Privy Council, is pleased to order and declare that the said section 238 of "The Merchant Shipping Act, 1894," shall apply in the case of the Republic of Honduras.

And the Right Honourable Charles Thomson Ritchie, the Right Honourable Joseph Chamberlain, and the Right Honourable Lord George Hamilton, three of His Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State, are to give the necessary directions herein accordingly.

A. W. FITZROY.

BRITISH ORDER IN COUNCIL, applying the Patents, Designs, and Trade-marks Acts to Honduras. - London, September 26, 1901.*

At the Court at St. James's, the 26th day of September, 1901.

PRESENT: THE KING'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY IN COUNCIL.

WHEREAS by the provisions of "The Patents, Designs, and Trade-marks Act, 1883," as amended by "The Patents, Designs, and Trade-marks (Amendment) Act, 1885," it is, amongst other things, provided:

That if His Majesty is pleased to make any arrangement with the Government or Governments of any foreign State or States for mutual protection of inventions, designs, and trade-marks, or any of them, then any person who has applied for protection for any invention, design, or trade-mark in any such State shall, subject to the conditions further provided and set forth in the said Act, be entitled to a patent for his invention, or to registration of his design or trade-mark (as the case may be) under the said Act, in priority to other applicants, and such patent or registration shall have the same date as the date of the application in such foreign State;

And whereas it pleased Her late Majesty Queen Victoria to make an arrangement with the Republic of Honduras of the nature contemplated by the caid Act by and in virtue of a Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation, signed and sealed by Her late Majesty's Minister Resident and Consul-General to the Republic of Honduras, and sealed by the Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the said Republic at Guatemala, in the Republic of Guatemala, on the 21st day of January, 1887,† ratifications whereof together with two explanatory Protocols, dated respectively the 21st day of January, 1887, and 3rd day of February, 1900, were duly exchanged at Guatemala, aforesaid, on the 3rd day of February, 1900;

* "Loudon Gazette," October 1, 1901.
+ Vol. LXXXIX, page 1121.

And whereas it is provided by Article VIII of the said Treaty that the subjects or citizens of each of the Contracting Parties shall have in the dominions and possessions of the other the same rights as natives or as subjects or citizens of the most favoured nation in regard to patents for inventions, trade-marks, and designs, and the protection of industrial property upon the fulfilment of the formalities prescribed by law :

Now, therefore, His Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of his Privy Council, and by virtue of the authority committed to him by the said Act, doth declare, and it is hereby declared, that from and after the date of this Order the provisions of the said Act amended as aforesaid and herein before specified shall apply to the following country, viz. :— Republic of Honduras.

A. W. FITZROY.

DESPATCH from the British Ambassador at St. Petersburgh, respecting the Russo-Chinese Agreement as to Manchuria.February 6, 1901.

Sir C. Scott to the Marquess of Lansdowne.—(Received February 11.)
MY LORD,
St. Petersburgh, February 6, 1901.

I HAVE the honour to report that I found an opportunity to-day, whilst avoiding any appearance of asking explanations of Russia's proceedings in Manchuria, to ascertain from Count Lamsdorff what might be stated as the actual facts with regard to the alleged Agreement between Russia and China as to Southern Manchuria in case interpellations were addressed to His Majesty's Government in Parliament on this subject.

Count Lamsdorff gave me the true version of what had taken place very readily.

He said that as far as he had read the allegations in the Press which would probably give rise to questions in Parliament, they had asserted that Russia had concluded, or was engaged in concluding with China, a Convention or permanent arrangement which would give Russia new rights and a virtual Protectorate in Southern Manchuria.

This was quite untrue, and the only ground for the rumour must have been the fact that the Russian military authorities who had been engaged in the temporary occupation and pacification of that province had been directed, when reinstating the Chinese authorities in their former posts, to arrange with the local civil authorities the terms of a modus vivendi between them for the duration of the

simultaneous presence of Russian and Chinese authorities in Southern Manchuria, the object being to prevent the recurrence of disturbances in the vicinity of the Russian frontier, and to protect the railway from the Russian frontier to Port Arthur.

Some of the details of the proposed modus vivendi had been sent for consideration to St. Petersburgh, but no Convention or arrangement with the Central Government of China or of a permanent character had been concluded with regard to Manchuria, nor had the Emperor any intention of departing in any way from the assurances which he had publicly given, that Manchuria would be entirely restored to its former condition in the Chinese Empire as soon as circumstances admitted of it.

Russia was in the same position with regard to fixing a final date for evacuating Manchuria as the Allies found themselves with regard to the evacuation of Peking and the Province of Pechili.

When it came to the final and complete evacuation of Mauchuria the Russian Government would be obliged to obtain from the Central Government of China an effective guarantee against the recurrence of the recent attack on her frontier and the destruction of her railway, but had no intention of seeking this guarantee in any acquisition of territory or of an actual or virtual Protectorate over Manchuria, the object being to simply guarantee the faithful observance in the future by China of the terms of the Agreement, which she had been unable to fulfil during the disturbances.

