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RUSSIA IN NORTH CHÍNA.
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March 3, 1901.
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THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND had any reason to expect,, Russia has been
unable to resist any demand pressed by pressing for many weeks, with her usual "Russia. Russia appears determined to (Daily Press, 27th March.)
insistence and her customary employment "profit by the condition to which China The Governments of London and St. of Chinese venality, for the concession of "reduced by the action of the other Powers, Petersburg have chosen the quickest and enormous privileges, which not only secured just as she profited by obtaining the Pri- easiest method of settling the dispute be- for her Manchuria (under a promise of re-morsk province after the war of 1860, and tween the Railway Company and the Rus- turu which no one considered worth the "Port Arthur and Talienwan subsequent to sian military authorities at Tientsin. They paper on which it was written), but also, if "the war of 1895." Nostronger confirmation have fixed on Count VON WALDERSEE, the North-China Daily News correspondent of the Times correspondent's word is needed Commander-in-chief of the allied troops in is right, a vague but extraordinary control than the events of the last few days. China North China, as arbitrator, and it is difficult over mines, railways, etc., in Mongolia, now stands practically unaided, and her to see how a better choice could have been Kashgar, Yarkand, Khotan, and Chinese most prominent representative is showing made. It is true that Count vON WAL- Turkestan. Such privileges, if granted, his usual willingness to sell her interests. DERBEE was in Germany when the events could only point to the ultimate absorp- Moreover, he is by no means alone in his occurred which have led to Russia making tion by Russia of all the outlying dependen- feelings toward Russia. As Dr. MORRISON xo large a claim for land at Tientsiu; but hecies of the Chinese Empire. Yet appeals points out in the same despatch which we is on the spot, and the evidence can all be from China to the other Powers appear (as have just quoted, the Chinese argue that checked with far more speed and accuracy far as official information goes) only to have Russin, having no interests south of the than if the matter were to be settled in Europe. met with the advice, not very comforting Great Wall, no missionaries, no trade, and The Peking correspondent of a Shanghai con- under the circumstances, to “be firm.”
It no troops, can weaken the action of the temporary, whom we quoted yesterday, gave a is possible, of course, even probable, that other Ministers to the advantage of China, brief account of the point at issue at Tientsin. secret influences may have been brought and therefore can reasonably expect in For convenience we reproduce his words. to bear, which have given the Chinese return benevolent treatment from China "The railway company," he says, wished Government more encouragement to resist in any agreement proposed outside the
to lay rails from the station to the river-
the monstrous aggressions threatened by Great Wall, especially as Russia is in bank, which is only fifty yards away. The Russia; but Japan alone publicly committed military occupation already. There is intervening ground (now occupied only by herself to any strong statement, when she little reason to wonder if China, seeing 'débris of a few Chinese huts) is claimed told China that special privileges to Russia that Russia cannot be ousted from Man- "as Russian territory, by right of conquest, in Manchuria would involve compensation churia by any efforts of hers, and drawing "because Russian blood was spilt there in to Japan elsewhere-obviously somewhere her conclusions from the vacillation of the the defence of Tientsin last June and July. within the Eighteen Provinces, the in- Powers, should resolve to take the line of The claim is denied by the other Powers, tegrity of which seem to appeal even least resistance, accept finally the patronage on the ground that by international agree- tổ the more venal Chinese officials. which Russia has so long been offering and ment there was no war of conquest, and Though but weakly supported, China yet which statesmen of the LA HUNG-CHANG "furthermore all nations alike took part in
school have done their best to make China defending Tientsin, and all shed their blood appears to have risen for once to the occa
sion. It would be foolish to be sanguine, accept, and endeavour by the help of Russia on that particular spot as well as elsewhere." but if the Manchurian Convention is reject-(secured by the sacrifice of Manchuria to It seems, moreover, that the proposed siding ed by China firmly and consistently, there was specially designed to facilitate the
are hopes that further spoliation may cease, carriage of supplies from vessels in the It is, however, the duty of all interested in Peiho to Peking, the question of military sup- the affairs of China to support the present plies having been particularly provided for attiude of her Government. It is useless to when the railway was handed back to the talk against the partition of China, while British, as our Tientsin correspondent has calmly watching the first steps which lead already informed us and as may be seen from inevitably to that partition. the terms of the convention which we re- print in another column from Dr. MOBRI- SON's despatch to the Times. Lt present, the construction of the siding having been stopped, though both British and Rns- sian troops have been withdrawn, the carriage of supplies must therefore be de. layed. The matter, however, being in Count
