101
Chinese Account.
The Chinese version of the story is as follows:—
No sooner was the attention of the Japanese military forces withdrawn from the all-absorbing interests of the war, than they turned to consider in what way they could enrich themselves at the expense of the Chinese. With this end in view, they started operations from their head-quarters in the Chinese native city, and enlisted the services of an unscrupulous Chinaman named Wang, who had done service to the troops of Japan during the war, and who once held some small official rank till he was denounced and deprived of the same. The work of this Chinaman was to assist the military in extracting from the natives of Antung their title-deeds. The first area assailed was the area now known as the Japanese Settlement, which measures some 2,800 mow,* the larger proportion of which was "min ti" (people's land).
It was the business of Wang to ascertain the names of landholders in this district, and to bring the persons before the military, and they were there and then ordered to hand over their title-deeds, and informed that payment would be made at the rate of 14 yen per mow, or 7 cents per "tsupu" (36 square feet). Some received payment at this rate, some at a reduced rate of 7 yen per mow, and some no payment at all. Those who demurred at handing over their title deeds were imprisoned and only released on a pledge of producing them. This system soon resulted in the annexation of the total area of 2,800 mow which is known as the Japanese Settlement. Mr. Wang is now residing in the Japanese Settlement, and reaps a revenue of 3,000 dollars per diem from gambling-houses, opium dens, and houses of ill-fame.
The Chinese officials assert that no agreement whatever was made with the then Magistrate, Mr. Kao, sanctioning the Japanese action, and state that they do not recognize the Japanese Settlement, and that the terms of Article IX of the Agreement between Japan and China relative to the fixing of a Settlement yet remain to be complied with.
Over and above the area of the Japanese Settlement, so called, there is an area of some 9,000 mow, extending on the west side from the Yalu, its southern boundary, in the vicinity of the creek known as No. 6 Road Creek (or Valley)† up to the hills to the north and among them and round again to the Settlement, which bounds it on the east, which has been appropriated by the military authorities in a similar manner.
The whole of this area is now known as railway land, and called the property of the South Manchurian Railway Company.
Further, in addition to the above, there is a considerable tract of country stretching down-river from the vicinity of the creek known as No. 6 Road Creek down to a place known as San Tao Lang Tou and below, which was also acquired by a Syndicate of Japanese merchants, aided by the military, who went about extracting title-deeds from the natives and compensating them in a very meagre way, or not at all. For this large tract of country the sum of 18,000 taels was disbursed by the Japanese Syndicate. Near San Tao Lang Tou part of it has been devoted to brick-kilns. The Taotai states that he has recently repurchased a large part of this area for the sum of 50,000 taels. From this the profits made by the Japanese merchants are shown to be very large.
Lastly, in the Chinese account mention must be made of the land acquired for military purposes. In accordance with Article IV of the Treaty between China and Japan, the Japanese undertake to hand back all land taken for military purposes. All land of this kind should have been handed back within eighteen months. As a matter of fact, a large piece of military land on the river frontage upon the so-called proposed Foreign Settlement was only handed back actually in September last.
There is now in this neighbourhood no land retained for military purposes, with the exception of some isolated buildings used for the quartering of the few remaining troops or railway guards.
Apart from the various areas referred to under the above three headings of (1) settlement land, (2) railway land, and (3) military land, there is also to be mentioned the fact that a wide tract of uncertain breadth is marked out on each side of the railway on its way to Mukden as land owned by the South Manchurian Railway Company, but as the claim to this land is only nominal, and the owners within the zone have not been expropriated, there is at present no great ground for grievance, except that the Chinese owners complain that the uncertainty of their tenure interferes with their obtaining the full profit out of their land.
As regards the statements of Mr. Wang Lien Tung, which are in the document already referred to, annexed to this report, these speak sufficiently for themselves, and need no comment at present.
To summarize the Chinese case, the following are the chief grounds of complaint:
1. That the Japanese hold 11,800 mow of Chinese land, from which the Chinese owners were expropriated without their own free consent and by force majeure.
2. Being expropriated in this manner, the owners received only payment at the rate of 14 yen as the maximum per mow.
This price is totally inadequate.
The Taotai says that the land was certainly worth not less than an average price of 30 dollars per mow, which is about double the actual price paid.
