Affairs in Morocco have not become less obscure or com-
plicated during the week. General Lyautey has decided that Colonel Mangin's column shall advance on Marakesh. That city is still in the hands of the Pretender, El Ribs., and the fate of the nine French prisoners who are in his power is unknown. Communications have been received by General Lyautey from friendly Sheikhs, who say that the exactions of El Ham have caused much dissatisfaction, and that if a French column comes to Marakesh at once it is assured of sympathy and support. Whether General Lyautey wholly believes these statements or not, he has despatched between four and five thousand men under Colonel Mangin. Their objective is Sidi ben Othman, a place about fifteen miles from Marakesh, at the foot of the hills on which the city is built.
