The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-02-02
Proposition of White Debated Long
 and Earnestly.
All Agree to 1t Except spain, and the American Envoy wfthdraws Amendment i'm order to se-
 cure UnanimIty.

Algeciras, Spain, Feb. 1.-The Nsss roccan conferences at its present ses- sion today adopted without modiflca. ton the draft of the taxation protecE The Moorish delegates raised q num- Der of objections and will refer tho proposals to the Sultan at Fek
 The question of reforming the cus- toms duties was not considered
 The American delegates took an act- i've part in the discussion before the conference today by raising point against any indirect infriias enent of the Sultan's sovereignty. This was the first appearance Of the Americans in the formal debates and the point rais- ed by them brought on most earnest and interesting discussion, the confer ence thus far has had.
 The Moorish delegates are showing signs of discontent. They came ex- pecting to take leading part in the plan for the administration of their country but thus far their influence has counted for little and they are only passive listeners 10 the plans fcF- mulated by the powers. This was mo- ticeable in the discussion of the Inter nal tax system to which they withheld their assent while the delegates ot tho other powers unanimously assented.
 The Feature of the tax system by which the Foreign Ministers and Con- suIs retain considerable control is con- strued as indicating the tendency of the conference toward the establish ment of international authority which Is one of the main Franco German ia- sues.
 Friendly Ties Strengthened.
 The participation of the American delegates in today's debate was usefnI In the strengthening Of the friendly ties between them and the other dele-
 ua.a H....a l.. H-s approve Ambassador Whites couraA. The Duke Of Almodevar. Spanish MInia- ter of Foreign Affairs. has also taken occasion to thank Mir. White for con. slderately yielding to Spain's objections TO the proposed modification of the taz eYstem,
 iThS committee on taxatiou reported q lengthy plan one feat1re of which gAve the foreign consuis the right to
 5tAin certain percentage of tne tax es on foreigners to cover the expenses of collection. When thls feature was reached Ambassador W hlte, head Of the American delegation, rose and re- marked that there appeartd to be some inconsistency in foreign officials col- lecting money for the Sultan and then retaining a poruon of what tney col. lected. He made the point alsc that such retention of a portion of revenues designed for the Sultan might be con- strued as an infringement of his sov- ereignty. The American ambassador suggested a modification so that tho retention of a portion of the tax by the consul should not be a permanent feature of the system
 M Revoil, tor France, and Count Cassini. for Russia, promptly supported the American view and the approval became general with the exception of Spain.
 The Spanish delegates manifested strong dissension. The Duke of AL modovar. the Spanish Foreign Mlnisters and chief of the delegation of Spain. being in the chair, did not participate in the debate, but left the presentation of Spain's objection to the second Span- ish delegate, Senor Perez Caballero. Tho latter spoke long and earnestly against the American suggestion. emphasizing that Spain would suffer the chief part of the loss if the consuls did not re~ tain portion of the tax. as Spain had the largest number Of foreigners under taxation.
 A running debate. often earnest. but always good-natured. went on for an hour, Spain continuing to oppose tEe proposition, while the other powers dropped in line to support it.
 Sir Arthur Nicholson, the head of the British mission. finally suggested that since Spain objected 1t might be desir- able not to press the proposed modtfi- cation. MT. White immediately assent ed, saying that he considered unanimi- ty essential and therefore he withdrew the proposed modification.
 The conference thereupon adopted the committees report giving a gen erai plan for taxes largely under the control of the diplomatic and consular body at Tangler and adjourned until