sideration which, as every one who has participated in the conduct of internal relations knows, is of great importance. At this Conference Japan was definitely upon the defensive and striving in every way possible to create a conviction that she was disposed to be just and reasonable in her dealings with China. The Conference itself had for its purpose the removal, by mutual concession upon the part of the Powers concerned, of existing causes of international controversy in the Far East, and thus created, as it were, a general atmosphere that was favorable to a settlement of disputes upon which the Powers were not already so definitely committed that no change of policy upon their part could be expected.

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In the second place, the holding of these Conversations was at the suggestion, and in pursuance of the good offices," of Secretary Hughes, the head of the American Delegation, and Mr. Arthur Balfour, the head of the British Empire Delegation, and representatives of these gentlemen were to be present at all the Conversations and were to have the right, at any time, to interpose with friendly suggestions. Finally, the results of the Conversations were to be reported to the Conference, and thus the whole procedure, though technically not in the Conference, was to be connected with and ancillary to that body.1

'It is worthy of note that there arose at one time during the Conversations a difference of view between the Chinese and Japanese representatives as to the manner in which, or the extent to which, the "good offices" of Secretary Hughes and Mr. Balfour might be availed of.

At the nineteenth meeting, held January 5, when it seemed that an impasse had been reached, the Chinese representatives suggested that the friendly offices of Secretary Hughes and Mr. Balfour should be resorted to. At the next meeting, held January 6, Baron Shidehara said that the instruc

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Scope of the Conversations. One further fact regarding the Conversations requires to be mentioned. This is, that, in entering upon them, the Chinese Government was not required to make any admissions or concessions regarding the legal or treaty rights of the Japanese Government or of its nationals in Shantung. Before the Conversations were begun it was definitely understood between the two Delegations that the discussions should be upon what was termed a purely de facto basis, that is, no arguments should be based upon legal as distinguished from equitable or factual premises. In other

tions from Tokyo were so explicit regarding the matter at issue that the Japanese Delegation was not in a position to solicit these good offices. Dr. Koo then said that it had been the understanding of the Chinese Delegates that the Conversations had been entered upon because of the offer of these good offices, which offer they regarded as continuing in character and therefore available at any time. That this was so he argued from the fact that representatives of both Secretary Hughes and Mr. Balfour were present at all the meetings, and that, at the opening meeting, both of these gentlemen had said that they would be ready at any time, should occasion arise, to extend their good offices, and that, for this offer, they had been thanked by the Japanese representatives. At the opening meeting Mr. Balfour had said that "he joined Mr. Hughes in saying that if, in the course of the Conversations, any circumstances should come to pass which called for friendly intervention on their part, it would be his great pleasure to offer his services. He was in that case entirely at the disposal of Mr. Hughes and the representatives of Japan and China." Mr. Hughes said that "he was in full accord with Mr. Balfour in offering services whenever needed."

To the suggestion upon the part of the Chinese representatives that the good offices should be resorted to, Baron Shidehara replied that his Delegation was not in a position to request them. Dr. Koo then asked that Mr. Hughes and Mr. Balfour be invited to attend the next meeting. To this Baron Shidehara said that his Delegation would not object to their presence, but they would not invite them to come, and that he did not see how they would be disposed to participate unless invited by both Delegations that without such invitation their participation would amount to intervention.

words, neither the Chinese nor the Japanese were to rely upon the terms of existing Sino-Japanese treaties or other agreements, nor were the Japanese to base any of their contentions upon the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles. For the purposes of the Conversations the situation was thus reduced to this: Japan was in possession and exercising certain powers or rights in Shantung, but was ready to surrender them, or most of them, to the Chinese upon certain conditions. Should these conditions be accepted by the Chinese the whole controversy was to be considered closed. The purpose and scope of the Conversations was therefore to determine whether or not the two parties could arrive at an agreement as to these conditions. It was further agreed that all of the matters involved in the Shantung controversy were to be deemed interdependent in the sense that unless agreements were reached as to them all there was to be no agreement whatever.

The foregoing explanations will show how far the Shantung Conversations were from being the same as, or equivalent to, the direct negotiations between the two Governments which Chinese Government had previously refused to enter upon, and in opposition to which Chinese public opinion had so loudly spoken.

The Status of the Shantung Question. The general features of the Shantung Question are so well known to the world that only the briefest statement of them will be here required. It will be necessary, however, to speak with somewhat more particularity regarding the status of the controversy after the Treaty of

Versailles and at the time the Conversations were initiated in Washington.

It will be remembered that, in 1914, Japan, in pursuance of what she affirmed to be her obligation under the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, sent a military expedition against the German leased area of Kiaochow at the Eastern end of Shantung Province; that, in the military operations thus carried on, Japan paid no attention to the rights of China as a neutral State, and not only occupied the leased area with the important city and port of Tsingtao, but took military possession of the entire length of the railway running from Tsingtao to the capital of the Province Tsinanfu, a distance of nearly three hundred miles, where it joined with the important railways running from the north, through Peking and Tientsin to Shanghai; that Japan also took possession of, and operated, certain mines formerly German owned; that Japan took possession of other mines that had not been so owned; that she erected radio stations, and stationed troops at various points in the Province; that, in one way or another, her nationals came into possession and claimed ownership of considerable amounts of real estate in the Province; that the operation of such public enterprises as the electric lighting, telephone, water and laundry services was carried on under Japanese authority; and finally, that Japan had gone so far as to assume and exercise, at various places, civil governmental rights such as could properly be claimed only by a territorial sover

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This Shantung Railway was owned and operated by a corporation chartered by the German Empire. A few of its shares were Chinese owned.

eign. In short, Japan had assumed and exercised powers within Shantung that were in considerable excess of those that had been claimed or exercised by Germany.'

In 1915 had come the Twenty-One demands by Japan upon China which resulted in the Agreements of May 25, 1915, among which was the treaty which provided:

ARTICLE 1. The Chinese Government agrees to give full assent to all matters upon which the Japanese Government may hereafter agree with the German Government relating to the disposition of all rights, interests and concessions which Germany, by virtue of treaties or otherwise, possesses in relation to the Province of Shantung.

ARTICLE 2. The Chinese Government agrees that as regards the railway to be built by China herself from Chefoo or Lungkow to connect with the Kiaochow-Tsinanfu railway, if Germany abandons the privilege of financing the Chefoo-Weihsien line, China will approach Japanese capitalists to negotiate for a loan.

ARTICLE 3. The Chinese Government agrees in the interest of trade and for the residence of foreigners, to open by China herself as soon as possible certain suitable places in the Province of Shantung as Commercial Ports.

In connection with this treaty the following further agreement was entered into by an Exchange of Notes:

When, after the termination of the present war, the leased territory of Kiaochow Bay is completely left to the free disposal of Japan, the Japanese Government will restore the said leased territory to China under the following conditions:

'This is irrespective of such other matters as the displacement of Chinese employees on the railway by Japanese nationals; the introduction of vast amounts of morphia into the country, the export, in violation of Chinese law, of many tons of copper “cash "; and the assertion of special rights with reference to the administration of the Chinese Maritime Customs service at Tsingtao.