Evening star., 1924-10-05

been announced. to divide the
battle Meet and send very i'm
portant units to the Mediter-
ranean has not only set all European
commentators to talking, but it is one
OF the most interesting and signif1-
can't circumsta noes since the close of
the war. Actually it marks a new
period in imperial policy and must
have widespread repercussions.
In sense this revival of the Medi-
terranean feet in it's full force is no
more than the reversion of British
policy to its historic and traditional
lines Until the rise of the German
heet in the first years Of the present
century directly challenged British
supremacy in the North Sea and thus
in reality in home waters. the Medi-
terranean had been the real focus of
British naval strength and imperial
interest, since through it passed all
the main routes Of imperial commerce
to Egypt. India, Australia and South
Africa.
CHALLENGED by Germany.
When the German emperor an
nounced that German future lay on
the sea and Admiral Won Tirpitz be-
gan his great naval construction pro-
gram the British met the challenge
in various ways First. under the
spur of necessity they made the far
reaching agreement with France in
1so(. which was the first step in the
formation of the entente. This first
step was the liquidation of all out
standing colonial disputes between
teh two countries. and the most sig
nif1cant detail of this agreement was
the surrender by France of all her
claims in Egypt and the balancing
concession OF Britain which recog-
hized Morocco, subject to Il Franco
Spanish adjustment of spheres. as a
French preserve. The Franco Span
tSh arrangement, which presently
followed. insured to Spain the shores
of Morocco facing the Straits Of Gil
bralter and thus insured Britain
against French naval base at Tan
Gier facing the great British estab
lishment at the Rock.
This Anglo-French liquidation of
1904 led directly to the German chal-
lcnge OF 1905, the first in the long
series of incidents which led up to
the World War itself For six
years, from the Tangier episode to
that OF Agadir in 1911. French and
German policies were in conflict and
Germany sought to break down
Anglo-French solidarity and at the
same time to secure for herself
something which might measurably
correspond to the enormous French
colonial gain incident to the acquisi-
tion of Morocco.
Aroused German Suspicion.
In the end Germany was block ed.
Britain stood solidly behind France
and after the very acute crisis of
1911. following the sending of the
German cruiser Panther to Agadir,
Germany settled the Moroccan af-
fair by recognizing French supremacy
in the Sherecfian Empire, receiving in
return for her assent considerable
French territory in the Congo region.
British support of France, however,
and the sensational speech of Lloyd
George, then chancellor of the exche-
Quer. at the height of the Agiadir
crisis. profoundly angered Germany
and established in the German mind
the belief that Great Britain had
adopted a policy Of restricting all
German overseas expansion.
Meantime the Anglo-French liquid
alton of 1904 had been followed by
certain very definite steps which
amounted to tacit understanding
between the two countries. This
agreement was expressed in the re-
call to the home waters of all the
first line units Of the British fleet
and the transfer to the Mediterranean
Of all Of the similar ships of the
French feet. Thus. in effect, Britain
turned the Mediterranean over to
France. and France abandoned the
channel and the North Sea to Bri-
tain.
While no actual alliance was made,
this arrangement had all the conse-
qucnces of an alliance because in the
crucial days Of 1914 Sir Edward Grey,
~hiln PrifiSh conrce Sfj11 nnAe-
cided, was forced to notify the Ger
mans that the British fleet would bar
any German attack coming through
the channel and menacing the north
ern ports Of France.
Italian Attack on Turkey.
But while the 1904 agreement had
very cons iderab BILE consequences SO
far as France and Britain were con-
cerned directly, and was factor in
the arrival Of the World War itself,
although il was in reality conceived as
. pacific not provocative step. there
were other and at least equally grave
consequences elsewhere. Thus Italy.
having always looked upon Tripoli
AS field of colonial expansion, re-
ceived Anglo French assent to a de-
scent upon these Turkish shores in re-
turn for her acceptance of the Anglo
Egypt and Morocco.
Following the Agadir arrangement
Italy saw her moment as come and
suddenly attacked Turkey. The war
which followed was long and the
Turks were only constrained to make
peace by the threat Of attack from
the newly rising association Of Balkan
powers. The treaty with Italy, which
assigned to the victors not only Trip
11i h,yt hA Vic nf 0f
Rhodes and the Dodecanesus in the
Aegean. was hardly signed when
the four Balkan nstates-Bulgaria. Ser
bia, Montenegro and Greece-attacked
the Turk.
Again the Turks were defeated, lost
all their European territories, al
though they recovered Adrianople
and .Thrace east Of the Martha as
consequence of the second Balkan
war, which was a quarrel between
the victors over the spoils. These
Two Balkan wars, however, so ag-
yrandized Serbia as to make her an
Immediate menace to Austrian integ-
rity and the World War followed
with astonishing rapidity. Meantime,
to complete the picture, France had
been forced to make, considerable, al
though successful military campaigns
in Morocco, while Spain had been in
volved in the long, and so far. unsuc-
cessful, campaign in the Rifiian re-
gfons. her sphere of Morocco, viii, h
may yet have as consequence the
overthrow of the dynasty in Spain
and the arrival of a new European
revolution.
weaAed From Triple Alliance.
In the gradual development of the
new Mediterranean situation Italy
had been led by bargains over
Tripoli into new relations with
both Britain and France and her