NEWS OF THE WEEK.
UNEXPECTED and regrettable friction has been reintro- duced into the relations of France and Germany. On Tuesday the semi-official North German Gazette announced that the German Government had informed the signatories of the Algeciras Act that, "in view of the new situation in Morocco, they feel themselves bound to point out that the speedy recognition of Mulai Hafid would be in the interest of the ultimate pacification of Morocco." At the same time, it became known that the German Consul at Fez, Dr. Passel, had returned there from Tangier without having informed his colleagues of his intention. Of course there is nothing inherently wrong in Germany's way of making her wishes known to • the other Powers ; but when one considers the circumstances, her behaviour does seem peculiarly unfortunate. When she communicated with the other Powers, Mulai Hafid had not had time to make his intentions known to Europe ; therefore France and Spain, who would naturally take the leading part in dealing with Morocco, could not be accused of dilatoriness.
