an Agreement, known as the Tumen
Kiang Boundary Agreement, was arrived at between China and Japan, who
was then the acknowledged suzerain of Korea, dealing, inter alia, with
the status of these Koreans. It was provided that while Koreans were to
continue to enjoy protection of their landed property, they were to be
subject to Chinese laws and to the jurisdiction of Chinese courts. The
subsequent annexation of Korea did not affect this agreement in point of
international law, and as a matter of practice Japan has adhered to it
until September, 1915. Then the Japanese Consul suddenly interfered in
the administration of justice by the local authorities over the Koreans
and claimed that he should have jurisdiction.

The Japanese claim is based on the Treaty Respecting South Manchuria and
Eastern Inner Mongolia signed in May, 1915, article 5 of which provides
that civil and criminal cases in which the defendants are Japanese shall
be tried and adjudicated by the Japanese consul.

The Chinese view is that this article is inapplicable to Koreans in this
region and that the Tumen Kiang Agreement continues in force. This view
is based on a saving clause in article 8 of the Treaty of 1915 which
says that "all existing treaties between China and Japan relating to
Manchuria shall, except where otherwise provided for by treaty, remain
in force."

In the first place, the origin of the Tumen Kiang Agreement supports
this view. When the Japanese assumed suzerainty over Korea they raised
certain questions as to the boundary between China and Korea. There were
also outstanding several questions regarding railways and mines between
China and Japan. Japan insisted that the boundary question and the
railway and mining questions be settled at the same time. As a result,
two agreements were concluded in 1909 one respecting the boundary
question, the Tumen Kiang Agreement, and the other respecting railways
and mines whereby Japan obtained many new and valuable privileges and
concessions, such as the extension of the Kirin-Changchun Railway to the
Korean frontier, the option on the Hsinminfu-Fakumen line, and the
working of the Fushun and Yentai mines, while in return China obtained a
bare recognition of existing rights, namely the boundary between China
and Korea and the jurisdiction over the Koreans in the Yenchi region.
The two settlements were in the nature of quid pro quo though it is
clear that the Japanese side of the scale heavily ou