On February 2 began negotiations 80 protracted and confusing that a few landmarks will be helpful. The first is provided by the Chinese Government's intimation on Friday, February 12, to Mr. Hioki, the Japanese Minister, of its readiness to negotiate about the eleven demands which Japan had disclosed to the Powers, (as well as one more), and of its unwillingness to consider the remaining nine, a division which forms a crucial point in our story, for the demands! which Japan did not disclose were the ones which China regarded as infringing her sovereign rights and affecting her treaty engagements with other Powers. A second landmark denoting the confluence! of Lancashire's interest with the stream of events—from which moment Grest Britain's diplomacy visibly stiffened—is the statement made by Sir Edward Grey in the House of Commons on March 10 to the effect that "the was aware of the importance to the Lancashire cotton trade of open markets in China and gathered that the Japanese demands hid aroused a certain uneasiness, but his Majesty's Government did not doubt that the Anglo-Japanese Treaty of 1905 preserving equal opportunities for the commerce of all nations in China would be observed." Two days later the Hon. Neil Primrose, Parliamentary Under-Secretary in the Foreign Office, replying to Mr. P. A. Molteno ssid: We have admitted that we would not apply for any concessions in China which affect the South Manchurian Railway and we naturally ex-. pect that Japan will show reciprobity and not apply for conces-
Fesevary 19, 1916. sions which affect British interests."" The interests referred to were in particular those of the Yangtze valley where Japan's demands included railway. privileges that would enable her to attract from the Hankow region to the Fukien seaboard traffic which otherwise would be carried on lines now being built with British capital. On March 25, after a conference held in the bedroom of the Japanese Minis ter, China agreed to accord Japan the right to select and operate nine mining areas in South Manchuria, but without prejudice to the concessions already granted to other nationalities, s stipulation which makes convenient as a third landmark the receipt by the American Minister in Peking, on'or about April 18, of an intimation from Washington, for use should occasion ense", that the United States had treaties with China from which she not intend to recede in any manner. For, ten days before, at the nineteenth conference held since the negotiations started, the remaining Manchurian demands, which included questions of settlement, farming, travel, jurisdiction and residence, bad reached a deadlock, while' three days before had taken place prolonged discussion of the demands relating to Eastern Inner Mongolia which Japan claimed to include in her special sphere partly on the grounds of its proximity to Manchuria, partly a8 a set-off to Russian interest in Outer Mongolis, The opinion expressed in Chinese circles on America's statement of policy was that its moral effect would be excellent and on April 23 came the following message from the Kokusai Agency, The Koknaai Agency understands that the delay in the negotiations in Peking is due to a decision to modify the causes of the propositions made by Japan none of which ut any time have been ir-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.