The Thames Star. Resurrexi. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1903. THE FASHODA INCIDENT.

Thames Star, Volume XXXXI, Issue 10499, 15 December 1903, Page 2

The Thames Star. Resurrexi. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1903. THE FASHODA INCIDENT.

The cable message stating that Faslioda will in. fultoire be, known ns "Cannae," masks a> happy ■conclusion ■to a<n incident that ait one time thrfeatewed to ipkuigte Great Britain and France into' war, remairks a, conteair porary. Fivie years ago, the veany: menIbioni of Faishodta wasi sufßciemib to /pitfodluictei an -ainiti-BilLtriislhi dfemanlstafeitdon im Francie, amdl toi amouis© fresih plaiir dii» tf|«i th© nedouibtajbltei Oaptadn Marchand. Fr'ande ihadi for some time before the "incident"' been credited with ai desir© ibo establieli henself in thie -Eastern! Soond'an, so as to secure a footing oni the Kile;, ail'tihougih the Britfeh Government had', in 1895, annlouinioed that it would regard the Bendingi of an eKpiediLtiiOTL into that territory as an unfriendly net- In 1893,, Great Britain was engaged ia id^alinig with tihe Khalifa, find a Fi^ch ietxjuedfitiionj, tinder Capjtain Mandhamd, miade its wa.y from the Congo «mdl alorng the Upipen Fljamigi to Faslhoda, a vittnjfel the Nile. Ainoltiher Frenoh expedition was dtes.patched fromi Obo'k, witlh. the idea, of efßeating a junction wiith Captain Mlan'cihatn'di, but it failed to neacli its destination. At Fasihoda, the Ca^ptain was attacked by Dervishesi, and forced to erutreniah himself on a peninsula jutting out into the riveri, wlhsre his chances of getting ouTb seemed extremely remote. lASter tHie victory of Omdurtniam, ■wihidlx finally established estebliishedl the suipremaicty of Great Bi'itaiin im the iNile Valleyl, the SSrdlanf s'erit a. gunboiaib expedition down the a'iven, ian:d it idAsoovered Oaiptain Marchandl in hiis preeadous position. The Sirdar invited tihe intruder to retire, but this he declinted! to do wiithout ■orders fro mi his Govlennment. Ai British fore© was, therefore, posted so as to ciuit off Captain Marahand's 'comniiuinicaibion with the moiinland, and the matter was referred tol the British and Frendh GotTiertoments +o aielttle. The news of the .positim\, pnto■dluioedi aim outbuirati of popwlar enthusiasm in Franice, and for a while 1 war appeared imminent. Captain Marchand became the idol of tile peor plia. and tihie .miass of the French nation demanded that be should be supported in his stand! aigain«!t "British arrogam-tfe." Happily, tii® French Government had the couras© to admit

the error of it® smboTdinate, while the 'British administration gen'eroiusly turned ai deaf eair to inisultis- amd de<mutntoiaition- On Novemiber 5, 1898, it was acirieed thialb Majoi* Marohand shioaild evacuate Fasihio'dai, aaid: a t-yv months later an aigreament was signed which settled almost of th« jpointig in diiapuite .be'hwteteini the two nations regai'dinig the Easterni Sbudaiii- Tlie changing of the name is, of t'burse, ai pretty ''ctotacfcission to tih'e susceptibilities of our excellent friienidfe.