include representatives of the Russian Soviet Government. Japan further agreed to negotiate the conclusion of a settlement of the Nikolaievsk affair immediately after a basic agreement had been reached, then to withdraw her troops from Northern Saghalien and meet Chita's wishes regarding the transfer of property then in the hands of the Japanese Government. It was further proposed by Japan that, providing agreement were reached at Dairen by the middle of April, she would withdraw her troops from Siberia, instead of providing the relief forces which were then due. Chita, however, proposed to despatch her troops immediately to Vladivostok, without awaiting the Japanese withdrawal, and also urged that a time limit be fixed for this withdrawal. Regarding this demand as an impossible one, the Japanese Government instructed their delegates to leave Dairen.

The Japanese Government, however, were unwilling to abandon the matter as hopeless, and, in their desire to expedite a settlement, decided to withdraw all Japanese troops from Siberia and other points on the mainland by the end of October. On July 28 the General Staff Office in Tokio issued orders to General Machida, Commander-in-Chief of the Saghalien forces, to send home the two battalions of infantry and one company of engineers stationed at Nikolaievsk and Decastries, and on September 27 the last contingent of these troops sailed for Japan.

Meanwhile the Japanese Government had received proposals from the Far Eastern Republic towards the end of June for the re-opening of a Conference to settle outstanding questions and suggesting the participation of representatives of the Soviet Government. The Japanese Government consented on condition that the basis of the negotiations should be what had been dealt with at Dairen and that other questions should be discussed at some later date. The Japanese Government also agreed to the inclusion of Soviet delegates at the Conference, provided that a suitable form of agreement could be found. After considerable discussion as regards the venue of the Conference, Changchun (Manchuria) was selected and a Conference was opened there on September 6, Japan being represented by Mr. Matsudaira, Chief of the European and American Department of the Foreign Office, and by Mr. Matsushima, formerly Consul-General at Harbin, who had also represented Japan at the Dairen Conference. The Soviet Government's delegate was M. Joffe and the Far Eastern Republic was represented by M. Janson. By September 16 accord had been reached upon the provisions of a draft agreement concerning the mutual abstention from propaganda and hostile actions, the liberty of entry and travel in the respective territories, and assurances in regard to the life and property of the respective subjects and citizens. On September 18 further articles were agreed upon regarding rights to engage in commerce, industry, and the

professions of respective nationals, freedom of trade and navigation, the opening of postal and telegraphic communications, revision of the Russo-Japanese Fishing Convention, and the abolition of restrictions hitherto imposed on foreigners with regard to mining, forestry, and other enterprises. Suddenly the smooth progress of negotiation was interrupted by the Soviet representative, who requested that the Japanese Government should fix a date for the evacuation of northern Saghalien. The Japanese representatives reiterated the firm policy of their Government that this occupation was due to the Nikolaievsk affair and would cease when a settlement of that affair had been effected. The Soviet representative thereupon declared himself unable to proceed, owing to the grave nature of the question, and requested an adjournment of the Conference pending special instructions from Moscow. The deadlock thus reached was not overcome and the Conference broke up on September 24.

On September 27, Count Uchida issued a statement on behalf of the Japanese Government expressing the Government's deep regret at the failure of the Conference, but announcing that the policy of withdrawing the Japanese troops from Siberia would not be changed. Less than one month later the evacuation of Siberia was duly effected, the last of the Japanese forces leaving Vladivostok for Japan on the afternoon of October 25. All arms and munitions in the custody of the Japanese Army had been previously handed over to the representatives of the Chita Government who took control of the city without incident. A small contingent of Japanese marines landed to form a guard for the Japanese Consulate, and one British and one American warship, as well as two Japanese warships and four destroyers, remained in the port for a short period after the evacuation.

Thus was brought to a close an episode which had long been a cause of deep concern to the Japanese Government, and had provoked considerable comment and interest both at home and abroad. Foreign disapproval of the presence of the Japanese forces in Siberia was chiefly based on the view that the Siberian expedition was a Japanese inception, whereas it had originated with the United States Government, and had been approved by the Allies during the year 1918.

In regard to home affairs, Admiral Baron Kato struck the keynote of a policy of retrenchment and reform immediately after taking office in June. He issued a circular to his colleagues in the Ministry instructing them that a reduction of 20 per cent. was to be arranged in their Departmental estimates to be included in the next budget, and with regard to the Army and Navy estimates, the reduction was to be still larger than 20 per cent.

Among other steps taken during the year with the object of obtaining the desired economies in administration, an Imperial ordinance was published in the official Gazette of September 18

abolishing the Diplomatic Advisory Board, as well as the National Defence Council, the Colonial Committee of Investigation and two other extraordinary Boards of Inquiry, one dealing with industrial and the other with educational and administrative affairs.

In the realm of social reform, the Government announced in November various measures which it had undertaken in accordance with many of the decisions of the International Labour Conference of the League of Nations. The draft conventions on unemployment and for establishing facilities for finding employment for seamen were ratified and bills were to be introduced to make amendments in existing legislation to bring it into conformity with the conventions fixing the minimum age for admission of children to industrial employment and to employment at sea. Ratification of these two conventions would follow adoption of the bills by Parliament and the consent of the Privy Council. As regarded the convention concerning the employment of women before and after childbirth, certain provisions were inserted in the Health Insurance Act of 1920. A further Bill to amend the factory laws and thus attain conformity with the draft convention concerning the night employment of women and young persons in industry, was also foreshadowed.

