[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government. I
288
C. O.
AFFAIRS OF CHINA.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[January 2.]
4136
KEC.
SECTION 3 4 FEC 09
[126]
(No. 316.) Sir,
No. 1.
Sir C. MacDonald to Sir Edward Grey.--(Received January 2, 1909)
Tokió, December 3, 1908. I HAVE the honour to inclose copy of a despatch which I have received from Mr. II. G. Parlett, His Majesty's Vice-Consul, formerly at Dairen, now at Hakodate, covering an interesting précis of an official report compiled for the Japanese Foreign Office by Mr. Kawakami, Japanese Consul-General at Harbin, on the subject of North Manchuria. The subject is treated under the headings of industries, agriculture, land, trade, markets, currency, Chambers of Commerce and communi- cations, and this résumé, drawn up with much ability, cannot but prove of value for purposes of reference.
The publication of this lengthy work of 400 pages is in itself an evidence of the close study now being devoted in Japan to Northern Manchuria, Mr. Kawakami, however, while seeing in that region a fine opening for Japanese mechanical industries, and a rich field for the production of raw materials for use in Japanese manufactures, does not counsel an immediate invasion of Japanese settlers to engage in agriculture, which the Russians have tried with little success. It may be noted further that in some directions North Manchuria may enter into competition with Japan, For instance the promising sugar-beet cultivation constitutes something of a menace to the Formosan sugar industry.
I would venture to draw your attention to Mr. Parlett's ability and industry in translating and drawing up this précis.
I have, &o.
(Signed) CLAUDE M. MacDONALD.
P.S.--Should this Report be printed I venture to request that this Embassy may be furnished with six copies.
C. M. MACD.
Inclosure 1 in No. 1.
Vice-Consul Parlett to Sir C. MacDonald.
(No. 30.)
Hakodate, November 27, 1908. Sir,
IN continuation of the inclosure in my despatch No. 64 from Dairen I have the honour to transmit herewith a précis of an official Report compiled for the Foreign Office in Tôkid by Mr. Kawakami, the Japanese Consul-General at Harbin. This Report was in existence while I was still in Dairen; but it was not at that time accessible to the public. Since then, however, it has been printed under the auspices of the Japanese Foreign Office, in a book of 400 pages, called "Hoku-Manshu no Sangyo," and it is from this publication that the précis just referred to is made.
Considerations of space have necessitated the exclusion of a good deal of infor- mation which, though perhaps of no immediate importance, would still have been of interest. Particularly is this the case with the statistics of trade both along the railway and at each of the big markets on the high roads. These are subjects Mr. Kawakami investigated very thoroughly; I have only given the most general figures. I canuot Vouchsafe for the entire correctness of the statement with which I credit Mr. Kawakami on the subject of North Manchurian circulating media. The whole question is a very complicated one, and I have no knowledge of Chinese, nor have I been able to obtain assistance from Chinese here.
In connection with Mr. Kawakami's remarks about flour the following extract from a letter recently sent me by a merchant in Dairen may perhaps be not devoid of interest :-
[2116 b
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B