The Fight For The Republic in China Part 22

Being in doubt as to the truth of such a report, we hereby request the Government for the necessary information in the matter. We also beg to suggest that, if there is any secret diplomatic agreement, we consider it expedient for the Government to submit the matter to Parliament for the latter's consideration. This will enable the members in Parliament to study the question with care and have a clear understanding of the matter. When this is done, Parliament will be able to support the Government in the prosecution of its war policy according to the dictates of conscience. In this event both Parliament and Government will be able to co-operate with each other in the solution of the present diplomatic problem. Troubled not a little with the present diplomatic situation of the country, we hereby address this interpellation to the Government in accordance with law. It is hoped that an answer from the Government will be dispatched to us within three days from date.

On the 10th May Parliament met in secret session and it was plain that a crisis had come. Members of the House of Representatives experienced great difficulties in forcing their way through a mob of several thousand roughs who surrounded the approaches to Parliament, many members being hustled if not struck. The mob was so plainly in control of a secret organization that the House of Representatives refused to sit. Urgent messages were sent to the Police and Gendarmerie headquarters for reinforcements of armed men as a protection, whilst the presence of the Premier was also demanded. Ma.s.ses of police were soon on the ground, but whilst they prevented the mob from entering Parliament and carrying out their threat of burning the buildings, and murdering the members, they could not--or would not--disperse the crowds, it transpiring subsequently that half a battalion of infantry in plain clothes under their officers formed the backbone of the demonstrators.

It was not until nearly dark, after six or seven hours of these disorderly scenes, that the Premier finally arrived. Cavalry had meanwhile also been ma.s.sed on the main street; but it was only when the report spread that a j.a.panese reporter had been killed that the order was finally given to charge the mob and disperse it by force. This was very rapidly done, as apart from the soldiers in plain clothes the ma.s.s of people belonged to the lowest cla.s.s, and had no stomach for a fight, having only been paid to shout. It was nearly midnight, after twelve hours of isolation and a foodless day, that the Representatives were able to disperse without having debated the war-question. The upshot was that with the exception of the Minister of Education, the Premier found that his entire Cabinet had resigned, the Ministers being unwilling to be a.s.sociated with what had been an attempted coercion of Parliament carried out by the Military.

The Premier, General Tuan Chi-jui, however, remained determined to carry his point, and within a week a second dispatch was sent to the House of Representatives demanding, in spite of what had happened, that the declaration of war be immediately brought up for debate. Meanwhile publication in a leading Peking newspaper of further details covering j.a.pan's subterranean activities greatly inflamed the public, and made the Liberal political elements more determined than ever to stand firm.

It was alleged that Count Terauchi was reviving in a more subtle form Group V of the Twenty-one Demands of 1915, the latest j.a.panese proposal taking the form of a secret Treaty of twenty articles of which the main stipulations were to be a loan of twenty million yen to China to reorganize the three main Chinese a.r.s.enals under j.a.panese guidance, and a further loan of eighty million yen to be expended on the j.a.panization of the Chinese army. As a result of this publication, which rightly or wrongly was declared to be without foundation, the editor of _The Peking Gazette_ was seized in the middle of the night and thrown into gaol; but Parliament so far from being intimidated pa.s.sed the very next day (19th May) a resolution refusing to consider in any form the declaration of war against Germany until the Cabinet had been reorganized--which meant the resignation of General Tuan Chi-jui. A last effort was made by the reactionary element to jockey the President into submission by presenting to the Chief Executive a pet.i.tion from the Military Governors a.s.sembled in Peking demanding the immediate dissolution of Parliament.

On this proposal being absolutely rejected by the President as wholly unconst.i.tutional, and the Military Governors soundly rated for their interference, an ominous calm followed.

