Manchuria and the Siberian Problem—The Japanese Element—Report on Far Eastern Republic Peking, Aug. 12.
The first instalment of the report made the Special Commission of Advisers appointed by the Chinese Government to investigate the conditions in the North-Eastern frontier provinces and to inquire into the Allied problem of the Russian buffer Stare (the Far-Eastern Republic) has now been issued, giving the Commission's observations the domestic sphere.
At the outset the report deals with the presence of Japanese troops in northern Manchuria, and after recounting the historical part of their appearance there, say' The Japanese attitude is to-day correct in outward appearances. Nevertheless, beneath the surface are to be seen numerous indications of their deep desire to dominate, if not completely to control, the administration of the railway. Thus they neglect no opportunity to interfere with the working of—the line; they constantly watch the movement of traffic; and they have made every possible attempt to instal themselves in a commanding position both along the railway and in buildings belonging to the company. They have small military detachments at all the important stations, this being more noticeable in the section east of Harbin (Kirin Province) than in the western or Heilungkiang Province, Last year they made a deliberate attempt to seize the section south of Harbin (Changchun-Harbin) by moving up to Harbin all the material necessary to convert the line from Russian broad gauge to standard guage (South Manchuria system), an effort which was successfully resisted by the agents of the Allied Powers. Since then they have attempted to cover this failure by offering to lease from the Chinese Eastern Railway for a term of years all freight space on the Harbin-Changchun section, and thus to establish an effective Japanese monopoly, an effort which has also come to nought.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.