There has been a small excitement this week over Russian
action in the port of Chefoo, on the Gulf of Pecheli, the nearest port to Pekin. It was at first declared that the Russians had seized an English "concession," and compelled the Chinese to confirm it to them, and then that they had ob. tained a settlement, to the great disadvantage of the British, but still within the right of China to grant. On Thursday, however, it was explained that the scare was due to a mistake, the Russian Steam Navigation Company having only pur- chased in the ordinary way of business a piece of the fore- shore of Chefoo belonging to Messrs. Fergusson, who have for some time been offering it for sale. The sale may possibly interfere with the value of grants behind the foreshore, and a warning has therefore been sent to Pekin, but there has been neither any oppression of the British nor any appeal to the great squadron which, as it was at first alleged, the Russians had collected outside Chefoo to enforce their demands. The incident is one more illustration of the absurd suspiciousness with which a section of our countrymen regard all Russian action in Chinese waters, they believing, quite honestly we suppose, that Russia not only seeks advantages in China, which is probably the case, but that she desires, out of pure malignity, to seek those advantages at the expense of British interests. The assumption is curiously at variance with the other and equally prevalent assumption that Russian diplomacy is the cleverest in the world, and invariably seeks out the point where resistance is likely to be feeblest. Clever traders seek profits without quarrels.
