Mr. Allen to Mr. Sherman.
Seoul, Korea, October 8, 1897.
Sir: Referring to my No. 8, October 1, handing you a copy of a protocol said to have been signed by the Korean foreign office and the Russian legation in regard to a coaling station at Fusan, I now have the honor to inform you that Mr. de Speyer has informed the German consul, Mr. Krien, that this paper was not signed, that it was simply the view of the Korean vice-minister for foreign affairs, and that while the secretary of the Russian legation brought it to him he paid no attention to it. He said, also, that the matter of the coaling station was settled at Fusan between his secretary and the local officer; that the owners of the land agreed to sell for a total of 18,000 yen; that he had referred the matter to the navy department at St. Petersburg, and if they considered the sum a reasonable one the station would be located on the ground in question; that as far as he was concerned the case was closed; that no one else had any claim to the land, since no settlement had been actually laid out there, nor had the Korean Government notified the representatives that they had selected this site, and even if they had his Government could buy the land just as any individual could buy it.
I have, etc.,