MOROCCO'S FATE.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1389, 15 March 1912, Page 5

MOROCCO'S FATE.

♦ — : — FRANCO-SPANISH DIFFERENCES. By Teleeraph-Freas AssiteUtion-dopyrlishl , Paris, March 13. t The "Figaro" and other newspapers i warn Spain that sho should make concessions regarding the Tangier-Fez railway unless she desires Franco alone, to organise a protectorate over Morocco. POINTS.Ar ISSUE. Three main points are in dispute be- . tween France and Spain with regard to Morocco. The first point, states "The rimes," consists in the fact that, accord- ■ ing to French accounts, the French Government still claims that tho Sultan ! should retain general sovereignty over the whole of Morocco, including the Spanish zone, and that he should exercise authority in that zone by the issue of edicts from Fez. Spain replies that, as Franco is about to institute a protectorate, and will therefore in practice control and inspire the Sultan's decisions, the submission of the Spanish zono to an authority over which Spain could exert no influence would practically amount to its submission to France. To this arrangement Spain very naturally is unable to consent. France, on tho other hand, interprets the Franco-German Treaty ns giving her exclusive diplomatic and other rights in Fez. Tho second subject of negotiation is the railwny from Fez to Tangier, which, according to the new Franco-German ' Convention, must be constructed before any other in Morocco. A section of it will pass through the Spanish zone, and its terminus will presumably be in tho international zone at Tangier. France considers that the whole lino ought to be under Shereefian control, to which Spain objects. It is probable that this difference will prove more easy to adjust than No. 1. Tho third difficulty concerns the collection of Customs at points in the Spanish zone. The service of the Moroccan loans of 1901 and 190 Cis guaranteed by the Customs. The Spanish Governnießt,'which finds difficulty in collecting the Customs, and probably also objects to paying what might look like tribute to a Sultan under French protection, desires to assume direct responsibility for the payment of the coupons in advance. The French Government holds that it cannot modify its obligations to tho holders of this stock by transferring any part of them to Spain. An arrangement with Spain could only be made at different dates when these loans aro redeemable.