Nr. 13128. GROSSBRITANNIEN. Der Gesandte in Peking an

den Minister des Ausw. Rußland fordert einen

russischen Generalinspektor der mandschurischen Zölle. Protest des englischen Gesandten bei China.

Peking, September 28, 1903. (November 23.)

My Lord. || I have the honour to inclose copy of a semi-official note which I addressed on the 21st September to Prince Ch'ing, protesting against a demand I understand to have been presented to the Chinese Government by the Russian Minister, which was inconsistent with pledges already given by China to Great Britain. || It was reported to amount in effect to a demand for the establishment of a separate InspectorateGeneral of Customs for Manchuria, to be presided over by a Russian official, and manned entirely by Russian subjects, which is manifestly inconsistent with the promise given by China in 1898, that the successor of Sir Robert Hart at the head of the Chinese Imperial Maritime Customs should be an Englishman as long as British trade exceeded in amount that of any other country. || On the following day I learnt from a source deserving of confidence that M. Lessar had proposed that as Russia and China were now on such friendly terms, the latter should agree to appoint a Russian Inspector-General for Manchuria, and appoint Russians to be Commissioners at Mukden and Antunghsien. As your Lordship is aware, the Commissioner sent by Sir Robert Hart to act at Newchwang, an appointment much commented on at the time, is a junior member of the Imperial Maritime Customs Service, of Russian nationality, while the proposed agreement for the establishment of a Chinese custom-house at Dalny will provide for the appointment as Commissioner of a certain M. Protasiew, a Russian official. || On the 24th, I received a reply from Prince Ch'ing stating that the Chinese Government had not accepted any of Russia's demands. || Viewed in the light of what his Highness told me on the following day, as reported in my telegram of the 25th instant, the words ,,has not accepted any of" may be read as meaning „has rejected all of". || I have since learnt from an authoritative source that the Russian Minister wrote privatelly to the person already mentioned objecting to the provision contained in Article VIII, section 10, of Sir James Mackay's Treaty, whereby a member or members of the Imperial Maritime Customs Foreign Staff are to be selected by each of the Governors-General and Governors, and appointed, in consultation with the Inspector-General of Imperial Maritime Customs, to each province for

duty in connection with native customs affairs, consumption tax, salt and native opium taxes. He stated that such a procedure would not be welcome in Manchuria, seeing it placed Englishmen in charge of revenue interests. The reply made was that the personnel of the Imperial Maritime Customs consists of at least a dozen nationalities, and that the principle adopted is that of choosing the fittest man for a post, irrespective of nationality, and that he would not be necessarily British. || It is obvious, however, that such appointments could not be made as long as Russia does not accept the principle of the Article in question, and that she has no intention of doing, as far as my information goes.

Ernest Satow.

Anlagen.

Sir E. Satow to Prince Ching.

Peking, September 21, 1903.

Your Highness, || A report has just reached me that the Russian Minister has presented demands to the Chinese Government that are inconsistent with pledges already given by the latter to Great Britain. I have no means of ascertaining the truth of this report, and I hope that it is unfounded, but if correct, I trust that your Highness will, without hesitation, refuse demands, the acceptance of which would have a very serious effect on the friendly relations existing between Great Britain and China. Ernest Satow.

Prince Ching to Sir E. Satow.

Peking, September 24, 1903.

Your Excellency, || I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 21st instant, stating that a report had reached your Excellency that the Russian Minister had presented demands to the Chinese Government that were inconsistent with pledges already given by the latter to Great Britain, and expressing the hope that, if the report was correct, I would without hesitation refuse the demands. || In reply to your inquiry, I beg to state that the Chinese Government has not accepted any of Russia's demands.

Nr. 13129. GROSSBRITANNIEN.

Der Minister des Ausw. an den Botschafter in Petersburg. England erkennt die russische Kontrolle der mandschurischen Eisenbahnen an, verlangt aber einen Termin für die Räumung.

Foreign Office, November 25, 1903.

