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Gisborne Times, Volume VII, Issue 366, 17 March 1902, Page 4

On the question of a rapprochement between Great Britain and Russia, the Novoe Vreinya points out that the chief cause of the fears on the part of England concerning the acquisition of territory byRussia on the Persian Gulf consists in the fear that it would constitute a danger to India. She has already too much to do to improve the economic conditions of her own territory, and particularly of her central districts, to desire to assume charge of India, which is quite exhausted by the B.'itish, and against which it would on y enter upon a campaign if England herself forced Russia to it by her conduct, G i the other hand, tho Russian journal considers that tho interests of the two Powers in Persia are not, in,their entirety, so opposed to each other that England could not make concessions in the Persian question. The Novoe Vreinya then proceeds to predict the outbreak of a war in the not distant future, and considering

;hat, in view of the immonse proportions t might lake, the journal assumes that ;hc nations will only decide on it in the

last extremity. Consequently, since the interests of England and Russia are not absolutely opposed to each other, there is ground for hoping that they will not be reduced to such an extremity, and that- a war between them will bo avoidable. The Novoe Vreinya considers, on the other hand, a future war to be inevitable between Russia and Germany in their qualities of the chief representatives of the Slavonic and German races, between which there is a conflict of centuries, which must necessarily end in a conflagration. France has fully realised this, the journal goes on to say, and that is why, as Germany is her enemy, she is allied to Russia. As for England, the best thing for her to observe is a neutrality or to take the side of the Franco-

Russian alliance, hut not to espouse the cause of Russia’s enemies. Should an understanding between England and Russia be grafted on the alliance of France with Russia, it would secure these three Powers an enormous pre-eminence in politics which would be of immense advantage to them, aod, thanks to the peaceful dispositions of Russia, would remove for long the threatening aspect of wav,—Renter,