"Diruosiare Byers 1 Mancauny Sir Harold Pariett, ca. Published under the auspices of tate of Internati Humphrey To the order of the books that may be described as footnotes to history this "brief account Diplomatic Events in Manchuria' is a most valuable addition. It contains an enormous amount of information in a small space, yet is always readable and attractive, Sir Harold Parlett is well equipped for the task of writing it, through his long association with Far Eastern fairs; he has belonged to the British consular and diplomatic service since 1890, some of his time being actually passed in Manchuria; and-he writes with the true eye of historian, strictly impartial, but by no means insensible to dramatic lights. "Thus the concluding sketch of the late Marshal Chang Tso-lin's career is a brilliant little piece of miniature painting. But, although the contrast is effective, we are not! sure that it was only because of Japan's pressure that Chang Hsuchliang delayed to fall in with the Nationalists.
And when Sir Harold "Thus a new chapistory of the Three Eastern provinces was opened," he seems to be anticipating the future a little rashly. It is, one thing to fly a flag, but quite another to take its followers to one's bosom, Apart from the concluding ap-' pendices—a very useful section giving the essential extracts from agreements relating to Manchuria—the work is divided into four parts, the early period down to the Ching-Japan war; the period of Russian aggression; the' period of Japanese aggression; and the present period. Some of these by no means remote records read almost like fairy tales. At the close of last and beginning of this century the Far. East was very much less patent to the world than it is now or Russia could never have parened her really brazen designs on Manchuria with the unblushing openness that she used. Jay course, knew. She would have been content to gain recognition of her dominant interests in Kor she could not even get that Russia's then inflated state of mind, the war with Japan was inevitabl 'Yet in her own turn Japan showed herself no' whit inferior to Russia. Future generations will read of the famous "Twenty-one Demands" almost with incredulity. We now can Just imagine how they came to bel.. Presented. In the spring of 1915 there is no doubt that, Japan was Quite convineed—not a few people in high life in England shared her view—that Germany must win the war. What could this. mean but that the Germans would presently be back in the Far East stronger than ever and asking nasty questions about Kingchou? From Japan's point of view there was only one course open, especially in few of the fissiparous state of China, namely to establish herself so strongly there that she could confront Germany with something like confidence. But with every possible excuse that the law of self-preservation can afford, the Twenty-one Demands were surely monstrous. They failed, as a purely selfish policy al Sooner or later. What dreaded of Germany wi plished more politely but Conference, which started of Powers on that path of pathetic understanding" and pai blind conciliation which has brought so much misery to the Chinese people. The one sphere in which Japan retained and has made no secret of asserting her determination to keep the peace, and her own ascendancy, is Manchuria, and the contrast which its well-being affords with the hungry, bandit-ridden state of the Eighteen Provinces is an instructive commentary on the fruits-of benevolent indifference to hard facts. Now even the prosperity of Manchuria is impaired by the wanton quarrel. and procrastination over the Chinese Eastern Railway. It is a pity that Sir Harold Parlett's work had gone to the printers before that began; we should be interested to see how he handled it. Broadly speaking, if the first peried of Manchuria's history was that. of -Russi schemes to possess her. and the second that of Japan's, the third might be described "as: China's. 'But whether Mukden or Nanking is to have the disposal of the prize, of whether Russia will get her paw in to the dish again, as twenty-five years ago, is what' we are all waiting to see.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.