Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, With the Annual Message of the President Transmitted to Congress December 3, 1907, (In two parts), Part II
File No. 6625/33–36.
Ambassador Wright to the Secretary of State.
Tokyo, August 7, 1907.
Sir: I have the honor to inclose to you herewith an English translation, clipped from the semiofficial Japan Times of the 5th, 6th, and 7th instants, of the text of the convention, with the additional articles and protocol annexed to the same, signed by the Japanese and Russian Governments at St. Petersburg on May 31 last in regard to the connection in Manchuria of the Chinese Eastern and the South Manchurian railways. I have as yet been unable to obtain a copy of the original French text of this convention.
I have, etc.,
[Inclosure 1.—Translated from official text in French.]
[The Japan Times, Tokyo, Sunday, August 5, 1907.]
convention relating to japanese and russian railway connections in manchuria.
The Imperial Government of Japan and the Imperial Government of Russia having resolved to conclude a convention concerning the connection of the Japanese and the Russian railways in Manchuria, conformatory to the provisions of Article VIII of the treaty of peace signed at Portsmouth on 5th September/23d August, 1905, the undersigned, Itchiro Motono, doctor of laws, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of Japan, and the master of the imperial court, Alexandre Iswolsky, minister of foreign affairs of Russia, being duly authorized for the purpose by their respective Governments, have agreed and concluded the following articles, under the title of provisionary:
Regarding those provisions of this convention which concern the South Manchuria Railway Company on the one part and the Chinese Eastern Railway Company on the other, the two Governments engage mutually to take necessary measures to insure their prompt execution by the said companies.
Article I. The junction of the sections of the two railways will be made at the boundary line of the Kuanchentze station of the Chinese Eastern Railway. The Southern Manchuria Railway Company shall prolong its line at the gauge adopted by that company from the Tchantchun station of the said company to [Page 781] the limit of the Kuanchentze station of the Chinese Eastern Railway, and the Chinese Eastern Railway shall construct a line of the same gauge in continuation to the Japanese line constructed by the Southern Manchurian Railway to the platform of the Russian Kuanchentze station. The Chinese Eastern Railway shall construct in prolongation of its line a railway of the gauge of 1 meter 524 (Russian gauge of 5 English feet) from the platform of the Russian Kuanchentze station to the limit of that station, and the Southern Manchurian Railway Company shall construct a line of the same gauge in continuation to the prolongation of the Russian railway constructed by the Chinese Eastern Railway Company to the Japanese Tchantchoun station.
The point of junction of the two sections of the Japanese and Russian railways and the plans of that junction shall be resolved upon in common accord between the two companies.
Art. II. The Southern Manchurian Railway Company as well as the Chinese Eastern Railway Company shall establish, besides the junction of their lines, direct communication for passengers and for merchandise, and also all the necessary installations in order to effect in the shortest time and with the least expense possible the transport of the merchandise at the terminal stations made necessary by the difference in the width of the gauges.
Each company reserves the right to decide on the plans of construction within the limits of its own ground.
Art. III. Each company takes charge of all the undertakings mentioned in Articles I and II of the present convention which entails on them respectively, and the undertaking shall be executed by the companies with the least possible delay and as far as possible simultaneously.
Art. IV. The maintenance of the tracks, of the installations for transmission and transport, and all the other accessories upon the ground of each railway shall, respectively, be taken charge of by the companies.
Art. V. The traffic between the Southern Manchuria Railway and the Chinese Eastern Railway shall be established conformatory to the following conditions:
The passenger trains of the Southern Manchuria Railway, with passengers, their baggage, and other objects transported by those trains, proceed on the Japanese track to the Russian station of Kuanchentze, and the passenger trains of the Chinese Eastern Railway, with passengers, their baggage, and other objects transported by those trains, proceed on the Russian track to the Japanese station of Tchentchoun.
The freight trains of the Southern Manchuria Railway to proceed on the Chinese Eastern line come on the Japanese track to the Russian station of Kuanchentze, where the delivery and transport of the merchandise to the Russian railway are effected, and the freight trains of the Chinese Eastern Railway to proceed on the Southern Manchurian line come by the Russian track to the Japanese station of Tchantchoun, where the delivery and transport of the merchandise to the Japanese railway are effected.
Art. VI. The time schedule for the movement of trains, having in view the connection of the two railways, shall be arranged in common accord by the managements of the two railway companies.
Art. VII. The passenger fares and freight charges for traveling between the two terminal stations shall be collected: Those going from south to north, conformatory to the tariffs in force on the Southern Manchurian line, and those going from north to south, conformatory to the tariffs in force on the Chinese Eastern line.
The distribution of the fees collected for transport on the lines of the two companies shall be made in accordance with an agreement to be concluded between the management of the two companies.
Art. VIII. Each company enjoys the right gratuitously and reciprocally to make use of the connecting line and the installations attached to the service of transport appertaining to the other.
