MOROCCO.

Unrest continued to exist in the Spanish zone of Morocco, and it was believed that the disturbances were largely fomented by German intriguers. The great Chief Raisuli continued to exercise authority in his own sphere and remained quite independent of the Spanish authorities. Raisuli was in constant communication with Herr Bohn, the German Consul at Tetuan. Partly owing to these German intrigues, the unrest spread to the French zone, and in particular there was a serious rising during the summer by the tribesmen owing allegiance to Abdul Malek. The French, however, inflicted a serious defeat upon Abdul Malek's force north of Taza, and there was no general rebellion in the French zone.

ABYSSINIA.

There were no new disturbances in the Abyssinian Empire during the year, and the Empress Zeoditu remained on the throne, notwithstanding the fact that the deposed Emperor, Lidj Jeassu, was not captured. He was living with a small band of followers in the Dankalis country. King Mikrael, the father of Lidj Jeassu, was held in prison by the new authorities, but was not executed.

EGYPT.

The Egyptian protectorate passed through a quiet year so far as internal politics were concerned, the public interest being centred upon the campaign which was being waged in Palestine by the army which had advanced from the Suez Canal. This army was now under the command of General Allenby. It will be remembered that General Allenby had captured Jerusalem at the end of the previous year. The close connexion between Egypt and Palestine, which had arisen owing to the war, was symbolised in the union made in May, when a swing bridge was thrown across the Suez Canal at Kantara, thus opening up direct and continuous railway communication between Cairo and Jerusalem.

Considerable interest attached, as usual, to the Egyptian Budget statement. Dealing first with the figures for the year 1917-18, the actual revenue produced during that year was E. 23,166,0747., and the actual expenditure for the twelve months was E. 22,496,9481. These figures were over E. 3,000,000l. in excess of the Budget estimates, and were also about E. 3,000,000l. (more in the case of the expenditure) in excess of the figures for the previous year. The revenue was the highest ever known in the history of Egypt. The expenditure was also greater than in any previous year, but this included a contribution made.

by the Egyptian Government to the British war expenses, this contribution amounting to E. 2,967,9567., and thus the State expenditure of the protectorate, as shown above, ought really to be reduced by this figure. On the side of the revenue, the customs increased by nearly E. 500,000l., and the railway receipts by over E. 500,000l., and there was also an increase under the head of "exemption from military service." Turning next to the estimates for the year 1918-19, the Budget, as approved by the Council of Ministers at the end of March, provided for an expenditure of E. 23,250,000l., and the estimated revenue was E. 22,900,000. Of the new taxes to be imposed, the most important was a new Sugar Excise, which was expected to account for E. 634,000l. This Budget expenditure included the sum of E. 500,000l. for military expenditure incurred in Egypt.

The chief events in the campaign in Palestine occurred at the very end of the war, and during the earlier months of the year there were no very important military developments in that country. At the end of March, General Allenby announced that his advanced troops had crossed the Jordan, but for some weeks after this, the operations on the farther side of the Jordan were not very successful. Early in May the advanced detachment advanced towards Es Salt, but they were surprised by a superior force, and the British Horse Artillery were compelled to beat a precipitate retreat and abandon nine guns. At the end of September, however, General Allenby's forces had a dramatic and thorough revenge. The British then executed a sudden advance, and the operations were planned with such skill that the Turkish Army in Palestine was almost completely destroyed. Before the advance the British line ran from the coast a little north of Arsuf eastwards to the mouth of the Aujeh, and then along the Jordan as far as the Dead Sea, crossings of the Jordan being held at certain spots.

The great attack began on the morning of September 19 on the western part of the line, the enemy being apparently taken by surprise. British Yeomanry Regiments, and Australian and Indian Cavalry were concentrated in the coastal sector, and these poured through the defences that were broken by the artillery, and advanced rapidly with the object of cutting off the retreat of the Turks. The cavalry captured the town of Nazareth on the following day, with over 2,000 prisoners. Further to the British right the infantry also succeeded in their frontal attack, and by the evening of September 20 the Turkish line from the sea to the Jordan had totally collapsed. The rapid advance of the British left wing composed of cavalry had cut off the retreat of the Turks to the north; and in the meantime the cavalry of the King of the Hejaz carried out a most important and successful operation east of the Jordan. Avoiding the formidable Turkish force at Amman, the Arab horsemen attacked and damaged the railway line at the junction of Deraa, thus cutting the communication between the Turkish troops and their base,

which was at Damascus. Even after this had occurred, the British had some difficulty in crossing the Jordan in force, and this was not accomplished until September 22. And on September 23 the British took the town of Es Salt, which had been taken and lost twice during the war. The Turkish Army was now placed in an extremely perilous position, largely owing to the skilful operations of the Arab cavalry. On September 29 10,000 Turks surrendered about 15 miles south of Amman station, and on October 1 Damascus was occupied by the British, 7,000 more prisoners being captured. A few days later Beyrout was captured. The Arab forces, which were under the command of the King's son, the Emir Feisul, reached Damascus on October 3. The Emir Feisul was immediately appointed Military Governor of the city. Before the end of October General Allenby's troops reached Aleppo, which was a fitting termination to these brilliantly planned operations.

