But, apart from the moral aspect of the question, after all the tall talk of English statesmen and newspapers it is a sorry climb-down. The position originally assumed was admirable from every stand-point. But now what can England say to others who may grab bigger slices of territory now looks even probable that the first decade or two of the twentieth century will see the final dividing up of this most ancient of empires. For nations, as well 9s individuals, there seems to be a tide in their affairs which {taken at the flood leads on to fortune. China has missed the flood tide and must suffer the inevitable consequences.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.