[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
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CHINA RAILWAYS.
D
CONFIDENTIAL.
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No. 1.
18 WAR 10
[March 5.]
SECTION 1.
Sir C. MacDonald to Sir Edward Grey.-(Received March 5.)
(No. 32. Confidential.) Sir.
Tokyo, February 5, 1910. IN continuation of my despatches No. 375 of the 26th December, 1999, and of the 6th January, 1910, regarding the American proposal for the internationalisation of railways in Manchuria, I have now the honour to forward a copy of the reply made by the Japanese Government to the said proposal; this reply was handed to the American Ambassador on the 21st January, and on the following morning his Excellency Count Komura sent me a copy of the same for my "confidential information," at the same time telling me that the substance of this document had been telegraphed to the Japanese representative in London, with instructions to communicate the same to you. On the 27th January Count Komura in his speech on international relations in the Diet, after touching on the friendly relatious which existed between Japan and the foreign Powers generally, spoke of the traditional friendship between Japan and America, and detailing the several acts of international courtesy which had taken place during the past year-visits of training squadron and of an Imperial Prince, &c., turned his attention to other matters. With considerable tact at the end of his speech he introduced the subject of this American proposal for the internationalisation of Manchurian railways, and stated that the realisation of this proposed American plan would bring about radical changes in the condition of things in Manchuria, which condition was established by the treaties of Portsmouth and Peking, and would thus be attended with serious consequences. Besides, his Excellency went on to say, "in the region affected by the South Manchurian Railway there have grown up numerous undertakings which have been promoted in the belief that the railway would remain in our possession, and the Imperial Government could not, with a due sense of their responsibility, agree to abandon the railway in question." This part of the speech was warmly applauded; subsequent efforts on the part of various members to elicit the text of the reply proved unavailing. His Excellency in his speech made no allusion to the projected Chinchow-Aigun railway which forms the subject of the last paragraph of the enclosure. From this it will be seen that the reply is most courteous in tone, and makes no mention of the great sacrifices which Japan bas made to acquire the position she now holds in South Manchuria.
Some facts which I have elicited in the course of conversation with the American Ambassador and the Russian Ambassador may be of interest. It would seem that the original American proposal of the 9th November which was presented to His Majesty's Government on that day, was, at the same time, telegraphed to the American Ambassador, but his opinion as to the reception it would probably receive from the Japanese Government was in no way asked; had it been, it is possible that the proposal would never have been presented. In the State Department, at the present time, one of the recently appointed secretaries has just vacated the post of Japanese Secretary to the American Embassy, which he has held for many years. This official is thoroughly conversant with Japanese sentiment on all subjects; had his opinion been asked, I am convinced that he would have advised strongly against the proposal being made, but, as the American Ambassador said to me, "my Government do not understand Japanese sentiment, and I do not think they would take any notice of it if they did. To them a railway is just a railway, and if it is a good one, so · much the better. Sentiment with them goes for nothing."
The American proposal, as presented to the Japanese Government on the 20th December, contained also the suggestion with regard to the participation in the Chinchow-Aigun railway. In Sir John Jordan's telegram No. 206 of the 27th December it is stated that the American chargé d'affaires explained that the
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