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WALDERSEE's hands, TON
we
may hope for a speedy solution of a very disagreeable incident, and which- ever way the dispute is settled the decision must meet with loyal acquiescence. With regard to the Russian claim, no one will deny the bravery of their troops at Tientsin last year and the large share which they took in the preservation of the Settlement while it was cut off from the rest of the world. But that this is an adequate justi- fication for land-grabbing is not a doctrine to be countenanced, though other Powers are disposed to act upon it at Tientsin with less chim than Russia. Further, all the Powers disclaimed any idea of gaining territory as a result of the recent disturbances, a fact which some of them seem inclined to forget, It looks now as if the railway dispute were likely to be settled with more expedi tion than is habitual with disputes in China. A more serious situation is threatened over the Manchurian Convention. New York reports indeed are to the effect that China has actually rejected the Convention, and our telegram from Shanghai yesterday con- firmed this, for from that it appears that he Reform party at Shanghai had received despatch from the Grand Council at Hsianfu announcing that the Imperial Court had telegraphed to YANG YU, Chinese Minister at St. Petersburg, forbidding him to sign the Convention on behalf of China. This is indeed much better news than we
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(Daily Press, 29th March.) Within a very short time of one another on Wednesday night we received two tele- grams from Shanghai, one stating that YANG YU, Chinese Minister at St. Peters- burg, had refused Count LAMSDORFF's de- inand that he should sign the Manchurian Convention, and the other that LI HUNG- CHANG had actually signed the Convention ou Wednesday, under pressure of the threat that Russia would "haul down the Chinese flag"--presumably over Government build. ings in Manchuria. If both these reports are true, it is plain that LI HUNG-CHANG signed without authority from the Chinese Government, who therefore are not bound in the slightest degree by the action of one who has so long been a tool of Russia. In this context we may quote what the North China Daily News justly calls a charateristic telegram, which LI HUNG-CHANG sent to Hsian when he learned of the protests against his scheme:-"If Your Majesty do "not ratify the agreement, Russia will "remain and take possession of Manchuria for ever, and other countries will follow suit. If Your Majesty will ratify it, Russia promises to return all Manchuria "to China, and this will prevent further protests from the Foreigu Powers." If any threat were actually made to haul down the Chinese flag, it would seem that Russia were tired of the pretence of willing. ness. to restore Manchuria to China, and seeing the impotence and credulity of the other Powers, were resolved to mail if neces- sary under her true Peking on the ult., -Dr. MORRISON it is necessary to em- `said:
"phasise the fact that China unaided is
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start with) to consolidate her position in the Eighteen Provinces against the other Powers. From a Chinese point of view it is decidedly better to have Russia friendly and the other nations quiescent, than Russia actively hostile and the other nations sympathetic, but unwilling or afraid to assist.
What there may be behind the Novosti's advocacy of an alliance between Russia and Japan it is impossible to guess. Often in the past has a St. Petersburg paper been allowed to send up a ballon d'essai for the purpose of ascertaining, without any officials being committed, what are the chances of some project. Russia may well wish to know whether Japan's hostility to her has been at all assuaged of late. The harmony indeed between the troops of the two nations during the fighting in the North was sufficient, but the attitude of the Japanese native Press just now about Corea shows that at least as far as the Peninsula is con- cerned Japan is as jealous as ever she was. The Novosti's argument as to the advantage to Japan of an alliance with Russia can hardly even be called specious. The St. Petersburg journal speaks of Japan gain- ing by "refusing to take the risk of losing what she has." This comes well from a representative of that nation which, reaped the principal harvest from Japan's struggle with China in 1895! A combination of the European Powers then agreed to hand over to Russia what Japan had won; and Britain acquiesced, guided by the believers in the "benevolent intentions of Russia and those foolish sentimalists who were shocked at the suggestion of any alliance between a white and a yellow race readily swallowed the inventions of an irresponsible American correspondent about Japanese atrocities. It was true we took as a reward Weihaiwei, which we have since been at pains not to make too valuable,
Fand
(':—“ Once moours. Writing from but this gain does not compensate for the
general shortsightedness of our action. If Russia could win the friendship of Japan by the abandonment of her intrigues in
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