§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS (The Marquess of LANSDOWNE)My Lords, I may perhaps supplement by a few words the statement which I made in reply to Lord Spencer last night upon the subject of the evacuation of Manchuria. I have received from the Russian Ambassador, to whom I had addressed an inquiry upon the subject, a verbal statement to the following effect:—The information which has reached the British Government as to the conditions required for the evacuation of Manchuria is not at all correct. The discussions which are proceeding at Pekin concern Manchuria alone, and have reference to certain guarantees which are indispensable for securing the most important Russian interests in the province after the withdrawal of the Russian troops. As for measures which might tend to exclude foreign Consuls or obstruct foreign commerce and the use of ports, such measures are far from entering into the intentions of the Imperial Government. They consider, on the contrary, that the development of foreign commerce is one of the main objects for which the Russian Government have undertaken the construction of lines of railway in that part of the world.
§ House adjourned at twenty-five minutes before Five o'clock, to Monday next, a quarter before Eleven o'clock.