The terms of this guarantee might possibly form the subject of conversation here between Count Lamsdorff and the Chinese Minister, or be left for discussion at Peking.

Meanwhile, it might be confidently stated that any arrangements which may have given rise to the allegations in the Press were purely of the temporary character of a modus vivendi between the Russian military authorities and the local civil authorities in Southern Manchuria, that no Convention or arrangement had been concluded with the Central Government of China in contemplation of any alteration of the former international status of that province, which would be restored to China when all the temporary measures taken by the Russian military authorities would cease, and everything at Newchwang and elsewhere be replaced in its former position. I have, &c.,

The Marquess of Lansdowne.

CHARLES S. SCOTT.

NOTE.-His Majesty's Ambassador, in a telegram dated the 27th February, 1901, stated that Count Lamsdorff had no objection to the publication of this despatch as an accurate report of the language held by him in conversation with Sir C. Scott.

CORRESPONDENCE respecting the Insurrectionary Mocement and Disturbances in China (The Boxers"; Murder of British Missionaries; Decrees naming heir to Throne of China, and suppressing Secret Societies; International Force for Protection of Life and Property; Question of Mandate to Japan to send Troops to China; Russian views; Messages from Emperor of China to President of United States and Emperor of Germany; Appointment of Count Waldersee to command of Expedition; Siege and Relief of Legations et Peking; Bombardment of Newchwang and Occupation by Russians; &c.)-January-September, 1900.

MY LORD,

Sir C. MacDonald to the Marquess of Salisbury.-(Received February 19.) Peking, January 5, 1900. FOR several months past the northern part of the Province of Shantung has been disturbed by bands of rebels connected with various Secret Societies, who have been defying the authorities and pillaging the people. An organization known as the "Boxers" bas attained special notoriety, and their ravages recently spread over a large portion of Southern Chihli, where the native Christians appear to have suffered even more than the rest of the inhabitants from the lawlessness of these marauders. The danger to which, in both provinces, foreign missionary establishments have been thus exposed has been the subject of repeated representations to the Chinese Government by others of the foreign Representatives-especially the German and United States' Ministers-and myself.

Early last month the Governor of Shantung, Yu Hsien, was ordered to vacate his post and come to Peking for audience, and the General Yüan Shih K'ai was appointed Acting Governor in his place.

In Southern Chihli the task of dealing with the disturbances was intrusted to the Viceroy at Tien-tsin. Her Majesty's Consul at Tien-tsin has had repeatedly to complain to the latter of the inadequacy of the protection afforded to British life and property in the districts affected by the rebellion; and in consequence of these representations, and of my own communications to the Tsung-li Yamên, guards of soldiers have been stationed for the special protection of the missionary premises which were endangered. On the 29th ultimo I took occasion to warn the Yamên by letter that if the disorder were not vigorously quelled, international complications were likely to ensue.

Being well aware, therefore, of the condition of things in

Northern Shantung, it was with much anxiety that I received, on the 2nd instant, through Bishop Scott, of the Church of England Mission here, a telegram from the Mission at Ping-yin, in Northern Shantung, announcing that on the 30th December Mr. Brooks, of the Mission, had been attacked, wounded, and captured by thirty "Boxers" in the Fei Chêng district.

I at once sent Mr. Ker, the Assistant Chinese Secretary, to communicate the contents of this telegram to the Yamên, and to ask that urgent telegraphic instructions should be dispatched to the Governor of Shantung to take measures to deal with the rebels, and especially to secure the release of the missionary.

The Yamên Secretaries said that information of this occurrence had reached the Yamên, and that a telegram had been sent to Shantung to inquire particulars. They promised that my message would be reported to the Ministers, and a further telegram dispatched. They said that the new Governor, Yüan, had already reached the capital and taken over the seals of office.

On the following day I visited the Yamên. On inquiring what was being done, I was informed that the Governor had promptly taken steps with a view to effecting the release of Mr. Brooks. The Yamên had, however, to their great regret, received a telegram that morning from the Governor to report that the Deputy sent in haste to the scene of the outrage, had arrived only to find that Mr. Brooks had been put to death on the 31st December, the day after he was captured. A despatch was being prepared, informing me of this lamentable intelligence, and expressing the deep regret of the Chinese Government.

I have the honour to transmit herewith to your Lordship a copy of this despatch. In addition to the particulars related therein, I have since learned that the unfortunate man was beheaded by the rebels and his body flung into a ditch.

In acknowledging to the Ministers of the Yamên at my interview the expressions of regret which they offered, I laid stress on the importance of proving the sincerity of this regret by strenuous action in dealing with this case, and in guarding against the possibility of similar occurrences elsewhere.

Yesterday, when the Ministers of the Tsung-li Yamên and other high officials paid their annual formal New Year's call at the Legation, the Grand Secretary, Wang Wen Shao, informed me that he was specially authorized by the Emperor and Empress-Dowager to express to me the deep concern which was felt by the Throne on hearing of this outrage. An Imperial Decree was, he said, being issued enjoining the immediate capture of the murderers, and the punishment of the officials who had neglected their duty.

The Decree to which the Graud Secretary referred was published