Page:A wandering student in the Far East vol.1 - Zetland.djvu/399

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been validated.
THE ANGLO-FRENCH AGREEMENT OF 1904.
315

a seal upon their friendship in the shape of the famous document known as the Anglo-French Agreement of April of that year, dealing with outstanding matters of difference between the two countries in all four quarters of the globe. A brief declaration with regard to Siam found a place in this momentous Agreement. Articles I. and II. of the Agreement of 1896, by which France and Great Britain undertook to refrain from any armed intervention or the acquisition of special privileges in the Siamese possessions which were included within the basin of the Menam river, were reaffirmed, and further extended to bring the understanding between the two Powers into line with the development of events which had taken place between 1896 and 1904. Both England and France had entered into Agreements with Siam—Great Britain with regard to the Malay Peninsula and France with regard to the Mekong valley,—the preponderating influence of Great Britain in the western and of France in the eastern portions of the Siamese dominions being tacitly recognised. This tacit understanding found documentary expression