how the Japanese first tried to conceal the demands and forced the Chinese Government to an immediate acceptance in secrecy; how later, as the news of the demands leaked out, the Japanese denied their existence and presented to the world only eleven articles, omitting the most important, including Group V. As negotiations lagged, on April 26, 1915, Japan presented her revised demands in Twenty-four Articles. In the first group, relating to Shantung, there was practically no change except the demand of its non-alienation, which was changed to an exchange of notes.48 In the second group respecting South Manchuria and Eastern Inner Mongolia, the two regions, which had been treated alike in the original demands, were now differentiated. In South Manchuria, all the rights and concessions, as demanded originally, were still pressed, except the right of land ownership, which was omitted, and the right of inland travel and residence which was regulated by the existing and prevailing rules of extraterritorial jurisdiction in China. In other words, subject to certain limitations, all of South Manchuria was to be opened to the Japanese. In Eastern Inner Mongolia, whose status was originally placed on a par with South Manchuria, only an exclusive sphere of Japanese influence was now demanded. The granting of railway concessions and the pledging of local taxes as securities still required the consent of Japan, and the opening of certain commercial ports to the residence and trade of Japanese with the privilege of agricultural and industrial pursuits was still demanded. In the third group dealing with the Hanyehping Company, the joint partnership was still demanded, but the demand for the monopoly of the mines in the neighborhood of those owned by the company was abandoned; but the limitations of non-conversion into a State enterprise or of confiscation and the prohibition of the use of any other foreign capital than the Japanese were added.50 The fourth group treating of the non-alienation of China's coast was

49

changed to a voluntary pronouncement on the part of the Chinese Government.

In the fifth group respecting the political, military and financial control of China, all the previous demands, in one form or another, were still pressed with certain exceptions. The one on the joint administration of police in important places of China was dropped. The one on the right of land owning by the Japanese for the purpose of establishing hospitals, schools and churches was modified to the extent that the right of land-owning was changed to the right to purchase and lease land, and i that the right to esablish churches in the interior of China was omitted. The one on the railway concessions in the Yangtze Valley was modified only by the selfdenying limitation that there should be no objection from the Power interested in these concessions, meaning, of course, Great Britain, and by the prohibition not to grant these concessions by China to any foreign Power, "before Japan comes to an understanding with the other Power which is heretofore interested therein." The one on Fukien was changed from a demand for an exclusive Japanese sphere of interest to a prohibition of the construction by any foreign Power of any naval and military base, and the use of foreign capital for the construction of the same. All the other demands such as the purchase of arms or the establishment of joint arsenals, the employment of Japanese advisers, the right of Japanese missionary propaganda, as we have seen, were pressed in one form or another as before.51

In spite of revision, no agreement, however, could be reached to the satisfaction of both sides. On May 7, 1915, the Japanese presented an ultimatum demanding a satisfactory reply within two days. All the articles in groups 1, 2, 3, 4 and the article on Fukien in Group V of the revised demands were pressed. Group V excluding, as we have seen, the clause on Fukien, was detached and postponed for future negotiotion. "So, in spite of the

circumstances which admitted no patience, they have reconsidered the feelings of the government of their neighboring country, and, with the exception of the articles relating to Fukien, which is to be the subject of an exchange of notes as has already been agreed upon by the representatives of both nations, will undertake to detach the Group V from the present negotiations, and discuss it separately in the future. Therefore the Chinese Government should appreciate the friendly feeling of the Imperial Government by immediately accepting, without any alteration, all articles of Groups 1, 2, 3 and 4 and the exchange of notes in the revised proposals presented on the 26th of April." 52

Coerced by the ultimatum, China yielded. On the next day, she replied and accepted the demands as set forth in the ultimatum.53 On May 25, 1915, two treaties were signed, one relating to Shantung and the other South Manchuria and Eastern Inner Mongolia, and thirteen notes were exchanged covering the rest of the articles as accepted. The only addition was the pledge of the Japanese Government to restore the leased territory of Kiaochow, subject to certain conditions.5*

