonial Minister, started on an official visit to South Africa November 25; the Assouan Dam, on the Nile, in Egypt, was opened December 8.

THE BOER WAR.

The reinforcing of the British troops in South Africa along the borders of the Transvaal Republic, together with differences on the franchise question, coupled with grim recollections of former armed clashes between Great Britain and the sturdy, patriotic Boers, all tended to hasten the conflict of 1899-1900, one of the most sanguinary in the world's history. As an effort to avert war a conference was held May 31, 1899, between Sir Alfred Milner, Governor of Cape Colony, and the Presidents of the Dutch Republics at Bloemfontein, in which terms for the adjustment of the claims of the Outlanders were discussed, but no agreement was reached. Between June 1 and October 10 negotiations proceeded between the governments of Great Britain and the Transvaal, while the Legislature of the latter adopted franchise laws which were not acceptable to Great Britain. In the meantime both countries made energetic preparations for war, and the Orange Free State announced that in case of hostilities it would support the Transvaal.

On October 10 the Transvaal sent to the British Government an ultimatum demanding: That all points of mutual difference be regulated by friendly recourse to arbitration or by whatever amicable way might be agreed upon by the governments concerned; that all British troops on the border of the Transvaal Republic should be instantly withdrawn; that Great Britain should withdraw all reinforcements of troops landed in South Africa since June 1, 1899, with assurance that during further negotiation the Republic would not attack any British possessions, and that upon compliance with the ultimatum the Republic would be prepared to withdraw from the borders the armed burghers of the Transvaal; that the British troops then on the high seas should not be landed in any part of Africa; that an answer to the ultimatum be received by the Republic not later than 5 o'clock P. M. on October 11; that an unsatisfactory answer would be regarded by the Republic as a formal declaration of war by Great Britain, as would also be a further movement of British troops in a nearer direction to the Republic's borders.

On October 12, 1899, the reply of the British having been unsatisfactory, the Trans

vaal Boers invaded Natal, advancing toward Newcastle, which was defended by the British Generals White and Symons. The British evacuated Newcastle and fell back on Ladysmith, where, on October 13, there was a strong British force. On October 20 the Boers begun the siege of Kimberley, and on the same day in Natal was fought the battle of Dundee, in which the British repulsed the Boers, suffering a loss of 215 in kille and wounded. On October 1 General French captured the Boers' position at Elandslaagte after a hard battle, with a British loss of 257 killed and wounded. General White repulsed a Free State force at Rietfontein, near Ladysmith, October 24. Five days later the Boers began the siege of Ladysmith. On October 30, in a sortie near Ladysmith, the British were entrapped and defeated, and the Boers captured 870 prisoners. Communication with Ladysmith was cut off by the Boers on November 2, and the next day the British evacuated Colenso, in Natal. The Boers shelled Mafeking November 6, but were repulsed in an attack on the British position. The first British transport carrying reinforcements reached Cape Town on November 9 and proceeded to Durban. The Boers wrecked a British armored train near Eastcourt, Natal, on November 16, capturing fifty-six prisoners, including Winston Churchill. On November 23, near Gras Pan, Lord Methuen attacked the Boers and drove them from their position, and on November 26 the British won a sanguinary victory at Modder River. A series of Boer successes then followed. On December 10 the British, under General Gatacre, were led into a Boer ambuscade near Stormberg Junction and lost 1,000 men, including 672 captured, while on the same and following day Lord Methuen failed to take the Boer position at Spytfontein after desperate fighting and heavy losses, General Wauchope being killed. On December 15 General Buller was severely defeated while attempting to force the Tugela River, near Colenso, he losing 1,000 men and eleven guns. The British losses to this date were 7,630 men killed, wounded and missing, and the attention of the civilized world was riveted upon the war. After Buller's signal defeat Field Marshal Lord Roberts was ordered, December 18, to South Africa, to take command of military operations, with Lord Kitchener as 'chief of staff, and with a reinforcement of 100,000 men.

1

General French captured Colesburg on New Year's day, 1900. On January 6 Roberts and Kitchener arrived in South Africa, and on the same date the Boers were repulsed with heavy loss in an attack on Ladysmith. On January 23-25 occurred some of the most desperate and famous fighting of the war, when a British storming party under General Warren captured Spion Kop, but, after heavy losses, withdrew. General Buller made a third attempt to relieve Ladysmith, but failed, February 9, and Lord Roberts began an invasion of the Orange Free State on February 12. General French relieved Kimberley on February 15. On February 22-27 there was severe fighting between Roberts and Cronje, terminating with the capitulation of the latter, with 4,600 men and six guns. Lord Dundonald entered Ladysmith on February 28, and General Gatacre occupied Stormberg on March 5. On March 7 Lord Roberts turned the Boer position near Modder River and advanced triumphantly on Bloemfontein, capital of the Orange Free State, which surrendered to the British on March 13. The Boer Commander-in-Chief, General Joubert, died on March 27, and Colonel de Villebois Mareuil, French officer with the Boers, was killed in a skirmish on April 5. General Cronje and the other Boer prisoners were sent to St. Helena, where they arrived April 14, and the demoralization of the Boers seemingly begun. On April 20 Mr. Pettigrew, in the United States Senate, introduced a resolution of sympathy with the Boers, but it was voted down, 29 to 20. On May 3 Lord Roberts began his advance on Pretoria.