The year 1922 may well go down to posterity as "the conference year," for seldom have so many memorable and important gatherings been crowded into the span of twelve months, and at practically all of these meetings Japan was represented by her delegates. At Cannes were present Baron Hayashi and Viscount Ishii, the Japanese Ambassadors in London and Paris respectively. The same diplomats also represented Japan at Genoa, and Baron Hayashi was later the delegate at the meeting of Allied Premiers in London at the beginning of August. At the Assembly of the League of Nations at Geneva in September, the Japanese delegates were Baron Hayashi, Viscount Ishii, and Mr. Adatchi, Ambassador at Brussels. Japanese delegates were also present at the thirteenth Conference of the International Maritime Committee of shipowners, merchants, and lawyers, which was opened in London on October 9, several of the same delegates attending the diplomatic conference at Brussels, which immediately followed it. A further conference on the Rules of War, which took place in December at The Hague, was also attended by Japanese delegates. At the Lausanne Conference, which opened on November 20, Japan was represented by Baron Hayashi and Mr. Ochiai, the Japanese Ambassador at Rome.

The Japanese Training Squadron, which had visited England in November and December of the previous year, paid a visit to Malta in January on the way home from its world cruise. Another Training Squadron, consisting of three cruisers, under the command of Vice-Admiral Taniguchi, in the course of a

long cruise, paid a visit to South African waters in November, visiting Cape Town and Durban.

The British aviation instructors in Japan, consisting of thirty commissioned and non-commissioned officers, received in October Japanese decorations, which were granted by Imperial decree in recognition of the great service rendered by the instructors to the naval flying forces of Japan since their arrival in May, 1921. The decorations were presented at a full-dress parade held at the Kasumigaura flying station by Rear-Admiral Tajiri, of the Imperial Japanese Navy.

The Japanese Industrial Mission, headed by Dr. Takuma Dan, which had arrived in England in December of the previous year, completed its visit at the end of January. The Mission, which had for its object the consolidation of mutual understanding and co-operation in trade, as well as the investigation of the industrial system of Great Britain, had the honour of being received by the King at Buckingham Palace and was also hospitably entertained by public and municipal institutions, firms, and private individuals. The itinerary included Birmingham, Coventry, Sheffield, Bradford, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Newcastle and the Mission subsequently proceeded to the Continent.

Another Industrial Mission, headed by Mr. Reizo Yamashima, visited South America in August with the object of stimulating and rebuilding trade relations between Japan, Brazil, Argentina and other South American countries and also of representing Japan at the Brazilian Centenary Exhibition.

DUTCH EAST INDIES.

By the revision of the Constitution which was effected in Holland in 1922, the Dutch East Indies have ceased to be regarded officially as a colony, and henceforth are considered as forming part of the territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The supreme direction rests with the Crown, whilst the general Government, in the name of the Crown, is carried on by the Governor-General. The intention of the revised Constitution is as much as possible to place matters of local interest in the hands of the bodies and authorities which are established in the Dutch East Indies. Preparations have already been made for introducing there a new form of Government. In the meantime the policy of decentralisation of the administration and of the emancipation of the native population is continued steadily. The new legislation, which aims at the creation of organs for local autonomy and administrative decentralisation, was enacted in February, 1922.

The development of the Archipelago was hampered in 1922 by the economic depression and its effect on the financial position. Under the influence of the boom, which had caused a veritable stream of gold to flow into the Dutch East Indies,

the authorities had spent money too lavishly on reforms and raising of salaries. The consequence of the reaction was that the deficit on the ordinary budget for 1922 was estimated at 175,000,000 guilders. Fortunately, by the end of the year, this deficit proved likely not to exceed 52,000,000. The 1923 Budget shows a deficit on the ordinary service of 88,000,000. The total expenditure is estimated at 797,000,000, and the total revenue at 615,000,000. The ordinary budget, as compared with the estimates for the previous year, show a saving of 128,000,000, whilst on the extraordinary budget 36,000,000 are saved. The policy of the Indies, as the Governor-General declared in his opening speech in the Volksraad on May 18, should aim above all things at retrenchment and increasing revenue, also the vigorous exploiting of the rich natural resources of the country.

In the Indies, as in Holland itself, official salaries have been lowered. The strength of the army has been reduced from 38,000 to 35,000 men, and orders for war material have also been reduced. The proposed raising of the import and export duties by 25 per cent., which had been estimated to yield 26·4 million guilders, was rejected on April 4 by the First Chamber, chiefly because this meant an increase in the export duties on petroleum and its derivatives. The First Chamber also pronounced itself in favour of the abolition of the existing special taxes on products of agriculture and of petroleum by the end of 1922 and a tax on those products based exclusively on ordinary profit, extra profit, and excess profit. As from January 1, 1923, the levying of export duties on petroleum and its derivatives has as a matter of fact been stopped, pending the abolition of those duties and their replacement by a refining duty or by some other tax. During 1922 the revenue was increased by the levying of a surtax on the income tax. A loan of 100,000,000 dollars was placed without difficulty in the United States during the course of the year. The total indebtedness of the Dutch East Indies was thereby raised towards the end of 1922 to about 740,000,000 guilders. Floating debt to the extent of 450,000,000 has still to be covered. In the discussion of the Budget in the Second Chamber the Minister of the Colonies, M. de Graaff, expressed his conviction that with a vigorous policy of economy during the next few years the ordinary Budget for 1925 would be fully balanced. An entire reform of the system of taxation is being prepared to that end.

By the law of March 31, 1922, the Bank of Java, simultaneously with the prolongation of its charter as a circulation bank for a term of fifteen years, obtained recognition for its notes as legal tender, such recognition, in view of the war conditions, having already been provisionally granted in August, 1914.

With regard to the general political situation in the Pacific, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jonkheer van Karnebeek, made some important statements in the Second Chamber on February