376 THE FAR EAST. 



the conduct of the war : "I put forward an official 

 application to the War Office, but it received so much 

 cold water fronri the financial point of view that it came 

 to nothing. The end of my proposal of £18,000 a-year 

 for ten years was an offer of £100 ! " -^ 



The events of 1895-1898, however, cast an illuminat- 

 ing light upon the ambitions of certain Powers, and it 

 became impossible to refuse to recognise the serious 

 nature of the process of decomposition which had set in. 

 To stay the collapse of the Chinese Empire, as they were 

 endeavouring to stay the collapse of more than one 

 oriental monarchy in other parts of Asia, became the 

 manifest duty of British statesmen — a task in which, as 

 will be seen, they have found ready coadjutors in the 

 Government of Japan. Events had proceeded too far 

 to admit of any rapid reversal in the process, and the 

 proceedings, which have finally culminated in the pres- 

 ent Far Eastern cataclysm, were spread over a number 

 of years, to a brief account of which T shall devote the 

 pages of another chapter. 



1 It must be admitted that private enterprise stands out in strong con- 

 trast to official insouciance, and it speaks volumes for the mettle of indi- 

 viduals that they are willing to secure information of value to their 

 country even at the risk of official displeasure. Here is a case in point. A 

 young officer keenly interested in the advancement of his country gave up 

 his leave to making valuable surveys of certain parts of China. In order 

 to complete them he outstayed his leave by a few days, and on his retui-n, 

 after successfully accomplishing his object, he received his reward. 

 " Official thanks for his trouble and valuable information," I hazarded 

 when I was first told the story. " Nothing of the sort," was the reply. 

 " What then ? " I asked. " A fine for missing two or three days' regi- 

 mental duty ! " 



