February 22nd,—The appropriate ceremonies connected with the marriage of the Emperor will take place during the 1st moon of the present year, and the assumption of the government by the Emperor will be celebrated in due constitutional form in the 2nd moon, All the people within the Empire manifest unbounded joy and delight, and We feel that the great rejoicing of the nation wil! be share' by China and foreign countries alike. Ever since the conclusion of the Treaties and the establishment of friendly intercourse with the various Powers, relations of aniity and mutual confidence have with lapse of time been more conspicuously manifested, and the Representatives of the various Powers residing in Peking all exhibit an eminent capacity for evincing a clear perception of the great principles of propriety, and of carefully maintaining internation comity. As they are now present in Peking on the occasion of this august ceremony, fitting that they should. participate 1 the joyous event. We command, therefore, Pritice Ch'ing, Yi K'ang, President of the Tsung-li Yamen, and his colleagues to select aday in the second moon on which to tain with due courtesy at a banquet in the Yamen, Brandt, Denby, Shioda, Walsham, Coumany, Rodriguez, Lemaire, and Verhaeghe, all of whom are at present in Peking, and We further confer upon them sceptre, rolls of satin, and other articles, On De Luca and Ferguson also, who are now absent from Peking, We command that the same presents be conferred in order to evince the earnest desire of Our Court to celebrate the joyous occasion with a friendly regard towards Our neighbours, Let the Yamen concerned proceed at once to give effect to Our commands.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.