The correspondence between the Government of Washing- ton and the
different Governments of Europe upon the "open door" in China has been published in New York. President McKinley, it appears, requested each Government to promise that within its " sphere of influence" in China it would not establish any preferential tariff or levy preferential harbour dues or rates for goods upon internal railways. Great Britain, Germany, France, Russia, Italy, and Japan all assented, and on March 20th Mr. Hay informed all American representatives that America considers the assents final and definitive. In the case of any other Power the correspondence might be regarded as purely academic, the writers making no allusion to any method of punish- ing departures from the agreement, but the Govern- ment of Washington has a way of considering such letters as contracts, and with the support of Great Britain would probably not hesitate to enforce them. As the Con- tinent dreads nothing so much as an Anglo-Saxon alliance, it is probable that its statesmen, if they do decide to " consoli- date " their " spheres of influence" in China, that is, to par- tition the Empire, will hesitate greatly to put on preferential duties in those spheres.
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