The times., 1898-10-25
THE UPPER NILE QUESTION.
Further Correspondence in Which
France Persists In Her Stand.

4 correspondence " men
France Persists In Her Stand.
| London. Oct A.-The foreign office has
issued further correspondence on the Up
! per Nile question. In the first dispatch,
dated October 6. Lord Salisbury writes to
Sir Edmund Monson. the British ambas
sador at Paris. reporting a conversation
| had with Baron De Curcel, the French
ambassador, who conteuded that the ter
ritory bordering the White Nile had be-
/ come no mans land, through its aban-
/ donment by Egypt. Baron De Curcel
said that the French, by reserves uni
| formly made, had retained the right to
occupy this territory whenever she
thought fit. Lord Salisbury repeated the
| arguments that are already familiar.
saying that if France intended to chai-
| lenge the British claims and occupy part
! OF the territory she was bound to say
so. Anyhow. if in face of the repeated
! British warnings she tried to establish
! title by the secret expedition of hand
! ful OF men, she must not be surprised
that Great Britain did not recognize her
| claim.
! Baron De Courcel then vaguely indi-
Gated wish to negotiate regarding the
delimitation of territory, in which case,
! he said Major Marchand would return
| as ne went. At the same time, he indi-
Gated that France would require con-
| siderable stretch of the left bank of the
/ Nile This Lord Salisbury would not
countenance.
In a second dispatch from Lord Sails
bury to Sir Edmund Monson, dated Octo-
ber y, is recorded another conversation
/ with Baron De Courcei, In which Lord
: Salisbury declined to recede from his po-
! sition He called the French ambassa-
! doris attention to the impossible position
/ occupied by Major Marchand, who, Lord
| Salisbury said, he understood admitted
that he was unable TO return westward,
while the French government forbade him
| to depart by the Nile.
Baron De Courcel replied that Major
Marchand could perfectly well return to
| the westward. but could not so without
food, which Great Britain would not al
low France to convey to him.
Lord Salisbury undertook TO guarantee
! that Mai Marchand should be enabled
to procure food, whereupon Baron De
( CourceI said that food was not alone sutii-
cient. He needed TO be fully armed TO
traverse dangerous regions and his NUM-
1 tions were exhausted. Lord Salisbury
raised no objection to furnishing Maj.
! Marchand with arms and ammunition.
I provided the latter would engage to only
4 use them for his protection, and would
withdraw to the region beyond the
watershed separating the Ubanghi afflu
ents of the Nile
Lord Salisbury said he did not believe
any practical disadvantage to France
| would follow such a step. If it were ac
| cepted with the reservation that 1t did
not affect any pending controversy, but
if it proved a disadvantage II would be
/ necessary consequence of placing Mai.
Marchand in such a false and unreason-
able position.
! Baron De Courcel would not assent to
/ this, and started the subject of an outlet
| TO the Nile.
Lord Salisbury replied that he was not
in position to discuss that subject.
In the dispatch Lord Salisbury refers to
the extreme indefiniteness of the ambas-
sador's language, and especially in re-
spect of the territory to which France be-
! lieved she was justly entitled. Lord Sails
| bury accordingly declined to discuss the
claims to territory until they were more
precisely formulated.
A dispatch from Lord Cromer. the Brit
ish diplomatic agent in Egypt. to Lord
| Salisbury, contains a note from the EEyp-
tian foreign minister requesting Lord Gro
/ mer to use his good offices with Lord
Salisbury n order that the incontestable
| rights of Egypt may be recognized and
| all the provinces she occupied until the
| rebellion may be restored to her.
Dispatches from Gen. Kitchener describe
the known hopeless position OF Major
! Marchand and his followers.
Gen. Kitchener, while expressing the
| highest admiration of the courage. de-
J votion and indomitable spirit of Major
Marchand." says he cannot refrain from
astonishment at the attempt made to eff
| feet a project of such magnitude and dan
ger with so small and ill-equipped force.
Major Marchand's claim that he had oc-
| cupied the Bahr-El-GhazaI and the Fa-
shoda province, adds Gen Kitchener,
would be ludicrous if the sufferIngs and
privations of his two years arduous jour
ney did not render the futility of his ef
f! forts rathetic.