CO129-361 - Public Offices - 1909 — Page 480

This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]

AFFAIRS OF CHINA.

CONFIDENTIAL.

478

[May 15.]

SECTION 4.

[18291]

(No. 102.) Sir,

No. 1.

Sir C. MacDonald to Sir Edward Grey--(Received May 15.)

Tókið, April 19, 1909. ON the 18th March I received a copy of Sir John Jordan's despatch No. 77 to you, on the subject of the administration of the Railway Settlement at Harbin.

As this subject is closely bound up with the very important question of Japan's future policy in South Manchuria, I bave from time to time discussed it informally with members of the Japanese Foreign Office. Sir John Jordan's despatch above mentioned dealt with useful detail in the matter of this situation at Harbin, and also brought that situation up to date. I therefore took an early opportunity (20th March) of speaking to Count Komura regarding the matter. His Excellency, like the Japanese Consul at Harbin, in addressing Mr. Willis, was quite frank, and said that the Japanese Govern- ment were watching the situation at Harbin with great interest, for they meant to benefit by whatever concessions the Russians obtained at that place.

On the 15th April I received your telegram No. 14 of the 14th instant, requesting me, if I saw no objection, to call the attention of the Japanese Government to the untenable nature of the Russian pretensions, and to express a hope that the Japanese Representative at Peking might be instructed to support Sir John Jordan and the American Representative at Peking when negotiations commenced at that place.

At our interview, though I did not expect that I should be able to move Count Komura from the position he had already taken up, I thought it would be useful to mention the advisability of combating Russian pretensions, in the matter of making Harbin a Russian town, in order to ascertain any further views which his Excellency might hold regarding the general question.

In the course of the conversation which ensued, his Excellency admitted that the Russians could not properly claim jurisdiction over other nationals in their railway territory, and he did not know that they bad put forth such pretensions. The Japanese Government would most certainly not do so, neither would they tax leaseholders in their railway territory, except for strictly municipal purposes, upkeep of roads, police, &c. Upon my mentioning that an "international settlement" was generally considered a good solution of the vexed question, his Excellency remarked with some warmth: "Yes, that is the American idea, and at Harbin there are 14,000 Russians and one American, and he's the Consul." I said I thought his Excellency was misinformed as to this, for I understood that American interests were fairly largely represented; I had recently had heard also that the Sun Life Assurance of Canada, a very important British concern, established agencies in Harbin. Count Komura said that he thought international settlements were a mistake, and that concessions such as existed at Tien-tsin, Hankow, and other Treaty ports in China were much to be preferred, "One nation must take the lead," his Excellency said, "and in this case Russian interests vastly preponderate over those of other nations, and so it would only be fair that Russia should take the lead so long as she acted in accordance with Treaty.

I did not continue the conversation, but from my personal experience of the proceedings of international bodies in the Far East, such as the Diplomatic Corps of Peking and Tokio, the performances of international troops during the siege of the Legations, and other international affairs, I am of opinion that the fewer nations that have a share in any Far Eastern business the better for that business.

I have, &c. (Signed) CLAUDE M. MACDONALD,

[2265 p-4]

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