Silver Standards

The 1889 Havana treaty confirmed the standardisation of an international currency to encourage trade between the major powers. Signatories of the initial treaty included the empires of Spain, Britain  and  Germany, and the United States  and Confederacy.
The success of the silver standard as it became know  encouraged other countries to join, until almost the entire world was using the standard.
In many places this has now replaced local currency, you can go into a gentleman's outfitters in Truro and spend Standards or Sterling.

News Of The World 1st December 1896

‘The awful catastrophe which occurred at the Boyne railway bridge on the last Sunday of November  is still the all-absorbing theme of conversation in the community…’

A section of the Boyne Bridge collapsed during heavy rain on the night of 29th November 1896, and, tragically, a Dublin-bound train plunged into the freezing waters of the river, with the loss of 57 lives (although some estimate the loss to have been 75 lives).
Initial investigation  believes subsidence under the support columns led to the collapse with some experts saying the old seabed needs longer to settle before buildings such  things.
A memorial service is to be held this Sunday at Christ church cathedral at 7 o'clock. 

Mr Arthur De Bausset unveils his new airship 1889

Mr Arthur De Bausset’s new hybrid airship uses a combination of revolutionary vacuum cells alongside existing hydrogen cells to create a safer ship with greater lift than any previous types.  Working alongside German designer Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, the two remarkable men have created a revolution in modern transport.

Tickets for the maiden voyage of the AS Artemis have already sold out and the ship is still being fitted for passengers, the demand has seen tickets changing hands for handsome sums.

United States navy has apparently expressed interest as has the Imperial German navy.

These new craft should reopen the broken communications that once tied us altogether, we are looking at a turning point in the history of the world.

Ladies and gentlemen, the future has arrived.

 

Reply to the Times Prof. Bryndon Barr

Nothing astounds me so much as the ignorance of learned men. The squabble between Mr Chamberlain  and Mr Swettenham is unseemly and as pointless as is any plan, German or British, to fortify a swamp.
The area in question is an expanse of salt water Marsh, lagoons and at best very low hills with constantly shifting waterways that make navigation almost impossible. The flat lands are dangerously vulnerable to flooding and the geological instability of the midatlantic makes the risk of tidal waves a constant. We can all remember the loss of the six West coast colonies four years ago for this very reason.
A far more sensible way to secure the Rhine approach would be to invest in these new ships of the air.
Another alternative to this militant approach is to move the capital to somewhere else, Bristol for example, good access to the sea, good infrastructure, canals, roads and rail links. Dublin would be another candidate.  Both of these  cities are secure from external aggression and both have good working port facilities, in fact most of the imports in London come through Bristol. London only remains our capital because tradition and history make it so, but we should remember there have been changes before.

Extract from an Open letter from Edmund Swetenham MP to the times June 1890

With Chamberlain tying himself in knots trying not to offend the Germans he seems to have forgotten that the southern channel plains are in fact French sovereign territory.  German expansionary policy was one of the major contributing factors that lead us to the current state of affairs.

While I understand that France is in effect a wilderness, it is for us, the better off nations, to aid in the rebuilding of that once great nation.

We as a nation should also consider whether friendship with a nation that since 1872 has annexed or absorbed much of Eastern Europe. The only thing Germany lacks is a secure Atlantic port.

Joseph Chamberlain MP addresses the house June 1890

"It has come to our attention that in response to the continuing problems of piracy along the Atlantic Coast and banditry around the Normandy Reach, that the German empire intends to builds a fort at the mouth of the Rhine.

 

While this would most definitely benefit our trading fleets it does however hand a strategic advantage to the Germans. In the unlikely event that our two nations should ever come into conflict the gateway to the continent would be denied to us.

 

Needless to say, that would be an unacceptable position to find ourselves.

 

My proposal therefore, is to establish an outpost on the northern entrance to the estuary where we can maintain the security of the British people without threatening our neighbours. "

transcript of an interview with Musketeer Torsten Bauer 24/5/1892

“I was there, I saw it. My squad was assigned station just outside Clamart.

I was watching the road that night, it was dark as you would expect, and quiet except for the sound of the guns.
 Anselm noticed them first, a crowd of refugees coming up the road. They were running, we shouted "halt, stop" but they kept coming, we shot above their heads but still they came. Sergeant Becker ordered us to shoot them, but they still came on, running through us, civilians and soldiers. 

  They ignored us in their haste to escape, refusing to stop and answer us until Becker grabbed a soldier by the arm and pulled him from the mass. “Why do you run?” he said, the soldier tried to pull away, a look of terror in his eyes. Sergeant Becker slapped him “Pull yourself together.” He shouted in French “you are a soldier.” the man regained his composure, remembered who he was, “The devil has come, and his minions have the city. Run, run for your lives.”

Becker let go of the Frenchman, but he did not re-join the crowd. “Sergeant can I stay with you?” Becker gave him that look that only sergeants can give. “I should not have run, can I defend my people from here?” Becker ordered us to take the man into custody and some others to watch the road.

Over the next few hours the refugees continued to pass our position. We questioned a few others but got similar gibberish from them. Then about midnight we heard the sounds of fighting. Becker, Anselm and I climbed up a bank to get a better view. In the distance smoke and flashes of musketry could be seen. Militia fighting and retreating towards us? This did not make sense. Becker ordered our squad to take up positions, but not to fire until ordered. A young Feldwebelleutnant came running up to the sergeant at this point. “Orders from the Major hold the line, let the Frenchie’s through, or let them join you, it’s up to you.” Then he was gone.

Confusion was now showing on the face of the NCO’s, and fear was beginning to take hold and we hadn’t even seen the cause yet. We didn’t have to wait for long. As the French drew closer, shapes began to emerge from the smoke. First we thought it was just the way smoke makes shapes and pictures, but then things seemed to solid, too real, winged things, two and a half three metres tall things. Things with muscles and swords that slashed at the soldiers, killing them at whim. Musket fire and bayonets seemed as nothing, sure some fell but not enough. Our guns joined the French. Bang bang bang, soon our rifles became too hot. We fell back, shoulder to shoulder with the men we had been fighting only twelve hours before. The demons came on, nothing could stop them, killing everything, everyone.

Daylight saved us. The sunrise that day was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. At the touch of the sunlight the beasts disappeared, the Devils minions cannot abide the light.

I truly believe if it were not for the sun, they would have destroyed us all.”