A silk merchant, who was recently at Antung disposing of his cocoons, and who was, it may be supposed, impartial as not being implicated in the matter, informed me that the price of land of first, second, and third grade for crops was, on an average, about 20 taels per mow in the country at a distance from Antung, and the land which the Japanese appropriated was close to Antung and plain land, flooded, it is true, every few years, but the richer for this during the intervening years.
The prices quoted as the actual value of the land in the statement of Wang Lien Tung run, it will be observed, into considerably higher figures, viz., 60, 80, and 100 taels per mow, in which account is no doubt taken of enhanced value due to the opening of the Treaty port and the increase of the value of land which has since occurred.
3. The land from which the Chinese were so expropriated was land which cannot fairly be valued at its value as crop land, as, in view of the opening of the Treaty port, the value of land is steadily increasing, and there were many far-sighted Chinese who had acquired land as a speculation with a view to reaping high returns in the future. These have not only lost their prospects of future profit, but have also been compensated at a rate which would not even cover the value of the land regarded merely as crop land.
Such are the main features of the indictment brought by the Chinese against the Japanese in the matter of their land tenure at Antung.
Japanese Statements.
The Japanese side of the case may be briefly stated as follows:—
Mr. Miho, who is at present Japanese Acting Vice-Consul, told me that he understood that the land of the Japanese Settlement was acquired by the military authorities as the result of an agreement with the previous Magistrate of Antung, named Kao.
He informed me that, with the exception of the Settlement area of 2,800 mow and the area of railway land of 9,000 mow, there was no land now held by the Japanese at Antung.
The Settlement was for the use of Japanese merchants trading at Antung, and the land set apart for the railway was such as might be required for future uses, in view of the probable importance of Antung as the terminus of the line from Mukden, its proximity to the terminus of the line from Seoul, and its connection with the waterway of the Yalu.
As regards the price paid for the land, he was unable to give me any information.
It must be confessed that the Japanese statement of the case does not much elucidate matters, and rather gives the impression that they are anxious not to commit themselves on the question, but due allowance must be made for the natural secretiveness of the Japanese character.
2
101
Chinese Account.
The Chinese version of the story is as follows :—
No sooner was the attention of the Japanese military forces withdrawn from the all-absorbing interests of the war, than they turned to consider in what way they could enrich themselves at the expense of the Chinese. With this end in view, they started operations from their head-quarters in the Chinese native city, and enlisted the services of an unscrupulous Chinaman named Wang, who had done service to the troops of Japan during the war, and who once held some small official rank till he was denounced and deprived of the same. The work of this Chinaman was to assist the military in extracting from the natives of Antung their title-deeds. The first area assailed was the area now known as the Japanese Settlement, which measures some 2,800 mow,* the larger proportion of which was "min ti" (people's land).
It was the business of Wang to ascertain the names of landholders in this district, and to bring the persons before the military, and they were there and then ordered to hand over their title-deeds, and informed that payment would be made at the rate of 14 per mow, or 7 cents per "tsupu" (36 square feet). Some received payment at this rate, some at a reduced rate of 7 yen per mow, and some no payment at all. Those who demurred at handing over their title deeds were imprisoned and only released on a pledge of producing them. This system soon resulted in the annexation of the total area of 2,800 mow which is known as the Japanese Settlement. Mr. Wang is now residing in the Japanese Settlement, and reaps a revenue of 3,000 dollars per diem from gambling-houses, opium dens, and houses of ill-fame.
yen
The Chinese officials assert that no agreement whatever was made with the then Magistrate, Mr. Kao, sanctioning the Japanese action, and state that they do not recognize the Japanese Settlement, and that the terms of Article IX of the Agreement between Japan and China relative to the fixing of a Settlement yet remain to be complied with.
Over and above the area of the Japanese Settlement, so called, there is an area of some 9,000 mow, extending on the west side from the Yalu, its southern boundary, in the vicinity of the creek known as No. 6 Road Creek (or Valley)† up to the hills to the north and among them and round again to the Settlement, which bounds it on the east, which has been appropriated by the military authorities in a similar
manner.
The whole of this area is now known as railway land, and called the property of the South Manchurian Railway Company.
