MOROCCO—A NEW EL DORADO.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 10489, 23 June 1910, Page 6

MOROCCO—A NEW EL DORADO.

(By Lawrence Harris, F.R.G.S.)

Morocco—M;iLihrib-01-Aksa, ''the cxtrcnio west"—is a country lying at the vcrv threshold of Europe, and yet it is as iVr behind the march of civil isation as i!i'-- interior of China. With its splendid coast line and illimitable resources it is a new El Dorado. Likewise it is a hone of contention to all tin- Iviron'-an Powers and a prize for which the'v are eager'to risk the uncertainties of war. International iealotisv has ir.en-lv postponed its inevitable'dismemberment. For it is doomed and the death-.-, niggles of a stagnant feudalism will make it an easy prey. The Moors, once the pioneers of civilisation, as a nation are now in a state of defeneration. Jn the eighth eenturv iliev overran Span and established a "powerful kingdom. Science, literature, and arc flourished under their rule. Gradually they extended their dominions, and. it not cheeked hv Charles Martel at the famous battle of Tours, the whole or Europe would have become Mohammedan. As America was colonised by Europeans it also would have been of tho faith of the

Prophet. The Moors, finally expelled from Europe in the fifteenth centur- retired to Morocco. Here the very richness ot the country was the causa of their decay. The land yielded crops with little labor; the climate was .ideal. This affluence resulted m a period ot inertia. Having; no longer to compete with their hardy neighbors, all cause for activity was absent. Then the second pei'iud of retrogradation arrived ; despotism, caste, and slavery destroyed every semblance of a constitution. As the other peoples advanced, the Moors degenerated to the most degraded and lowest caste of humans. They become outcasts and bloodthirsty pirates preying on their fellow men. For centuries they were the terror of the seas, but the progress 'of civilisation finally checked their power and stayed -their depredations. Deprived of their last resource, they li»ve "arrived at their present condition—a people morally unfit to be classed as a nation, and incapable ot organised effort to prevent civilised occupation of their country, which today lies open to the world, its energy

lopartcd, its treasures exposed,-its accumulated wealth ready to hand. The longing cy< >s of tlle PiogF oßß Powers have for years hecn directed, toward this country, so. rich in untapl>ed wealth. England was the first to Obtain a foothold there. America iollowed. The Moors do not discriminate between the representatives of these two nations. Implicit confidence m the Anglo-Saxon race has. been implanted "in their minds. They distrust all others, and an Anglo-Saxon is the favored one in every transaction. Bv the able policv of Sir John Drtimmon'd Hay and Kaid Sir Harry MacLean Anglo-Saxon—especially British —interests predominate, but Germany and France are not willing that such a valuable prize should be lost to them. Consequently thesp three nations have ("or long been on the verge of war. . To "-ain France to her side England saw that she must abandon Morocco. In 10f>4 an entente cordialo was announced to the world. Its terms were on-bodied in a declaration concerning E-.pt and Morocco. In plain words, FrT'iice allowed England a. free hand in J ' vpt in exchange for the same for heTsclt in Morocco. They promised each other mutual assistance in both countries. Three weeks after die treaty was ratified, the Ivaiser made -a SDcech at Carlsruhe of a most warlike character. He followed this by again sneaking in the same sense at Mayeneo and Saarbruek. He then went to Tan•rier on an official visit which was of si-nificant political import. To prevent immediate warfare the act oi Al"eciras was patched up m 19!io. Liie 'relentless manner in which this act has been violated is proof of the serious trouble brooding. The farce of the French policv of penetration pacihquo was soon 'evident. Her intrigues brought about the downfall of buUan \ bd-el-Aziz. chaos in the Moorish empire and the landing of French soldiers on Moroccan soil. At once German diplomatic activity showed a fixed determination to destroy pacific relations. . • 1 j. i The serious Casablanca incident, when deserters from the French foreign legion were protected and encouraged by the German consul, was followed by their two representatives at Tangier voicin" in public the attitude of the two "governments. Itegnault, the French' representative, saying to Von Vairgenheim. of Germany. you w:i>it~a war. von can have it' ; to which the reply was, '•Germany lias been prepared for that eventuality tor years and desires nothing better. \Vhcn prominent diplomats make such 1 statements the inference is obvious. F.ifjaiid remained passive and desired th- ; :-e complications. The foreign office in Downhill Street forbade my going to Fez and told me that England s policy was to allow matters to tako I their course. _ _ Despite the declaration of Air Henry White, the United States delegate to the \l"cciras Conference, that his countrv" had no political, interests in Morocco, the first of the diplomatic orps to arrive in Tangier was the American representative. The French commenced a crushing policy of forcing MulaiHafid, who had usurped the throne, to put himself in their hands. Impossible sums- of money were demanded as war indemnity and compensation for damage done to European merchants at the bombardment of Casablanca. I was with the Sultan when their first "note" reached-him. He handed it to me with these words: "By asking such sums of money they wish to make me a bankrunt ' sultan. If I accept their proposals and other countries do not help me. then the country is tmeirs. England will not help me, so I will go with Germany. I have been- assured that their a'rmv is the strongest in the world, and they will go to war with France and beat them." Dr Vassal, the German consul, had been precipitately sent to Fez, and the result of his negotiations was visible in the Sultan's words. Fortunately for the peace of Europe, Bismarck was not here, with his iron will, and European war was averted. But for how long: Morocco is a prize well worth fighting for. It is a country fabulously rich, with an area of three hundred thousand square miles, every inch of it valuable. It is full cf rich of gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, anti- ' monv. and many other minerals. It presents such a variety of climate and soil in hill and valley, woodland and open plain, and is so well watered by rivers'and small streams, that almost every plant under the sun might be raised within its limits. All the other naturally rich countries have some drawbacks, either of climate or of geographical obstructions, but Morocco has none of these, and her close proximity to the biggest markets of the world gives her an incalculable advantage over America-, whose gram and cotton - trade she will eventually ruin. The expansion of her trade when railways and port facilities are in full working order will be remarkable. This vast virgin land, with its mountains cf minerals, its magnificent plains and vallevs. is awaiting the pioneers of trade" to come and enjoy its riches.

