and up the Yalu River to An-tung in place of the line across country from Yong-an-po to Manchuria. Since the cable projects were important and, together with the settlement at Yong-an-po, much in need of protection, Russia proposed to draft a force of three hundred soldiers into the place. At this date, towards the end of August, the settlement at Yong-an-po had grown into sixty houses with a civil Russian population of seventy citizens. By this time, however, the Japanese Minister at Seoul, Mr. Hayashi, had received the text of the proposed contract between the Korean Government and the Russian Lumber Company. Thereupon, on August 25th, he delivered an ultimatum to the Korean Government. On the same day the Russian Minister went to the Foreign Office and urged that the lease of Yong-an-po be granted. In spite of his urgent appeal, the Minister declared it to be impossible. On the 27th the Russian Minister went again to the Foreign Office at noon, and remained till seven in the evening, but the Minister was ill and did not put in an appearance. The Russian Minister then stated that he would have nothing more to do with the Foreign Minister, but would appeal directly to the Emperor. In his despatch Mr. Hayashi wrote that if the Korean Government were to sign such a lease with the Russian Government, Japan would consider such an act as a direct violation of the treaty between herself and Korea. In this event Japan would consider that diplomatic relations between the two countries were suspended, and she would regard herself free to act for herself in her own interests on the assumption that the whole of the Korean territories had been opened to the world.
The spirited action of the Japanese Minister was not lost upon the Korean Government, who at once issued orders to the prefect of Yong-an-po to restrain the Russians from
