April 2.
Ove London correspondent informs us to-day that the China. Indemnity Bill, otherwise the Bill to authorize using Britain's: share of the Boxer Indemnity for other purposes than relief lof the British taxpayer, should become law by Easter; and then it will only remain for the Advisory Committee to decide how the: money should be spent. In passing it is'much to be hoped that that Committee will take advantage of the presence of the well known Wesleyan missionary lof Changsha, Mr. G. G. Warren, now at Home on leave, to obtain his opinion, No one is better: qualified by past and present experience to advise. The long delay that has occurred since the Government first decided to use the Indemnity for "edu tional or other purposes" mutually advantageous to China and Britain is due to the accidental intervention of two general elections. Now it much to be hoped there will be no further—disappointments. But the words placed in inverted commas above contain an ambiguity which is likely to give trouble unless amended in Committee, Mr. Ronald McNeill, when supporting the Bill at its second reading, took it that the phrase must mean educational Purposes or something cognate. And looking back to the time of the original decision, we may be sure this was the intention. But the phrase unquestionably admits of other meanings, fact of which the advocates of spending the money on indus. trial works will take advantage.
these circumstances memorial has been sent to the Foreign Office as the result of a meeting recently held Cambridge. It is signed by Sir Arthur' Shipley, Master of! Christ's, and a number of other Masters and" University Professors. The memorial covers. the ground so well that it may be quoted in ful We, the undersigned, are of opin-fon that, for the following reasons the China Indemnity Fond ought to be devoted exclusively: to edu or medical purposes:—(a) In China, public opinion, as distinguished from military desires, overwhelmingly in favour of edu:
some form or other.
(b) Education is the only field [on which real ce-operation between English and. Chinese is possible, At this, juncture, when China being subjected to pressure from Russia and Japan alike, a friendly movement which during 20 years would be bringing Chinn and land into' closer understanding would be invaluable to both nations.
fe) The other remitting Powers have devoted their respective quotas either to education exclusively (Russia), or by legislative action to educational and. ealtural pur poses (United States und Japan). England must not be allowed.
"face" in China by making Hower choice: although, when her Jehoice "has been made, she wilt doubtless take "distinctive line of Railways, roads, conservanund such ameliorative undertakings, though good in themselves, Jocal and narrow in their scope of nem national and dis The Chinese would see in them an absence of disinterestedness, and would resent the foreign control involved. Apart, however, from these considerations, an ahs solute bar to the effectiveness of stich use of the fand exists im ite being limited to a total of £100,000 ts are not the only Chinese favour of spending the money railways, which was first proposed by Sir Robert Ho Tung. And one great argument he pressed was that, by: investi i double rule: complete the railways and from the revenues thereof provide a fund in per-[petuity for education,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.