CJRSJES
[B]
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[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.18
AFFAIRS OF CHINA.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[33421]
No. 1.
Rece
Pro 25 SEP 09
[September 6.]
SECTION 1.
592
(No. 292.) Sir,
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.-(Received September 6.)
Peking, August 19, 1909. IN Mr. Rumbold's despatch No. 169 of the 11th June last to you, the Japanese Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs is reported to have remarked that the Japanese Government viewed with unconcern the conclusion of the Sino-Russian agreement respecting the railway settlement at Harbin, and that they did not see on what grounds China would endeavour to secure the adhesion of Japan to the modified interpretation of the 1896 railway agreement.
The reasons given by Mr. Ishii for this conclusion would appear to call for some comment on my part, and I therefore have the honour to submit the following observations on the subject:-
Mr. Ishii's contention that the Japanese Government have not attempted to convert Mukden into a Japanese town in the same way as the Russians have practically made Harbin a Russian town, is correct in so far as the term "railway territory" has not been held to include so large an area of land at Mukden as at Harbin. But the question of the area of the railway territory is obviously distinct from that of its administration, and, in this last respect, it appears to me that the Sino-Russian agreement introduces principles which do not obtain in the Japanese settlements, and the recognition of which would materially modify the system of Government.
The first set of regulations for the administration of the settlements was issued by the governor of Kuantung in February 1907, and I had the honour to transmit a copy to you in my despatch No. 116 of the 5th March of that year. These regulations were superseded later in the year by new rules, the text of which was communicated to you in my despatch No. 97 of the 2nd March, 1908, and they are consequently of academic interest only, but it is worthy of note that they were so worded as to convey the impression to a casual reader that some sort of popular control over the adminis- tration was contemplated, whereas in the regulations at present in force the omnipotence of the railway administration is boldly proclaimed, and no pretence is made of admitting the settlers to a share in the government. Though these regulations were enclosed in extenso in my despatch No. 97 of the 2nd March, 1908, I think it will not be out of place to give you a brief résumé of their salient points. They begin by saying that the administration of the railway territory as regards public works, education, and sanitation, shall be in the hands of the railway company, whose regulations must be adhered to on pain of expulsion from the territory, with the assistance of the police if necessary. Equal treatment shall be meted out to all residents in the railway territory, but persons of whatever nationality are bound to observe the company's regulations. It is clear that the railway administration claim the right to enforce their decisions irrespective of the nationality of the persons concerned, and the extent of their powers in this respect is sufficiently shown by the provision that "officials have the right to enter houses or private offices and inspect books or other things whenever they think it necessary for purposes of taxation." In this last respect a system of taxation is contained in a schedule annexed to the regulations which provides for a house-tax and a tax levied on certain classes of the population, but the railway authorities are given the power to extend taxation to other categories of individuals. The supreme authority in each settlement is in the hands of a director, who is appointed by the president of the railway, and the only hint of any sort of popular control is a provision that, if necessary, councils may be established from among the residents of the settlements. These bodies, however, would be appointed by the company; would have no rights beyond that of answering such inquiries as the director might wish to present to them; and would be liable to be dismissed at the will of the president of the railway,
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