"Concerning the time and manner of the return of the amounts to be remitted to China, the Imperial Government has no wishes to express in the matter. It relies implicitly on the friendly intentions of the United States Government, and is convinced that it will adopt such measures as are best calculated to attain the end it has in view. {93} "The Imperial Government, wishing to give expression to the high value it places on the friendship of the United States, finds in its present action a favorable opportunity for doing so. Mindful of the desire recently expressed by the President of the United States to promote the coming of Chinese students to the United States to take courses in the schools and higher educational institutions of the country, and convinced by the happy results of past experience of the great value to China of education in American schools, the Imperial Government has the honor to state that it is its intention to send henceforth yearly to the United States a considerable number of students there to receive their education. The Board of Foreign Affairs will confer with the American Minister in Peking concerning the elaboration of plans for the carrying out of the intention of the Imperial Government. "A necessary despatch. "SEAL OF THE WAI-WU-PU." Simultaneously with the note from Prince Ch’ing, the Wai-Wu-Pu as a body addressed the following to Mr. Rockhill: "_To his Excellency W. W. Rockhill, American Minister, Peking_: "Referring to the despatch just sent to your Excellency regarding sending students to America, it has now been determined that from the year when the return of the indemnity begins, one hundred students shall be sent to America every year for four years, so that four hundred students may be in America by the fourth year. From the fifth year and throughout the period of the indemnity payments a minimum of fifty students will be sent each year. "As the number of students will be very great, there will be difficulty in making suitable arrangements for them. Therefore, in the matter of choosing them, as well as in the matters of providing suitable homes for them in America and selecting the schools which they are to enter, we hope to have your advice and assistance. The details of our scheme will have to be elaborated later, but we take this occasion to state the general features of our plan, and ask you to inform the American Government of it. We sincerely hope that the American Government will render us assistance in the matter. "Wishing you all prosperity, (Signed) PRINCE OF CH’ING, YUAN-SHIH-K’AI, NA-TUNG LIEN-FANG LIANG-TUN-YEN."