16 DECEMBER 1876, Page 2

We publish elsewhere a letter from a well-informed corre- spondent,

who bluntly denies that the Russian Government broke faith with the British Foreign Office upon the sub- ject of Khiva. Whether or not the Emperor promised not to annex the Khanate, it has not been annexed. Part of it was handed over to Bokhara, but the remainder is still governed by the Khan, and though that ruler is no doubt more or less dependent on St. Petersburg, that is not annexation, unless, indeed, it can be said that Russia has annexed Roumania and Servia. The conduct of the Russian Government in Khiva created such bitterness in England, that it is as well to understand exactly what Russia did do, and whether she openly broke her word or not.