The farmer and mechanic., 1915-08-31


events made this motive clear to Eng
lish statesmen, and it was the second
and decisive factor leading to the re-
cancellation of France and England
and all its train of momentous conse-
quences down to the present hour.
Singularly, however Lord Sails
bury's early conviction that the time
had come for this reconciliation, was
not realized because of a peculiar OBJ
stacle he had seen many French
ministries come and go, for some OF
them were of brief duration, and these
frequent falls Of ministries impressed
Lord Salisbury with an idea that there
was a lack of stability and continuity
in French policy. For that reason
the first hopes of a reconciliation were
not realized, halted because of the
feeling that it might not be enduring.
1t was in these circumstances that
the reconciliation moved slowly. until
the decisive action of Bismarck clearly
showed the design of dominating
central influence. And even then ne
gotiatiOnS did not take definite form
until shortly before the actual signing
of the AnglO-French convention. Nj.
CambOn had arrived here a few years
before, having had exceptional oppOr-
tunitieS, as private secretary OF PreSI-
dent Jules Ferry of France, for OBJ
serving the development of interna-
Lord Lansdowne in the Foreign Office
here, M. DelcaSse at the head Of for
eign affairs in France, and NJ. CambOn
as the intermediary between the two
ministers, the negotiations took a new
life, and although at first considered
futile they at last eyentuated in the
convention signed in London by Lord
LanSdOWne and M. CambOn at noon
on April s. 1904.
Only three days before the London
Times had issued formal denial to a
| dispatch cabled from Paris to The AS
Sociated Press that such a recOncilia
| ton was about to be cOnSummated by
| a treaty, the Times asserting that such
| a thing, beneficial though it might be,
was inconceivable realization. This
reflected British public opinion: that
England and France could not be
recOnciled after being traditional enc
| mics for hundreds of years, with a
long train of historic wars between
| them. But in three days the docu
| ment was signed, and from that date
| the entente cordiale and the fruitful
results Of the larger alliance under the
stress of today.
The convention thus signed cleared
| the entire slate of the many questions
of friction and discord between France
| and England in all parts of the world.
In Egypt, France recognized the pre-
| uOn1ndnI OF England. IN
| Morocco, England recognized the pre-
dominant position of France. and thus
laid the foundation for a great French
empire of northwest Africa, linking to-
gether Morocco, Algiers and Tunis
and with the territory along the straits
of Gibraltar sharing with England ir
commanding the entrance to the Medi-
terranean and the route to India and
the East Similarly the long standing
controversies over the Newfoundland
fisheries were settled; also those OF
Siam, Madagascar and New Hebrdes
with various mutual readjustments OF
territory in Central Africa, from the
Niger to Lake Chad, and including the
islands off Sierra Leone. Every las
difference between the two countries
was thus closed, and in place Of ira.
ditional enmity there was substituted
an entente cOrdiale which not only es
. tablished a sympathetic and practica
working arrangement between tn,
: two countries, but also when the su
preme crisis Of the present war came
, brought them together with Russis
as allies in a common cause.
: AS to the war, the French viewpoin
is probably less optimistic than tn
English official view, but no less con
! fident Of the ultimate result. To tn,
, | French, the war has the grimness o
, being on their own soil, and not a
! with England, in the distance. Blu
I with all its trials. the events of yes
t teday. today and tomorrow are locke,
: upon as passing scenes in large
] drama, which may take months o
: years for its denouement, but whic
q | in the interest of the countries in
q volved and the world at large must b
Q worked out to a successful conclusion
8 though the contest be reckoned b
4 | decades instead Of years.
|
e Heavy Sales at Rocky Mount.
!. Rocky Mount, Aug. 2S.-Y esterda
d | closed the second week Of sales on tn
r local tobacco market. Sales to dat
q W onSf IL E~.<