The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1923. THE TANGIER DIFFICULTY.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXX, Issue 2, 4 September 1923, Page 4

The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1923. THE TANGIER DIFFICULTY.

Britain, France and Spain willingly concur on the point that the Sultan of Morocco is sole rightful sovereign in Tangier; but the agreement reaches no further than that, for there seems to be an irreconcilable difference of opinion on the all-import-ant point of how this sovereignty Is to be exercised. The Sultan is a French protected monarch. He rules directly in the French zone, but his authority there extends little farther than th:> signing of edicts prepa-od by the French President. That i such an arrangement should be recognised also In the Tangier zone is the aim of French policy, declares) the "Daily Telegraph"; but this 10 i patently at v«u-ia»ce with iha under-)

standings often exchanged In the years before the war that the international status of Tangier would always be respected. Without this understanding we should perhaps never have recognised the French protectorate in Morocco. Spain holds quite another view. In the narrow Spanish zone the Sultan exercises his authority, or such vestiges of it as remain, through a viceroy. Naturally, the Spaniards do not recognise any French privileges iin the zone administered by them- ! selves. But Tangier borders on the ' Spanish, not on the French zone. , The Spaniards, while fully endorIsing the principle that the Maghzen, or Moroccan Government, should alone exercise authority in Tangier, would..like it to exercise it through J the same channel as in their own zone. Great Britain is perhaps not so strongly opposed to this Spanish j thesis as she is to the French, but she would be unwilling to see Spain installed at Tangier with practically sovereign powers. She considers her own economic interests to be greater than those of Spain, and she cannot close her eyes to the fact that the Spanish zone is the scene of perpetual bloodshed and intrigue. She would not like to see Tangier drawn into this orbit. Great Britain is as willing as anybody to recognise the supreme 1 authority of the Maghzen, but she knows that this is a convenient diplomatic fiction, and that in reality European rule of some kind is inevitable. She therefore holds strongly to the principle of an international regime, without being, however, blind to the absurdities and scandals of the present anarchv for which that term is a cloak. She desires something quite different from that—a form of administration which will be impartial and at the same time efficient. The British view that Tangier is no less important to Britain than to either Spain or France suffers somewhat from the fact that each of these countries has carried on a strong penetration • campaign in Tangier while we have remained completely passive. Much of this propaganda has taken a very desirable

form as far as the welfare of the community is concerned. The French in particular have endowed j the town with • valuable hospitals and schools, the Spaniards also to a less extent. The British have, contributed one struggling school, supported by voluntary contributions. Furthermore, during the war France poured money into Tangier, while Britain, absorbed in more urgent matters, forgot all about it. Lately | the French policy has made considerable headway. The Maghzen, supported, or rather incited by the French authorities behind it, has boon assiduously reclaiming lapsed powers and privileges. Great Britain would probably favour such proposal as that the authority of the Sultan shall be exercised in Tangier through a viceroy, with functions similar to those of the vicoroy in the Spanish zone. The natural solution would be that the Leaguo of Nations should be entrusted witli the care and administration of Tangier, utilising as far as possible the machinery of the native administration, but ensuring its freedom from the abuse and corruption that are now rampant. Unfortunately, the Saar experiment has so far turned out so disastrously that it will certainly be quoted

against such a solution. In reality, the cases are so different as to render comparison inept. But it is to be hoped that the coming meeting of the League Council will deal with the Saar problem in such a way as to restore confidence to those who

have lost or never possessed faith in the League's efficacy as a trustee for territories of a "special character." At all events it will be an international scandal if the immense potential economic value of Tangier should continue much longer to be wasted for want of an effectives netileaieat.