The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1895-04-27

n ttgs ltt with eneTg and deternaln 20
u prevent successful invasion OF Great
4 Britain, though it is mucn to ps dohOtea
whether an really competent l5fiAlssaA
( soldier or sailor really Believes 1t, g bs
IS possible for England single handed 70
y rla tntain tn such a war either what Is
called che Integrity Of the empire or
& the dominion Of the seas. But lts.f1 rs
5,sa most Trustworthy proof OF the pro-
81 found change produced in the TeiatIYe
position Of the great powers Of Europe BY
\ the esta blisilmant Of the German empire
I and The Gnificeticn OF italy thar the
NJ llatlVtnisni Of France has gradually Dut
sTisfhly veered about from Icoking to-
y ward the Rhine into looking toward the
'HSlsri.ish Channel, ana that the 'jlngols1n
4 q gland has gradually but Nislply
Z yesred about from looking toward hos
4 phorl1s and Russia into looking toward
fftfe Nile, the Niger, and the African
3 IL hsss,,s and France. In fact, 81 the pres
eat moment the French are showing
something much more like CONSERVATION
Ehan like anger at the sudden revival m
n Germany Of the BisnaaI kan tone ana
temper. while the English are loudly
/ trying to persuade themselves that the
I CZar Nicholas H. is their best TREND;
/ that they have nothing t. fear from the
policy of Russia In Asia, anu 7Aat II is.
high, time to cooperate with RUSSIA IN
! putting an end to that Turkish dominion
over Armenia which Great Britain tried
SO hard in, 1873 to bolster up by The
treaty of Berlin.
If your readers will bear this In mind,
& sAey will not only be edifad but amused
By the. applause which tl4e British press
I ie nov bestoyYing Upon the attitude as
sasuad by Sir Edward Grey, three nights
ego. in behalf Of the British Foreign Of
fee, toward the French in Africa. they
Will understand, too. the quiet signltt~
canoe OF the brief, Cry, and slightly Gym
ical comment made in the House OF
Commons upon that attitude by Mr..
Henry Labouchere, to the effect that the
language of Sir Edward Grey, if it meant
ANYTHING, simply meant "a menace to
France Whar were the facts on which
this attitude was taken up by by the
Under Secretary OF Foreign affairs?
Briefly and III substance they were, that,
according to report made to the tof-
eign Office, not, it would seem, by any
official Of the British Government in the
regions Of the river Niger, but by the
British commercial company called the
Royal Niger Company, doing business
ana making explorations in those re-
the French Government in those regions
have organized expeditions which have
passed beyond the admitted boundaries
OF the French possessions into territory
alleged TO be within the sphere OF lnttu-
aHce'' either CT Great Britain Or of this
British commercial company. On the
face Of these facts, as indicated rather
than stated by Sir Edward Grey, it hard
iy appears to &, calm neutral observer
that the colonial authorities Of France
In West Africa have been threatening
'tthe Integrity of the British empire" so
seriously as 10 make it necessary for
the Foreign Office to use strong Ian
guage In parliament, or to justify the,
Tendon journals in setting up G, grand
iinga performance Of Rule Britannia,
Still less does it appear that on the faith
CT such reports the British Foreign Office
WAS well advised to bring before parlia-
ment, in a certinly courteous but as Ger
. ssinly aggressive form, the very delicate
International questions involved in the
a,laged pretensions Of certain French
exp editions into those regions OF the
S,oudan and the Nile valley, over which
the Mahdi now exercises al authority
usurped by him at the expense OF the
Government Of Egypt, and Of The rights
OF the Turkish Sultan as Suzerain Of
Egypt.
:. By mis- reference to the Nile valley ana
the Soutian Sir Edward Grey, whatever
his intentions may have been, has un-
douhtedly given France a reasonable
ground FOR affirming that England is at
tempting to convert her tolerated &C.
cupation Of Egypt as a kind OF interna-
%ticnal policeman into an acknowledged
peotactnrate. We may be quite sure that
within the next ten days the Egyptian
question will be sharply and. energeti~
caliy brcnght UP before the French Dep
uties and the tTrenah Senate and that
the British Government will in all prob
ability be pressed to the wall by France
on The question of its pretensions to-
deal with the Soudan and Nile valley.
These pretensions have never been atl~
rnitted by France or by Russia The al
mission OF them in no way follows from
sf.a aeuniescence of'Frauce i'll the admin
istration of Egypt prope: by English
authority, that administration being tot
Grated by the powers and by Turkey as
% temporary measure lor the naainte-
nance Of order IN Egypt, AMI to insure
the fl1ifillment by Egypt OF her financial
obligations 10 the European holders Of
Egyptian securities. Probably t!:a great
|er part OF those securities are in the
hands cf French holders, and the pay
rnant OF the Interest unon ther1 is un-
doubtedlE the secret CT the patience
which the French Government mas shown
IN the matter Of the repeated evasion by
IlagLs.Titl OF her repeated unde; ing to
<w:khiraw Aas troops and tnrn ove,. the
'.seou1:oi OF Egypt u the kAeo.ye and the
1isg:yp tians.
The krencf3. Government know perfect
As well that England is very far from
HSishinK Ia try conclusions With France
fssrStf,s cartrol OF either Of the seas of the
wocld o. OF the Mediterranean. The
French Government know perfectly well
thu. it is an open Guestiun today among
tha naval experts Of both countries
Wisats,er England, single-hantled. is or is
not equal to holding the Mediterranean
against France. single handed. France
Enthusiastically possessing certain ipl-
peTtant strategic advantages for o naval
8W:sr In the Mediterranean ovel. England,
which may more than couuterbalance
/. any adva mage possessed by England
81 indeed ENGLAND possesses any such
adran.ags} over France, in the matter, OF
fighting ships ready for war and OF
hghting crews and officers for those sf1ins.
4fe French Government. knowing all
this, know perfectly well, imagine, the
precise value British "iingoisu1'. in or
out Of parlia nlent, You may look there
FORE, I think, TO see the moderate and
iipnf fled iingniSm Df Si,r -,I,r,r,s rs,.o,1