When anarchy prevails, trade must suffer. Moreover, the Mohammedan religion, with its enervating doctrine of predestination, is fatal to progress. The Moorish sheik lives much the same as Abraham did three thousand years ago. The great egotism of ilie Moor is°thc cause of the hopelessly corrupted state of the. Government, which possesses the worst features of a corrupt bureaucracy. The Sultan extorts monev from his viziers, the viziers from the great, kaids. the great kaids from the lesser kaids. and so on down the social scale. There is no incentive to industry under the present yoke of iron desnotism. Crushed under the disorders and injustice or' a cruel feuda"! svstem. the unfortunate worker has to support the whole corrupt edifice. The' toiler dares n»t show -.niuence ,-:• it would he taken_ from him hv his superiors. Cultivation of rhe -'.iil is in its most, primitive state. There are no steel ploughs: the ground ■- e.erelv scratched with sharp stakes v.vsrhed -to legs. Yet the soil ■ is so '■■ mi.. tl-- : t rliroc crops can !>e raised |m ■• -.•..-!!-. Even now. with the minimum e,' lnhor and the crudest of imii!e!!"T.:s. a population of twelve mil- :: ,m< is kept in abundance. Valuable ore-deposits are untouched for want of machinery and oceans of wealth disregarded. Just around Fez

I have ridden for hours over hills of pun> cement that are still intact. An expert told me that it would be impossible to estimate the vast wealth contained in those hills. Wheeled traffic is unknown. There is not a 'mile- of railroad in the country and no roads worthv of 'the title. Old-time, caro.vans follow the wretched ill-defined tracks made bv countless generations. T-ie uolicy of the Shereetian sultans to exclude all foreign innovations was the cause of a narrow conservatism which in the last few years has entirelv disappeared. Antagonism to the "in'idol" is forgotten, and they welcome innovations and want them. "Whit a wonderful opportunity for the strenuous individuality of Americans! Thousands of miles of steel rails will be required. Bridges must be bunt, and irrigation works engineered. Sanitarv appliances, the telegraph and telephone, and the countless accessories that are required by, the new industries of a new ,-country will bo nec?ssarv. The work will bo easy even for the ' pioneer. The railroad-builder will have no phvsical difficulties to surmount. The plains are broad and flat, the rivers easy to bridge, and there are no dense forests or mouni tains to make the construction of railroads an expensive proposition. Morocco is certainly a land of stir-

prises. Besides the richness of the natural resources of the country there is • anotherx very important item, and that is the future of the coast towns. "With an. ideal climate they will become ' the summer-resorts of the wealthy, and the coast land will.enhance in value in an amazing fashion.. Take Tangier as an example. It is the only terminus of the railway that. will connect the seaboard with the interior, and is rapidly becoming the fashionable watering-place of Europeans and Americans. There are the telegraph and telephone connecting it with Europe,"and although newly horn it is already a busy citv. ' But there arc- better and more valuable places than Tangier which are yet untouched and practically unknown. All "the. coast towns are beautifully-" situated. Mogador is a most desirable spot. The temperature of this '/Picture City," as the Arabs call it, s ideal. The highest reading in summer is 37.08deg. Fahrenheit, and the lowest in winter, 50.07deg The average temperature for the last ten years was