(Extract.) I had a further conversation to-day with the Russian Ambassador in reference to the questions which we had previously discussed on the 7th and 17th instant. || As regards the Far East, I said that, in my view, it would be reasonable that we should recognize the predominating interest of Russia as the limitrophe Power in Manchuria. We had no desire to interfere with her control of her Manchurian railway system. The two Governments had, indeed, agreed that railway development in this part of the Chinese Empire should fall to the Russian Government. Nor could we, I thought, take exception to any reasonable measures of precaution which the Russian Government might adopt for insuring the safety of the line. On the other hand, it was essential that our Treaty rights in all parts of the Chinese Empire should be respected, and that our trade should receive equal treatment in those regions. I dwelt upon the deplorable effect which had been produced on the public mind in this country by the neglect of the Russian Government to fulfil its pledges regarding Manchuria. If circumstances hat arisen rendering it impossible that these pledges should be fulfilled, it was surely due to us that some explanation should be given of those circumstances, I trusted that the Russian Government was now in a position to fix a date for the evacuation, or, at any rate, explain why this was not done. | Count Benckendorff dwelt upon the danger of giving these pledges in circumstances which, as experience had shown, rendered it not always easy to fulfil them. || I asked him whether at any rate, in the case of Newchwang it could not be at once arranged that an early evacuation should take place. I attached the greatest importance to this, owing to the extent of our interest in the trade of that port. We should also expect the Russian Government to put an end to the arrangement under which the Newchwang Customs were at present paid to the RussoChinese Bank, and a part of the proceeds intercepted by the Russian Government. | In reply to an observation by his Excellency, I said that it seemed to me reasonable that Russia should be adequately represented on the Board of Health, and that we had no desire to prevent this.

Nr. 13130. RUSSLAND.

Denkschrift des Botschafters in London an den englischen Minister des Ausw. Rußland wiedersetzt sich nicht der Ausübung der Rechte, die fremde Mächte in der Mandschurei erworben haben.

January 8, 1904.

L'État général de crise que traverse en ce moment l'Extrême-Orient a fait naître dans la presse, l'opinion publique, et même dans les sphères gouvernementales étrangères nombre de commentaires erronés tant sur les rapports de la Russie avec la Chine en général qu'avec la Mandchourie en particulier. || On prête avec persistance à la Russie l'intention de faire opposition aux Puissances étrangères sur le terrain de leur politique commerciale et économique en Chine dans l'idée de les priver par ce moyen, dans la contrée occupée par les troupes Russes, des privilèges qui leur sont reconnus par leurs Traités avec la Chine. || Et, cependant, les intentions et le but du Gouvernement Russe ont été clairement établis, dans toutes les communications émanées de lui à cet égard. | Il est tout naturel que pour la Russie il s'agisse avant tout de garantir sur la longue ligne de sa frontière limitrophe avec la Chine ses intérêts de premier ordre et, entre autres, le réseau ferré si important qu'elle y a fondé. La Russie s'est à maintes reprises efforcée de conclure dans ce but un arrangement complet et précis avec le Gouvernement Chinois. Il est à regretter que d'un côté les procédés peu justifiables de la Chine et, de l'autre, un état de choses en Mandchourie qui continue à être alarmant, aient rendu jusqu'ici infructueux tous les efforts en ce sens. || Pour ces raisons et aussi pour prévenir tout malentendu et toute interprétation erronée, indépendamment des conditions que dans l'avenir détermineront définitivement la nature de ses rapports avec la Mandchourie, la Russie considère indispensable de déclarer dès aujourd'hui qu'elle n'a aucunement l'intention de mettre obstacle à ce que les Puissances étrangères continuent à jouir des droits acquis par elles en vertu des Traités en vigueur.

Sir, the Russian Ambassador asked me for an interview to-day, and made to me a statement in the terms of the Memorandum of which a copy annexed. I expressed the satisfaction with which I had listened

to his Excellency's observations, which, unless I misunderstood them, were in accordance with assurances which he had given me on previous occasions in regard to the intentions of Russia towards Manchuria. || I could not, however, help regretting that Russia should have found it impossible to take even a single step in pursuance of the policy which she has thus prescribed for herself. I trusted that his Excellency would forgive me for telling him frankly that, in this country, people were looking for some concrete evidence of Russia's intention to make good her promises. An announcement, for example, that Newchwang was to be evacuated at an early date would certainly have a reassuring effect. So far as I was aware, there was no local difficulty in the way. || I asked his Excellency whether he imagined a similar statement had been addressed to the other Powers. He replied that he thought that this was probably the case.

Lansdowne.