The news that England had withdrawn her request that Talienwan should be made an open port caused as much excitement in England as it did in China, although the Times, evidently under orders, tried to minimise it as much as possible. Writing when the news of the Withdrawal was sent to it from Peking, it said Russia's objections to a free port at Talien-3 we observed some days ago, ible, and if she has offered, as it, to be presumed she has offered, some reason~ able compromise upon this point, and she has also discontinued her opposition at Peking to the remaining conditions of the British loan, sensible persons in this country will seo no reason to cry out at the deference shown to her susceptibilities. If, on the other hand, Ministers for any reason could be supposed to have deferred to her in this matter without having secured an adequate equivalent in return, they would unquestionably have to answer for their conduct to public opinion. But it would be unjust to Lord Salisbury and to his colleagues to entertain any supposition of the kind on the evidence before us.
The next day it rebuked in most mngisterial manner its contemporaries who had attacked the Government for giving in to the Russian threat of reprisals, complained especially of the Conservative journals, and was unable to seo any. solid reasons why. they should have adopted this somewhat inconsistent and ungenerous course. They support the Government of Lord Salisbury presumably because they have confidence in the wisdom and the courage of its members. Yet the moment we inform them of an interesting, but quite, indecisive, incident in a Tong and delicate negotiation which Lord Salisbury is conducting, they seize upon it as an indication that the Cabinet in all probability have been guilty of flagrant and particularly foolish dereliction of duty. 'The jingoes," who have been raising such ani outery' over the imputed folly and cowardice of @ Ministry which certainly has not shown itself deficient in Imperial sentiment or in a perception of the supreme importance of our trade, have absolutely n0 facts to-go upon except the portentous-vision of surrender and scuttle" inference only, and of inference which, as we they "have conjured, up is. the result of have insisted from the first, is by no' means necessary from the only incident we know.
The Pall Mall took up the glove and "went for" the Times at once in an article handed Very Stagey Thunder." " With serene assumption of omniscience that Dr. Whewell never surpassed, with a correctness of deportment calculated to make Mr. Turveydrop go limp at the knees with despairing envy, it lectures the whole of the Unionist Press or thereabouts for daring to have opinions independent Printing-house Square about Talienwwa Tt goes on All this is very impressive, but there are as many leak"ges in the Times' argument as in the Chinese ironclad after the battle of the Yalu. With submission, we venture to ask, 'Who started the fuss?' The Timex it was that on a sensational Monday morning came out with the news that the Government were willing to provide the Government of China with a Loan upon certain conditions, one of which was the opening of Talienwan as 2 free Tominously, is in the province of Shingking, rt, That town, remarked the Timex most
little to the north of Port Arthur on the east cost of the peninsula known as the Regent's Sword," which itself forms the Western boundary of Corea Bay, and divides it from the Province of Lisotung." We will return to the sword and the peninsula, and the Tier (fit Gui nek ake a fuss at any into: gracing special rights aod conseaions rate created a "boom," and a capital boom, to individual Powers, should stop. too, journalistically considered. There are Tam not sure that this grave declaration startling announcements that look foolish on was expected to have any great effect on the the morrow—reports that the Duke of York is about to start on a trip round the world, for Chinese but ie was known that it would promptly be passed on to France and Russia, example—there are those which do a paper and it was not until it was made that direc credit, and the discoveries of the Peking cor-negotiations between Great Britain and Russi respondent of the Times distinctly belong to took place. If the threat had been carried that category. But really the rest of us out, Japan would have occupied the territory mast be permitted to apply our geographical with her troops, just as she would have do knowledge to the sword and the bay and the after the war lad not the three Powers peninsula, without incurring a scolding for intervened, and Talienwaa would have been patting "the worst possible interpretation" opened to.trade. I think it is very doubtful upon the sub-equant revelations of the whether, if such a step had been taken, any-enterprising intelligencer aforesaid. The thing further would have happened." The Times may let off its comminatory stage truth is, the two Rowors, Japan and Great thunder-clap, but when the shock is over Britain combined, have such a force in the it in discovered to have flagrantly begged Chinese seas, naval and military, that rethe question. The worst possible intersistance would have been ludicrous. Such pretation" is the only possible interpretation. measure will not, however, be necessary, for The significance of the weakening on Ta-the threat has served its purpose, lien wan can only be fully appreciated when Ina letter in the Times from St. Peters-Ministerial declarations are remembered. burg, dated the 30th of January, appears Now one member of the Cabinet has asserted the fomarkablo.statemont that hee already that Groat Britain will insist upon the door, even at the risk of war another t reached us by wire, as to the case with which Russia could collect an overwhelm-we shall countenance no spheres of influence in China, It follows that when the demand ing fleet in these waters. The writer of Talienwan as a free port is withdrawn, says the door is shut