NUMBER 1898/5.

RUSSIA AND CHINA.

Convention for the lease of the Liaotung Peninsula.*—March 27, 1898.

His Majesty the Emperor and Autocrat of all the Russias, and His Majesty the Emperor of China, being desirous of still further strengthening the friendly relations existing between the two Empires and mutually wishing to insure the means whereby to show reciprocal support, have appointed as their Plenipotentiaries, for the purpose of arriving at an agreement on this matter:

His Majesty the Emperor of Russia-M. Alexander Pavlow, Gentleman of the Court, and His Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires accredited to the Government of H. M. the Emperor of China;

His Majesty the Emperor of China-Count Li, Chancellor, Member of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Senior Preceptor of the Heir to the Throne, and Chang, Assistant Minister of Finance, and Member of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with Ministerial rank.

The above-named Plenipotentiaries, furnished with due powers, have decided upon the following stipulations:

Art. I.-For the purpose of ensuring that the Russian naval forces shall possess an entirely secure base on the littoral of northern China, H. M. the Emperor of China agrees to place at the disposal of the Russian Government, on lease, the Ports Arthur (Liou-choun-kow) and Ta-lien-wan, together with the water areas contiguous to these ports. This act of lease, however, in no way violates the sovereign rights of H. M. the Emperor of China to the above-mentioned territory.

Art. II. The frontier of the territory leased on the above-specified basis, will extend northwards from the Bay of Ta-lien-wan for such distance as is necessary to secure the proper defence of this area on the land side. The precise line of demarcation and other details respecting the stipulations of the present Convention will be determined by a separate Protocol which shall be concluded at St. Petersburg with the dignitary Siou-tzin-ch'eng immediately after the signature of the present Convention. Upon the determination of this line of demarcation, the Russian Government will enter into complete and exclusive enjoyment of the whole area of the leased territory together with the water areas. contiguous to it.

Art. III. The term of the lease shall be twenty-five years from the date of the signature of the present agreement and may be prolonged subsequently by mutual consent of both Governments.†

Translation from the Russian text as printed in Recueil, p. 331. Printed also in Russian and Chinese texts in Customs, Vol. II, pp. 219, 223; and, in a translation from unofficial versions, in Rockhill, p. 50; Hertslet, p. 505; Am. Int. Law Journal, Supplement, 1910, p. 289; F. E. Review, vol. 11, p. 395. See Note to this document, post, p. 121.

† See, however, the Exchange of Notes between China and Japan concerning the extension of this term, May 25, 1915 (No. 1915/8, post).

Art. IV. During the above-specified period, on the territory leased by the Russian Government and its adjacent water area, the entire military command of the land and naval forces and equally the supreme civil administration will be entirely given over to the Russian authorities and will be concentrated in the hands of one person who however shall not have the title of Governor or Governor-General. No Chinese military land forces whatsoever will be allowed on the territory specified. Chinese inhabitants retain the right, as they may desire, either to remove beyond the limits of the territory leased by Russia or to remain within such limits without restriction on the part of the Russian authorities. In the event of a Chinese subject committing any crime within the limits of the leased territory, the offender will be handed over to the nearest Chinese authorities for trial and punishment in accordance with Chinese laws, as laid down in Article VIII of the Treaty of Peking of 1860.

Art. V.-A neutral zone shall be established north of the above-specified frontier of the leased territory. The frontiers of this zone will be fixed by the dignitary Siou-tzin-ch'eng and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in St. Petersburg. Within this specified neutral zone the civil administration will be entirely in the hands of the Chinese authorities; Chinese troops will be admitted within this zone only with the consent of the Russian authorities.

Art. VI. Both the Governments agree that Port Arthur, as an exclusively military (naval) port, shall be used solely by Russian and Chinese vessels and shall be considered as a closed port to war-ships and merchant vessels of other States. As regards Ta-lien-wan, this port, with the exception of one of the inner bays which, like Port Arthur, shall be set apart exclusively for the use of the Russian and Chinese fleets, shall be considered open to foreign commerce and free entry to it will be granted to the merchant vessels of all nations.

Art. VII.-The Russian Government takes upon itself at its own expense and with its own resources to erect all buildings necessary for its fleet and land forces on the area leased to it and especially in the ports Arthur and Ta-lien-wan, to erect fortifications, maintain garrisons in them and generally to take all necessary steps for the proper defence of the specified locality from hostile attack. Similarly the Russian Government binds itself at its own expense to erect and maintain light-houses and other precautionary signs requisite for the security of navigation.

