The Hawaiian gazette., 1893-11-14
TEE RECENT TROUBLE BETWEEN
FRANCE AND ITALY.

From 81 exchange We oondenss
the following sketch Of the labor
troubles in South France, which
nearly caused war between that
country and Italy;
The excitement caused by the
bloody fracss at Aigues-MorteS was a
| very disagreeable reminder how easily
France and Italy might come to blows.
/ AigueS-Mortes is s small town noted
for its salt works, in the southeast of
France, not very far from Mines. The
introduction OF 500 italian laborerS st
one OF the salt works led to bad blood
between the new corners and the
Frenchmen, who regarded the Itali-
ans SIS ''blacklegs" and ''scabs' and
"knobSticks,n TO use the three techni-
cal terms employed by the English,
Americans and Australians TO describe
the workman who works for less than
the standard rate Of wages. Bicker-
ings rapidly developed, not fighting,
and as all these southern wor6men
are armed, il wss no mere affair Of
fisticuffS. When two Frenchmen were
killed. the French workmen rose en-
mSSSe and hunted down the Italians
as If they had been wild beasts. In
vain the police and gendsrmes en-
deSvOned 10 separate the Infatuated
eombatants. The Italians. although
outnumbered and besieged in harri-
caded fsrmSteads, fought savsgely,
and ii is estimated that fifty were
killed and one hundred and fifty
wounded on both sides before the ar
rival OF the SoldieTy stopped the blood
shed. The Italians being cleared out,
the mayor issued an astonishing pro-
clamation cOngratulating the towns
men upon their success and the COM /
plete satisfaction Of their demands. Il 4
Is satisfactory 10 know that this func- Z
tionary vas promptly made 10 resign, Z
but his proclamation sheds q sinister 4
gleam Of light upon the state Of French /
sentiment in the district.
The immediate result Of the blood 4
shed in AigueS-Nortes was 3 series I
Of popular demonstrations against /
France in the italian cities, which
might very easily have brought about
the lOng-eXpeCteG war. Angry mObS
in Rome attacked the French en-
oassy. snd II wss not without consid-
cradle display OF armed fouce that the
Italian government was able TO pre-
vent the populaee from looting the
embassy. In other cities no1e or less
serious attacks were made upon 1
Frenehmen, and in one case the tram
ears OF 3 French company burned.
Fortunately, il suited neither govern
nent TO allow the passion of the mob
70 precipitste s general war, and
hence both ST Rome and ST Paris
every disposition was shown to accept
he official explanations, and to de-
,lare the incident ST an end. The
'auSs causans Of the incident is, how
.veT, by no means ST an end. That is,
he influx of foreign labor into France. /
The French census returns published
sst month show that the number OF
oreigners in France rises even more
apldly than the French population
ieclines. In ISL there were only
5, S07 Italians in France; in 1881 their
lumber had risen to 3S6,042. Forty
ears ago foreigners of all Mathematics
iomiciled in France only numbered
81, 900; today they number 1-lS0. 211.
-he Belgians alone number 465, $50.
The Belgian, the Italian and the
spSnisrd represent to the French
workman the danger with which Chi
lese cheap labor menaces the Austria
ian and the Californian.