CHILE. 



CHINA. 



113 



justing differences among themselves. It was the 

 main question to be considered at the Pan-Ameri- 

 can Congress appointed to meet in the city of 

 Mexico in October. A tentative program to 

 guide the action of the Congress, drafted by the 

 Bureau of American Republics, at Washington, 

 was officially adopted by the Government of 

 Mexico, which submitted it to each government for 

 approval or suggestions. Chile suggested that, 

 if any government objected to the discussion of 

 any question that was presented before the Con- 

 gress, that subject should not be considered. 

 Secretary Hay pointed out that this would bring 

 all the work of the Congress to naught. Chile 

 then proposed to the Mexican Government to ex- 

 clude all pending questions from the discussion 

 on arbitration, and * > consider an arbitration 

 agreement that will only apply to future ques- 

 tions that may arise. In a note to Washington 

 Chile asked for a definition of the limits within 

 which the subject of arbitration was to be dis- 

 cussed. This communication w r as considered at 

 a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Bu- 

 reau of American Republics. The Minister of 

 Costa Rica, presenting the Chilean view, moved 

 that the action of the Congress on the subject of 

 arbitration be prospective and not retrospective. 

 The committee agreed to this at the time, but 

 afterward took up the matter again at the re- 

 quest of the Minister of Bolivia, who objected to 

 limiting the deliberations of the Congress by a 

 prearranged program and thought that the Con- 

 gress itself ought to be permitted to define the 

 limits of its discussions. Acting Secretary of 

 State Hill offered a motion declaring that the 

 limitations of the program could only be ex- 

 ceeded by the unanimous vote of the Congress, 

 which would allow Chile to prevent the discus- 

 sion on arbitration from going beyond the limita- 

 tions of the program. The Colombian min- 

 ister proposed, on the contrary, to have the dis- 

 cussion on arbitration entirely unrestricted, leav- 

 ing full liberty to members of the Congress to 

 initiate the consideration of any subject not speci- 

 fied in the program. The proposal of Mr. Hill was 

 approved by the ministers of Costa Rica and 

 Ecuador, while the ministers of Bolivia and Co- 

 lombia voted in the negative. The Assistant- 

 Secretary of State refrained from voting, leaving 

 the decision of the committee undetermined until 

 the Spanish-American members could arrive at 

 an understanding, which they failed to do, al- 

 though they met several times to consider the 

 matter. The position of the United States in 

 this controversy was a delicate one on account 

 of the overweening jealousy of the power of this 

 republic entertained in all Spanish-American 

 countries and fostered by intriguing Europeans. 

 When 'the United States Government, like the 

 Government of Mexico, intimated a willingness to 

 limit the discussion on arbitration in order to 

 avert the threatened abstention of Chile and pro- 

 mote an agreement on arbitration, even if appli- 

 cable only to future quarrels, the suspicion arose in 

 South America that the United States favored 

 the side of Chile in the disputes with Peru and 

 Bolivia. If the United States voted for unre- 

 stricted discussion the Chileans would consider it 

 a mark of disapproval and animosity. The gov- 

 ernments of the Argentine Republic, Brazil, Para- 

 guay, and Uruguay, as well as the Peruvian and 

 Bolivian governments, were unwilling to partici- 

 pate in the Congress unless arbitration could be 

 debated without restrictions. The Chilean min- 

 ister at Washington on July 18 intimated to Sec- 

 retary Hay that Chile might not attend the Con- 

 gress unless guarantees were given that disagree- 

 VOL. XLI. 8 A 



able questions would not be allowed to come up 

 for discussion. The Argentine representative in 

 Mexico notified the Mexican Secretary of State 

 that his Government would not be represented 

 unless free discussion were allowed on all pending 

 and future arbitration cases. Bolivia, Brazil, 

 Colombia, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay took the 

 same view, and all entered into an agreement with 

 each other that if debate should be restricted they 

 would withdraw their representatives in sign of 

 protest. The Argentine Government advanced 

 the opinion that any other course would signify 

 acquiescence in the Chilean ideas of conquest. 

 The Argentine Republic and Chile entered into a 

 mutual agreement not to purchase war material 

 pending the award of the boundary arbitration 

 between themselves, but the Argentine Minister 

 of Foreign Affairs, taking credit for the initia- 

 tion of an international South American policy 

 that would tend to the maintenance of peace, that 

 of unlimited arbitration, for which the adherence 

 of Ecuador was sought, stated that the Argentine 

 Republic would not engage to remain neutral un- 

 less existing treaties were respected, and would 

 not countenance conquest of territory. The Mexi- 

 can Government announced officially that no al- 

 teration had been made in the original program of 

 the Pan-American Congress, and that free discus- 

 sion would be allowed on arbitration in all cases, 

 present and future. 



CHINA, an empire in eastern Asia. The Gov- 

 ernment, as laid down in the regulations of the 

 Tsing dynasty, is based on the government of the 

 family, and in theory the Emperor exercises su- 

 preme paternal authority. The principles and 

 system of government were taken over by the 

 Manchu conquerors, who founded the Tsing dy- 

 nasty in 1644, from the Ming dynasty, and have 

 been handed down since the age of Confucius. 

 All acts of government are regulated as far as 

 possible by precedents running back thousands of 

 years. Imperial affairs are under the direct con- 

 trol of the Cabinet, called Neiko, consisting of 2 

 Manchus and 2 Chinese, advised by 2 members of 

 the Hanlin College, whose duty it is to see that all 

 edicts and proclamations conform in style and 

 substance with the dynastic regulations and Con- 

 fucian precepts. Important questions are decided 

 by the Chun-Chi-Chu, the Grand Council, com- 

 posed of 5 or 6 of the highest officers of state, both 

 Manchus and Chinese, who have control over the 

 Manchu army, and, unless the Emperor is a strong 

 and resolute ruler, wield the real authority. De- 

 crees and orders are issued by this council in the 

 name of the Emperor to the executive boards in 

 Pekin and to the provincial authorities. The 

 boards of administration are provided over each 

 by a Manchu and a Chinese. One board, called 

 the Civil Office, supervises the conduct and ad- 

 ministration of the officials, confers titles, and 

 grants rewards and precedence for meritorious 

 conduct; another, the Board of Revenue, manages 

 the finances; the third, the Board of Rites, enforces 

 the laws relating to the ceremonies of the court 

 and all public functions ordered by the Emperor, 

 and regulates the rites called for by an eclipse or 

 other national calamity; the fourth, the War 

 Board, has charge of military affairs and directs 

 the movements of troops; the fifth is the Board of 

 Public Works; the sixth, the Board of Punish- 

 ments, is the high court of criminal jurisdiction 

 which tries and judges official delinquencies. A 

 seventh board, the Admiralty Office, created in 

 1885, sits at Tientsin and directs naval affairs. 

 The Board of Censors, composed of 40 to 50 

 members, also under the dual presidency of a 

 Manchu and a Chinese, is independent of the Gov- 



