28th Sept.
Soste day we may know the true truth about the recent coup d'état in Peking, through that is not certain, but meanwhile it is interesting for future reference to put on record the theories that are floating about as to its caisse or causes. One theory is sent us by an old resident in China. 'It will-be remembered that the original decree of the 22nd inst. it was stated that the Empress Dowager wes coming to share the toils of Government with the Emperor, and there' was nothing about P the deposition of the latter. Our correspondent says that the Emperor asked the Empress Dowager to come and help him' on' account of the increase of public business, and because"he has 'a sincere respect" for her.' He sits with her on the same throne as'Emperor and is not deposed or likely to be: It is' doubtful if the Manchus want to depose'him,' as he has"only offended'a few of them. 'They all fear Russia, and it would be too dangerous to depose the Emperor, as they' do not' know what "'course Russia thight take. The Emperot and Empress Dowager fire now reigning' together' and have a good understanding with each other.
continues "his' reign' with' her influence to' aid "him she is fully trust&d by the Manchus, and' he has offended some''of the' Imperial Clansmen; and this'made it convenient for with' to "ask her to' come and help biti. But' he " will' never: think of resigning' and''she has neither the will'nor the' power to depose "him. She' is too Brads, intelligent, and well-educated to' wish to do this; but'he is a little rash, though well-intentioned, and she thinks her return to the seat" behind "the curtain may be' of real tse to him. As regards the persecution of Kang and Liang, that is only because they'have urged the Emperor mit' too many reforms. The secret decree issued by the Em: press ordering the itimediate' arrest and decapitation of 'Kang Vu-wei was induced by' the story' told' her by'some of the 'Ministers (Manchus) that thd Emperor was itidisposed in consequence' of' having taken some medicine given him by Kang: Vu-wei. There was nothing in the' Chinese papers yesterday tovindicate the resignation or~deposition of the Emperor. ° 2 This account seems to us altogether too Arcadian:" If the Empress has merely assumed a joint control of the reins atthe. request of the Emperor, scription of reformers that has follow-how are we to account for the pro: ed? ' For the capital sentence passed without trial on Kang Vu-wei? For the cashiering of the ex-Secretary of Legation who was only obeying the Emperor's own edict? And for the cashiering of the heads of the Bureaux established by the Emperor?
The Peking and Tientsin Times believed that an attempt had been made to poison the Emperor, bit that he was not dead. It says: "As usual in China it was almost impossible to obtain any reliable information and then it says:—We have two prominent facts before us, and only two on which argument can be based': the poisoning of the Emperor the Regency of. the' Empress - Dowager. The relations of the Emperor and Empress Dowager have been proverbial, and the positive determination of the latter to assume the reins of power whenever opportunity offered is equiilly familiar.
oneyer the right hand man of the Em-ress has not been in power. this determination has asserted itself more emphatically, and-it is significant that the present coup succeeds so quickly upon the dismissal of the Grand Councillor from office. It is quite possible that no such favourable opportunity to dethrone the Young Emperor has' presented itself before, as during the life of Printe Kung the actions of the Empress were to a great extent under restraint. A new era find however begun to dawn in Peking. The reform party was gaining rapidly upon conservatism, and with the dismissal of Li Hung-chang the Empress saw there was not a moment to be lost if the interests of that Power she is believed to favour and her own personal interests were to be served. The present events night and probably would have. happened in spite of -Li remaining in office, as we heard some time ago that the Empress was trying to persuade a Court physician to doctor the unfortunate Emperor according to her prescription; but that the whole miserable business has been hastened by Li's dismissal there can be little doubt.
The Peking letter which we published' yesterday, and which came from a very high Chinese official source, contains a very plausible theory of the coup d'état. It.is most' probable that Kang Vu-wei had begun to feel that the Emperor's position as well as his own was getting alittle insecure in consequence ofthe enmity aroused by their zeal for reform; and it is not at all improbable that he made to the Emperor the very obvious suggestions that the Empress Dowager should be removed to some more distant palace where she could not interfere so directly in public business, and the arch-schemer Li be sent to his native province under' surveillance. The old Empress Dowager is much too clever to let the Emperor got letters the purport of which is not made known to her, and she lost no time in making her coup, and issuing an order for the immediate arrest of Kang Vu-wei, of which the Emperor on his side got wind in time to warn Kang to make himself scarce. This, as we have said, is a very plausible theory, and it comes from one who is as likely to know as any one in Peking not actually an actor in the drama.
The theory that Russia and Li Hung-chang are jointly the authors of the coup we do not entertain. That M. Pavloff and his Chinese tool will.turn the incident to their best advantage we do not doubt, but we do not suppose that they brought it about, except as far as Li's advice may have weight with the Empress Dowager. In Peking generally, except at the British Legation, the change seems to be taken much less seriously than here. The trouble with the Emperor is that he has no children, and according to our correspondent, this has been seized upon the Empress Dowager as an opportunity to settle the: succession to the Throne so as to please herself We believe that the Emperor has been virtually deposed because he has offended the Imperial Clansmen and many of' the old Conservatives in Peking by his practical devotion to reform. He is physically weak, though well-intentioned, and his zeal has been too much for him. He-has the Right, but the Empress Dowager has the command of much more money than he has, and a vigorous will, and intelligence to use her powers. If the Emperor had been allowed to go on with his reforms, he would have rallied to his side all the best elements in the Empire, and her chance of getting hold of the power again was diminishing every day. She had to make a bold stroke promptly, and she has made it. It will interesting to see how it results.
'The decree we publish this morning as to the illness of the Emperor is very ominous, and it is also rumoured that Chang Yin-huan has' been executed, and no doubt we shall hear of other similar atrocities.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.