presenting them personally at night and directly to the President of the Chinese Repub lic. Under the plea of *maintaining the peace of Eastern Asia and of further strengthening the friendly relations existing between the two neighboring nations,* it was demanded that China should agree to what Japan might ar range with Germany, to cede no land in Shan tung to any foreign power, to open new ports, to extend the leases of Port Arthur, Dalny, and of the railroads to a period of 99 years, to allow an equal voice to Japan in all matters relating to South Manchuria and Inner Mon golia and her people equal privilege with the natives, to employ Japanese instructors and advisers, to buy 50 per cent of war munitions in Japan, to have arsenals and technical schools worked jointly by the two governments, to allow Japanese to build railways and work mines in specified places and have full freedom for the Japanese to propagate religious doc trines. In explaining to foreign governments, at their request, the meaning of her negotia tions with China, Japan replied that of the 21 articles under negotiation, 10 were demands and 11 were requests. After 25 meetings between the plenipotentiaries of China and Japan, the matter was not yet settled in April. Meanwhile the British and Russian ambassadors in Tokio had made protests and the representatives of the two, billions of dollars of British money in vested in China, especially in the Yang-tse region, sent complaints to London, warning of the impending danger not only to China but to Europe. After much had been conceded by the Chinese commissioners, negotiations were at deadlock, while every day the real nature and true details of Japan's "requests* were be coming public. One of the points of struggle re lated to the mines of the Han Yeh Ping region, where are coal, iron and limestone in close proximity. Japan, poor in metals, having sunk millions in establishing steel foundries and compelled to import 75 per cent of her iron and steel, wished control of these mines in China for her military equipment. Moreover the Japanese, having seen in China and in other lands the potent results secured by the employ ment of foreign experts and advisers, and hav ing herself, in a generation or two, been raised to the position of a world power, largely through the aid of the peaceful army of 5,000 yatoi, or salaried foreigners in her employ and in every line of human achievement, from 1870 to 1900, may be said, in this special measure to have introduced into diplomacy the principle we may designate as yatoism. In a word, she would imitate her European teachers, the trad ing nations, who have always had °a solid sub stratum of force* in dealing with the Orientals and forcing their goods and employees upon them. Finding the Chinese resistant to her demands and warned by her ally, Great Britain, the government in Tokio modified its demands both in tone and amount, and on 26 April made presentation of these, but this time requiring immediate compliance. In answer, given 1 May, China granted the rights of residence, lease and business to the Japanese, refused the long leases, demanded that the Japanese, like other aliens, submit to the laws of China, that Kiaochau be unconditionally retroceded, and the right of participation in negotiations with Ger many after the war be given her, intimating also that this was the final word. In answer, Japan withdrew the most objectionable group of demands, but left open for "future discus sion' the negotiations begun but not yet settled. adding, on 6 May, that an answer was desired at once, and the Tokio Government mobilized its military forces for the invasion and coercion of China.
Apart from any question of political ethics, or any attempt at condemnation or justification of Japan, let it not be forgotten that her actions toward China, in 1915, are no more severe than those against herself, or rather against the in surgents, either of 1868-69, or in the years from 1870, or in the great southwestern re hellion of 1877. Then and now, her fierce, un wavering determination to modernize herself and to compel China to be modern also, has been shown, as well as her equal zeal in humane efforts after victory. In this, also, she has
equaled Great Britain after the Boer War; in a word, Japan imitates the Anglo-Saxon nations.
In China the opinion of the executive coun cil was still divided when, on Friday, 7 May, the ultimatum was received from Tokio, giving 48 hours for decision. Having no military to withstand the aggressor, the Chinese govern ment on Sunday, 9 May, at 1:30 A. u., yielded and signed away her sovereign rights. In re turn for Japan's sacrifice of life and treasure, Kiao-chau, which had been under German con trol since 1907, was to be handed over to China on conditions that virtually ignored China's sovereignty in the matter. The new peace ar rangement gives Japan control of a railway of great strategic importance, with valuable rights and privileges for the Japanese, but probably no greater than for other foreigners. New treaty ports are to be opened, the leases of Port Arthur and Dalny are extended to 1997, that of the South Manchurian Railway to 2002 and that of the Antung-Mukden Railway to 2007. What may be the full meaning of the other concessions made to Japan, only time will show.
But this time Japan, while probably succeed ing in her supreme and underlying purpose of forcing China to change from mediaeval to modern conditions and thus furnish, for Japan's advantage, in a better and more speedy way than any other, a market and field of enter prise for her people, also preserved the unity of China and thus forestalled her "breakup• and division by European powers.
A boycott of Japanese goods begin which ruined thousands of traders from Nippon, in volving a loss of millions, while from 7 May began a new spirit of resistance in the Chinese people making for national uni fication and increase of power to with stand all foreign aggression. All these events weakened in China the prestige of the republican government and the personal influ ence of Yuan Shi Kai. An agitation in favor of the restoration of the monarchy began and soon assumed dangerous proportions. After consultation with natives and foreigners, Yuan Shi Kai decided that the best form of govern ment for China would be found in a return to monarchy. Expert legal advisers, one of them an eminent American, gave the same opinion — that a republic for China was premature and that a monarchy was best suited to her conditions. Advice was received from Japan on 28 October to Yuan Shi Kai to arrest this movement, the gist of the words from Tokio being that in the present uncertainty of the status of the Powers, owing to the war, any change of government was inadvisable. After officially and with promptness recognizing the Chinese Republic, Japan felt that she was trifled with when a monarchy was proposed. So insistent was this "advice* that, when a Complimentary Mission to Tokio from Peking, designed to arrange for recognition of the monarchy, arrived in Tokio, 16 Jan. 1916, it was virtually refused an official interview. Nevertheless, an "election was ordered by Pe king and carried out, the apparent results being overwhelmingly in favor of Yuan Shi Kai be coming emperor. Preparations were made for induction into office on New Year's Day, but this date found the strong man of the empire still engaged in a diplomatic duel with Japan and at the same time confronted by a possible rebellion which promised to involve all southern China, and the formal ceremonies of induction into office were postponed. The opening of the spring of 1916 found the opposition of Japan so strong and the indication of widespread revolt so menacing that Yuan, on 24 March, issued a mandate renouncing his title of Em peror of China and proclaiming the return to republican government. With the confes sion of sin common to the rulers of eastern Asia, Yuan took upon himself "all the faults of the country,' and especially the blame of not opposing the monarchical movement with proper vigor, and officially canceled his offiCial acceptance of the throne on 11 Dec. 1915.