The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-12-22
WAR PREPARATIONS 60 ON
JAPAN FAST GETTING READY
 FOR CONFLICT.
Government Gives Notice That It win Require All Drydecks in the Country for warships-Assembiin of Trans- ports at Hirashima Causes Sharp Fall in Japanese Stocks-Japan Asks Rus sla to Reconsider Her Reply.

in Japanese stocks-Japan Asks Rus
 sla to Reconsider Her Reply.
 London, Dec, 22.-special dispatches from Paris to the morning papers say that France and Great Britain are re- doubling their efforts at St. Petersburg and Tokio, respectively, to prevent rupture between Russia and Japan.
 According to the Daily Telegraph's NagasaM correspondent, the govern ment has given notice that it will re- quire all the dry docks in the country for the use of the Japanese navy, the vessels of which are already beginning to dock for cleaning purposes. The cor respondent says that the Russians have begun the building of a rampant around Port Arthur to include the new town, and that the old rampant is to be de- molished.
 The Daily Mail prints a report from Seoul to the effect that M. Pavloff, the Russian minister, has entered objec- tions to the landing of Japanese sap pers attached to the telegraph guards.
 The Daily Mails Shanghai correspon- dent says that the British cruiser Sir jus, which should have wintered there, has been ordered to proceed to. Wei Hai-Wei, where, it is expected, naval concentration will take place. -..
 The Times Tokio correspondent says that owing to the rumors Of the as- sembling of military transports at Hira- shinna there has been a sharp fall in all Japanese stock. 2
 St. Petersburg, Dec. 21.-oficials of the foreign office do not share the pes simistic feeling regarding the situation in the far east, which now seems to be general. They say there is no reason to despair of peaceful settlement of the difficulties over which Russia and Papan are at variance.
 Rome, Dec. 21.-M. Chyama, the Jap- anese minister here was interviewed to- day concerning the difficulties between his gkovernment and that of Russia in the far east He said that while the situation was extremely grave, the troubles were not irreparable and that the negotiations would be continued in the hope of arriving at a solution satis-, factory to both countries. He believed that the problem was lileky to be solved before the election for members of the new Japanese diet in March next. The minister said that the people Of Japan were very much exicted. but that they had thorough confidence in their emper- or.
 Tokio, Dec. 21.-Japan's reply to Rus- sia was handed to Baron de Rosen this afternoon at a conference between the Russian minister and Foreign Minister Komura at the Russian legation.
 Japan's reply is in no way in the ra- ture of an ultimatunl, but she asks Rus sia to reconsider certain essential points in her note to Japan.
 Baron de Rosen is now sufficiently re- covered to resume the negotiations.
 Sixty military engineers have been dispatched to Corea to replace the civil telegraph operators attached to the Japanese telegraph lines on the penin- sula. It is officially asserted that the step taken has no military significance.
 London, Dec. 21.-The dispatch of the Associated Press from Tokio this after noon was the first intimation the Jap- anese legation here received that Jap ans reply had actually been con1muni- cated to Baron de Rosen. The legation, however, had been advised that the re- ply would be transmitted to-day. The legation later communicated the details of the reply to the British foreign off, flee, but informed the Associated Press that it was not permitted to divulge them. The legation admitted that, in general terms, the Associated Press dispatch from Tol1io covered the situa- ton, which a legation official charac- terized as being quite grave" but one from which no decisive developments could be expected immediately.