The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-08-12
RUSSIAN REPLY TO THE
 JAPANESE PEACE TERMS
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Continued from First Page.)
 emissary of Japan and who is in close communication with Baron Komura and Mir. Takahira. The reasons he as- signs are extremely interesting.
 ''The conditions in their broad out Iines,' said he to the Associated Press correspondent tonight, have been sub stantiaIly known to us in Japan, and the Russians will be very much mis- taken if they imagine the Japanese will not insist upon the two chief points the indemnity and the cession of Sak- halin. To surrender either is impossi- bie. If Baron Komura should yield on these points public feeling in Japan would be so strong that he would be murdered upon his return to Japan. We must be reimbursed for the cost of the war, and We have national claims to Sakhalin which we have never forgot ten. About two hundred years ago the island was explored by Japanese, Juzo Konda, who occupied it in the name of Japan and called it KarafutO, the name bestowed upon it by the aboriginal Inc race, who at that time also inhabited the Island of Hokkaido. Finally it was discovered by a Russian captain, who occupied it in the name of Russia. Ja- pan protested and long, dssultory ne- gotiation followed. But Japan was then weak. She had neither army nor navy, nor internal organization. Indeed, the country was almost on the verge of rev. olution. Japan could not resist, and the upshot was that Russia one day ended the controversy by announc- ing that she would take Sakhalin and give Japan the Chishma (Kuriles) Isl- ands, which Japan already owned.
 Japan has no desire to humiliate Russia more than is necessary, and even now is seeking to avoid wounding Russia's susceptibilities, but public opinion in Japan is absolutely so firm upon the main issues that no Japanese statesman could possibly dare to with draw the terms which have been pro- posed as the bases of peace.
 The Japanese government has only asked what, according to Japanese ideas. are considered most moderate terms. A strong party in Japan favor ed claiming not only Sakhalin, the Liao Tung peninsula, protectorate over Korea and the evacuation of Manchu- ria, but also the cession to Japan of the territory around the mouth of the Amur.'' s..
 The question of the credentials has been anicably adjusted upon the as- surance of the Japanese that the pow CTS granted Baron Komura were in the regular form always employed by Ja- pan. MT. Witte will not pursue the matter further. It is believed that his object in presenting his note on the subject was that it might go into the record of the conference to show that the widely published intimations from Japanese sources before the conference that the powers granted him would not be full and ample were not only found baseless, but that his powers were, in fact, greater than those bestowed upon Baron Komura.
 One of the biggest features of the day at the Wentworth hotel was the publication of the Japanese terms by < she Associated Press. Efforts were made to discredit their authenticity, but neither the Japanese nor Russians would discuss the subject, and before nigItfall all those interested became convinced of their accuracy, Both Mir. Sato and MT. Korostovitz, the spokes- man of the respective sides, declined to say anything officially about the terms, which, by mutual agreement, were to be kept secret, but MT. Korostovitz, in the name of MT. Witte, did not hesitate to confirm the accuracy of the Associ- ated Press statement this afternoon that the Russian reply was completed and would be delivered tomorrow morning. He event went to the extent s of saying that 1t would be an agree nlent on some points, conditional agree rnerlt on some and rejection of some of the terms. He also took occasion to confirm the statement that MT. Witte had received no instructions from St. Petersburg regarding the nature of the reply to be given, as his powers were ample.