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Show Demonstration Against Embassador Hostile Crowd Meets Bussian Envoy at Victoria Station, London, and Attempts to Mob Him. LONDON, Oct. 24- Count Benckondorff, the RusslanEmbossador, returned to London tonight from celebrating his silver sil-ver wedding with his wife's relatives In Silesia and barely escaped assault from a crowd at the Victoria station, which followed him almost Into tho cmbasHy. Fortunately for the Issue of peace or war, nothing resulted; yet throughout tho night a special force of peace was compelled com-pelled to guard the Russian embassy. Is Friend of Peace. Count Benckondorff has always boen regarded re-garded In official circles here as a friend of peace, and he was as much opposed as was Count Lamsdorff to the Rubso-JapancHc Rubso-JapancHc war. Indeed, he Is almost an anglophlle In sentiment There Is no doubt that Count Bcnckendorff was deeply deep-ly hurt by tonight's demonstration. Escapes Hostile Crowd. After escaping from the hostllo crowd that met him at the station he drovo at a gallop to the embassy. Half a dozn rowdies followed, but the Embassador arrived unharmed. His noisy puruorj encountered a cordon of police that had been hurriedly dispatched to guard tho embassy. After singing "Rule Britannia" Britan-nia" the disturbers dispersed, no arrests being made. Guarded by Police. The police guard the embassy an If It wero a British fortress. With such vigilance vigi-lance did they carry out their task that Prince Svlatopolk-Mlrsky, a cousin of the new Russian Minister of tho Interior and second secretary of the embassy, arrived ar-rived he had hard work getting In. Count Benckondorff telephoned him to come to the embassy to write a long cipher mos-sage mos-sage to St Petersburg describing tonight's to-night's hostile demonstration. Embassador Declines to Talk. In reply to a request for somo statement state-ment to the Associated Press tho Embassador Em-bassador sent word that he oould say nothing, but It was gathered that ho had sent a dispatch to St. Petersburg whloh may add to th6 oxlstlng delicacy of the situation. Mistake Made, Apology Must Follow. Prince Svlatopolk-Mlrsky said: "Tho attack on the, trawlers was obviously either an act of war or a great mlBtake. No sensible man can now think It was an act of war, and therefore It was a mistake; and when you havo made a mistake mis-take all you can do Is to apologize and pay Xor It. Neither country concerned wunts to go to war with the other. It Is annoying to cur diplomatic relations with Great Britain, but It Is quite different from the sinking of the Maine. Will Not Cause Clash, "Incidental mlstakos, however much they may be deplored, do not create war botween great powers unless thoso powers pow-ers havo some ulterior reasons for going to war. Nelthor the trawler nor tonight's to-night's affair Is likely to produce a clash between two powers who havo every reason, rea-son, from a selfish point of view, to preserve pre-serve peace between themselves." |