Parliament, however, remained unmoved and continued its work. Although the draft of the Permanent Const.i.tution had been practically completed, important additions to the text were now proposed, such additions being designed to increase parliamentary control and provide every possible precaution against arbitrary acts in the future. Thus the new provision that a simple vote of want of confidence in the Cabinet must be followed by the President either dismissing the Cabinet or dissolving the House of Representatives--but that the dissolution of the Lower House could not be ordered without the approval of the Senate--was generally recognized as necessary to destroy the last vestiges of the Yuan Shih-kai regime. Furthermore a new article, conferring on the President the right to dismiss the Premier summarily by Presidential Mandate without the counter-signature of the other Cabinet Ministers, completed the disarray of the conservatives who saw in this provision the dashing of their last hopes.[25]

By the 21st May, the last remaining Cabinet Minister--the Minister of Education--had resigned and the Premier was left completely isolated. On the 23rd May the President, relying on the general support of the nation, summarily dismissed General Tuan Chi-jui from the Premiership and appointed the veteran diplomat Dr. Wu Ting-fang to act during the interim period in his stead, at the same time placing the metropolitan districts under four trustworthy Generals who were vested with provost-marshals' powers under a system which gave them command of all the so-called "precautionary troops" holding the approaches to the capital. The Military Governors, who a few hours before these events had left Peking precipitately in a body on the proclaimed mission of allying themselves with the redoubtable General Chang Hsun at Hsuchowfu, and threatening the safety of the Republic, were, however, coolly received in the provinces in spite of all their most bitter attempts to stir up trouble. This, however, as will be shown, had no influence on their subsequent conduct. The quiet disappearance of the ex-Premier in the midst of this upheaval caused the report to spread that all the members of the corrupt camarilla which had surrounded him were to be arrested, but the President soon publicly disclaimed any intention of doing so,--which appears to have been a fatal mistake. It is disheartening to have to state that nearly all the Allied Legations in Peking had been in intimate relations with this gang--always excepting the American Legation whose att.i.tude is uniformly correct--the French Minister going so far as to entertain the Military Governors and declare, according to reports in the native press, that Parliament was of no importance at all, the only important thing being for China promptly to declare war.

That some sort of public investigation into Peking diplomacy is necessary before there can be any hope of decent relations between China and the Powers seems indisputable.[26]

Before the end of May the militarists being now desperate, attempted the old game of inciting the provincial capitals "to declare their independence," although the ma.s.s of the nation was plainly against them.

Some measure of success attended this move, since the soldiery of the northern provinces obediently followed their leaders and there was a sudden wild demand for a march on Peking. A large amount of rolling-stock on the main railways was seized with this object, the confusion being made worse confounded by the fierce denunciations which now came from the southernmost provinces, coupled with their threats to attack the Northern troops all along the line as soon as they could mobilize.

The month of June opened with the situation more threatening than it had been for years. Emissaries of the recalcitrant Military Governors, together with all sorts of "politicals" and disgruntled generals, gathered in Tientsin--which is 80 miles from Peking--and openly established a Military Headquarters which they declared would be converted into a Provisional Government which would seek the recognition of the Powers. Troops were moved and concentrated against Peking; fresh demands were made that the President should dissolve Parliament; whilst the Metropolitan press was suddenly filled with seditious articles. The President, seeing that the situation was becoming cataclysmic, was induced, through what influences is not known, to issue a mandate summoning General Chang Hsun to Peking to act as a mediator, which was another fatal move. He arrived in Tientsin with many troops on the 7th June where he halted and was speedily brought under subversive influences, sending at once up to Peking a sort of ultimatum which was simply the old demand for the dissolution of Parliament.

Meanwhile on the 5th June, the United States, which had been alarmed by these occurrences, had handed China the following Note hoping thereby to steady the situation:

The Government of the United States learns with the most profound regret of the dissension in China and desires to express the most sincere desire that tranquillity and political co-ordination may be forthwith re-established.

The entry of China into war with Germany--or the continuance of the _status quo_ of her relations with that Government--are matters of secondary consideration.

The princ.i.p.al necessity for China is to resume and continue her political ent.i.ty, to proceed along the road of national development on which she has made such marked progress.

