RUSSIAN ASSURANCES. 385 



The old cry of the impotence of the rightful owners to 

 keep order, which has been made use of so often and 

 with so great a degree of success by Russia in her 

 dealings with oriental countries, of course played its 

 share in the game, and, " in consequence of the agitation 

 which prevailed in the district," Russian troops re- 

 entered Mukden in October 1903. This in spite of the 

 fact that as far back as November 1902 Consul Hosie 

 reported that under the recently appointed Chinese 

 Governor-General at Mukden far better order was being 

 maintained than during the Russian occupation, and 

 that " numerous heads exposed on trees along the high- 

 ways " bore witness to the vigorous measures that were 

 being taken to suppress brigandage ! 



So the farce dragged on until the audience wearied of 

 the gratuitous repetition of Russian assurances, and 

 even diplomatists were seen to yawn and lose some- 

 thing of their usual urbanity in shaping their replies. 

 " Russia," ran a memorandum communicated by the 

 Russian Ambassador so recently as January 8 of this 

 year, " considers it indispensable to declare from this 

 day forth that she has no intention whatever of placing 

 any obstacle in the way of the continued enjoyment by 

 foreign Powers of the rights acquired by them in virtue 

 of the treaties now in force." In reply to which even 

 so courteous a diplomatist as Lord Lansdowne was 

 unable " to help regretting that Russia should have 

 found it impossible to take even a single step in pur- 

 suance of the policy which she had thus prescribed for 

 herself," or to show "some concrete evidence" of her 

 intention to make good her promises. 



The present phase of the Manchurian question is 

 one which has drawn the awakened curiosity of the 

 world to that hitherto little-considered country, for 

 once more does the searching light of war play upon 



2 B 



