be regulated by special arrangement between the two Companies, with due approval of the respective Governments. The mutual use of the means of transportation, the relations between employees of the two railways as well as the mode of fixing the joint quota due to each administration in the distribution of the receipts, shall be regulated subsequently by similar arrange

ments.

ART. XI. In all cases where the managements of the two railways cannot agree on points covered by the present Convention or in general upon all other points concerning their reciprocal relations mentioned in this agreement, the differences shall be regulated by the decision of the two respective Governments, arrived at in common after the exchange of views between them on the subject.

In proof whereof the Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Japan and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia have signed the present Provisional Convention and affixed their seals thereto.

Done at St. Petersburg in duplicate on the 13th day of the sixth month of the 40th year of Meiji corresponding to May 31 (June 13), 1907.

I. The Imperial Russian Government and the Imperial Japanese Government, desiring to establish direct communications for passengers and freight upon the various Russian and Japanese railway lines, undertake to facilitate the conclusion of a special arrangement for this purpose as soon as possible.1

1 On August 14, 1911, was concluded a supplementary convention for this purpose, of which the translation (from the French text printed in Izviestia, 1912, vol. ii, p. 43) is as follows:

Supplementary Convention concerning Railway Connections in Manchuria, August 14, 1911

"The Imperial Government of Japan and the Imperial Government of Russia, desiring to facilitate, in accordance with the provisions of Additional Article I annexed to the Provisional Convention concerning the connecting service of the Japanese and Russian Railways in Manchuria, signed at St. Petersburg, May 31/June 13, 1907, the direct shipment of goods between the two countries by the Japanese and Russian railways and steamships, have agreed upon the following:

"I-The two Governments will authorize the railways and the navigation companies interested to make arrangements for the direct shipment of goods. These arrangements will have to be submitted for the approval of the two Governments before being put into force.

"II. The two Governments agree to take, in case of necessity, all indispensable legislative measures for the putting into force of the said arrangements.

"In faith whereof the undersigned, duly authorized by their respective Governments, have signed this convention and set their seals thereto.

"Done at St. Petersburg, the 14th day of the 8th month of the forty-fourth year of Meiji, corresponding to August 1/14, 1911.

"(Sgd.)

ΜΟΤΟΝΟ.

(Sgd.)

NERATOW."

II. The undersigned, Alexander Iswolsky, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Russia, and Itchiro Motono, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Japan, having come to an agreement for the adoption of Article 5 of the provisional convention for a connecting railway service, pending the construction of the Changchun-Kirin Railway, it is agreed between the two High Contracting Parties that when the said line shall have been built, the transfer of passengers coming from the north by the Chinese Eastern Railway, and proceeding in the direction either of Kirin or of Dairen, as also the transfer of passengers coming either by the Kirin line or by the South Manchurian line, and proceeding northwards, will take place at the Japanese station of Changchun. For this purpose, a special arrangement will be concluded later between the interested companies.

III. With a view to bringing into operation the railway connection in Manchuria, without awaiting the completion of the work contemplated by the provisional convention signed this day, the South Manchuria Railway Company will construct a temporary station in proximity to the Russian station of Kuanchengtze, and the two companies will establish, each for its own part, the necessary arrangements for the transfer of passengers, packages, baggage and other objects transported by the passenger trains, and the transhipment of merchandise between the temporary Japanese station and the Russian station of Kuanchengtze.

Done at St. Petersburg in duplicate, May 31/June 13, 1907, corresponding to the 13th day of the 6th month of the 40th year of Meiji.

(Sgd.) ISWOLSKY.
(L. S.)

I. MOTONO.

(Sgd.)

(L. S.)

