6 JANUARY 1912, Page 9

No doubt even if peace is made with Turkey the

Italians will still have a difficult problem before them, owing to the fact that Tripoli is a land of deserts and inhabited by tribes so fierce, so difficult to rule, and so fanatical as are the Arabs of the hinterland. We can only say once again that Italy's true policy is to go slow and not to attempt expeditions, punitive or otherwise, into the interior until she has " made good " on the coast and thoroughly studied the problem before her. In Turkey the question of whether the Committee is to continue to rule or whether true constitutional government can be established will, when the war closes, have to be fought out in earnest. The attempt to carry on government permanently by means of a secret junta which usurps power, but does not accept the direct responsibilities of rule, is a hopeless one, and all true friends of Turkey will desire that it should speedily come to an end. If the Young Turks have the confidence of the Turkish people, by all means let them rule, but let them rule in the open and not in secret conclave.