RUSSIA AND JAPAN.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVI, Issue 51, 4 March 1904, Page 3

RUSSIA AND JAPAN.

Progress of Events. AN APOLOGY FROM RUSSIA. : " THE CONTRABAND Ql ES TION. LONDON, March 2. Russia has apologised to the United Slates for stating that the American gunboat Vicksburg refused to succour the Varvag's crew alter the Chcmul-pho light, ami blamed Britain for circulating tie * report. The American press declares tin-re will be trouble if ltussia mforces *. her declarations regarding contraband of war in a harsh spirit, especially dealing with foodstuffs. THE POLICE OF THE SEA. V LONDON, March '2. The cruiser General Admiral's mission to the Azores is to intercept Japanese, colliers. Other. Russian cruisers are hovering around the entrance to the channel, and in the vicinity of Algiers. The armoured cruiser Dmitri lionskoi has been allowed live days in - which to effect repairs at Suez. A LESSON IN BEHAVIOL'B. LONDON, March 2. The Japanese arc paying liberally for everything in Korea. They ere behaving with great orderliness, and winning golden opinions. JAPANESE REPLY TO RUSSIAN ALLEGATIONS.. LONDON, March 2. i Japan has published an argumentative reply to Count Lanisdorff's S. >. (Russian Foreign Minister) recent i. circular alleging that the Japanese I are guilty of treachery. It rites | facts and figures showing that Itus- | da for many months accelerated f' her warlike preparations and ex- \_. hibited no inclination for friendly i.ergotiations. On the other hand she gought to force Japan into aubmisgion by dint of military prepoivler[c ance.

I' Later News. r"' _ i DRAWING THE CORDON AROUND fc PORT ARTHUR. | (Received March 3, 10.27 p.m.) LONDON, March 3. ? Advices received ut Washington :' wtate that the Japrihese are prepars- ing to land on the Liao-Chung l'cnt- insula, to begin the investment of i Fort Arthur, in a fortnight. ENGAGEMENT WITH CHU-'NCHU-SES. _/~* LONDON, March 3. ' 4tflvices from Viug-kow report thaC : »ifive hundred Chu-'Nehuscs, armed I with Mannilichei! rifles, attacked a .Russian post of 50 men at Ilai-cheng and .were repulsed, losing 87. The Russian casualties numbered 42, and I Jhe post was subsequently reinforced, k -STBE FATEFUL YA-LU VALLEY, LONDON, March 3. The Jnyuaose do not anticipate •any important engagements south of .the Ya-lu, .the indications being that ithe Russians' will make the Ya-lu .the* line of resistance to the Japanese advance.. 1 •- RUSSIAN RECONNAISSANCES HESULTLESS* LONDrN, March 3. Prince Alexieff '.-legiaphs that Cruisers and torpedo boats have made reconnaissances within a radius of sixty, miles of Port Arthur, and (ailed to discover the enemy's vessels. General Pflug estimates the Japanese force at Pin-yang at a thousand. h - DEAD SEA FRUIT, PRUESOME REMINDERS, i t LONDON, March 3. bodies of fifty Japanese have fceen .wwshed ashore near Wei-hai-wei. It is .supposed they belonged to the [ igjuriboaa cabled by the St. James' Gazette correspondent on Sunday as , having sunk off Che-foo, after taking X part in the Port Arthur attack.

The Latest. THE SITUATION AT VLAPIVOS- \ TOK. ! AN IMPOTENT FLEET. ■GUNNERS SLEEPING I)Y UHEIK ARMS. (Received March 4, 0.47 a.m.) LONDON, March 3. Dr. Morrison, Times correspondent at Pekin, states dial there uw 7200 Russian troops at Vladivostok, with four months' provisions. Merchants and others are forming a volunteer • cavalry force. Dr. Morrison says the '■cruiser, squadron is bottled up in the harbour by, Japanese ships patrolling » in the .vicinity. The artillerymen m the forts arc :sleeping alongside the guns, expecting a bombardment at any moment. RUSSIAN IiAIUUSON AT ANTUNG DISPOSITION OF JAPANESE FORCES. * > l#ypON, March 3. "The strength of tin Russians at Antung is two thousand. A considerable concentration of Japanese troops is being made at Jlwang-jii, south af I'ing-yang. Some additional .lupanese warships are permanently stationed in the iPrince St-rome Gulf which is southwards of the Chemul-pho inlet. IS RFSSU RIGHT? THE OTHER POINT OF VIEW. JBy Madame Olga MovikolT, in the Daily Mail.) T"or many years I have striven to tprove J hc usefulness of an entente eordiale between Russia and England. At one time I thought that that fros not an idle dream ; that fact* t. Would prove suffifi.'-nt teuchers. Kug- |£ 'land'it mistake!) and iiu'sapprehunsmiiH ■ tame to be perceived, iuyt were «<lB Taitted and pointed out by gjeai |K<isPlish statesmen like Mr Gladstone. Bfcilurlng all that long period no u»act towards England was by Russia. On the couBwrary, though England occupied

