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In the military sense, the situation is almost exactly that which exists on the northwest frontier of India; in short, while it will never be quiet, it will never be formidable. The country of the Spanish zone, moreover, is geographically not unlike the Himalayan foothills. It is difficult and mountainous, consisting of ridge after ridge of hills, of a height of 4000 to 5000 feet, alternating with rather narrow but well-watered valleys. The climate is quite cold; in fact, the well-to-do Spaniard spends the summer in Tetuan and goes to Biarritz, 1500 miles to the north, for the winter, because it is so much warmer. Spanish Morocco is essentially a country in which Europeans can live without the smallest physical discomfort; which is some small compensation for the fact that the French have, broadly speaking, taken all the plains and left the Spaniards all the mountains.

Such is the country and such the people with which the Spaniards have to deal in the strip of Africa running from Larache on the Atlantic to Melilla on the Mediterranean, and from Ceuta in the north to Wazan in the south. The question naturally arises, 'What are they doing there at all?' and is not answered merely by saying that Spain wanted to bear a hand with the other European nations in land-grabbing Africa. Nor is it merely a case of the reconquistadores following up their ancient enemy to his base. I can best explain the situation by saying that Spain is in Morocco for the same reasons that we are in Ireland, and for the same reasons that we are anxious to keep our connection with Australia and Canada more than a mere question of sentiment. Like all long-sustained and vehemently supported arguments, the conception of Ireland as a strategic unit with Great Britain has something in it; and Spain, too, may reasonably feel that the presence of a large block of

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territory so near her coasts demands more than a merely nominal interest on her part in that territory. Moreover, she wants lands for colonization. The apparent emptiness of Spain proper is strictly relative to her soil; nor can the ordinary Spanish family continue indefinitely to number nine or ten without serious overcrowding. As a matter of fact, before the Spanish zone was opened up, such large numbers of Spaniards went as colonists to the western part of French Morocco, that the French officials there find it imperative to speak Spanish. Spain may have started late, and she may have many difficulties to overcome, but if any European power has a right to be in Mauretania that power is Spain; and for my part I would not willingly see any other there.

Comparisons are often made between the work of France and Spain in this region, much to the detriment of the latter; indeed, by the advocates of, for example, the French occupation of Tangier, we are asked to take the inefficiency and the somnolence of the Spaniards for granted. They are represented as waking up only sufficiently to take bribes or to inflict gross acts of barbarism. Such comparisons are grossly unfair. Without any reflection upon the quite exceptional qualities of Marshal Lyautey, it is the truth that he had a flying start; that the French have taken their task in Morocco seriously ever since 1871; that he had a staff of administrators highly trained in dealings with the natives; that he had the easier country in which to operate; and that he has been backed by the practically universal approval of his countrymen.

Spain, on the other hand, though she has possessed jumping-off points in Ceuta and Melilla for some hundreds of years, has never until recently been able, or inclined, ruthlessly to interfere

with the native administration. The Spaniards have never forgotten the lamentable failure of Charles V before Algiers, when he lost an army and a fleet, in 1541. Perhaps even more moving than the remembrance of disaster in Africa have been the preoccupation of the Carlist wars and the resulting general impoverishment from which Spain is only just recovering. Throughout the great war, Spain could make no move. The Moors, when attacked, merely retired into French territory and made trouble there. The French naturally objected to any increase of her responsibilities, and in deference to their wishes Spain held her hand.

Therefore, the work of Spain has been in progress for only two years. It has been performed in three disconnected areas Larache, Tetuan, and Melil

la and in a most difficult country. It has been retarded by grave difficulties of supply. For example, it has not been possible as yet to obtain any public money whatever for development. It has been done in despite of great Parliamentary opposition whenever casualties are incurred; and when a cook is not allowed to break eggs, there is grave danger that the omelette will not be made. An entirely new Colonial Service has had to be created, and no appeal has been possible to recruits, except that compensation which adventure sometimes gives for the absence of civilized luxuries. The personnel of this service has no tradition behind it, inasmuch as for a hundred years Spain has had no need of colonial administrators. It has to learn that most difficult language, Arabic, and to contend with a people that have never owned any overlordship, neither Roman, nor Vandal, nor Arab — namely, the hill tribes. In spite of all these difficulties, Spain has made excellent progress, and it does not lie in the mouths of those who have had centuries of experience like ourselves, or

are backed by the conscious effort of a powerful military nation like the French, to disparage it.