PROTOCOL

At the moment of proceeding to the signature of the Provisional Convention for the connexion of the Japanese and Russian railways in Manchuria, the two High Contracting Parties, judging it useful to settle certain questions relative to the station of Kuanchengtze and to the coal mines of Shibelin and Taokiatun, the undersigned, Itchiro Motono, Docteur en Droit, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Japan, and le Maître de la Cour Imperiale, Alexandre Iswolsky, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, have concluded the following:

ARTICLE I. It has been agreed between the two High Contracting Parties that in principle the station of Kuanchengtze and its appurtenances were the common property of Japan and Russia, but that, for the sake of practical convenience, the exclusive ownership of the said station and of its appurtenances shall remain with Russia and that for it the Russian Government

shall pay to the Japanese Government a sum of 560,393 rubles as compensation for the renunciation by Japan of her rights of co-ownership of the Kuanchengtze station and its appurtenances.

ART. II. The Russian Government shall turn over to the Japanese Government, with the briefest possible delay, after the signature of the Provisional Convention for the railway connexion, in their actual state, all the railways and all the objects belonging to these railways which are to the south of the point marked N. 2,223 in the plan here annexed, as well as the coal mines at Shibelin and Taokiatun with all their appurtenances. Immediately after the signing of the said Convention, the necessary instructions shall be sent by the two Governments of Japan and Russia to the South Manchuria Railway Company, on the one part, and, on the other part, to the Chinese Eastern Railway Company, to proceed to the transfer of the said railways and of everything belonging to these railways as well as the aforementioned coal mines.

ART. III. It is agreed between the two High Contracting Parties that the Japanese Government shall subsequently choose a site, where shall be constructed the Japanese station of Kuanchengtze and the town of Changchun.

In the event of the construction of the Kirin railway line, the Japanese Government shall exert itself to cause the construction by the railway company, outside the limits of the Changchun station, of grade crossings or viaducts at the points of crossing of the said line and the principal roads between the Russian station of Kuanchengtze and the town of Changchun.

ART. IV. The detailed regulations relative to the transhipment of the passengers and merchandise from one railway to the other, which should be concluded between the two railway companies, Japanese and Russian, shall be discussed and concluded between the companies interested, with the briefest possible delay, after the signing of the Provisional Convention for the railway connexion. As to the place and the date of the meeting of the Delegates respecting that subject, they shall be subsequently determined in the manner most agreeable to the two Parties.

ART. V. It is agreed between the two High Contracting Parties that the Convention signed under today's date shall be put in force immediately after the construction of the provisional Japanese station mentioned in Article 3 of the Additional Articles of the said Convention shall have been completed.

In testimony whereof, the Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Japan and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia have signed the present Protocol and affixed thereto their seals.

The 13th day of the 6th month of the 40th year of Meiji, corresponding to May 31/June 13, 1907.

No. 19

RUSSIA AND CHINA

Experimental regulations for the establishment of customs houses in Northern Manchuria.'-July 8, 1907

I.--The Convention for the Land Trade Between Russia and China" provides that no duties shall be levied on the frontier of the two countries within the limit of a hundred li (33 miles); and the Chinese Eastern Railway Agreement provides that China must establish Customs Stations where the railway line crosses the frontier.

Now, therefore, China agrees not to collect duty for the present upon goods shipped by railway to the stations within the hundred-li limit on the frontier.

II. Certain areas shall be fixed within which goods shipped by rail shall be required to pay but two-thirds of regular import duty.

At Harbin, the main station on the line, such 23 duty area shall extend to all points within a radius of ten Chinese li (3 miles) from the station. At the following more important places such area shall extend to a distance

1 Translation, as printed in For. Rel., 1907, p. 138, from the official Chinese text. Printed also in MACMURRAY, vol. I, p. 648.

In connection with these regulations, see also the memorandum of agreement concerning the provisional Sungari River trade regulations, etc., August 8, 1910 (MACMURRAY, ibid., p. 807).

See Note 1 to this document, post, p. 115.

