way or other rights were to be granted in Manchuria, Mongolia, or Chinese Turkestan without the permission of Russia. This treaty was opposed by England, Germany, the United States, Japan and the two leading Viceroys in the Yang-tsze provinces, and after much negotiation Russia withdrew it. She continued, however, to take steps to establish herself in the country, and towards the end of the year began to negotiate with China for a resumption of the treaty. By an agreement concluded on January 30 between the Tartar general, TsengChi, and the Russian resident at Mukden, the former was to remain as military governor of Manchuria for four years, so that Russia might govern the province through him even after the Chinese should resume the civil administration. Except as regards the Customs tariff Niu-Chwang became virtually a Russian port. It was placed in June under a Russian civil administrator, the Russian flag flew over the Maritime Customs, all duties were paid into the Russo-Chinese Bank, and Russians policed the railway.

The dispute between Russia and England as to the North China Railway (see ANNUAL REGISTER, 1900, p. 331) was partially settled on January 13 by the section of the line within the Great Wall having been handed over to the Germans and by them to England. No arrangement was arrived at, however, as to the portion of the line beyond the Great Wall from Shanhai-Kwan to Niu-Chwang, that section still remaining, with much of the rolling stock, in the possession of the Russians, who claimed to hold it "by right of conquest," though they declared themselves willing to restore it if Russia were repaid all her expenditure for repairing and working the whole line from Pekin to Niu-Chwang. This and other cases where Russia had appropriated land belonging to British subjects remained unsettled to the end of the year. In Persia, too, Russia continued to extend her influence in opposition to that of England, and in February a new line of steamers was established for trading between Odessa and Bunder, Bushire, Bunder Abbas, and other parts of the Persian Gulf, specially low railway freights having been allowed by the Government for goods booked through to Odessa for shipment by this line from all the chief Russian manufacturing centres. The greater part of the trade of Northern Persia was already in the hands of Russia, and the value of her exports thither rose from 4,000,000 roubles in 1885 to over 16,000,000 in 1897.

In September the Tsar was the guest of the German Emperor on board the flagship Kaiser Wilhelm II. off Dantzig, and witnessed the manoeuvres of the German fleet. This was regarded as a guarantee of the friendly relations between the two Emperors. The expansion of German influence in the Balkan peninsula, however, and the danger to Russian interests involved in the proposed German railway from Bagdad to the Persian Gulf, caused considerable apprehension in Russian commercial circles,

and the general tone of the Press with regard to Germany was far from friendly.

The cordiality of the alliance between Russia and France was specially accentuated by the visit paid to St. Petersburg in April by M. Delcassé, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, and by the Tsar's reception in France at the end of September. On the first occasion several conferences took place between M. Delcassé and the Russian Ministers of Foreign Affairs and of Finance, and the Tsar's visit was made the occasion of a great naval and military demonstration of the French forces at Dunkirk and Rheims. The toasts exchanged between the Tsar and the President of the French Republic on this occasion referred to the two countries as "friends and allies," and immense enthusiasm was displayed by the French people, the only jarring note in the universal harmony being the non-inclusion of a stay in Paris in the programme of the Imperial visit. Although the naval and military manoeuvres which had taken place in the Tsar's presence gave his reception somewhat of a warlike character, the President was careful to explain that the alliance of the two countries "arose from an essentially pacific idea," and had afforded powerful aid "to the maintenance of the balance of power in Europe," such balance being "a condition essential to peace, which, to be fruitful, must not be precarious." The Tsar on his part asserted that the two allies "are animated with the most peaceful intentions"; they " do not seek to infringe upon the rights of others, but they mean to have their own respected." The attitude of the Russian Government with regard to the Boer war carried out this principle throughout the year, and the only Russian manifestation of hostility to England took the shape of a futile boycotting of English goods by some of the inhabitants of St. Petersburg. An article in the National Review advocating an understanding between Great Britain and Russia was at first very coldly received by the Russian Press, but towards the end of the year its tone changed, and the principal Russian newspaper, the Novoe Vremya, even warmly supported the proposed understanding.

