The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-08-26
RRITAIK fAGEs RUSSIA Declares DecisiveIy That
 Interference With Neu-
 traI Shipping Must Cease at Once.
PREMIER BALFOUR SPEAKS
QUESTION or ooNTRABAND
 REACHES AN ACUTE STAGE.

REACHES AN ACUTE STAGE.
 wo British Cruisers Ordered to Locate
 the smoIensk and st. Petersburg and
 Convey to Them Orders of the Russ { sian Government to Desist-EngIand
 VIII Not stand Russia Showing Pref
 erentiaI Treatment to Other Nations
 as Against Her.
 London, Aug. 25.-Prime Minister alfour announced this evening that Me British government had ordered
 vo cruisers from the squadron at the 5 ape of Good Hope, without delay to &b bcate the Russian volunteer fleet x learners Smolensk and St. Petersburg $sld to convey to them the orders of the
 ussian government that they must
 ot further interfere with neutral ship Hing. The premier stated that this ac- on was taken at the request of the ussian government.
 !. This extraordinary statement was < #lade when the premier by appoint & bent received a deputation of the Lon
 on Chamber of Commerce, which was
 Appointed at meeting held earlier in
 Me day by the China and East India
 ction of the chamber. Those in at
 b bndance included representative ship 3'wners, and others interested in trade
 the Far East. This resolution was
 Passed at the meeting:
 This meeting of members of the
 ondon Chamber of Commerce, con- < &erned in trade ill the Far East. views
 5ith grave apprehension the continued Uncertainty of the position of British
 ade and shipping with regard to what
 bnstitutes contrabrand Of war as in
 brpreted by the Russian government. #he meeting trusts that his majesty's Government will take such immediate #ld effective steps as will afford all Feasonable protection to British ship Hing, an insure to it the same degree Y immunity from vexatious stoppages End examinations as is apparently en-
 pyed by shipping of other national-
 ies.'
 AL ltl6 SdIIlGSt AllllS LIiG A1lGGllllS
 ared letter addressed to Lord Lans-
 owne, in which it was stated that the
 ontinuance of the present situation
 gas having disastrous effect on ship
 ing, and was causing irreparable dam-
 ge to the wlol ecourse of trade with
 hpan and the Far East. The letter blrther said that the commercial coni- 9hunity would welcome any measures, however stringent, that might be nec- Essary to place British commerce on the
 hme footing with that of other non Inlligerent countries in the treatment E so-caIled eontrabrand of war.
 Prior to receiving the deputation, Mir. Ealfour had been busily engaged in Connection with the question which had 3Eeen raised with regard to British E'hipping. After giving number of &1rivate interviews, he held an import hit meeting at the foreign office to Sthich representatives of the intelligence Department of the war office, the ad- 6airalty, the foreign office and the $ipard of trade were summoned.
 4 tTlhe premier afterwards received the &eputation from the Chamber of Com @erce, which was headed by William
 eswick, M. P, Ca member of the firm
 f Jardine & Co.,, China merchants, and Flso a member of the legislative coun- SAl of Hong Kong), who stated the ob- 8Act the deputation had in view, and Presented the resolution and the letter. MT. Balfour said that before making lR general statement he desired to hear Evidence tending to show preferential reatment by Russia, which was a most |shportant phase of the situation, and Voncerning which the government had 10 conclusive information; and to learn pf any concrete examples of differential Treatment by Russian officers and Rus- |eian prize courts, which, he said, would
 e carefully considered.
 |E Members of the deputation quoted Ane cases of the American steamer Arabia and the British steamer Call ahas. The former was allowed to pro- Feed, while the latter was still at Vlad-
 Vostok and the members pointed out That both caseswer equal so far as the oature of the cargoes was concerned. The cases of the British steamer Ma eacca and the German steamer Scan- ain were also quoted. Each of these uessels had ammunition on board, but Ahe Scandia was allowed to proceed. he deputation next referred to the linking of the British steamerKnight Commander and the German steamer Thea by the Vladivostok squadron, and Pointed out that compensation had been x.said in the case of the Thea, while it
 Had not been even promised in that of She Knight Commander. Members of The deputation also stated that it was Notorious that shipments of contraband # war had been made from Antwerp nd Hamburg while insurance rates rom those and from French ports were ,snuch lower than from English ports, in The ratio of five shillings to twenty lhillings. ....
 : MT Balfour asked if the proportion slf British shipping to the far east was Eighty per cent, and a member of the
 ieputation replied it was about ninety Der cent. The premier then began his seply. He said the questions must be
 considered separately and in the light if different conditions. In the first
 place, special difficulties had arisen be-