LEAVES FROM THE EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XLIV, Issue 14703, 2 June 1920, Page 8

LEAVES FROM THE EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK.

The Allies' trembled relations with Syria, which have uteri m evidence in recent cable messages, are typical or what generally arises irueu west and Juist meet with conflicting interests. According to Mr Glair i'rice, a journalist who followed the fortunSs ot the liritish lorces in the ii'ast and is familiar with events, tlie coronation ot Emir i' eisul as King 01 c>vria lias cieatcuiusitu-.i-tion iu wnich precipitate action in the iormulatioii ol twi pyriaii terms or tiii Turkish Treaty by Jiritain atld France ; would provoKe a-long and ugly conflict in tne iNear JS>a&c. Jtsut lie auds I hat a policy ot working dtncateiy may yu L - reconcile c>yriaii elements wiitcli- on me suriace appear, t ooe lrreconwlabie. -.oyria is essentially an Aiao country, ■uut grafted on to tne ougtuai Arao population as the result of -many conquests are many racial brandies. lielore the war its population consisted ot about 2)O00j0Ul) Malionvmendan Arabs and oUO,uOO Christian Arabs.: its christian elements were settled largely in the Lebanon district, back ot JBeirui. . j and afLer the massacre ot Christians ■i3 Damascus as far back as 18G0" France secured a degree ' oi' autonomy for Lebanon. Before tiie advance of "the British Ariny towards Palestine negotiations were .'entered imto tlirough tlie Sherif of Mecca (now 'King Hussein of Hejaz) for co-opera-tion with the British in raising a revolt throughout' Syria against tlie Tuikisli army. Britain, knowing that the region was one in which French claims would have to be considered eventually, communicated with France; aud the. agreement arrived at was that there should .be ; a direct French administration in Cilicia and in the Lebanon, an international regime'* in Palestine, and a division of tlie "independent" Syrian State in the" hinterland into British and French zones. The Damascus Committee agreed to the .exclusion of Cilicia from an independent Syria, but refused to agree to .1 French zone on the coast, All this; became known to~the Turks, who raided 'the locked French Consulate at Beirut, obtained a list of the Syrian Nationalists, and hanged all those whom thev could lav their hands on. That Glided the revolt, biit it did not put a stop to Arab ambitions. King Hussein aided th'j British with very substantial armies, and one of his. sons. Emir Feisal, commanded the King of Hejaz's Northern Army. King Husseiiiy according; to lht y writer of tht historical not disinterested in his aid to the British. He had in mind "the possibilities' of a far-flung Arab renaissance.. involving the restoration of the Mahommedan Caliphate to the Koneisli tribe, the tribe of the Prophet at Mecca, had in mind a Syria under the rule of his son, the Emir .Feisal, and an Irak (Mesopotamia) under the rule of another son, the Emir Seid." The British had no sooner ronouered Damascus than Emir Feisal made an entry into the city in traditional Arab style. In accordance with the Anglo-French agreement, Damascus was handed to him, and from that time on he was looked upon by the Syrian Moslems as the uncrowned. King of Svria.

With the occupation of Damascus King Hussein's active share in thr> liberation of Syria came to an end, but' not so Svrian ambition, and it is here that arises the conflict of interest and the delicate situation of which mention was made in the previous note. Damascus and ife irnt had no sooner fallen than a telephone message from Damascus ordered the hoisting of the Arab flag at Beirut in accordance with a desire of the Syrians to claim their own coast. But' General Allenby ordered the flag to be run down, and the coast handed over to the French. This was done, and Emir Feisal at once left for Paris to endeavor to obtain by peaceful means what- the Syrians had tried to | secure by force. But he failed to make a favorable impression on the French, who adhered firmlv to their right to control the coa st. Then the situation was complicated by the British recognition of the Zionists' movement in respect to Palestine. Lebanon, too. began to waver in its loyalty to France, and severe repressive measures bad to be adopted by the French. AY hen Feisal returned he was unable to stem the flood in Syria, Bitter attack's were launched against the French, who in the middle "of February were 011 the point of being driven out of Syria. On March Bth the Syrian Congress at Damascus proclaimed Feisal King of Syria,, defining the independent -State of Svria as including the Lebanon and Palestine from the Amanus range to the Sinai desert, and Mesopotamia. Feisal's acceptance of the Syrian Crown has prevented the Syrian movement falling into more irresponsible leadership. He. insists that his leadership will in no way affect his cordial relationship with his Allies. While be ;s known to favor an indivisable Syria, he is believed to advocate the employment of, British and French advisers by the young Syrian . Government. Our authority concludes: "He has.now been summoned to Paris again by the Allies, and upon his reception there will depend- the very far-reaching issues which lie wrapped up in the question of peace or war in Syria." : .

. Quite a host of candidates are in the field for party nomination in the Presidential election of the United States to be held this year, and something in the nature of a national scandal has already been created by "the lavish expenditure of - money by or 011 behalf of some candidates to secure nomination. Special attention has been directed to the election funds of two Republican aspirants. —General Wood and Mr Frank O. Lowden. This expenditure of\money for the gratification of personal political anibitions or for the promotion of certain interests has called forth wide condemnaItion in the Press generally, and lias been-, the subject of comment in the Senate, where a Bill imposing compulsory publicity for pre-convent;on funds has oeuii introduced by Senator Borah who declaimed against the growing use of money in elections. He declared that this money business had attained an astounding extent, and that "the year 1920 ' promises to become a perfect saturnalia- of corruption." Senator Johnson, the Califomian choice for the .Republican nomination, described the spectacle presented in pre-conven-tion campaign as beggaring description, aud added that "sums of money beyond the wildest dreams of the practical politician are being expended." Qf course some Republican writers protest that this, use /of money ,to promote nomination •is not confined to Republicans,.but no name of a Democrat aspirant* for the Presidential chair has been-| mentioned in this connection. One socialist paper, however, referring to the unlimited money, to be had for the leading Republican candidates from big financial interests, says: '.'There would be just as much to put any Democratic candidate in—for the Democratic part®, is wedded to capitalism just as the Republican party is—only -a Democrat is not a good, bet this j year." While the proposal of Senator Borah to enforce publicity meets with much acceptance, some papers pronounce in favor of forbidding the expenditure of any money at all. One paper asks: "Ought not the preference to go to the man who had so imI pressed himself ■ on the people that, he I could obtain a. following without re- [ course to an elaborate advertising cam-, paign ? Under the present system the longest- pole gets the persinlmon. As a. general proposition, however, the best interests .of - the- people demand tltat the candidate- with the greatest financial backing shall he defeated."