Telegrams from China have given us further details.
It seems that the German minister to China has presented a string of claims to the Chinese Government which are so absurdly large in comparison to the amount of damage done, that people do not scruple to say that they are only offered as a means of enabling the Kaiser to keep the territory he has seized.
Here are the damages demanded by Germany for the murder of her two missionaries:
The murderers must be discovered and punished.
The officials concerned in the murder must be punished.
The mission buildings which were destroyed must be rebuilt.
The sum of six hundred thousand taels must be paid to the relations of the dead missionaries. A tael is worth $1.40, so you can see for yourselves what a big sum this is.
A heavy sum of money must be paid to defray the expenses of the German naval expedition to China, and money must be paid to keep the German force in the Bay of Kiao Chou, which they have seized.
The Chinese Government, on hearing these demands, said that the Bay of Kiao Chou must be given up before they could even be discussed.
The German minister replied that Germany would not give up Kiao Chou, and there the matter rests.