NEWS OF THE WEEK
THE Queen has been advised to call Parliament together "for the despatch of business" on January 17, that is, three weeks earlier than usual. Of course the whole kingdom is in commotion, the wildest rumours are circulated, Consols have fallen per cent. on the week—a loss to holders of five millions sterling—and the friends of the Pashas are exultant beyond measure. The step is a most imprudent one, because it will induce the Turks to hold out till they see whether the English Vizier can help them or not, but we suspect that its actual meaning is exaggerated. The Govern- ment is not going to declare war and then ask Parliament to support it, but only to state its view of the situation, and ask the Houses whether they approve it, and whether the Army and Navy ought not tobe increased. Of course Lord Beaconsfield and his imme- diate followers wish for war, war at any price, if only the Ottoman caste may be sustained ; but there is time for the nation to express its opinion, and for the constituencies to inform their represen- tatives distinctly how far they are prepared to go. As we do not believe that the majority, though possibly pro-Turkish in sym- pathy, is prepared to endure a shilling income-tax in order that Turkey may continue to exist, we regard the universal alarm as a little exaggerated. It is only necessary for those who are opposed to such a war to be firm, and this latest effort to prop up au evil system will fail as all former efforts have done. Whether It is possible to trust a man like Lord Beaconsfield with sufficient resources for a war is a question for the whole country to deter- mine. We think not, unless he gives guarantees of the most un- mistakable kind.
