of the Beni Ouariel, to-day styled Sultan by the free choice of the tribes. Everywhere his word commands obedience. It is honoured among the most turbulent tribes of the Jabala. And in the Jamè on Fridays his name is spoken by the Imâm, replacing that of Mulaya Youssef as leader of the people. Perhaps the most significant evidence of the new order he has imposed consists in the appearance of windows in newbuilt houses, where once were only loopholes for use in the civil feuds which raged continually from end to end of the country.

In the sturdy figure of their Sultan, Riff and Jabala alike recognise the soldier who drove the shattered remnants of an invading army back upon Melilla, and the statesman who from warring tribes has created a united people under the control of a central authority. In his youth, Mohammed ibn Abdel-Krim spent some years in Melilla, where he had ample opportunity to familiarise himself with the methods and the mentality of his future opponents, in the capacity of Arabic instructor among the Spanish officers. Nor is his knowledge of Western life limited to a Spanish Moroccan port.

He

has travelled in Europe, and at least on one occasion before the war has been in London. This remarkable man is fully aware of the backward condition of his native land, and of the need for free intercourse with Europe. But he is con

scious also of a civilisation and national system inherited from past ages, which he would not destroy, but rather adapt to modern requirements.

It must not be imagined, however, that the Sultan is an isolated figure, or that upon his withdrawal the new nationality would of necessity vanish into air. A younger brother, the famous Sidi Mhâmed, is the ideal military commander and idol of the askar. A man of about thirty-eight, who in early life undertook a course of training as an engineer in Spain, he is entirely at home in cosmopolitan society, and recently spent some months in Paris as Riffian representative in certain abortive peace discussions. With these two there are associated in the functions of government the Vizier Abdes-Sallum; Mohammed ibn el Hadj Hitmi, Minister of Finance; Mohammed ibn Boudand others, generally related by marriage to the chieftain, according to Oriental custom. A united group, between them disposing of considerable ability; who together constitute a body of administrators quite capable of maintaining in peace a system they themselves have set up under stress of war. All of them speak fluent Spanish, and some French. Mohammed ibn Boudjibar has even a smattering of English. The Minister who combines Foreign Affairs and Finance, Mohammed ibn el Hadj Hitmi, is in particular a man of outstanding intellect,

jibar;

familiar with Western life and points of view, and inspired by the highest patriotism.

This group of brothers and brothers-in-law (for the three last-named are all married to sisters of the Sultan) is firmly attached to the ideal of absolute independence. They have nailed their colours to the mast, and the spiritual overlordship of a potentate who is become no more than the vassal of France has been openly denounced; while such delegated authority as is enjoyed by a Pasha of Marakesh, the creature of the same power in all vital questions, fills them with smiling contempt. contempt. Whether, as the outcome of negotiation, any modified form of selfgovernment under Spanish protection would be considered I cannot say. From the European point of view, the inner bearings of this question of independence are not so much sentimental as they are strategic and economic; and it is just on these two sides that Riffi statesmen are reasonably apprehensive. Such negotiations as have taken place in the past have not all been of a character to inspire confidence in their minds; while the campaign of misrepresentation carried on against their country for years in the most responsible journals of Western Europe, has served to render them doubly suspicious.

could hardly view with equanimity the establishment of a rival at the gates of the Mediterranean, in face of Gibraltar. Consequently it has been laid down that no fortifications or military or naval works shall be undertaken, other than those required for the control and defence of the country; none of the parties, for instance, being permitted to convert the Bay of Bades or of Alhucemas into a naval base. There does not, however, appear to be anything antagonistic to the spirit of these agreements in Riffi ambitions, which aim only at the armaments needed for self-defence. Membership of the League of Nations, already eagerly sought, might well counterbalance any reasonable limitations imposed by the Powers, in addition to furnishing an effective retort to the charge put forward at intervals by interested persons of endeavouring to stir up a holy war. In the general interest, it might even be argued that an independent Riff under joint guarantee would prove the best solution.

There can be no doubt, however, that a tangled problem is presented on the economic side, where no prospect appears of any Power forgoing its treaty rights; while the Riffi, for their part, frankly consider themselves entitled to manage their own business affairs. The rival claims and ambitions of the numerous signatories of the Act of Algeciras are

forces at work so obscure, that this would prove a hard knot to undo, even were there no question about the attitude of the inhabitants of the country in dispute.

The Riff is rich in minerals; while the configuration of its coast-line, with a parallel ridge of mountain about forty miles inland, and a succession of long valleys debouching on convenient deep-water bays, would render the problem of transport an easy one. The Mediterranean countries, and particularly Italy, would be substantial gainers by the free opening up of these resources, while the employment of Western skill and capital for the purpose would be specially welcome.

However, for the time being, this potential source of revenue remains untapped, and the wealth of the land consists in its pastoral and agricultural produce. I have seen what purported to be an economic map, filled in by Riffi hands, with the single word "Honey written large over a hundred square miles of mountain, reputed to be rich in ore. It is true that in this fortunate little country mountain honey is so abundant that it forms a staple article of diet among the poor. So far as essential foodstuffs go, the Riff is self-supporting, her grain districts lying mainly along the coast from Cape Baba to beyond the Bay of Alhucemas, while to a lesser degree almost every valley can show its area of barley, and, not infrequently, of wheat as

well. In this time of war there is reason for apprehension only concerning the high mountain district in the direction of Tarrabant, owing to the fact that its cereals are derived from the valley of the Wad Ouergha, in in the the sphere of influence claimed by France.

