The San Francisco call., 1898-01-09
..'THE KAISER ... HAS BOUGHT A COLD BRICK
 That Is the Opinion
 of the English People. No Very Great Concession =: in the Bay of Kiao-
 chau. Would Have Been an Open  . Port Long Ago if - Valuable. .~ :. MONGOLIANS TOO CUNNING !." - 
 Probable That the Men of PekinG :.' Overreached William of
 Germany.
Would Have Been an Open
 Port Long Ago if '-. Valuable.
MONGOLIANS TOO CUNNING
Probable That the Men of Picking S- Overreached William of
 Germany.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

LONDON, Jan. 8.-The disclosure of the details and terms of the acquisi- ton of Kiaochau Bay by Germany momentarily scared the British public, . which, however, now regards Germa- ny's move with all the more eQuanim- ity, as, in the opinion of persons inti- mat ely acquainted with China, klao- chau Bay is of little commercial value, and will only be a source of huge eX- pense for the Germans. If the harbor had been commercially valuable, 1t IS pointed out, it would long ago have been a treaty port, but it is said to be completely overshadowed by the close proximity of fOurishing Chefu. The province of Shantung, it is added, is entirely agricultural and hardly able to support its population, while the strategic value of l%Iaochau Bay cen be inferred by the fact of Russia, in spite of the Cassini treaty, allowing : Germany to occupy it. Altogether, Klaochau Bay is not likely to prove a bed of roses.
 The British Government maintains sphinx like reserve regarding Chinese affairs, and there are no further reve- lations of it's intentions since the state ment made by the Manchester Guar dian on January 3, which was unques- ttOnably the official view of the situa- tion.
 A conclusive illustration of the atti- tude of the British Government is fur nished by the presence of warships of .. Great Britain at Chemulpo and Port Arthur, and it is likely to be further :: demonstrated by the sending of ships to Kiaochau Bay. In well-infOrmed .: circles it is asserted that it is not like :.ly Great Britain will formally protest against the lease of Kiaochau Bay to :: ::Germany, but will confine herself to the :: significant hint given in the movements : of her fleet that she intends to claim an equal share of all China's conces- .sions in regard to all seaports, leased Or footed" as being additional treaty ports.
 =. As a leading diplomat remarked, "the = statesmen of Berlin and St. Petersburg :: must be strangely unobservant if they ina zine that either Great Britain. the :..United States or Japan will allow them :. the monopoly of the plums."
 >.~ The Spectator revels in the statement >that the United States is inclined to support the British demand that no ex- :: elusive privileges be granted to any in dividual power in China, and says: "sNOthing short of a direct menace of ; aggression would tempt any combina- :. ton of continental powers to face the whole Anglo-Saxon race, united and : resolved"
 It is amusing to notice Russia and :: France courting Japan. Both of them
 are ir deadly fear of her forming an
 offensive and defensive alliance with
 Great Britain. AS a matter of fact, . there are things much more unlikely than the eventual alliance of Great
 Britain, China and Japan, and the con-
 tingency would acquire still more prob
 ability should Great Britain, as it now . seems certain, guarantee a Chinese
 loan. At the present moment, so far as
 Great Britain is concerned, the loan is
 the kernel of the whole question.