The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-10-30
The Journey
of Marchand.
IT PAVES THE WAY
France Can Withdraw Ex-
petition Without Sting.

! Copyright, 1898. The Associated Press
London, Oct. 29.-The arrival of Maj.
Marchand at Khartoum, on his way to
Cairo, with the portion of his report
which was not finished when Capt
Barratier left Fashoda, is regarded as
rift in the clouds overhanging An
glo-French relations, for, in spite of
the semi official denial issued in Paris
that orders We're sent to the major to
go to Cairo, it is fully believed here
| that the French officer would not be
on his way to Cairo unless he had re-
ceiveG a hint to that effect from the
| French government, who consider that
his leaving Fashoda will take the
string out of the situation and at the
some time prepare France for the
| eventual withdrawal Of the whole ex-
petition, which now consists of seven
officers and 100 men.
The British view of this latest move
is that the Marquis of Salisbury and
his ministers are delighted to afford
Marchand the facilities for reaching
Cairo. But they would hardly care to
send him back, except in the capacity
of a guest or scientific explorer. That
is to say, France will first have to re-
nounce her political claims based on his
mission.
In the meanwhile, in the voluntary
return of Maj. Marchand the French
minister of foreign affairs, NJ. Delcasse.
| and the government of France have
got over a. great difficulty from a diplo-
matte amour propre point of view. NJ.
! Delcasse had declared that the French
| government could not do the impossi-
ble-that is to say, recall Maj. Mar
chand.
Therefore, the latters return has en-
abled the French government to Save
its face, - as the saying goes. It is rec
ognized, however, that even IL the tri-
color of France is hauled down a;
Fashoda, the main subject of dispute
remains and may cause anxious mo
ments In both countries before the
Bahr-el- Ghazal question is settled. al
though there has been a confident feel
ing for the last few days that war will
be averted
i An instructive account of the origin
az the whole enterprise appears in an
important Paris paper, lie Journal,
which says the Marquis de Moros, the
i Anglophobe French explorer who was
assassinated in the Hinterland of All
geria. really conceived grandoise plans,
1 which he submitted to M DeclasS
who fell in with his views and dispatch
ed Major Marchand to the Upper Nile.
| while De Meres started for the Sahara
| with the ayowed hope to conquer with
the cooperation of Marchand, the pro-
vince of Bahr- eel -Ghazal. The plan of
| Can1n91Srn O isFa ion #
all the armed people opposed to Great
Britain, and included even the cooper
alton of the khalifa whose forces, led
by Frenchmen, would attack the Brit
ish. and the khalifa, backed by the
French explorers, would thus interpose
a buffer between Egypt and Central
| Africa, thereby thWarting British
claims. De Mores and his party We're
massacred at the outset of their jour-
ney, but Marchand succeeded in carry
ling out his part of the plan, and there
is reason to believe that the French
government now wishes he had not
done so, as the Eclair says today:
| Major Marchand returning? Why
then did we go to Fashoda? In order to
play the game we played against the
| English? We ought to have had a
navy capable of making brave show
against the English, instead of which
the fossils of our navy department have
| left us disarmed and incapable OF fight
| ing with honor.
| The French newspapers seem to have
| little faith in Russia helping her ally
in thep resent crisis, while Russian
dispatches to the British papers affirm
| positively that the czar is decidedls,
| opposed to war, and has counseled the
French government to abandon its I'M
tenable attitude. 1t is even said that
| the car has characterized the French
! attitude as reckless.
| The rumor from Paris of the inten-
ton of the British government to de-
clare Egypt under the protectorate of
/ Great Britain has attracted little at
| tention, as the general feeling is that
| the moment is clearly inopportune for
such a step. 1t would be only playing
into bhe hands of France. There is per-
sistent talk, however, of Great Britain
| adopting extreme measures towards the
khedive of Egypt unless he modifes his
attitude 1t is we'll known that he re-
| turns from each of his visits to Euro
| pean courts filled with sinister ideas
against British tutelage. But every act
| of petulency has been met with an iron
hand.
| An article lin the National Review,
| written by l.. J. Maxse, who has pre-
formed on the Dreyfus affair, has
caused some stir. He affirmS that the
| czar has now become a convinced
Dreyfusard and is taking a sympath-
etic interest in the prisoner of Devils
| island
The National Review adds that there
| has been great establishment and indig-
| nation in French ministerial and the
| higher literary circles of France by the
publication in Russia of two rank, out
spoken articles by M. Zakrowski, presi-
! dent Of the Russian appeal court, de-
claring that the Dreyfus court martial
amounted to a return to the lettres de
cachet and the days Of the Bastile, and
also scathingly criticising the prosecu-
ton of Nj. Emile lola.
1t is announced from st. Petersburg
that all the powers have now. accepted
the cars invitation to send delegates
to the proposed disarmament confer
| ence. Each power will be represented
| by three delegates and it Will be a
record diplomatic assembly in point of
numbers.
Count AIurayieff. the Russian ninist-
err of foreign affairs, is going to LiVa-
dia, where he Will confer with the car
| on the outlinings OF the program,
which win be submitted to the dele
gates of the powers. The Russian min
lister is very optimistic as to the result
of the conference