EXCHANGE OF NOTES BETWEEN THE UNITED KINGDOM AND RUSSIA WITH REGARD TO THEIR RESPECTIVE RAILWAY INTERESTS IN CHINA.

No. 1.

SIR C. SCOTT TO COUNT MURAVIEFF.

THE Undersigned, British Ambassador, duly authorised to that effect, has the honour to make the following declaration to his Excellency Count Muravieff, Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs:

Great Britain and Russia, animated by a sincere desire to avoid in China all cause of conflict on questions where their interests meet, and taking into consideration the economic and geographical gravitation of certain parts of that Empire, have agreed as follows:

1. Great Britain engages not to seek for her own account, or on behalf of British subjects or of others, any railway concessions to the north of the Great Wall of China, and not to obstruct, directly or indirectly, applications for railway concessions in that region supported by the Russian Government.

2. Russia, on her part, engages not to seek for her own account, or on behalf of Russian subjects or of others, any railway concessions in the basin of the Yang-tsze, and not to obstruct, directly or indirectly, applications for railway concessions in that region supported by the British Government.

The two contracting parties, having nowise in view to infringe in any way the sovereign rights of China or existing treaties, will not fail to communicate to the Chinese Government the present arrangement, which, by averting all cause of complications between them, is of a nature to consolidate peace in the Far East, and to serve the primordial interests of China herself.

(Signed)

St. Petersburg, April 28th, 1899.

CHARLES S. SCOTT.

No. 2.

COUNT MURAVIEFF TO SIR C. SCOTT.

The undersigned, Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs, duly authorised to that effect, has the honour to make the following declaration to his Excellency Sir Charles Scott, British Ambassador :

Russia and Great Britain, animated by the sincere desire to avoid in China all cause of conflict on questions where their interests meet, and taking into consideration the economic and geographical gravitation of certain parts of that Empire, have agreed as follows:

1. Russia engages not to seek for her own account, or on behalf of Russian subjects or of others, any railway concessions in the basin of the Yang-tsze, and not to obstruct, directly or indirectly, applications for railway concessions in that region supported by the British Government.

2. Great Britain, on her part, engages not to seek for her own account, and on behalf of British subjects or of others, any railway concessions to the north of the Great Wall of China, and not to obstruct, directly or indirectly, applications for railway concessions in that region supported by the Russian Government.

The two contracting parties, having nowise in view to infringe in any way the sovereign rights of China or of existing treaties, will not fail to communicate to the Chinese Government the present arrangement, which, by averting all cause of complication between them, is of a nature to consolidate peace in the Far East, and to serve the primordial interests of China herself.

The undersigned, &c.

(Signed)

St. Petersburg, April 16 (28), 1899.

No. 3.

COUNT MURAVIEFF.

SIR C. SCOTT TO COUNT MURAVIEFF.

In order to complete the notes exchanged this day respecting the partition of spheres for concessions for the construction and working of railways in China, it has been agreed to record in the present additional note the arrangement arrived at with regard to the line Shanghaikuan-Newchwang, for the construction of which a loan has been already contracted by the Chinese Government with the Shanghae-Hong Kong Bank, acting on behalf of the British and Chinese Corporation.

The general arrangement established by the above-mentioned

notes is not to infringe in any way the rights acquired under the said Loan Contract, and the Chinese Government may appoint both an English engineer and a European accountant to supervise the construction of the line in question, and the expenditure of the money appropriated to it.

But it remains understood that this fact cannot be taken as constituting a right of property or foreign control, and that the line in question is to a remain a Chinese line, under the control of the Chinese Government, and cannot be mortgaged or alienated to a non-Chinese company.

As regards the branch line from Siaoheichan to Sinminting in addition to the aforesaid restrictions, it has been agreed that it is to be constructed by China herself, who may permit Europeannot necessarily British-engineers to periodically inspect it, and to verify and certify that the work is being properly executed.

The present special Agreement is naturally not to interfere in any way with the right of the Russian Government to support, if it thinks fit, applications of Russian subjects or establishments for concessions for railways, which, starting from the main Manchurian line in a south-westerly direction, would traverse the region in which the Chinese line terminating at Sinminting and Newchwang is to be constructed.

(Signed)

St. Petersburg, April 28, 1899.

No. 4.

CHARLES S. SCOTT.

COUNT MURAVIEFF TO SIR C. SCOTT.

In order to complete the notes exchanged this day respecting the partition of spheres for concessions for the construction and working of railways in China, it has been agreed to record in the present additional note the Agreement arrived at with regard to the line Shanghaikuan-Newchwang, for the construction of which a loan has been already contracted by the Chinese Government with the Shanghai-Hong Kong Bank, acting on behalf of the British and Chinese Corporation.

The general arrangement established by the above-mentioned notes is not to infringe in any way the rights acquired under the said Loan Contract, and the Chinese Government is at liberty to appoint both an English engineer and a European accountant to supervise the construction of the line in question and the expenditure of the money appropriated to it. But it remains well understood that this fact cannot be taken as constituting a right of property or foreign control, and that the line in question is to

remain a Chinese line, subject to the control of the Chinese Government, and cannot be mortgaged or alienated to a nonChinese company.

As regards the branch line from Siaoheichan to Sinminting, in addition to the aforesaid restrictions, it has been agreed that it is to be constructed by China herself, who may permit Europeannot necessarily British-engineers to periodically inspect it, and to verify and certify that the works are being properly executed.

The present special Agreement is naturally not to interfere in any way with the right of the Russian Government to support, if it think fit, applications of Russian subjects or establishments for concessions for railways, which, starting from the main Manchurian line in a south-westerly direction, would traverse the region in which the Chinese line terminating at Sinminting and Newchwang is to be constructed.

The Undersigned, &c.

(Signed)

St. Petersburg, April 16 (28), 1899.

COUNT MURAVIEFF.

APPENDIX C.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF AUTHORITIES OF THE FAR EAST.

A complete bibliography of the Far East would extend to such proportions as to require a volume to itself. A catalogue of even the more valuable works which have appeared on this subject would comprise many hundreds of entries, which could only confuse the reader, instead of aiding him in the selection of those volumes suited to his requirements. For this reason I have decided to follow the course adopted by me in the appendix to Russia in Asia, and give in the form of a bibliographical chapter a classified list of the most authoritative writings dealing with the countries and peoples of Further Asia. I have been guided in the inclusion or exclusion of the various works available by their intrinsic value as tested by personal experience, and for this reason it will be found that while several volumes by well-known writers do not figure in the following catalogue, their places are filled by others, which while less famous than they deserve to be, are well worthy of consultation.

THE FAR EAST.

Until the publication of the present volume, no attempt appears to have been made to supply a compact history of the countries of Further Asia. The nearest approach to a general survey of the Far East is that provided by Lord Curzon in his Problems of the Far East, of which a second edition was published in 1896. While admirable in its manner, and authoritative, the book is now somewhat behind the times, and might be brought up to date with advantage. Another work which includes a survey of all the countries of Further Asia is Mr. Henry Norman's Peoples and