Further, in addition to the above, there is a considerable tract of country stretching down-river from the vicinity of the creek known as No. 6 Road Creek down to a place known as San Tao Lang Tou and below, which was also acquired by a Syndicate of Japanese merchants, aided by the military, who went about extracting title-deeds from the natives and compensating them in a very meagre way, or not at all. For this large tract of country the sum of 18,000 taels was disbursed by the Japanese Syndicate. Near San Tao Lang Tou part of it has been devoted to brick-kilns. The Taotai states that he has recently repurchased a large part of this area for the sum of 50,000 taels. From this the profits made by the Japanese merchants are shown to be very large.
Lastly, in the Chinese account mention must be made of the land acquired for military purposes. In accordance with Article IV of the Treaty between China and Japan, the Japanese undertake to hand back all land taken for military purposes. All land of this kind should have been handed back within eighteen months. a matter of fact, a large piece of military land on the river frontage upon the so-called proposed Foreign Settlement was only handed back actually in September last.
As
There is now in this neighbourhood no land retained for military purposes, with the exception of some isolated buildings used for the quartering of the few remaining troops or railway guards.
Apart from the various areas referred to under the above three headings of (1) settlement land, (2) railway land, and (3) military land, there is also to be mentioned the fact that a wide tract of uncertain breadth is marked out on each side
• Mow-
¿th of an acre.
1 Valleys in which there are roads leading down to the Yalu on the Chinese side are numbered in order from the mouth of the river upwards.
of the railway on its way to Mukden as land owned by the South Manchurian Railway Company, but as the claim to this land is only nominal, and the owners within the zone have not been expropriated, there is at present no great ground for grievance, except that the Chinese owners complain that the uncertainty of their tenure interferes with their obtaining the full profit out of their land.
As regards the statements of Mr. Wang Lien Tung, which are in the document already referred to, annexed to this report, these speak sufficiently for themselves, and need no comment at present.
To summarize the Chinese case, the following are the chief grounds of com- plaint :---
1. That the Japanese hold 11,800 mow of Chinese land, from which the Chinese owners were expropriated without their own free consent and by force majeure.
2. Being expropriated in this manner, the owners received only payment at the rate of 14 yen as the maximum per mow.
This price is totally inadequate.
The Taotai says that the land was certainly worth not less than an average price of 30 dollars per mow, which is about double the actual price paid.
A silk merchant, who was recently at Antung disposing of his cocoons, and who was, it may be supposed, impartial as not being implicated in the matter, informed me that the price of land of first, second, and third grade for crops was, on an average, about 20 taels per mow in the country at a distance from Antung, and the land which, the Japanese appropriated was close to Antung and plain land, flooded, it is true, every few years, but the richer for this during the intervening years.
The prices quoted as the actual value of the land in the statement of Wang Lien Tung run, it will be observed, into considerably higher figures, viz., 60, 80, and 100 taels per mow, in which account is no doubt taken of enhanced value due to the opening of the Treaty port and the increase of the value of land which has since occurred.
3. The land from which the Chinese were so expropriated was land which cannot fairly be valued at its value as crop land, as, in view of the opening of the Treaty port, the value of land is steadily increasing, and there were many far-sighted Chinese who had acquired land as a speculation with a view to reaping high returns in the future. These have not only lost their prospects of future profit, but have also been compensated at a rate which would not even cover the value of the land regarded merely as crop land.
Such are the main features of the indictment brought by the Chinese against the Japanese in the matter of their land tenure at Antung.
Japanese Statements.
The Japanese side of the case may be briefly stated as follows:---
Mr. Miho, who is at present Japanese Acting Vice-Consul, told me that he understood that the land of the Japanese Settlement was acquired by the military authorities as the result of an agreement with the previous Magistrate of Antung, named Kao.
He informed me that, with the exception of the Settlement area of 2,800 mow and the area of railway land of 9,000 mow, there was no land now held by the Japanese at Antung.
The Settlement was for the use of Japanese merchants trading at Antung, and the land set apart for the railway was such as might be required for future uses, in view of the probable importance of Antung as the terminus of the line from Mukden, its proximity to the terminus of the line from Seoul, and its connection with the waterway of the Yalu.
As regards the price paid for the land, he was unable to give me any information.
It must be confessed that the Japanese statement of the case does not much elucidate matters, and rather gives the impression that they are anxious not to commit themselves on the question, but due allowance must be made for the natural secretiveness of the Japanese character.
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