66.09deg. It is considered by eminent plivsiciaus one of the healthiest places in "the world, and as a sanitarium for pulinonarv complaints it cannot be equalled.' Land here is very cheap. American capital could make a • veritable fairy city of Mogador, with which not even Nice could compete. It is gnuhiallv coming into notice and wn be tlie future resort of the wealthy. In the last few years French capitalists have converted some big houses into hotels to aecommdoate the few wto have discovered this charming haven of rest. They are realising a rich harvest. Phenomenal deals in real estate arc to be had all along the coast of Morocco. Tlie picturesque towns of Laraohe, Rabat, Casablanca, Mazagau, and Saffi are waiting to be brought into lif?. Already they are beginning to feel the throh of AVestern enterprise Soon they will be busy ports, crowded with ships of all countries bringing in

the necessary appliances to make a new coimtrv out of an old. At present the Moors are ignorant of the value of their country. A few thousand dollars is a fortune to them, and extraordinary bargains are to be had. Even the Sultan, does not realise the value of his land. When I was at Fez last vear Mulai Hafid offered toan English syndicate nearly the whole of the northern portion of Morocco for a half-million dollars. But the English fianciers were thoroughly ignorant of the country and delayed the signing of the documents. "When they wore ready to hand over the mono:.; it was too late. German capitalists had stooped in and given five million dollars for the same concessions. As a result Germany can now stay the hand of France for a while. The duty of protecting" her capitalists gives her tie raison d'etre to interfere in Moroccan politics. This will keep the market open for a time. It was for a similar reason tnat S'jain considered the small mining concessions in the Riff country valuable enouah to end an army of 40,000 men and carrv on rn oxuensive war to retain them. She also has come to the conclusion that a bit of the prize is worth having. Violating the treaty of Algeciras, Spain has asked to be allcaved to occupy a town on the north coast of Morocco. England was the first to accede to the request. The free hand allowed to France in Morocco is already regretted by England. If the French occupy the north coast of Morocco thov will control the. entrance to the Mediterranean, and there will be no free passage for the great Eastern trade of iJndia. Gibraltar will be practically useless and Egypt of no great value. Late events have practically drawn the. curtain from the face of the hitherto unknown and mysterious Morocco. Since life and property have become more secure, the natives from the interior have been bringing specimens of ore found in their land. The fortunate persons to whom these specimens are brought are feverishly endeavoring to find capital to buy the land. These facts are jealously kept as secretly as possible by the Europeans in Morocco. The long residence of these people in the country has narrowed their ideas. They do not understand the enormous strength of cooperation. Each indivdual is '_ suspicions of the other, and their business methods are antiquated. No reliance can be placed on these European residents. A stranger is fooled with an Oriental display of hospitality. He is lavishly entertained, but kept hopelessly in 'the dark on matters of financial 'import. Even the consuls are not to be relied upon. America has neglected to exercise a proper supervision over these important offices ; the position of consul has been given to men with no qualifications for the position. They have been mostly native Jews, who, under cover of .the flag, have enjoyed privileges which enabled them to abuse shamefully their important positions and to disgrace the country ■' they are supposed to represent.- I knew one American consul that flew two other flags, but could not speak English. With this state of things existing it is not surprising that very little is known concerning the wealth of the country. But the events of the last two years have swept away most of these abuses. • Great improvements are being made. An efficient police force officered by men chosen from the French and Spanish military forces keeps the towns in law and order. Business is. facilitated and financial transactions' are secured by the State Morocco Bank, which is in a very flourishing condition. By the treaty of Algeciras it is supervised and .supported by the German Imperial Bank, the* Bank of England, the Bank of Spain, and the Bank of France. Business men and investors have a positive security for their money in Morocco. When I first travelled in the country the natives were covertly, if not openly, hostile to foreigners, whereas now a foreigner is received as a necessary friend. A journey into the interior is a comparatively easy matter to what it was a few years ago. Prospectors and engineers can visit any portion of the empire except the Province Sus, the unexplored and unknown southern portion of the em-

piro. Morocco, with her temperate climate, fertile soil, and excellent water supply, can support a population of fifty millions instead of the present ten or twelve. She has not the serious drawbacks of other tropical countries. There is no excessive heat or cold to delay labor, no heavy rains to destroy crops, and labor is easy, to procure. What is mostly req-iired is fresh blood, fresh energy, and the circulating of money. Ssin.ce she will inevitably attract men who will develop her resources her future will be a surprise to the world. It'will not be a political progress, such c.s that of Japan, but a commercial progress which will be quite as phenomenal.