We next come to the question of remission. At page 311 of Treaties and Agreements with and concerning China," a publication of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, it is said "As, upon final adjudication by the American authorities, it. was found that the claims in behalf of American na tionals totaled less than the amount of the indemnity apportioned to the United States, a joint resolution (Public Resolution No. 29) to provide for the remission of a portion of the Chinese Indemniiy was passed by the Congress of the United States, and approved by the President on May 25, 1908, in the The joint resolution referred to authorized the President of the United States to consent to a modification of the bend given for the sum of G.$24,440,778.81 for indemnity against losses and expenses incurred by reason of the Boxer disturbances in 1900, whereby the total payment to be made by China was limited to G.$13,657,492.69, with interest at 4 per cent. per annum, the remainder of the indemnity to be remitted as an act of friendship. Provision was made in the resolution for an appeal to the Court of Claims by any person whose claims had been disallowed by the U.S. Claims Commissioner or the Department of State; G.$2,000,000 being reserved to meet such cases, the balance after adjudication by the Court of Claims to be remitted. By an Executive Order signed by President Roosevelt on December 28, 1908, a scheme of amortization was put in force providing for repayment to China, at the dates and to the amounts therein provided, of sums at those future dates paid by China by "indorsing back the drafts or otherwise." Notes were exchanged between the United States Minister at Peking, Mr. Rockhill, and Prince Ch'ing aa to the time and manner of the return to China of the amounts to be remitted, as to which China relied implicitly on the friendly intentions of the United States Government.
China expressed the intention to send yearly to the United States 400 Chinese students for four years, and thereafter each year at least 50. This act of benevolent statesmanship on the part of the United States Ras had far reaching effects on relations with China; and one can well understand the recurrent agitation for a like remission of part of the indemnity due to Great Britain. One fact only, I think, has hitherto stood in the way of our following such al good example and that is that there was no balance after meeting all) British public and private claims to remit.
In June, 1902, Mr. E. G, Hillier, the British banker delegate, notified claimants as ta the regulations. approved by the Secretary of State for the payments of amounts of _British private claims allowed by
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.