26th August. Cue account published recently in a British Columbian newspaper of an interview with General Dorward, in which the gallant General expressed his belief that war between Japan and Russia was inevitable unless Russia carried out faithfully her promise to China to evacuate Manchuria, has naturally attracted mach interest in the Far East, although it must be remembered that interviews in American newspapers must not be allowed the force of official utterances, Our French contemporary here devoted a column to the subject in its yesterday's issue: we must not enquire how far the "Echo de Chine" is authorised to spank for Russia, but its remarks on the statements attributed to General Dorward are interesting enough in themselves to be worth notice. The writer begins with the cynical remark that "Russia has promised to evacuate Manchuria exactly as England has promised to evacuate Egypt." There is, of course, no analogy whatever between the occupation of Minchuria by Russia_and the occupation of Egypt by Great Britain, but to those who do not care fir the trouble of learning whit the so-calld British occupation of Egypt really is, the phrase is no doubt convincing enough. "There wiN always," our coutemporary goes.on to say, " be Boxers and brigands enough in Manchuri to enable the Russian Governmen to find sufficient excuse fr the maintenance of the occupation of the country. Daring this time Russia will build new railway lines, consolidate the existing one, establish everywhere places of busine-s, increase her terests tenfold, and retard evacuation until time has habituated politicians and journalists to considering the retreat of the Russian forces as an impossibility and during that time, no doubt, the Chinese Eastern Railway will con inno to pour goods of all kinds into Manchuria from Dalny and Port Arthur free of all import duties, because the Chinese Imperial Mar-time Customs is only concerned with goods transported by sea and has nubing to do with those transport "d by rail. The "Echo de Chine" gues on to say that General Dorward's estimate of the Russian troops in Manchuria at times to give a just idea of the force devoted to the direct or indirect protection of Manchuria. It continues: "The warlike humour of the little Nippons is, in general, well controlled by the statesmen of Japan. The people may desire war, but the Japanese Government is wiser than the people. It will not allow itself to be drawn into an adventure which Russia perhaps desires, but which would give a fatal blow to the development. of the Japanese Empire. It is easy, in fact, to foresee that the first discomfiture that would fall upon Japan would be her abandonment by England, which grants alliances, but does not ask for them.' The army which Japan could disembark in Manchuria would last just as long as the first winter it passed there. The Russians would starve it and let it freeze where it lay. It will be the victim of the climate, and will probably be annihilated before it his been engaged in one serious battle" (A French writer might have been expected to remember how the hopes of the first Czar Nicholas, that the climate would annihilate the Allies in the Crimea, were frustrated.) "'The Russians, in order to be able to exercise a closer and better defined supervision over Japan, and calm its ardour, will occupy Hokkaido, and return it to Japan when they return Manchuria to China. England will watch over India, and that is why, occupied as she is with her own affairs, she will have no leisure to interest herself in Japan."
The value of what we have translated above depends on whether it is merely the speculation of an Anglophobic French journalist, or does really represent what is passing in the minds of those who direct Russian affairs in the Far Eist, What seems certain is that Russia, notwithstanding all her promises, has very little intention of evacuating Manchuria, Mr. Henry Norman, M.P., has lately been travelling in Russia, and he has published a very interesting book, "Allthe Russias," in which he expresses very freely his admiration of Russia, and urges that Great Britain should' throw off her suspicions and jerome to a good and lasting understanding with her. He says that what is thought in England to be [one of the serious obstacles to the achievement of this understanding jis Russia's action in China, but he lurges that in China Russia has! already got what she wants, namely, the control of Manchuria and a free {rail route to a fortified harbour upon the open sea. Mr. Norman by his abilities and the close attention he has given to political matters in Asia has raised himself toa position in which he is regarded in the House of Commons as an authority; and it seems that he regards with complacency the rupt ture by Russia of all her engagements as to Manchuria. General Dorward, on the other hand, who would not speak lightly on such a grave matter, is represented as saying that if Russia does not evacuate Manchuria, Japan will regard her action as a provocation to war; and if things should take this turn, and France should come to the assistance of her ally, the Anglo-Japanese agreement comes automatically into force. This is a very serious position to contemplate; on the other hand, we may be quite sure that not one of the four Powers mentioned is anxious to go to war with anyone; and we have little doubt that i Russia is convinced that Japan is in earnest, she will give way, and Japan will build a bridge for her by which she may retire without loss of prestige. Thut responsible Russians believe for a moment that a war with Japan for Manchuria would result in the annihilation of the Japanese forces in one winter, and the annexation by Russia of the northern island of Japan, Hokkaido, is not to be supposed. It is possible that the "Novoe Vremys's" proposal as to Afghanistan is inten®&d to divert England's attention from Russia's action in Manchuria.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.