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every collision with her. If it be granted that without an exhibition of force no satisfactory result can be achieved in dealing with her, then force is at once warranted, and if it be assumed that treachery is the mainspring of all her proceedings, then to treat her with trust or consideration becomes mere weakness. Two such postulates make it easy to vindicate any course of procedure adopted by Occidental Powers towards China. An Eastern country like China is always exposed to injustice of that kind at Western hands. Unable to tell them her history from her own point of view, she appears to them by the light of their versions solely. Yet China has annals composed in her own language; admirable annals whose perusal moved a distinguished sinologue to speak of "the extraordinary faithfulness with which the Chinese endeavour to perfect their histories." In the account of the "opium war"—for by that name the conflict of 1840–42 is known and will always be known to the Chinese—a straightforward and perfectly credible explanation is given of the transfer of the negotiations from the Peiho to Canton. The British plenipotentiaries demanded an indemnity for the opium destroyed and also required that the Hong system should be abolished. Now, with regard to the matter of the opium, rumours had reached Peking impugning Commissioner Lin's conduct: it was said that he had promised compensation when demanding the