Treaties Within Treaties

Enumerating the various open treaties aud secret and yet more secret understandings aruorjg Enropean nations, The Review of Reviews says: Itis ourious to noticehowmany agreements, secret and otherwise, either exist or have existed quite recently in Europe. To begin with, there is the triple alliance between Gormany, Austria and Italy. Thore is the Bussian alliance. There is on Italian-Russian treaty, concluded by M. de Giers when ho was ai Monza, by whlch Italy promises Russia that in any action taken uitder the provisions of the triplo allianco Italy will confine herself to strictly dofensive action. Then there was until 1890 a secret ngroement between Russia and Germany by which each agreed to observe reciprocal neutrality in case they were attaeked by any other power. Again, there is- or thero is reported to be - a triple agreement between Austria, Italy and England by which the throe powers agree to act together in the Ottoman empire, an understanding in virtue of which Austria and Italy prepared to support the action of Lord Salisbury when, at the beginning of his administration. he proposed to coerce the Turk by o naval demonstration at Constan tinople. There is besides these the AngloTurkish convention by virtue of which, as long as England continúes in occupation of Cyprus, she is bound to defend the sultan against any Russian attack upon his eastern frontier. There is also an old treaty botween England, Austria and France, entered into on tho eve of the Crlmean war, guaranteeing tho independence and integrity of the Ottoman empire, but this would have been regarded as practically superseded had it not been referred to by Lord Rosobery as being still in esistence. Add to this an alleged private treaty between Eussia and Denmark that in caso of war between Russia and Germany Denmark will act as tho ally of Russia in consideration ot the restitution of north Sleswick. If, therrfore, the peaco of Earope is not eufficiently guaranteeil, it will not be for want of leagues and alliances. When the real bistory of the last quarter of the ninteenth century in the western hemisphero comes to be writteu, one of itsgreatest men will be President Porfirio Diaz of Mexico. He fouml his country, when he carne to the presidency, a turbulent, half governcd, insurrectiouary nation, in the condition in which 80 many of the South and Central American república are today. Ho has silenced opposition and bas cultivated by all means in his power the civilizing arts of peace. When begoesoufcof office at the expiration of his fifth term, the one on which he is now entering, he will leave his country with revenues adequate to her expenditures, with manufactures prospering and increasing in all parta, several railways crossiug the whole of Mexico, agriculture flourishing and the quaint and iuteresting city of Mexico itself brought fully tip to date in modern improvements. Diaz will be recognized iu history as the greatest "hustler" of his time on tbis continent. And his efforts have been directed toward aggrandizing his country rather than hiniself.