After a long blank period a considerable skirmish is reported
from Tripoli. The Turks and Arabs, three thousand strong, attacked three battalions of Italians on Tuesday at Bir Tobras, ten hours from Ain Zara. The fighting was evidently severe and at close quarters. The Italians had six killed and seventy-eight wounded. In spite of such affairs as this—of course, Italy has not by any means seen the end of them—there is no doubt 'hat Tripoli is finally lost to Turkey, and we sincerely hope Ilia for her own sake Turkey will make up her mind quickly to the inevitable. We write further elsewhere of the situation and of the attempt to give the Sultan absolute power to make peace. We also deal elsewhere with affairs in China. The conference at Shanghai between the rebels and the Imperialists is temporarily suspended while the Imperial representative refers to Peking for instructions. At present the tendency of the conference is wholly towards repub- licanism.
