Ly an article on "The Situation" in its issue of the 24th instant, the well-informed "Japan Mail" begins by mentioning the report that Viceroy Alexeieff has been summoned to St. Petersburg "with all haste for "he purpose of discussing the Far Eastern problem, and that a decision as to peace or war will not be formed until after his arrival." The statement has not been officially confirmed, but a number of telegrams pointing to its accuracy have. been published, emanating from Chinese and Japanese sources, among them being a statement attributed to the Chinese Minister at St. Petersburg, that official opinion there is almost equally divided between peace and war, and that the Far East Vie-roy has been sent for to enable the Government to come to a final decision. It the news is true, it means a further delay in the progress of the negotiations at Tokiv, "and as all delays are looked upon with suspicion and uneasiness by those in Japan who watch the gradual additions Russia is steadily making to, her fighting forces in the Far East, this new source of hesitation will be counted most unwelcome. On the other hand, it cannot be forgotten
sword is postponed, the less likely that the longer an appeal to the it is to be made, unless some unforeeen event precipitate such an issue. The "Mail" points out that it is difficult to believe that Russia can fight in such an unjust cause. "Her warmest advocates cannot pretend to deny that she is a deliberate violator of solemn treaty engagements, or that, were China in position to protest vigorously warist one of the most flagrant. insults ever put upon an independent State, she would have drawn the word long ago." Still Jo willing, with the Western Powers, to recognise the work that Russia has done in Manchuria, and to allow her to maintain there the forces that are strictly necessary to protect the railway that she has built, while determined that she shall not make' this a pretext for ann the country. he translations that we have n cently published from the "Novi Kral" show that if that paper is really, as it is confidently stated to be, the mouthpiece of Viceroy Alexeieff, there is no hope of the maintenance of peace unless Japan gives way, "The Port Arthur journal... had the magnificent assurance to speak of the righteousness of Russia's cause—the righteousness of stealing an_immense expanse of territory from
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.