During the year, further and more exact particulars were published in regard to the Egyptian census taken in 1917 (see A.R., 1917, p. 307). Thus, the total population of Cairo was given as 790,939, with a slight excess of men over women. The foreign population of Cairo was considerable, and included 8,252 French, 7,524 British, 15,655 Italians, 15,254 Greeks, and 12,081 Turks; the other nationalities being much less numerous. The population of Alexandria, including the suburb of Ramleh, was given as 444,617, and in this city also there was a slight excess of males over females.

SUDAN.

The year was very uneventful in Sudan, and no internal disturbances or wars with the neighbouring tribes have to be recorded. The new Sudanese province of Darfur was peacefully developed under the Sudanese Government, and the natives of this recently annexed territory appear to have been quite content with the new régime. In the Budget for the year 1918, the revenue and expenditure were estimated to balance at E. 2,255,000l., a figure which was over E. 400,000l. in excess of that relating to the previous year. The chief increase on the side of the revenue was under the head of Provincial Receipts (which included Land Taxes and Traders Taxes), and on the side of expenditure there was an increase in the shape of War Gratuities, and in the cost of taking over the expense of the administration of Darfur from the Egyptian Government.

CHAPTER VIII.

AMERICA: THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND ITS DEPENDENCIES CANADA- NEWFOUNDLAND-MEXICO-BRAZILARGENTINA · CHILI - THE MINOR REPUBLICS OF SOUTH AMERICA.

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND ITS DEPENDENCIES.

THE entry of the United States into the European War in April, 1917, gave that country a commanding position in the world. The Americans began immediately to make their preparations for entering the conflict, and these preparations were planned upon an unprecedented scale. A scheme of compulsory military service, involving ten million men, was adopted. Naval assistance was immediately given to Great Britain, particularly in the matter of providing small warships adapted for the destruction of submarines. Plans were made for building large numbers of merchant vessels. Great and systematic efforts were made to send food to the European Allies. And, not the least important form of assistance, the stupendous financial strength of the United States was made available for the support of the now much impoverished European Powers.

The United States did not become formally allied to the Powers of Western Europe. It will be remembered that the consent of the Senate was necessary to the conclusion of an alliance, and the Executive appear to have thought that a formal instrument of alliance was unsuited to the existing circumstances. In practice, however, the Republic became most intimately associated with Great Britain, France, and Italy, and the most notable feature of the situation, as it developed, was the extraordinary concentration of powers in the hands of the President, Dr. Woodrow Wilson. The President possessed the implicit confidence of the great majority of his countrymen, and it was with general approval that he acquired almost dictatorial powers. Nor was it only in his own country that President Wilson was seen to occupy a position of peculiar eminence. His statements of the political and moral issues of the war had been at once concise, clear, and philosophical, and he was regarded as one of the very greatest, if not the greatest, of the leaders of democracy, both by Americans and by Liberals in Europe.

On January 8 President Wilson delivered a message to Congress, which defined in considerable detail the war-aims of America. The message opened by a reference to the negotiations at Brest-Litovsk, the President condemning the concrete demands of the Central Powers as involving nothing short of annexation. The speaker said that it was impossible to know for whom the delegations of the Central Powers were really speaking, whether for the Liberal majorities in the German and Austrian parliaments or for the militarist minorities in those

countries. He suggested that conflict and confusion existed, and that the general principles laid down (which seemed not unjust) were those of the Liberals, but that the practical applications had been dictated by the militarists. There was, however, a clear call to state once more the aims of America, and this duty was owed, in particular, to the sorely stricken Russian people.

"It would be necessary," said Dr. Wilson, "that the future peace terms should be absolutely open and public. There should be no secret agreements.

"The programme of the world's peace, therefore, is our programme, and that programme, the only possible one as we see it, is this :—

"I. Open covenants of peace openly arrived at, after which there shall be no private international understandings of any kind, but diplomacy shall proceed always frankly and in the public view.

"II. Absolute freedom of navigation upon the seas outside territorial waters alike in peace and in war except as the seas may be closed in whole or in part by international action for the enforcement of international covenants.

"III. The removal, so far as possible, of all economic barriers, and the establishment of an equality of trade conditions among all the nations consenting to the peace and associating themselves for its maintenance.

"IV. Adequate guarantees given and taken that national armaments will be reduced to the lowest point consistent with domestic safety.

"V. A free, open-minded, and absolutely impartial adjustment of all colonial claims based upon a strict observance of the principle that in determining all such questions of sovereignty the interests of the populations concerned must have equal weight with the equitable claims of the Government whose title is to be determined.

"VI. The evacuation of all Russian territory, and such a settlement of all questions affecting Russia as will secure the best and freest co-operation of the other nations of the world in obtaining for her an unhampered and unembarrassed opportunity for the independent determination of her own political development and national policy, and assure her of a sincere welcome into the society of free nations under institutions of her own choosing; and, more than a welcome, assistance also of every kind that she may need and may herself desire. The treatment accorded Russia by her sister nations in the months to come will be the acid test of their goodwill, of their comprehension of her needs as distinguished from their own interests, and of their intelligent and unselfish sympathy.

"VII. Belgium, the whole world will agree, must be evacuated and restored without any attempt to limit the sovereignty which she enjoys in common with all other free nations. No

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