4
As I saw no reason why I should not be frank on this subject with Mr. Kawakami, and inasmuch as he already knew my position, I replied in substance as follows, after informing him that I had as yet received no instructions whatever from my Government regarding the matter, and therefore the position I had taken should not be considered as necessarily the views of Government.
my
The grounds upon which I based my refusal to recognize the Railway's administration were:-
1. Article 3 of the Portsmouth Treaty, which restores entirely and completely to the exclusive administration of China all portions of Manchuria excepting the Liaotung Peninsula, and stipulates that Russia does not have in Manchuria any territorial advantages or preferential or exclusive concessions in the impairment of Chinese sovereignty, or inconsistent with the principle of equal opportunity;
2. The opening of Harbin by China to international trade and residence without a protest being made from Russia or the railway, or the announcement that either held any special rights of administration, which should be interpreted to mean that if any such rights were previously held they were waived or had been nullified by the Portsmouth Treaty; and
3. As the status of the Railway was private or non-political, it was incompetent to exercise the municipal administration over a place open to international trade and residence that would in any manner interfere with the Treaty rights of other nations. The Railway Company certainly held extensive interests in Harbin, but as it was not a political body, its rights could be only private. It being created by the Chinese Government on one side and the Russo-Chinese Bank, a private corporation, on the other, it is difficult to see how it could take upon itself the exercise of political functions from the Russian Government which is legally known only indirectly in its affairs.
While the Railway Company was, in a legal sense, a private or non-political body, it seems true that before the late war the Japanese Government considered it the chief instrument by which the Russian Government was endeavouring to extend its influence in Manchuria. When the conditions now existing in the North extended over the whole of Manchuria and appeared to threaten China's sovereignty, Japan considered the situation of so grave importance that she went to war with Russia, in her declaration of which she clearly set forth as one of the chief causes the fact that China's sovereignty in Manchuria was threatened. At the conclusion of the war, as a guaranty that Russia would not again attempt to infringe upon China's sovereignty in this region, Japan secured from her the clear and unequivocal pledges to completely evacuate Manchuria, to restore it entirely and completely to the exclusive administration of China, and that she (Russia) had in the region no territorial advantages or preferential or exclusive concessions in the impairment of Chinese sovereignty, or inconsistent with the principle of equal opportunity, as stipulated in the Portsmouth Treaty. This Treaty having been made known to the different Powers, must naturally be considered as the most important fact regarding the true political status of Manchuria.
Evidently in order to give additional strength to the "open door" policy in Manchuria, in Article 1 of the Supplementary Agreement to the Treaty between China and Japan, signed 22nd December, 1905, Japan secured from China the Agreement to open Harbin, as well as other places in the North, to international trade and residence. That Japan did not recognize Russia's (or the Railway's) absolute and exclusive right of administration in Harbin, but considered China as the proper authority to open the place, is shown by the fact that Japan made the Agreement with China. If we consider China as competent to open the place, in my opinion we must consider her as the competent authority to administer it; else the opening of Harbin by China is farcical. As is well known, there is no other Harbin than the railway town, and therefore could not have been any other town or locality that was meant. Harbin is different from Tsingtao and other places leased to foreign Governments. The Railway Company which claims this place is a private Company and supposedly under Chinese sovereignty.
Being accredited only to the Chinese Government, and not having been officially informed that China had extended any administrative rights to this private Company, if I recognized in it the rights of administration as against those of China, that Government would have just cause for complaint at my actions. The Russian Government has here a Consular Representative whom I consider as the regular and competent officer for the treatment of all political questions. To divide his functions with a private Railway Company appeared to me wholly irregular and unwarranted, at least until I was officially informed of its true status, and that it was competent to perform the functions that it claims, and could be held responsible for its administrative conduct.
At any
5
rate, as the situation now stood, and until I received other instructions, in my opinion, I could only consider that China had opened Harbin, and that my Consulate was in here on an equality with the other Consulates. This, however, depended upon the instructions that I should receive from my Government.
I then asked Mr. Kawakami if he could inform me upon what grounds he had recognized the Railway Company's administration in Harbin. His answer was a bit incoherent, or, perhaps, I failed to grasp the meaning of his reply or the idea that he intended to convey.
He referred to Article 6 of the original Agreement between China and the Russo-Chinese Bank for the construction of the railway, and also said that I would, of course, understand that their interests required such action. He added that, in his opinion, the reciprocal recognition by the Japanese and the Russian Governments of the other's Railway Administration brought no advantage to Japan, as there were practically no Russians or Russian interests in the South, while there were a large number of Japanese with considerable interests in the North which would probably increase.
Since the opening of his Consulate-General in March of last year, Mr. Kawakami's actions regarding the political situation here have been erratic. At the time of his arrival here he took a stand against the Railway Company's administration of the town. After making a short trip to Japan in June he became passive until the end of October, when he again showed a rebellious spirit against the Railway Company, and at that time suggested to me that we work together to compel the Railway Company to relinquish its claim to the Administration. I outlined to him my views much as I have expressed them above, and told him I should be pleased to work with him along those lines. I heard nothing further of any energetic action being taken by him against the Railway's scheme of administration; but about the end of the year he threw himself socially and officially into the arms of the railway officials, and he has since been an intimate associate of General Groubchefsky, the Chief of the Company's civil affairs, the most devoted worker for its cause.
