2st April.
Tue Blue Book entitled Correspondence respecting the A fairs of China, issued last month, is a foolscap-size volume of 360 pages, in addition to xxiv pages of Index. It extends from the 29th of March 1898 to the 3rd of February 1899, and it is obvious that from such a mass of material we can only pick out the salient points as we go along. The first document is a j notification of the cession of Port Arthur and Talienwan, as well as the adjoining territory, to Russia for a term of 25 years, which may be prolonged by mutual agreement. The extract quoted from the St. Petersburg Oficial Messenger says: "'The opening to the commercial fleets of all foreign nations of the port of Talien wan creates in the Pacific Ocean a new and extended centre for the commercial and trading undertakings of those nations, especially by. means of the Great Siberian line, henceforth to be taken into account, and which, thanks to the friendly treaty between Russia and China, will unite the extreme ends of the old world."
This is followed by Mr. Balfour's communication to Sir F. Lascelles of tal Great Britain's request for Weihaiwei, of which we read that the "sole object is to maintain the balance of power in the Gulf of Pechili, which is menaced Then comes a memorandum on the by Russia's occupation of Port Arthur."
establishment of German Settlements at Tientsin and Hankow, and a letter from Mr. Ewen Cameron to the Foreign Office, announcing the formation of a British Syndicate for Railways in China "to cope with the powerful (German) combination now opposed to usin China," and primarily to construct, through Messrs. Jardine, Matheson & Ca. the Shanghai-Nanking line. There are one or two short telegrams on the delay in the ratification of the Peking Syndicate's concession, and then comes a discussion with Germany of Mr. Balfour's voluntary surrender of any right to connect Weihaiwei by rail with the interior of Shantung. On this the German Government wanted England to undertake not to establish railway communication anywhere in Shantung, which was reduced by Mr. Balfour to "England will not construct any railroad communication either from Weihaiwei, or from any other point on the coast into the interior of the province of Shantung;"
that the open door was voluntarily abandoned in Shantung long before Lord Charles Beresford started on his travels, The terms finally accepted by the German Government were: "England will not construct any railroad communication from Weihaiwei and the district leased therewith into the interior of the province of Shantung."
A number of extracts are quoted from Russian journals urging that Russia now occupies the place at Peking which has hitherto been held by England, "a change which meets with the approval of all Continental Europe," that if England takes Weihaiwei or sends a fleet into the Gulf of Pechili, Russia must make a countermove on the Indo-Afghan frontier, and that japan must see that England is no friend of hers and that her true interest in Corea lies in an understand-ug with Russia, which will promote "the sale in that country and Manchuria of Japanese products under the Russian flag, and under the protection of Russian bayonets." An extract from the Tientsin Kwowénpao is quoted, showing that H.E. Chang Chih-tung was strongly opposed to the construction of a British railway from Burma to the Yangtze, on the ground that it would involve the surrender of the whole of the twelve south and east provinces of China to England. The discussion with the Tsungli Yamen of the opening of inland waterways and of a port in Hunan, and the non-alienation of the Yangtze Valley, occupies several pages, and it is to be noted that, while Sir Claude Macdonald asked for an underking that the Yangtze Valley, or any portion of it, should not be alienated to "any other Power" (than England), the Yamén's undertaking, as we know, is that "it is out of the question that territory" (in the Yangtze Valley) "should be mort-Power " (than China). We have also aged, leased, or ceded to another
the undertaking that as long as British trade preponderates in China the Inspector-General of Customs] shall be an Englishman.
More than twenty-one pages are taken up by a very interesting report on Manchuria by Colonel Browne, which fully deserves reproduction in amore accessible form. It is lightened by excellent touches of humour, such as the following description of the time-keeper in a Manchurian inn "T have omitted to mention that no inn is complete without a cock, which, with a hen for company, is kept in the room to act asaclock. A landlord told me that some of these birds sound every watch, but I am thankful to say that the breed is not common, asI have not met one yet. Generally, they sound off? between 1 and 2 the morning, when the slow traffic drawn by oxen, and even some of the heavy cart traffic gets under way, but they do not seriously take in hand the business of heralding the morn' until an hour before the first streak of light, when, as these birds are specially selected for their powers of endurance and pitch, every one, even those only partially endowed with a nervous system, takes to the road."
great boon on the people if she takes Russia will doubtless be Sonbereing a over the administration of Manchuria, for Colonel Browne's summary says that "Manchuria is a fine country vilely governed;" bnt he adds that "to take over the government of such a vast territory would absorb for some years the energy of the civil and military staff in the Far East, it would disorganised the present system of obtaining supplies from Manchuria; it would inevitably delay the construction of-the railway, and it China at a time when it is alhimwould insure the open hostility of
portant to Russia that she should be on friendly terms with that Power,"
There is an important dispatch, dated the 17th of March 1898, from Sir Claude Macdonald to Lord Salisbury on the subject of the right of foreigners to hold land and houses outside the Treaty Ports. The conclusion is that only missionaries have this right "for the purposes of their mission," and Sir Claude holds that it is inadvisable to take steps to get the right extended to other British subjects, not missionaries, "in view ports and the increased trade facilities of the opening of additional treaty
which we are being granted by the Imperial Chinese authorities." A dis-tch from Sir Claude to Lord Salisury with reference to the loan of £16,000,000 contains a very graceful tribute to the Hongkong Bank's agent at Peking. Sir Claude says: "I cannot close this dispatch without placing on record the fact that the credit of the successful negotiation of the loan belongs almost entirely to Mr. Hillier. He has shown untiring energy and inexhaustible fertility of resource in meeting difficulties as they arise, together with great jess, and readiness to take responibility on himself when necessary. The bank must be considered exceptionally fortunate in possessing such a representative of their interests."
The Kiaochou question then takes up some pages, and we may note Herr von Biilow's statement in the Reichstag that Germany did not propose to bring about any partition of China: "All we have done is to provide that come what may, we ourselves shall not go empty-handed. The traveller cannot decide when the train is to start, but he can make sure not to miss it when it does start. The devil takes the hindmost. German diplomacy will pursue its path in the East as everywhere else—calmly, firmly, and peacefully. We will never play. the t of mischief-maker; nor will we play that of Cinderella." But obviously, if the other nations determine to imitate Germany, the partition of China is an accomplished fact.
There is a very interesting memorandum from the China Association pointing out how exaggerated is the statement submitted to the Reichstag as to the comparative extent of German trade in Hankow and Tientsin. In a dispatch from Lord Salisbury to the British Ambassador
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.