June 29, It has been announced from Nanking that, the result of ithe Kuling Conference, the Central Political Council has ratified policy" which recognises. the "futility of complete reliance lon the League or any other out side organisation" and demands greater reliance on China's own. efforts, Thus, continuance of Jassociation with the League will march side by side with a healthy spirit of self-help. It is useless to observe that this dual icy was urged on China, in these columns and elsewhere, as far back as October last. Tt is more helpful to commend its recognition and to express the hope that it comes in time to prove an effective example of the device of having two strings to the bow. The reference of the Manchurian dispute to the League last ye: in due accord with the rights of membership of that body. Its weakness lay in the apparent expectation that it was sufficient in itself; facts were not taken fully Into account. If a brief but rough and ready verdict had to be given on Sino-Japanese rel tions in the past two yeas might be said, with some truth, that, before September 18, Japan thad' been generally correct and China generally wrong in their respective attitudes. From that date onwards, owing, in the main, to the ' special jconditfons existing and, now, intensified in Japan, the positions Ihave been reversed. As events have rapidly unfolded themselves it has become far moi difficult for either side to mal move in the direction of negotiation. The Shanghai agree-iment has, happily, been the be proof of the possibility of removing obstacles to peaceful solutions. The growing signs of, proved relations between the Chinese and Japanese in Shan; friendly assistants from Jother mations are to be congratulated, encourage the belief that the extension of a rap-brochement is not impossible. Hence, to the Central Political Councit's ratification of the new policy some importance may be In spite of all the curious divergences between Japanese Foreign Office piety and the: pragmatic irresponsibility of the General Staff in Tokyo and Manchuria, welcome might be iven to a considered approach by China, just as the latter would be' willing to listen to a reasonable offer of negotiation, provided it were free of threats jand took into account the basic {factors of Chinese polity. Event we moved far in Manchuria since the League Commission was appointed. To all intents and purposes the solemn. jasseveration of Japan that a had no designs on the occupation of that territory has gone by the board. To cover thi evitable outcome of the move of September 18, she has tried to set up an independent State which lacks jail the attributes of the epithet applied. Yet, if the ultimate fact of Chinese sovereignty were recognised, it might not be impossible to retrieve that error with satisfaction to both sides. Japan. cannot face with equanimity the prospect of continued warfare in a country, the peaceful development of which is 60 vital to her economic strength. China could probably be induce to recognise the interdependence of Japan and Manchuria; indeed the existence of treaties, imperfectly respected though they may have been, confirms that view. Broadly, Japan's interest Manchuria is strategic and economic; China's is political land economic. Japan rightly expects no unfair bar on her enterprise in a country for which she has done so much. China claims that Japanese commercial activities should not prejudice her political intere-ts and her relations with other Powers who are also concerned with Manchurian development in a limited degree Tu considering this issue it Is inappropriate to examine at length controversial claims put forward by both sides; nor is it helpful to discuss the historical jand ethnological arguments pressed to rebut or support the doctrine of Manchurian relationship with China. After all the main question is to establish relations between China and Japan on the basis of mutual tolerance, There are many treaties on which grave differen~ ces of interpretation exist. If a. move could be made towards the examination of the whole pos tion in order to make it acceptable by both parties in a spirit of firm intention to find. a stable solution, extrication from the tangle, in which Sino-Japanese relations have become involved, ould be possible. At this stage it would be undesirable to go closely into details, There is Ino reason why, with the no sary premise of good will on both sides, the fundamental factors lof Sino-Japanese cooperation can not be restored. The railway question could be solved by means of a plan for the co-ordinated readjustment of interests, Treaties in dispute could be re-examined and a fied. The political issues arising out of the leasing of land, the status of various nationals and [the maintenance of law and order might be tackled with due regard to the lessons learnt, from the unhappy series of, incidents in the past year. Consistent. with this plan would be the creation of some form of Sino-Japanese authority to watch over the development of the new order and, 80, to be able to take prompt reconciliatory action when situations likely to create dissension promised to ai These points could be taken into consideration even before the Lytton Commission had reported. Indeed such direct negotiations would probably derive strength from and, in their turn, strengthen the findings of that report. Tokyo has thrown out hints of adines to confer; Nanking has just affirmed its belief in. the efficacy of such an effort. Both fare, obviously, embarrassed the' continued' operation of the elements of conflict in Manchuria, That embarrassment should really be a strong incentive to both sides to make a sincere effort at bridging the gulf between them. Their interests are closely interwoven. Neither of them can afford sustained hostility which is draining their life-blood, gravely perturbing their friends and retarding. the progress of the Far East towards economic revival, Acconping to a report appearing: in the "'Sinwanpao", the damage caused to the workshops of the Shanghai-Nanking and Shanghai Hangchow-Ningpo Railways the recent Sino-Japanese ilities amounts to approximately $800,000.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.