ment troops stores or munitions of war over private merchandise in conveyance over the line. Rates to be charged in such cases shall be one-half of the ordinary rates and in such matters the railway will carry out any special instructions given by the Director-General. Articles tending to the injury of the Chinese Government are not to be carried on the line. In case of famine stores for relief will be carried at half rates. Special arrangements will be made in consultation with the Representative of the Director-General for conveyance of local authorities or members of the Imperial Government travelling on important business over the line. Free passes over the railway shall be countersigned by the Representative of the DirectorGeneral. 4. From the net earnings of the line after paying all working expenses the Pekin Syndicate shall retain such sums as are necessary to meet the service of the loan at least three months in advance of the next half-yearly payment. This procedure will be followed until the whole loan is finally redeemed. The sums retained will be paid over monthly to the Pekin Syndicate or to the bank appointed for that purpose by the Syndicate. The latter will convert the sums so received into gold at the best rate obtainable in order to be used for the service of the loan. Information as to this will be given from time to time to the Director-General. When by means of monies thus paid over the service of the loan is assured the Syndicate will set apart 10 per cent. of the surplus which will be devoted to building up a reserve fund in order to meet the cost of ordinary or extraordinary repairs with a view to assure the working of the line. The surplus of net earnings still remaining will be paid over to the Imperial Chinese Railway Administration. When the loan is all repaid in accordance with the next following article the Syndicate or its representative will hand over to the Representative of the Director-General all the line fixtures rolling-stock and appurtenances, the whole in good working condition. 5. The duration of the present contract is fixed at thirty years from date of signature. If however on the expiry of that date the loan is not fully paid off the term of the contract will be necessarily extended and so it will continue until the whole loan is finally redeemed. But if the loan is finally redeemed before the due date the present working contract shall become null and void from the date of such redemption. 6. The Pekin Syndicate during the term of this contract for the working of the line, shall be entitled to receive from the Imperial Chinese Railway Administration on making up the yearly accounts 20 per cent. of the surplus profits of each year. By surplus profits is meant what is left over after providing for payment of interest and redemption of capital. 7. In case of dispute the matter is to be settled as provided in Article 20 of the principal contract. 8. If the earnings are insufficient to meet working expenses the Imperial Chinese Railway Administration will provide funds so as to enable the regular working to be kept up. The funds thus supplied will be considered as a tempo rary advance merely and to be paid as soon as the income exceeds the expenditure. 9. All materials and supplies which the Syndicate may require for the working maintenance and repair of the line, shall if imported from abroad be exempt from Customs duty and likin. 10. The present contract is drawn up in two copies one for the Imperial Chinese Railway Administration and the other for the Syndicate. In case of doubt or difference in interpretation of the contract the English version shall be deemed the standard. This Contract shall be submitted to the Throne for ratification by the proper authorities and when the Imperial sanction has been obtained, it will be communicated by the Wai Wu Pu in an official despatch to the British Minister. Signed and sealed at Peking the 3rd July 1905. (Signed) G. JAMIESON, Note 1. In this connection, see the following exchange of letters as printed in Wang, p. 355. Exchange of Letters regarding Supplementary Taokow-Chinghua Railway Loan. July 2, 1905. "With reference to our discussion which we held here at the above address on the 20th and 29th June 1905 concerning the supplementary loan as stipulated in the 2nd Article of the Loan Agreement of the Taokow-Chinghua Railway which reads, 'If after the line is taken over the earnings of the line are insufficient to meet the payment for interest and refund of capital at due date a further loan may be obtained from the Syndicate,' I have now received instructions from the Wai Wu Pu to the effect that in the event of insufficiency, the loan further obtained from the Syndicate must not exceed £100,000, the Bonds for such loan will be deposited with the Imperial Chinese Railway Administration; when any portion of this loan is required, the Pekin Syndicate on a month's notice, will be prepared to take the bonds issued for such portion and furnish the money required which the Imperial Chinese Railway Administration will hand to the Imperial Bank of China for deposit before it is used; in case, however, that money is not required in time to come, the Railway Administration will be at liberty to diminish the amount of this supplementary loan. I hope, therefore, that you will send me a reply to the above effect so that it may be annexed to the Agreement. I remain, Dear Sir, Yours faithfully, Director-General of Railways, &c. "Your Excellency, "Peking, July 2nd, 1905. "I beg to acknowledge receipt of Your Excellency's letter of 1st July stating that you had received instructions from the Wai Wu Pu that the further loan mentioned in Article 2 of Loan Agreement should not exceed £100,000 the bonds to be deposited with the Railway Administration and the Syndicate to be prepared to take the bonds and furnish money as required on a month's notice, &c. "I beg to state in reply that I accept these terms, it being understood that the money is exclusively for the use of the Taokow-Chinghua Railway and the bonds will be taken at 90 per cent of face value. "I have the honour to be, Most obedient humble servant, (Signed) G. JAMIESON, Director and Agent General." Note 2. In Wang, p. 359, is printed the following letter in regard to this provision: "His Excellency Sheng Kung Pao, "Director General of Railways. "Your Excellency, "In reference to the stipulation in Art. 2 of Working Agreement that in agreements with employees of the Railway it is to be stated that they are liable to dismissal if they do not perform their work satisfactorily or are guilty of misconduct, &c., I beg to say that this will be done in drawing up future agreements. As regards the present staff they will be informed by circular that this provision exists, but their agreements being already signed cannot be altered. These agreements however are only for short periods of 2 or 3 years. "I have the honour to be, "Your Excellency's, Most obedient humble servant, G. JAMIESON, "Director and Agent General." NUMBER 1905/6. GREAT BRITAIN AND JAPAN. Agreement respecting the integrity of China, the general peace of Eastern Asia and India, and the territorial rights and special interests of the parties in those regions.