In April the German Consul-General went to Newchwang to advise his nationals on their attitude during the war. He was asked as to the protection of the property the German subjects there possessed, and if it would be possible to obtain compensation for damages sustained during the war. He answered that if the damage to German property resulted from Japanese action, then he thought compensation would be obtained, because Japan, being the weaker Power, could be coerced into indemnifying German subjects for such losses as they might sustain. But if the damage was due to Russian action, then in his opinion it would be a much more difficult matter to obtain any compensation. After his departure the British flag over various properties was lowered, and the German ensign hoisted in its place. In neutral territory one had opportunities for the study of human character, of observing the policies of both belligerents, gauging the temperament of the Chinese, and noting the peculiarities of the foreign residents. Taken altogether, the newspaper correspondents themselves were more interesting from the point of view of the student than were the men of any one class. For the newspaper men had more individuality, wider experience, and deeper sympathies. There was more to them than to men of any other category. It is said, playfully perhaps, that the _Times_ men form a distinct class; that in no possible circumstance can one be quite an ordinary individual or ever act as one. However this may be, the men themselves do not much resemble each other, and afford strong contrasts. Dr. Morrison, essentially the schoolmaster, never forgetful of the dignity of his position and faithful to commonest conventions; Captain L. James, dashing, adroit, robust, so intent on his work that he forgets self; but Kand. J. Hoeck possesses a spirit cast in a different mould. Few persons could carry his learning without losing their individuality, but it merely enhances his characteristics. Kand. J. Hoeck is the only correspondent I met who could perceive clearly and instantly the result of every occurrence; who could look beyond the war to its effects upon Russians, Japanese, Chinese, foreign residents and upon the inhabitants of Europe and America. He perceived the stirring events of the great struggle; from them he could appraise the ultimate issue. And Kand. Hoeck, of all the men, was most likely not only to be right, but to champion the cause of right through thick and thin as long as he lived, however unpopular and derided that cause might be. A man to whom conventions were idle as the wind that blows, a man with whom human nature is the only thing that counts. Personal predilections, tastes, preferences, theories, all went down before Kand. Hoeck’s reasoning like corks on a pool table. He discounted individual idiosyncrasies and seized the tendency of the aggregate of a class, a race, a group of nations and not