Wairarapa Daily Times [ESTABLISHED OVER 50 YEARS.] SATURDAY, JUNE 20, 1925. THE WAR IN MOROCCO.

Wairarapa Daily Times, 20 June 1925, Page 4

Wairarapa Daily Times [ESTABLISHED OVER 50 YEARS.] SATURDAY, JUNE 20, 1925. THE WAR IN MOROCCO.

We hear so much of the British Empire that we are apt to forget that France, too, has a very .extensive empire, with difficulties and problems of her own. Just as British soi.l’eis learned their business in “little wars’’ in the farflung territories of Britain, so their French confreres gained valuable experience from service in the colonies. General Joffre, for instance, won his first laurels in the campaign in which he captured Timbuetoo, and General Lyantey distinguished himself in Morocco, -where another little war is now in progress. This affair is a legacy from Spain, who has shown herself incapable of keeping the .Riffs in check. Some years ago Morocco was the happy hunting ground of concessionaires, and several European Powers asserted that they had interests which should be recognised—the Agadir incident will be remembered in this connection. Those of France, however, were predominant, and in ;1912 the Sultan formally accepted the French protectorate. But Spain also had claims which could not be disregarded, and the same year a Franco-Spanish treaty defined the Spanish zone—a strip in the north of Morocco, on the Mediterranean seaboard. This comprises the country known as Er Riff, a mountainous, inhospitable tract, where an invader is eta great disadvantage. For some time Spain was content to occupy points on the coast; Spanish authority did not run more than a few miles from the sea. In 1921 she attempted to enlarge the area under effective control, and disaster followed. A Spanish army was taken by surprise and virtually annihilated. The defeat had important political consequences. The Government reinforced the troops and announced that it would adopt a new and vigorous policy of “pacification,” but months passed without any achievement worth counting. There were whispers of gross incapacity in the command, and corruption in high places. In spite of the censorship, it leaked out that through the depredations of contractors, the Spanish forces were miserably equipped and supplied. The position in Morocco contributed greatly to the success of de Rivera’s coup. He pledged himself to restore Spanish prestige. However, it is one thing to promiso, and another to perform. The war has dragged on in a desultory fn c >hmn. w’*h varying fortunes, but on the -whole the Spanish have made little or no headway. Indeed, as the price of peace, the Riffs demanded from Spain a heavy indemnity, the surrender of large quan-

tities of aeroplanes and military material, and the evacuation of the greater part of the zone. Towards the end of last year, as a result of pan-Islamie propaganda, the Riffs redoubled their activity. The 'Spanish sustained a severe defeat, and their foothold in Morocco was threatened. Meanwhile, encouraged by their victories over the Spanish, the Riffs had begun to encroach upon the French sphere, and France was drawn into the war. The French have reported minor successes, and admitted minor reverses; but they, too, are finding that the Riff, on liis native heath, is not an easy person to discipline.