With the form of Government in China or the personnel which administers that Government, the United States has an interest only in so far as its friendship impels it to be of service to China. But in the maintenance by China of one Central United and alone responsible Government, the United States is deeply interested, and now expresses the very sincere hope that China, in her own interest and in that of the world, will immediately set aside her factional political disputes, and that all parties and persons will work for the re-establishment of a co-ordinate Government and the a.s.sumption of that place among the Powers of the World to which China is so justly ent.i.tled, but the full attainment of which is impossible in the midst of internal discord.

The situation had, however, developed so far and so rapidly that this expression of opinion had little weight. The Vice-President of the Republic, General Feng Kuo-chang, unwilling or unable to do anything, had already tendered his resignation from Nanking, declaring that he would maintain the "neutrality" of the important area of the lower Yangtsze during this extraordinary struggle; and his action, strange as it may seem, typified the vast misgivings which filled every one's mind regarding the mad course of action which the rebellious camarilla had decided upon.

Until Sat.u.r.day the 9th June, the President had seemed adamant. On that day he personally saw foreign press correspondents and a.s.sured them that, in spite of every threat, he would in no conceivable circ.u.mstances attempt the unconst.i.tutional step of dissolving Parliament,--unconst.i.tutional because the Nanking Provisional Const.i.tution under which the country was still governed pending the formal pa.s.sage of the Permanent Const.i.tution through Parliament, only provided for the creation of Parliament as a grand const.i.tutional Drafting Committee but gave no power to the Chief Executive to dissolve it during its "life" which was three years. As we have already shown, the period between the _coup d'etat_ of 4th November, 1913, and the re-convocation of Parliament on 1st August, 1916, had been treated as a mere interregnum: therefore until 1918, if the law were properly construed, no power in the land could interrupt the Parliamentary sessions except Parliament itself. Parliament, in view of these threatening developments, had already expressed its willingness (a) to reconsider certain provisions of the draft const.i.tution in such a conciliatory manner as to insure the pa.s.sage of the whole instrument through both houses within two weeks; (b) to alter the Election Law in such fashion as to conciliate the more conservative elements in the country; (c) to prorogue the second session (1916-1917) immediately these things were done and after a very short recess to open the third session (1917-1918) and close it within three months, allowing new elections to be held in the early months of 1918,--the new Parliament to be summoned in April, 1918, to form itself into a National Convention and elect the President for the quinquennial period 1918-1923.

All these reasonable plans were knocked on the head on Sunday, the 10th June, by the sudden report that the President having been peremptorily told that the dissolution of Parliament was the sole means of saving the Republic and preventing the sack of Peking, as well as an open armed attempt to restore the boy-emperor Hsuan Tung, had at last made up his mind to surrender to the inevitable. He had sealed a Mandate decreeing the dissolution of Parliament which would be promulgated as soon as it had received the counter-signature of the acting Premier, Dr. Wu Ting-fang, such counter-signature being obligatory under Article 45 of the Provisional Const.i.tution.

At once it became clear again, as happens a thousand times during every year in the East, that what is not nipped in the bud grows with such malignant swiftness as finally to blight all honest intentions. Had steps been taken on or about the 23rd May to detain forcibly in Peking the ringleader of the recalcitrant Military Governors, one General Ni Shih-chung of Anhui, history would have been very different and China spared much national and international humiliation. Six years of stormy happenings had certainly bred in the nation a desire for const.i.tutionalism and a detestation of military domination. But this desire and detestation required firm leadership. Without that leadership it was inchoate and powerless, and indeed made furtive by the constant fear of savage reprisals. A great opportunity had come and a great opportunity had been lost. President Li Yuan-hung's personal argument, communicated to the writer, was that in sealing the Mandate dissolving Parliament he had chosen the lesser of two evils, for although South China and the Chinese Navy declared they would defend Parliament to the last, they were far away whilst large armies were echeloned along the railways leading into Peking and daily threatening action. The events of the next year or so must prove conclusively, in spite of what has happened in this month of June, 1917, that the corrupt power of the sword can no longer even nominally rule China.

