[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
[B]
CHINA RAILWAYS.
CONFIDENTIAL.
(4897]
No. 1.
364
5654
[Februari10]
REGE 24TEB 10 SECTION 2.
(No. 20. Confidential.) Sir,
Sir Edward Grey to Sir C. MacDonald.
Foreign Office, February 10, 1910. I INFORMED the Japanese Ambassador on the 8th instant of my telegram No. 23 of the 5th February to Mr. Max Müller, in order that I might keep him informed of the latest stage of the proposal for the Chiuchow-Aigun Railway as far as we were concerned.
The Ambassador then said that he had bad a telegram from his Government, of which he was instructed to inform me confidentially. In view of the identity of interests between Japan and Russia in this region, the Japanese Government had entered into communication with the Russian Government, and the latter had now warned the Chinese Government, as the Japanese Government had previously done, against proceeding with the Chinchow-Aigun Railway without consulting Russia and Japan. The Japanese Goverument thought that the time had come for making a more definite communication to China. They had therefore sent an instruction to their Minister in Poking to the following effect: Though the Japanese Government considered that the Chinchow-Aigun Railway might prejudicially affect the interests of the South Manchurian line, yet, as the railway was intended by China to develop Manchuria and Mongolia, they would agree to its construction on the following conditions: Japan should have a share in providing the funds, engineers, materials, and contracts for the making of the railway. The manner and extent of this participation should be arranged between the Japanese Government and the other Governments interested in the making of the line. The Chinese Government should agree to the construction of a branch line from some point on the Chinchow-Aigua Railway towards the south- east, forming a connection with the South Manchurian Railway. The method by which this branch should be constructed and the exact point of connection should be settled between the Chinese and Japanese Governments. It should be understood that the Japanese Government had consented to the construction of the Chinchow-Aigun line, in spite of the fact that it might prove prejudicial to the South Manchurian Railway, on the assumption that the proposed line would run from Chinchow to Tonanfa and then to the north, keeping always at a certain distance from the South Manchurian Railway. They wished, therefore, to make it a condition that, if any alteration in the proposed route was to be made, they should be consulted upon it.
The Japanese Ambassador pointed out to me that his Government had advanced further than the Russian Government with regard to this line. His Government had slated definitely that they would consent to the construction of the line and the conditions on which they would consent. The Russian Government, on the other hand, had not yet said whether they would consent or not on any conditions.
I thanked the Ambassador for the communication, and told him that, as a matter of fact, M. Isvolsky had reproached us for not having said anything to him sooner about the railway proposal, and had reminded us of our agreement of 1899 with Russia binding us not to support proposals for railways running towards the north. Force of circumstances bad, I thought, made this agreement rather a dead letter, but, as I had so far not supported this proposal, and had, on hearing that Russian interests were affected, been quite ready to suspend action until I know the Russian views, I regarded the discussion of the 1899 agreement as rather academic. I had explained to M. Isvolsky how our discussion with Japan about this proposal had grown gradually out of our discussion about the Fakumen proposal, and he had practically hinted that he would like us to do as much at Peking with regard to Russian interests as I had done there with regard to Japanese participation. This seemed to me not unreasonable, and I had therefore sent the telegram of which I had told the Japanese Ambassador to-day.
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