on that memorable occasion China's representative was allotted by no means the least honoured place.

While in Russia Li Hung Chang had several interviews with Prince Lobanow, then Minister for Foreign Affairs, with whom he is believed to have concluded a secret treaty. This treaty has become generally known as the Cassini Convention, it being supposed that the terms of the convention had been previously arranged by Count Cassini, the Russian Minister at Peking, before Li left for Russia. The alleged text of this agreement was published some months later by Mr. R. W. Little in the columns of the North China Daily News, but its authenticity was officially denied. Subsequent events, however, have proved that, whether or not the convention was reduced to writing, an understanding had been come to between China and Russia, which for all practical purposes was in the terms of the document published in the Shanghai journal. Putting the matter briefly, the arrangement amounted to an exchange of guarantees, Russia undertaking to support China against foreign aggression in return for certain facilities for the extension of Russian interests and the construction of railway3 in Manchuria.

These matters being happily concluded, Li Hung Chang was suffered to depart from the country of the Czars and visit some of the other great countries of the world, which he did with apparent enjoyment, being everywhere received with open arms and on the whole a rather ridiculous effusiveness.

Shortly after his return to China, Li's arrangement with Russia began to bear fruit. Their first manifestation took the form of the Manchurian Railway Agreement between the Chinese Government and not the Russian Government-but the Russo-Chinese Bank.

This institution had been founded in 1895 to assist in the development of Russian aims in the Far East. In addition to a banking department it has a political side, to which the former is said to be subordinated. It is an institution of great influence, and has, or until the outbreak of the war with Japan had, branches at every important point of railway both in Manchuria and China. The agreement it now concluded with the Chinese Government provided for "the construction and working of a railway within the confines of China, from one of the points on the western Appendix A, No. 3; see also Appendix A, No. 4.

1

1

borders of the province of Wei Lun Tsian to one of the points on the eastern borders of the province of Kirin, and for the connection of this railway with those branches which the Imperial Russian Government would construct to the Chinese frontier from Transbaikalia and the South Ussuri lines." In other words, permission was given to continue the Trans-Siberian line across Manchuria to Vladivostock instead of following the more circuitous route along the Amur, which presented almost insurmountable difficulties to railroad construction.

A few further points in the agreement should be noted. Firstly, the line was to be constructed by a company formed by the RussoChinese Bank, with a capital of five million roubles, and no person except of Chinese or Russian nationality could become a shareholder, which meant, of course, a purely Russian company, for, as has been already pointed out, the Chinese had not reached that stage of education when the idea of joint-stock enterprise either inspires confidence or appears attractive. In this company, which was to be known and ultimately came into existence as the Chinese Eastern Railway Company, the sole control of the line was vested, and also rights, in connection with the railway, and independently of it, of mineral, industrial, and commercial exploitation. A clause in the agreement also secured certain differential Customs' treatment for imported Russian goods and Chinese goods exported to Russia.

On the other hand, to the Chinese was reserved the right to redeem the line in thirty-six years, and an absolute reversion after eighty years without payment of any kind-attractive terms apparently furnishing a consideration for the rights granted, though in effect scarcely more than time limits set by the Russians themselves for the achievement of their ambitions.

On the conclusion of the agreement no time was lost in pouring technical men-railway engineers, military experts, contractors— into Manchuria, the first of these setting out for the Far East in the spring of 1897. On arrival at Vladivostock the surveys for the future railway and the preliminary works for its construction were commenced. Later in the same year a site for a city was selected on the right bank of the Sungari, and there Harbin was founded and established as the headquarters of the construction department of the railway. Materials required for the main line upon reaching Vladivostock were forwarded by the Ussuri railway

to the station of Khabarovsk, and thence were taken in the company's own steamers up the Sungari to Harbin for distribution along the line.

The work on this section, however, had hardly commenced when the circumstances occurred which resulted in the concession to the Russians of the right to construct the branch southwards from Harbin to Port Arthur. It has already been remarked that no long time had elapsed after the signature of the Treaty of 1860 between Russia and China before it was realised that the harbour of Vladivostock-icebound as it is for several months in the yearleft a good deal to be desired: in fact, a port adequate to Russian requirements had yet to be secured on the Pacific. The Cassini Convention, it is believed, made some provision in this regard. It was even said that Kiaochau had been specifically leased to Russia, while the ports in the Liaotung Peninsula were in a negative sort of way ear-marked in her favour. The step, however, was great between such an understanding and international recognition of corresponding rights. At best the situation would require the most delicately patient handling.

The opportunity of taking advantage of the arrangement, however, came sooner than could have been reasonably expected.

In 1898 two German missionaries were murdered in Shantung. Thereupon Kiaochau-the desirability of which had been long recognised in German Imperial circles-was occupied, and a lease for ninety-nine years of a respectable area of territory on the shores of Kiaochau Bay was forced out of the Chinese Government.