with a bang, and shut in our 'The apparent disposition of the St. Peters-faces. There is the further conclusion to be burg Press to be more conciliatory has not drawn from the Times' geographical erudition that of the places that it enumerates as near lasted long. To-day's Novoe Premya publishes two articles which confirm this apart from Talienwan, Port Arther is occupied by the other evidences sent yon previously. Russian ironclads, Corea is half paralysed by Bitter complaint is made of the exasperating Russian intrigue, and the Lisotung Peninsula tone of the English Press, their comparative was forced from' between the jaws of Japan calealations of naval. forces in the Pacific and for the notorious reason that Russia intends to their treatment of the Russian fleet in that swallow the mouthful at her leisure. If that ocean as though it belonged, not to the is not an acquiescence in a sphere of influence, Empice of the Czar, whose word is law la what la? The opinions of Mr. McLeavy Brown Europe ai regards the maintenance of peace, and of the Japanese Prime Minister would to some miserable little State on the be most instructive on the point. And does Aittoral of the Amur district with Viadivostock the Times imagine that the public is so for its capital. They forget, it is urged, stupid as not to perceive the astounding that Russia could outweigh in strength and inconsistency of this morning's outburst numbers the combined naval forces of England with its previous admonitions? "'The man in and Japan in the Far East by sending thither the street may possibly prefer to put his own her Heat from the Baltic without the least constructions upon the facts, and they may danger of being attacked in the latter region. be inconvenient for the Times. Ho may con-England exaggerates the importance of sea clude, for example, that that journal dis-power, and forgets that the decisive weapon covers that it has embarrassed the Government by its divolgence of State secrets, that against her to-day is rotactio ist tariffs, which have made the European Continent, it has become'rather frightened, and so thinks independent of her products, and which onl; fit to wrap up its own in us under a require to be systematized in order to establish dust of exuberant patriotism That, agai the plan of Napoleon and shut her out from' would be a worst possible interpretation, market. but it would also have some inherent reason-Our St, Petersbury contemporary should ableness in it. have remembered what wns the end of It is often asked what England could do Napoleon's plan. if Russia marched her troops down through The following is the Money Market note Manchuria to Port Arthur. According to in the Economist of the 29th of January acorrespondentof the Manchester Guardian, stinct change has taken place i condition of the money market this week, with whom the wish, it is to be feared, the previous ease having given place rather was father to the thought, this eventuality unexpectedly to a certain tightness, which was provided for. He says has caused some amount of borrowing from The British authorities had made up their the Bank. Of course, the Stock Exchange minds that they were in a position to regain settlement helped to send up rates for short the influence in Peking which they had lost loans, but discount rates have also advanced, as the necessary consequence of our refusal the quotation for best three months' paper, to share in the intervention against Japan. which a week ago stood at 23 per cent, bein, They had the force, they had public opinion now 2} per cent. One explanation given at home and in neutral countries on their side, the decrease in the outside supplies of money, and they had resolved to proceed to all to which this advance is due, is that the Tongths to maintain their demands. Further, collection of the revenue is now going on at shortly before Christmas, on the formal in-an exceptionally rapid pace. As a matter of vitation of the Japanese Government, the fact, however, the revenue returns do not British Government stated its policy fully and showr this to be the case.. According to them, explicitly, and got an assurance of the full the amount gathered in daring the frst. three support of Japan, by diplomacy and otherwise, weeks of this year was £3,043,000, while the in insisting on that policy being accepted by amount collected in the same period of last the Chinese. It has been asked what Great year was £2,879,000. It is worth noticing, Britain could have done if China accepted however, that the Government payments on the Russian offers and refused to open Talien-account of the Supply services are further in wan. I am informed that Great Baitain and arrear this year than last. The payments up Japan agreed in that case—and formally de-to the 2nd inst. were £18,100,000 tess than clared this resolution to China—that they. the estimate for the complete financial year, would seize and occupy, temporarily or while at the corresponding date in 1897 they manently as events might render desiral were £16,600,000 less. The payments under the whole of the Liaotung promontory. the Naval Works Act must also have been cluding the area specified in the treaty of considerably less owing to the engineers? peace with Japan, and that in auch an event strike. And that there has been some the amount paid to Japan as the price of accumulation of Government money would retrocession could be deducted from the ba. lance of the indemnity due to Japan. the two Powers, or Great Britain alone, could do this in the face of the world there can Lo no question; and both Powers were resolved that this game, which has gone on ever since appear from the fact that the Treasury balance at the Bank is now £4,751,00, as compared with £2,141,000 at the corresponding date last year. An:! what the market has to take note of is, that any cattailments of its balances now, owing to the delayed disbursements of
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.