In an interview yesterday with the Acting Taotai of Harbin he expressed acute disappointment that the Japanese had failed to support him in his protest against the bringing in of the Railway's scheme for the administration of Harbin. He told me that Mr. Kawakami had pledged him his support in case the protest was made; to his great surprise, he had received official notification from Mr. Kawakami that the Railway's administration would be recognized by him, and that he had notified his nationals accordingly. He added that, had China done such an act, serious results would no doubt have followed.
I have been privately informed that Mr. Kawakami, before interviewing me on the 10th instant, called upon the other Consular Representatives in Harbin to obtain their opinion as to the Railway's administration, i.e., the French Consular Agent, the Belgian Vice-Consul (honorary), and a Spanish Commercial Attaché, who is here to study the situation and open a Consulate if warranted. I am assured that their personal opinions were all unfavourable to the Railway's scheme.
It is clear that the Japanese Government is doing everything it can to instal the Railway's administration here. At first the assistance it gave was of a semi-private and secret nature, which has now developed into open support of the Railway's policy. This is, without doubt, the manifestation of a complete understanding between the Russian and the Japanese Governments as to their respective intentions regarding the "door" policy in Manchuria.
open
In my opinion the time has arrived when, if the "open door" policy in Manchuria is to be anything more than idle fiction, it must receive earnest support from the nations that wish the term interpreted in its true meaning. Russia's intentions in the North, it appears to me, cannot be mistaken. General Gronbehefsky, the Chief of the civil affairs of the Railway, has informed the local Chinese authorities that Chinese police must not enter the Railway's territory. The Russian Consul-General, in a recent interview with the Harbin Taotai, stated that Harbin must be considered as a purely Russian town. In this high-handed conduct Russia, of course, is bluffing. It only lies with the Powers that oppose Russia's course to meet the situation squarely by taking a firm stand in China's behalf until she can instal her rightful administration. opinion, there could be no serious menace in such a stand taken by the other Powers. When Russia realizes that earnestness is meant, she will come down. She knows too well the dangers that lurk in the revolutionary spirit that permeates her whole political structure from one end to the other, even to her army and navy, and which is waiting for an opportunity to burst forth. With her Near Eastern difficulties, provincial strifes, and financial and other domestic problems, she cannot now afford to take another
In my
801
4
As I saw no reason why I should not be frank on this subject with Mr. Kawakami, and inasmuch as he already knew my position, I replied in substance as follows, after informing him that I had as yet received no instructions whatever from my Government regarding the matter, and therefore the position I had taken should not be considered as necessarily the views of Government.
my
The grounds upon which I based my refusal to recognize the Railway's administra- tion were:-
1. Article 3 of the Portsmouth Treaty, which restores entirely and completely to the exclusive administration of China all portions of Manchuria excepting the Liaotung Peninsula, and stipulates that Russia does not have in Manchuria any territorial advantages or preferential or exclusive concessions in the impairment of Chinese sovereignty, or inconsistent with the principle of equal opportunity;
2. The opening of Harbin by China to international trade and residence without a protest being made from Russia or the railway, or the announcement that either held any special rights of administration, which should be interpreted to mean that if any such rights were previously held they were waived or had been nullified by the Portsmouth Treaty; and
3. As the status of the Railway was private or non-political, it was incompetent to exercise the municipal administration over a place open to international trade and residence that would in any manner interfere with the Treaty rights of other nations. The Railway Company certainly held extensive interests in Harbin, but as it was not a political body, its rights could be only private. It being created by the Chinese Govern- ment on one side and the Russo-Chinese Bank, a private corporation, on the other, it is difficult to see how it could take upon itself the exercise of political functions from the Russian Government which is legally known only indirectly in its affairs.
While the Railway Company was, in a legal sensé, a private or non-political body, it seems true that before the late war the Japanese Government considered it the chief instrument by which the Russian Government was endeavouring to extend its influence in Manchuria. When the conditions now existing in the North extended over the whole of Manchuria and appeared to threaten China's sovereignty, Japan considered the situation of so grave importance that she went to war with Russia, in her declaration of which she clearly set forth as one of the chief causes the fact that China's sovereignty in Manchuria was threatened. At the conclusion of the war, as a guaranty that Russia would not again attempt to infringe upon China's sovereignty in this region, Japan secured from her the clear and unequivocal pledges to completely evacuate Manchuria, to restore it entirely and completely to the exclusive administration of China, and that she (Russia) had in the region no territorial advantages or preferential or exclusive concessions in the impairment of Chinese sovereignty, or inconsistent with the principle of equal opportunity, as stipulated in the Portsmouth Treaty. This Treaty having been made known to the different Powers, must naturally be considered as the most important fact regarding the true political status of Manchuria.
