File No. 6351/23–34.

Ambassador Wright to the Secretary of State.

[Extract.]
No. 318.]

Sir: Referring to my dispatch No. 256 of May 15 last,a I have the honor to inclose to you herewith the official text of the Franco-Japanese agreement signed on the 10th instant, which is in French and was published here on the 17th instant. I inclose also an English translation of this text and published interviews with M. Gerard, French ambassador here, Viscount Hayashi, minister for foreign affairs, and Mr. Takahashi, vice-governor of the Bank of Japan, all upon the subject of this agreement. I further inclose an official telegraphic summary of the speech of M. Pichon, French minister for foreign affairs, made after reading this agreement in the Chamber of Deputies, and a number of editorial comments giving the opinions of the principal Japanese newspapers.a

It will be noted that the new Franco-Japanese agreement is extremely brief. By it the Governments of Japan and France agree to respect the independence and integrity of China, as well as the principle of equal treatment there for the commerce and subjects or citizens of all nations. They declare also that they have a special interest to have order and a pacific state of things preserved in the regions of China adjacent to the territories where they have the rights of sovereignty, protection, or occupation, and they accordingly engage to support each other to assure the peace and security of these adjacent regions of China, with the object of maintaining their own respective situations and territorial rights in the continent of Asia. The actual engagement included in this agreement is accordingly very limited in scope. Nothing is stated in it as to the nature of the support which each engages to furnish to the other for the object stated, and there is no specific guarantee of the respective territorial rights of each nation, though a recognition of them is implied.

I have, etc.,

Luke E. Wright.
[Page 756]

[Inclosure 1.]

viscount hayashi on the franco-japanese agreement.

The minister for foreign affairs interviewed by the Jiyu Tsushin on the recently concluded agreement spoke as follows:

In the course of the formation of an agreement between two nations it happens that the interest of a third power is connected with such an agreement, and often excites the feeling of jealousy and misunderstanding; but with regard to the present Japan-French agreement, there will not be any power that feels any sense of uneasiness. Previous to the publication of this agreement newspapers reported that China entertained various erroneous conceptions with regard to the matter, but the chief object of the agreement is to respect the sovereignty of China, the very keynote of oriental peace, and the preservation of her territories. Actuated by this principle the spirit of the Anglo-Japanese alliance is maintained so that the authorities in China must no doubt be contented with the arrangement. Other powers which have interests in eastern Asia will not entertain any feelings of doubt and apprehension, seeing that the spirit of the agreement is based upon the principle of justice, and of allowing equal opportunities to all powers, in order to secure the permanent peace in the Orient. Peace has been the policy of the Japanese diplomacy, and the imperial message given to Mr. Tsuzuki, our ambassador to the peace conference at The Hague, gave publicity to this great principle before the world. Japan was forced to mobilize her forces in late wars for the realization of this principle. The so-called “armed peace” is not the policy of Japan, but peaceful defense is her motto. Since the late war, numerous misconceptions and errors have been held concerning Japan’s policy in the continent of Asia. The authorities in Japan availed themselves of every chance and opportunity to declare and set forth the sincerity of Japan before other powers. The present Japan-Russian agreement is an embodiment of this fundamental principle of her diplomacy. Not only with France, but with other powers whose interests are closely allied with oriental peace, Japan will be actuated by the same principle that she has manifested on this occasion and will not hesitate to contribute her full share to the great and glorious cause of oriental civilization.

m. pichon’s speech.

The Japanese ambassador at Paris wires:

M. Pichon, the foreign minister of France, on June 15, replying to an interpellation by Count Casterra in the Chamber of Deputies, read the whole of the Franco-Japanese arrangement and declaration, and said that the agreement would permanently assure the peace of Asia and interests of both countries. He proceeded to say that some persons had suspected and declared Japan to harbor ambitions of other countries. By concluding the agreement, Japan swept away these suspicions and false charges and showed that she had no intention to disturb or change the state of things in the Far East. The mutual support the two Governments had promised each other was perfectly peaceful in spirit, purpose, and method. This agreement did not go alone, but was connected with the Russo-Japanese negotiations to be concluded before long with the same spirit and purpose, and supplemented the Anglo-Japanese alliance, Anglo-French entente, and dual alliance. The agreement would also promote the political interests of Germany, Austria, Italy, and the United States in China. After explaining the declaration the foreign minister said that there was no need of dwelling on the obvious reasonableness of the declaration. It was a long time ago that Japan acquired the right to be regarded as a world power. In particular, when the civilized nations endeavored to assure peace and order in China in connection with the outbreak of seven years ago, Japan obtained the right to be a member of the comity of the powers by dint of her great exertion. The minister considered himself to be entitled to a special privilege to declare this fact on account of the official post he held at the time. If Japan did not cooperate with other countries, he would certainly have not been able to appear on the rostrum and deliver his speech to-day. In conclusion, the minister said that in the present century, European politics having given place to world politics, the agreement gave a new guaranty to [Page 757] the peaceful enterprises of France and territories of both countries in Asia and promoted the common interests of the powers. The minister, on behalf of the French Government, asked the chamber to accept the agreement.

The chamber then expressed its approval of the agreement with a perfectly unanimous vote.

[Inclosure 2.]

the franco-japanese “entente.”

[Extract.]

The document embodying the Franco-Japanese entente is very carefully worded, as might have been expected. It will disappoint some politicians, inasmuch as it contains no direct mutual guaranty for the preservation of the territories of the high contracting parties in East Asia. Some such clause was looked for in certain quarters, but the expectation was scarcely reasonable, seeing that it would have amounted to a virtual treaty of offense and defense. On the other hand, this status quo is constructively recognized in clear terms, since the two States engage to support each other for assuring peace and security in regions adjacent to the territories where they have rights of sovereignty, protection, or occupation. This amounts to an implicit though not an explicit recognition of such rights, and therefore the arrangement may be said to engage the two powers not only to support each other in averting everything that might threaten those rights, but also to recognize the rights themselves. The document sets out by pledging its signatories to respect the independence and integrity in China as well as the principle of equal treatment for all, and thus we are brought face to face with the interesting fact that Japan, who was at one time invested with such disquieting potentialities as the hypothetical leader of the Yellow Peril, now joins hands with Europe in measures which are precisely calculated to exercise the phantom. The pourparlers which prefaced the arrangement are said to have commenced last November, and the actual negotiations date from the following March. The document itself contains nothing relating to matters of commerce. This omission has been already explained on the ground that all such questions must of necessity fall under the purview of the French chambers, but in a declaration there is an engagement of much value to Japan, namely, that her subjects in Indo-China shall be free from all the disabilities under which they have hitherto labored in the prosecution of their enterprises there. In short, whereas, when visiting France’s East Asian dominions, they have up to the present been classed as Asiatics, and in that capacity have been injuriously discriminated against, they will henceforth be on the same footing as French citizens. This is a most important feature of the arrangement, for it comes just at a time when the great Republic of America and of other western nations are showing a practical indisposition to adopt this liberal line toward Japan.

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