New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-12-23
FRANCE IN ANAM.
STORIES IN AND OUT OF THE YELLC V
BOOK.

Rochefort wittily saws of theYelow Book on Ton
auin After trying TO starve miserable lit
tie egg given from to time, Ferry now endeavors
to kill us of indigestion with his great ill-cooked
omelet" This official communication is in two
ponderous volumes. 1t contains 295 dispatches
| accounts Of interviews, and the Treaty of 1874,
which was imposed the MacMahOnan Government
on Anam This treaty is the of the present dis
putc between France and China 1t is long, hypOcritf
cal ambiguous in its terms and might have been the
work Of pettifOgging lawyer who wanted TO make
sure of future employment for himself ana
some of his legal brethren. The author was the
Duo de Broglie whose natural bent and lifelong
practice urges him to cquivocate and beat around
bushes What he aimed at in framing this instru-
ment was to annex tho whole of the Anamite terri
tory to the French possession of Cochin China UNI
der the disguise of proectorate. observe IN the
instructions sent out to Admiral Duperre, who was
naval commander in 1S74-75-70 of the lndo-
Chinese station to NJ. Myre de Vilers, who was
Governor Of Cochin China in the above named aud
subsequent years to NJ. Reinhart. who was Resi-
dent at the Court of Hue, and to COmte de la
Rochonart who was French Ministerat Pekin, thar
they were to a void making use of tho word pro
tectorate" and to remember that it did not occur
in the treaty, although no doubt the
French negotiatOrs would have wished
TO bring it into that document. But
they were TO act IN q manner to imply that
protect0rate was virtually if not nOmnally constl-
tinted by the treaty. There were many clauses
which would appear to Justify this Wow and
they were to be invoked, but not with too
much distnctness. One of them laid down that
Anam was not to change the actual state of ts
diplomatic relations with any foreign Power.
In very short time it discovered that the ORR
entails of the Indo-ChneSe Peninsula AID OF the
Celestial Empire were more clever than the Due
de Broge, ard that his equivocatiOns were made
use of by them to slip out of treaty obligations.
Inls75 Germany, it may he remembered, threat
cncd France with another invasion. The danger
was averted by the fir eadly action of the Gar Alex
andcr H. toward the menaccd Power. Under the IN
nneucc of fear there was for short time DIS
position at the Foreign Office t. follow policy
# concentration. aud to be guided by Admiral
Dupcrrc. who saw that there were only two courses
TO pursue in Tia, East. bullying policy, II II
would not be attended with danger at homo, might
be a good one But if it couh not safely BE- en-
barkcd npon an honest wOuld better be resorted
10. When he wrote home to this effect, his
dispatches at first told. He was asked to be more
precise in stating his views In obedience to this
Injunction he informed the Duke aud the Minister
Marine that the treaty of Hue was stumbling
block to France in the lndp-Chinese Peninsula.
and would be cause OF incessant disputes IN
which she would get the NoISt, ulltHN
she could make up her mind to go seriously to
war lie therefore. was of the opinion that that
instrument should be revised and the relative
posifions of France aud Auam clearly defined All
ilca of disguised protectorate sh'ul! In ms
opinion. be abandoned and no article retained that
did not relate TO the Opening OF ports
IN foreign commerce on conditions analogous 10
those observed in China and Japan He advised
the suppression of marine guards for the C0nsuls.
These guards were looked upon by the natives "A
the nucleus of a French army and were therefore
cause of suspicion and irritation at the Court of
Hue. TO abato the i'll will which the treaty had
given rise TO in China. the Admiral was for abolish
ing at once the article which prevented Tnduc
from entering into diplomatic relations with for
cign powers. Would it not also be polite he sug-
vested to charge the Auamltes with all the official
business of the TOnquin custom honsesf
Unfortunately, tho sentiment fear of Bismarck
when the scare blew over died ont and wisdom to
great extent with it. Instead of being guided by
the Admiral, the Due Decales. who had been
struck with the false position Of the Eench
consular and other agents at the Court OF
Hue and in Tonquin, ordered what he called
a" deep inquiry" into the questions which Admiral
Dnperr6 had raised. The heads of tho bureaus at
the Foreign Once and Marine Ministry naturally
wcro for keeping things they were. 80
was NJ Benoist d'Azy fis, who was Under Secretary
of State for the Colonial Department ut the Ma
rine Ministry, and interested in Dupuis specu-
latons and prepared to manage financial Jobs" in
Tonquin ports waterways and mines. Decazes
was probObly led to hope that when TonGuin bub
blcs were launched at the BourSo he would not be
forgotten by tho promoters. lie, therefore, took
| middle course between tortuous aud forward and
fair aud stralght-f ward policy. II
was to let things remain they
|
Court VI Hue aud assure the mandarns there
that IL tho Anamite Government faithfully exc
buted the clauses relative to the opening of the
ports, and the federation of all religious porsua-
! sions. there would never be any French armed
| intervention in the protected territory. Admiral
! Duperre submitted But he still ventured TO say
that II was not for the dignity of France to allow
! those clauses TO stand which would be openly in
| frnged.
In a short time he and NJ. Myre de vilers notified
the French Government that preparations were
being made to send an Anamte embassy to China
which on its knees TO offer there periodical
tribute to the Emperor and Empress from their
vassal, Tuduc. notice to this effect in
serted in The PekR Gazette. COmte dc Rochonant
and NJ. Myre do Viers thought the incident very
important one, and that if the embassy
was allowed to go to Pekn it would
DO tantamount to abdoation by France of her
claim to exercise q protectorate over Anam. Adj
miral Duperr6 thought the ambassadors should not
DO interfered with. If they were, France would
have to declare for policy of force. If she meddled
and was deied her position in the Delta would he
undigniied and untenable, unless she crushed re-
sistance. In any case, the Admiral thought the
Offering of the tribute only an historical survival and
of no Importance, This view was not accepted
in Paris. The Due Deoazes thought the
sending OF embassy at the end of regular
period for the purpose of acknowledging
the suzerainty of the Emperor of China,
would BIO very big event In q country WHARF