30 DECEMBER 1876, Page 1

NEWS OF THE WEEK.

- A TELEGRAM was received in London on Tuesday, through It Renter's agency, affirming that Lord Salisbury had presented a British ultimatum to the Sultan. He must either accept the terms agreed upon at the Conference, or the British Plenipotentiary would retire, and the fleet would be withdrawn from Besika Bay. The telegram has neither been confirmed nor denied officially, but it is probable that it was an exaggeration of some intimation which Lord Salisbury had conveyed to the Grand Vizier as to the course her Majesty's Government might be compelled to take. It seems certain that Midhat Pasha, now head of the Turkish Government, has affirmed repeatedly that the Ottomans -would make no concessions, but would prefer to be driven out of Europe; but some of this may be mere bluster, intended to reduce the demands on Turkey to a minimum. As yet, all that is known is that the diplomatists expected a final answer on Thursday, that none had been received, and that the ruling expectation now is of concession on unimportant points and further discussion on the guarantees.