ABSTRACT
IN PURSUANCE of the resolution regarding foreign postal agencies in China, adopted at the Washington Conference on February 1, 1922,1 negotiations were entered into between the Japanese and Chinese representatives in Peking in August, 1922,2 and on December 9, 1922, the so-called Sino-Japanese Postal Agreement was signed.3 The substance of the agreement was made public by the Foreign Office on December 11.4
After preliminary preparations, the text was reported to the Prince Regent for his sanction, whereupon it was referred to the Privy Council for advice on December 21.5 Immediately, a sub-committee of inquiry was appointed to examine the matter, under the chairmanship of Count Miyoji Ito. Count Ito and his conservative colleagues in the Council who were opposed to the reversal of policy toward China now sought to reprimand the Admiral Baron Kato cabinet, particularly the foreign minister. When, during the course of the sub-committee hearings, it was brought out that the question of postal agencies in Kwantung Leased Territory and the South Manchuria Railway zone was reserved for future consideration, the councilors took vigorous
1 Text of the resolution in Conference on the Limitation of Armament (Washington, 1922), p. 1646.
