Russia has bound herself by so many engagements not to remain permanently in Manchuria and not to annex any Chinese territory, that we feel sure that the correspondent of the "Standard" at Odessa must be misinformed when he wires that Russia's fulfilment or repudiation her agreement to evacuate Manchuria depends upon the question of the retention or retrocession of the right bank of the Amur." This territory, it will be remembered, was seized by Russia immediately after the Blagovestchensk massacre, the Chinese being driven out and their towns destroyed. The territory was solemnly dedicated to Russia with services in which Generals and priests took part but when Prince Oukhtomsky was here in October 1900 he was urgent in insisting that notwithstanding this dedication Russia would faithfully keep her promise not to do anything to imp the integrity of China, There is a general fear that a pretext will be found to delay the evacuation of Manchuria: but it is impossible that the retrocession of the right bank of the Amur can be used for that purpose.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.