Evidently in order to give additional strength to the "open door" policy in Manchuria, in Article 1 of the Supplementary Agreement to the Treaty between China and Japan, signed 22nd December, 1905, Japan secured from China the Agreement to open Harbin, as well as other places in the North, to international trade and residence. That Japan did not recognize Russia's (or the Railway's) absolute and exclusive right of administration in Harbin, but considered China as the proper authority to open the place, is shown by the fact that Japan made the Agreement with China. If we consider China as competent to open the place, in my opinion we must consider her as the competent authority to administer it; else the opening of Harbin by China is farcical. As is well known, there is no other Harbin than the railway town, and therefore could not have been any other town or locality that was meant. Harbin is different from Tsingtao and other places leased to foreign Governments. The Railway Company which claims this place is a private Company and supposedly under Chinese sovereignty.
Being accredited only to the Chinese Government, and not having been officially informed that China had extended any administrative rights to this private Company, if I recognized in it the rights of administration as against those of China, that Govern- ment would have just cause for complaint at my actions. The Russian Government has here a Consular Representative whom I consider as the regular and competent officer for the treatment of all political questions. To divide his functions with a private Railway Company appeared to me wholly irregular and unwarranted, at least until I was officially informed of its true status, and that it was competent to perform the functions that it claims, and could be held responsible for its administrative conduct.
At any
5
rate, as the situation now stood, and until I received other instructions, in my opinion, I could only consider that China had opened Harbin, and that my Consulate was in here on an equality with the other Consulates. This, however, depended upon the instructions that I should receive from my Government.
I then asked Mr. Kawakami if he could inform me upon what grounds he had recognized the Railway Company's administration in Harbin. His auswer was a bit incoherent, or, perhaps, I failed to grasp the meaning of his reply or the idea that he intended to convey.
He referred to Article 6 of the original Agreement between China and the Russo-Chinese Bank for the construction of the railway, and also said that I would, of course, understand that their interests required such action. He added that, in his opinion, the reciprocal recognition by the Japanese and the Russian Governments of the other's Railway Administration brought no advantage to Japan, as there were practically no Russians or Russian interests in the South, while there were a large number of Japanese with considerable interests in the North which would probably increase.
Since the opening of his Consulate-General in March of last year, Mr. Kawakami's actions regarding the political situation here have been erratic. At the time of his arrival here he took a stand against the Railway Company's administration of the town. After making a short trip to Japan in June he became passive until the end of October, when he again showed a rebellious spirit against the Railway Company, and at that time suggested to me that we work together to compel the Railway Company to relinquish its claim to the Administration. I outlined to him my views much as I have expressed them above, and told him I should be pleased to work with him along those lines. I heard nothing further of any energetic action being taken by him against the Railway's scheme of administration; but about the end of the year he threw himself socially and officially into the arms of the railway officials, and he has since been an intimate associate of General Groubchefsky, the Chief of the Company's civil affairs, the most devoted worker for its cause.
In an interview yesterday with the Acting Taotai of Harbin he expressed acute disappointment that the Japanese bad failed to support him in his protest against the bringing in of the Railway's scheme for the administration of Harbin. He told me that Mr. Kawakami had pledged him his support in case the protest was made; to his great surprise, he had received official notification from Mr. Kawakami that the Railway's administration would be recognized by him, and that he had notified his nationals accordingly. He added that, had China done such an act, serious results would no doubt have followed.
I have been privately informed that Mr. Kawakami, before interviewing me on the 10th instant, called upon the other Consular Representatives in Harbin to obtain their opinion as to the Railway's administration, i.e., the French Consular Agent, the Belgian Vice- Consul (honorary), and a Spanish Commercial Attaché, who is here to study the situation and open a Consulate if warranted. I am assured that their personal opinions were all unfavourable to the Railway's scheme.
It is clear that the Japanese Government is doing everything it can to instal the Railway's administration here. At first the assistance it gave was of a semi-private and secret nature, which has now developed into open support of the Railway's policy. This is, without doubt, the manifestation of a complete understanding between the Russian and the Japanese Governments as to their respective intentions regarding the " door" policy in Manchuria.
open
In my opinion the time has arrived when, if the " open door" policy in Manchuria is to be anything more than idle fiction, it must receive earnest support from the nations that wish the term interpreted in its true meaning. Russia's intentions in the North, it appears to me, cannot be mistaken. General Gronbehefsky, the Chief of the civil affairs of the Railway, has informed the local Chinese authorities that Chinese police must not enter the Railway's territory. The Russian Consul-General, in a recent interview with the Harbin Taotai, stated that Harbin must be considered as a purely Russian town. In this high-handed conduct Russia, of course, is bluffing. It only lies with the Powers that oppose Russia's course to meet the situation squarely by taking a firm stand in China's behalf until she can instal her rightful administration. opinion, there could be no serious menace in such a stand taken by the other Powers. When Russia realizes that earnestness is meant, she will come down. She knows too well the dangers that lurk in the revolutionary spirit that permeates her whole political structure from one end to the other, even to her army and navy, and which is waiting for an opportunity to burst forth. With her Near Eastern difficulties, provincial strifes, and financial and other domestic problems, she cannot now afford to take another
In my
801
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