An important meeting of the diplomatic corps dealt with the procedure in the matter of claims against the Chinese Government on account of damage suffered during the revolution. The Japanese, French, and German representatives were inclined to insist that the Chinese Government be held responsible for all losses which could in any way be said to have been caused, directly or indirectly, by the revolution. In line with the traditional policy of fairness and moderation followed by the United States I strongly urged that only losses directly and physically traceable to violent action should be paid, eliminating such uncertain and contingent matters as anticipated profits. The British minister gave support to this view; his legation, too, had not encouraged the filing of indirect claims. After much discussion, the suggestion was accepted in the form proposed. By this action were ruled out indirect claims to the amount of nearly four million dollars, which had already been listed and included by some of the legations in their totals.
The British Legation, in which diplomatic meetings are held, is an old palace, formerly the residence of a Manchu prince, which was purchased by the British Government at the time when legations were first established at Peking. Fortunately, the fine architectural forms of the old structure had been retained sufficiently to leave this group of buildings justly proportioned, beautifully decorated, and free from jarring foreign notes. One passes to the minister's residence through two lofty, open halls, with tiled roofs and richly coloured eaves. The residential buildings are Chinese without and semi-European within, Chinese decorative elements having been allowed to remain in the inner spaces. The diplomatic meetings always took place in the dining room, where a huge portrait of Queen Victoria, from the middle period of her reign, impassively—not without symbolic significance—looked down upon the company.
There were at this time about sixteen legations in Peking, so that the meetings were not too large for intimate conversation. The proceedings were usually carried on in the English language, partly out of deference to the Dean, and partly because English has come quite naturally to be the international language of the Far East.
The diplomatic corps in Peking meets frequently, and it has more comprehensive and complicated business than falls to such a body in any other capital. Matters of diplomatic routine occupy only a subsidiary place. Because of the system of extra-territoriality under which foreign residents remain exempt from Chinese law and subject only to that of their own respective nation, the foreign representatives in China are constantly concerned with the internal affairs of that country. The effects of any legislation by the Chinese Government upon foreign residents have to be considered by the diplomatic corps: if the most punctilious minister discovers that the measure in question in any way transgresses that absolute immunity from local law which is claimed, then objection will be made, and the unanimous consent, which is necessary to approve of such matters, is difficult or impossible to obtain.
Questions of taxation are constantly before the diplomatic corps, as the Chinese local officials quite naturally attempt to find some way to make the foreigners bear at least part of the taxation of a government whose general protection they demand. The methods of proving claims and collecting indemnities give rise to much discussion, whenever there has been some outbreak of revolutionary activity. As certain revenues have been pledged for international loans, the diplomatic corps will object to the Chinese Government using these revenues at all before they have been released as not needed for defraying the debt charges. One of the most fruitful causes of irritation comes from attempts frequently made by one or the other minister to "hold up" the funds belonging to the Chinese until they have fulfilled some particular demand which he had made. The fact that it may be an entirely extraneous and irrelevant matter, such as the appointment of a national of the minister to a Chinese government job, does not seem to disturb the man who thinks he has found a clever way to achieve his purpose. The international settlement at Shanghai and the régime of foreign troops in Peking and along the Mukden Railway also give rise to a great many problems which are referred to the diplomatic corps. From questions involving the recognition of the Government itself to such matters as the advisability of bambooing prisoners at Shanghai, no question seems to be too big or little to come before this body.
The discussions tend rather to avoid general issues and to confine themselves to a statement and explanation of the position taken by each government. Occasionally the stubborn and unreasonable adherence of one or two representatives to what is considered by others as an unduly severe and exacting position, leads to joint efforts in an attempt to make a more fair and liberal policy prevail. The discussions are not infrequently longer than is necessary; the main points are lost sight of, and discussion becomes entangled, because one side may be talking of one thing, whereas the other has quite a different matter in view. Until it is discovered that there is no real difference or only a difference in form, much valuable time may be consumed. At times, these conferences remind one of a university faculty meeting.
Weeks were filled with innumerable conferences on matters of business. In China it rarely happens that the decision lies with only one official. In order to have a proposal accepted, a great many men have to be consulted and won over. Impatient representatives, backed by strong national force, have frequently tried to cut short this procedure, and, planting themselves before the official whose assent they needed, have "pounded the table" until a promise was obtained. They sometimes succeeded by so powerfully getting on the nerves of the Chinese official that he saw no way to save his peace of mind but by giving in. At one time I expressed great surprise to the Minister of Finance, because, instead of insisting that reasonable arrangements for the renewal of a certain short-term loan should be made, he had given the representative in question—the agent of a munition company—a large order for additional materials which were not needed, only to secure an extension of time. He said, in self-defence: "The manners of the man were so abominable that I could not stand it any longer."