Art. IX. The two railway companies shall organize a train service mutually coordinating and sufficient to insure regular passenger and merchandise traffic, and establish regulations and provisions for the service of exploitation, all in conformation to the interests of that service.
Art. X. All the provisions to be later adopted on the basis of the present convention and concerning the train service, the transportation of passengers, the transport of merchandise, the signal service, etc., shall be regulated by special arrangement between the two companies, with due approval of the respective [Page 782] Governments. The mutual use of the organs of transportation, the relations between employees of the two railways, as well as the mode of fixing the joint quota to each administration in the distribution of the receipts, shall be regulated subsequently by the similar arrangement.
Art. XI. In all cases where the management of the two railways can not agree on points covered by the present convention or in general upon all the other points concerning their reciprocal relations mentioned in the said convention, 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 provisionary convention and affixed their seals thereto.
(Signed)
(Signed)
The convention contained three additional articles and a protocol. These will be published in a later issue.
[Inclosure 2.]
[Japan Times, August 6, 1907.]
convention relating to japanese and russian railway connection in manchuria.
Additional articles.
The additional articles of the above convention are as follows:
- 1.
- The Imperial Japanese Government and the Imperial Russian Government, desiring to establish direct communication of passengers and of merchandise on the different lines of railways, Japanese and Russian, agree to facilitate the conclusion, with the briefest possible delay, of a special arrangement to that end.
- 2.
- The undersigned, Ichiro Motono, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of Japan, and Alexandre Iswolsky, minister of foreign affairs of Russia, having agreed on the adoption of Article V of the provisionary convention for railway connection until the construction of the Changchun-Kirin line, it is agreed between the high contracting parties that when the said line shall have been constructed the transfer of passengers coming from the north by the Chinese Eastern Railway and going either in the direction of Kirin or in the direction of Tairen, and the transfer of passengers coming either by the Kirin line or by the South Manchurian line, and going in the direction of the north, shall be done at the Japanese station of Chungchun. For that end a special arrangement shall be concluded later between the companies interested.
- 3.
- In view of effecting the work of the railway connection in Manchuria, even before the completion of the works agreed upon in the provisionary convention signed this day, the South Manchurian Railway Company shall construct a provisionary station in proximity of the Russian station of Kwanchengtsu, and the two companies shall establish, each on its own side, the necessary installations for the transmission of passengers, packages, baggage, and other objects transported by passenger trains and transshipment of merchandise between the provisionary Japanese station and the Russian station of Kwanchengtsu.
(Signed)
(Signed)
[Inclosure 3.]
[The Japan Times, Tokyo, Wednesday, August 7, 1907.]
convention relating to japanese and russian railway connection in manchuria.
Protocol.
At the moment of proceeding to the signature of the provisionary convention for the connection of the Japanese and Russian railways in Manchuria the two high contracting parties, judging it useful to settle certain questions relative to the terminus of Kwanchengtsu and to the coal mines of Shibelin and Taokiatun, the undersigned, Ichiro Motono, doctor of laws, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of Japan, and the master of the imperial court, Alexandre Iswolsky, minister for foreign affairs of Russia, have concluded the following:
Article I. It has been agreed between the two high contracting parties that in principle the terminus of Kwanchengtsu and its appendages are the common property of Japan and Russia, but that, for the sake of practical conveniences, the exclusive ownership of the said terminus and of its appendages shall remain with Russia, and that for it the Russian Government shall pay to the Japanese Government a sum of 560,393 rubles in virtue of compensation for the renunciation by Japan of her rights of coownership of the Kwanchengtsu terminus and its appendages.
Art. II. The Russian Government shall remit to the Japanese Government, with the briefest possible delay after the signature of the provisionary convention of the railway connection, 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 2223” in the plan here annexed, as well as the coal mines at Shibelin and Taokiatun, with all their appendages. Immediately after the signing of the said convention the necessary instructions shall be sent by the two Governments of Japan and Russia, on the one part, to the South Manchurian Railway Company, and, on the other part, to the Chinese Eastern Railway, to the effect of proceeding to the transfer of the said railways and of the appendages of 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 terminus of Changchun, between the Russian terminus of Kwanchengtsu and the town of Changchun.
In case of the construction of the Kirin railway line, the Japanese Government shall exert itself for causing the construction by the railway company, outside the limits of the Changchun terminus, crossings or viaducts to the points of the said line and the principal roads between the Russian station of Kwanchengtsu and the town of Changchun.
Art. IV. The detailed regulations relative to the transshipment of the passengers and merchandise of one railway to the other which should be concluded between the two railway companies, Japanese and Russian, shall be discussed and concluded between these companies interested with the briefest possible delay after the signing of the provisionary convention of the railway connection. As to the place and date of the meeting of the delegates respecting that subject, they shall be subsequently determined in the manner most agreeable to the parties.
Art. V. It is agreed between the two high contracting parties that the convention signed with date of this day shall be put in force immediately after the construction of the provisionary 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.
(Signed)
(Signed)