, 1898-10-10
ANOTHERW ARC CLOUD
ENGLAND AND FRANCE DEAD
LOCKED OVER THE OCCUPA-
TON OF FASHODA.
France Has Refused to Order Major
Marchand Out of the Egyptian
Soudan-England Declares That
the Expedition Has no Political
Significance.

has issued a Fashoda blue book, giving
the correspondence between the French
and British governments.
1t begins with a dispatch dated Dec.
10, 1897, from Sir Edmond Monson,
British ambassador at Paris, to Lord
Salisbury, referring to rumors of the
massacre of the Marchand expedition
and expressing the ambassadors salts
faction that he has been allowed to ac-
quaint M. HanotauX F'rench foreign
minister of that day. with Lord Sails
bury's view that. il other questions are
adjusted, Great Britain will make no
difficulty regarding the French claim
on the northern and eastern shores of
Lake Tchad. The dispatch shows, how
ever, that the ambassador made it clear
that this concession must not be under
stood as admitting the right of any
European power except Great Britain
to occupy n part of the Nile valley.
M. Hanotaux replied on Dec, "a in a
a long dispatch of respectful protest
against Lord S%alisbury's views.
On August 2. this year, Lord Sails
bury wrote Lord Cramer. British diplo-
matte agent at Cairo. giving him in
structions that. after the capture Of
Khartoum, two flotillas should ascend
the Fashoda and go up the Blue Nile as
far as it should prove navigable for
| Of 90 pnnrc Ifn1ap tharn rct,.,n,on
the Sirdar was personally to command
the Fashoda 1otilla and t o take a few
troops IL he should consider it desir-
able. the object being to assert Great
Brtain's sphere of influence in the Nile
valley.
On Sept. Z, Sir Edmund Monsoon re-
ported to Lord Salisbury a conversa-
ton in which M. Delcasse. French for
eign minister, announced that March,
and had no authority to decide on
questions of right and had beer in
structed to abstain from any action
likely to lead to local conflict. M. Del
casse further expressed a conviction
that the matter was susceptible of ar
rangement by means Of discussion.
To this Lord Salisbury replied, on
Sept. 9. that Great Britain regarded the
operations Of the Sirdar General
Kitchener) as placing all the terri
tories of khalifa Abdullah by right of
conquest in the hands Of the British
and Egyptian governments and insist
ed that this contention admitted Of no
discussion. -
Then followed various dispatches re-
cording the discussion before Sir Ed
mund Monson and M. Delcasse, the
latter explaining that Marchand was
now virtually a lieutenant to the Lilo
tard expedition and that, therefore, the
situation at Fashoda, even II Marchand
was there, could not be so dangerous
as Sir Edmund Monsoon had represent
ed.
On Sept. %, still following the blue
book. the Sirdar reported the results
of the expedition to Fashoda, fully con-
firming the announcements already ca
bled to the Associated Press, including
the fact that General Kitchener's re-
moval there prevented a second Der
wish attack on Marchand. The French
officer informed the Sirdar that he had
concluded a treaty, which he had sent
to France for ratification. whereby the
Shillock chiefs had placed the country
| ,,pIar L>ronrh rrptnntion NFnroho-I
replied in the negative to General
K~itchener's question whether he was
prepared to resist the hoisting of the
Egyptian flag, but he maintained that
he had orders from the French govern
ment to occupy Fashoda.
On the departure of the British forces
General Kitchener notified Major
Marchand in writing that all the trans
portation OF war materials on the Nile
was absolutely prohibited.
The Sirdar's dispatch concludes az
follows:
The chief Shillocks came t our camp |
and positively denied that they had
concluded any treaty with Marchand
while all the Shillocks declared their /
allegiance to the British government.
Moreover, Marchand was in such q pre-
carious position that nothing could
have prevented his humiliation by the
Dervishes had we been a fortnight lat
er In crushing the Khalifa.
Other dispatches indicate that N.