Egypt. w « made no pro-test. She annexed the Boer Suites ; on our part not even a Kruger telegram ! Those were not inconsiderable ap \ propriations. But even before then, or. at all events, before the latter of those remarkable roups, one of the most trusted of English advisers, now summoned to the highest military council of reform, wrote in 1808: TO STEM RUSSIA'S AUYAXCF,. '■The policy, persistently followed, of attempting to stem the Russian ad\ance in Central Asia lir diplomatic Notes baffles explanation. . . Remonstrance against each successive step taken by Russia in regions where we have no substantial iuiuests, present or prospecti.v. appears to have grown into an established tradition. . . " Moreover, the diplomatic campaign wageil against Russia has no parallel in our dealings with other Powers. While Russia could not occupy the remote oasis of Mere without arousing great irritation, Enure might annex Tunis and dndag;'s:nr I without exciting even mild surprise. •• From first to last the p-dicv of hostility towards Russia has prowd an absolute failure. it Ims not in the slightest degree retarded her Asiatic expansion. ft lias bred and maintained misunderstandings ;ml ill-feeling between two great nations. It has directly provoked measures of. reprisal which have entailed omu.erciul and other loss upon the people of Great Britain and India. It has not conduced to our naiimiil dignity. Reflection will show that c\en after two centuries oi expansion lb ssia kas not occupied n square yard of fcc-rritory which is row or t vrr has been desired by Great Britain. This cannot be said of France. of Germany, or of the tinted States. In such circumstances it, is d.'limit to believe that a direct understanding with Russia in Asia is impossible."

IN MANCHURIA. I might quote other vuding ions, such as the late Lord Salisbury's "wrong horse" spcivi. So that, as 1 say, 1 had at one time hopes, though theyhave now pnned illusory, since it has turned out that. while spurning Russia. England has allied herself with Japan. It thus remains for me only to ray, ''Chimin a son gout." What have you to complain of ? We have, at immense cost, rim cur railway through Manchuria to the sea at Port Arthur, where we have established ourselves under the benediction of your present Prime Minister, and where I take the liberty to think we are sure to remirn. The other terminus of our great railway is at Vladivostock. Now, to say nothing of the section to Port Arthur, yon will see how completely even Vladivostok itself might be dominated by Manchuria, and how necessary, therefore, it is for us to exercise an influence in that province. Yon have done the same—only more so—in Egypt. But to suppose that we are aini'iig tit your principle of annexation is to misapprehend us. THE LAST THING RUSSIA' DESIRES. On the contrary, the last thing we desire is to enrol the Chinaman as a Russian subject. That political union would indeed he a dangerous one ! The power to restrict, or, if necessary to prevent (as the United States and Australia already do), Chinese immigration into Russian territory is one that v.-fc are not likely to relinquish. Our attitude in Manchuria is thus u perfectly correct one. As to Korea, I am not aware that any proposals have been made by Russia such as could be regarded as unreasonable, either by that country or by Japan, and I have yet to learn that Korean sympathies lean less towards ourselves that towards the alleged authors of the murderous intrigue in the Korean capital, which resulted in the death of the Korean Empress. JAPAN AND BRITISH INTERESTS As to trade Interests, you ought to bo better able than I am to estimate whether your trade would be benefled by an extension of Japanese and an exclusion of Russian inihunt-e in the Far East. If my information be correct, your trade with Japan is not very flourishing. Indeed, I am told there is no longer a decent living to be earned by European traders in that country. That its laws are already discouraging to foreign traders resident there is u well known fact. Quite recently we have. heard that angry remonstran.-i-s wire raised against the alleged \iolation of English treaty rights, while \w road that two large American offices in Japan have closed their doors owing to vexations restrictions there. Compare this with the recent statement of your eminent meri-hant, Mr Evelyn Hubbard, who tepljiW that in the seventy years his (inn has dons' business in Russia it Ins n.'Vcr had to complain of injustice at the hands of our Government. Look, too, at the puniix*' of English coinpanics, firms and indivi(iu,»|» now doing a large and profitable business in Russia. Japan is, I understand, your keenwt competitor in the Chinese import trade, which it is straining every effort to monopolise. its commercial aims are i.ot liin.nily stretching in other directions win re you are 'ntercsted. Why, then, the English should expect more trade benefit at theuands of Japun thai, (hose ol Russia, I. in my business ignorance, fail to perceive. THE ISSUES AT SI'AKli. Hut stilt more serious i< r the welfare of the world are tie political issues now at stake. If. from nn English standpoint, the mh'anre of Russia to its eastern s-.us be regarded as a menace, has England rra'ised what, might, and probably week:, be the alternative issue'.' I.it us suppose, if that be possible, i veil for thp sake of argument, that, m the lamentable event of war, Japun were to be ultimately victorious ; that it continues ita ; ( res"ut elfin ts to regenerate China, to •.,i ] ji;.:)j.se the splendid lighting material ol that country, to supply it nth modern armaments, and then lo bear, down the barrier so long opposed by Russia to Mongol etii-roa-'iim"iit. would that be for the benefit «' the Western world 7

A far-seeing personage, with tin' best possiliie sources of information at his command, takes :i si rious v;ew of tlie "Yellow Peril." r >ie l.ll.TUatives of Russian or ol Japanese as cendency may, in the r.n.:iish view. be a choice of evils. 'Pas auu.s.es me. Hut if so, would il not be best to choose the lesser evil ? If English territory bp pot .contiguous to that of a Yellow Empire, as Uor thousands of miles) is ours, ( »i;> has colonies not very far rem-.'ved l.oiu possible attack, and her Indian Empirc is, perhaps, more vulnerable from the east than from 'lie west. If slu- derides Ihe possibility of s.« b dangers, I Jmvc reason lo believe that she w)H im strong.