The Boers now turned to the United States and Europe for intervention. Consul Hay, on May 10, sent to Washington from Pretoria a telegram stating that he was officially requested by the governments of the republics to urge intervention by the United States with a view to the cessation of hostilities. The same request was made to representatives of the European Powers. President McKinley directed Secretary of State Hay to convey to the British Government the substance of Consul Hay's telegram, expressing the earnest hope that a way to bring about peace might be found, and to say that the President would be glad to aid in any friendly manner the promotion of so happy an end. The Transvaal Government was at the same time informed of President MoKinley's action in the matter. Lord Salisbury replied to Secretary Hay thanking the President for the friendly interest shown by him, but added that Her Majesty's Government could not accept the intervention of any Power. Through Consul Hay at Pretoria this communication was immediately

transmitted to President Kruger, of the South African Republic. The United States, so far as Secretary Hay was informed, was the only Government in the world of all those approached by the South African Republic which tendered its good offices to either of the combatants in the interest of the cessation of hostilities.

The

Thus the war continued. On May 10 the British crossed the Zand River and occupled Kroonstad, and on May 15 General Buller occupied Dundee. The Boer envoys to the United States reached New York on May 16, the day that Mafeking was relieved, after a siege of 217 days. President McKinley received the envoys unofficially, but they were officially informed by Secretary of State Hay that the United States could not intervene in the war. The end of the struggle was not yet, however, in sight. On May 28 Lord Roberts proclaimed the annexation of the Orange Free State to the British Empire. British entered Johannesburg on May 30, and on the same day President Kruger retired from Pretoria, which city surrendered on June 5 to the British army. General Prinsloo and 3.343 Boers surrendered at Naauwpoort, and Harrismith surrendered to General Macdonald on August 4. Several conspirators against the life of Lord Roberts were tried at Pretoria August 17, and their leader was executed. Machadodorp, Kruger's new capital, was occupied by General Buller August 28. On September 1 the Transvaal was proclaimed a part of the British Empire by Lord Roberts. Guerilla warfare, which had begun July 1, was now general in the Transvaal, and the Boer Gencrals DeWet and Botha continued to harass the British by sporadic raids. Ex-President Kruger, abandoning the Transvaal, began his journey to Europe September 12. He arrived at Marseilles on November 22 and had an ovation from the French people, the demonstrations of welcome continuing through his journey to Paris, while the National French Assembly adopted resolutions of sympathy. On November 30 the supreme military command in South Africa was turned over to Lord Kitchener by Lord Roberts, who departed for home, sailing for England from Cape Town on December 12. In the meantime the German Government intimated to Mr. Kruger on December 1 that a visit by him to Berlin would be inopportune. Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, on the contrary, welcomed Mr. Kruger at a dinner on December 15. The British met with a severe reverse at Nooltgedacht December 13, Colonel Legge being killed. On December 14 Sir Alfred Milner was appointed Administrator of the Orange River and Transvaal colonies, and the year closed with both sides grimly determined to continue the terrible warfare to a definite conclusion.

A YEAR OF DEADLY STRUGGLE.

The first battle of 1901 was at Lindley, Orange River Colony, where forty British officers and men were killed or wounded. On January 7 the British position along Delagoa Bay Railway was unsuccessfully attacked by the Boers, who were also driven back on January 17 near Standerton, when they attacked a British column under General Colville. On January 18 New Zealand troops and Bushmen, under Colonel Gray, routed 800 Boers near Veutersburg. On January 30 the Bloemfontein-Ladybrand line was crossed by DeWet near Israel's Poort, and the Boers captured the British post at Modderfontein, in the Transvaal, on February 3. at about which time the British War Office decided to reinforce Kitchener with 30,000 additional mounted troops. General Smith-Dorrien was attacked by Louis Botha with 2.000 men at Orange Camp February 6, but repulsed him. On the same date the Boers cut the Delagoa Bay Railroad, near Lorenzo Marques; ten days later DeWet crossed the railroad at Bariman's Siding and was engaged by Crabbe and an armored train, and on February 19 the Boers blew up a supply train at Clip River. Four severe Boer reverses then followed in quick succession. The Boers. 5.000 strong, were defeated by General French at Piet Retief February 22; DeWet's force was scattered by Colonel Plummer at Disselfontein, Orange River, February 23; General French captured 300 Boers, ammunition, cattle and supplies at Middleburg February 26; Lord Kitchener drove DeWet north of the Orange River, with a loss of 280 men captured. March 1. Lord Kitchener then granted General Botha a seven days' armistice to make communication with other Boer leaders, after which truce hostilities were resumed. The Boers captured a British supply train near Viaklaagte March 22, but were defeated three days later near Vryheid by General French. On March 27 Fourie's commando and Bruce