The Southern Cross. PUBLISHED WEEKLY. Invercargill, Saturday, July 29. THE TROUBLE IN SIAM.

Southern Cross, Volume 1, Issue 18, 29 July 1893, Page 8

The Southern Cross. PUBLISHED WEEKLY. Invercargill, Saturday, July 29. THE TROUBLE IN SIAM.

France, ■which fared so badly in its little wars with Tonquin some years ago, has got another affair of the kind on hand. This time, however, the interests involved are such that exceedingly grave consequences —no less indeed than the outbreak of hostilities between between Britain and France and Russia —may ensue. The scene of operations is the Kingdom of Siam, which has been described as the “ buffer ” State between French and British interests on one side of India, as Afghanistan stands between Russian and British interests on the other. The quarrel between France and Siam, which has resulted in the latter Power orderiiig the blockade of Siam’s capital (Bankok), arose through the slaughter, some months ago, of a French convoy when taking a Siamese mandarin across the Mekong river. The French claimed this as within their territory, and although the King of Siam offered either a pecuniary or a territorial indemnity, his proposals, after the usual course of diplomatic delays, were rejected, and his capital is now menaced by a French fleet. China as well as Britain has a big say in the matter, and it is hard to tell where the difficulty will end. It is scarcely likely that La Belle France will be allowed without protest to work her own sweet will on the peaceful Siamese, and it is to be hoped that the “ common sense of most ” will yet prevail among Britain’s neighbours, and put an end to the disquieting demonstrations of which the cable messages have been so full of late.