Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY, JULY 27, 1893. France in Siam.

Manawatu Herald, 27 July 1893, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY, JULY 27, 1893. France in Siam.

The cable news which comes flashing over the world regarding the jnoyements s o| th^ %encj) in jSjam invests the position they already.hold in that portion of the world with ( interest. It will be remembered that ' prior : to .the "great Oway 'between England and France, the latter country : h«ld - large 'possessions in In^ia, which were then wrested from her, and all that remains to her to-day are Pondicherry and Chandernagora.

To make explanation more cleat' to those who have not a late Atlas by them, we will describe the two large Peninsulas in the Indian Ocean, India, and further India as representing the letter W» the lefthand V being ladia and the adjoin - V, further India. It is in this further ~ India that " France ~~h"as endeavoured to make up for her losses in India proper. The right V ?L .s!>iU/ifctei;. W k.subdivided, injo. Biumah, situated on the top left of the^letker, then.byPtfgii and Tenas--1 sertni.-'-yil of 'which are now English provinces, these countries bring us down; to : tl\B bottom of the. letter /thbugbjoh tlid luaps there is a narrow slice of land called Lower Siam and the Malriy Peninsula. In the centre of this V is Siam which borders on the south on the gulf of the same name, and on the north by China. On the east of Siam, representing the right stroke of the letter W are Tonquin, Annam, Lower Cochin China and Cambodia, bordering on the South China sea. In 1867 France obtained the cession of the lower and the most productive portion of Lower Cpchin China, and a protectorate over Cambodia. In 1874 Tonquin was virtually handed over to France against the protests of ; China, and Annam was declared under French protection in 1884. it will be thus noticed that Siam is the only piece of country which divides the English and French interests oh either coast of further India. Another glance of the map will show that the only two rivers of importance flowing through Siam 1 are the Me Kong, which runs on tha vary east of that State and empties into the sea through Lower Cochin China, and MeNam which runs on the west side qf the Stats, and is of importance to English in terests. The port at, the mouth of this river is called Bangkok. What the French appear to be aiming at is to get control of the whole coast line in the gulf of Siam up to the river Me-Nam, thus, practically holding the outlets of that State. Like all -nations, who protect arid annex the territoriesbf their dependents, France does not say that this is her wish. It would appear that the Siamese, fearing too much of French affection, had debarred her from entering her warships in the only river left at their undisputed control. The French insisted and the Siamese fired. Thus this ..trouble is now made as an excuse to get more Siamese property. France wants all the land lying on left bank of the Me Kong up to the 28rd latitude which would add considerably to the French Annam province. Russia, except: in, being, intei-esEfed i£t.damaging the seourity of England in India does not appear to have need to move in the question, as she is alleged to be moving, nor doed China seem to be concerned except in a neighborly way, with Siam. The two most concerned are England, and France, and it is often from such apparently unimportant events great wars spring. Let us hope that it will not be so in this case, though the cables state that relations between the two countries are highly strained. - . '