The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-10-24

Upon Which to Base a Claim to
Rights in the Nile VaIIey-Of-
fetal Note DisclRims Any Idea OF
War With England.
CHERBOURG, France, Oct 23-Or-
ders have been received at the military
anu naval arsenals here to prepare for
the arrival Of a large body Of troops
tomorrow. The barracks are being
hurriedly put in order for their recep-
ton.
PARIS, Oct. pa semi-of1icial not9
Issued this evening says: There is no
foundation for the aIarnist rumors re-
garding the relations between France
and Great Britain. It is equally incor-
rect to say that extraordinary meas
ures have been taken at any of our
naval ports.'
The F'ashoda yellow book is volu-
ncinous, but 1t does include Mai Mar
chand's report, which will be published
later. The dispatches were largely an
t1cipated by the English Fashoda blue
book.
The diplomatic conversations record
ed show curious endeavor on the
French side to represent that Mar
chand's mission was quite as important
as Gen. Kitchener's, on the ground
that the struggle was against the kha-
lifa and barbarism.
On Sept. 18 NJ. de la Casse, the French
foreign minister, informed the British
ambassador to France, Sir Edmund
Monson, in explicit language, that
France did not regard Lord Salisbury's
claim to the Soudan, by virtue Of con-
quest, as applying to Fashoda, on the
ground that the Marchand expedition
went to the relief of the French expe-
dition under Capt. Licolard, which dat
ed from a period long before the decIa-
ration in the house of commons by Sir
Edward Grey, under secretary Of state
for foreign affairs in Lord Rosebery's
| cabinet, as to the policy Of the British
| government toward the Soudan, and
| at time when the equatorial provinces
were lost to civilization. In fact, M.
de Ia Casse argued, unless Great Britain
possessed the suItan's mandate. as well
as the khedive's, to acquire all former
Egyptian provinces. France considered
herself equally entitled with Eng1and
tc possession of any point occupied by
French officers.
FRENCH POINT OF VIEW,
Judging from the yellow book dis.
patches the foregoing represents ths
French standpoint, and NJ. de la CassA
contends that as Marchand reached
Fashoda first, England has no right
to demand an evacuation Of Fashoda
prior to negotiations.
On Sept. 80 NJ. de la Casse declared to
Sir Edmund Monson that such a de-
mand would be equivalent to an ulti-
matum, and while he could afford to
sacrifice Frances material interests, so
long as her honor was intact, for the
sake Of the Anglo French entente, no
one could doubt what would be the re-
ply of France to such a demand
The subsequent dispatches appearing
in the yellow book relate to conversa-
tions between Baron de Courcel, French
ambassador in London, and Lord Sails
bury, the latter contending that the
capture Of Khartoum entitled Egypt to
possession Of all the mahdi's domin-
ions, and the French ambassador argu-
ing that Maj Marchand had captured
Fashoda before Gen. Kitchener took
Khartoum, and that France had for a
long time held actual possession in the
Bahr-el- -Ghazel.
Lord Salisbury retorted that the
French forces in the region referred to
were too weak to constitute effective
occupation.
A final dispatch dated Oct. II, from
Baron de Courcel to NJ de la Casse. re-
cords a conversation with Lord Sails
bury, in which the French ambassador
claimed access to the Nile through
Bahr-el- -Ghazel, and asked an amicable
delimitation of the respective spheres
Of interest of the two powers, in reply
to which Lord Salisbury indicated that
it would be necessary for him to consult
his colleagues.