12 JANUARY 1918, Page 3

The Republic of Finland has been recognized by the Anarchists

at Petrograd, and has sent missions abroad to the belligerent and neutral countries. France, Sweden, and Germany have already re- cognized the independence of Finland. It may be hoped that the little State, in which the British people has long taken a friendly interest, will now dissociate itself from the enemy intrigues, in which many Finns took part out of antagonism to Russia. The arrest in Norway of several Finns who were engaged on behalf of Germany in placing infernal machines in Allied merchant-ships and storehouses has created a most unpleasant impression.