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RV 291 10.Mutual engagement not to impede the connection of the Corean railway and the East-China railway when those railways shall have been eventually extended to the Yalu.

11.This Agreement to supplant all previous Agreements between Japan and Russia respecting Corea.

(Telegram.)Tokio, November 1st, 1903.

called on me October 31st and stated that the definite proposals which I presented to him as amendments to the Russian proposals as reported in my telegram of the 30th October were beyond his instructions, and that he would, November 1st, telegraph the full text of the said proposals to his Government and ask for further instructions. Accordingly you are instructed to see as soon as possible the Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs in the absence of Count Lamsdorff, and say to him that in preparing the proposals in question, the Japanese Government did not fail to take into full consideration the wishes of the Russian Government. You will inform him that in proposing a joint engagement to respect the independence and territorial integrity of China equally with Corea, the Japanese Government were merely asking a reaffirmation of declarations already spontaneously made by Russia, and when it is considered that Russia is prepared to make such an engagement respecting Corea, the reason for excluding China is not understood. The Japanese Government are prepared to admit that the Manchurian question, so far as it does not affect their rights and interests, is purely a Russo-Chinese question; but Japan has extensive and important rights and interests in that region, and the Japanese Government think that in declaring that Manchuria is outside their sphere of special interest, they are at least entitled to ask for a correlative engagement on the part of Russia not to interfere with the commercial and residential rights and immunities belonging to Japan in virtue of her treaty engagements with China. You will in addition point out that the invitation of the Japanese Government, which originated the present negotiations, had in view a definition of the special interest of Japan and Russia in those regions of the Far East where