Germany Was,
However, Soothed By The Promise Of The Observance Of The 'Open Door' Policy
Upon The Upper Nile.
Italy, protesting meekly, followed Germany.
Russia had
no interests in this quarter. France and England were agreed. The rest were
not consulted: and the Declaration may thus be said to have been recognised
by the world in general.
It is perhaps early to attempt to pronounce with which of the contracting
Powers the advantage lies. France has acquired at a single stroke, without
any serious military operations, the recognition of rights which may enable
her ultimately to annex a vast African territory. At present what she has
gained may be described as a recognised 'sphere of aspiration.' The future
may convert this into a sphere of influence, and the distant future may
witness the entire subjugation of the whole region. There are many
difficulties to be overcome. The powerful influence of the Senussi has yet
to be overthrown. The independent kingdom of Wadai must be conquered.
Many smaller potentates will resist desperately. Altogether France has
enough to occupy her in Central Africa for some time to come: and even
when the long task is finished, the conquered regions are not likely to be
of great value. They include the desert of the Great Sahara and wide
expanses of equally profitless scrub or marsh. Only one important river,
the Shari, flows through them, and never reaches the sea: and even Lake
Chad, into which the Shari flows, appears to be leaking through some
subterranean exit, and is rapidly changing from a lake into an
immense swamp.
Great Britain and Egypt, upon the other hand, have secured a territory
which, though smaller, is nevertheless of enormous extent, more fertile,
comparatively easy of access, practically conquered, and containing the
waterway of the Nile. France will be able to paint a great deal of the map
of Africa blue, and the aspect of the continent upon paper may please the
patriotic eye; but it is already possible to predict that before she can
develop her property - can convert aspiration into influence, and influence
into occupation - she will have to work harder, pay more, and wait longer
for a return than will the more modest owners of the Nile Valley. And even
when that return is obtained, it is unlikely that it will be
of so much value.
It only remains to discuss the settlement made between the conquerors
of the Soudan. Great Britain and Egypt had moved hand in hand up the great
river, sharing, though unequally, the cost of the war in men and money.
The prize belonged to both. The direct annexation of the Soudan by Great
Britain would have been an injustice to Egypt. Moreover, the claim of the
conquerors to Fashoda and other territories rested solely on the former
rights of Egypt. On the other hand, if the Soudan became Egyptian again,
it must wear the fetters of that imprisoned country. The Capitulations
would apply to the Upper Nile regions, as to the Delta.
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