The St. Johns herald., 1892-03-24
MOROCCO'S MUDDLE.
Queer Diplomatic Relations with
 Other Nations.
A Rich Country That Would Be Co., Up but fir International JeaI ousies-The Canada
 of Spain.

OUS1cS-fle Ca2IltaOa
 of Spain.
 The rulers of Europe, endeavor now end then to impress his high1cs3. Malay Hassan, the sultan of Morocco, with a proper sense of their amiable feelings, says the New York Sun. Their hand some presents are jOyfully received by the Moorish potentate. though it is be- ieved he has never reciprocated in kind except on one occasion, namely, when he honOred with some rare specimens of Moroccan handiwork the ruler of Spain, whose military forces had badly trOunced his highess' own army years before. Some time ago he received from his great friend, the king of the Bel gians, about a mile of narrow-gauge railroad track with rolling stock com plete and of proportions adequate for the accommodation of the sultan and a few of his wives. Another great friend, Queen Victoria, has now sent to the sultan, as a proof of her thoughtful re- gard, an equally novel present, an h. dian elephant, adorned with gorgeous hCwdah. and the only animal of his species in Muley's wide domain.
 Morocco is in some respects unique among the nations. It is the only coun- try having diplomatic and business re- lations with most of the leading govern ments whose representatives do not live within a weeks journey of the capital. If white men are tolerated in the coast towns they are not wanted in the in- terior. Our consul general and those of the European states get no nearer to the Moroccan court than Tangier, and transact their affairs of state through the sultan's minister, who is kept there to act as intermediary; and as it is an eight to twelve days journey through the almost painless regions between the coast and Fez, or Morocco, the diplomatic relations between the sul- tan's palace and the outer world are conducted with truly oriental delibera- tion.
 Morocco is the only Mohammedan country having diplomatic relations with eight great governments in which a non-believer can enter a mosque only at the peril of his life. Europeans are forbidden by law to enter any mosque in the country, and even in Tangier, where half the population are non- Mohammedan, it is dangerous and fool hardy to make the attempt unless ac- companied by Mohammedan officials. Morocco opposes, also, far more strenu- ously than China the growth of western ideas or the development of western trade. She is the Canada of Spain, for Spanish criminals find safe refuge in her coast towns, and all Spains efforts to secure an extraditiOn treaty have been in vain.
 Rich as Morocco is in natural resour- ces above all other north African coun- tries, it is lucky for Muley Hassan's peace of mind that European rivalries have had the result to keep all hands off. A great deal of nonsense has been endured, actual affronts have been winlled at by the European powers, be- cause none of them is willing that an other shall take any step in Morocco that may give it an advantage.
 England thinks she has preeminent claims upon the country because she once possessed Tangier, and also be- cause she pulled the sultan out of his financial slough when he knew not where to turn for the money Spain de- manded as a war indemnity after the unpleasantness of 1860. Spain is firmly convinced that her interests are para mount because the country is her next door neighbor, because she already pos seSses Ceuta on Moroccan soil, and be- cause not few of her citizens have emigrated thither, many of them, she must admit, for their country's good. France cherishes the idea that Morocco would appropriately round out her Mo- hammedan possessions in north Africa, and, if the prize were hers, that AL geria's frontiers would be secure, and there would be no vexatious boundary questions. Germany and Italy, while having no preemption rights to advance, are firmly persuaded that the status quo must be preserved. So the powers real ly agree in nothing, so far as Morocco is concerned, except that none of them will be permitted by the others to pick any quarrel with Muley Hassan that might result in war conquest; and further, that all of them will exert themselves to keep on the right side of his highnesS, and will smile blandly on most things Moroccan except the pirates on the northern coast, who require a little European cannonading now and then to keep them in order. Morocco and her European wooers present a rather interesting spectacle.
 BRAVE AS A LION.
 < Connecticut Woman Who Conquered
 tho King of ReaStS