The general belief in Peking is that, were China to give way at the present stage, Manchuria, Mongolia and Chinese Turkestan would speedily be alienated from the Republ In a word it is considered that by these particular demands Japan is starting the performance of "slicing the melon." Holding this view the Chinese representatives at the negotiations have steadily refused to endorse the preamble of the demands now under discussion, which states that China recognizes that Japan has alwa, joyed a specially favourable n in South Manchuria und Eastern Inner Mongolia. This is held to be an admission contrary to fact and subversive of China's sovereignty. It would take the strongest and most forcible arguments to weaken the attitude of the Chinese representatives in this respect,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.