NEWS OF THE WEEK.
T ITTLE has occurred during the week to illuminate the 4 negotiations between Russia and Germany. It is still said officially that they do not in any way affect the present grouping of the Great Powers. The attitude of Turkey, however, is interesting and important. The Young Turks are shocked at the discovery that Germany, without consulting them, entered into negotiations with their traditional opponent to settle matters which in one way and another involve many Moslem interests. It is certainly a curious change from a few weeks ago. Then Constantinople was appealing to the German Emperor as the saviour of the Moslem world; now many of the Turkish newspapers write of Germany as ruthless and treacherous. It is not because we desire to turn the situation to account, and prove that Great Britain and not Germany is the best friend of Turkey, but because we have always taken this line, that we repeat now that in whatever negotiations we may be asked to enter into about the Baghdad Railway the interests and susceptibilities of Turkey should be most care- fully consulted. We trust that our Government, for one thing, would never sanction any scheme which continued to impose on Turkey the grossly unjust burden of the kilometric) guarantees.
