3 JANUARY 1903, Page 2

The Morocco news continues as bad as ever. The Sultan

is at present being besieged by the rebels in Fez, from which the water supply has been cut off. It is also said that the fanatical inhabitants of the capital have had their loyalty undermined, and are ready to join the Pretender. Other bad signs are the rising of local tribes against the Sultan's authority. The Benider tribe and the other tribes in the neighbourhood are said to have risen and to be menacing Tetuan. At the same time, tribes ordered to come to the defence of the Sultan are said to have refused to move. Tangier is apparently safe at present, but the situation there is necessarily a very anxious one. We have dealt with the crisis as a whole elsewhere, and will only say here that the prospects are very gloomy. The chief danger is to be found in the fact that if the Pretender wins it will be as the champion of an anti-" infidel," anti-European revolution; and that we may be face to face with a new " Khalifa " capable of defying not only Britain, but the whole of Europe. Meantime, the details which have arrived of the defeat of the Sultan's army show that it was most complete. Twelve guns were captured, and also a great sum of money.