ABSTRACT
IN the pursuit of her main object, namely, to attain the hegemony in the Far East, Japan had, up to 1911, the support of Britain-not freely granted, it is true, for it was a question not of choice but of necessity. In the amended treaty of 1911, Britain, while still retaining in the preamble of the treaty stipulations with respect to her special interests in India, no longer makes mention of India in the body of the treaty, and the treaty was further emasculated by providing that Britain need not come to Japan’s assistance in case of attack by a Power with whom she had concluded a treaty of general arbitration. This was inserted in view of the impending treaty of general arbitration between Great Britain and the United States. This partial weakening of the force of the treaty of 1905 meant, in other words, that Britain felt impelled, for certain reasons, to “pour a little water in her wine.” The beverage had got to be stronger than was agreeable to the British palate.
