Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY, AUGUST 24, 1905. THE MOROCCAN SITUATION.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXVII, Issue 3564, 24 August 1905, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY, AUGUST 24, 1905. THE MOROCCAN SITUATION.

Of late Morocco and its relations with France and Germany has been brought conspicuously before the public attention, through the medium of the cable newsman. The necessarily brief references thus made to the question, however, have not served to give a clear idea of its real importance. Some observations recently published by Mr R. N. L. Johnston, an erstwhile British Consul in Morocco, possess at this juncture a special interest. In his opinion th 0 Ulemas, or learned Moslem priests, control the situation, and everything, so far as the foreigner is concerned, depends upon the attitude they take up. One of these summed up the position in the following words, which arc typical of the views of his learned brethren : “What do you w-ant of us, you Christians ? Do we owe you money ? We can, and will, pay you. Have we invaded your land ? Did we beg you to come and reside on our soil ? Have we not continually discouraged your so doing ? You say our country is ‘ disturbed,’ that the Government is weak, and so on. Is that your affair or ours? Surely your steamers which brought you here can take you back again to your own shores ? What have you done that we should love you ? You have taught many of us. a. nation of water-drinkers, to be drunkards. You have also smuggled into our country magazine rifles by the thousand, and sold them, at 100 per cent, profit, to our rebels, causing the very mischief you complain of. You have first duped and then betrayed our Sultan. Now you say you will help us to govern. We decline your help.” Then the priest resumed his recital: “AVe are told, in the writing of Allah, ‘ 0, true Believers, take not the Jews or Christians for your friends’; and, again, ‘O, true Believers, take not the unbelievers for your protectors.’ You would help ou Sultan to repress rebellion, and we are to allow you to slaughter our erring brethren? Never 1 AA’lien we have declined your pacific intervention, what then ? You will use force ? So be it* AVe also shall fight, for our land, our families, our dead saints, and our living faith, AVith this difference —we trust in our God ; you have none.” If, says Mr Johnston, Frnncc requires an army of 150,000 men to over-awe her native subjects in her Algerian colony, in Morocco she has to face this even more solid set of circumstances: Half a million men,' of the plains and of the mountains, are there, hardy and enduring, accustomed from early youth to carry arms, inured to long marches by night and by day, and every man of them is resolved to fight to the death for the land and the Faith.