[Ill.u.s.tration: The Late President Yuan Shih-kai]

[Ill.u.s.tration: President Yuan Shi-kai photographed immediately after his Inauguration as Provisional President, March 10th, 1912.]

Meanwhile the veteran Dr. Wu Ting-fang, true to his faith, declared that no power on earth would cause him to sign a Mandate possessing no legality behind it; and he indeed obstinately resisted every attempt to seduce him. Although his resignation was refused he stood his ground manfully, and it became clear that some other expedient would have to be resorted to. In the small hours of the 13th June what this was was made clear: by a rapid reshuffling of the cards Dr. Wu Ting-fang's resignation was accepted and the general officer commanding the Peking Gendarmerie, a genial soul named General Chiang Chao-tsung, who had survived unscathed the vicissitudes of six years of revolution, was appointed to act in his stead and duly counter-signed the fateful Mandate which was at once printed and promulgated at four o'clock in the morning. It has been stated to the writer that had it not been so issued four battalions of Chang Hsun's savage pigtailed soldiery, who had been bivouacked for some days in the grounds of the Temple of Heaven, would have been let loose on the capital. The actual text of the Mandate proves conclusively that the President had no hand in its drafting--one argument being sufficient to prove that, namely the deliberate ignoring of the fact that Parliament had been called into being by virtue of article 53 of the Nanking Provisional Const.i.tution and that under article 54 its specific duty was to act as a grand const.i.tutional conference to draft and adopt the Permanent Const.i.tution, article 55 furthermore giving Parliament the right summarily to amend the Provisional Const.i.tution before the Promulgation of the permanent instrument, should that be necessary. Provisions of this sort would naturally carry no weight with generals of the type of Chang Hsun, of whom it is said that until recent years he possessed only the most elementary education; but it is a dismal thing to have to record that the Conservative Party in China should have adopted a platform of brute force in the year of grace, 1917.

MANDATE DISSOLVING PARLIAMENT

In the 6th month of last year I promulgated a Mandate stating that in order to make a Const.i.tution it was imperative that Parliament should be convened. The Republic was inaugurated five years ago and yet there was no Const.i.tution, which should be the fundamental law of a nation, therefore it was ordered that Parliament be re-convened to make the Const.i.tution, etc., at once.

Therefore the main object for the re-convocation of Parliament was to make a formal const.i.tution for the country. Recently a pet.i.tion was received from Meng En-yuen, Tu-chun of Kirin, and others, to the effect that "in the articles pa.s.sed by the Const.i.tution Conference there were several points as follows: 'when the House of Representatives pa.s.ses a vote of want of confidence against the Cabinet Ministers, the President may dismiss the Cabinet Ministers, or dissolve the said House, but the dissolution of the House shall have the approval of the Senate.' Again, 'When the President dismisses his Prime Minister, it is unnecessary for him to secure the counter-signature of the Cabinet Ministers.' Again 'when a bill is pa.s.sed by the Two Houses it shall have the force of the law.' We were surprised to read the above provisions.

"According to the precedents of other nations the Const.i.tution has never been made by Parliament. If we should desire a good and workable Const.i.tution, we should seek a fundamental solution. Indeed Parliament is more important than any other organ in the country; but when the national welfare is imperilled, we must take action. As the present Parliament does not care about the national welfare, it is requested that in view of the critical condition of the country, drastic measures be taken and both the House of Representatives and the Senate be dissolved so that they may be reorganized and the Const.i.tution may be made without any further delay. Thus the form of the Republican Government be preserved, etc."

Of late pet.i.tions and telegrams have been received from the military and civil officials, merchants, scholars, etc., containing similar demands. The Senate and the House of Representatives have held the Const.i.tution Conference for about one year, and the Const.i.tution has not yet been completed. Moreover at this critical time most of the M.P.'s of both Houses have tendered their resignation. Hence it is impossible to secure quorums to discuss business. There is therefore no chance to revise the articles already pa.s.sed. Unless means be devised to hasten the making of the Const.i.tution, the heart of the people will never be satisfied.

