(8) With reference to my desire that the Grand Council should assemble the Grand Secretaries, the Presidents of the Six Boards and Nine Courts to a grand conference as to what steps should be taken to bring about a permanent conservation of the Yellow River, in order to sive untold miseries to my people in the future, I, the Empress Dowager Tze-hsi-tuan-yn, vte.. have now received a report aded "by Prince Li, President of the Grand Council, in which they unanimously recommend the appointment of a high Minister of the Court to go to Shantung and make a special investigation of the whole river so as to obtain reliable data to eels future discussions on the subject.
therefore, hereby appoint the Grand Secretary, Li Hung-chang, as Imperial High Commissioner to Shantung where he is to have as colleagues Jen Tao-yung, Director-General of the Yellow River, and Chang Ju-mei, Governor of Shantung. They shall then make a journey through the whole ler of the River, make a thorough examination of the condition and aspects thereof, and study the whole question of conservation. They shall exert special care that their report of the river shall be on a thorough knowledge of the question and obtained from reliable sources so that there may be no more mistakes made when the work of conservation is once begun. The said High Commissioners should remember that the importance of the conservation of iver is one of vast and grave ponsibility, as the safety of millions of the inhabitants of Shantung depends upon a correct solution of the matter. Let there be no slipshod work or shifting of responsibility on one another's shoulders. Let the High Commissioners also present an estimate of what the proposed works would actually cost so that steps may be taken thereon.
(4) Ch'ien Ying-pu, President of the Board of Works, is hereby granted the privilege of riding in a two-bearer sedan-chair within the Precincts of the Western Palace-gutes. He is also excused from the duty of introducing officials at Imperial audiences. rHe "ORTHODOX WAY."
(3) I, the Empress Dowager Tze-h tuan-yn, ete. have received a memorial from the Ministers of the Board of Rit dilating on. the supreme importance making it known throughout the whole Empire that there are to be no changes from the old methods of literary examinations among candidates for degrees, in order to set at rest, once for all, the present uncertainty that has been caused by the Emperor's recent reform measures in the above direction. Now as the Empire has always prospered and flourished under the old regime and from the methods of old have been evolved the following books i.e. Regulations Governing Examinations, sanctioned by Inperial decree; Regulations for Guidance of Literary Chancellors, sunctioned by Imperial decree; and The advantages and disadvantages to be observed in Literary Examinations (which have been compiled from former Imperial Decrees), all of which have in them the acme of excellence, there is indeed no necessity of making any changes in the curriculum of literary examinations that has always obtained. I, therefore, grant the request of the said Board, which is authorised to notify my commands to all the Literary Examiners and Literary Chancellors throughout the Empire that they are henceforth to follow reverentially and carefully the regulations and laws mentioned in the above books, in order tha the graduates may learn of, and Keep to the orthodox way.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.