The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-12-04

geek I solution which may bring abou permanent safety and peace to China
 preserve Chinese territorial and admins
 ratiye entity, protect all rights guaran
 teed to friendly powers by treaty and in
 ternational law, and safeguard for tn,
 world the principle of equal and impartia
 trade with all parts of the Chinese Elm
 pire. v
 Faithful to those professions which, a.
 it proved, reflected the views and pur
 poses of the other cooperating govern
 ments, all our efforts have been directed
 toward ending the anomalous situation ir
 China by negotiations for a settlement al
 the earliest possible moment. As soor
 as the sacred duty of relieving our lega
 ton and its dependents was accomplished
 we withdrew from active hostilities, leay
 ing our legation under an adequate
 guard i'll Peking as a channel of negotia tions and settlement--a course adopted
 by others of the interested powers. Over l lures of the empowered representatives
 of the Chinese Emperor have been con sidorahly entertained.
 ,Ehe Russian proposition looking to the
 restoration of the Imperial power in Pe-
 king has been accepted as in full conso- nance with our own desires, for we have held and hold that effective reparation
 for wrongs suffered and an enduring set 1 tlemcnt that will make their recurrence | impossible can best be brought about un-
 der an authority which the Chinese na- 1 tion reverences and obeys. While so do-
 ing we forego no jot of our undoubted
 right to exact exemplary and deterrent punishment Of the responsible authors
 and abettors of the criminal acts where 1 by we and other nations have suffered ] grieyous injury.
 For the real culprits, the evil counselors i wto have misled the Imperial judgment 1 and diverted the sovereign authority to their own guilty ends, full eXpiation be- comes imperative within the rational lim- its of retiibutve justice. Regarding this as the initial condition of an acceptable settlement between China and the powers, said in my message of October 18th to the Chinese Emperor:
 T trust that negotiations may begin so soon as we and the other offended govern ments shall be effectively satisfied of Your Maiesty's ability and power to treat with just Gternness the principal offend CTS, who are douhly culpable, not alone toward the foreigners, but toward Your Majesty, under whose rule the purpose of China to dwell in concord with the world had hitherto found expression in the vel come and protection assured to stran- gers"
 Taking as a point of departure, tho Imperial edict appointing Earl Ii Hung Chang and Prince Ching plenipoteptiaries A, Al J;,4 .Np September 25th. whereby certain high of- ticials were designated for punishment, this Government has moved, in concert with the other powers, toward the open ing of negotiations, which Mir. Conger, assisted by Mir. RockhiIl, has been au- thorized to conduct on behalf of the Unit ed States.
 General bases of negotiation formulat- cd by the Government of the French Re- public have heen accepted with certain reservations as to details, made neces- sary by our own circumstances, but, like similar reservations by other powers, open to discussion in the progress of the negotiations The disposition of the Elm peror's Government to admit liability for wropgs done to foreign governments and their nationals, and to act upon such od- ditional designation of the guilty persons as the foreign ministers at Picking may be in position to make, gives hope of a complete settlement of all questions in volved assuring foreign rights of resi- denco and intercourse on terms of equal | ity for all the world.
 I regard as one of the essential factors of durable adjustment the seeurement ! of adequate guarantees for liberty of faith since insecurity of those natives | who. may embrace alien creeds is . scarcely less effeetual assault upon the rights of foreign worship and teaching | than would be the direct invasion thereof
 The matter of indemnity for our wronged citizens is a question of grave concern. Measured in money alone, sufficient reparation may prove to be be- yond the ability of China to meet All the powers concur in emphatic disclaim- CTS of any purpose of aggrandizement through the dismemberment of the Elm pire, am disposed to think that due compensation may be made in part by increased guarantees of security for for eign rights and immunities, and, most important of all by the opening of Chi ma to the equal commerce of all the NOIlu. I Iltst NleNS Huft bctu ullu Nlli 1 be earnestly advocated by our represent atives.
 The Government of Russia has put for ward a suggestion, that in the event of protracted divergence of views in re- gard to indemnities the matter may be relegatod to the Court of Arbitration at The Hague I favorably incline to this, that high tribunal could not fail to reach solution no less conducive to the stability and enlarged prosperity of China itself than immediately beneficial to the powers. Notifications of a treaty of eXtradition with the Argentine Republic were ex- changed on June 2d last
 While the Austro- Hungarian Govern 1 nent has in the many cases that have been reported of the arrest of our natu- : 'alized citizens for alleged evasion of military service faithfully observed the provisions of the treaty and released { uch persons from military obligations it ( las in some instances expelled those { whose presence in the community of their rigin was asserted to have a pernicious ' influence. Representations have been ( made against this course whenever its ( doption has appeared unduly onerous, C We have been urgently solicited by Bel ium to ratify the International Conven- I ion of June, 1899, amendatory of the pre- { -ious Convention of 1890 in respect to r