The First Remission of the Boxer Indemnity
Author(s): Carroll B. Malone
Source: The American Historical Review, Vol. 32, No. 1 (Oct., 1926), pp. 64-68
Published by: American Historical Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1836613
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64
Notes and Suggestions
to say anythingfalselyagainstthesaid
norprompted
neverbeentempted
Mr. Pepysby thesaid Member. This is all thatis thoughtfitto say of
thisMatterat Present.
WhereasbytheMercuriusAnglicusof MarchI7, i679, it is reported,
against
givenbyJohnJamesto thelate Parliament,
ThattheInformation
his MasterSamuel.PepysEsq; had beendeliveredin byhimuponOath;
thisis by theexpressdesireof the said JohnJamesbeforehis death,to
give notice,That he neverdid make(Oathto thesame; thewholeof the
his Conscience
said Information
beinguntrue,as (for thedisburthening
testified
underhis Hand, and conbeforehis death) he has sufficiently
byhis receivingtheblessedSacramentthereon. Of whichhe did
firmed
his
of representing
anyendeavours
forpreventing
desirethisPublication,
by theadditionof Perjury.
otherErrorsmorecriminal,
ROGERP. MCCUTCHEON.
3.
THE
FIRST REMISSION
OF THE BOXER INDEMNITY
THE publisheddocumentsregardingthe firstremissionof a portionof the Boxer Indemnityby the United States and China's use of
thesefundsfortheeducationof Chinesestudentsin the United States
are well known. The questionsas to the originof the plan, the men
who were behindit, and the decisionto use the fundsfor education
understoodeitherin China or in theUnited States.
are notthoroughly
There were several precedentsfor America's action. On two
previousoccasionsthe United States had remittedsurplusindemnity
fundsto Orientalpowers,$78j5,o0 to Japanin I883, and $453,ooo to
China in i885.
fundsbe used for
The earliestsuggestionthatremittedindemnity
education that I have found is attributedto Anson Burlingame,
Americanministerat Peking. About the year I865 he proposedto
which
establisha collegein Pekingwiththe surplusof the indemnity
was actuallyreturnedto Chinain cash twentyyearslater. Meantime,
of any
in 1872, the Chinese governmentitself,quite independently
funds,had launchedthe firstChineseEducationalMission
indemnity
to the UnitedStates undertheguidanceof Yung Wing,a plan which
lasted for less than ten years. Again in 1902 the sum of $376,0o0
whichhad been seized by Americantroopsin Tientsinin I900 was
restoredto China.
The Boxer Indemnitywas on a much larger scale than any of
these. It totalledover$333,000,000 gold,withinterestat 4 per cent.,
payable in installmentsduring thirty-nineyears. The American
was of the opinionthat China was being burdenedwith
government
a debtgreaterthanshe could pay withoutfinancialdisasterand consegreatertoo than
integrity,
qtientloss of independenceand territorial
Malone: FirstRemissionof tileBoxer Indemnitv 65
the actual losses of the powersconcerned. Throughoutthe negotiations at Peking in I900 and I9OI the Americangovernmenturged
the powers to reduce the total amountof the indemnity,
and stood
ready to reduce its own claims, if the rest would do likewise.1 It
was unsuccessfulin this effort,however. No nation except the
United States has ever admittedthatit had any surplus,even though
some othershave remittedindemnityfundsto China as a mark of
friendship.
Verysoon afteri9oi it becameknownthatthelosses of American
citizensand thecost of thenaval and militaryexpeditionssentby the
UnitedStates to protectits citizensdid notamzount
to morethanhalf
of the$24,440,000
of indemnity
whichChinawas requiredto pay
to the United States. Those engagedin diplomatic,missionary,and
educationalworkin China and Americabegan at once to expect the
returnof thesurplus. That thiswas the real intention
of the American government
in I900 is revealedin a statementby Mr. Staffordin
Congressin I908. He says, " I am told by SecretaryRoot, who was
presentat a meetingbetweenPresidentMcKinleyand SecretaryHay
to determinethis nation'spolicyin joining withthe othernationsin
exacting punitorydamages from the Chinese Empire, that it was
never intendedthat this governmentshould retainthis indemnity
".
