If Hsu Shih-chang is to be President next year and Chang Tso-lin Vice-President, they must therefore have a parliament and after they have assembled one, if they are to reign in peace and enjoy the real benefits of office, they must do away with all this constitutional piffle imported from abroad. They will, therefore, cause their parliament to write them a' flawless charter ut exploitation and, to salve those whose minds have been polluted with Occidental study, they will call it a constitution.
This, then, is the immediate agenda, as the propaganda press ig alrendy beginning to hint. Official "news" in Peking for the next six months will therefore be divided between reports of parliamentary elections and reports of new ways which the Government has conceived of spending additional customs revenues when they get them.
Tre latest pecu ty in signboards is that over the premises of a "Kiss Manufacturing Co."—We understand that the process is not protected by patent so that others engaged in the work need fear no creation of a monopoly.
Tue following telegram has been despatched to Mr. Liang Shih-vi. Peking's new Premier, by Mr. Chow Pah-yao,_ vice-chairman of the Shanghai Commercial Federation Five years ago you were in political power and issued an order declaring 9 moratorium and millions of people suf: fered as a result thereof. Even deaths have been reported. As you are quite familiar with this procedure, it would be hard for us to guarantee that you will not do the same thing over. again. for nobody can get away from the fact that your acts in the past have been clouded. Ordinarily, the appointment of a Premier is the business of the Chief Executive and not of the people but we are afraid that if you are forced to leave office, you will again declare a moratorium and the citizens will again suffer Therefore preparations must be made for the future. We would ask you to hand over all your private estates to the public for control and these shall be used as a guarantee against your future acts, so that if the people sustain any losses they will shave something ta look to for compensation.
Of course everybody is sure that Mr. Liang Shih-yi\ will make no difficulty to this.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.