Office of the Historian

Chargé Wilson to the Secretary of State.

American Legation,
Tokyo, May 4, 1906.
No. 447.]

Sir: For your information I have the honor to transmit herewith a translation of the memorandum relating to the crossing of the neutral zone between the Japanese and Russian forces in Manchuria, signed October 30, 1905, to which allusion was made in the legation’s dispatch No. 437 of the 12th ultimo.

A translation of the protocol of procedure for the withdrawal of troops from Manchuria and the transfer of railways, signed October 30, 1905, is likewise inclosed.

I have, etc.,

Huntington Wilson.
[Inclosure 1—Translation.]

memorandum relating to the crossing of the neutral zone between the japanese and russian armies.

In signing this day the protocol concerning the procedure in withdrawing from Manchuria the troops of the respective armies, the representatives of the commanders in chief of the Japanese and Russian armies in Manchuria have made the following agreement:

Owing to the inconvenience caused by the entrance within the localities where the respective armies are stationed of persons who are not connected [Page 189] with either army, the passage from the locality of one army to that of the other, except by the inhabitants of the said districts, shall not be permitted without the mutual consent of the military authorities of the respective armies. In order to keep the respective armies in touch with each other respecting the permission referred to, each army shall designate a special headquarters for issuing permits for travelers within the locality of the other army. In granting the said permits the consent of the headquarters of the army to which the traveler is going must also be obtained in each individual case. For the present the headquarters referred to shall be located at the general headquarters of the respective armies. Any change of location that may hereafter take place shall be notified by each to the other.

(Signed)
Major-General Yasumasa Fukushima,
Staff of the Japanese Army in Manchuria.

(Signed)
Major-General Olanovsky,
Second in Command of the Staff of the Russian Army in Manchuria.

Sz-ping-kai Railway Station, October 30 (17), 1905.
[Inclosure 2—Translation.]

protocol of the procedure in withdrawing troops of the japanese and the russian armies from manchuria and transferring the railways.

  • Article I. The following agreement has been concluded in accordance with the supplementary agreement relating to Article III of the treaty of peace between Japan and Russia at Portsmouth on September 5 of this year (August 23):
    1.
    The Japanese troops occupying the front positions in Manchuria shall be withdrawn within the zone of Fakumen, Chinchiatung, Changtu, Weiyanpaomen, and Fushun by December 31 (18), 1905. The Russian troops occupying the front positions in Manchuria shall be withdrawn within the zone of Itun-chou, Yekhotien Weitzukou, Pamiencheng, and Shanchengtzu by the same date.
    2.
    By June 1 (May 19), 1906, the Japanese troops shall be withdrawn to the line of Fakumen, Tieling, and Fushun and to the south thereof, and the Russian troops to the line of Shanchengtzu, Kungshunglieng Railway Station, Itunchou, and to the north thereof.
    3.
    By August 1 (July 19), 1906, the Japanese troops shall be withdrawn to the line of Hsinmintun, Mukden, and Fushun, and to the south thereof; and the Russian troops to the line of Shanhotun, Kuanchengtzu, and Palipu, and to the north thereof.
    4.
    Neither of the two contracting powers shall have more than 250,000 combatants in Manchuria after April 15 (April 2), or 75,000 after October 15 (October 2), 1906. Both contracting powers are required to complete the withdrawal of their troops by April 15 (April 2), 1907.
    5.
    In accordance with supplementary agreement I to the treaty of peace, the number of guards to protect their respective railways in Manchuria shall be 15 per kilometer on the average.
  • Art. II. For the purpose of transferring the railways, each of the two contracting powers shall appoint a commission consisting of three persons selected from officers and experts belonging to the section of military communication.

The said commission shall commence its work between April 10 and 20, 1906 (new calendar); and the place and time of meeting shall be determined later.

The transfer and receiving of railways south of Kuanchengtzu Station and those at Kuanchengtzu Station, as well as north thereof, shall be completed before June 1 (May 19), 1906, and August 1 (July 19), 1906, respectively.

The determination of the extreme northern point of the railways to be transferred to Japan shall be left to diplomatic negotiations.

The undersigned, having been duly empowered by the commander in chief of the Japanese and Russian armies, hereby certify that they have made this protocol in duplicate in both the Japanese and the Russian languages, and that each side keeps a text each in the Japanese and the Russian languages.

Done at Sz-ping-gai Railway Station on October 30 (17), 1905.

(Signed)
Major-General Yasumasa Fukushima,
Staff of the Japanese Army in Manchuria
.
(Signed)
Major-General Olanovsky,
Second in Command of the Staff of the Russian Army in Manchuria,