Nothing could welf he pore signifians of the perignsness of the Yunnan revolt, of of the sincere desire of Pregident Yua! that the country should not be' torn with civil war, than the Mandate which we reproduced yesterday, announcing indefinite postponement of the formal accession to the Throne. It is true that a similar intimation was given to the foreign Ministers in the Capital more than a month ago. But this official statement to the country at large is in a very different category, at once more binding and farther-reaching. That it is intended principally for the rebels of Yunnan and Kueichow is obvious, and to their notice, to any spark of true patriotism in them, it most earnestly to be commended. In this connexion we would re-for to the two letters we have received from Chinese readers under the heading The True Voice of the Nation." That which we publish to-day (somewhat on the principle adopted at the Odeon Theatre in Paris "where pieces by young authors are occasionally played, to dissuade others from presenting themselves") is an almost perfect example of how not to achieve a settlement: between calling upon a man to resign and endeayouring to force him to do so, in other words civil war, the veil is! very thin, The writer of Thursday's letter at least commands attention by his recognition of weakness on both si "if our people were really parti tic and disinterested, could have been possible for the President to have taken such steps?" His method of settling disputes, by means of a league of peace, may be a little Utopian, but it is based on the sound and_thoroughly Chinese principle of tin tual concession. Here, then, let us emphasize that President Yuan, regardless of "loss of face," has made the concession which devolved on him. The present Mandate may or may not mean relinquishment of the monarchy for good and all; quite possibly it does. Certain it is that no attempt will be made to force a monarchy upon the country while certain factions are violently opposed to it, or at least, which comes to the same thing, to the
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.