The sun., 1893-07-27

strategy over numbers. seems once more t
be Illustrated in a striking manner.
France Condemned by Public Opinion
A few weeks ago. tho French republic
commanded the sympathy OF every civil
lied country In the world with the exception
OF the States included In the Triple Alliance
and even in Italy and Austria she had
multitude Of friends. AS between France
| and England. there is no doubt that Amer
ica's prepossessions were enlisted In fayol
OF the former power. In our day, such 0
concurrence Of feeling and Of opinion Is
tremendous moral force which no states
man would undervalne. Yet this inesti-
| mable advantage has been thrown away by
| the politicians. who. for the moment, are
directing the course OF France in the Sia.
mese affair. The Cabinet council convoked
| on Tuesday by President CARNoT to con-
slider Slams reply to the French ulti-
matum had an opportunity Of gaining a
handsome pecuniary indemnity and a
large cess:on OF territory without any
further defiance Of international law. and
without risking serious international COM
pllcatlons. The opportunity was missed
y
to force far more than justice would have
awarded. has been ncontemptuously repelled;
and the result is. that the gathering storm
must be faced by France without an ally or
well-wsher; for we believe that Russia is
too wisc to incur any share Of the odium
which has been wantonly provoked
Diplomatic papers are usually dry read
ing. and yet the reply made on Saturday by
the Siamese Government to the French ulti-
matum may be described as pathetic doc
ument. 1t begins by declaring willing
ness to surrender any territory to which
the countries protected by France can es.
tablish just claim: and 1t proves the good
faith OF this assertion by pointing out, what
the French Foreign Office has studiously
concealed. namely. that Siam. five months
ago. proposed to submit all boundary dis
putes to arbitration. Why was this pro-
posal declined by France? Was it because
she knew her claims to be ill-founded, and
that she had much better chance of max
Ing them good by force than before n Judi
cial tribunal? =? Was the proposal to submit
to arbitration withheld from the French
people and the Chambers at the time when
1t was made. because President CARNoT and
for political effect. just before the general
election. which. as we know. is to take place
on Aug 20? 1t is hard to see how these
questions can be answered by fair-minded
men otherwise than In the affirmative.
Admitting that the Samese affair was
reserved by French politicians for election
eering purposes. we still find 1t difficult to
explain why the extraordinary concessions
e1torted from Siam on Saturday were not
accepted as amply sufficient for the end in
view. The concessions may well be called
extraordinary. for never before. except
at the close OF a disastrous war, have
such been made by any country formally
admitted within the pale Of international
law. ana. therefore, presumably possessing
the rights ofcivilized nations The Siamese
Government offered to make over at once
3.OoO.0OO francs. the full amount OF the
pecuniary Indemnity claimed by France for
Injuries said to have been suffered bv her
citizens. At the same time, Siam requested
disclaiming. however, the inten-
ton of making the request condition, that
a mixed tribunal might be appointed to de-
termine the actual damages incurred, and
the hope that. should this fall |
u,Ln
would be returned by the French Govern |
nent. DID ever alamb appeal more meekly |
20 wolf! AS regards the boundary ques-
ion, the Minister of Foreign Affairs at
Bangkok spoke in the same propitiatory
spirit. Deploring the refusal OF France TO
submit the controversy regarding frontiers
% arbitration. or even to define her claims.
siam, he said. would yield to force SO far as
% cede all the territory on the left bank OF
he Mekong River south OF the eighteenth
legree north latitude. that is to say, would
rive up large and populous region stretch
ng across more than four degrees of lati-
ude. for the northern border of Cambodia
owhcre quite touches the fourteenth de-
rec. AS regards the islands in the river
ying opposite the tract thus coded, Siam
nade The equitable suggestion that the use
i them should be common to the conter-
linous States.
why was the eighteenth degree of lati-
ude selected by Siam as the northern limit
the territory which she offered to sur
ender? Because. in their recent attempt
make good by force the shadowy claim
the defunct Annamite empire to the ter
tory occupied by the Siamese on the east
ahk OF the Mekong. the French have never
espatched an expedition further north
nan the eighteenth degree. Secondly. be-
ause. at point just above the eighteenth
egree, the course Of the Mekong River.
'acing 1t backward, for convenience, trends
larply toward the southwest and proceeds
that direction for more than hundred I
iies' until. forming right angle, it re-
lines Tor some distance northward I
'urse. The quadrangular region of which {
he Mekong thus forms the southern and 6
esterp boundaries. would. II ceded to the !
Fench. adr9t them close to the heart Of q