NEWS OF THE WEEK.
ON Tuesday, itt. Develle, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, made his statement to the Chamber in regard to Siam, The Siamese had encroached on Tonquin and Amain, and these encroachments could not be borne. France had always claimed the left bank of the Mekong as the limit of her Indo-Chinese possessions, and the time had come to enforce her rights and to recover the left bank of the river. To attain this result France might have bombarded Bangkok. She chose instead the policy of operating inland, drove back the Siamese outposts, and recovered three hundred miles of territory. In the course of these operations a French officer was killed, but on pressure being brought to bear on the Siamese Government, they had virtually agreed to make reparation. Then came the events of July 13th. "Lord Dufferin," said M. Develle, "made the following declara- tion to me 1 am directed by my Government to tell you that in the conflict in which you are engaged with Siam regarding your frontiers you will not find England in any way opposing you.' I thanked Lord Dufferin for his commu- nication, telling him that the conduct of England was all the more natural, inasmuch as we had in no way any intention of threatening the independence of Siam." A statement made in the House of Commons by Sir Edward Grey was, however, not consistent with this declaration, and was likely to make the Siamese believe that they would be supported by England. Accordingly, M. Develle remonstrated, and as England was sending ships, sent more ships ; these ships were fired on, and accordingly forced the passage of the river. The mini- mum which France would now accept from the Siamese Government was satisfaction for its acts on the Mekong for the assassination of M. Grosgurin, and for the violation of the Treaty of 1856. The independence of Siam will not be destroyed, but reparation will be exacted. The speech was hardly reassming, considering the strong feeling prevailing in England in regard to the real designs of France.