Dr. JeremiahWV.Jenksonce told mlethatas earlyas I905 he had
talkedwithPresidentRooseveltabout the possibilityof remitting
the
indemnity
and thatthe Presidenthad told hiimthatthe plan was alreadyunderconsideration. Dr. Jenkssaid thatthe idea of usingthe
moneyforeducationalpurposeshad been suggestedby severaldifferent persons,GilbertReid for one, but thathe, ProfessorJenks,had
urgedthatthe moneybe devotedto assistingChina to adopt thegold
standard.
Education,however,soon provedto be the morepopularclaimant
for these funds. Several events in the year I906 influencedthe
project. Harvard,Yale, and Wellesleybeganoffering
scholarshipsto
Chinese students. President James of the Universityof Illinois
wrotea memorandum,
whichwas subimitted
to the,Presidentof the
United States and privatelycirctulated,
which advocated inviting
Chinesestudentsto Americanschoolsand colleges.2 Of stillgreater
importancethan these was the interviewof Dr. ArthurH. Smith
with PresidentRoosevelt at the White House on March 6 of that
year. Dr. Smith took it for grantedthat the indemnnity
would be
returnedto China some day, buitin orderto preventthe squandering
1 Rockhill'sReportin U. S. For. Rels., i9ot. appendix,Affairsin China.
2 A. H. Smiiith,
China and America Today, pp. 213-218.
AM. HIST.
REV.,
VOL. XXXII.-
,
66
Notes anzdSuggestions
thatit shouldbe designated
of the money,he stronglyrecommended
foreducation.8
The documentspublishedin the series Foreign Relationstell of
the partsplayedby Roosevelt,Root, and Rockhill,but make no mention of Hay's ideas. Mr. Stafford'sstatement,quoted above, is the
only publishedreferenceI have found to Hay's part in the plan.
For a long time I was puzzled to know why the Chinese generally
gave the creditto JohnHay and theirown ministerin Washington.
My puzzle was solvedwhenI discoveredin the archivesof Tsing
of the
Hua College,Peking,a fileof copies of officialcorrespondence
Chinese Board of Foreign Affairsrelatingto the college. These
thanthe
letterscontaina fulleraccountof thediplomaticnegotiations
Foreign Relations series. They give us the earliestdiscussionsbetween SecretaryHay and MinisterLiang, the Chinese ministerat
Washington,regardingthe remission,and attributeto Liang the
plan to use the moneyfor education.
The firstofficialintimationthat the Americangovernmentmight
be willingto remita partof its shareof the Boxer Indemnityappears
in the firstletterof the series,written,evidently,in December,I904.
MinisterLiang was appealingto SecretaryHay to help to secure for
China a more favorableexchangerate on the Boxer Indemnitypaymentsto all the powers. He mentionedChina's financialdifficulties
and the danger of anti-foreignfeelingif the taxes were increased,
and, as Hay had always stood for the principleof helpingothers,
asked for help for China. Liang's lettersays: " I saw thathe was
so I sugspeakingmore freelyor perhapsnot quite so unyieldingly,
of
gested that if each countryshould reduce the amount indemnity
it would be of greatbenefitto China's finances. 'If your honorable
countrywould take the lead, whereverthe voice of righteousness
spread, those countrieswould rise and follow it.' Hay answered,
'What the Honorable Ministerhas said is quite reasonable. I will
trymybest to plan foryou.'"
Hay did propose the schemeto the President. MinisterLiang
made speeches on the proposal. The Americanministerto China
was in Washingtonconferringwiththe Chinese minister. Minister
Liang's letterreportingthese facts was receivedin Peking on May
15, 1905. It containsalso the firstofficialsuggestionto use the
moneyforeducation. " Rockhillsays thatthe President. . . would
liketo knowwhethertheremittedmoneywould be givento thepeople
or used for some otherpurpose. . . . It seems appropriateforus to
informthe Americangovernmentthat this indemnityshould be re3 L. F. Abbott, Impressions of Theodore Rooscvelt, p. 145.
