We are glad to learn from a Reuter message in
the papers of Thursday that important progress has been made with the proposal for building a Trans-Persian railway. A series of conferences have taken plate in Paris and arrangements have been made for approaching the Persian Government with a definite scheme. The Societe d'Etudes, which will deal with the question, will comprise British, French, and Russian groups, and will command £90,000 for the preliminary expenses. The Council of Administration will contain twenty- four members (eight from each nation), and it is understood that Sir William Garstin will be Vice-President. We sincerely hope that the negotiations will prosper and that the linking- up of the Russian and Indian lines by means of a line across Persia will soon be accomplished. The convenience of a short route to India will be very great, and the gain to Persia through increased commerce will also be groat. The danger to India is, in our opinion, the figment of heated imagina- tions. Isolation is no longer a possible policy for any portion of the Empire.
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