The course of events is fully described in the "Russian Daily News," a Harbin newspaper, which gives a substantially correct version.
It was late on the night of July 30 when the foreign Consuls first received intimation that the Chinese were about to seize the Land Department. Arrangements had secretly been made, and the business was to be carried through with a rush, everybody to be taken by surprise. The British, French, American and Japanese consuls met on the following morning and received reports from a representative of the Russian group of directors of the line, and it was decided politely to advise General Chu Ching-lan, Chief Administrator of the Railway Zone, to refrain from the projected seizure and come to an understanding. General Chu _replied that he could do nothing. He was simply obeying orders from Mukden and, furthermore, the matter concerned not the consuls, but only General Chang Huan-siang.
Asked where General Chang was, General Chu confessed that he did not know, yet curiously enough Chang was at that moment engaged in a highly interesting conversation with Mr. Ostroumoff. Will you hand to me the company's title deeds to this land?" he asked. "If you do not, I shall take them by force tomorrow."
This interview was in progress when the four Consuls arrived at the office. They repeated what they had told General Chu Ching-lan, and received this answer: ''I am a military man. I execute orders. I have received orders, I shall execute them."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.