Tripoli We congratulate the Italian army on what appears to
be the final act in the arduous task set by its Govern- ment of pacifying the North African possessions of Italy. We hope that soon those districts, which were so long under the blight of Turkish Government and the deadening encroachments of the unresisted sand, will regain the fertility and prosperity that they enjoyed before their earlier Roman conquerors left them. We had little approval for Italy's aggressive war in 1911, but we have always hoped that the lot of the inhabitants would be immensely improved. We recorded not long ago the capture of the southern oases, the last territorial advance needed. There was still guerilla warfare in Cyrenaica, but that, we hope, came to an end last week with the capture and execution of the leader, Omar-el-Mukhtar. He alienated some of the sympathy that he deserved as a gallant patriot, fighting in a losing cause, by breaking his word after a truce had been arranged two years ago.
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