Art. VIII.-The Chinese Government agrees that the concessions granted by it in 1896 to the Chinese Eastern Railway Company, from the date of the signature of the present agreement shall be extended to the connecting branch which is to be built from one of the stations of the main line to Ta-lien-wan, and also, if deemed necessary, from the same main line to another more convenient point on the littoral of the Liaotung Peninsula between the town of In-tzü and the estuary of the River Yalu. All the stipulations of the contract concluded by the Chinese Government with the Russo-Chinese Bank on August 27 (September 8), 1896, shall apply scrupulously to these supplementary branches. The direction and points through which the above-mentioned lines shall pass will be determined upon by the dignitary Siou-tzin-ch'eng and the administration of the Chinese Eastern Railway. Consent to the construction of the railway on the

basis indicated shall never under any form serve as a pretext for the seizure of Chinese territory or for an encroachment on the sovereign rights of China.

Art. IX. The present Convention shall come into force from the date of exchange of copies thereof by the Plenipotentiaries of the two States.

The exchange of ratifications will take place in St. Petersburg with the least possible delay.

In virtue of which the respective Plenipotentiaries of the two parties have signed and affixed their seals to two copies of the present Convention in the Russian and Chinese languages. Of the two texts which, upon comparison, have been found to be in agreement, the Russian text shall be that used for the interpretation of the Convention.

Done in duplicate at Peking, this 15th day of March (March 27), 1898, and by the Chinese calendar the 6th day of the 3rd moon of the 24th year of the reign of Kuang-Hsü.

(Seal)
(Seal)

(Signed)
(Signed)

(Seal of the Tsung-li-yamen)

A. PAVLOW
LI-CHANG

Note.

In connection with this convention see the Additional Convention defining the boundaries of the leased and neutralized territory in the Liaotung Peninsula, May 7, 1898 (No. 1898/9, post); see also the Convention for the Retrocession of the Fêngtien (Liaotung) Peninsula by Japan to China, November 8, 1895 (No. 1895/10, ante); Treaty of peace between Russia and Japan, September 5, 1905 (No. 1905/8, post); Treaty and additional agreement between Japan and China concerning Manchuria, December 22, 1905 (No. 1905/18, post); and the Exchange of notes between Japan and China, in regard to the extension of the term of lease, accompanying the treaty of May 25, 1915, concerning Manchuria (No. 1915/8, post).

Rockhill, p. 370, prints the following translation of an imperial order of July 30/ August 11, 1899, for the building of Dalny and creating it a free port:

Russian Imperial Order regarding Establishment of Dalny as a Free Port.-
August 11, 1899.

"TO THE MINISTER OF FINANCE.-Our Empire, comprising as it does immense territories in Europe and Asia, is called upon by Divine Providence to contribute to the pacific intercourse of the peoples of the East and the West. For the attainment of this historic object we have received the friendly assistance of the Chinese Empire, which has ceded to us the use of the Harbour of Talienwan and Port Arthur, with the adjacent territory, and has furnished for the Great Siberian Railway an outlet through its possessions to the Yellow Sea. Thanks to this wise decision of the Government of His Majesty the Emperor of China, the extreme limits of two continents of the Old World will very shortly be connected by an uninterrupted line of rails, which will secure for all nations the incalculable advantages of easy communication, and bring new regions within the operations of the commerce of the world.

"In our increasing solicitude for a scheme of such general utility as this, we have directed our attention to the first-rate importance which, when once the line is constructed, its terminus, the port of Talienwan, will acquire. Having declared after its occupation that this port was open to the commercial fleets of all nations, we deem it advisable now to proceed to the construction near this port of a town, to which we give the name of 'Dalny.' "At the same time, with a view to the commercial development of the future town, we grant to the same for the entire period for which its territory is handed over to Russia by China, under the arrangement of the 15th (27th) March, 1898, the right of free trade granted to free ports on the following conditions:

"1. The importation and exportation of goods of every kind are allowed free of

customs dues in the town, port, and adjacent territory, within the limits determined by and liable to modification by the Minister of Finance.

"2. The right of free trade thus granted does not affect transport, anchorage, and other dues of various kinds, levied at ports.

3. The Quarantine Regulations, issued with a view to preventing the introduction of infectious diseases, must be strictly observed by all ships entering the port.

4. Goods imported into Russia which come from the territory enjoying the right of free trade will be examined, will pay import duty, and will enter the Empire under the general conditions in force for the importation of foreign goods.

