FKANCE. 



339 



having been done away with, and the debt 

 assumed by the republic, nothing stood in 

 the way of the complete establishment of the 

 protectorate. With the conversion of the debt, 

 the International Financial Commission ceased 

 to exist. A decree was signed by President 

 Gre" vy, Oct. 4, creating a staff of French civil- 

 ian controllers, who are responsible to the 

 French Government. The administration of 

 the country is to remain in native hands under 

 a permanent supervision by French officials. 

 The conversion of the debt was intrusted to 

 leading financial establishments in France. The 

 315,000 bonds were exchanged for others of 

 the nominal value of 500 francs, issued at 462 

 francs, and bearing interest at 4 per cent. 

 Great Britain objected to the abolition of the 

 capitulations, but agreed before the 1st of Jan- 

 uary, 1884, to yield up the right of consular 

 jurisdiction, while maintaining the financial 

 capitulations that limit the duties on imports 

 to 8 per cent, ad valorem. Germany, Austria, 

 and Italy waited for the action of England, 

 and signified their acquiescence as soon as she 

 withdrew her opposition. 



France and Morocco. The independence of 

 Morocco was guaranteed by the powers in a 

 conference held in 1880 at Madrid. In France 

 complaints have been made that the boundary 

 regulation between Algeria and Morocco, con- 

 firmed in the treaty of March 18, 1845, was not 

 satisfactory. In 1884 the French Government 

 took under its protection the Sherif of Wazan, 

 who was in conflict with the Sultan of Moroc- 

 co, and who possesses great influence and leads 

 a numerous sect. This act awakened distrust 

 in London and Madrid, and led to a demand 

 for explanations. The French Government 

 replied that its relations with the Sultan of 

 Morocco were altogether friendly, and that it 

 entertained no designs of territorial aggran- 

 dizement. The influence of the French repre- 

 sentative, M. Ordega, in Morocco was a cause 

 of jealous forebodings, especially in Spain. 

 Besides inducing Sidi Hadji, the Sherif of Wa- 

 zan, to become a French subject, he exercised 

 a strong influence over the Government, and 

 forced the Sultan to abate some of his arbi- 

 trary and tyrannical practices, thereby winning 

 the gratitude of the people, who look upon 

 France as their protector. His energy and the 

 diplomatic arrangement with Sidi Hadji, whose 

 power rivals that of the Sultan, caused the 

 estrangement of the latter and a state of feel- 

 ing that might lead to complications such as 

 the French Government declares that it wishes 

 to avoid. 



Annexation of Cambodia. The kingdom of 

 Cambodia was virtually annexed to Cochin- 

 China, and taken under French administration 

 in 1884. A protectorate had existed since 

 1863. In 1881 the consent of King Norodom 

 to pay 1,650,000 francs a year for French pro- 

 tection was obtained. On the 4th of June, 

 1884, Governor Thomson, of Cochin-China, 

 arrived with a fleet at Phom-Penh, and the 



next day demanded that the King should hand 

 over the administration of customs. At the 

 second conference with the King the latter 

 refused to entertain the proposal, and, when 

 the governor next came, the King denied him 

 an audience, on the plea of sickness. On the 

 17th French troops, which had been sent for, 

 took possession of the royal palace. The gov- 

 ernor with his staff entered the King's apart- 

 ments and compelled him to sign a treaty un- 

 der the threat of banishment. On the 6th of 

 August the King sent a protest against the 

 ratification of the treaty, which went far be- 

 yond the customs convention, and placed the 

 entire direction of the government in the 

 hands of the French. This change in the 

 terms was justified on the ground that the 

 King had insulted the French representative, 

 for which reparation was necessary. The ad- 

 ministration of the finances, justice, and public 

 works was placed by the treaty under the 

 control of the French Government. 



Annexations in Africa. In the spring the French 

 took possession of the port of Obok, at the en- 

 trance of the Red Sea, which was brought un- 

 der the protectorate of France in 1862. On 

 the west coast Porto Novo, which has been 

 nominally French territory for several years, 

 'was regularly occupied. The action of France 

 in the Congo region is noticed elsewhere (see 

 CONGO, INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF THE). 

 In Madagascar operations were confined to 

 blockading the ports of the Hovas after the 

 bombardment of Mahanovo in May (see MADA- 

 GASCAR). 



International Conventions. A convention for 

 the protection of submarine cables was signed 

 at Paris on March 14 by the plenipotentiaries 

 of twenty-six states. The convention remains 

 in force for five years from a date to be agreed 

 upon by the contracting powers, and is then to 

 be renewed by tacit agreement from year to 

 year. If any power withdraws at the end of 

 one of the terms, the compact is still binding on 

 the rest. 



The ratifications of the convention of March 

 20, 1883, for the protection of patents and 

 trade-marks were exchanged June 6 at Paris. 

 The states composing the international patent 

 and trade-mark union are England, Belgium, 

 Brazil, Ecuador, Spain, Guatemala, Italy, the 

 Netherlands, Portugal, San Salvador, Servia, 

 Switzerland, and Tunis. England, Ecuador, 

 and Tunis gave their adhesion to the conven- 

 tion June 6. 



Relations with Germany. The general agree- 

 ment in policy between the French and Ger- 

 man governments, and the support extended 

 by the German Chancellor to the French con- 

 tention in the diplomatic conflict with England, 

 and to theTonquinandTunisian policy of France, 

 were a source of weakness to the Ferry minis- 

 try. The prospect of a Continental alliance 

 against England was distasteful to the French 

 people, not only because it seemed to involve 

 the renunciation of the idea of revenge, and the 



