It is alleged that Count von Tattenbach, the Special Envoy
despatched by the German Emperor to Fez, has instructions to demand that the French instructors in the Shereefian Army should be dismissed and replaced by Germans. This statement, which would indicate that Berlin seeks a Protectorate over Morocco, is denied, and Count von Tattenbach's instructions are still secret. Our Government, however, has in the circumstances thought it well to send its own Minister, Mr. Lowther, on a Special Mission to Fez, and it seems clear that the diplomatic contest which always rages at Constantinople and Pekin will rage also at the Moorish capital. That should not produce either wars or threats of war ; but, as we have argued elsewhere, this must depend upon the secret wishes of the German Emperor. He may be seeking war, though that seems improbable, or a position in Morocco which France would resent, or only a diplomatic triumph which would leave him the most important personage in Europe. His ultimate and justifiable object is, of course, to free his country from dangerous pressure on his Eastern and Western frontiers ; but his method of securing that end is still obscure, and greatly disturbs the minds of all ruling men. His position, we perceive, is now being used as a final argument against a Dissolution, which might lead to a change in the direction of the British Foreign Office.
