The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-03-20
AFRIcA's INVADING ARMIES.
France and Russia still Frowning at
the British Advance.

London. March 19.-In the House of
Commons to-day Mr.. Labourchere, refer
ring 10 the British expedition TO Dongola,
asked the government If any alliance ex-
listed between Great Britain and Italy.
Mr. Curzon said there existed no alliance
or agreement of any kind between the
two countries, the circumstances in which
they were placed pointed TO the eXpedien-
cy OF friendly cooperation between the
two governments in defense of other
common interests.
Mr.. Curzon also announced that NJ.
Berthelot the French minister of foreign
afIairs, had informed Lord Dufferin, the
British ambassador to France, that he
repudtated all responsibility for the state
ments made in reporting the purport OF
the interview between the minister and
the ambassador on Tuesday, in which the
former is represented as having demanded
to know the reasons for the British eXpe-
dition up the Nile and as having pointed
out the gravity of the consequences OF
such a movement. Such statements, NJ.
Berthelot had said. must have been pub
hshed by misinformed persons. France,
Mr.. Curzon said, had been Informed of the
intended plans of Great Britain in the Nile
valley, but the French government had
not as yet made any reply.
The Italian government. Mr.. Curzon con-
tinued, had informed England that Italy
would not evacuate Kassala unless the
military authorities there should find it
impossible to hold the place.
Mr.. Balfour, first lord of the treasury
and the government leader in the House,
said that the British ambassadors to
Paris, Berlin, Rome and St. Petersburg
had been instructed to communicate to the
respective governments to which they
were accredited the grounds upon which
the. English advance up the Nile valley
had been made, and also to point out the
fact that in order to meet the expendi-
lures required it might be necessary to
use larger sum than was at the dis
poSal of the Egyptian treasury, and that
the government hoped that the commits
sion of the Egyptian public debt would
assent to the expenditure of 100000 from
the reserve tund, which was now fZ,oO,0Oo.
The governments of Germany, Italy and
Austria had given replies asserting to
this, but Russia and France had not an
swered. AS the operations were in the in
terest of Egypt, Mr.. Balfour said the costs
should naturally be betrayed from the re-
serve fund. 1t was not possible, he said,
to form an exact estimate of the ex-
In the House Of Lords to-day Lord Sails
bury, in reply to question from Lord
Rosebery, said the Italian government had
| not learned of the fall or Kassala, which
they regarded as extremely improbable.
The Italian embassy here has received
no information of the reported evacua-
ton of Kassala by the Italians.
The Morning Post win publish a dis
patch from Paris saying that the Cham
thelots statement in the Chamber of
Deputies which is regarded as having
been patriotic, although pacific.
Rome. March 19-Private dispatches
| from Massowah state that Mai Salza,
who Was sent from Italian headquarters
| to obtain from King Menelek permission
| to bury the Italians killed in the battle
| at Adowa and to succor the wounded,
| has returned to the Italian camp. He
| states that the Abyssinians hold 1,5Ol
| Italian prisoners.
Paris, March 19.-In the Chamber OF
Deputies to-day, NJ Berthelot, minister
of foreign affairs, said that there were
serious objections, both financial and polit-
ical to the British expedition againsr
Dongola and that objections had been
MADE by France to the government of Eng
land, and to that at Cairo negotiations
from which were now pending.
he added that France had declined to
accede to Great Britain's request to take
f5OO,OOO from the Egyptian reserve to meer
the expenses of the expedition. The ex-
fensve act.