CHINA'S LITTLE CHEQUE.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIX, Issue 148, 25 June 1898, Page 4 (Supplement)

CHINA'S LITTLE CHEQUE.

There was an important little meeting in the parlour of the Bank of England last Saturday morning. The Governor and several directors met to receive two secretaries from the Chine se Embassy and two from the Japanese Legation, the London manager of the Hongkong and Shanghai Hanking Corporation, and the sub-manager of the Hongkong Ranking Corporation, Avho visited the bank in order to assist, at the final settlement of Japan's little bill against China over the- late war. In this bank parlour many renowned financial transactions have been carried through, but none have necessitated the drawing1 of cheques for such colossal amounts as those Avhich changed hands on Saturday. After certain formalities had been completed the representative of the Hongkong and Shanghai bank handed over to the Chinese Minister a cheque for £11,008,857 10/9 sterling, being the. largest ever drawn by any banking institution in this world. This cheque was formally handed to the custody ol* the Bank of England, and placed to the credit of the Chinese Government. The money, however, did not long remain to the cre<V of Peking, for the reprosentati ye China proccedcd to d raw the biggest cheque on record —. namely, £ 12,500,000 sterling--in favour of Ihe Japanese Government. This payment concluded Ihe final settlement of the indemnity claim made by Japan on China.

Larger sums than £11,000,000 and £ 12,..00,000 have had on one or lavo occasions to be met, but in instalments. Cheques of such magnitude as those drawn have never before been seen, not even in connection with the gigantic transactions in which the house, of Rothschild has played no unimportant part. The cheque paid to the .Japanese shows a sum of £ Li.00,000 over and above the amount handed over by Ihe Hongkong bank, but this ex Ira sum, it is explained, was paid out of an account of the Chinese (Invernment at (he Jlank of England, nnd was for an amount due on :i previous instalment of the indemnit v.

In making this payment, China exorcised the right reserved to it by tho treaty of Shimonoseki of paying the outstanding portion of the Avar indemnity by a single payment at the end of the third year from the Sth May, 1805, instead of by means of equal annual instalment:- extending until the seventh year. The cheque was therefore for balance of Ihe indemnity and one year's occupation expenses of Weihai-wei. Payment having been made, all pecuniary claims of Japan on China under the treaty of Shimonosel.i have now been settled. and China is entitled to demand the withdrawal of the Japanese from Wei-hai-wei.