Malone: FirstRemissionof theBoxer Indemnity 67
mittedfor the purpose of establishingschools and sendingstudents
to studyabroad."
MinisterLiang's argumentsforthisplan are thatit would furnish
a satisfactoryanswer to the President'squestion,would win public
approvalbothin theUnitedStates and in China,wouldgreatlybenefit
China's development,
would be a pleasingexample to set beforethe
otherpowers which mightbe thinkingof remittingindemnity,
and
would hastenthe action of the Americangovernment. There is no
evidencethatthe plan was in any way forcedon MinisterLiang, or
even firstsuggestedby Americandiplomats.
The next letterin the series came fromthe famousYuan ShihK'ai, who was at thattimeviceroyof NorthChina. His suggestion
was, " China's needs are numerous. Let the moneybe used firstfor
railwaysand minesand the profitson thesego to buildingschools".
The Board of Foreign Affairsrepliedto the powerfulviceroythat
" because of therecentdifficulties
over the Canton-HankowRailroad,
China's motivesmightbe suspectedif she used this moneyfor railroads now".
In a letterreceivedin Pekingin November,1905, MinisterLiang
reportsa conversationwith PresidentRoosevelt after the death of
John Hay, in whichthe Presidentagrees to carryout Hay's plan,
and suggeststhatthe Chineseministertake the matterup withRoot,
the new secretaryof state. Thus we see that the plan was well
startedbeforethe death of Hay.
One eventwhichservedto delaytheprojectwas thediscussionby
the diplomatsof a new immigrationtreaty,and anotherwas the
Chineseboycottof Americangoods in the years I905 and I906. It
was notuntilJune15, I907, thatSecretaryRoot wrotehis well-known
note to the Chinese ministerin which he declared that it was the
intention
of the Presidentto recommendto Congressthatthe surplus
of the indemnity
be returnedto China.
PresidentRoosevelt did this in his message to Congressof December3, I907, addingsignificantly
enoughin the nextparagraphthe
recommendation
that Chinese studentsbe encouragedto come to
American universities. MinisterLiang wrote later that American
opiniongenerallyapproved of this plan.
He also quoted an English newspaperas saying: " America received$I5,000,000 fromEnglandon an uncertainclaim. If America
receivedless thanthe agreed indemnityfromChina, England should
ask fora recalculationof the Alabama claims."
Notes and Suggestions
68
The formin whichthe bill passed Congress,May 25, 1908, made
it possiblefor the Presidentto satisfyhimselfthatthe moneywould
be used for the benefitof the Chinese people, beforehe remitteda
dollar. Over $xo,ooo,ooowas to be returnedto China " at such time
and in such manneras the Presidentshall deem just ".
There are no recordsto showthatthe United States imposedany
specificconditionsas to the use of these funds. The details of the
educationalschemewereworkedout by theBoard of ForeignAffairs.
The legationin Peking approved the plan submittedin December,
The detailsof the
I908, and the remissionsbegan in January,190.
negotiationsin Peking betweenMinisterRockhilland the Board of
Foreign Affairshave never been made public. But the published
documents4 show that China expressedher deep gratitude,leftthe
time and mannerof the remissionentirelyto the Americangovernment,and apparentlyquite voluntarilystatedher intentionof using
themoneyfortheeducationof Chinesestudentsin theUnited States.
This was doneas an expressionof herappreciationof the friendliness
of theAmericangovernment. It was in accordancewiththe recently
expressed desire of the Presidentto welcome Chinese studentsto
and withthe advice of MinisterLiang to the
Americanuniversities,
Board of ForeignAffairsin 1905, to the effectthatsuch a use would
please boththe United States and China.
CARROLL B. MALONE.
4
For. Rels.,1907,
I908;
TsingHua correspondence.