The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-05-03
PARTITION OF AFRICA
England Has Egypt; France
Has AIgiers and TuniS.
TRIPOLl GOES To. ITALY
Slave Trade to Abolish and a
Prophet" to Crush.
TRlPOLl GOES To. ITALY


| interchange of naval courtesies which has
taken place during the last fortnight be-
tween the fleets Of Great Britain, Italy,
and France, in connection with KingHum-
5ert's visit to Sardinia by the broad hints
contained in the officially inspired Par
islam press. These are to the effect that
the French government might be disposed
TO consent TO Italy's immediate or event
ual occupation of Tripoli, while in the ad
ministration organs Of the press at Rome
it is openly asserted in the most positive
manner that both France and England
have intimated that they would offer no
objections TO ItaIy's possession of Tri-
poll on lines similar to those upon which
one Of the two powers in question holds
Tunis and the other Egypt.
For the last five and twenty years-in
fact, ever since the various petty states
Of Italy were welded into one united king
DON'T has been the dream Of the people
subject TO King HumDert's rule to pos
sess a foothold on the Mediterranean
shores of Africa The wish is all the more
natural, seeing that by far the greater
portion Of the trade between southern
is carried on under the Italian flag, and
that the commercial interests of Italy
along the northern shores of Africa are
superior to those Of every other European
nation. Indeed, throughout the Levant
Italian has from time to time immemoriai
been the European language most extern
sively used in commercial, social, and Of
fetal intercourse. For a long time Italy
had her eye on Tunis, where the Italian
population to this day far outnUmbers
that of all other foreign nations. and whe
! schools were formerly maintained by King
Humbert's government for the purpose of
| preserving and developing the Italian sem
| timent.
When France suddenly pounced upon
! Tunis the Indignation throughout Italy
was so intense that it was only with the
utmost difficulty that war was averted.
In fact, a conflict would undoubtedly have
taken place had not King Humbert been
warned by his allies az Berlin and Vienna
that if he went to war with France about
the matter he would have to fight her
alone, since neither Germany nor Austria
had enough interest at stake in Tunis to
incline them to draw swords for such a
cause. For ten years or more Italy may
be said to have sulked, and to have dis
played a bitterness towards France in con-
nection with the affair which reacted on
the economic relations between the two
| countries in manner most disastrous to
Italian trade and industry. It is only with
in the last year or two that Italian ami
mostly toward France has given way to
friendlier feelings, and that there has been
| a rapprochement between the two coun-
tries. which has had its origin in the urg-
| ent necessity on the part Of Italy to re-
cover possession Of the French markets
for her trade and industry.
Commerce is a powerful factor IN poll
ties nowadays and exercises so weighty
an influence upon international relations
that IT is not surprising to find that on
both sides of the Alps a number of states
men have come TO the conclusion that a
revival of the alliance which formerly ex-
listed between France and Italy might be
Of mutual advantage, while from an econo-
mic point of view it would certainly prove
more beneficial to Italy that the latters
costly and disastrous participation in the
triple alliance. The Roman press IS never
tired nowadays of pointing out the triple
alliance has brought to Italy nothing but
ruinous expense and disaster, and that
neither Germany nor Austria has ever
been of any assistance to King Humbert
in his foreign relations, the Kaiser even
refusing to countenance, in any way TIA
Iy's pretensi0ns 20 Tripoli, upon which
Italy has had her eye ever since Tunis
was suatched away from beneath her
nose.
Frances intimation, therefore, that she
VIII give her consent to an immediate or
eventful occupation of Tripou by Italy,
and that she will henceforth regard Tri-
poll rs an Italian sphere of Africa. looks
much as if 1t were an inducement offered
to King Humbert to cut adrift the triple
alliance and to come TO definite under
standing with that France TO which Italy
is SO largely indebted for its constitution
as a nited kingdom.
Tripoli is in every sense of the word a
land of mystery. II is out of the beaten
track Of tourists. It fact. there are no
white people in the City Of Tnpoli or in
any Of the towns OF the interior. 1t does
not figure IN any of the guide books Of the
Levaut, and il is difficult. indeed. to find
even any "'lAS' secs aa'''',ai VI oeSS-l-p-
i've oeai-hS WIN ''e Sl']ee,, el Il
barely week : Journey rom tai-S' ana
actually Wlthin slsI'' Oh S.eliF and N Nal
IA FORE snefs are h'l Wee me Boats and
vessels arriving al IE-'2i are forced 10
land az quay. al the further end OF
"Ach Is o.s ana o'ni,'o1s--olh laS gste
gives access TO the aseent-al-y Oriental
city ana 10 the country oeyond. and be-
fore the foreigner IS allowed 10 pass
throus1 he himself and MS papers are sub