[B]
This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.
C.0.
1188
AFFAIRS OF CHINA.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[44352]
No. 1.
11 JAN 09
[December 21.]
SECTION 2.
Count de Salis to Sir Edward Grey,-(Received December 21.)
(No. 537.) Sir,
Berlin, December 14, 1908. I HAVE the honour to transmit to you herewith translation of an article which has appeared in the "Süddeutsche Reichskorrespondenz" regarding the interpretation of the Anglo-German Agreement of October 1900 respecting the integrity of China.
As this paper is considered to be the usual organ of the Chancellor in South Germany, and as the assertion made in it that Manchuria was excluded from the scope of the Agreement on account of the British Government is, as far as I am aware, in direct contradiction with the facts of the case, as recorded in the confidential corre- spondence respecting the Affairs of China (March, 1901), I venture to draw your attention to the paragraph.
Inclosure in No. 1.
I have, &e (Signed) J. DE SALIS.
Extract from the "Süddeutsche Reichskorrespondenz" of December 12, 1908.
(Translation.)
THE "Vorwärts" reports the following from London :-
"On October 16, 1900, England and Germany concluded a Treaty guaranteeing the independence and the territorial status quo of China. This Treaty was made known to the other Powers, who were invited to adhere to it. Japan accepted this invitation. But who construed this Treaty to the effect that the territorial status quo of China was not guaranteed? no other Government than the German, and indeed by Prince Bülow himself. It was this construction which shook England's trust in Germany's fidelity to her Treaties, and which caused England to look out for another ally, and this ally was Japan, who, unlike Germany, included Manchuria in the territory of the Chinese Empire."
The correspondent of the "Vorwärts" appears to have made a mistake which has often enough been refuted. In the discussions which preceded the Anglo-German exchange of notes, the agreement of the two parties was established that the new Treaty should refer to the Chinese Empire in the narrower sense, and not to the Manchurian provinces. It has also been for a long time well known by which party the exclusion of Manchuria was mooted in these discussions, viz., by the English. In fact, Lord Salisbury had at that time the idea of including in the Anglo-German Treaty a geographical boundary line in a north-westerly direction, fixing the limit to which the Treaty should apply, and this line would have fallen rather to the west of Port Arthur. At that time it was particularly in the English press that attention was called to the fact. This indication is sufficient to refute the old story that the alleged intention of England to guarantee Manchuria as an integral part of the Chinese Empire was rendered impracticable by the position taken up by Germany.
Berlin, December 11, 1908.
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