In addition to its grain produce, the Riff, over large areas, is a stock-raising country, mutton and beef being regular articles of diet, while there is no establishment so humble as to be entirely devoid of goat's flesh or chicken for the pot. Immediately adjoining every homestead is the tree or timber erection where fowls roost; and not far away an ample garden, banked up with stones and well filled well filled with vegetables. Fruit also is grown in great variety. On the Wazani farms around Snaada I noticed a profusion of fig and orange-trees interspersed with vines; while apricots, apples, plums, melons, and a variety of other fruits were to be had in their season, though the best fruit-growing district is said to lie from Touzouîrt north-eastward to the

sea.

The system by which both an army in the field and a sufficient supply of agricultural labour have been continuously maintained for sixteen years is interesting merely as an instance of organised economy in man power. There is no regular army in existence beyond the askar, enlisted among the inhabitants of the Riff propera body of men in some ways

the Guard in a European system; and, like them, frequently employed to stiffen other troops in action. Recruits for the askar are enlisted on a three-year basis, and are well paid. The members of the tribal levies, constituting the bulk of the army, are chosen by lot, instructions being issued through local chieftains as occasion requires, while the units so mobilised alternate between a fortnight's tour in the fighting area, and a period about four times as long spent on the land. Just as brigades pass into and out of the line during the operations of a European force, so it happens among the tribes, with this difference, that where the one go into billets in support or reserve, the others are temporarily returned to the home district, to be replaced by fresh units from the same source with the harka, or battle formations confronting the enemy. The tillage of the soil is as much the concern of El Makhzen as are military undertakings, minor adjustments in organisation being constantly effected with a view to the adequacy of the labour available for planting or harvesting the crops, of which one-tenth automatically becomes Government property, and must be deposited in store - houses, or tithe barns allotted for the

purpose.

Thus it is abundantly evident that so long as their frontiers can be maintained, the Riffi

mission. Though the blockade is far from complete, and a variety of luxury foodstuffs and such manufactured articles as metal teapots, candles, and matches are continually entering the country, the trade in contraband of war appears to be negligible. It is not armaments that are called for in any case, but agricultural implements and machinery. one period there was a dearth of picks and shovels, consignments having been stopped on the French frontier; but recent wholesale captures of stores have made good the deficiency, and the digging of roads and trenches can go merrily ahead. When the time comes there will be a wide demand for mechanical manufactured articles, in exchange for which mineral and agricultural products will be available for export.

One thing only has been asked for again and again— and as often refused. They have no adequate supply of drugs in the country, and are short of first-aid material. The only doctors are native herbalists and bone-setters, while their surgical appliances are of the crudest. Applications for permission to send trained medical men and stores across the Spanish lines have been rejected by the blockading Powers even when presented through the International Red Cross Society of Geneva. It is assumed that the unfortunate Riffi are rebels, and the pro

is a

position is regarded as unwarranted interference with purely domestic affairs.

Here, then, are a variety of evils sprung from one original misunderstanding. Spain has been for sixteen years involved in operations which can hardly be prosecuted with advantage, or abandoned with dignity. France finds her authority in North Africa so disturbed by the repeated triumphs of the Riff over her unfortunate neighbour, that she has felt compelled to intervene for the sake of prestige in a war which this little country is waging for the right to existence, unaided in f face of the world.

To-day the war is being carried on, so far as the Riffi are concerned, by methods available only to troops acting on the defensive, for the success of their operations invariably depends on the possession of full and accurate information totally denied to the other side, as well as on an intimate knowledge of the possibilities of the country, and on the power to pass freely into and out of the general population. Movements of troops are conducted almost without transport, the infantry carrying ammunition and rations in the folds of their jaleebs, rarely even depending on mules. Thus equipped they pass about the mountains with the ease of wild boar, and are nearly as invisible; while at any moment they may be absorbed into the population of the villages to reappear as organised units when occasion

VOL. CCXVIII.-NO. MCCCXXI.

requires. They can invariably dominate and outflank a position accessible to European troops; while the injury they sustain from air bombardment is minimised by the nature of the country generally neutralising the effects of the lateral spread of a bomb, and the simple structure of the houses enables damage to be quickly and effectively repaired.

Every column or ration-party on the other side must be regarded as an independent force operating in enemy country, the ruggedness of the ground rendering it impossible to construct any line of posts from which the intervening spaces can be effectively covered by fields of fire. If the column is sufficiently large and well led, it will probably attain its objective, after suffering casualties from long range snipers impossible to locate. If it is small or indifferent in its leadership, there is a reasonable likelihood that it will suffer annihilation. Riffi tactics approximate very closely to those generally laid down as suitable to the advanced line of resistance; with this modification, that when driven in, instead of retiring on to a nonexistent main body, they open out to harass the flanks of the approaching enemy. They are generally forewarned of their opponent's intentions, being past-masters in the various departments of secret service, while their field telephone system, built up entirely from captured stores, enables in20