The Continental papers and one or two English journals assert
that the Russian Government desires to summon the Powers of Europe to a Conference for the better prevention of .assassinations, and Sir Charles Dilke on Thursday, though he ,denied negotiations, admitted that there was something in the reports. Germany and Austria, it is said, are willing, Switzerland is alarmed, and France and Great Britain are perplexed. They do not wish to enter such a conference, and. are unwilling to give a blank refusal. The Conference, we fear, would be too dangerous, as the majority might carry pro- posals inconsistent with the right of asylum, and only feasible where the police are invested with preventive powers. The sensible course would be to ask for definite proposals as to im- provements in the treaties, and then accept or reject them on the merits. Great Britain is perfectly willing to prevent murder, whether directed against a king or a subject ; but the Imperial Courts want, when Kings are threatened, to make suspicion equivalent to evidence.
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