6 JANUARY 1912, Page 9

NEWS OF THE WEEK.

AGAIN there is little or no news to record in regard to the war. Friday's Times, however, contains a very significant telegram, despatched from Salonika on Thursday : "I have reason to believe that general conditions of peace have already been arranged between Turkey and Italy, and that the near future may see a termination of hostilities." The Times adds the important reminder that Salonika is the headquarters of the Committee of Union and Progress, " which is believed to have more influence over the new Turkish Ministry than over its predecessor." The news, of course, may be premature, but we should not be at all surprised if it turns out to be well founded. The extreme strictness of the Italian censorship of late may well mean the progress of delicate negotiations. All Englishmen will, of course, hope that the news is true, for they neither wish to see Italy exhausted by a long struggle nor the foundations of govern- ment shaken in Turkey by the financial disasters which a prolonged war must cause.