The new Franco-Japanese treaty and
that forming between Japan and Rus
sia, coupled as they are with the ex
isting alliances between England and
Japan and between France and Rus
sia, will unite those four great powers
in a pact to preserve the peace and
respect each other’s possessions and
rights in the Orient.
This interlocking system of treaties
is a good stroke for all the parties con
cerned. It heads off, as well, the prob
ability of China becoming a bumptious
freebooter in the East. The effect
upon our American interests ought,
also, to be good. There is no reason
why any of the high contractors in the
quadruple alliance should covet our
possessions in the Orient, or combine
to violate the open door policy in trade
matters. Wo certainly want none of
their holdings—we are overloaded as
things now are!
The Irish Convention.
On May 21 a convention of the
Irish party will be held in Dublin,
when the home rulers will decide
whether the Irish members shall sup
port in Parliament the bill that Mr.
Birrell, Chief Secretary for Ireland,
proposes. The bill is one that gives
a large measure of local control over
communal matters, and sets up an
Irish council of liberal, yet limited,
powers to deal with questions of gen
eral and peculiar moment to the Irish
people. To some extent, government
under it in Ireland would be autonom
ous, but the safeguards against Irish
independence of too broad an order
are plainly exposed. John Redmond,
the groat Irish leader in Parliament, is
disposed to accept the bill..
