Prestpest Roostvert will not allow the Peace Conference to fail if he can help it.. It soams that on the two main points both sides were obdurate, the Japanese plenipotentiaries insisting on an indemnity and the cession of Saghalien, and the Russian plenipotentiaries' as strongly refusing {o entertain either of these conditions. President Roosevelt's proposed solution is " decidedly:
happy one, as it meets both points; 436 Russia is to buy back the northern half of Saghalien fr a sum undetermined, 437 but which it seems the Japanese fix at £120,000,000 sterling, which will cover 7' the expenses of the war to date. By' 39 this means, Russia recovers the command of the mouth of the Amur; Japan} recovers the southern half of Saghalien, which soon after the Restoration she in her than ignorance of their respective values exchanged with Russia forthe Kurile Islands, which have no: value at all, and to which Russia's title was} extremely doubtful; and Japan also recovers her out-of-pocket expenses.
The balance of her claim for an indemnity of £150,000,000. sterling is, it is proposed, to be made up by a payment from Chine for the Chinese Eastern Railway south of Harbin, "and by a liberal repayment from Russia of the expenses connected with the keep of so many Russian prisoners in Japan so many months. Very well kept and very generously treated they have bean, The question, whether the Conference shall fail or -not depends now on the advisers who have the ear of the Czar at the moment, He may listen to Count Lamedorffjimpressed by' his Chancellor's threat that he will resign if peace is nob made, or he may be captured again by the war party, and still obstinately refuse to listen to any terms which include any cession of territory, and any payment of the nature of an indemnity.
The papers brought us by the German mail from Japan yesterday contain interesting notices of the Press on the Japanese demands, and there is a remarkably. general, almost universal, consensus that they are commendably moderate, They bear out the statement of the "London Times," that Japan wants peace and is therefore making it easy for Russia to accept hor conditions. It should be remarked, however, that there is a considerable section of public opinion in Japan, represented by some of ths leading vernal cular joursials, holding that the terms offered Russia are too moderate already they profess themselves, anxious to seo 'Russia reject Japan's offers, so that the war may.go on, and still better terms he exacted hereafter; and it would probably be dangerous for' the Japanese Government, secitig "how strong "the war party is in Japan, to admit any serious modification of lier'terms. The "Peace Question League" waited, we learn, on the General Army Staff Office at Tokio on the-18th'inst-and presented 'a resoltition which they asked might be laid before the: Throne: according to the "Japan Chronicle," "this resolution {s to the effect that the terms of peace proposed by Japan'are moderate to excess, and are therefore inadequate, to guarantee the permanent peace of the Far East. It goes on to say that should any. further concession be made on the part of the Government, thereby minimising the present proposals, the authorities responsible must be regarded as forfeiting what ie due to the success of the Japanese arms, and to' be sowing the seeds of everlasting national
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.