An Ancient Principle Adapted to Present Needs: China's Original Attitude In view of the prominence which the subject of extraterritoriality has attained within recent days, it is well that the public should have a clear conception of the reasons for its inception and its existence.
ill be seen below it has an ancient origin, and it is of the first st to observe that at various its application has been very the idea of extraterritoriality is very very old. In classical times the Chinese used to have special officers appointed to govern the outlying tribes.or barbarians who had submitted the empire or over whom the-empire exercised suzerainty, and these officers did not interfere with the customs of such people. The idea underlying this special treataenv was that such barbarian tribes could not be expected to conform to Chinese law and custom; in other words that Chinese law and custom were unsuitable to them.
This way of treating subjects of barbarian races was exemplified in the treatment of Western traders to China and the segregation of British and other foreign merchants at Canton in the days of East India. Company trade there. Their being allowed to live on an island and being regulated and governed—by their own officers was not from the Chinese point of view a_ privilege but a following of their own traditional attitude towards out. side barbarians.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.