Peking, March 22.
The Sino-Japanese negotiations from to-morrow will take the form of a bedside conference between Mr. Hioki, the Japanese Minister, and the Chinese Foreign Minister, the former being unable to attend the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, hi recent accident having resulted in a broken' bone, The serious point now under discussion is the Japanese demand of the right to settle, trods and travel without restriction in South Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia. This concession, however, would result, if accepted, in an impossible situation, owing to the operation of ity, which is interpreted in China to exempt foreigners from all taxation as well as the application of the local law.
Under the most-favoured-nation clause similar privileges would become available to all foreigners, and communities would arise and landowners and traders would establish themselves all over the pro vince, all of whom would be independent of the law of the land and would contribute no the expense of the admi Recognizing these difficulti Japanese are prepared in this connexion to make important concessions to the Chinese which are calculated to protect Chinese interests without detracting from the value of the privileges sought.
Meanwhile the acerbity which characterized the earlier phases of the negotiations appears to hav> somewhat subsided, and the Japan. ese seem ready to accord serious discussion. The Chinese naturally consider that the demands require some time.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.