'Invoking the blessing of the Lord upon this truly pacific work of the future, we intrust to your care the superintendence of the construction of the town and port.

NICHOLAS."

The following is a translation of an imperial order of July 30/August 12, 1903, creating the Imperial Lieutenancy of the Far East:

Russian Imperial Order regarding Imperial Lieutenancy of the Far East.-
August 12, 1903.

"The complicated problems of administration in the provinces bordering the eastern frontier of the Empire induce us to be solicitous for the institution of the authority over those provinces.

"In order to assure the pacific satisfaction of the urgent local requirements by the exercise of that authority and recognizing the necessity of forming a Special Lieutenancy to include all the Provinces now under the rule of the Governor General of Pri-Amur and the Kuantung Province it is decreed as follows:

"1. The Imperial Lieutenant of the Far East is invested with the supreme (or high) power in respect of civil administration over those provinces and is independent of different ministries. He is also given the supreme authority regarding the maintenance of order and security in the localities appropriated for the benefit of the Chinese Eastern Railway. Due care and protection in regard to the interests and wants of Russian subjects in the neighboring territories outside of the border of the Imperial Lieutenancy are also confided to him.

"2. Until the law of administration of the Imperial Lieutenancy of the Far East shall have been promulgated, the authority, rights and obligations of the Imperial Lieutenant in relation to both central and local authorities shall be defined in accordance with the principle of the Imperial Decree of January 30, 1845, which was promulgated at the time of the establishment of the Lieutenancy of the Caucasus. All administrative offices and all officials under the Imperial Lieutenant are not allowed to communicate with different ministries and departments concerned except through the Imperial Lieutenant.

"3. All diplomatic relations with neighboring powers in regard to affairs arising in those provinces of the Far East shall be concentrated in the hands of the Imperial Lieutenant.

4. The command of the naval forces in the Pacific and of all military forces stationed in the territories assigned to him is given to the Imperial Lieutenant.

"5. In order that the action of the chief authority of the Far East shall conform with the general policy of the Empire and the activities of the Ministers a special committee under Our Presidency shall be instituted. Those who assembled and participate in the committee have Our confidence

"6. General Adjutant Alexieff who is appointed as the Imperial Lieutenant of the Far East is charged with the development of this Imperial Decree and the drafting of the law of administration of those provinces of the Far East together with its enforcement regulations. The Senate will not fail to take due measures when the project shall have been submitted to Us for Our Sanction.

"Given at Peterhof under Our own signature, July 30/August 12, 1903.

NICHOLAS."

NUMBER 1898/6.

FRANCE AND CHINA.

Declaration concerning the non-alienation of Chinese territory bordering on Tongking.*-April 10, 1898.

THE CHARGÉ D'Affaires OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC TO THE TSUNG-LI YAMÊN.

PEKING, 4th April, 1898.

With the purpose of assuring the relations of neighbourliness and friendship between China and France; with the purpose, equally, of seeing the territorial integrity of the Chinese Empire maintained and, further, because of the necessity of taking care that no change be introduced in the existing situation as regards the provinces bordering on Tongking (par suite de la necessité de veiller à ce que dans les provinces limitrophes du Tonkin, il ne soit apporté aucune modification a l'état de fait et de droit existant), the Government of the Republic would attach particular value to receiving from the Chinese Government an assurance that it will not cede to any other Power all or a part of the territory of those provinces, either definitely or temporarily, or on lease, or by any title whatsoever.

I shall be obliged if your Highnesses and your Excellencies will, in acknowledging this letter, be good enough to respond by an official despatch to the desire of the Government of the Republic.

(Signed)

DUBAIL.

THE TSUNG-LI YAMEN TO M. DUBAIL, CHARGÉ D'AFFAIRES OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC, PEKING.

PEKING, 10th April, 1898.

On the 4th April, 1898, we received from your Excellency the following despatch:

[Letter quoted as above.]

Our Yamên considers that the Chinese provinces bordering on Tongking, being important frontier points which interest her in the highest degree, must always be administered by China and remain under her sovereignty. There is no reason that they should be ceded or leased to any Power.

As the French Government attaches a particular value to receiving this

* Translations, as given in Rockhill, p. 178, from the French versions as printed in Doc. Dipl., Chine, 1894-98, p. 49. Printed also, in French versions, in Hertslet, p. 1153; Recueil, p. 340.

In connection with this declaration see also the similar Declaration concerning Hai-nan, March 15, 1897 (No. 1897/2, ante), and other declarations there cited in the footnote.