NEWS OF THE WEEK.
rpHE air is full of rumours of a truce in Ireland, where all
except a few maniacs and criminals are sick of violence and of treading the road to ruin. When we write on Thursday morning the rumours have not yielded anything which is worth recording in detail. The more exuberant stories of negotiations which have 'been going on between the Government and Sinn Fein representatives through the medium of the Foreign Office have been denied. It is nevertheless certain that a Slim Fein leader, Father O'Flanagan, has approached the Government. Mr. Lloyd George has always taken the line that he would never turn a deaf ear to any representations made by somebody speaking with proper authority from the republicans in Ireland. There is, however, no proof so far that Father O'Flanagan is either properly authorized or is a fit and proper delegate. If our memory does not mislead us, he is one of the more violent of the priests and has actually been rebuked or penalized by the Roman Catholic Hierarchy.
