Peking, Mar. 8.
There has been much desultory discussion lately of the disposition to be made of the British share of the Boxer indemnity. This is a very delicate subject in all its phases. The Chinese have shown that they recognized this by retraining, with very few exceptions, from all expression of opinion, although every intelligent Chinese who reads his newspapers must have very decided opinions upon every suggestion that has been made for the use of remitted indemnity payments. Of all the suggestions made there is only one general proposal made which an outsider of any nationality can discuss with a British subject without seeming impertinent, without seeming to offer unsolicited advice to a people thoroughly competent, to paso judgment \for themselves. This general.proposal is that the remitted portion of the indemnity should be used in some way for the education of Chinese. Upon this the British residents in China are as well qualified as persons of any other nationality to form and express opinions. But while the general proposal is under discussion, sub judice og it were, it is a particularly delicate topic for the British residents themselves to discuss frankly in print. In the back of many minds there are opinions upon the education of Chinese students which have to be expressed with the utmost tact and sympathy if they are not to be very offensive to. the Chinese people. There is every reason to believe that many of these opinions are shared by all classes of well informed Chinese and they are ideas which if, expressed by the Chinese themselves, would come gracefully from them and would open the way to a free discussion of the whole problem of educating Chinese students along modern lines. If the Chinese were to take the initiative in this discussion, all hands could _participate without the slightest fear of misunderstanding or bad feeling. They seem to think, however, that suggestions from them would be as bad form as a hint from the prospective recipient of a Christmas present to the prospective donor. Motives of delicacy have therefore created an impasse from which the most. conservative and valuable opinions of both the Chinese and the British residents in China are unlikely to emerge unless they are elicited by an expression of opinion from some rank outsider like the writer which will present something that can be cither endorsed or challenged by those who hesitate to take the initiative.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.