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would be able to deal much more easily with our demands in connexion with the other legal safeguards. It was equally obvious that our tactics involved just the opposite manoeuvre. Eventually, however, Dr. Wang concurred, with some reluctance, in our trying this new line, and it was agreed, on his suggestion, that as the next step our respective experts, Mr. Teichman and Mr. Hsu Mo, should meet and see how far they could work out from the British and Chinese proposals, which were at present poles apart, an agreed composite draft in regard to the legal safeguards without touching for the moment on the four main principles in dispute. It was to this tactical advantage gained at the outset that ascribe the comparatively smooth and successful course of the subsequent negotiations; that is to say that we were able to build on a gradually broadening basis of common ground in regard to the less contentious points from the bottom up, instead of dealing with the problem the other way round and being forced to give way at the outset on the major issues. There was, however, evident reluctance on the Chinese side to be maneuvred on to this new course and an interval of some days ensued before Mr. Hsü Mo invited Mr. Teichman to meet him and open detailed negotiations.
Negotiations opened by Japanese, French, Dutch and Norwegian Representatives. 9. In the meanwhile, a general drift had set in amongst the other interested Powers in following the lead of the British and American Governments. On the 12th March the Japanese Chargé d'Affaires presented the Japanese proposals, which were a mere outline of what Japan was prepared to do along the lines of progressive abolition; in general the Japanese plan was the same as that com- municated to His Majesty's Government by the Japanese Government a year ago and there was every indication that Japan proposed as usual to proceed very slowly and cautiously in the negotiations, if indeed any serious attempt was to be made to negotiate at all. The Chinese, on the other hand, continued to maintain the theory that Japan's extra-territorial rights had long lapsed with the Japanese treaty and that it only remained for them to conclude, as far as Japan was concerned, a commercial treaty settlement. About the same time, the French Minister put in his proposals, which were along the lines of the British and American plans of the previous autumn, omitting, however, evocation and some of the detail in connexion with the legal safeguards. Apart from Great Britain, the United States and France, and excluding Brazil, with whom no negotiations appeared to be contemplated, there remained of the Powers still with their extra- territorial rights theoretically unimpaired only Norway and Holland; and it now transpired that both the Norwegian and Netherlands representatives in China were seeking a settlement along the lines of the Belgian, Portuguese, Spanish, Danish and Italian precedents, that is to say, abandoning more
or less unconditionally their extra-territorial rights as soon as the other Powers had done
So.
Detailed Negotiations regarding Functions of Legal Counsellors and other
Safeguards.
There
16. The detailed negotiations regarding legal safeguards between Mr. Hsü Mo and Mr. Teichman opened on the 12th March, and at the same time I was able to put privately before the Minister for Foreign Affairs alternative proposals for strengthening the position and functions of the foreign legal counsellors to be attached to the special chambers hearing foreign cases. had been two points in our original proposals in regard to these legal counsellors to which the Chinese Government had taken the strongest exception, firstly, investing them with the powers of co-judges, carefully wrapped up though this had been in our draft, and, secondly, their selection from a panel furnished by The Hague Court. As regards the first point, I put forward, with the ready consent of my American colleague, the alternative proposals prepared by the State Department in their redraft (which had never been actually presented to the Chinese Government-see paragraph 3 above), providing that before judgments were given the legal counsellors should have the opportunity of presenting their observations, which would, if necessary, be referred to the Ministry of Justice. As regards the second point, I was able, taking advantage of a hint dropped by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, to make suggestions for safeguarding and strengthening the position of the legal counsellors by means of a declaration on
5
the part of the Chinese Government specifying the terms of service in regard to salaries, &c., on which they would be engaged and employed under definite
contracts.
Progress made and agreed Texts of March 14.
11. As has not infrequently happened before in our recent negotiations with the National Government, we now made comparatively rapid progress on certain points after weeks and months of procrastination and delay, and I took the fullest advantage of the opportunity to press forward as far as possible before coming to a stop. On the 14th March I was able to report to you by telegraph the progress made and to submit for your approval the texts of a number of articles which had been tentatively agreed upon between the Minister for Foreign Affairs and myself, without commitment or prejudice to the three remaining major questions of principle, namely, evocation, criminal jurisdiction and excluded
areas.
Meeting with Joint Committee at Shanghai on March 16.
12. Having reached this stage and submitted to you the results so far reached in the negotiations as well as my proposals for dealing with the outstanding points, I thought it well, while awaiting your instructions, to suspend the discussions for a few days. I therefore proceeded to Shanghai, where I took the opportunity on the 16th March of explaining to the Joint Committee of the British Chamber of Commerce and China Association the course of and the position reached in the negotiations.
American Negotiations to be transferred from Washington to Nanking.
13.
I returned to Nanking on the 23rd March and found that there had been during my absence favourable developments on the American side resulting, as it seemed, in the transfer of the State Department's negotiations to the hands of my United States colleague at Nanking. The Chinese Minister at Washington had been so informed on the 11th March in a memorandum, a copy of which was handed to the Minister for Foreign Affairs at Nanking by Mr. Johnson on the 19th March. On receiving this document, Dr. Wang, while intimating his readiness to discuss legal safeguards with the American Minister, repeated in the most emphatic terms the unalterable determination of the Chinese Government not to give way on the questions of criminal jurisdiction, foreign co-judges and excluded areas. Dr. Wang had also stated categorically to Mr. Johnson on this occasion that China had never accepted the principle of gradual abolition of extra-territoriality, even though she might, by entering into these negotiations, have tacitly implied as much.
State Department's Instructions to American Minister.
14. In giving me the above information my American colleague also com- municated to me the tenor of his instructions, which were to the general effect that the State Department were prepared to follow the same lines as those laid down for me by His Majesty's Government, including the offer at the right moment of criminal jurisdiction, and that within the margin of his instructions Mr. Johnson should proceed with his negotiations in close association, but not in alliance, with myself. These instructions were wisely interpreted by my American colleague as meaning that he should for the moment remain in the background, closely following the course of my negotiations, full information concerning which I communicated to him as developments occurred. My French colleague arrived in the capital a few days later, and the British, American, French and Japanese negotiations were thus now all, in theory, proceeding simultaneously at Nanking. In actual fact, however, my colleagues concerned were at this time for the most part content to leave the actual work in my hands while they awaited the outcome of my negotiations.
Negotiations resumed on March 25.
15. I resumed my discussions with the Minister for Foreign Affairs on the 25th March, your instructions having reached me a day or two before. I followed the same course as before, and, after I had communicated to Dr. Wang the
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