1 JANUARY 1916, Page 9

While dealing with the Russian situation we desire to con-

gratulate the Government of the Emperor upon the successful opening of the railway route to the new Russian port of Alex- androvsk, in the extreme North of European Russia, which, thanks to the Gulf Stream, is always ice-free. The new route, as the Exchange Telegraph Company points out, will be of great importance for Russia, for it will be possible to import by it from England during the whole year. It is interesting to recall the fact that the railway required to make the new route practicahlz was laid since the war began by a British contractor.