disputes Russia steadily and relentlessly continued until she
obtained the Lower Amur in 1855, the Ussuri district in 1860
and finally, by the Cassini Convention of September, 1896,
the right to extend the Siberian Railway from Nerchinsk
through Manchuria. How Russia pressed her aggressions in
this region we shall have occasion to note in a later chapter.

[43] Parker, ``China,'' p. 96.



XIII

THE UNITED STATES AND CHINA

THE relations of the United States with China have,
as a rule, been more sympathetic than those of
European nations. Americans have not sought territorial
advantage in China and on more than one occasion, our
Government has exerted its influence in favour of peace and
justice for the sorely beset Celestials.

The flag of the United States first appeared in Chinese
waters on a trading ship in 1785. From the beginning, Americans
had less trouble with the Chinese than Europeans had
experienced, partly because they had recently been at war with
the English whom the Chinese hated and feared, and partly
because they were less violently aggressive in dealing with the
Chinese. By the treaties of July and October, 1844, the
United States peacefully reaped the advantages which England