Furthermore, publication in the
Metropolitan press of what the Japanese were doing behind the
scenes created a fear that extraordinary intrigues were being
indulged in with the object of securing by means of secret
diplomacy certain guarantees of a personal nature. Apart from
being associated with the semi-official negotiations of the
Entente Powers in Peking, Japan was carrying on a second set of
negotiations partly by means of a confidential agent named Kameio
Nishihara dispatched from Tokio specially for that purpose by
Count Terauchi, the Japanese Premier, a procedure which led to the
circulation of highly sensational stories regarding China's future
commitments. When the Premier, General Tuan Chi-jui, had made his
statement to Parliament on the 10th March, regarding the necessity
of an immediate rupture with Germany, he had implied that China
had already received assurances from the Allies that there would
be a postponement of the Boxer Indemnities for a term of years, an
immediate increase in the Customs Tariff, and a modification of
the Peace Protocol of 1901 regarding the presence of Chinese
troops near Tientsin. Suddenly all these points were declared to
be in doubt. Round the question of the length of time the
Indemnities might be postponed, and the actual amount of the
increase in the Customs Tariff, there appeared to be an
inexplicable muddle largely owing to the intervention of so many
agents and to the fact that the exchange of views had been almost
entirely verbal, unofficial, and secret.
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