The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-03-19

London. March 1S.-On the highest
official authority the Associated Press
IS authorized to announce that the dii-
nculty at Tien Tsin between the Rus
slams and British over the construction
of a railroad siding in territory claimed
by both probably will be solved by the
withdrawal of both the British and
the Russian troops from the ground In
dispute.
There is a disposition here to think
too mach has been made of the Anglo
Russian incident at Tien Tsin, and a
more hopeful view Of the affair is taken
To-Day. This is aided by the statement
contained in Or. Morrison,s dispatch
from Pekin yesterday to the London
Times. which is taken TO mean that
the combined efforts of the Interested
powers are having the effect oy causing
st. Petersburg to check any tendency
to undue aggressiveness on the part
OF the Russian representatives IN
China.
The comments Of the afternoon pa
pers here repeat the views of the MA
Jority of the morning papers, namely;
that diplomacy viii be able to smooth
the friction.
The officials of the British foreign
office have not yet received official con-
firr1ation of Russia's alleged back
down in regard to Manchuria, Turkes-
tan and Mongolia, and inquiries on the
subject are now being made at St.
Petersburg and Pekin. The British for
eign office is not relaxing it's efforts 10
secure a more satisfactory statement
of the intentions Of Russia, but the
officials dep~ecate the British press
agitation on the subject. On all sides
it is officially and otherwise said that
Great Britain has not the slightest
contemplation OF resOrting 10 HOSTILE
ties against Russia, whatever may be
the outcome Of the present negOtia-
ton.
While hostnities are out of the ques-
ton. however. it is not unlikely that
diplomatic relations between Great
britain and Russia will become
strained almost TO the breaking point
Possibly British warships may be dis
patched to bring pressure to bear upon
Russia, but war viii not result unless
some lracas. quite unexpected by Lon
don and St Petersburg, occurs between
the opposing forces at Tien Tsin-
This assertion is based upon ex-
haustive Inquiries made by the sAsso-
ciated Press in London. a prominent
British official, often me mouthpiece of
the government, whose position makes
1t undesirable that he should be named
IN this connection. said this evening.
1T is useless for our newspapers to
use provocative language. They for
get that we have a great army in South
Africa and that we have no other
army. or the making of one, elsewhere.
i is impossible TO go to w. With Rus
STA"
a gemi-Ofiiciai statement was issued
this evening to the effect that the
much-talked-of assurances of the Rus
sian foreign minister. Count Won LENS
dorff. to Sir Charles Stewart Scott
British ambassador at St. Petersburg
- 4 w
ferTed TO the Russo Chinese agreement
concluded at Port Arthur last Novem-
Ter, and not 70 the Manchurian con
vention.
Inquire at the Chinese legation this
afternoon were rewarded by the reply:
His excellency has gone TO bed
which was presumably the Celestial
equivalent Of an assurance that the
Chinese minister preferred to say notn-
ing as 10 thG most recent DEVELOPMENTS
1'he japanese minister was equally
non-committal. 1t is understood that
one official view Is that the dispute may
eventually be referred to arbitration.
No Decline in Influence.
Replying to Sir ERis Ashmeade-
Bartlett Conservative. Mr. BaIfour.
the government leader said in the
house OF commons today the govern
mene did not possess any information
indicating any decline in British in
fuenCe in The Yang Use provinces. As
to the Russian claim for the waters
Of Blonde and Elliott islands. the Brit
ism government had certainly not ac-
cepted this claim. The government had
received no communication on the sub
ject from Russia. The Russian adj
miral had demonstrated against the
presence in the waters of Elliott ISL
and OF II. NJ. s. Plover. which was en-
gagged In pursuing pirates. But Brit
fsh ships had a perfect right under
the treaty Of lien Tsin. to go there
Questions regarding the dispute at
Tien Tsiu were parted by the under
secretary for foreign affairs. Lord
Cranborne, in refusing TO answer them
without notice.
Mr. Redmond raised Nationalist
cheers by asking why Great Britain
had hOisted the white flag and backed
down after threatening TO use force of
arms