NEWS OF THE WEEK.
SOMEWHAT to the surprise of the diplomatic world, a com- mercial treaty between France and Italy, which has been negotiated in profound secrecy, was signed on November 21st. The details are unknown, but it is stated that Italian wines will be admitted into France, and French woollens into Italy, mi much more favourable terms, and that on all things else except manufactured silk each country will enjoy the "most- favoured" treatment. Moreover, it is affirmed that the "tension" for some years visible between France and Italy will be relaxed, and though there will be no entente, there will be cordiality. The Times' correspondent, who has great experience, is clearly of opinion that the sudden conclusion at the Treaty is due to the Fashoda incident and its termina- tion, the French Foreign Office feeling that after the recent revelation of its isolation it must abandon its "policy of dis- 3bligingness" in favour of a policy of making friends. If this account is correct, it certainly suggests a rather un- pleasant thought,—namely, that the French Foreign Office as a continuous entity is one of those individuals who are all amiability if you stand up to them, and all acridity if you give way to their demands. Let us hope that French polite- ness in international dealings is a little less skin-deep than that.
