THE POLICY OF ITALY.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXIX, Issue LXIX, 31 May 1915, Page 4

THE POLICY OF ITALY.

Now that Italy has entered 4&e war , against Germany, Austria and Turkey, and has become in practice one of the j Allies, some knowledge of er prevail-, ing national poliqy should be not onlyl interesting but useful to all who watch , the developments in the stupendous world drama now being enacted in Europe. As it happens, one of the Oxford pamphlets published in connection with the war is a fountain of light in this connection. In this pamphlet, its author, Mr Keith Feiiing, observes that foreign policy ,is, as a rale, a matter of business and Bot of sentiment, and of no country is,, this —•__ 4._— <A.~r. u.cuuts riii politics are only less'dangerous than enemies, and the eternal laws'tfjf geor graphy liave made her policy, of necessity, opportunist and complicated. It ■more xrue'tnah it iso£ Italy; Her history has repeatedly impresgedvupon her modern' kingdom ,of> .ltaly'as.yrib^,ye^ '■■ fiisyy ysaiis ':-:'^:\ :^ne ■^x^-k&tq ■ idßabardy;/ in #eiJ nojf^^^^jfci^^ in .the' east, have' to'cope with; while the south has Been handicapped by illiteracy, crime, and earthquake. A new and anxious colony has just been acquired in Tripoli, and a policy of risk or adventure is the last thing to be expected from. Italy for some years to come. Italy will pursue her own policy; the days of tutelage are over, and no amount of literary, artistic^or moral sympathy will deflect her path, or incline her to a policy

vvhich does not\offer her manifest ad-: vantages. It is inflexible loyajty to this policy of her own which has led to Italy standing out of the war to the last possible moment, and, it is certain that, in committing ■'"herself, she has done so with a mind resolutely bent upon securing advantages which she deems to be vitally necessary to her national development. This, of course, will make her all the more determined as a fighter, and therefore all the more valuable as an ally of England, France and Russia. In this connection, as indicating the course she is likely to follow, it is useful to remember that the first maxim in Italy's policy is that no other State shall dominate, by military or commercial superiority, the coast of the Adriatic, which constitutes her strategic frontier on the east. The Romans and the Venetians had to master the Adriatic, and so must modern Italy. Her eastern coast is flat and exposed, and there is no good harbor south of Venice. But the other side of the Adriatic is indented with many magnificent natural harbors. Austria has v Trieste, Fiume belongs to Hungary, Cattaro is geographically Montenegrin, but in fact, Austrian; and in> Albania lies Valona, only forty miles away from Bari. Racial sympathies attract Italy to this coast, too; a« a matter of fact, it was reported the otAer day that Italy had occupied Valona. Then, as bearing on Italy's desire for further territorial expansion, it is said that there are over three million people of Latin origin in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Istria in particular is largely Italian. Trieste, though not all the ground behind it, is Italian in mind, and the city sent a wreath to King Humbert's funeral, bearing the legend "Trieste to her King." The marriage of the reigning King, Victor Emmanuel 111., to Princess Helena of Montenegro in 1896 made another link between the two Adriatic shores. However, in October, 1908, Austria annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina, much to the displeasure of Italy, and since that time nothing has occurred to improve the relations between the two countries. In 1911 Italy seized Tripoli, and it is no secret that the German Powers resented the Italian attack on their chosen clients, the Turks. The Austrian veto against any attack on the Turks from the Adriatic hampered the Italian operations, and was naturally contrasted with the friendly attitude of Great Britain, who made all communication between Constantinople and Tripoli through Egypt impossible. With Great ! Britain, indeed, Italy, was on friendly terms in every sphere, whilst i ■ October, 1912, a clear agreement was 1 come to with France in regard to Morocco and Libya. Therefore, although . the Triple Alliance was renewed in December, 1912, for five years, it is 3 nevertheless a fact that the ties which formerly bound Italy to Germany and Austria became seriously relaxed in v 1911, and now they have become utterr ' ly rent asunder, with war as the re- .. suit.