Expenditures of the Russo-Japanese war / by Gotaro Ogawa.

14 EXPENDITURES OF THE RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR

Russia demanded that her counter proposition as well as
Japan's draft be discussed at Tokyo. Finding it impossible
to come to a speedy agreement on these points and considering it disadvantageous to waste time in the midst of steady
expansion of Russian armaments in Manchuria, Japan yielded
to the Russian position in every respect and requested that
the counter proposition be submitted at once. It was after
considerable delay that Russia's counter proposition was
presented on October 3. It differed from Japan's proposition in basic principle and excluded Manchuria from the
province of the intended negotiations. Making Korea the
only topic of discussion, moreover, it was provided that neither power should use any part of the Korean territory for
military purposes; that no military works calculated to
menace the free navigation of the Channel of Korea should
be constructed on the Korean coast, and that nearly one third
of the Korean territory north of 390 of north latitude should
be made a neutral zone. Whether or not there was room
for Japan to consider such a counter proposition, we need
hardly say. Foreign Minister Komura adopted the two
propositions as bases of negotiations and had the first interview, on October 6, with Minister Rosen, representing Russia at Tokyo. This and subsequent interviews did not result
in any compromise of divergent views; therefore, on October 30,
Japan presented an amended draft and sought Russia's reconsideration. In this amendment, the fundamental principle
embodied in the original proposition was still maintained,
but it compromised in various respects and recognized, among
other things, the Russian contention of prohibiting the construction of military works on the Korean coast, while insisting upon the creation of a neutral zone on both the Korean
and Manchurian frontiers. Russia's reply to this was again
considerably delayed and at last, on December II, a second
counter-proposition was submitted to the Japanese Government, merely compromising as to the circumstances under
which Japan might despatch her troops to Korea; and maintaining the original Russian position in almost all other re