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In the Balkans Russia was very active this year. A paper called the Orthodox Orient, in the Russian and French languages, was established at Bucharest advocating a close union. of Roumania with Russia and the founding of a confederation of all the Balkan peoples of the Russo-Greek or "Orthodox" religion under a Russian protectorate, and six Russian torpedo boats made a reconnaissance at Galatz, the key to the fortifications of Roumania. In Servia, too, which since King Alexander's marriage and the removal of the late King Milan from the country had placed herself entirely under the influence of Russia, arrangements were made by the Russian Minister of War for a concurrent action of the military forces of the two countries in the event of Russia being engaged in warlike operations in the Near East; and in Bulgaria some sensation was produced by a

speech delivered in August at Varna by the commander of the Russian squadron, in which he declared that the Russian Black Sea Fleet would know how to fulfil the task that awaited it, and expressed the hope that he might one day see the Bulgarian fleet side by side with that of Russia. The visit of the Grand Duke Alexander Michailovitch to Bulgaria in July was regarded as a further sign of the intimate relations between the two countries.

In February a war of tariffs broke out between Russia and the United States. The Government at Washington increased the import duty on refined sugar coming from Russia, on the ground that the latter country allowed a bounty on its exportation in the shape of a reduction or return of excise duty, upon which Russia at once retaliated by raising the Customs duties on all the principal imports from the United States to the higher scale of the Russian differential tariff, which practically increased the duties by about 50 per cent. As the total importation of Russian sugar into America amounted only to 22,000 dollars, while that of American goods into Russia extends to several millions, the reprisal was strikingly disproportionate as compared with the increase of duty on the side of America. Russia, it may be noted, was one of the largest prospective markets for American iron and steel products, the trade already amounting to 10,000,000 dollars yearly. The United States next imposed a duty on Russian petroleum; but although this tariff war produced some irritation at the time the relations between the two Governments continued to be friendly.

In July a mission from the Dalai Lama of Thibet arrived at St. Petersburg, and was received with great ceremony by the Tsar and the Tsaritsa. It was headed by a former subject of Russia, a Buddhist from the Trans-Baikal province.

II. TURKEY AND THE MINOR STATES OF EASTERN EUROPE.

The Turkish Government during 1901 was involved in considerable difficulties with those of the other European Powers, in consequence of its high-handed action in matters affecting their interests. The revival of the Pan-Islamic agitation which followed the Armenian massacres, and which received a fresh impetus from the defeat of the Greeks by the Turkish Army and the visit of the German Emperor to Constantinople, had inpressed the Sultan with extravagant notions of his power. At home he entirely emancipated himself from the influence of the old official bureaucracy, and extirpated all elements capable of offering opposition to his designs. The Imperial will was no longer conveyed by Vizirial missives, but by informal decrees ("Iradés") issued by his personal secretaries, acting directly under his orders, and often without any communication with the Grand Vizier.

The Sultan now attempted to extend these autocratic methods to his treatment of foreign affairs. In May he ordered the

letter-bags of the foreign post-offices to be seized on the plea that they contained seditious matter, but he was speedily compelled to give them up by the united protests of the Powers. He next imposed taxes on the French religious orders in contravention of the Capitulations, and issued an Iradé forbidding religious orders to settle on Ottoman territory unless they applied for authorisation. This step seems to have been taken in order to play off Russia against France, the former country patronising the Greek Orthodox clergy in their efforts to counteract the influence of the Roman Catholic missionaries, who in virtue of the Capitulations are under French protection. The Porte was at the same time involved in a dispute with France about the quays at Constantinople, which were constructed by a French company, and about a loan from local French bankers, repayment of which had long been overdue. The company to whom the quays belonged complained that it had sustained great loss in regard to the dues payable to it on account of wharfage, in consequence of the Government having forced merchants to land their goods elsewhere. The French Ambassador protested, but in vain, and on August 26 diplomatic relations between the two countries were broken off. The Porte then yielded on the question of the quays, but the debts to the French bankers remained unpaid.