In the west, moving out from the three bases of Ceuta, Tetuan, and Larache, the Spaniards have in these two years reduced a circular strip of country round the coast of the Tangier promontory. These operations have enclosed the famous chief Raisuni in an area about 60 kilometres square, from which the only exit is a 20-kilometre corridor between Xauen and Wåzan (in French territory). To the east there is a gap of 100 miles (the Rift country) between where the Tetuan zone ends and the Melilla zone begins, communication between the two being entirely by sea. The population of Tetuan is mainly Arab, and of a dark aquiline type; but as one penetrates south and east the Berber predominates. Thus, the people of Xauen are noticeably whiter, while on the eastern border of the Rift golden and red hair are common, and, given some slight change of clothing, the ladies would not be out of place in Bond Street.

The Arab women are closely veiled until they become too old to be a temptation; but the Berbers, in addition to wearing no veil, actually have the Christian cross tattoed on their foreheads and chins. The reason for this practice is not known by the people themselves, but is obviously a survival from the pre-Vandal days, when all the Berber tribes professed a militant Christianity.

In the east the Spaniards have advanced in fan-shaped formation out of Melilla, right up to the French boundary on the east and south, and to a distance of 150 kilometres to the west. Since the war these operations have not cost above one hundred casualties, though in 1913 the Spaniards were led into an ambush just outside Melilla which cost them a thousand men.

The whole zone is under the command of General Berenguer, the High Commissioner, whose headquarters are at Tetuan; but the Melilla zone is in charge of General Silvestra. The force at their disposition, Spanish and native, amounts to about 65,000 men. I can not speak too highly of the courtesy and energy of these two commanders. They are gradually, subject to the limitations of men and money before mentioned, working toward each other; and in a matter of months the traveler will be able to journey in a motor-car from Larache to Cairo.

The mere occupation of the country, is, however, a trivial part of the gigantic task of pacification. The two hallmarks of Europe are railways and roads, and the construction of both is being rapidly pushed forward. A motor-bus runs daily from Tetuan to Tangier, through Fondah, and many kilometres of railway track have been laid. Eighteen months ago, to show one's nose outside Tetuan was to have it flattened by a bullet. Ceuta and Tetuan are connected both by road and by rail. Thirty-five kilometres of road have been built from Tetuan to Soco Arba, on the way to Xauen, and five or six kilometres of road from Xauen back toward Soco Arba are already completed. Lastly, a good road runs from Tetuan to the port of Rio Martin. All these roads have to traverse passes many thousands of feet high, and each demands a high degree of engineering skill.

In the Melilla zone progress has been even more rapid, because the first hundred kilometres to the southwest is flat plain. But here excellent motor roads run east to French territory, and west for 80 kilometres to Dar Driuch; while some 50 kilometres of railway is in working order from Melilla through Hador and Zeluan to Estacion. All these are military works, and their

transport capacity is supplemented by pack-mules in the west and caravans of leering camels in the east, which ply between road or rail-head and the frontline blockhouses.

The civil side of the administration is not neglected, and peaceful penetration proceeds by the two great services of medicine and the police. The Spanish doctors are in great demand even among the enemy, and it is no uncommon thing for the regimental M.O., having bound up his own wounded, to be invited over to do the same for the enemy. The doctors in the Melilla advanced zone were also acting as schoolmasters; and, judging by the number of Spanish-speaking natives, the education was good. In Tetuan there were schools for white and native children in the same building. In both zones instruction was given in improved methods of agriculture, and special measures were taken to encourage the native farmer. Seed, corn, and barley are issued free in exchange for a percentage lien on the future harvest. Irrigation pumps are in process of erection.

The cultivation of the country is extremely primitive. The Moor's only idea appears to be the scratching of the surface with a bit of old iron fixed in a pole, the scattering of a few cereal seeds, and, lest the harvest should come to anything, the feeding of large flocks of goats and herds of cattle on the growing crops. In spite of this, it is certain that there are very great possibilities of agricultural development. Though there is at present no export of grain, the country, almost virgin as it is, supports an immense population, and there appears no reason why the zone as a whole should not resume its ancient rôle as part of the granary of Europe.

With regard to mineral wealth, the country has not been properly prospected, but one immense deposit of iron

is now in full process of exploitation. At San Juan de las Minas, six miles from the sea, south of Melilla, is a vast amphitheatre of six hills, each 4000 feet high and a mile thick, every one of which is solid hematite ore, containing 70 per cent of pure iron. Three tiers are being worked, and the output last year was 300,000 tons. Unlimited labor can be hired at 1s. 9d. a day, and the freight charges to Middlesbrough are 40 to 45 shillings per ton. The English miners had, even at a distance of 2000 miles, succeeded in temporarily closing down the mine!