I, the President, who desire to comply with the will of the populace and to consolidate the foundation of the nation, grant the request of the Tuchuns and the people. It is hereby ordered that the Senate and the House of Representatives be dissolved, and that another election be held immediately. Thus a Const.i.tutional Government can be maintained. It must be pointed out that the object for the reorganization of Parliament is to hasten the making of the Const.i.tution, and not to abolish the Legislative Organ of the Republic. I hope all the citizens of the Republic will understand my motives.

A great agitation and much public uneasiness followed the publication of this doc.u.ment; and the parliamentarians, who had already been leaving Peking in small numbers, now evacuated the capital _en ma.s.se_ for the South. The reasonable and wholly logical att.i.tude of the Const.i.tutionalists is well-exhibited in the last Memorandum they submitted to the President some days prior to his decision to issue the Mandate above-quoted; and a perusal of this doc.u.ment will show what may be expected in the future. It will be noted that the revolting Military Governors are boldly termed rebels and that the const.i.tutional view of everything they may contrive as from the 13th June, 1917, is that it will be bereft of all legality and simply mark a fresh interregnum.

Furthermore, it is important to note that the situation is brought back by the Mandate of the 13th June to where it was on the 6th June, 1916, with the death of Yuan Shih-kai, and that a period of civil commotion seems inevitable.

MEMORANDUM

To the President: Our previous memorandum to Your Excellency must have received your attention. We now beg further to inform you that the rebels are now practically in an embarra.s.sing predicament on account of internal differences, the warning of the friendly Powers, and the protest of the South-western provinces. Their position is becoming daily more and more untenable. If Your Excellency strongly holds out for another ten days or so, their movement will collapse.

Some one, however, has the impudence to suggest that with the entry of Chang Hsun's troops into the Capital, and delay in the settlement of the question will mean woe and disaster. But to us, there need be no such fear. As the troops in the Capital have no mind to oppose the rebels, Tsao Kun and his troops alone will be adequate for their purposes in the Capital. But now the rebel troops have been halting in the neighbourhood of the Capital for the last ten days. This shows that they dare not open hostilities against the Government, which step will certainly bring about foreign intervention and incur the strong opposition of the South-western provinces. Having refused to partic.i.p.ate in the rebellion at the invitation of Ni Shih-chung and Chang Tso-lin, Chang Hsun will certainly not do what Tsao Kun has not dared to do. But the rebels have secret agents in the Capital to circulate rumours to frighten the public and we hope that the President will remain calm and unperturbed, lest it will give an opportunity for the rebel agents to practise their evil tricks.

Respecting Parliament, its re-a.s.sembly was one of the two most important conditions by means of which the political differences between the North and the South last year were healed. The dissolution of Parliament would mean the violation of the terms of settlement entered into between the North and the South last year and an open challenge to the South. Would the South remain silent respecting this outrageous measure? If the South rises in arms against this measure, what explanation can the Central Government give? It will only serve to hasten the split between the North and the South. From a legal point of view, the Power of Government is vested in the Provisional Const.i.tution. When the Government exercises power which is not provided for by the Const.i.tution, it simply means high treason.

Some one has suggested that it would not be an illegal act for the Government to dissolve Parliament, since it is not provided in the Provisional Const.i.tution as to how Parliament should be dissolved, nor does that instrument specifically prohibit the Government from dissolving Parliament. But this is a misinterpretation. For instance, the Provisional Const.i.tution has not provided that the President shall not proclaim himself Emperor, nor does it prohibit him from so doing. According to such interpretation, it would not be illegal, if the President were to proclaim himself Emperor of the country.

