12 NOVEMBER 1904, Page 2

Two of the most striking speeches in the debate in

the French Chamber on the Anglo-French entente on Tuesday were those of M. Delafosse and M. Etienne. Both these gentlemen were supposed to be Anglophobes, the former because of his incessant attacks upon the British occupation of Egypt, the latter because he is the advocate of colonial expansion, with which, he thinks, English ambition interferes. Both, however, strongly advised the ratification of the Agree- ment with Great Britain, M. Delafosse arguing that the rights conceded to France in Morocco were worth "a hundred- fold" those she abandoned in Egypt. M. Etienne fully assented to this view, while both the Deputies expressed strong hopes that in the end British friendship for France would lead to a British arrangement with Russia, which would be greatly to the advantage of the world. Both re- pudiated the idea that France would break with Russia, and maintained that she was the necessary go-between, who, said M. Etienne, had already conferred a benefit on both Powers by helping in the settlement of " the Hall difficulty."