In their original dress the following chapters first
appeared in the China Press, the defunct Peking
Gazette, etc. Acting upon the advice of numerous
friends who are good enough to consider that the same
should be preserved for the public in a more accessible
and permanent form than being tucked away in the
various newspaper files extending over seven months,
they are now collated together in a book form.

With the exception of a few verbal changes, here
and there, no serious attempt has been made to add
or subtract anything from the original text. Thus
Part II on Diplomatic Relations between China and the
Powers since and concerning the European War remains
as it was first published, it being thought that the
events posterior to the formal declaration of war
between this country and the Central Powers may be
more conveniently dealt with in their composite
character on a future occasion or by other abler
pens.

The papers were written between the spare hours
of daily classroom work from December, 1916, to July,
1917, as Lecturer on International Law, when oppor-
tunities for exhaustive checking or verification of all
available data or references were limited. Add to this
the fact that owing to the shortage of available types,

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