FRANCE AND BRITAIN

Waikato Argus, Volume V, Issue 354, 15 October 1898, Page 2

FRANCE AND BRITAIN

THE FASHODA DIFFICULTY. LORD ROSEBERY'S OPINION. (BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH—COPYRIGHT). Paris, October 13. Major Marchand is likely to withdraw from Fa'shoda spontaneously, thus extricating the Government from a difficult position. A semi-official note which has been issued in Paris with reference to Fashoda states that the British and French claims in the Upper Nile in volve an old question preceding the speech made by Sir Edward Grey, formerly Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, in 1895, when he declared that the occupation of Fashoda by France would be regarded as an unfriendly act. The note adds that neither British nor French occupation of the disputed territory would be mutually exclusive. M. Delcasse's telegram to Major Marchand, forwarded through Sir H. Kitchener, has been delivered, and Major Marchand's reply is expected on the 17th. London, October 13. The Standard says that M.Delcasse, as the originator of the idea of a French post on the Nile, will probably resign. Lord Rosebery, in the course of a speech at Epsom, stated that the situation at Fashoda was one of extreme gravity. No Government receding from the policy enumerated by Sir Edward Grey could survive a week. The situation was doubly grave because the act committed by France was with the knowledge that Great Britain would regard it as an unfriendly act. He declared that Lord Salisbury would be backed by a united nation, and it was a disastrous mistake to suppose that the ancient spirit of Great Britain was dead. St. Petersburg, October 13. The Press, discussing the Fashoda incident, urges that the rival claims be submitted to arbitration.