In short, the action taken by Ni Shih-chung and others is nothing short of open rebellion. From the legal point of view, any suggestion of compromise would be absurd. It has already been a fatal mistake for the President to have allowed them to do what they like, and if he again yields to their pressure by dissolving Parliament, he will be held responsible, when the righteous troops rise and punish the rebels. If the President, deceived by ign.o.ble persons, take upon himself to dissolve the a.s.sembly, his name will go down in history as one committing high treason against the Government, and the author of the break between the North and the South. The President has been known as the man by whose hands the Republic was built. We have special regard for his benevolent character and kind disposition. We are reluctant to see him intimidated and misled by evil counsels to take a step which will undo all his meritorious services to the county and shatter the unique reputation he has enjoyed.

The unrolling of these dramatic events was the signal for the greatest subterranean activity on the part of the j.a.panese, who were now everywhere seen rubbing their hands and congratulating themselves on the course history was taking. General Tanaka, Vice-Chief of the j.a.panese General Staff, who had been on an extensive tour of inspection in China, so _planned as to include every a.r.s.enal north of the Yangtsze_ had arrived at the psychological moment in Peking and was now deeply engaged through j.a.panese field-officers in the employ of the Chinese Government, in pulling every string and in trying to commit the leaders of this unedifying plot in such a way as to make them puppets of j.a.pan. The j.a.panese press, seizing on the American Note of the 5th June as an excuse, had been belabouring the United States for some days for its "interference" in Chinese affairs, and also for having ignored j.a.pan's "special position" in China, which according to these publicists demanded that no Power take any action in the Far East, or give any advice, without first consulting j.a.pan. That a stern correction will have to be offered to this presumption as soon as the development of the war permits it is certain. But not only j.a.panese military officers and journalists were endlessly busy: so-called j.a.panese advisers to the Chinese Government had done their utmost to a.s.sist the confusion. Thus Dr. Ariga, the Const.i.tutional expert, when called in at the last moment for advice by President Li Yuan-hung had flatly contradicted Dr.

Morrison, who with an Englishman's love of justice and const.i.tutionalism had insisted that there was only one thing for the President to do--to be bound by legality to the last no matter what it might cost him. Dr.

Ariga had falsely stated that the issue was a question of expediency, thus deliberately a.s.sisting the forces of disruption. This is perhaps only what was to be expected of a man who had advised Yuan Shih-kai to make himself Emperor--knowing full well that he could never succeed and that indeed the whole enterprise from the point of view of j.a.pan was an elaborate trap.

The provincial response to the action taken on the 13th June became what every one had expected: the South-western group of provinces, with their military headquarters at Canton, began openly concerting measures to resist not the authority of the President, who was recognized as a just man surrounded by evil-minded persons who never hesitated to betray him, but to destroy the usurping generals and the corrupt camarilla behind them; whilst the Yangtsze provinces, with their headquarters at Nanking, which had hitherto been pledged to "neutrality," began secretly exchanging views with the genuinely Republican South. The group of Tientsin generals and "politicals," confused by these developments, remained inactive; and this was no doubt responsible for the mad coup attempted by the semi-illiterate General Chang Hsun. In the small hours of July 1st General Chang Hsun, relying on the disorganization in the capital which we have dealt with in our preceding account entered the Imperial City with his troops by prearrangement with the Imperial Family and at 4 o'clock on the morning of the 1st July the Manchu boy-emperor Hsuan Tung, who lost the Throne on the 12th February, 1912, was enthroned before a small a.s.sembly of Manchu n.o.bles, courtiers and sycophantic Chinese. The capital woke up to find military patrols everywhere and to hear incredulously that the old order had returned.

The police, obeying instructions, promptly visited all shops and dwelling-houses and ordered every one to fly the Dragon Flag. In the afternoon of the same day the following Restoration Edict was issued, its statements being a tissue of falsehoods, the alleged memorial from President Li Yuan-hung, which follows the princ.i.p.al doc.u.ment, being a bare-faced forgery, whilst no single name inserted in the text save that of Chang Hsun had any right to be there. There is also every reason to believe that the Manchu court party was itself coerced, terror being felt from the beginning regarding the consequences of this mad act which was largely possible because Peking is a Manchu city.