*-—August 12, 1905. PREAMBLE. The Governments of Great Britain and Japan, being desirous of replacing the Agreement concluded between them on the 30th January, 1902,† by fresh *Text as printed in British Parliamentary Paper, Japan, 1905, No. 2. Printed also in British Treaty Series, 1905, No. 25; Traités et Conventions, p. 464; Hertslet, p. 606; Recueil, p. 736; Am. Int. Law Journal, Supplement, vol. 1, p. 15; For. Rel., 1905, p. 488. See Note to this document, post, p. 518. † No. 1902/2, ante. stipulations, have agreed upon the following Articles, which have for their object : (a) The consolidation and maintenance of the general peace in the regions of Eastern Asia and of India; (b) The preservation of the common interests of all Powers in China by insuring the independence and integrity of the Chinese Empire and the principle of equal opportunities for the commerce and industry of all nations in China; (c) The maintenance of the territorial rights of the High Contracting Parties in the regions of Eastern Asia and of India, and the defence of their special interests in the said regions: ARTICLE I.-It is agreed that whenever, in the opinion of either Great Britain or Japan, any of the rights and interests referred to in the preamble of this Agreement are in jeopardy, the two Governments will communicate with one another fully and frankly, and will consider in common the measures which should be taken to safeguard those menaced rights or interests. ARTICLE II.-If by reason of unprovoked attack or aggressive action, wherever arising, on the part of any other Power or Powers either Contracting Party should be involved in war in defence of its territorial rights or special interests mentioned in the preamble of this Agreement, the other Contracting Party will at once come to the assistance of its ally, and will conduct the war in common, and make peace in mutual agreement with it. ARTICLE III.—Japan possessing paramount political, military, and economic interests in Corea, Great Britain recognizes the right of Japan to take such measures of guidance, control, and protection in Corea as she may deem proper and necessary to safeguard and advance those interests, provided always that such measures are not contrary to the principle of equal opportunities for the commerce and industry of all nations. ARTICLE IV. Great Britain having a special interest in all that concerns the security of the Indian frontier, Japan recognizes her right to take such measures in the proximity of that frontier as she may find necessary for safeguarding her Indian possessions. ARTICLE V.-The High Contracting Parties agree that neither of them will, without consulting the other, enter into separate arrangements with another Power to the prejudice of the objects described in the preamble of this Agreement. ARTICLE VI.-As regards the present war between Japan and Russia, Great Britain will continue to maintain strict neutrality unless some other Power or Powers should join in hostilities against Japan, in which case Great Britain will come to the assistance of Japan, and will conduct the war in common, and make peace in mutual agreement with Japan. ARTICLE VII.-The conditions under which armed assistance shall be afforded by either Power to the other in the circumstances mentioned in the present Agreement, and the means by which such assistance is to be made available, will be arranged by the Naval and Military authorities of the Contracting Parties, who will from time to time consult one another fully and freely upon all questions of mutual interest. ARTICLE VIII.-The present Agreement shall, subject to the provisions of Article VI., come into effect immediately after the date of its signature, and remain in force for ten years from that date. In case neither of the High Contracting Parties should have notified twelve months before the expiration of the said ten years the intention of terminating it, it shall remain binding until the expiration of one year from the day on which either of the High Contracting Parties shall have denounced it. But if, when the date fixed for its expiration arrives, either ally is actually engaged in war, the alliance shall, ipso facto, continue until peace is concluded. In faith whereof the Undersigned, duly authorized by their respective Governments, have signed this Agreement and have affixed thereto their Seals. Done in duplicate at London, the 12th day of August, 1905. His Britannic Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of His Majesty Note. This agreement was replaced by that of July 13, 1911 (No. 1911/7, post). It was forwarded to the British Ambassador at St. Petersburg under cover of a dispatch dated September 6, 1905, reading as follows: "FOREIGN OFFICE, September 6, 1905. "Sir,-I enclose, for your Excellency's information, a copy of a new Agreement concluded between His Majesty's Government and that of Japan in substitution for that of the 30th January, 1902. You will take an early opportunity of communicating the new Agreement to the Russian Government. "It was signed on the 12th August, and you will explain that it would have been immediately made public but for the fact that negotiations had at that time already commenced between Russia and Japan, and that the publication of such a document whilst those negotiations were still in progress would obviously have been improper and inopportune. "The Russian Government will, I trust, recognize that the new Agreement is an international instrument to which no exception can be taken by any of the Powers interested in the affairs of the Far East. You should call special attention to the objects mentioned in the preamble as those by which the policy of the Contracting Parties is inspired. His Majesty's Government believe that they may count upon the good will and support of all the Powers in endeavouring to maintain peace in Eastern Asia, and in seeking to uphold the integrity and independence of the Chinese Empire and the principle of equal opportunities for the commerce and industry of all, nations in that country. "On the other hand, the special interests of the Contracting Parties are of a kind upon which they are fully entitled to insist, and the announcement that those interests must be safeguarded is one which can create no surprise, and need give rise to no misgivings. I call your especial attention to the wording of Article II., which lays down distinctly that it is only in the case of an unprovoked attack made on one of the Contracting Parties by another Power or Powers, and when that Party is defending its territorial rights and special interests from aggressive action, that the other Party is bound to come to its assistance. "Article III., dealing with the question of Corea, is deserving of especial attention. It recognizes in the clearest terms the paramount position which Japan at this moment occupies and must henceforth occupy in Corea, and her right to take any measures which she may find necessary for the protection of her political, military, and economic interests in that country. It is, however, expressly provided that such measures must not be contrary to the principle of equal opportunities for the commerce and industry of other nations. The new Treaty no doubt differs at this point conspicuously from that of 1902. It has, |