The negotiations over Moroco have been eclipsed by the more
critical dispute between Italy and Turkey. The hopes of ari early settlement which we mentioned last week remain
on the whole, although Germany has raised some new objec- tions, and we fear these may mean that she wishes to keep the negotiations open in order to see what possibilities may be• presented by the crisis in Tripoli. Last Saturday the French reply was despatched to the previous German proposals. It differed in certain respects from the German solution, but not sufficiently to jeopardize 'an agreethent. A period of transition before French control in Morocco becomes completely effective was provided for, and the difficulty of the foreign protegis was to be met by revising the list of protégés. The substance of this proposed agreement was reached strictly in relation to the position of France in Morocco and without touching the question of the cession of Congo territory. The amount to be ceded has yet to be determined. Opinion in France tends to become more hostile to a considerable loss of territory, and the French Government may have difficulty in commending this part of the scheme. As for the new demands by Germany, it is not yet stated publicly what they are, but rumour says they reopen the economic question. This is of course a much more serious matter than the problems of the proteges and of consular jurisdiction.
