File No. 763.72/6744
The Minister in China ( Reinsch) to the Secretary of State
[Received September 6, 7.30 a.m.]
At a meeting of the Allied representatives this morning it was decided to present to the Chinese Government on the 8th proximo2 [Page 686] a joint note of the substance of which the following is a translation:
Foreign Office having told the representatives of Belgium, France, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Portugal, and Russia that it would be glad to resume the negotiations already entered upon in the months of February and March last with a view to the entry of China into the war, the representatives of the said powers have the honor to make known to the Foreign Office, on the one hand, the advantage that they are disposed to accord to China in recognition of its spontaneous entry into the war, on the other hand, the measures that they will be glad to see taken by China in its own interests.
Section 1
A. The representatives of the powers above mentioned are agreed upon the principle of postponement without interest of the annual installments of the 1901 indemnity during a period of five years beginning with the first day of the month following the date of the present arrangement.
Italian Government, however, for reasons of internal administrative change, cannot yet fix the amount of the portion of the indemnity of which it is disposed to grant postponement.
Furthermore, the share of Russia in the 1901 indemnity being much greater than that of the other Allies, the Russian Government, desiring to participate with them in equal measure in the testimony of friendship which it is proposed to give to China, consents to the postponement of such a portion of the annual installments due to it as is equivalent to the average of the sacrifices made by the other Allies. This average calculated upon proportional shares of each of the great Allied powers would be 9.5926 per cent of the total of the annual installments paid by China to all powers. Russia, which is interested in the indemnity in the proportion of 28.971 per cent, therefore consents to the suspension of such payments as are due it during five years on the same conditions contemplated for the other Allies in the said proportion of 9.520 which it declares itself willing to bring up to 10 per cent in order to make round figures.
It will be with the understanding that the German and Austro-Hungarians must not on the other hand benefit from any payment on account of 1901 indemnity, the treaty of 1901 being, as regards Central Empires, forever abrogated as to this point.
B. The representatives of the powers above mentioned accept the principle of the increase of the maritime customs duties to an effective rate of 5 per cent ad valorem: a commission including Chinese delegates to be intrusted with the modifications to be adopted in the system of customs tariff handling all interests of all the contracting parties and the Allied Governments lending Chinese Government their good offices in order to obtain the acceptance by the neutral powers of this increase in the maritime customs duties.
C. The representatives of the powers above mentioned consent to the temporary access of Chinese troops to the reserved zone of Tientsin so far as may be necessary for the surveillance over the Germans and Austro-Hungarians following a request by the Chinese Government acceded to by the Allied Legations.
[Page 687]Section 2
The representatives of the powers mentioned above are agreed in recommending to China:
- A.
- The promulgation by the Chinese convention of a general tariff for all countries without treaties.
- B.
- Prohibition of Chinese from all trading with enemy subjects.
- C.
- Internment or expulsion of the enemy subjects whose names will be indicated by the Allied Legations; suppression of the right of meeting for enemy subjects; interdiction of navigation and of the use of wireless telegraph apparatus and confiscation of all objects of contraband.
- D.
- Putting under sequestration of German and Austro-Hungarian commercial firms, complete liquidation of which will be effected.
- E.
- An understanding with the representatives of the Allied Governments in interests of the foreign trade of China and with regard for the interests of the Allies to organize in the form of international concessions former German and Austro-Hungarian concessions in the ports of Tientsin and Hankow.
- F.
- Placing at the disposal of the Allies, against payment for transfer or charter of the enemy merchant vessels seized in Chinese ports.
- G.
- Collaboration with the Allied Legations with a view to drawing up regulations similar to those which are in force in the other countries at war with Germany or Austria-Hungary.
- H.
- Cooperation as complete and effective as possible on the part of China in the operations of the Allies.
Representatives of the Allies express the hope that the American Government may authorize me to declare its adherence to the terms of this note preferably at the time of its presentation to the Chinese Government. I assume that such an adherence would be subject to a reservation in regard to section 1, paragraph C, referring to an agreement to which we are not a party.