Thus ended the most sensational diplomatic negotiation of this period of Chinese foreign relations. By one bold assault on China, when the European powers were occupied in a death grapple on the battlefields of Europe, Japan made herself the virtual successor to Germany in Shantung; opened up the whole of South Manchuria to the exploitation of her subjects, made an exclusive sphere of interest of Eastern Inner Mongolia, preserved the Hanyehping Company for the joint coöperation of the Japanese and Chinese capitalists, and secured the pledge of the non-alienation of China's coast. What she had failed to force on China was Group V, which, had it been accepted, would have made China virtually a protectorate or vassal of Japan.

Analyzing the demands of Japan from the point of

view of the international struggle for concessions, Japan's action was simply to consolidate her own position in China, especially in Shantung, South Manchuria, and Eastern Inner Mongolia, and Fukien, so that when the war should be over and the European tide of aggression should again flow back to China, she would be well entrenched in these regions in any international struggle for concessions. Viewed, however, from the point of view of international coöperation and control, Japan's action was simply an attempt to forestall the possible international control of China, which she was far-sighted enough to forsee and to anticipate by the overture of Japanese control as embodied in Group V. Thus, right or wrong, Japan had taken good advantage of the opportunity presented by the European War to consolidate her own position in China.

The Treaties of May 25, 1915, however, did not satisfy the Japanese, especially the military party. To the latter, the treaty was only a temporary adjustment, waiting for a future and more opportune moment to execute its complete program in China. Its aims, to put them in a nutshell, were nothing less than to secure a stranglehold of control over the whole of China, for which reason the Japanese Government reserved the right for future discussion of Group V, and to wrest the sovereign power from China over South Manchuria and Eastern Inner Mongolia, for which purpose an event soon occurred which gave the necessary pretense.

In August, 1916, a conflict occurred between the Chinese and Japanese soldiers at Changkiatun, a Mongol-Manchurian town, resulting in casualties on both sides. The original cause leading to the armed conflict was a quarrel and fist-fight between a Japanese on one hand, who had beaten a Chinese boy for refusal to sell fish at his price, and several Chinese soldiers who came to the rescue of the boy on the other. Taking advantage of this incident, the Japanese Government at once demanded not only

reparation and apology, which were expected, but, to the surprise of China, the police power and military supervision of South Manchuria and Eastern Inner Mongolia also; 55 "China to agree to the stationing of Japanese police officers in places in South Manchuria and Eastern Inner Mongolia where their presence was considered necessary for the protection of Japanese subjects," and "Chinese military cadet schools to employ a certain number of Japanese officers as instructors."

These demands again opened the wound of the Chinese as created by the Twenty-one Demands. As a result, viewing this as another attempt to revive Group V, the Chinese rose and resisted the demands with all their might. Meanwhile the Okuma Cabinet, which had engineered the Twenty-one Demands and also those for the Changkiatun incident, suffered severe popular censure for the mishandling of Chinese relations, and were compelled to yield to the Terauchi Cabinet, which adopted a more conciliatory attitude. Consequently the case was closed without the concession of police power and the military supervision of South Manchuria and Eastern Inner Mongolia, but merely with the ordinary apology and compensation due to Japan.

While Japan was thus bullying China, the question of China's entrance into the war on the side of the Allies came into prominence. At the beginning of the war, China had intimated her intention to join in the attack on Tsingtau, but the proposal was not favorably entertained.50 Again, during the monarchial restoration in the latter part of 1915, Yuan Shih-kai, to win the support of the Allies to his monarchial project, had again offered to join the Allies, a proposal which the Russian and French legations had favorably entertained, but from which Japan and Great Britain had dissented.57 Then came the circular note of February 4, 1917, of the United States inviting the neutral nations to join in a