The sun., 1905-09-28
rhs Acknowledgements Ai,laecs.

| fngth1 hnt Japan on NWBust 70 wv"
becn mads known unofIlcially. moro
light II thrown on Ia significance by m
analysis Of the teSt, which wc pub
ished yesterday. and NJ an accompany.
Ing communication by Lord LANspowNR.
To sum up lie purport in nutshell. go
may say NJ once that the compact prom
lses 10 assure the peace of Eastern Asia
and Of British india, the uninterrupted
absorption Of Corea by Japan and the
maintenance Of China's political indo.
pendence and territorial integrity.
On its face this alliance is for defensive,
not offensive, purposes. Article II. do
clares that II by reason OF an unpro-
voked attack or aggressive motion,
wherever arising, on the part OF any
other Power or Powers. either contractor
should be involved in war. the other con-
tractor shall forthwith come to its as
sistance. The same article provides
that the aggression must be leveled at
the territorial rights or special interests
Of the parties in the regions Of Eastern
Asia and india. Ostensibly, this article
could not be stretched to cover an in
vasion OF the British Isles, or an attack
upon the British position in Egypt, or
upon Britain's possessions In the New
World. In Africa, or in Australia. Per-
sia, which was reported to be included
within tho range Of the agreement. is
not named. and at first sight can hardly
be presumed to have been contemplated
by tho sisnatories. since between Persia
and India are interposed the buffer
States Of Afghanistan and Baluchistan.
While. however. the treaty on the sur
face seems restricted to cooperation for
mutual protection In certain localities,
1t does not condemn the parties to await
actual attack, but in the first article pro-
vides q way Of anticipating It by pre-
cautionary offensive operations. For
the signatories agree that whenever in
the opinion Of either any Of it's terri
torial rights or special interests in the
regions Of Eastern Asia or India are in
jeopardy the two Governments shall
consider In common tho measures which
should be taken TO safeguard those rights
and interests. II, therefore, either Rus
sia or Germany should attempt to secure
naval station in the Persian Gulf,
Great Britain, should she deem such an
acquisition incompatible with the safety
OF India, might call upon Japan to CO.
operate with her in averting the danger
So, too, IL the number Of soldiers which
by the Treaty Of Portsmouth Russia is
at liberty to keep for the protection Of
the section of Manchurian Railway
awarded to that Power-fifteen soldiers
per kilometer-should be suspiciously
exceeded, japan would be at liberty to
request England to deliberate with her
on the proper method Of dealing with
such an infringement OF the Russo
Japanese treaty's stipulations. 1t is
obvious that under cover OF this first
article an alliance nominally restricted
to defense in certain localities might
practically acquire an aggressive char
aoter.
Some attention should also be paid
to the fifth article Of the new compact,
by which the parties agree that neither,
without consulting the other, will enter
into separate agreement with another
Power to prejudice the objects described
in the preamble Of the present agree
ment. The phrsseology is vague. Sup
pose the two parties differ as to whether
the objects described in the preamble
would be prejudlced by a particular
agreement contemplated by one Of them
with another Power. Which opinion is
to prevail? The ambiguity would have
been avoided had the instrument dis
tinctly asserted that neither Of the
parties could, without tho consent of
the other, enter into any separate agree
rnent with third Power. Such stipu-
lation would have stopped England
from entering, without Japan's con-
ourrence, into future alliance with
France or with Italy. or into an agree
ment with Russia for the solution of the
problem Of the Near East
Lord LANsDowEB, in a note accom-
panying copy Of the agreement, in
structed the British Ambassador at
st. Petersburg to assert that no excep-
ton could be taken to it by any OF the
Powers interested in the Far East, since
it was purely defensive. We doubt
whether the Berlin Government will
take this view Of the matter The pre-
amble expressly declares that one OF the
objects OF the new treaty Is to preserve
the territorial integrity Of the Chinese
Empire. This means that Germany
must not try to secure at Chinas ex-
pense square inch Of soil beyond what
she already holds at Kiaochau, and
must give UP her contemplated absorp-
ton of the great province Of Shantung,
with its tens of millions of inhabitants
Moreover, the spirit OF the treaty may
impel Japan and Great Britain to re-
nounce their respective leases of Port
Arthur and Wei-hai-wei, in which event
the pressure Upon Germany to surrender