2 See Note 2 to this document, post, p. 115.

3 Agreement signed September 8, 1896 (No. 3, ante).

With the text as printed in For. Rel., 1907, p. 138, is given the following "Exposition of Article 2":

"Some controversy with regard to the interpretation of Article II. of the above agreement having occurred, the Chinese Board of Foreign Affairs at a later date officially communicated the following explanation of its understanding of that article to the Russian Minister in Peking, and received his acceptance of the same [on October 7, 1907].

"Article II. of the Experimental Regulations agreed upon by China and Russia for the opening of Customs Houses in Northern Manchuria contains the following clause:

""If, however, such goods are shipped out of the places above mentioned and the areas described, all other places being in inland territory, the full amount of the regular duty thereon must be made up, and the goods considered subject to inland trade regulations.'

"The meaning of this article is that all goods shipped out of the places mentioned and the areas described, will, (since all other places are considered to be within inland territory) be required to make up the full amount of the regular import duty by paying the 3 not previously collected. This additional 3 duty will take the place of a transit duty, and upon payment thereof a pass will be issued permitting the goods to be shipped to any point within the Three Eastern Provinces (Manchuria) under the inland trade regulations. Without such pass the goods will be subject to likin and other duties at all Customs barriers passed. Furthermore, if it is proposed to ship

of five li in each direction from the station; viz: Man-chu-li, Cha-lai-no-erh, Hai-la-erh, Cha-lan-t'un, Fu-lu-erh-chi, Tsitsi-ha-erh, A-shih-ho, I-mien-po, Hai-lin, Yieh-ho, Mu-lin, Chiao-chie-chan, Shuang-cheng-p'u, Lao-shao-kou, Yao-men, and K'uan-ch'eng-tzu. The two-thirds duty regulation shall be put into effect at all the above places, and within the area around each as stipulated, with the exception, however, of Man-chu-li and Chiao-chie-chan (on the Sui-fen River) both of which places are situated within the hundred-li duty free limit. In addition to the above, there shall be two-thirds. duty areas extending to a distance of three li in each direction from all the smaller stations on the Eastern Railway.

If, however, such goods are shipped out of the places above mentioned and the areas described, all other places being in inland territory, the full amount of the regular duty thereon must be made up, and the goods considered subject to inland trade regulations.

III. This reduction of one-third of the regular import duty on goods shipped by railway, is made by special agreement between China and Russia. China agrees, however, that not only Russian but all foreign merchandise shipped to China over the Eastern Railway, is equally affected.

Russia, on her part, agrees that all duty collected on goods which are not exempt from duty by the terms of the Russo-Chinese Land Trade Convention, shall be levied according to the new Customs tariff, one-third of the regular amount being deducted.

IV. These Articles of Agreement shall serve in a general way for experimental regulations for North Manchurian Customs-houses. If it shall become necessary to make any additions or alterations therein, or if any corrections shall be found necessary in order that the regulations shall be in harmony with Chinese Customs procedure, such changes may be considered and decided upon by both parties to this agreement after one year.

As to detailed regulations for Customs Houses, the mapping of the different areas, and the locating of small stations, these matters shall be discussed and decided as soon as possible by representatives of the two countries.1

these goods upon which the full import duty has been paid, from the Three Eastern Provinces into China proper, then a further half-duty will be collected thereon in accordance with the regular Customs tariff, this being the transit duty for China proper. Upon payment of this duty a pass will be issued exempting the goods from further duty, but without such pass likin and other duties will be collected at all Customs barriers passed.

"And in addition it is clearly understood that this plan as explained is experimental, even as the Regulations themselves, and if any additions or alterations are found necessary, a consideration of the matter shall be held by both parties to this agreement one year hence."

1 Provisional regulations for the working of the Chinese custom houses at the Stations Manchuria and Pogranichnaya (Suifenho) were subsequently agreed upon and published by a notification of the Commissioner of Customs at Harbin on May 30, 1908. See MACMURRAY, vol. 1, p. 651.