URAL CONCESSIONS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16861, 11 October 1922, Page 7

URAL CONCESSIONS.

INTERFERENCE OF POLITICS By Telegraph—Press Association —-Copyright Australian ami N.Z. Cable Association. (Received October 11, 11.30 a.m.) LONDON, October 10. Mr Leslie Urquhart, in a statement regarding the Soviet’s non-ratification, described it as a hitch, not a break down. The agreement lias not been denied ratification on its merits an a business contract, but simply and solely because politics had been injected into the matter ; but polites would be put into their proper place when the rulers of Russia realised how impossible they made it for foreign capital to re-enter Russia. It would appear, by withholding ratification, that the .Russians thought they saw a chance of inducing Great Britain to recognise the feoviets claim for inclusion in the oomiug conference regarding the Dardanelles. A previous message stated that the Labour Defence Council, under Lenin’s chairmanship, had declined to ratify the Urquhart-Krassin agreement because of the unprecedented length of fhe concessions, and in view of the Near East situation. The agreement was signed between Mr Leslie Urquhart, president of the Russo-Asiatic Company, and Air L. Krassin, of the Russian Trade Delegation, restoring the company’s rights to concessions in the Ural Mountains, of which a ninetynine years’ lease was to be granted. L’he sum of £56,000.000 was involved in the deal. The mining properties concerned had been acquired from ten to sixteen years ago. when in a bankrupt condition. Some £10,000,000 had been spent-in reorganising them, with the result that when ’the revolution came in 1917 deposits of coal. iron, copper, lead, zinc, silver and gold were being worked on a huge scale by tlx* four companies. According to a written statement by Air l rquhart, the production was 1,000,000 tons of coal and coke annually and 13,000 tons of copper, lead and zinev The refineries at that time produced £1,000.000 worth of gold bullion a year. In consequence of confiscation by the Soviet Government the corporation, on formation, drew up a coni|»ensation claim for £1.100,000 worth of gold bullion in the works when seized, and £60.000,000 as the value of the mining property. Negotiations for a resumption of work by the corporation were carried on with the Soviet Government by Mr Urquhart personally. He made l at least one journey to Russia in the attempt, and also negotiated with M. Krassin, the London representative of the Soviet Government. In October of last year he announced, with apparent finality, that tho conditions proposed by the Soviet Government were such that it was impossible to make a contract to resume operations. In December fol lowing the Soviet Government itse.lf proposed a resumption of the negotiations.