The French Government last Saturday ratified the agreement with the
Turkish Nationalists which M. Franklin-Bouillon negotiated recently at Angora. It provides for the operation of the Baghdad Railway from, the Taurus to the rail-head at Nisibin by a French company. The racial minorities in Cilicia, which the French.will evacuate, are to have the illusory protec- tion of the regulations introduced into the treaties with Poland and other Central European States. Trade between Northern Syria. and Turkish territory is to be free from Customs duties. The agreement raises very serious questions. France has reoog, nizod the rebels under Mustapha Kemal as a Government, disregarding, the Sultan and his Ministry at Constantinople. Furthermore, she has rioted independently, without consulting her Allies or considering. their. interests. The Near Eastern question plagued Europe for generations because the Powers could never agree on united action, except at rare intervals. France now deliberately reverts to that evil state of things in order to reduce- the cost of administering her mandate in Syria. As Syria was rescued from Turkish misrule solely by British efforts, our French Alliea might have been expected to take tie into their confidence before tearing up the Treaty of Sevres.
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