FRANCE AND MOROCCO.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 14302, 23 February 1910, Page 7

FRANCE AND MOROCCO.

THE AGREEMENT RATIFIED. By Telegraph.— Press' Association. Copyright. Paris, February 21. France has issued an ultimatum to Mulai Hand, Sultan of Morocco, instructing him to ratify the agreements with France within 48 hours. (Received February. 22. 10 p.m.) Paris, February 22. The Moorish envoy in Paris has informed M. Pichon (the French Foreign Minister) that Mulai Hafid has ratified the French agreement..

A cable on Monday • stated that France had threatened to seize the Moroccan Customs tiniest the Sultan at an early date ratified the agreement between El M'skri, his financial agent, and M. Pichon, French Minister for . Foreign Affaire. The Paris newspaper, Lo Temps, asserted that one of the. Mannesmann brothers (German concessionaries) had pone to Fez in order to urge Mulai Hafid ,to resist the French claims, thus . infringing the German Government's declarations with regard to Morocoo. In the agreement of 1909 with regard to : Morocco, France stated that she was entirely solicitous to maintain the integrity of the Moroccan Empire, and resolved to safeguard economic equality in it, and therefore not hamper German commercial and industrial interests there. Germany, for her part, stated she "was only pursuing economic interests in Morocco, recognising on the other hand that France's special political interests 'there are closely connected with the consolidation of order and of internal peace. Determined then not to hinder their several interests, as stated above, both Powers declared that they would not carry on or encourage any measure which might create in their favour or in' favour of anv Power an economic privilege, and that they would seek to associate their nationals in undertakings the concessions of which those nationals may obtain. The mining concession to the Mannesmanns, who are Germans, is held to be a breach of this declaration. _, '