The main work of the Protectorate falls, as ever, upon the subordinate of ficers and officials; in this case, upon the officers of the native cavalry and the Policia. The legal status of the Spaniards is that of soldiers of the Basha of Tetuan, and under his seal they have raised a force of about 20,000 native levies, organized into regular mehallas, or companies, and into squadrons of police. The former work in regular operations with the Spanish infantry; the latter perform the work of preparation and pacification, and are comparable to the Guides of the Northwest frontier. Nothing is more admirable or unselfish than the work of the Spanish officers of police, stationed month after month in some lonely outpost, engaged in dealing with the needs of the people of the occupied territory and in delicate negotiations with the outlying tribes. All wear the Moorish jelaba, or long frieze overcoat, and the fez; all keep strict Moslem discipline. For example, if a Moorish soldier is observed eating or drinking in the daytime during Ramadan, he is promptly punished. If Spanish Morocco ever becomes, as well it may, the peaceful and prosperous home of a large Spanish population, Spain will owe a very deep debt to these unknown and self-sacrificing officers of police.

VOL. 310 NO. 4026

A good deal of ignorant cynicism has been expended upon the term 'pacification.' As a matter of fact, it forms a very good description of the actual work of both France and Spain in Morocco, and is itself a justification of that work. Before the arrival of the Spaniards, every tribe was fair game for its neighbors. Beni-Hassan robbed Beni-Lait, and were in turn robbed by Beni-Avos. When a leader did arise who united several tribes under his standard, his rule was not an unmixed delight to his subjects. Raisuni, in the days of his power, used to ride about with a troop of a few thousand chosen horsemen, and went out of his way to ride through the growing crops, just to show that he was the master. The BeniHassan, the most powerful tribe near Tetuan, revolted against him and joined Spain, because he put a tax of fifteen dollars per annum on each of their miserable dwelling-huts. The effect of the Spanish pacification has been to stop these inter-tribal wars and exactions.

I know nothing is supposed to count in these days except national unity, but there are compensations. There are stories that the Moors never mention the Spaniards without adding the parenthesis, 'whom Allah curse.' Military discipline is undoubtedly severe. Villages are told they must provide for their own defense, and will themselves be fined if the enemy raid them. But, on the whole, Spaniards and Moors seemed particularly friendly the one toward the other. The Spaniards treat the Moors, not as racial inferiors but as legitimate friends, remembering perhaps that Spain was once a province of Morocco; and their mutual relations compare very favorably with the relations of Anglo-Indians to their Aryan brothers.

Let me conclude with a few unforgettable incidents. The scene of the

first is the Sok, or Moorish quarter, of Tetuan, with its huddled houses, tortuous gutter-streets, and queer little box-like shops. Turning a sharp corner, under an arch that seemed to push vainly at the leaning houses, I came upon a dull red minaret sharply outlined against the dusky-blue night sky, and from the base of the tower there broke forth suddenly the shrilly sweet notes of the muezzin's pipe, calling and calling, swelling up and down, soaring and sinking, ringing out over the listening city. Suddenly it ceased, and a high tenor voice took up the music, ending with a sudden decisive swoop in the Call to Prayer.

The second is rounding the corner of a rock and coming suddenly upon the holy city of Xauen, visited by only one Englishman before me, and built by Moorish exiles from Spain in the year 1300. Tucked away in a crevice between two towering slabs of rock, its roofs all covered with a golden moss glowing in the sun, circled by a red machicolated wall, and framed by a leaping cataract of water, it was a sight to take the breath away. Farther on up

the hill was the Spanish outpost-line to which I rode, and, dismounting stiffly, was greeted by the officer in charge, who, turning to my guide, said, ‘Will you tell the English señor my mother was a Macmahon?' If there is a place in the world Scotsmen cannot reach, they send their children there!

And there was the dinner, with the Governor of Xauen, where we ate stewed mutton and roast chicken with our fingers (as Queen Victoria loved to do), and where our host pointed with pride to eighteen cheap Swiss clocks and seven Birmingham looking-glasses, to show how rich he was; where we drank tea, with polite gasps of appreciation, out of a Manchester coffee service, handed by a black slave; and where four gentlemen, apparently straight from Chu Chin Chow,' sang a long, wailing, simple song, with manifest enjoyment of their own performance.

Lastly, the rock of Gibraltar stark against the evening sky, the first stepping-stone of the British Empire on the road to the East, and the dull boom of a British gun last heard at Le Cateau.

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