Srd January, THE making of commercial treaties with China by all the Powers that signed the Protocol goes on more or less merrily, and a great waste of time and labour it is, for none of the treaties, whenever they may be ratified, comes completely into operation until the last has been ratified. If it were possible, it would, of course, be much better if} one treaty could have been made which all the Powers would accept for as by the most-favoured-nation clause every Power can claim the advantages, privileges, and rights obtained by every other Power, an appeal to the treaty in the event of any dispute between a Foreign Power and China means an appeal to all the treaties. So that when all the treaties are ratified, it will be well for the Diplomatic Body at Peking as a whole to collate their recmnents and draw up a blanket all the points conual conventions. Meanwhile, the lutest treaty to be noticed is that between China and Japan, and riv short comparison of its conditions with those contained in {Sir James Mackay's treaty, which may be taken presents the views of the Power trade of China, will be of interest. which does more than half the foreign The first article treats in a very summary and practical manner the question of the compensation to China for the suppression of likin and other internal taxation, which is treated at length in the much-discussed and much-abused Article VILL of the British Treaty. Japan simply cuts the Gordian knot. The complete article rans "Whereas China, with the object: of reforming its fiscal system, proposes to levy a surtax in excess of the tariff rates on all goods passing through the Custom-houses, whether maritime or inland and frontier, in order to compensate in a measure for the loss incurred by the complete abolition of likin, Japan consents pay the surtax as is agreed upon between China and all the Treats Powers. With regard to the production tax, consumption tax, anc the taxes on native opium and salt leviable by China, Japan also con: sents to accept the same arrange, ments as are agreed upon between all the Treaty Powers and China. Li is understood, however, that the com, merce, rights, and privileges of Japar, shall not, on account of the above be placed at any disadvantage as'! compared with the commerce, rights. and privileges of other Powers."
'The second article, with reference} to the provision of appliances for hauling vessels through the rapid] in the gorges of the Yangtze follows very closely the wording the second paragraph of the British article. 'The third attic' provides very briefly for an extension! of the right of Japanese steamers te! navigate inland waterways in China The detailed regulations for. this navigation are given in Annex which, mututis mutandis, follows) very closely the British Annex The intention of Article IV in the} Japanese treaty is the same as that} of the fourth article of the British treaty, though the wording is changed, and the provision that the article shall not be retrospective in its! action is omitted. 'This is the article' dealing with the obligations of Chinese shareholders in British com-) panies and vice vers, The fifth article of the Japanese! treaty deals with the protection to be given to trade-marks and copyright by Chiao, This is a composite article, trade-marks being protected by the seventh article of the British article of the U.S. treaty. The pro-'
and copyright by the eleventh} vision, which occurs in almost the same language in the U.S. treaty, "this Artic'e shall not be held to protect against due process of law] any Japanese or Chinese subject who may be the author, proprietor, or seller 6f any publication calculated to injure the well-being of China," may possibly be found irksome hereafter. Article VI, providing for the establishment by China of a uniform national coinage and currency, is an amplification of the second article in the British treaty. Itis to be feared that for some considerable period this provision will maintain the status of a counsel of perfection, Article VII is a very valuable one, dealing as it does with a practical grievance which is not touched on in either the British or the U. S. treaties. It contains a provision for the establishment of a uniform system of weights and measures throughout China, the text of the article being as follows "As the weights and measures used by the mercantile and other classes for general and commercial
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.