63 



The Review of Reviews. 



FRANCE AND HER NORTH 

 AFRICAN COLONIES. 



M. Paul Leroy-Beaulieu contributes to the Revue 

 des Deux Mondes of June 15 an article on the French 

 Colonies in North Africa— Algeria, Tunis, and Morocco. 



THE OLD LADY. 



Algeria, the eldest of the sister colonies, was born in 

 1830, but the labour of conquest extended till 1857. 

 From the political point of view the chief obstacles to 

 success were the resistance of the native population 

 and French ignorance of the physical and moral 

 conditions. Nevertheless, the political administration 

 of France is regarded as a success, though it had to be 

 obtained at enormous cost. During the last decade 

 the financial situation in the colony has much improved. 

 From the social point of view there ha\e been many 

 difficulties to contend with. To begin with, Algeria 

 was not vacant land ; most of it was already under 

 some sort of cultivation. It was, therefore, far from 

 easy to implant a numerous colony of Europeans and 

 get them to live in harmony with the natives. On the 

 whole, however, the writer considers France has done 

 well in Algeria. No other European Power would 

 have done better. But England would have opened 

 up the country in a much shorter time, and would have 

 made twice as many railways, and have exploited 

 twice as many lines. Moreover, England would long 

 ago have connected by railway Algeria with the Soudan, 

 but she would not have planted 700,000 Europeans in 

 the country. The population in 191 1 is estimated at 

 four million Mussulmans, 675,000 Europeans, and 

 75,000 Jews. 



A MASTERPIECE OF COLONISATION 



For twenty years Tunis, the younger sister, now 

 thirty-one years of age, has enjoyed the reputation of 

 being the masterpiece of French colonisation, if not of 

 all contemporary colonisation. Here conquest was 

 easy, and there were neither victors nor vanquished 

 to cause difficulties. The budget of Tunis has always 

 shown a surplus, yet the colonists are not altogether 

 satisfied. The country seemed favourable for culti- 

 vation, but the colonists have been deceived. Drv- 

 farming has been suggested, but everyone must 

 recognise that that is only a pis-aller, and the results 

 cannot be compared to countries which arc properly 

 watered. Nevertheless, the country is well covered 

 with railways, and there is abundant traffic owing to 

 the production of phosphate, which amounts to 30 per 

 cent, of the phosphate of the world. The population 

 is stated to be 1.706,000 Mussulmans, 163.000 

 Europeans, of whom only 41,000 are French, and 

 49,000 Jews. 



THE TASK I.\ MORJCCO. 



An arduous task lies before France in Morocco, and 

 for many years France cannot hope to derive any benefit 

 from the great expenditure she will have to make. 

 If a dozen years suffice for the conquest she may 



congratulate herself, but it is certain that for not less 

 than a dozen years all French colonial policy will have 

 to be subordinated to Morocco. Here railways are 

 more essential than ports. Legend has attributed the 

 large number of ten to twelve millions to the popu- 

 lation of Morocco, but the writer doubts whether a 

 census would show a total of five millions. The most 

 urgent need in French North Africa is the connection 

 of the colonies with the interior of tlie continent, 

 and the writer cannot understand France's long delay 

 in making a trans-Saharan railway. 



HOW MOROCCO KEEPS COOL. 



Mr. Alan G. Ogii.vie writes in the Geographical 

 Journal for June on Morocco and its future. Amongst 

 other interesting information he explains the mode- 

 rate temperature of the land. He says : — 



The temperature conditions in the whole of the [X-irt of 

 Morocco which looks to the Atlantic areyreatly modified by two 

 factors : the first, that the trades blowini; from more northerly 

 latitudes are relatively cool winds ; and the second, that the 

 .Atlantic co.ast of .Morocco is washed by abnormally cold water. 

 There is a difference of 5 deg. C. between the temperature of the 

 surface water at Mogador and of that twenty miles to sea. This 

 belt of cold water is partly explained by the jiresence of the cool 

 "Canary current," but chiefly by an upwcUing of cold water 

 from below. The trade winds act on these surface waters in two 

 ways — the extreme dryness of the winds, which are here blowing 

 ofl land, causes excessive evaporation from the coastal waters, 

 while the great regularity of the trades actually produces a \ve^l- 

 ward drift of the surface water. But to compensate and keep the 

 surface everywhere at one level the cold water rises. The eifecls 

 of this arc, of course, more evident in the south than in the north, 

 for the difference between air and water temperatures increases 

 southwards. A moist atmosphere results, fogs which palliate 

 the relentless rays of the sun are frequent on the coast. There 

 is a very heavy dewfall, especially in summer, upon a coastaJ belt 

 of more than 50 kilonis wide. In the coastal regions the average 

 annual temperature is low for the latitude, and the variation 

 between summer and winter and belween day and night tem- 

 peratures is small. The precise cause of the heavy dewfalls has 

 yet 10 be found, but it seems possible that the relatively slight 

 fall in the temperature at night may suffice to produce them in 

 view of the proximity of the moist coastal atmosphere. 



VAST POTENTIAL WEALTH. 



So over a large tract of Morocco there is an absence 

 of extremes of heat and cold, due to the proximitv to 

 the ocean, and especially to the upwelling of cold 

 water, to the direction of the prevailing wind, and the 

 climatic barrier of the Atlas Mountains, which bar out 

 the influences of the Saharan climate. Mr. Ogilvie 

 pronounces Morocco, though undeveloped, to be a 

 potentially rich land : — 



In parts it possesses all the features of an agricultural region of 

 the highest value. In other parts the forests, if scientifically 

 treated, would yield big returns, although a considerable number 

 of years would necessarily elapse before these began to come in. 

 Further, nearly all parts of Morocco which are unsuited for 

 agriculture or forestry can be utilised for stock rearing ; fisheries, 

 too, will afford a good return for well-directed encouragement, 

 and there is the possibility of the existence of mineral wealth. 

 15ut in order th,at these developments may be brought about 

 .Morocco must have a peaceful and sure govenimeni, capital 

 must be expended, and tactful treatment must remove for good 

 and all the ancient Moroccan suspicion of the foreigner. 



