GERMANY AND MOGAD011.
[To TaS EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR:1 Sxn,—It was with alarm and dismay that I saw in last week's Spectator the indifference with which the possibility of the leasing of Mogador to Germany as a coaling-station is treated. Lying as it does at a distance of only about twenty-four hours' steam from Gibraltar, and being, as it is, the only port on the western coast of Morocco at which a landing can be made in all weathers, and where at no very great comparative outlay an excellent harbour could be made capable of accom- modating war-vessels, its possession by Germany would be the means of rendering her naval power doubly efficient, while neutralising to a great extent the power of our Atlantic and Mediterranean Squadrons. It is, moreover, situated on a ' fertile part of the coast, where water and provisions are plentiful ; and its possession would give Germany a naval base midway between Great Britain and Sierra Leone capable of being used in time of war to direct operations
• against our huge South African traffic. Germany's desire to -possess a coaling-station there is of long standing. Three years ago, when I was in Mogador, it formed the principal topic of conversation ; and with the certainty that it will prove the subject of her claims at the Algeciras Conference, it is to be hoped that our Foreign Office may be fully alive to the menace offered by such a claim to Britain's naval power.
[As some misunderstanding seems to have arisen in regard to the matter, we may point out that we did not propose to support any claim on Germany's part to Mogador. All we meant to suggest was that, supposing France came to us and said, "We have no objection to German influence being recognised at Mogador, and if only you will offer no objection we can . arrive at a settlement of the Moroccan question satisfactory to ourselves," we should not insist on vetoing such a proposal. Since, however, it has become evident that France does not mean to ask us to assent to a German "sphere of influence" being established at Mogador, our suggestion falls to the ground and ceases to be practical politics, and we need not therefore consider whether or not the presence of the Germans at Mogador would be dangerous to us from a naval point of view.—En. Spectator.]
Previous page
