New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-04-23
SnlfE nLpLON1TIC RY.PLAT.


din of military preparations in France was pre-
ccJcd by q bnzz Of boulevard gossip. The rU-
NOR was revived that during the negotiations
at Berlin In 1875 Lord Salisbury had ASSURED
NJ. Waddington that England was indiiicr-
cnt to what WAS going on IN Northern
Africa. and that the French might deal with
Tunis w they pleased. Not long after
ward came the idngs that the raids OF the
Kroumrs rendered the Algerian frontier unin-
habitablc and that the Tunisan principally
WAS 10 Zoe invaded 10y French army. Italian
constituencies mt once took offence. The Minis
try were brought face 10 face with serious p"lil-
zeal crisis. Premier Carroll, when asked whether
the declarations attributed 10 Lord salisbury by
the French press were correct, explained that
in 1873 Lc had been assured 10y the British For
cign Office that il had never consented to the
occupaIion Of Tunis, aud that moro recently
an explicit denial had been obtained from
Lord Salisbury. st this point the Paris cor
respondent Of the leading English Journal CON
sdcrs it his patriotic duty To "dispcl all am
bi.uiity" by publishing a confidential dispatch
from Lord Salisbury To Lord Lyons dated
August :, 1878, in which the correctness OF
VI. Waddngion's rccollcctionS Of their CONVEX
eations at Berlin relating to the Iuni-ian qu"--
ton is acknowledged. The French Premier hid
made a minute Of these conversations and sent
it 10 London, and after some hesitation Lord
Salisbury bad confirmed H. accuracy, at the
same time defining without reserve E'slands
position in regard 10 Iuuis. \ single sentence
shows how uucquiyocal WIS the response.
Even the fall Of the Bry'~ Government, were
at to come about. would in no way change
1.-THE attitude Of England. who has 40 inter
"csts Of her own there, and who wonld IN
"that case do nothing to disturb the harmony
existing between the two countries
The only inference to bc drawn from this
confidential memorandum Il that the replies
made to the Italian Government in 1873 were
misleading and dSingrnuons Lord Salisbury
had discussed with NJ. Wlddington the cXpcd-
cncy Of French occupation OF lunis, ana
when asked to give formal expression OF
his views had declared that England would
consent to the overthrow of the Bey. If he
had said, "Now that you have the chance,
take Tuns just ~ we have taken Cyprus,
and We shall not object his meaning would
not have been clearer. He even went 30 far
n Ia Justify the annexation Of Tunis on the
GrDiIu bl lnf iIllil-ill l'l'fN WIN u wv ~ Nv ~
were compelled to maintain in Algeria and
the work of civilizations they were accomplish
ing on the African Continent " to the deep ad-
miration of her Majrsty's Government Yet
when the Italian Premier asked If there was
an, understanding between the French and
English Governments in regard to tins qucs-
ton he received prompt denial. and only
few weeks ago hc Wa officially informed 10y
the British Ambassador that Lord Salisbury
had strongly denied the engagements attllh-
uird tn him Under these circumstances II Is
not strange that the lIri, Correspondent OF III"
h4dmr I.ondon journal, who had occn the
on.nh mcmurinduiu, was mot merely sur-
pri,,d, but -iupciird" when hr rad full
report of Premier Cui"l'- speech.
The .amc Journal while making n sharp dis
nnction between tbc business Of the Berlin
Observation-Disclosures, d. ciuhndlcd in the treaty
and the prolocol,, and casual oh-cr'lfi"u, Of
which 40 written record Va made 81 Tic tine,
remarks, with fine irony, CHAT the incident
ought tn teach Epcli-l s,aic.urn, when they
enter into the sphere of Continental diploma
r,, not 10 carry with them the oTp1'.itc hah-
ia ~ domestic rrlitic,." That j. 10 NV, they
olglt t., be- more prudent and circuueP,,i not
allowing thmrrkcs 10 bo drawn upon 80
freely whenever "A Continental Statesman in
dulecs h- taste for diplomatic rcinini,-
crlccs. a more Obvious moral might
have been pointed. English statesmen ought
never to have renowned habits of plain
s.rcch and honest dealing. Having made IL
secret compact with Russia and thns forrstallcd
the action of the Powers, and having negotiated
another secret treaty with the Porte, and thus
ontwittrd Russia, Lord Salisbury was anxious
to remove any source of irritation between
France and Great Britain and voluntarily ac-
oniesccd in an annexation scheme which had
never been seriously entertained in Paris Yet
when the Italian Premier asked for plain an
swcrs to plain questions, the replies were 80
ar,hipuous as TO quiet his suspicious and to
sntisfy him that England had not consented to,
much less suggested an arrangement by which
the French would have gained a stronghold
whence Naples and Sicily might some day be
easily attacked. There wac prcyarication and
deception somewhere in the Foreign Office
precisely "a there had been an cquivOcal denial
of the authenticity of the text of the Schouva-
loft memorandum, and an equally disngenuous
contradiction of Lord Derby's explanation Of
the real ground of his resignation.
INTEMPERANCE And CRIME.