Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 5.djvu/82

 Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, respectively. A treaty was signed at Shimonoseki on the 17th of April, and subsequently ratified by the sovereigns of the two empires. It declared the absolute independence of Korea: ceded to Japan the part of Manchuria lying south of a line drawn from the mouth of the river Anping to the mouth of the Liao, viâ Fenghwan, Haicheng, and Yingkow, as well as the islands of Formosa and the Pescadores; pledged China to pay an indemnity of 2,000,000 taels; provided for the occupation of Wei-hai-wei by Japan pending payment of the indemnity; secured some additional commercial privileges, as the opening of four new places to foreign trade and the right of foreigners to engage in manufacturing enterprises in China, and provided for the conclusion of a treaty of commerce and amity between the two empires, based on the lines of China's treaties with Occidental Powers.

No sooner did this agreement receive ratification at the hands of the sovereigns of Japan and China, than three of the Great European Powers — Russia, Germany, and France — stepped forward, and presented a joint note to the Tōkyō Government, recommending that the territories ceded to Japan on the mainland of China should not be permanently occupied, as such a proceeding would be detrimental to the lasting peace of the Orient. The recommendation was couched in the usual terms of diplomatic courtesy, but every-