FINANCIAL REVIEW OF 1901. 



-pect of producing wider and more endur- 



. , llei-ts still growing brighter. An announce- 

 uuiit was made at the annual meeting of the 

 Five Church Council in March, on the authority 

 of the committee, that a great simultaneous mis- 

 sion would be carried out in the early weeks of 

 1903 in the theaters and music-halls, to reach 

 those who could not be induced to attend meet- 

 ings in regular places of worship. 



The Presbyterian General Assembly of New 

 .South Wales in May adopted a motion of the 

 Rev. J)r. Clouston, to be sent for consideration 

 by the General Assembly of Australia, calling for 

 the appointment of " an influential committee to 

 devise a scheme for the federation of as many as 

 possible of the Protestant churches of Australia, 

 with power to confer with the representatives of 

 other Hi un'lics. so as to promote closer fellow- 

 ship and organized cooperation, with a view to 

 the ultimate formation of one grand church of 

 Australia.'' 



An Evangelical Union has been formed by fed- 

 eration of the several missionary organizations 

 working in the Philippine Islands, for the purpose 

 of securing comity and effectiveness in their op- 

 erations. 



FINANCIAL REVIEW OF 1901. There 

 was almost an entire absence of political tension 

 in Europe during the year. The only incident of a 

 disturbing character was the despatch, early in 

 November, of a French fleet to Turkish waters for 

 the purpose of the enforcement by France of de- 

 mands upon Turkey for the settlement of claims 

 of French citizens, and for the exaction of guar- 

 antees of future protection. The fleet occupied 

 the island of Mitylene Nov. 5, and though Turkey 

 protested to the other powers against the aggres- 

 sive movement, there was no active interference 

 by these powers. Turkey thereupon promptly 

 complied with the demands of France, the French 

 fleet withdrew, and the incident was closed. The 

 South African War developed into a guerrilla con- 

 test which required the maintenance of a large 

 British force for the protection of lines of com- 

 munication, and the entire pacification of the ter- 

 ritory seemed likely at the end of the year to be 

 somewhat remote. The British Government is- 

 sued in April a loan for 60,000,000 consols for 

 war purposes, making the total of such appro- 

 priations 152,009,000 since the war began in 

 October, 1899, and it was regarded at the end of 

 the current year as probable that another loan of 

 about 100,000,000 would be required. There 

 was more or less severe industrial depression in 

 Germany, Belgium, and Russia during the year 

 which at intervals indirectly resulted in bank fail- 

 ures, the effect of which, however, was localized. 

 In consequence of such disturbances in Germany, 

 French bankers withdrew large amounts of money 

 which had been invested in that country, tem- 

 porarily placing it in England, and it was esti- 

 mated in October that not far from $400,000,000 

 French investments, which began to be made 

 !)!, were in the above-named month held by 

 French bankers in the form of consols, exchange 

 and bank bills Toward the end of October some 

 considerable amounts of these investments were 



ithdrawn. causing a movement of gold from Lon- 

 don to Paris and an advance in the Bank of 

 England discount rate. The situation was re- 

 lieved in November through exports of gold hence 

 to Paris. 



The conferences between the representatives of 

 the powers and the Chinese Government resulted 

 in the termination of the situation created by the 

 disorders in the summer of 1900. and the final 

 protocol was signed at Pekin, Sept. 7, by the 



plenipotentiaries on the part of the powers and by 

 those representing the Chinese Government. By- 

 an imperial edict of June 9, Prince Chun was ap- 

 pointed ambassador of the Emperor to convey to 

 the Emperor of Germany the expression of the 

 regrets of the Chinese Emperor and of the Chi- 

 nese Government for the assassination of Baron 

 von Ketteler, German minister. Imperial edicts 

 inflicted punishments on the principal authors of 

 the outrages and crimes committed against the 

 foreign governments and their nationals. In or- 

 der to make reparation for the assassination of 

 Mr. Sujiyama, chancellor of the Japanese lega- 

 tion, Na-Tung, vice-president of the Board of 

 Finances, was directed to convey to the Emperor 

 of Japan the expression of the regrets of the Em- 

 peror of China and of his Government. By im- 

 perial edict of May 29 the indemnity to the pow- 

 ers for the outrages in the previous year was 

 fixed at 450,000,000 haikwan taels ($333,900,000),. 

 which sum represents the total amount of the in- 

 demnities for states, companies, or societies, pri- 

 vate individuals, and Chinese converts. These 

 450,000,000 taels constitute a gold debt calculated 

 at the rate of the haikwan tael to the gold cur- 

 rency of each country as follow: The tael equals 

 3.055 marks; 3.595 Austro-Hungarian crowns; 

 0.742 United States dollar; 3.750 francs; 3: 

 shillings British sterling; 1.407 Japanese yen; 

 1.796 Netherlands florin; and 1.412 Russian gold 

 ruble (17.424 dolias fine). The above-noted sum 

 in gold, it is decreed, shall bear interest at the 

 rate of 4 per cent, per annum, and the capital shall 

 be reimbursed by China in thirty-nine years. 

 Capital and interest shall be payable in gold, or 

 at the rates of exchange corresponding to the 

 dates at which the different payments fall due. 

 The amortization shall begin Jan. 1, 1902, and 

 shall end at the close of 1940. The amortizations 

 are payable annually, the first payment being 

 made Jan. 1, 1903. Interest shall run from July 

 1, 1901, but the Chinese Government shall have 

 the right to pay off, within a term of three years, 

 beginning January, 1902, the arrears of the first 

 six months ending Dec. 31, 1901, on condition, 

 however, that it pays compound interest at the 

 rate of 4 per cent, per annum on the sums the 

 payments of which shall have been thus deferred. 

 Interest shall be payable semiannually, the first 

 payment to be made July 1, 1902. Service of the 

 debt shall take place at Shanghai. Each power 

 shall be represented by a delegate to a commis- 

 sion of bankers, authorized to receive the amount 

 of interest and amortization which shall be paid 

 to it by the Chinese authorities designated for 

 that purpose, to divide such sums among the in- 

 terested parties, and to give a receipt for the same. 

 The Chinese Government shall deliver to the- 

 doven of the diplomatic corps at Pekin a bond 

 for the lump sum, which shall subsequently be 

 converted into fractional bonds bearing the sig- 

 natures of the delegates of the Chinese Govern- 

 ment designated for that purpose. The proceeds- 

 of the revenues assigned to the payment of the 

 bonds shall be paid monthly to the commission. 



Among the other provisions of the protocol are 

 those relating to the quarter in Pekin occupied 

 by the legations; the razing of the Taku forts; 

 concessions for the occupation by the powers of 

 twelve new ports ; amendments to treaties of com- 

 merce and navigation; the improvement of the 

 navigability of the Peiho and the Whangpoo, and 

 the reformation of the Office of Foreign Affairs,. 

 Tsung-li-Yamen, into a ministry of Foreign Af- 

 fairs, which will take precedence over the six 

 other ministries of state. The international- 

 troops, with the exception of the legation guards,. 



