Arizona republican., 1899-01-12
CONTROL ST. LAWRENCE
France Has inc Advantage of Eng
 land in Event of War.

Should war break out between England and France a decisive blttie for supremacy will he fought in the Gulf of St Lawrence.
 This was the statement made by q statesman who Is in the confidence
 of the dominion government. He drew quite an alarmist picture of the position in which the eastern sea-
 coast cities of Canada, exclusive of Halifax, would be placed by war be- tween the two great powers.
 It is not generally/known,' he said, ''that St Pierre de Miquelon is very strongly fortified-quite as strongly fortified, in fact, as Halifax. In case of war between Great Brit ain and France 1t would be possible fer a French fleet, unless thwarted by a stronger British squadron, to seize St. Johns, Newfoundland; St. John, New Brunswick; Charlotte town, ?. F. L, and other points along the North American coast.
 ''The treaty between France and Great Britain, concluded early in the present century, forbade France for tifying St. Pierre or keeping q stronger guard at the port than fifty soldiers It was also agreed that a British consul should always be sta toned there. When the Crimean war broke out, however, France be- came Britain's ally against Russia The French republic took advantage of the opportunity to fortify St. Pierre, and obtained the consent of Great Britain The mother coun- try could not very well refuse at that time, seeing that she was acting in concert with France
 ''That move on the part of France displayed considerable foresight. She violated the treaty when acting as an ally of Britain, and instead of limit ing the number of defenders at St. Pierre to fifty, has kept as many as a thousand troops there No Brit ish consul is permitted to reside at St Pierre, and on the ground that the British did not object to the building of Notifications the treaty to all intents and purposes is a dead letter.
 ''France, having built the fortifi- cations, claims that it would be an absurdity to attempt to defend them with the aid of only fifty men, and hence maintains a strong garrison at the port all the time.
 But that is not the most serious feature of the situation. The seafar- ing population of France numbers about 9O,OO0. Of this number there are at least 30,000, or one-third of the whole, scattered along the west ern shores of Newfoundland. In case a French fleet came out to New foundland imperfectly manned, it could speedily secure crews from the French fishermen, and would be able to love without delay against the port of St. Johns, CT the ports of Nova Scotia.
 Tn case of hostilities the posses son of Anticosti would be an impor- tant factor 1 should not be surprised to learn that NJ. Menier is an agent of the French government, Certainly from its strategical position, Anti costi would command the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and therefore its posses sion would be a great thing for the French fleet Newspaper dispatches state that NJ. Menier has landed guns lt Anticosti. Should the statement turn out to be true, 1t will show that NJ. Menier's purchase of the island is a mere subterfuge, and that he is really acting in the interest of the home government.
 ''The1e is no doubt that as things stand at present the French threaten Quebec, and several important points in the maritime provinces. The only | relief for the situation Is to bundle | them bag and baggage off this conti- nent. New York Journal.