4
Ordinance No. 90.-Makes it possible for the Governor-General of Corea to delegate to the South Manchuria Railway Company the construction, improvement, upkeep and transport, and incidental business of the railways under his control.
These ordinances all take effect from the day of promulgation.
Enclosure 2 in No. 1.
Oficial Statement.
ON the 30th July
an official statement of the reasons which led the Government to reform the system of colonial administration was issued to the press. A summary of this statement, translated from the version appearing in the "Asahi" of 31st July, is given below.
I.
Although the institutions and administration of the Japanese Government and people in Manchuria have made progress year by year since the Russo-Japanese war, it is deeply to be regretted that this progress has yet been slow of late and complete success has not been obtained. The causes may be manifold, but the chief of them is to be found in the evils of the so-called tripartite administration.
The Evils of Tripartite Administration.
Now, in South Manchuria the Kwantung Government-General was established for the purpose of administering the leased territory of Kwantung Province and of directing the protection and management of the districts bordering on and attached to the South Manchuria Railway; the South Manchuria Railway Company (Limited) was founded to conduct the work of railway transport and also to carry on the administra- tion of the districts attached to the railway, and the consular officers were stationed at Mukden and other places of importance and charged with the protection of Japanese subjects. These three institutions strove to execute their functions side by side, as the result whereof discord and obstruction were occasioned, and it was impossible to bring the plans of the Government and people into agreement. Therefore it is a fundamental measure for the development of Manchuria and, moreover, a pressing duty of the moment to bring about the combination and unification of these three organs. Especially if we wish to secure the practical results of the new Sino-Japanese Convention of May 1915 relating to Manchuria and South Mongolia and to extend the rights of Japan, it is essential first to bring the three organs to work in agreement and to approach the undertaking in harmony and mutual assistance. The Government have accordingly on this occasion amended the organisation of the Kwantung Government- General and have placed the Governor-General in control of the business of the Manchurian railways. Hitherto also, of course, the Governor-General of Kwantung has had officially authority to supervise the business of the Manchurian railways, but this right of supervision was nominal only, and consequently the Governor-General has been placed in control of all the business of the Manchurian railways, and it has been arranged that a chief director shall carry on that business under the orders of the Governor-General.
Special Appointment of Consuls.
In order to bring the consular officers into touch with the aforementioned two orgaus and to cause them to work in co-operation, the Government have issued comprehensive instructions and determined that no miscalculation shall occur in the co-ordinated action of these various organs. Moreover, by opening a channel for the special appointment as consuls and vice-consuls of persons familiar with local conditions they have striven to secure success in practice.
Reform of the Police System.
Furthermore, in order to improve the police system in South Manchuria, the ordinary police and the gendarmerie have been united. Not only is this also in agreement with the idea of co-ordination of the administrative organisation previously
5
referred to, but at any rate persons familiar with the conditions in these regions will generally agree that the special circumstances of Manchuria require still more the co-operation of both bodies of police. Although some people say that the police system has been changed and the gendarmerie system adopted, this is a misunderstanding of persons unscquainted with the true condition. In a word, the reform of the organisation of the Kwantung Government-General is nothing else but the determination to place the development of Manchuria in conjunction with other institutions, and to secure the practical results of the new Sino-Japanese Convention.
Arrangement of Financial Organs.
At the same time, the Government have organised the formation of organs for the circulation of money essential to the development of Manchuria, thereby solving a question that has been outstanding for years. That is to say, the Government have extended the business objects of the Oriental Colonisation Company; they have caused the company to establish a branch in Mukden and make it the central pivot chiefly for the circulation of money in real estate in Manchuria. In conjunction with this, the Government have caused the Bank of Chosen to open branches and agencies at important places in Manchuria, and especially to station a director permanently at Dairen, whose duties will be solely the financing of business. The Government are resolved to zealously assist the promotion of industries and to advance the economic interests of both China and Japan, leading to the realisation of mutual friendship.
IL-Unification of the Corean and Manchurian Railways,
The Corean railways and the South Manchuria Railway are an important trunk line of a great continental railway which passes through Corea, intersects Manchuria, and then connects with the Russian railways. The Corean railways are not a local organ of communication which ought to stop at the Yalu, nor is the Antung-Mukden line an independent organ of communication which should go no farther than Antung. By making the through traffic between these two systems closely connected will it be possible for the first time to manifest the natural possibilities of the Manchurian and Corean organs of communication. Recently the traffic in passengers and goods between Maneburia and Corea has largely increased, and the disadvantages and inconveniences attending separate management of the two systems have been very clearly felt. Therefore, with the objects of avoiding useless expenditure, effecting economy, arranging smooth working, and unifying the form of the rolling stock, the Gov. rnment have now delegated the management of the Corean National Railways to the Manchuria Railway Company and caused them to carry on all the business of the Corean railways. The South Manchuria Railway will, in the first place, ensure the smooth connection of the organs of commurication, but the Government will of course see that they exert their best endeavours for the development of local industries in Corea. Therefore it may be said that the unification of the Corean and Manchurian railways will be also an organ for the development of industries in those two countries.
III.-Establishment of a Colonial Bureau.
At present the administration of Corea, Formosa, and Karafuto (Sagbalien) is under the control of the Ministry of the Interior, while Kwantung Province is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and in each Ministry the superintendence is conducted by a section. It goes without saying that it is quite impossible for the guidance and supervision of colonial administration to be thorough. Accordingly, the Government have now established a Colonial Bureau and remedied the shortcomings of the present defective supervision and wiministration of the colonies, and, by placing it at the same time in control of various matters relating to the development of Manchuria, have taken measures appropriate to the occasion.
155
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.