On Wednesday, the Paris correspondent of the Standard telegraphed that
he had received information from an authori- tative source, that though the French Government did not intend to mix up the questions of Zanzibar and Egypt, they considered that the demand which England must make to them in regard to the recognition of her protectorate over Zanzibar, " would render the moment propitious for the arrangement of various questions interesting both France and England in Africa." In other words, they want to receive a quid pro quo for their assent to our Protectorate, which appears to be required by the Treaty of 1862. Probably some concession ought to be made in order to smooth matters, but at present the French Cabinet ask far too much,—no less than the recognition of their Protectorate in Madagascar, the abandonment of our most-favoured-nation rights in Tunis, the delimitation of the Hinterland behind Tunis and Algiers, and a rearrangement of boundaries at the mouth of the Niger. No doubt Lord Salisbury will act wisely ; but whatever is ultimately done in the way of exchange, we trust that a permanent settlement of the Newfoundland question will be a part of the arrangement. It is essential that matters there should be decided once for all, and not merely patched up.
