KING MAKING FOR A LIVING.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 324, 16 January 1909, Page 4

KING MAKING FOR A LIVING.

MODERN WARWICKS WHO ARE MOSTLY BRITISH.

Tim late Sultan of Morocco, Abdul Aziz, is a weak-mhided voung man who was kept on his throne entirely through the personality of that well-known Scotsman, Kaid itaclean. As soon us .Maclean #-as captured b\ brigands Aziz's sway criiinbled, and idI day the real ruler of .Morocco is ilulni |el llalid. Curiously enough, the usurpei has at his back- a syndicate of sh 'Englishmen, headed by'voung .Mr. Ash mead llartlett. Honey is always essential to one wh< I would attain a throne, and the English men proposed to raise the necessary casl in return for certain concessions, main ly railways and mineral leases. The-si are to lie granted as soon as the neti Sultan is iirmlv established on hi. throne. Africa has for many years past beei the favourite, hunting-ground for inei who would either be or make kings. Four or live veins ago a JSritisli sub ject. Mr.'Daniel Cloves, arrived fron Hie interior of the Portuguese town o Mozambique, lie went straight to tin (iovernor and told him that he had an nexed the territory of the chief Nan puta. and that he wished it recognise* as an independent State under the pro tectiou of England. Out of complimcn to the Portuguese lie proposed to eal the new kingdom Carmclia after Kin; Carlos and Queen Amelia. Nut unnaturally, the Governor Hath reffrsed to have'anything to do will the proposal. He put the kingdom tin der guard, and communicated with tin British Consul.

The hitter took 'hasty steps to get ill*. Groves out of the country, ami no more has been heard of the territory of Carmelia. Another extraordinary attempt at African king-making was made by the 'Frenchman, Captain Voulet, who was sent by his (lovernmcnt on a mission Into the centre} of the Sahara. Near a place called JJoniaugiir he fell in with a7i Arab chief, who seems to have, persuaded him to lend him his aid to conipier the surrounding tribes. • Humours of fierce lighting reached the Ministry of Colonies in Paris, and Colonel Klobb was sent out with Lieut. Meunier to take over command of the mission. The result was a dreadful tragedy. As soon as Voulet received word of the approach of Colonel Klobb, he sent back a message, to say that Colonel Klobb advanced at his peril. Of course, the Colonel took no notice of this extraordinary message, and at once hurried 1 When lie came within a couple of hundred yards of Voulet's camp, he saw the hitter's six hundred native troops jilrawn up in battle array. Captain 'Voulet shouted to him to stop, or he would fire! Colonel Klobb advanced. ''Fire!" shouted Voulet. and three volleys rang out in ipiick succession. Klobb fell ilea.l. shot through the head. Meunier also was killed, and so were nine of his men. Ten were badly wounded; the rest ran away. •|'he wretched Voulet paid for his crime with his life. The most famous of recent king-mak-ing expeditions was that of Jacques Lebaudy, son of a millionaire sugar-broker. He sailed in his yacht Frasquita with the intention of making himself F.inpcror of the Western Sahara, lie made a dreadful mess of the whole business, and, so far from increasing his riches, dropped several thousand pounds.

Another African king-maker who failed, in his enterprise was Mulndzi. a .Muhoinedan '.Mullah, who for a time gave the British Central African authorTlics no cud of trouble. His idea was to turn I'gamla into an empire, with JlcPogo, the ex-King, as ils head, He was rather a clever conjurer, and worked several so-called miracles, which brought a number of followers to his standard. Hut some of them ovciiluallv betrayed him, and he disappeared from the country. The late' King of Korea was kept on his throne up to Ihe date of the Japanese conquest entirely by the pers ilitv of that brilliant Scotsman. Jlr. McLcip'v Brown. ..*■!s; Less familiar in our ears is the storv of Sir T. Sailer Pyne. Afghanistan's king-maker. It is .safe to snv thai but for Sailer I'yne there would' to-dnv be no Amir of Afghanistan, and probably no Afghan mftioii at all. iP.vne went to Afghanistan more than twenty years ago, and became chief engineer to the (lovernment. He built" factories for making small iirm.s and cannon, also a mini: he started soap, candle, and distilling work--: and was so trusted by his Koval master that he was actually scut a's his Ambassador to India in lS'.r.S. It is readily agreed that lie saved the .situation, which was rapidly verging on war. lie was publicly thanked by the British linvcruincnl'. and was decorated by the Amir.