matters at all, she and her ally have, of course, stipulated that what
has been done without reference to treaty shall not be treated of, if
they are to take part, and as an act of courtesy to us, the United
States has followed suit. Other matters of importance which Mulai Abd
el Aziz desired to discuss have also been ruled out beforehand, so
that only minor questions are to be dealt with, hardly worth the
trouble of meeting.

Foremost among these is the replenishing of the Moorish exchequer by
further loans, which might more easily have been arranged without a
conference. Indeed, there are so many money-lenders anxious to finance
Morocco on satisfactory terms, that the competition among them has
almost degenerated into a scramble. But all want some direct guarantee
through their Governments, which introduces the political element,
as in return for such guarantee each Power desires to increase its
interests or privileges. Thus, while each financier holds out his
gold-bags temptingly before the Sultan, elbowing aside his rival, each
demands as surety the endorsement of his Government, the price of
which the Sultan is hardly prepared to pay. He probably hopes that by
appealing to them all in conference, he will obtain a joint guarantee
on less onerous terms, without affording any one of them a foothold in
his country, should he be unable to discharge his obligations. He is
wise, and but for the difficulties caused by the defection of England
and France from the political circle, this request for money might
alone have sufficed to introduce a reformed _regime_ under the joint
auspices of all. As it is, attempts to raise funds elsewhere, even to
discharge the current interest, having failed, his French creditors,
who do possess the support of their Government, have obligingly added
interest to capital, and with official sanction continue to roll the
snowball destined one day to overwhelm the State. In the eyes of the
Moors this is nothing less than a bill-of-sale on the Empire.

A second point named by the Sultan for submission to the conference
is the urgency of submitting all inhabitants of the country without
distinction to the reformed taxation; a reasonable demand if the taxes
were reasonable and justly assessed, but who can say at present that
they are either? The exchequer is undoubtedly defrauded of large sums
by the exemptions enjoyed by foreigners and their _proteges_, on
account of the way in which these privil