THE PORT ARTHUR CONFERENCE.

North Otago Times, 5 August 1903, Page 3

THE PORT ARTHUR CONFERENCE.

RUMORS 0? IMPENDING WAR

.:},:. (Per Sonoma, at Auckland.) ";,'■' ■. Saiii Francisco, July 10. A despatch from Port Artnur on .'''■■'. July y says: The visit of all the prominent Russian oiliciais in China, ;;■..' Manchuria and Korea to this place .--■■ is strictly a business one and in ro sense a junket, The local oiliciais '■■ .arranged \\i\ elaborate programme, covering a week, for the entertainment of the visitors, but after a review of,lit teen thousand troops on the race track. General Kuropatkin, the Russian Minister of War, announced ?. that the remainder of the visit must be devoted to wor,l<. The General pre sides daily over long conferences. The officials explain that it is the General's wish to obtain the fullest inform ation concerning- Russia's work and interest in tho Far East, and naturally requested the oiliciais to meet him -since lie could not visit all of them. It is stated Uiat one important question under discussion is tho matter of the consolidation of tho government of Russia's adjacent possessions in the Far East under ono administration, with a Governor-Gen eral directing tho whole. High officials strongly deprecate the war talk which is rife among the lower officers and civilians. All who talk of war profess to despise Japan as an antagonist. The policy of the United States on the Manchurian question is generally regarded here with surprise and resentment, the comments being that Russia expected Great Britain to oppose their progress, but relied on tho traditional friendship of America to secure American approval. The presence .of a British squadron at Wcihaiwei and of American warships at Chefoo is the subject of great interest to Russian officers, who ask many questions. At Port Arthur thei'u are twelve Russian battleships and cruisers, four of which are regularly stationed there, and at Yladivostock are forty-five smaller craft, most of them torpedo boats and torpedo boat destroyers. The number of troops at Port Arthur and environs is, according to the best information thirty thousand, and the railway company is preparing to bring sixteen thousand more, The fleet and army shows the most unusual activity in drilling men, Aiuther despatch stjates that Russia has laid a cable from Antting. to Yongampho without consulting Korea. Japan protested that Korea, is bound to prevent a foreign Power acquiring any telegraphic priv leges interfering with Japanese interests. Jp,Pan is pressing for the opening of the port of Wiju, a great depot of overland trade with Chin a . Korea pleads that- Russia objects, a nd Japan replies that the objection is irrelevant and the decision rests with Korea. A despatch from London on July . 1 says that, according, to the Tien- ' tsin correspondent of the Standard, the opinion prevails in Russian circles that jnn outbreak of hostilities in the Far East is inevitable. It is thought that in tho event of war everything would favor Japan, which is in a better stjatc of preparedness. Tho St. Petersburg correspondent of the Standard states that official circles there are nervous over, the situation, especially Count Cassini's diplomatic methods. The Russian Ambassador at Washington is accused of making too much of tho petition regarding the Kishineff massacre and too little of American policy in the East. The Russian Government, continues the correspondent, would have looked with equanimity upon the presentation of the Kishineff petition, which binds nobody, if i n return an understanding could have been reached regarding Russia's claims in Manchuria. It is feared now that Russia will be obliged to forego Count Lamsdorf's plans concerning Manchuria and Cliftia, which depended upon separating tho United States from Japan and Great Britain. London, 'July 6. Replying to a question in ,the House to-day as to the number of British, American and Japanese warships in the Gulf of Pechili and the object of tho gather ng of the Russian and other fleets there, the Secretary of the Admiralty, Mr Arnold Forster, said there were twelve British ships in those waters, but he was notaware that any special gathering of warships had occurred, or that, there was any special object by the Powers responsible for the movement of Vessels in Chinese waters.