IMPERIAL EDICT

Issued the 13th day of the 5th Moon of the 9th year of Hsuan Tung.

While yet in our boyhood the inheritance of the great domain was unfortunately placed in our possession; and since we were then all alone, we were unable to weather the numerous difficulties. Upon the outbreak of the uprising in the year of Hsin Hai, (1911) Our Empress, Hsiao Ting Chin, owing to her Most High Virtue and Most Deep Benevolence was unwilling to allow the people to suffer, and courageously placed in the hands of the late Imperial Councillor, Yuan Shih-kai, the great dominion which our forefathers had built up, and with it the lives of the millions of Our People, with orders to establish a provisional government.

The power of State was thus voluntarily given to the whole country with the hope that disputes might disappear, disturbances might stop and the people enabled to live in peace. But ever since the form of State was changed into a Republic, continuous strife has prevailed and several wars have taken place. Forcible seizure, excessive taxation and bribery have been of everyday occurrence. Although the annual revenue has increased to 400 millions this amount is still insufficient to meet the needs. The total amount of foreign obligations has reached a figure of more than ten thousand millions yet more loans are being contracted. The people within the seas are shocked by this state of affairs and interest in life has forsaken them. The step reluctantly taken by Our Empress Hsiao Ting Chin for the purpose of giving respite to the people has resulted untowardly in increasing the burdens of Our People. This indeed Our Empress Hsiao Ting Chin was unable to foresee, and the result must have made her Spirit in Heaven to weep sorely. And it is owing to this that we have been praying to Heaven day and night in the close confines of the palace, meditating and weeping in silent suffering.

Recently party strife has resulted in war and the country has remained too long in an unsettled condition. The Republic has fallen to pieces and means of remedy have been exhausted.

Chang Hsun, Feng Kuo-chang and Lu Yung-ting have jointly memorialized the Throne stating that the minds of people are disturbed and they are longing to see the old regime restored, and asking that the throne be reoccupied in order to comfort the people.

Chu Hung-chi and others have also memorialized us stating that the country is in imminent danger and that the people have lost their faith in the Republic, and asking that we ascend the Throne in obedience to the mandate of Heaven and man.

Li Yuan-hung has also memorialized the throne, returning the great power of State to us in order to benefit the country and save the people.

A perusal of the said memorials, which are worded in earnest terms, has filled our heart with regret and fear. On the one hand We, being yet in Our boyhood, are afraid to a.s.sume the great responsibilities for the existence of the country but on the other hand We are unwilling to turn our head away from the welfare of the millions simply because the step might affect Our own safety.

After weighing the two sides and considering the mandates of Heaven and man, we have decided reluctantly to comply with the prayers, and have again occupied the Court to attend to the affairs of State after resuming possession of the great power on the 13th day of the 5th moon of the 9th year of Hsuan Tung.

A new beginning will be made with our people. Hereafter the principles of morality and the sacred religion shall be our const.i.tution in spirit, and order, righteousness, honesty and conscience will be practised to rebind the minds of the people who are now without bonds. People high and low will be uniformly treated with sincerity, and will not depend on obedience of law alone as the means of co-operation. Administration and orders will be based on conscientious realization and no one will be allowed to treat the form of State as material for experiment. At this time of exhaustion when its vitality is being wasted to the last drop and the existence of the country is hanging in the balance, we, as if treading on thin ice over deep waters, dare not in the slightest degree indulge in license on the principle that the Sovereign is ent.i.tled to enjoyment. It is our wish therefore that all officials, be they high or low, should purify their hearts and cleanse themselves of all forms of old corruption; constantly keeping in mind the real interests of the people. Every bit of vitality of the people they shall be able to preserve shall go to strengthen the life of the country for whatever it is worth. Only by doing so can the danger be averted and Heaven moved by our sincerity.