ABSTRACT
The Powers were not in law bound to observe the "open-door" policy. They had given their undertakings to America, subject to a proviso that the "open-door" policy would be accepted by the other Powers. The Hay Doctrine, as the "open-door" policy has been termed by T. F. Millard, was essentially a commercial one. The point at issue centred upon the scope of the original "open-door" declaration. The foregoing likewise confirms Baron Shidehara's contention that the "open-door" policy was confined to commercial matters. It goes far to destroy the case which Mr. Hughes has sought to establish for the extended scope of Mr. Hay's "open-door" declaration of 1899. There is also another aspect of the question, which we have indicated previously, the connection of the "open-door" policy with the acquisition of the Philippines. Their policy towards China was apparently shaped by a consideration of the potentialities of this market.
