2 JANUARY 1926, Page 10

On Tuesday Signor Mussolini unexpectedly visited Sir Austen Chamberlain at

Rapallo. The visit was officially described as merely an act of courtesy, but such a description is always a signal in .Continental countries for opening a Pandora's box of gossip. . The. Rome correspondent of the Manchester Guardian, summing up the rumours, suggests that Signor Mussolini was anxious to convince Sir Austen Chamberlain that Italy has no sinister game to play in Europe, and that she is not bound by any secret engagement to Russia. The correspondent also draws attention to the statement of the Popolo d'Italia, of Milan, an authoritative organ of Signor Mussolini, that the friendliness of Italy towards Great Britain ought to be regarded in some sort as a discharge of debt. But a special correspondent of the Times tells us that the debt question was mentioned at Rapallo only in the sense of reserving it for the proper Ministers. * *