We, however, were so busy with the war that we
had no time to think of keeping ourselves alive. Although the demands
constituted a grave menace to our trade, although the Far East was in an
uproar about them, although America took drastic diplomatic action
against them, Mr. Lloyd George never heard of them until they were
explained to him by the Chinese Delegation at Versailles.[64] He had no
time to find out what Japan wanted, but had time to conclude a secret
agreement with Japan in February 1917, promising that whatever Japan
wanted in Shantung we would support at the Peace Conference.[65] By the
terms of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, Japan was bound to communicate the
Twenty-one Demands to the British Government. In fact, Japan
communicated the first four groups, but not the fifth and worst, thus
definitely breaking the treaty;[66] but this also, one must suppose, Mr.
Lloyd George only discovered by chance when he got to Versailles.
China negotiated with Japan about the Twenty-one Demands, and secured
certain modifications, but was finally compelled to yield by an
ultimatum. There was a modification as regards the Hanyehping mines on
the Yangtze, presumably to please us; and the specially obnoxious fifth
group was altered into an exchange of studiously vague Notes.[67] In
this form, the demands were accepted by China on May 9, 1915. The United
States immediately notified Japan that they could not recognize the
agreement.
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