Empires of the Far East; A Study of Japan and of Her Colonial Possessions, of China and Manchuria and of the Political Questions of Eastern Asia and the Pacific Volume 2 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1912 edition. Excerpt: ...this property, and ceded to the Japanese military administration by the riparian owners " for public purposes " (the quotation marks are used by the correspondent), was a road policed by the military guards of the railway, to whose ownership it had been transferred; so that an individual British or American landowner found himself in possession of property, on Chinese soil, fronting on a river where irregular likin methods were practically unlimited, and traversed by a right of way patrolled by the military forces of a Japanese railway administration. That such a situation offered unlimited opportunities for misunderstanding and friction was only too clearly evident, and earnest hopes were expressed that the Legations might speedily find means of adjusting it and of ensuring enjoyment of treaty rights and equal opportunities for all concerned. In the matter of railways, also, Japan took advantage of the post helium situation in order to secure substantial advantages. During the war she had constructed a narrow-gauge railway between Hsin-min-tun and Mukden, thus establishing a link of great importance between the South Manchuria Railway and the North China system, and providing facilities for through communication with Tientsin and Peking. As a result of an agreement signed on April 15, 1907, this line was transferred to China. It was stipulated that the purchase price should be j 160,000; that in reconstructing the railway China should borrow half of the funds required in the work east of the river Liao from the South Manchuria Railway Company; that the property and receipts of the whole undertaking should be offered as security; that the Chinese Government should guarantee the payment of the principal and interest of the loans; and that, ...