Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1881-04-28
France and Tunis.

On the African coast of the Meditel
ranean, about midway between tn
mouth of the Nile and the Strait o
Gibralter, lies the little barbaric despot
ism of Tunis. Its shape is that of
parallelogram, with longest sides run
ming north and south, and fanked b.
the French colony of Algers toward
the west and by Tripoli on the east
1t has frontage of about us miles OF
the sea, taking in the site of Carthage
which is the nearest point of land il
Africa to the coast of Sicily, the dis
tance being but little more than tina
which separates the Isle of Cypru
from Syria 1t is one of the five Mos
lem States conquered from the Romans
in the seventh century, namely, Mo
rocco, Algiers, Tunis, TripOli and Egypt
and ever since then. with one excep
ton, more or less independent. Th,
exception is Algiers, which was con
quered by France, and is now Il toler
ably prosperous French colony, kept
quiet by a standing army of 10000 t
! 10000. South Of these five states i,
the great Sahara desert, 5000 miles
long from east to west, with an aver
age width Of l,4OO miles from north tc
south, with here and there IN oasis,
but without river or watcr-cOursc Of
any consequence South Of this vast
desert waste lies the extensive and
fruitful regions of the SCudan and
Scncgambia, extending from Lake Te-
had, on the east, to the Atlantic ocean
on the west, and watered by the Niger
and the river system which forms that
great lake. The French government
has planned, and to a certain extent,
assisted Il French company in survey
ing line Of railway to connect its
colony of Algicrs with the Soudan.
The route, Of course, pcnetratcs the
desert from north to south, and in part
the little State of Tunis, with which
treaty was made cOncedng that right.
The scheme is regarded by French
engineers as altogether feasible If
successfully carried out it would open
to European settlement and civilization
Il region greater in extent than all the
Safes of Africa fronting on the Mediter-
ranean ocean, and richer in resources,
agricultural, mineral and commercial.
1t encounters no opposition from Eng
land, nor from Spain, nor from Egypt,
nor from Turkey. But it does, or at
least is supposed TO, excite the jealousy
Of Italy, who naturally does not like to
see Il great military pOwer-as that
would be should France carry out her
plans-e established so close to her
Sicilian possessions; the more especial
ly as the mother of such military
power threatens Italy from beyond the
Alps.
The subjects of the Bey of Tunis,
whether stirred thereto by him or by
Italian emissarieS, have suddenly mani
tested hostility to the further con-
structiOn of the road and, at latest ac-
counts, this had led to a collision of
armed forces the Tunisians having
crossed into Algiers to attack a French
camp or fortress. In fact, war is now
the word, and the fighting is begun.
Tunis has next to no regular army
5000 all told. France has $4,000 to
10000 regulars in Algiers, and these
will suffice to make short work with
the Bey unless he speedily disavOws
and Furnishes the acts of his subjects
against the Algerians. The only cir
cumstance that can prolOng the strug-
gle is Il taking up of the Tunisian
cause by Italy, which would he a calam-
ity to civilization in Africa, and in all
likelihood find sympathy amongnone of
the great Powers. For naval warfare |
Italy is probably better prepared than
France. She possesses ironclads, such |
us the DamiOl0, DuIio, ItGlM and |
Lepdnto, which would be sufficient to
destroy any naval force France could |
send to reinforce Algiers; but on land
she would be no sort of match for the
French army as it has been re-organ-
lied and REINFORCED since 1871. The
is that Italy, on second
thought, will not venture upon a war
with the French, and that Tunis, if
her Bey does not make prompt and
ample amends for the acts of his sub
jccts, will he attacked from Algiers,
overwhelmed, and swallowed up as a
French colony. That is the result for
which civilization should, at least,
hope.