NEWS OF THE WEEK.
THOUGH Friday's news from the Near East is on the whole a little less alarmist than that of Wednesday and Thursday, it can only be described as exceedingly grave. The Servian people maintain their attitude of deep hostility towards Austria-Hungary, while Austria-Hungary continues to declare that unless this attitude is modified she will be forced to give Servia a lesson, which means the occupation of Servia by Austro-Hungarian troops. The rest of the Powers are naturally deeply concerned at these threats, because they realise that if such action by Austria-Hungary were to take place, the difficulties of preventing a European war on a huge scale would be almost insuperable. The Russian Government does not want war, nay, it may be said, would make almost any sacrifice to avoid war ; but the spectacle of Austria- Hungary in military occupation of Servia, and the Serb population engaged in a hopeless national struggle, would in all human probability rouse so deep a feeling in Russia, and so inflame Slavonic racial feeling throughout Europe, that, how- ever unwilling, the Czar and his Government would be swept off their feet. As we have pointed out elsewhere, the best hope for European peace would now seem to rest in the revival of the project for a European Conference, and we sincerely hope that a Conference will soon meet.