The next step taken by France was to send a naval squadron to Mitylene and take possession of the Customs there (November 5). A note was at the same time addressed to Turkey, stating that, in consequence of the Porte's tardiness in settling the French demands already made, four others were added to them, and that a settlement of them all must precede the resumption of diplomatic relations. These new demands included the legal recognition by Turkey of all French scholastic, charitable, and religious institutions now existent or that may afterwards be introduced in the country; the restoration of all buildings belonging to such institutions which were damaged during the Armenian troubles of 1894 and 1896; immunity from Customs duties and other taxes for such institutions in accordance with the Capitulations; and recognition of the Chaldean Patriarch of the United Greek Church, which, though practising the Eastern religious rite, acknowledges the Pope as its head and is a powerful factor of proselytism among the members of the so-called Orthodox Church. To all these demands the Sultan agreed on November 9; the debts to the French bankers were paid, and the French squadron then left Mitylene and diplomatic relations were resumed. A number of claims in connection with the ill-treatment of Austrian subjects and for sums due to the Oriental Railway Company, which had for some time been in abeyance, were settled at the same time in consequence of urgent representations made by the Austrian Ambassador at Constantinople.

The Sultan also came into collision with England in the

Persian Gulf. In August an attempt was made to land Turkish troops at Koweit, but, in view of an appeal from its Sheikh to the Indian Government, was foiled by a British warship; and subsequent steps taken to assert the Sultan's suzerainty over the Sheikh of Koweit were also unsuccessful. To save his face" after repeated humiliations, the Sultan dismissed his Grand Vizier and appointed as his successor Said Pasha, who had shown much skill when before in office in baffling the efforts of the Powers to reform the Turkish Government.

In home affairs the attention of the Porte was chiefly occupied with Albania, Armenia, Crete, and Macedonia. In Central Albania a state of anarchy prevailed. The Turkish troops, who had received no pay for many months, plundered the villages and made off not only with all the food they could lay hands on, but also with money wherever it was obtainable. A Slavonic propaganda was at the same time set on foot under the auspices of the Russian Consul, who was all-powerful in the province, but detested by the Albanian people as the patron of the socalled Orthodox Church against the advance of Catholicism and Islamism. In Armenia more massacres were stated to have taken place in the Sassoon district, though the facts were carefully concealed by the Ottoman authorities. As regards Crete the Powers determined not to disturb the status quo (see ANNUAL REGISTER, 1900, p. 333), though they were very desirous to retain Prince George as High Commissioner after the expiration of his mandate at the end of the year, as his administration had been remarkably successful and he exercised great influence in the island. In June the Cretan Assembly passed a resolution in favour of union with Greece, in reply to which an identic declaration by the four protecting Powers was handed to Prince George, stating that they did not consider that there was any ground whatever for a change in this respect, that any infringement of the rights of the Sultan might seriously endanger the peace of the East by subjecting Greece once more to the hostility of Turkey, and that Crete was much better off as regards taxation and simplicity of administration than she would be if she became part of the Greek kingdom. The resolution above referred to was, indeed, proposed and carried by the Opposition in the Cretan Assembly, which formed nearly 90 per cent. of its members, and was mainly engineered from Athens. Prince George, on the other hand, consented to retain his post of High Commissioner for another three years.

During his tenure of this difficult office he had disarmed the dangerous elements in the population, introduced an excellent force of Italian gendarmerie under Italian officers, established a local administration, and set up law courts which gave universal satisfaction. Crime and disorder had consequently diminished, and the Mussulman population were gradually becoming reconciled to their Christian neighbours. He further assisted the Mahomedans to rebuild their ruined houses and

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