The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1898-03-13
ENGLAND NOT FRIGHTENED.
She Acts Promptly in Response to
Russia's ManipuIations.

She Acts Promptly III Response to
Russia's ManipuIations.
New York. March 1.-THE London cor
respondent of the Evening Post sends the
following:
THE strained tension with which a
crowded house of commons listened to the
few fragments of information which fell
from Under Secretary CurZon's lips on
Thursday evening is Indicative of the anX-
iety with which the whole British peo
pie is watching the stealthy progress Of
the Anglo Russian duel in the far East.
Thanks chiefly to the repeated excursions
and alarms of the Times newspaper, they
have been worked up, this week, into
state Of active anxiety most embarrass-
ing to the government. who find Russia
and China handful enough without hay
ing also to combat unnecessary aIarmists
al home.
The Times has indeed once again,
through its Pekin correspondent. supplied
the diplomatic sensation Of the week. As
was reported in these cabegrams at the
time, this Times's correspondent It Pc
kin was responsible for the failure of
the negotiations which, under cover Of
British government guarantee of the Chi
nese loan, would have ruled Russia out
of Talienwan and effectually have as
sisted Great Britain's policy OF an open
China He prematurely disclosed the con-
ditions of the loan, let Russia into the
secret, and the coercion which Russia i'm
mediately used at Pekin wrecked the pro-
posals.
Lord Salisbury and Sir Claude Mac
donald then set to work, on fresh tack
to secure an open China. and again this
Times's correspondent has played Rus
b. MIN i
England into alarm by the news Of a
Russian utimatum to China threatening
an invasion of Manchuria, unless Russia
received sovereign rights over Port Ar
thur and Talienwan for ninety-nine
years, on the same conditions as those
by which Kiao-Chou had been granted
to Germany, and unless Russia also got
the right to build a connecting link 10
| Port Arthur from the existing Russian
railway.
THE generally accepted idea in the
! highest circles here is that Russia, find
! ing the Times's correspondent al Pelcin in
| confidential relations with d high Chinese
! official member of the Tsung-li-Yamen,
managed to get hold of this official. and
/ through him has stuffed the guileless cor
respondent with whatever suited Russia $
! game which game at this moment is to
-
But England does not mean to be
! frightened out of North China if she can
/ help it. Today's papers record strong
! protests of Sir Claude Macdonald against
| the lease Of Port Arthur to Russia. and
| the transfer of the whole Russo Chinese
negotiations from Pekin to St Peters
| burg is evidence Of the determined line
/ which England is adopting. The fact that
the new Chinese loan is an Anglo-German
! loan suggests another card which Eng
| land may play, namely, the card Of joint
! action with Germany in defense Of equal
| commercial opportunity for all in the far
! East The reports of Japan's resolution
! to cling TO Wei-Hai-We suggest yet an
| other card. namely, that of joint action
with Japan. Indeed, international diplO-
macy has good deal yet to do before it
can be said, as the Times has said again
and again this week. that Englands poll
! icy Of an open China has failed.
And should diplomacy fail TO secure an
open China will England fight for it? a
week ago that question would have been
| answered in the negative. England ii was
then said by those who know the mind of
/ the cabinet would fight to prevent the
strangulation of the British colonies in
West Africa, but would not dare To open
up the terrible prospect of war in the far
| East But the development Of events this
week has made this negative answer by
no means certain. There is a strong, pos
| sibly oYcrpowering section of the cabinet
| who hold that the future Of England and
the British empire is so bound up with
| this question Of freedom of trade in the
undeveloped regions of the world that a
stand must, for very lifes sake, be made
! some time, and never was u better time
than now.
There is, on the other hand, Lord Sal
| isbury's strong desire for Anglo Russian
rapprochement and it is reasonable to
! hope now that the negotiations have been
transferred to ST Petersburg. and now
that England is making such a deter
mined national stand. that diplomacy will
! work out an equitable compromise be-
tween the two powers in whose hands the
| future of Asia really rests.
THE British government is ready to CO.
| operate TO secure for Russia an ice-free
outlet in the North Pacific, and is pre-
| pared, also, to see her assume reasona-
BILE predominance in certain sections OF
| North China. but is not prepared 10 be
ruled out of fair opportunities of trade II
| North China, or to see British capital