On the happening of these occurrences Russia, abandoning her designs on Kiaochau, proceeded to take possession of the more favourably situated Port Arthur. Subsequently, on the 27th of March 1898, she secured a lease of that portion of Manchuria known as the Liaotung Peninsula for twenty-five years.

"The term of lease is fixed as twenty-five years from the date of signature. On expiration an extension of the term may be arranged between the two countries." 1

The eighth clause provided for a branch of the railway southward.

"The Chinese Government agrees that the principle of the permission given in the 22nd year of Kuang Hsu (1896) to the Manchuria Railway Com

1 Clause 2 of the Agreement.

pany for the construction of a railway shall now from the date of signature be extended to the construction of a branch line from a certain station on the aforesaid main line to Talien-wan or, if necessity requires, the same principle shall be extended to the construction of a branch line from the main line to a convenient point on the sea coast in the Liaotung Peninsula, between Yingtsu (Newchwang) and the Yalu River. The provisions of the agreement of the 8th September 1896, between the Chinese Government and the Russo-Chinese Bank, shall be strictly observed with regard to the branch line above mentioned. The direction of the line and the places it is to pass shall be arranged by Hu Ta-jen and the Manchuria Railway Company. But this railway concession is never to be used as a pretext for encroachment on Chinese territory, nor to be allowed to interfere with Chinese authority or interests.”

Certain additional stipulations entered into in May provided that the termini of the line should be at Port Arthur and Talien-wan.1 This point gained, the Russification of the country proceeded apace. Port Arthur was fortified, a modern town built at Dalny, and railway construction pushed on. The line was now divided into three sections: the Western, from the Siberian frontier to Harbin; the Eastern. from Harbin to Vladivostock; and the Southern, consisting of the branch from Harbin to Port Arthur.

The paramount importance of the last-named in Russian eyes was soon made manifest, for though the eastern and western sections received merely ordinary attention, the Port Arthur branch was pushed on with the utmost dispatch.

The work commenced immediately on the signature of the lease, being subdivided into three subsections,-Port Arthur to Kaichiao, Kaichiao to Tiehling, and Tiehling to Harbin. The route lay some miles to the east of Newchwang, whose trade was seriously threatened by the projected line. But subsequently it became desirable to run a branch to the Treaty Port, which so far has not suffered any of the anticipated ill effects from the railway. This branch was completed in 1899.

Rolling stock, rails, and all materials were imported from Philadelphia, and landed at Port Arthur and Newchwang.

The gauge adopted for the line is 5 feet, the Russian standard, which was especially stipulated for in the agreement in order that it might be uniform with the Trans-Siberian Road.

So rapidly was the work pushed on that by the time of the Boxer outbreak the line was through with the exception of bridges 1 Christened by Russia Dalny, and since re-christened by Japan Tairen.

between Harbin and Port Arthur, a distance of 980 versts, or 646 miles; at the same time, a considerable amount of work had also been done on the western and eastern sections of the line.

But while Russia was thus solidifying her position in northeastern Manchuria, she was not allowing her attention to be distracted from the south-western portion of the three provinces. A jealous eye was kept on the extension of the Peking-Shanhaikwan line beyond the Great Wall.

In order to be quite clear as to the position of affairs in this. connection we may, at the risk of repetition, recall the fact that at the time of the outbreak of the war with Japan, Chunghouso, an unimportant place some forty miles north-east of Shanhaikwan, had been reached, and the permanent way up to that point practically completed, though the section was only opened to public traffic in 1895, after the conclusion of the war.

At this stage extension was for the time being discontinued, and not until towards the end of 1897 was the question of resuming the work seriously considered. The first signs of renewed activity were duly noted by Russia, and made the occasion of an attack upon Mr. Kinder's position as Engineer-in-chief of the railway. M. Pavloff made representations to the Yamen, and endeavoured to persuade them to dismiss Mr. Kinder, but counter-representations were successfully made by Sir Claude MacDonald, the British Minister in Peking. The Russian objection was based on the desire to exclude any foreign influence other than their own from Manchuria. They alleged a promise from China to employ Russian capital and Russian engineers on the extension of the line beyond the Great Wall, and urged that the employment of a British engineer constituted a violation of the understanding. Sir Claude MacDonald pointed out to M. Pavloff that it looked as though it were desired to get rid of Mr. Kinder because he was an Englishman. M. Pavloff's reply is interesting, as being perhaps the earliest formal pronouncement of Russian aims in Manchuria.

"M. Pavloff said there was no wish to get rid of Mr. Kinder because he was an Englishman, but because he was not a Russian; for he must tell me frankly that the Russian Government intended that the provinces of China, bordering on the Russian frontier, must not come under the influence of any nation except Russia." 1

1 Dispatch from Sir Claude MacDonald to the Marquess of Salisbury, dated 19th October 1897, China Blue Book, No. 1 of 1898, at p. 5.