It is understood that in the middle of April Austria-Hungary became convinced that neutralistic sentiments might prevail in the peninsula, and consequently became less active in her negotiations with the Salandra Government.  Thereupon Italy resumed negotiations with the Entente powers, and on April 14 acknowledged that Serbia should have an opening on the Adriatic Sea.  This caused the Austro-Italian negotiations to be heatedly resumed, and on May 18 the German Imperial Chancellor read to the Reichstag the eleven Austro-Hungarian proposals.  The text of these proposals, together with the Italian counter-proposals and the Italian exchange of claims in the Adriatic with the Entente powers, will be found outlined in the Italian official statement cabled by Minister Sonnino to the Italian Ambassador at Washington, presented on Page 494.

It must be borne in mind that the press comments are based upon an imperfect knowledge of the ultimate proposals and claims, and that the Italian attitude for rejecting the Austro-Hungarian proposals obviously rests on these grounds: 

     1.  They are inadequate and might be rendered nought in case of
     the victory of the Entente powers.

     2.  They do not give Italy a defensive frontier in the north
     and east.

     3.  They do not materially improve Italy’s commercial and
     military condition in the Adriatic.

4.  They make no mention of Dalmatia and the Dalmatian Archipelago, with their deep harbors and natural fortifications—­a curious contrast to the lowland harbors of the Italian coast opposite.

     The Italian demands take into account the possible victory of
     the Entente powers.

In the circumstances, it is best to begin with an extract from a German paper, as there seems to be an impression abroad that Germany has not appreciated Italy’s reasons for not joining with her allies at the beginning of the war and has conducted a propaganda discrediting her willingness to remain neutral provided the Austro-Hungarian concessions proved sufficient and were sufficiently guaranteed.

THE GERMAN VIEW.

From the Frankfurter Zeitung of March 3.

Article VII. of the Austro-German-Italian Treaty, the terms of which have never before been made public, not only provides for the right of compensation in case one party to the contract enriches itself territorially in the Balkans, but also forbids either Austria or Italy to undertake anything in the Balkans without the consent of the other....