SECRET COMPACT BETWEEN RUSSIA AND CHINA.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 46, 17 April 1863, Page 5 (Supplement)

SECRET COMPACT BETWEEN RUSSIA AND CHINA.

(From the Sydney Morning 4SeraldJ) In its fortnightly summary of news froni Hong Kong the Overland. Trade Report, of 31st '.December, makes the following statement as to the attitude recently assumed by the Russians in China :-*•

" It has been reported through mandarins of high rank that a compact has been entered into between the Chinese and Russian Governments to the following tenor and effect i— The Russians agree to supply twelve vessels of war, and seven or eighl thousand troops. These were to take Nanking in the first place, and then, pursuing the line of the Grand Canal, march on to the great cities of Soochow and Hangcfrow, which they were also to capture* Whether they were to garrison, or to assist to garrison, these cities, does not appear. The recompense for these services was to be the cession of the Chusan groop.

"That some such arrangement has been entered into does not admit of a doubt ; that it was concluded without the knowledge or assent of tbe British Minister must be inferred, and that the attitude assumed by the British Go--vemment upon the eve of its development has for the present retarded its progress, seems to be the only reasona"bie conclusion which can be arrived at under the circumstances about to be narrated. It is impossible to suppose for one moment that the British Minister at Peking would be privy to an arrangement which would place the key of the entire China trade into the hands of a power whose presence can mean nothing but territorial aggrandisement. In the peculiarly advantageous military position of the Chusan Islands does not consist all their value. The harbors amongst them are so numerous, and the entrances of some are so narrow, that land fortifications would protect them against any but an extraordinarily large hostile fleet. " It should be particularly observed that this contemplated convention between the Chinese and Russian Governments does not rest upon mere rumor. The presence of a large Russian fleet in this vicinity is of course notorious, and Russian officers as well as mandarins have stated openly the avowed intention of their Government to assist in the suppression of the Taiging rebellion. The Taoutai of Ningpo issued placards stating that 2,000 Russian troops would be quartered there, and the probability is that such arrangement would have been carried out but for the interference of the French.

" How so large a Russian force as there now appears in these waters could Lave been so quickly collected is of itself a circumstance sufficient to excite suspicion. In the first place, it began to rendezvous at Nagasaki, where a plot of ground was forcibly taken possession of as a site for an arsenel, despite the refusal of the Japanese authorities, and the remonstrance of the owners of the grounds. There the arrival of the Admiral was waited for. When that event occurred, a portion of the fleet, including the flagship, was moved to the Yangtsze. Admiral Hope had left, and something approaching to bona jide neutrality had been established by his successor Admiral Kuper. The altered state of affairs in the conduct of the Rritish. was generally attributed to the change of men, but there are indications which would induce the belief that instructions from Downing-street, of a ■very grave nature, have caused the late meddling, perfidious, sanguinary, and dangerous policy pursued, to be abjured, and that Admiral Kuper's removal to Hong Kong was the result of instructions from home, prompted by the intelligence of the above-named contract between the Chinese and Russian Governments, which most certainly Admiral Hope was ignorant of until he heard of it in this colony, a few days before his departure for Calcutta.

" Upon the Russian admiral's arrival in tbe Yangtze Admiral Kuper had left for Hong Kong, and something must have intervened to stop the progress of the Russian arrangement — possibly orders to Admiral Kuper to take the Chusan group, whilst the Russians were performing their part of the compact on the grand canal. At all events, the Russian Admiral followed Admiral Kuper lo Hong Kong, and has been here with a portion of his fleet ever since. The extent of the Russian force is not known. It consists of detachments at Hong Kong, Shanghai, Nagasaki, and Manilla. In these four ports there are at least twenty •war vessels ; how many more there are in other ports in the Japan archipelago is not known, or where the transports in which the troops are does not yet appear. " Tbe proof tha-t the change of British policy at Shanghai is not caused by the .different constructions which the two Admirals placed upon their instructions, lies in the following facts : — General .Staveley unexpectedly issued an order to the effect that officers belonging to the British array Who had joined the Imperial seryice could not take the field, but only act as drill instructors — the Taoutai, it is said, refused their services on such terms, and it is said such officers returned to their posts. Again, the ■consul lately protested against a British steamer being engaged in tfee China transport service. It is furthermore known that it is the rigid intention of the British naval and military authorities at Shanghai, to confine their operations exclusively to the limits of the thirty- mile radius. It is a sad pity that such wise counsels should wear the appearance of vacillation, and give rise to discontent on the part of the Imperial Government as hearing the appearance of lukewarm*ness towards them— sadder still to think that the British Government should stand self-condemned in the mad course pursued by Admiral Hope, after exhibiting a most pernicious example aiid; precedent to France and Russia."