Mr. Conger to Mr. Hay.
Peking, June 18, 1903.
Sir: I have the honor to confirm your telegram of the 16th instant and my reply of to-day.
This morning, in compliance with a request of the Russian minister for foreign affairs, contained in your telegram, I informed the Russian minister that we were asking the Chinese Government to open for trade in Manchuria Ta-tung-kou, Mukden, and Harbin, and that the Russian minister for foreign affairs had promised our ambassador at St. Petersburg that he (Mr. Lessar) would be instructed to state frankly to the Chinese Government the attitude of Russia.
The Russian minister informed me that the matter had been taken entirely out of his hands, and he had been instructed to await the result of the discussion of the question at Washington; therefore he could not make any statement at all concerning the matter, either to the Chinese Government or to anyone else. He, however, told me that he would at once telegraph what I had said to his Government, and as soon as he received reply would inform me.
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I have, etc.