The Chinese Government's answer to Japan was that no further
objection would be made to the widening of the gauge and the necessary changes of route. It proposed, however, that the gauge should be the same as that of the Imperial Chinese Railway, and that a joint Commission should be appointed to determine the course of the line. The Japanese Minister replied that it had always been intended to make the gauge of the railway the same as that of the Imperial Chinese Railway, and that, as a joint Commission had already surveyed the line last spring and agreed upon the route, he could not admit the necessity of appointing another Commission. The unusual promptitude with which the Chinese Government has felt obliged to act, and the courteous tone of its communica- tions, have had a good effect, and the tension has passed, although China still disputes the right of Japan to police the line.
